Luke 1:12, 59-61 English Standard Version

13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.”

Times were when family names meant something. Here God has told Zechariah and Elizabeth what the child should be named. So what is in a name?

Honor and tradition meant something at one time and I cannot say it holds those same values today. My brother was honored to be named after both of his grandfathers. At one point in his life he decided everyone had to call him by a name he gave himself. I considered that disrespectful as I would have loved his name and honored my grandfathers.

Wives these days do not even have to take their husband’s name. There is no disrespect in breaking that tradition. So what is in a name?

I had a neighbor who changed his family name to Christianson. He did not attend church and broke off all affiliation of fellowship with those he knew. Was he a Christian because he changed his name? I will say I believed him to be a Christian in manner and communication, so what did it matter that he changed his name?

I honor my father and mother in their choice in naming me but I do not particularly like it. People laugh at me when I give them my name. But what is in a name?

Isaiah 62:2 English Standard Version (ESV) The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.

This name I carry on earth is a sojourner’s name, temporary, and some day my Lord will give me a new name and I shall carry that name with me in eternity.

What does it matter what I am called? It is how I act and how I communicate that matters.

Numbers 9:15-17 English Standard Version

The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle

15 On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. 16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. 17 And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped.

This is such a wonderful picture of us following Jesus. I will not go into the aesthetics of the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle. What needs to be pointed out is the journey day after day, night after night and the fact that He was always there until they reached the Promised Land.

There is so much ground to cover in the wilderness experience in pondering all that happened. The battles fought and won, and the heightened emotional turmoils of the people and how God and Moses dealt with it all can be exhausting. We do not have the time and space here to cover that ground today.

Our sojourn on earth is not unlike their wilderness journey. We are described as sojourners in the bible and we must remember that the root word indicates a temporary stay. This is but a day by day and night by night journey. He is always with us.

Hebrews 13:5 English Standard Version (ESV) Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

At the time of the writing of Hebrews there might have been a greater need for money to live on and it might have been a leading cause of worshiping things rather than God. We know now in these times that money is but one temptation amongst many that offer themselves up as an opportunity to drift away from where God is leading us.

We may feel that the tabernacle encampments have gone on too long where the cloud has covered the tabernacle and has not indicated that we are on the move. Lack of movement entertains thoughts of self and our emotions can seek to fill the time with thangs that are not healthy for our souls.

The tabernacle encampments have purpose also but it is not meant to be an opportunity for self-interests to be entertained but rather to be exposed.

How we spend our rest stops is important.

That is when Moses entered the tabernacle, when the cloud covered it.