WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Suggested Reading: 1 Chronicles 1-2
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
Photos – (top) The rose red rock city of Seir, Petra (1 Chronicles 1:38) in Edom, carved into the rock by the descendants of Esau, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham. Also my great-grandfather’s tomb stone (below). His name on that stone is of great importance to me because his conversion to Christ changed the direction of my family 180 degrees.
The rose red rock city of Seir, Petra (1 Chronicles 1:38) in Edom, carved into the rock by the descendants of Esau, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham. This building is now called Ad Deir (Arabic for "The Monastery"). It is one of the monumental buildings carved out of the rock. It measures 50 metres wide by approximately 45 metres high. To understand the magnitude of the Monastery, look closely to see the man standing in the entrance. Although this structure may have been later used as a church, it was probably a temple. It may have been dedicated to the deified Nabatean king Obodas I, who reigned in the 1st century BC.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verses: 1 Chronicles 1:1-4
“Adam, Seth, Enosh, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth.”
It’s a challenge to read with enthusiasm these chapters which seem to be simply a list of names. But this is more than that; this is a genealogical map of God’s plan for His human family.
(1) God knows our names and values us as individuals. Imagine the infinite value that God places on each person. Revelation 21:27 tells us of “Those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” (read Revelation 20:11-15). Jesus will read out loud from the Book of Life before His Father and the angels (Revelation 3:5). Paul tells in Philippians 4:3 about his fellow workers whose names are written in the Book of Life. Our names are important to God.
(2) There is an amazing compound-complex sentence that can be made from the Hebrew meanings of the 10 names in our key verse. Those meanings are on the internet. Check it out and try to make a sentence out of them. It’s amazing! Write it out! (click here).
(3) In 1979 Dr. Arthur Custance was a guest on the 100 Huntley Street telecast. He was an historian with the Federal Government of Canada, Department of Foreign Affairs. His book, “Noah’s Three Sons,” was published by Moody Press (several copies are available on Amazon – click here). In it he traced the names of the children of the last three men mentioned in our key verses to present day places all over the world. This is a most amazing proof of the accuracy of the Scriptures and the story of Noah, his sons and their wives.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, I thank You for the inner assurance that I have that You have written my name in “The Lamb’s Book of Life.” I pray that today I will have the opportunity to introduce someone to You, Lord Jesus, and then as they confess You openly, You will confess that name before Your Father and the Angels! (Revelation 3:5b). Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
It was the Summer of 1968 when I first learned of the meanings of the names of the ten ancient patriarchs. I was the youth speaker at a Sylvan Lake, Alberta, camp meeting. The Rev. Edward Menaldino of Philadelphia, the adult camp speaker, shared this with me. He said that the myth of the ten gods of the Romans and the Greeks may have originated from the stories of these men mentioned in Genesis 5. I was intrigued and wrote out the following sentence: “Man of earth, chosen, nominated, appointed by God, struggled to no avail, became weak and sickly, and the Glory of Elohim (God) descended, brought teaching, suffered death, and now brings rest and comfort.” The meaning of Noah’s name is the only one given to us in Scripture. The others come to us from the ancient Hebrew language (click here for Genesis 5).
Over the years I’ve shared the significance of the meanings of these Hebrew names with Jewish friends as a way of introducing Jesus and God’s plan of salvation hidden away in those names. Of course the most effective way I found to share Jesus is to take the time to identify the personal pronouns of the book of Isaiah, a prophet of the tribe of Judah, a descendant of King David, who wrote his book some 700 years before Jesus was born. Having found dozens of personal pronouns, I ask, “Who ever lived whose name could be substituted for those pronouns?” I’ve never had any answer to that question other than “Jesus.” I’ve often wondered why Isaiah is the only book that was preserved as a complete manuscript in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Could it be the providence of God? Isaiah is known as the Gospel of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Yours for the assurance that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man (and woman) of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17),
David
This is my great-grandfather’s tombstone. His name on that stone is of great importance to me because his conversion to Christ changed the direction of my family 180 degrees. The tombstone reads: “Joseph Mainse, died April 23, 1869, aged 38 years.” I’m eagerly looking forward to meeting him in heaven!
Jesus Jesus Jesus, there’s just
something about that name.
Master, Saviour, Jesus, like the
fragrance after the rain
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all heaven and
earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms will pass away
But there’s something about that Name!
Amen!
Amen and amen
Imagine how meticulous these ancient writers were, to have known exactly what family lines descended through the generations to that particular point in time. It may seem like a waste of time and space, but to the writers and to God it was very important information for it would one day reveal the line of our Saviour. It was like revealing a pedigree, it was a system of structure and order within a family. Isn’t it great to know that we come from a royal lineage now that we are part of the family of the King? For we are all a part of the eternal family of God when we take that initial step of believing that Jesus died for our sins on our behalf to bring us into His eternal family. For those who don’t know Jesus, have a look at this brief video, it will fill you in as to what this is all about. http://crossroads360.com/jesus101#
That was an incredible message, David–thank you! The meaning of each name given has such a deeper purpose; the translation of those names into the sentence as a direct message to us from God is mind blowing; and the truth about the book of Isaiah is empowering.
The links to Revelation were inspiring because we know the truth to come. I was especially moved by Rev 3:5: He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. Thank you, Jesus for forgiving us of our sins that we made be whole in you!
Praise God for your great-grandfather shaping the course of the generations of your family to be followers of and leaders for Christ, David! The generations that follow are a testament!
So looking forward to sinking our teeth into Chronicles. God’s continued blessings to fellow saints, today!
Does anyone know which two languages mentioned in verse 9 of chapter 1 were? I was suprised to realize that there was a division of the world by 2 languages.
Traditionally it has been interpreted to mean when the earth was divided at the Tower of Babel. Others have said it refers to a second dividing of the land from Noah’s descendants. Just type “Peleg from the bible” into your search engine like Google and a whole list of articles pop up that you might like to explore on this topic.
Sorry, that should have read verse 19 of chapter 1
Thank you once again Pastor David and fellow bloggers.
Trying to read each name can be difficult but obviously God wanted us to know them, and to see th line nough which Our Saviour came. The link to the meaning of their names was amazing and worth sharing…..I forwarded it to my son.
To know our names are written in the Book of Life …… Hallelujah.
Blessings fellow saints. Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Thank you Pastor Mainse for this incredible spiritual journey through the Scriptures. Congratulations on just celebrating, first anniversary! With God’s grace may God’s people continue to pray for your wholeness of health. I took up the challenge last year in searching the pronoun name in Isaiah. It was during my daily Scripture reading. I was just finishing Song of Songs, when your 100 Words came to me. What an amazing study. Words of gratitude are not easily found such as “Thank you!”, because the profoundness of this Truth which vibrated my inner being to the core. I was on my knees asking the Lord to fill me with His Spirit, so that I may not do my daily Scripture reading, ever again without first praying to be filled with the Holy Spirit, not just in reading but in a fuller and deeper understanding of His Word. Since that day I have found many nuggets of Spiritual gold in His Word and each day has been a walk of faith of deep devotion with great purpose and Truth. Thank you so much for your Spirit-filled teachings with the Truths in God’s Word and in 100 Words. May God continue to bless you, Pastor Mainse and your lovely wife, Norma Jean and your 180 degree family turn through Joseph Mainse. Yes, he will be a man sought out in Heaven by many Christians. God never makes mistakes but always appointments. How true.
A very interesting blog on the meaning of those names and how God knows each one and is important to Him. Sorry Ruby it was you who informed Catherine about the date of my surgery and Beverlee agreed with you. Due to emergency cases, my surgery has been postponed this week to possibly next week as I was informed this morning. “All things work together for good …(Rom:8:28), and I appreciate the extra time to prepare. God bless all of you who are praying for me. I have a big scrolled up chart of “A Family Tree: From Adam to Jesus” which is amazing and helpful at this time. Have a good day everyone.
Thanks, Ger for letting us know. We’ll keep praying. Perhaps a Blessing in disguise. It sounds like it’s a relief for you to have more time to prepare. God does have everything under control. Praise Him!!!
Thanks Ger….this time I will gt it right!!!
God’s timing is always right and perfect!!! Bless you.
Yes, Ger, you are right.- Romans 8:28. It was not to be right now. Keep us posted on when your new date will be. God Bless!!! Love & Prayers!!
Thank you David M for your continued commitment in sharing God’s Word. The link to the meaning of the names was very interesting that foretells our Lord and Saviour just proves the validity of the scriptures. Thank you again!!!! Scott thanks for the link and God bless each one today!!!!!
We are so Blest by this blog ,especelly I ,The old Testament was always a
challenge to me .And here we are in the old testament and it is so intereting
and Holy Spirit has enlightened this Bible study to me ,I thank you all for
making it clear so I can understand it better,may God bless you all,love you ..R…
Dear David M and precious fellow bloggers. It took an ingenious way for me to enjoy the geneology and its fabulous impact . I will definitely be sharing definitions of the names from Adam to Noah with everyone.
Praise the Lord!!! Got an amazing surprise visit none other than my dear friend Marcia who like you remember went for through major surgery for her foot on Friday with what I can call a glorious smile on her face. She explained how our Great Physician made sure that from the moment she came out of surgery she never felt one ounce of pain leaving the medical staff completely baffled. Thank you Lord, Thank you Jesus. What a Mighty God we serve.
So Ger know that we all are in the greatest Hands of all. Keeping you in my prayers.
Have a blessed day all my fellow saints.
xxxx Carole
Praise The Lord for Marcia’s recovery and no pain….OUR GOD IS SO GOOD!!
Thank you Gisela, Catherine, Ruby and Carole and I will definitely keep you posted about my next appointment. Yes, God has perfect timing. Thank God for your great-grandfather’s conversion, David which changed the history of your family.
🙂