“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” – Revelation 2:17
A new name. I’m working through a Bible study on the Patriarchs in Genesis. Today I was asked to look at the life of Jacob, at a story that I’ve heard since I was my daughter’s age. But today, I was asked to look at it afresh, as if I haven’t heard it all my life. Now, the leader said, let’s study it as adults.
Jacob knows he is about to encounter his brother, Esau, and it’s the first time since he double-crossed him. The last time the brothers saw each other, Esau vowed to kill Jacob. Understandably, Jacob is scared senseless. Well, maybe not completely senseless, but enough to rock his world, that’s for certain. He divides his family so that at least half will be able to escape as the other half is being murdered. Jacob then sends them ahead and he is left alone. While he is “entirely alone,” as my version says, he encounters a man, a stranger, who starts wrestling with him. They wrestle until daybreak when the man tells him to stop. Jacob demands that he will not let go until this man has blessed him. The man asks his name, and Jacob has to fess up. Jacob means deceiver, liar, thief. The man then, in turn, gives him a new name and in my eyes, a new hope.
Christ says in the passage above that if I overcome, I will receive a white stone with a new name written on it. The white stone was used in that culture that He is speaking to as a sign of acquittal in a court of law. Guilt absolutely wiped away.
As if receiving acquittal wasn’t enough, I am also promised a new name. What is my name? Who am I? When I say “I am Anna,” what does that mean? I know what it means in the dark corners. I know what it means in the areas that only God and I have seen. And it’s more than enough to make me hang my head in shame as I fess up to who I am.
In our culture, names don’t mean much other than serving as a way to identify people from each other. We don’t value the symbolism that the ancient cultures did. You WERE your name then.
I received a nickname a few years ago that has followed me ever since. A friend’s child was unable to say “Ms. Anna,” and rather dubbed me “Manna.” We all thought it was cute, and others started to pick it up. I’ve even used it as screen names for message boards and emails since. Now that I think of it, rarely does a day go by without someone referring to me as Manna.
About a year after I received that new name, I did a study on the life of Moses. It was just something I did privately, nothing fancy that you can buy in a bookstore. I smiled when I saw that the portion of Scripture concerning Manna was coming up. Manna was the bread that came from Heaven to feed God’s people while they were living in the wilderness. Sweet picture, right? That’s not what “Manna” means. Literally, the word manna means “What is it??” It was the ancient Hebrew version of our whatchamacallit. I looked at that, and I remember thinking that it suited me.
Anna. Manna. What is it?? What do we do with it?? Is it supposed to make sense?? Eh, no bother, we’ll just shrug our shoulders at it and see if it serves its purpose.
I’m not going to give up this struggle until You bless me.
Okay child, what is your name?
I am Manna. No sure identity, no certain purpose, no complete acceptance.
No, child, that is not your name. You are no longer Manna.
What would my new name be? What would your new name be? Revelation 2:17 says that it is a name known only to him who receives it. How does that thought strike you? Just between you and God. That intimacy, that secrecy. That affirmation. The next time someone called you by your old name, Jacob, Manna, your spirit shares a secret smile with God, knowing more than they know.
What would my new name be? A sure identity, a certain purpose, a complete acceptance, an everlasting hope. What would that new name be? What if He simply said,
“No, child, that is not your name. You are no longer Manna. You are…Mine.”
“See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” – Isaiah 49:16
“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.” – Psalm 30:11-12
“Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” – Zephaniah 3:14-17
