ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

Monite Fepueli 6, 2023

The Name-Changing God  אברהם שׂרה

KO E ‘OTUA LILIU HINGOA

GENESIS 17:5, 15-16

"NO LONGER SHALL YOUR NAME BE CALLED ABRAM, BUT YOUR NAME SHALL BE ABRAHAM, FOR I HAVE MADE YOU THE FATHER OF A MULTITUDE OF NATIONS

 AS FOR SARAI, YOUR WIFE, YOU SHALL NOT CALL HER NAME SARAI, BUT SARAH SHALL BE HER NAME KINGS OF PEOPLES SHALL COME FROM HER."

SENESI 17:5, 15-16

Pea ‘e ‘ikai kei ui ho hingoa ko ‘Epalame [ko Tupu-‘anga-‘oku-‘eiki], ka ko ho hingoa ko ‘Epalahame [ko Tupu‘anga-‘o-ha tokolahi]; he kuo u tu‘utu‘uni koe ko e tupu‘anga ‘o ha fuifui pule‘anga.

Ko e me‘a ki ho uaifi ko Sēlai, ‘e ‘ikai toe ui‘aki ‘a e hingoa ko Sēlai, ka ko Sela hono hingoa [ko Fefine-pilinisesi]. 16Pea te u tāpuaki‘i ia, pea te u tuku foki ke ke ma‘u ha foha ‘iate ia, ‘io, te u tāpuaki‘i ia, pea te ne hoko ko e ngaahi pule‘anga; ‘e tupu meiate ia ha ngaahi tu‘i ‘o ha ngaahi kakai.

God changes the name of Abram ("exalted father") to Abraham ("father of a multitude"), and the name of Sarai ("princess") to Sarah (a variant of "princess"). In Hebrew, the changes are slight: Abraham's name is one letter longer, and Sarah's new name substitutes an h for a y. But the significance of the changes are not slight. A name is a one-word summation of the totality of a person. A new name is a new creation of sorts. It says, "You were this but now you are that." When God changes people's names, he endows them with a new identity.

Hiding in Abraham's and Sarah's new names is the story of God gradually unwrapping the gift who will be named Jesus. The "multitude" that comes from Abraham will narrow down to a single promised seed, planted inside a virgin by the Spirit. And the "kings" that come from Sarah will lead to a single king, the Son of David, who will reign in hidden glory from the throne of the cross.

Thanks be to you, heavenly Father, for writing your own name upon us (Rev. 3:12).