Isaiah 62:2
The nations will see your vindication,
and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 62:1-5
What’s in a name? Sometime your name shapes your destiny. And oftentimes you shape your name for those around you. Whether you give yourself a good name or a bad name, names are important.
In the Old Testament scriptures, God gave people names. Sometimes it was based on who they were and sometimes it was based on who He wanted them to become:
- “Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living” (Gen 3:20).
- “No longer shall your name be called Abram,
But your name shall be Abraham;
For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations” (Gen 17:5). - “But God said, ‘No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him’” (Gen 17:19).
- “Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob” (Gen 25:25-26).
- “It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I have asked him of the Lord’” (1 Sam 1:20).
Isaiah 62 says that “you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.” Primarily, Isaiah is giving a prophecy concerning the city of Jerusalem. There will come a day when God will rename the city. That day will come when the nations see Jerusalem vindicated and glorified. We still call Jerusalem by that name so clearly that day has not yet arrived.
Isaiah goes on to tell us what that day will look like and Jerusalem’s new name:
“You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
No longer will they call you Deserted,
or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah,
and your land Beulah;
for the Lord will take delight in you,
and your land will be married.
As a young man marries a young woman,
so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
so will your God rejoice over you.” (Isa 62:3-5).
Isaiah seems to indicate that this new name will be given to Jerusalem when the first heaven and first earth pass away:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev 21:1-2).
When Jesus returns again, Jerusalem will be made new and given a new name. It will be made ready just as a bride is made ready for her husband. But not only will Jerusalem receive a new name, so will all believers in Jesus:
“To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it” (Rev 2:17).
“He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name” (Rev 3:12).
You didn’t get to choose your name. Hopefully your parents chose wisely when they gave you your name. But even if they didn’t, you can rest assured that your name is only temporary. You will only have it for a little while. When your life is over and you stand in front of Jesus, you will receive a new name. One that reflects how God sees you. And it will be the perfect name.
Christ in the Old Testament 
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