Genesis 17:15-21. 15And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”
Earlier in the chapter God renamed Abram as Abraham. Here he will give Sarai a new name as well, Sarah. God’s Princess has been brought into the covenant. For the first time in the story we hear God’s promises concerning Sarah and not just Abraham. She is blessed by God and will bear a son. She will be the mother of nations and kings. And for the first time ever, God puts a time restraint on himself – I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”
The new names that God gives to Abraham and Sarah can seem almost insignificant. It’s not like God said, “Your name is Sarah, now I will call you Hazel.” Sarai – Sarah. Abram – Abraham. That’s not much of a change is it? But the significance of a name change is huge in God’s economy, and in Hebrew thinking. In English individual letters don’t mean much. Often words are arbitrary. Why does the word “water” mean water? Who knows? But in Hebrew, each letter means something significant and represents the holy power of God to create. To change the course of someone’s life.
Abram meant “Exalted Father.” Father of high character, but father of one.
Sarai meant “my princess.” Personal and private.
These names stressed the limitations of Abram and Sarai. Abram and Sarai exist only for themselves and their immediate (and small) family). But now, by God’s grace, Abram and Sarai are about to go global. Father and mother of multitudes and nations, kings and kingdoms. A blessing to the entire world. They will need a new name worthy of such a mission.
Abraham – “Father of all nations.”
Sarah – “THE Princess.”
God’s word is powerful. God’s word creates. God’s word brings life. And this is about to be true in Abraham and Sarah’s life right now. Abram and Sarai could never have children together. But Abraham and Sarah? They will be pregnant within months and Sarah will give birth in one year. God’s name change literally comes with life-giving power. Sarah’s dead womb is literally resurrected, and so is Abraham’s hope.
Sort of.
Notice Abraham’s immediate and honest response – Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!”
Here’s the lesson for us who are in Christ. We too have experienced the life-giving blessing of a covenant with God, cut into the very flesh of Jesus Christ, and into the heart of everyone who trusts in him. In Christ, we too have experienced the name change of Abram and Sarai. We too no longer live for ourselves alone, but for the glory of God and his kingdom. And so now we bear the name of Christ!
Too many of us have embraced a name for too long that has been spoken over us by our Enemy. Worthless. Dumb. Ugly. Guilty. Shameful. Forgotten. Or as Peter says, we were once called Unloved and Not My People (1 Pt. 2:10). But now we are called Loved and My People. We are called Christian, “Little Christ.” What was once a name spoken in jest, is truly our reality. We are not THE Christ, but we surely are little Christs, carrying with us all the blessings and benefits of his name.
And with that name comes power, God’s creation power, transforming us into those who are now ready to go global, to impact the world for Jesus, to live for him in a dark and dying world, to make disciples of all nations.
You: Is there a name that the Enemy calls you that you are still holding on to as your identity?
You in Christ: God calls you Loved and Mine. How do these two new names allow you to face whatever comes your way today?
Christ in you: How does the name “Christian” match both your new identity and new mission?
Prayer: Father, no matter what anyone else calls me, you call me beloved. Help me live up to what you named me when you adopted me as your own. Amen.
To Live is Christ 