There’s a moment I love in the story of David, when he and Bathsheba have a child, who would go on to become Israel’s wisest king and build the Temple for God’s presence. His parents named him Solomon, which is a solid name. It’s related to the Hebrew word shalom, so it means in essence: man of peace and wholeness.
2 Samuel 12 says:
‘The Lord loved him; and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.’ (2 Samuel 12.25)
It’s not an uncommon occurrence in the Bible for an angel or prophet to announce the name of a newborn child. Take John the Baptist for example (Luke 1.13), or Jesus even (Matthew 1.21)! Normally the parents respond by obeying the divine messenger and taking their suggestion as the child’s name. But not here. David sticks with the name Solomon and doesn’t switch to Jedidiah. Not even the prophet Nathan calls him Jedidiah! In fact, in the rest of Scripture from this moment on, nobody ever uses that name again. It’s a name that exists only between Solomon and the Lord.
The name Jedediah means ‘beloved of the Lord’. Solomon was already a strong name, but this is more precious and intimate still. It speaks not only of the parents’ vision for their son’s life, but of how the Lord sees this child. And actually, the way to being a true Solomon is to know that you’re a Jedediah. The way to be truly whole is to have your identity shaped by the Heavenly Father who declares ‘you are my beloved son!’
So, what name might the Lord declare over you? If he were to choose your name, or determine your identity, what would he say?
Scripture contains a handful of times when the Lord renames people, giving them an upgrade in their identity as they step into a new season. For instance God renames Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of nations), expanding his mission and the call on his life (Genesis 17.5). Or Simon, who Jesus renamed Peter, symbolising his status as the rock on which the church was to be built (Matthew 16.13–20).
I don’t know what your name is, or what it means. You may have a perfectly good name! But what name might the Lord declare over you? It may be different to how you see yourself, or how others see you. It may even be hard to believe. But what God says about your identity is the truest thing about you.
So why not ask him?
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Photo by Luma Pimentel on Unsplash
Liam Thatcher 