Learning someone else’s name is a foundational act of relationship. If you holler: “Hey, you!” you could be calling for anyone. But if you call out: “Hey, Mandy!”… that’s me.
Names are foundational to identity and relationships in the Bible, too. In Genesis 2, understanding the names of people and places reveal powerful truths. For instance,
- Lord God is YHWH Elohim – YHWH is the divine name given to the Lord of the Bible who is covenantally connected (has a relationship with his people). Elohim is a name of God that typical refers to God as Creator. Thus, Lord God is Covenantal Creator.
- Adam (human) is connected to adamah (dust) out of which he is made.
- Eden means “delight.”
So, Genesis 2 could be summed up this way:
The Creator made a garden called “Delight.” Then, HE formed a human being out of humus, and animated the human by giving him life’s breath. The Creator gave the human pleasure and provision through trees and plants, purpose and power through work and care of the delightful garden and its various animals. The Creator, being relational, even shared HIS own presence (HIS Divine Life and Divine Wisdom) in the very heart of the garden. The Relational Creator, being both relational and creative, didn’t want the human to be lonely, so he created another human as a companion, helper, and kin. The human was delighted in this garden called “Delight.”
When I look around the place I dwell, the place where the Relational Creator has placed me, I wonder if I see it as a place of delight in which I delight? A place of pleasure, provision, purpose, and power? A place of companionship and kinship? A place where the Lord God’s very presence dwells?
Because if I can… that makes all the difference.
tiny tattoos 