Live Up To Your Name
Acts 11:26; Isaiah 62:2
“What’s in a name?” you might ask. Plenty, especially when the Lord gives it to you.
The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory.
You shall be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of the Lord will name.
… And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
“Christian” means one who follows Christ, a disciple.
Do you live up to your name?
Let’s consider the last five kings of Judah, the five that Jeremiah dealt with.
We will see how well they lived up to their names.
Josiah son of Amon – Whom Jehovah heals
He was 8 yrs. old when he became king and reigned 31 yrs.
Josiah tried his best to heal the land.
After the tragic and wicked reigns of Manasseh and Amon, the land was in great peril.
In his 8th year as king (16 yrs old), we find that his heart begins seeking after the Lord (2 Chron. 34:1-3).
When he was 20 (in his 12th year), he began to destroy the idols in the land.
2 Kings 23:15 tells us that he even destroyed the altars set up by Jeroboam about 300 years prior, as prophesied (1 Kgs 13:2).
In his 18th year as king (26 y.o.), he purged the temple, found the Book of the Law and began efforts to observe the Passover.
And indeed, they did—it was a Passover that had not been since Samuel (2 Chr. 35:18).
God may not have healed him, but through Josiah, He was healing the land.
But then Josiah became haughty (2 Chr. 35:20-24).
Necho was speaking the words of God. He was just passing through, as it were, to get to Carchemish to fight, yet Josiah decided to pick a fight. This was the downfall of several kings before him.
As a result, Josiah dies from an arrow wound. While he was busy healing the land, he himself was not healed.
After him came a slew of terrible kings with names that are laughable, given their track record.
Jehoahaz son of Josiah – Jehovah has seized.
He was 23 yrs. old when he became king and reigned 3 mos.
He was an evil king (2 Kgs 23:32).
So he was taken captive by Necho after only 3 mos.—so he was seized by Necho.
Eliakim/Jehoiakim son of Josiah – God/Jehovah raises up.
He was 25 yrs. old when he became king and reigned 11 yrs.
Ironically, though his name insists God raised him up, it was really Pharaoh Necho.
He even changed his name from “God raises up” to “Jehovah raises up,” perhaps to give him more legitimacy in the eyes of the people.
Despite the length of his reign, he was evil (2 Kgs. 23:37).
Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim – Jehovah establishes.
He was 18 yrs. old when he became king and reigned 3 mos.
He, too, was an evil king (2 Kgs. 24:9).
He was later captive by Nebuchadnezzar.
If he really were established by Jehovah, don’t you think he would have reigned longer and with righteousness?
Later Babylonian kings would treat him well (2 Kgs. 25:27-30).
Mattaniah/Zedekiah son of Josiah – Gift of Jehovah; Jehovah is Righteous
He was 21 yrs. old when he becomes king and reigns for 11 yrs.
He, too, was an evil king, despite warning after warning (2 Chron. 36:12-16).
If he were truly a gift of God, if he truly thought God was righteous, why would he rebel against him?
As a result of his wickedness, the kingdom was destroyed, and only a remnant (4600 people) survived and were taken away to Babylon (2 Chron. 36:17-21; i.e. Jer. 52:28-30).
Note, that the land was now enjoying her Sabbaths—it was resting from the wickedness going on all around.
And eventually, the land was healed as Josiah’s name implies.
While these men could not live up to their names, can you live up to yours?
My name, Stephen, means crown.
I’m not quite sure how I can live up to that, being a crown.
But that’s not really what I mean.
We don’t typically choose our legal names, but we do choose our religious name: Christian.
While the Lord chose the name to call His people, you choose that name by becoming one.
Are you living up to that beautiful name that you wear?
Is it a badge of honor for you or of shame?
Are you living up the ideals of what Christ exemplified here on earth?