“Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: ‘As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations…And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.'”
(Genesis 17:3-5,7)
Beth Moore taught me a wonderful principle concerning this scripture. Look at verse 5: “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham…” What changed here? The letter ‘h’. The Israelites referred to God as ‘Jehovah’. Do you see the central letter in ‘Jehovah? ‘H’. As God made covenant with Abram, He gave Abram the middle letter of His own name – ‘h’. This is very significant. In biblical times the name of individuals represented their character – the very essence of who they were. The same was true of God. Think of all the names used for Him: El Shaddai, Jehovah Jireh, Most High God, Creator, The Everlasting God, etc. Or think of Jesus: Savior, Lord, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Rabbi…Each of these names represents a different aspect of His character.
When God made covenant with Abram, He gave Abram part of Himself. The name change signified that Abraham belonged to Jehovah God. From that day forth, God would be his God and Abraham and his descendants would be His people.
I wonder if the Lord sees the letter ‘H’ in my name? Do I walk in a way that represents Him as His daughter?
Lord, may I ever be mindful that I am Your child, Your representative to a hurting world. Thank You for including me in a covenant which can never be broken. I suppose, in a spiritual sense, my name might be spelled ‘Nahn’ because You are my God and I am Your child. Be glorified in me, Father.
