The House of El

My name is Raphael, which in Hebrew means “God is my healer”.
My wife’s adopted English name is Rachel, which means “ewe or a female lamb.”
We named our first born son Gabriel, meaning “God is my strength”.
Our second child is Michael, whose name means “Who is like God?”
The youngest in our family is Kathriel. Her name means “God is my crown.”

We call our family “The House of El” or “The House of God”.
Our kids have their Korean names as well:
Gabriel is also named Eujin, which means “shining truth”;
Michael is Hajin, meaning “God’s truth”; and
Kathriel is also known as Sujin, or “the highest truth”.

People around the world name their children for different reasons. One is to honor a favorite family member, relative, or famous person (like your Lolo Pedro or Michael Jackson). Another is to be unique in some way or be playful (one kid was named “Hashtag” and another one “23” by their parents).  In other parts of the world, they use descriptive words of to name their children, e.g. Pocahontas means “the playful one”; Matoaka means “bright stream between the hills”. My wife’s Korean name translates to “a great celebration”.  Still others give names to their children that translate to something meaningful or special (like Dorothy, which translates to “gift from God” or “gift of God”).

Whatever the background behind how one is named, the name has a bearing upon one’s life.  If you have a funny sounding name, people chuckle when they talk about it. When your name is similar to a famous person’s, they wonder if you are in any way like him or her. People know you by your name and make associations with it even before they meet you. Your name goes ahead of you like a foreshadowing of things to come, and from which others make assumptions and expectations.

Before Jesus was born, an angel of the Lord appeared before Joseph in a dream and said to him that the baby Mary was about to give birth to will be called “Immanuel” meaning “God is with us.” This probably resonated with Joseph as a Jew since Yahweh made similar declarations to the nation of Israel several times before in the Hebrew Scriptures (Tanakh).

To Israel, God declared: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”  (Deut. 31:6 NIV, emphasis mine)

To Joshua and the people, He said, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Josh. 1:9 NIV, emphasis added)

And to Isaiah and the Israelites, Yahweh declared, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isa. 41:10 NIV)

For Joseph, this was something that he was acquainted with, something that he was very familiar with. God was with His nation from the very beginning: from the time they left Egypt to the Promised Land in Canaan, from the birth of Israel as a nation until the time of  its divided kingdoms, from its captivity to its liberation. Through all its ups and downs, God was with them.

And yet there is something special about this this time around.  The one called Immanuel was also to be called Jesus, “because he will save His people from their sins.” (Mt. 1:21) Sin destroys and robs us of our joy, not only making an impact upon us on a daily basis in this present life, but also keeping us away from God eternally. That Jesus was sent to save us brings us great comfort and peace to know that God loves us. It tells us that we can be courageous and strong because God’s righteous hand upholds us and strengthens us gives us hope for our present struggles and pains and eternal hope for the future, because God made a way in Christ to give us life everlasting. He is our salvation.

“For this is how much God loved the world—He gave His one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in Him will never perish but experience everlasting life.”

(Jn. 3:16 The Passion Translation)

As a family, we always look forward to Christmas, partly because of the joyous celebration that accompanies it, but more so because we can focus on who God is to us. To the House of El,  He is our Healer. He is the lamb that takes away our sins. He is our strength. He is our crown. And truly, there is no one like Him.

If you ever feel alone and lonely, weary or tired, afraid or fearful, remember: God is with you. He will strengthen and uphold you. He is Immanuel.

And if you ever feel lost, confused and unsure, you don’t have to: He is here to save. His name is Jesus.

Raphael Levi Arnan

Raphael Levi S. Arnan is a husband and a father who also pastors at GCF North.