Names that Speak Grace

Names are never incidental, especially names in the Bible.

Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, had a name which means “God has remembered” or “God’s memory”. When he became old and had all but given up hope of having a child, an angel appeared before him to announce that God has not forgotten his long-ago prayer for a baby and that his wife would soon bore him a child. We could say he literally experienced the meaning of his own name!

But that’s not all. The angel even told him what name he was to give his soon-to-be-borne son. He was to call him John.

Somehow the same was also communicated to his wife, Elizabeth. It was not recorded if an angel appeared to tell her so.  But it seems she was a woman of faith and would not tend to argue with God’s announcement like her husband did. She had a good opinion of God and of what He said. The name Elizabeth means “oath” or “covenant of God”.

As the story goes, Zechariah was put into mute mode by the angel as a result of his unbelief. Even until the baby was born he couldn’t speak. When the day came for the baby to be circumcised all the family and friends wanted to call him Zechariah after his father. But Elizabeth insisted that he should be named John. They consulted the mute father and he asked for a tablet and wrote: “His name is John!” There and then Zechariah regained speech.

What’s the big deal about the name of the baby, so much so that Zechariah was anxious to follow what God said?

The name is John, which means “God’s gift,” or “God is gracious.”  

Zechariah had seen God’s word came to pass in giving him a son. He was now determined that he should name the baby what God had told him to. Blessing flows when we believe and heed God’s word.  But more than that, he saw the big picture. When we put the three names of the family together, it goes like this:

God has remembered His covenant with His people, a Covenant of Grace.

When I think of it, it is amazing that the Lord would go to such extent arranging the names of a family to bring across a message. How much is His love for us!

The Lord always remembers His covenant with you, and it is a covenant of Grace and Favor.

That’s why you can expect His favor at every turn.

God Has Remembered

There are some hilarious episodes in the Bible, and one of my favorite is about Zechariah the father of John the Baptist.

This bloke was a priest. As the story goes, they cast lots and it fell on him to burn incense in the sanctuary of God. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a great honor!  But the good Lord decreed that this was not enough blessing and wanted to give him even more. So as Zechariah was doing his job in the sanctuary He had the angel Gabriel suddenly appeared before him announcing some super good news:

God is gracious to you! For I have come to tell you that your prayer for a child, a prayer you don’t even pray anymore, has been answered! Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you are to name him John!...Lk 1:12-13, TPT

When Gabriel was done speaking, this was how Zechariah answered:

How do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is too old to give me a child. What sign can you give me to prove this will happen?...Lk 1:18, TPT

I can’t help laughing every time I read this. It is clear that he had forgotten what he had prayed and had long since stopped praying about it. Not only did he have not any sense of regret of his lack of faith and perseverance, he had the audacity to ask for a sign! I think even Gabriel was taken by surprise at such response.

Zechariah might have forgotten about what he had prayed, but God had not.

I wonder how often we are like Zechariah. But take heart, God remembers. More often than not, He still wants to bless us – more than we want to believe. So don’t be surprised if out of the blue your long-ago forgotten prayer got answered. Make no mistake then, it is the Lord.

Let’s have one last dig at Zechariah. Do you know what his name means? Zechariah means “God has remembered”!

The Lord sure has a sense of humor.