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.