What's in a Name?

Reading:   Genesis 12-19

A lot going on in these several chapters but I found a curious distraction in the renaming of Abram and his wife Sarai to Abraham and Sarah. Why was it necessary to rename them?  Remember that Abraham and Sarah, at the ages of 99 and 89 respectively, had no children together and yet The Lord promised that they would be father and mother to nations...

GENESIS 17:5, 15

5    Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.  

15    And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 

Despite the Lord's promise that Sarah would conceive, Abraham and Sarah didn't seem convinced that it could actually happen - Sarah even laughed at the idea.  Where was the faith?  Anyway, I think to further force the reality of the situation, God, made a point to change their names and alter how they not only addressed one another but how they perceived one another as well.

"Abram" means "exalted father." 

"Abraham" means "father of a multitude." 

Still an exalted father but now one with the promise of a multitude of progeny and a much grander scope of responsibility.

"Sarai" means "princess."

"Sarah" means "noblewoman."

The importance here is the change that must occur within Sarah from the simple subjectivity of a princess to the wisdom of nobility.

Sure, they are just names and carry no extra weight in reality but sometimes a minor adjustment creates massive results.  Maybe, just maybe, this small action increased the moral fortitude of Abraham and Sarah enough to strengthen their faith and prepare them for the improbable birth of Isaac.

~Kipling

Next:   Genesis 20-21