Identity

During summer, when Bible studies at church or BSF have ended for the year (typically running from September to May), I tend to pick up studies I have around the house and study a book of the Bible myself, using that study to go along with it. My husband previously worked for a Christian publisher who published a number of excellent women’s Bible studies, and I have copies of most of them to pull from. This summer, I’ve been looking at Habakkuk with Dannah Gresh.

After I posted my last post on Daniel, the day’s lesson in my Habakkuk study was about Daniel! Dannah Gresh wrote about similar themes, and I thought I’d quote some of what she said which might reinforce my last post:

“It seems the plan of Nebuchadnezzar was to bring all the influencers to his capital so he could indoctrinate them. Rather than the back-breaking slavery the Egyptians used to put the Israelites into bondage, Babylon would use education, opportunity, and good food as seduction. That doesn’t sound like captivity. (It sounds like college.) It was what you might call friendly captivity. There’s nothing more dangerous! The king of Babylon sought to keep his captives living and breathing, but very dead to who they were in God.”

Dannah goes on to write about the change of Daniel’s, Shadrach’s, Meshach’s, and Abednego’s Hebrew names:

“These four golden exiles had Hebrew names that identified them with God. Daniel’s name meant ‘God is my judge.’ Hannah meant ‘God is gracious.’ Michael meant ‘Who is like God?’ And Azariah meant ‘God has helped.’

One of the first things the king’s eunuch did was change their names. Belteshazzar meant ‘protector of the king.’ Shadrach meant ‘commander of the Moon God.’ Meshach meant ‘What is what Aku is?’ Abednego meant ‘Servant of Nabu.'”

She concludes:

“My friend, we live in a proverbial Babylon. Oh, the names of the gods are different but be sure of this: the city that claimed our captives is a word picture and lesson for us…. The enemy has a plan for your time in Babylon, surely as God does. His is to steal, destroy, and ultimately to kill you (John 10:10). But he seems to always start with renaming you.

“The enemy does not just want you to forget who God is. He seeks to create so much amnesia in your life that you aren’t even sure who you are.”

Dannah goes on to share some of the ways Satan has tried to change her name and identity, encouraging the reader to do the same: ask God to show you any names the enemy has given you and begin to replace them with God’s truth.

The enemy really does strike at our identities, using all that culture offers, to try to rename us, remake us, and attempt to keep us from knowing who we are in Christ. Let’s stand on God’s Word and truth.

Have you heard the new Brandon Lake / Nick Jonas song, The Author? They ask, “Who am I. Who am I…” Don’t we all need to know who we really are? In Christ, it’s something beautiful! (See Ephesians 1-3.)