What's in a Name?
It's been a little over a month since our little girl was born. The last five weeks have been filled with relearning and remembering. Remembering how many diapers an infant goes through in a day and how potent the smell of spit-up milk is upon my shirt. Relearning how to cope with interrupted sleep and the strength of a power nap. Remembering how quickly these days will go and relearning how to cherish them.
Over the past five weeks, I've loved seeing our two-year old Ezekiel give his Baby Sister hugs and kisses. I've loved seeing my husband cradle Micaiah and make her smile. I've loved her newborn snuggles, her legs that at times seem to be preparing for a marathon; and her newly-discovered squeals of delight. We have indeed been abundantly blessed.
But the name "Micaiah" has generated it's fair share of questions. Most commonly: how do you pronounce it? And how/why did we pick that name? In response to the former, her name is pronounced "Mi-Ky-Ya". And to the latter, well, I suppose it starts first off because we like unique names. Not unique that make you cringe or groan (at least I hope "Ezekiel" and "Micaiah" don't make you cringe or groan), like the names "Phone" or "Like". We also prefer Bible names. But, unfortunately, there's not too many unique, female Bible names that don't sound too odd. (And all you Hannah's, Elizabeth's, Rebekah's, Naomi's and Ruth's, don't be offended. Remember, I'm a Sarah.) So, we turned to an exhaustive concordance of all the names listed in the Bible.
"Micaiah" is found in the Bible as both a male and a female name. (So far, our little girl doesn't seem to mind having a male name.) The most prominent reference to Micaiah is an Old Testament prophet during the time of Ahab. I'll make you do some homework and read the entire account of Micaiah in 1 Kings 22, but I'll do my best to summarize his story and situation.
Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, join forces to fight against the land of Aram. Before going out to battle at Ramoth-gilead, Jehoshaphat asks Ahab to "inquire first the word of the LORD.'" 400 prophets were gathered together, and all 400 said the same thing, "'Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.'" But there is one man not present, one prophet of the LORD not invited to the gathering because Ahab hates him. In Ahab's own words, "'he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil'". The prophet's name? Micaiah.
Before Micaiah is brought before the king, the messenger who summoned him asked Micaiah to speak favorably; to be in agreement with the 400 other guys. I love Micaiah's response:
It is my prayer that our little Micaiah will do the same. That she will be a voice for the Truth even when she's alone. That she will not stay silent for the LORD but boldly proclaim Him and His Word. That no matter the cost, she will stand for Him.
And you know what else? It's also a challenge to me. Because she'll be watching me. Watching us. I pray that as parents, Jordan and I will be able to exemplify that which we hope to see lived out in the lives of our children.
Over the past five weeks, I've loved seeing our two-year old Ezekiel give his Baby Sister hugs and kisses. I've loved seeing my husband cradle Micaiah and make her smile. I've loved her newborn snuggles, her legs that at times seem to be preparing for a marathon; and her newly-discovered squeals of delight. We have indeed been abundantly blessed.
But the name "Micaiah" has generated it's fair share of questions. Most commonly: how do you pronounce it? And how/why did we pick that name? In response to the former, her name is pronounced "Mi-Ky-Ya". And to the latter, well, I suppose it starts first off because we like unique names. Not unique that make you cringe or groan (at least I hope "Ezekiel" and "Micaiah" don't make you cringe or groan), like the names "Phone" or "Like". We also prefer Bible names. But, unfortunately, there's not too many unique, female Bible names that don't sound too odd. (And all you Hannah's, Elizabeth's, Rebekah's, Naomi's and Ruth's, don't be offended. Remember, I'm a Sarah.) So, we turned to an exhaustive concordance of all the names listed in the Bible.
"Micaiah" is found in the Bible as both a male and a female name. (So far, our little girl doesn't seem to mind having a male name.) The most prominent reference to Micaiah is an Old Testament prophet during the time of Ahab. I'll make you do some homework and read the entire account of Micaiah in 1 Kings 22, but I'll do my best to summarize his story and situation.
Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, join forces to fight against the land of Aram. Before going out to battle at Ramoth-gilead, Jehoshaphat asks Ahab to "inquire first the word of the LORD.'" 400 prophets were gathered together, and all 400 said the same thing, "'Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.'" But there is one man not present, one prophet of the LORD not invited to the gathering because Ahab hates him. In Ahab's own words, "'he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil'". The prophet's name? Micaiah.
Before Micaiah is brought before the king, the messenger who summoned him asked Micaiah to speak favorably; to be in agreement with the 400 other guys. I love Micaiah's response:
"'As the LORD lives, what the LORD says to me, that I shall speak.'" (1 Kings 22:14)There's more to the story, and I encourage you to read it. But that's the major reason I love the name Micaiah, the reason I wanted our daughter to be named after this prophet. Because in the midst of hundreds of others who spoke what sounded good, what the leaders wanted to hear, Micaiah spoke the truth. He spoke the Word. He was not silent even though speaking the truth was costly.
It is my prayer that our little Micaiah will do the same. That she will be a voice for the Truth even when she's alone. That she will not stay silent for the LORD but boldly proclaim Him and His Word. That no matter the cost, she will stand for Him.
And you know what else? It's also a challenge to me. Because she'll be watching me. Watching us. I pray that as parents, Jordan and I will be able to exemplify that which we hope to see lived out in the lives of our children.
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