It’s not the Name, It’s the Person

I never wanted to name any of my sons after me. Besides the fact that there were already several Bobs in both my and my wife’s families, I remember the confusion that always resulted with some of my teenaged friends who were named after their fathers. “Is Bill there?” “Big Bill or little Bill?” 

My grandfather was named Edward James Riley. When his son, my uncle, was born, they wanted to give him my grandfather’s name, but they wanted to avoid this confusion. So, they named him James Edward Riley. It didn’t work. From birth, the relatives took to calling him “Little Ed” and it stuck. 

When my uncle became a firefighter, his companions in the firehouse decided that neither James nor Edward were appropriate Irish names. Thus, he became Mike. Eventually my uncle had children, the second of which was a son. What did he name him? Mike. Naturally my cousin became a firefighter as well to just add to the confusion. At my uncle’s retirement dinner, whenever someone referred to “Mike Riley” I had no idea if they were talking about my uncle or my cousin. 

The middle 9th century b.c. is a confusing period in the nations of Israel and Judah. Contemporaneous with each other are kings with the same name. King Jehoshaphat of Judah (reigned 872-848 b.c.) named his son Jehoram and put him on the throne as vice-regent in 853. However, the king of the northern kingdom of Israel from 852-841 b.c. was also named Jehoram. This Jehoram has a brother named Ahaziah; he briefly reigned from 853-852. However, the son of Jehoram of Judah was also named Ahaziah. He was also a king, reigning only in 841. 

To complicate matters further, Jehoram of Judah was married to a daughter of Ahab, which means that Jehoram and Ahaziah of Israel were his brothers-in-law. This makes Jehoram and Ahaziah of Israel uncles to Ahaziah of Judah. Confused yet? Sounds like one of those I-am-my-own-grandpa jokes. 

What intrigues me, however, is the meaning of their names. The righteous Jehoshaphat named his son Jehoram, which means, “Yahweh is exalted.” This name reflects the heart of his father. Unfortunately, Jehoram did not live up to his name. He did evil in God’s sight, much like his brother-in-law with the same name. Jehoram of Israel, though, received his name from the famous idol worshipper Ahab. Ahaziah means “grasped by Yahweh.” Both Ahaziahs received their names from kings who worshipped gods other than Yahweh (Ahab of Israel and Jehoram of Judah). Further the wicked Ahaziah of Judah name his son Joash, “Yahweh is strong.” (Ahaziah of Israel had no son and we have no names for any sons of Jehoram of Israel.) 

Jehoshaphat was righteous, so naming his son “Yahweh is exalted” makes sense. But why would the wicked Ahab, Jehoram and Ahaziah name their sons for a God who they did not even pretend to worship? Were they bowing to cultural pressure (their nations were supposed to be worshipping Yahweh)? Were they just “covering all the bases,” that is, appeasing one of the many gods of the land? 

It’s hard to say for sure, but this naming practice makes me think of our society’s approach to God. People who show no evidence of being born-again the rest of the year happily set up a nativity scene and sing “Silent Night.” The expression “God bless America” easily rolls off the tongue of even the most wicked politicians.  

Giving our children Biblical names will not save them. A baby dedication service will not cause them to live right. Declaring that our family is Christian will not necessarily carry into our children’s adulthoods. 

Rather, every parent must pray for and with our children. We must live rightly before them. When we stop putting our trust in religious form and focus on personal relationships with Jesus Christ—for us and our children—then we will see righteous living and lasting revival. 

It’s not the name, it’s the person.