I am not observant. If someone gets a haircut, it could take me a month or so for me to notice. I can look straight at my keys and still not know where they are. I live lost; and I have often called my husband to help me find my way back home. Details are not my thing.
This blog stems from a detail that a Bible teacher named Sally noticed. We were discussing women in the Bible and she mentioned a previous study on the book of Ruth. She wondered why Naomi, who wanted to be renamed “bitter”, spelled her name as “Mara” compared to the bitter waters which are called “Marah” in the book of Exodus. Why did one have the letter “H” and the other one did not? I had never noticed this detail before (which is not surprising for me). I decided I wanted to delve further into this mystery.
The word “Marah” in the book of Exodus is found after the Israelites had been rescued out of Egypt. In the desert, God led them to a body of water that was bitter. The Hebrew word for “bitter” is transliterated as “Marah”.
Exodus 15:23
When they came to MARAH, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called MARAH.) (emphasis mine)
However, we see the proper noun of “Marah” spelled differently when used in the book of Ruth. Here, a woman named Naomi changed her name to Mara. In Hebrew, Naomi means “pleasant”. However, after the loss of her husband and sons in a foreign land, she wanted her hometown of Bethlehem to call her “Mara”, meaning bitter.
Ruth 1:20-21
“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me MARA, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” (emphasis mine)
Before I write any further, please let me warn you that I do not know Hebrew. This is not from the desk of an expert. All I can do is recognize the letters and make the sounds. I am basically a Hebrew toddler, not scholar. I hesitated even writing this blog because I knew I would get on the nerves of everyone who knows the Hebrew language. Yet, the message to me was powerful. If my methodology is incorrect, please forgive me.
With all that being said, I want to share what struck me in Naomi’s name change. She named herself “Mara”, instead of “Marah”. The name “Marah” ends with the letter “H” in English, which in Hebrew is the letter “Hey” which looks like this: ה. That letter has an “H” sound. When you make the “H” sound breath comes out of you. In Hebrew, letters also have meanings. The letter “Hey” represents breath, spirit, wind. This one letter is powerful.
Whereas Naomi removed this letter from her name, God added that letter to two names, Abram and Sarai.
Genesis 17:5
No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
The difference between “Abram” and “Abraham” in the Hebrew is the addition of just one letter; it is the letter “Hey”. We see the same letter addition in the renaming of his wife.
Genesis 17:15
God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.
These name changes occurred one year before their son, Isaac, was born. Abram and Sarai had been promised by God that they would have a child. This promise had been given to them over two decades earlier. After the Sprit of God, breathed into their lives, and breathed into their names, as signified by the letter “Hey”; they were then able to conceive and bring forth the promised child.
In contrast, Naomi changed her name to Mara, bitter. Her personal name change removed the letter “hey”, the letter that signifies the Spirit or breath of God. Interestingly, the last letter changes from “Hey” to “Aleph” which looks like this: ℵ. The letter “Aleph” is a silent letter. However, this one letter is a picture in Hebrew of the oneness of God. Could it be that part of Mara’s pain was that the bitterness of her situation (loss of family) was magnified but what seemed like the silence of God in her difficulties? I know personally sometimes the wait in the pain, the not understanding of what God is doing, the unanswered prayers feel even more painful in the situation, because I believed that the Lord was able to do a mighty miracle and yet withheld His hand. The question “Why, God” can lead to bitterness in the soul, even against the Lord Himself. Could the name change have signified a bitter, broken heart, grieving the God who seemed so silent in her pain?
Naomi changed her name to Mara because of her pain. Any name that we put on ourselves is a label that is absent of the Spirit of God. What names have you called yourself? Dumb, ugly, failure, shamed, worthless, hopeless, addict, tainted, unloved, unwanted, burdened, forgotten, abandoned… What is the name you have taken? What is your Mara?
Dear Friend, the Lord wants to give you a new name. He wants to breathe the Spirit, the letter Hey, into your life. He wants to infuse you with His promises, His gifts, His love, His joy, His peace, His delight. Do you know that He sings songs over you?
Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.
The Lord has a love song with your name as the chorus. God delights over you. The King of the Universe adores you. The name He has for you is the name that describes how He sees you. It is time to remove the names and labels you have put on yourself. Those names do not have life in them. Let the Spirit breathe His new name over you.
Today, you are no longer called Mara. You have a new name. The letter “Hey” has been added to you, the Spirit of God, the mercy of God, the grace of God is yours. Receive the name. Imagine Mara receiving her name.
“Do not call me, Mara, bitter. Call me Naomi, pleasant. For the Lord has been so good to me.”
Loved, Accepted, Chosen, Gifted, Forgiven, Redeemed, Holy, Mighty, Conqueror, Beautiful, Handsome, Marvelous, Child of God. That is who you are. We need to live out the new names the Lord has given to us. Let your name be changed by God today.