Today's Scripture Reading (March 19, 2023): Micah 7
Name meanings can be fun to
examine so that we can see how close our names match our character. The subject
came up at a family dinner when we discussed the advantages of being a hard
worker, which happens to be the meaning behind my granddaughter's name,
Emilina. And with that, the discussion turned to other family names and
origins.
My name, Garry, is an old
English name that means "spear." Maybe I can apply the meaning of my
name to my speaking and writing duties. My last name, Mullen, has a couple of
meanings. Mullen is primarily a German name, that actually surprised me, and
means "lives in or near a mill." So I am a "spear living near a
mill" (which, incidentally, is not actually true). However, I am Irish and
not German. So maybe the name meaning of my last name is better drawn from the English
or Gaelic meaning. In that case, Mullen means "son of the bald one."
Having said that, my Dad has a full head of hair in his eighties, so baldness
is not arriving soon. My grandfather and great-grandfather also had hair all
their lives. As a result, I am unsure how many generations I would have to go
back through to find the "bald one" of whom I am a son. Apparently, I
struggle to live up to any of my names.
As Micah closes his prophecy,
he includes a section of Praise. He thanks God for being a God who is willing
to pardon sin, actively forgiving the transgressions of those who go against his
demands, and preserving a remnant that can receive all that God has promised to
Israel. But in the process, Micah says something that we often miss. He
reflects on the meaning of his name. The name "Micah" means "Who
is like Yahweh." So, Micah, in his closing, paraphrases the meaning of his
own name by asking, "Who is a God like you?"
Maybe it was Micah's way of
putting his final stamp on the prophecy. But it would also serve as a pointer
toward a time yet to come. Micah looked forward to a moment when the Lamb of
God would be sacrificed for the world's sins so that forgiveness would not be
just the expectation of the righteous remnant, but of all who repented of their
sin and turned to walk toward God.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
Isaiah 8
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