Rehoboam and Jeroboam
Balaam and Balaak
Abijah and Ahijah (I Kings 14:1)
Pehakiah and Pekah (I Kings 15:25)
Listen to this one, Jeroboam and Jeroboam II (ruling in the Southern and Northern kingdoms at the same time!)
Have you ever stopped to think (sometimes I have groaned in my personal study of the Bible) and thought, why can't it just be Elisha and Balaam, Rehoboam and Ahijah, instead of these mind-boggling similitudes? It sometimes gets very confusing with all these names and their similitude.
However, it is heart-warming to know there are a few lessons for you and me today, which even this maze of names brings to our walk with God.
I The Lord Lord, which call thee by thy name", am the Lord God of Israel. Isaiah 45: 3
Your name may sound similar, or be the same as someone else's does, yet it sounds distinct to your Father in heaven. Rest assured that He has not forgotten you. He doesn't ever slap his head and say, "uh, uh, by the way, what's that child of mine's name, Holy Spirit?" He does not need the Holy Spirit to bring all things to His remembrance. He knows you by name. Isn't that interesting?
See, I have tattooed your name upon my palm. (Isaiah 49: 16LB)
It's worth looking at the words that precede this verse:
Yet they say my Lord has deserted, He has forgotten, us (Isaiah 49: 14LB)
Tell me about it, does that not sound familiar, this feeling of being in a place of forgetfulness and oblivion, the depressing emotion of "God hasn't come through for me? God reassures you and me in this passage that He is like a mother and child. He has birthed us in pain and with a prize and therefore no matter how bleak your life may seem, He cannot forget you. No matter what the game the enemy is playing with your mind, tell him "God remembers my name!"
Pastor Edward
Precious stones Christian Fellowship
London (UK)