Names you may not know

Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi

Somehow these names don’t pop to the forefront of our “familiar Bible characters” list, probably because we don’t have any particular stories about them to keep them in our memory. I wondered why God would choose to name these three, apparently insignificant characters, but then I realized that these names and their meanings are an important part of the parallel God makes between the story of Hosea and the story of Israel as a nation.

Hosea 1 (New King James Version)

 1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

 2 When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea:

      “Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry

      And children of harlotry,

      For the land has committed great harlotry

      By departing from the LORD.”

 3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 Then the LORD said to him:

      “Call his name Jezreel,

      For in a little while

      I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu,

      And bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.

       5 It shall come to pass in that day

      That I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

6 And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him:

      “Call her name Lo-Ruhamah,

      For I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel,

      But I will utterly take them away.

       7 Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah,

      Will save them by the LORD their God,

      And will not save them by bow,

      Nor by sword or battle,

      By horses or horsemen.”

8 Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. 9 Then God said:

      “Call his name Lo-Ammi,

      For you are not My people,

      And I will not be your God.

    10 “Yet the number of the children of Israel

      Shall be as the sand of the sea,

      Which cannot be measured or numbered.

      And it shall come to pass

      In the place where it was said to them,

      ‘You are not My people,’

      There it shall be said to them,

      ‘You are sons of the living God.’

       11 Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel

      Shall be gathered together,

      And appoint for themselves one head;

      And they shall come up out of the land,

      For great will be the day of Jezreel!

          Hosea 1 (New King James Version)

Jezreel means "God sows," and is also the name of a couple of cities, one in Issachar, and one in Judah. Lo-Ruhamah means "no mercy," and Lo-Ammi means "not my people." The meanings of these names are significant, the last two making a turn around, when God's people return to Him. See the change between the name meanings, "No mercy" and "not my people" to the opposite affirmations by God - and His people - in the verse below:

23  Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth,
      And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy;
      Then I will say to those who were not My people,
      ‘You are My people!’
      And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’”

  Hosea 2:23 (New King James Version)

God used the names Jezreel, LoRuhamah, and LoAmmi, to show His people how He would draw them back to himself, in spite of their rejection of Him. He uses names to teach us, to show us He has a plan for us. His plan for us is Salvation, and He made sure we would never forget, by giving the name Yeshua to His Only Begotten Son. Yeshua, "Salvation."

Jacob becomes Israel

Jacob is another one in the line of patriarchs whose name was given or changed by God, adding to my growing list of examples of the importance of NAME in God’s sight. Jacob’s case is somewhat different than the others, because the name switch does not appear to have taken root in our thoughts; we usually think of him as Jacob. We usally say, “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” not “Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.” His descendants, however, are known as the Children of Israel, Israelites, or Israelis.

God first told Jacob of his new name at the time of their midnight struggle – referenced by the prophecy in Jeremiah 30:7 as a time of Jacob’s trouble for God's people in the future. Jacob's new name has great meaning for those who sense they may go through that time of trouble, for Jacob (Ya`aqob) means "supplanter," while Israel (Yisra'el) means "God prevails."

27 So He said to him, “What is your name?”
He said, “Jacob.”
28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”
And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there. 

Genesis 32:27-29 (New King James Version) 

In verse 29, Jacob asks the name of the One with whom he had struggled, the One who gave him his new name, but apparently does not receive an answer. If it was answered is not recorded. Why? Or was the answer secreted away by those who have explained that the Name is so holy that it cannot be written or spoken by mortal man? What could the answer have been? Could it have been Yeshua? I wonder. We know that no man has seen God at any time, so if Jacob struggled with God (32:28) or God appeared to him (verses below), it would have to have been God's Son, known to us in the New Testament as Yeshua/Yahoshua.

God reiterates Jacob's new name:

9 Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him.
10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel.
11 Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. 

            Genesis 35:9-11 (New King James Version)

While looking for God-given names in the Bible, I found some names I've never heard of before. I will review those next time.

On to Isaac

Now we are on to the next name, Isaac. I am hoping the detailing of these in the Bible named by God is not exhausting. I find it fascinating!

We can't forget Ishmael, who was named and blessed by God and also would become a great nation, as we today well know. After Ishmael was born, the child Abraham hoped would bear the promise but came to represent humanity's efforts to help God along where God seems to fail, along came Isaac, the child Abraham and Sarah had despaired of ever seeing; Isaac, who was born to them long after they should have been great-grandparents, had they only had children earlier in life.

18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 

Genesis 17:18-20 (New King James Version)

Isaac is a transliteration of the word Yitzhak in Hebrew, meaning "he laughs." Abraham and Sarah may have laughed in disbelief when they heard the Angel say Sarah would have a son in her old age, but when she became pregnant, they must have been full of happy laughter, and the day he was born, they probably sat together, holding him, laughing in joy for a long, long time.

In the verse above, Yitzhak gained a new meaning, "child of the covenant."