16 And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
17 And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
Genesis 35:16-18 KJV
Before Jacob and his family left the Padan-aram, Rachel had stolen the gods of Laban, his father. Unknowing to his father, he thought Jacob stole the gods, which was referred to as Teraphim. The person who possessed the gods was entitled to the double portion of Laban’s inheritance.
After all the service Jacob rendered, he deserved the double portion. When he arrived Padan-aram, Laban had no son. So, he was entitled to a double portion of his inheritance because he was more or less a son to him. However, Laban gave birth to a male child after the arrival of Jacob. Consequently, he was disqualified as the heir.
Everyone knew and accepted the lost of the double portion inheritance, but Rachel felt her husband, who had served for 20 years, deserved it. Then she planned to steal the gods, Teraphim, so that her husband could lay claim to Laban’s inheritance.
Unfortunately, Jacob, her husband, cursed the person that stole the gods when Laban accused him of stealing the Teraphim. The curse later manifested in the life of Rachel when she was in labor. “with whomever you find your gods, let him not live" said Jacob when he unknowingly cursed his wife, Rachel, who was pregnant during the incident.
On the day of her delivery, she had serious complications. When she felt her soul was departing from her body, she named the child Ben-oni, which means child of sorrow.
That is one of the wrong ways of Naming a Christian Child. Rachel named the child based on the bad circumstance that surrounded the birth of her child.
Just as Ben-oni, who later became Benjamin —his father changed his name, so Nabal, Abel, Mephiboseth, Jabez and others received bad names in the Bible.
Nabal means ‘fool’, Abel means ‘vanity’, Mephiboseth means ‘shameful thing’ and Jabez means ‘child of sorrow’. The manifestations of the aforementioned names should teach us an unforgettable lesson that every child or baby, born in a Christian home, should be named in a biblical way.
Nabal, named a fool, eventually behaved as a fool. His wife, Abigail attested to his folly:
"25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send."
1 Samuel 25:25 KJV
He insulted and denied David his request after he protected his properties. He died, eventually, because of his foolishness. God smote him after the feast he held in his house, and David got married to his wife, Abigail.
Also, Abel, who was named vanity proved, he was truly a vanity child when he died prematurely. Eve lost faith in God after she discovered Cain was not the promise child. She probably thought her second child was exactly as the first Child, Cain. So, she named the child vanity.
Moreover, Mephiboseth, who was named a shameful thing, became a cripple. In other words, names are powerful; they are capable of manifesting their meanings over time. That is the reason Christians should name their children in the right way of the Lord.
A Christian Child or Baby should be named based on Revelation from God, description of the child, prophecy, works of God, the action of the child during and after birth, good circumstance, which surrounds the birth of the child or receive the name directly from God.
1. Naming a Christian Child or Baby Based on Revelation From God.
21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
Genesis 5:21 KJV
Enoch gave birth to a child at the age of 65 and named him Methuselah, which means ‘the flood’. The child was born before the flood. Definitely, Enoch must have had a revelation about the flood, which would destroy the world in hundreds of years after the death of his child.
By revelation, Methuselah received his name. At every point in time, they called him the name, it reminded them of the impending flood. Eventually, the flood came upon the earth after Methuselah died: The revelation of his name came to pass.
In addition, the grandson of Enoch, Lamech, named his child Noah, which means ‘rest’. The world experienced rest after the flood, which confirmed the revelation of Lamech — Noah’s ark and Jesus, who came through his lineage, made the world experience rest in its entirety. The name of the child manifested after 600 years.
2. Naming a Christian Child or Baby Based on the Description of the Child.
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there 4were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
Genesis 25:24-25 KJV
When Rebekah gave birth to twins, they named the first child Esau because he was hairy. His name was coined from the description of his body. Likewise, a Christian baby can get his or her name from the description of his or her body.
There is nothing bad in describing a baby as hairy one. However, a bad description does not speak well of a baby. We should focus on the good description of the body whenever we felt like giving baby a name based on its description.
God created all babies irrespective of their descriptions. Moses was a stammerer, yet God chose him. When Moses complained to God about his slow speech. God asked him, “who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord?”
God made all children irrespective of their deformities. Therefore, a baby can get his or her name from their description. If you observe a deformity in a baby, look away from it and focus on the good description of the baby. God Chose Moses in spite of his slow speech. He looked away from his impediment when he needed him to deliver the children of Israel.
If God could look away from the impediment of Moses, you should be able to do the same when you want to name your child.
Rachel suffered barrenness because she hated her sister, Leah. She was barren for more than 2 years. God remembered her after Leah had given birth to six children — Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. She gave birth and named the child Joseph because she wanted God to give her another child.
She used the name of the first child to prophesy into her life. The name Joseph means ‘adding’; in other words, the Lord would add more to her first born.
As long as people called the child Joseph, they were
prophesying into the life of his mother that the Lord would give her another child. The prophecy came to pass when she conceived and gave birth to Benjamin. That means a Christian Child or Baby can get its name from a prophecy either from its parents or men of God...
Hallelujah
4. Naming a Christian Child or Baby Based on the Works of God
4 And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
Exodus 18:4 KJV
11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.
12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?
14 And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.
15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
Exodus 2:11-15 KJV
God had been doing wondrous works before he created you and me. Everyone, including sinners, can testify to the goodness of God. Considering the good works of Christ, Christians should name their children in respect to his goodness and mercy.
Moses thought of how God delivered him when he was in a strange land. Therefore, he named his second child Eliezer, which means ‘Lord delivered me’. That is a good example for Christians to emulate.
5. Receiving a Name Directly from God.
59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
Luke 1:59 KJV
13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Luke 1:13 KJV
Before friends and relatives named the boy Zachariah, God had given him a name — John, which means ‘Jehovah shows favor or grace. You may be thinking of giving your baby a name that befits his or her description when God has a different name in mind. If God wants to name your child by himself, he will reveal the name to you.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.
Luke 1:31 KJV
Just as the name of John, the Baptist, was received directly from God through an angel, Gabriel, so also the name of Jesus was received from God through the same angel. The angel told Mary to call the baby Jesus, which means savior, otherwise known as Joshua in Greek.
6. Naming a Christian Child or Baby Based on its Action During or After Birth.
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.
Genesis 25:25-26 KJV
Traditionally, people give names to children based on their actions during or after birth. Likewise, it is biblical to name a child or Baby based its action.
Everyone saw Jacob when he held the leg of his twin brother during delivery. No one thought twice of the name he should bear after they witnessed his delivery. Based on the action of the child, he was named Jacob, which means heel-catcher. That name revealed he wanted to gain supremacy by means of the flesh.
Even though some people knew the meaning of what Jacob did to his brother, they didn’t change his name. You cannot predestinate any child; God is always in control of whatever every child is going to be in future. When a baby shows his predestination by its action during or after birth, let the child bear the name that correlates with its action.
7. Naming a Christian Child or Baby Based on Good Circumstance Surrounding the Birth of the Child.
Every child should be named based on good circumstance. Regardless of any bad situation during or after birth, a baby should be given a good name.
Ben-oni, Nabal, Jabez, Abel and Mephiboseth received bad names based on the bad circumstances that surrounded their birth. The future of these people was affected adversely before some of them were helped by Jehovah.
A good name is better than gold; do not devalue such a name by giving your child a name that is not biblical.
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