Day 1: From Dirt to Adam

If you have ever heard someone say, “Their name is mud!” - you have heard both a historical reference to Lincoln’s assassination, and also the truth that a name often reflects someone’s reputation. In 1865, the President was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, who was later found to be hiding in the barn of a local doctor’s property. The doctor who treated his broken leg was imprisoned after being accused of hiding the murderer, and so his name was ruined in the eyes of a nation. This doctor was Dr. Mudd.

Rewind the clock several thousand years, and we read in Genesis 2 that the Lord took someone whose name was “dirt” and fashioned him into the first man - one known to the English-speaking world as Adam. Sometime later, he removed one of Adam’s bones, and “rib” became “bone of my bones,” also known as Eve, the first “woman” to walk the earth the Lord created.

There is so much built into these two acts of creation. First, the Lord is Creator and sets the standard and the definition for what IS. And He decided that the earth was “very good” once man and woman inhabited the earth. He decided that a man is unique among all the creation and helped Adam come to this same conclusion as he paraded all the animals in front of him to help him realize there was none like him. The Lord also decided that it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18), so he made woman - as part of man, yet altogether different with a unique role to play within the grand saga of humanity.

As we read the Word of God, we should pay close attention to the naming of things…when men and women name things, but especially when the Lord Most High does. We should also listen to the names He calls Himself. As we think about the naming of things, think of the names you have been called, the names you call yourself, and the things you believe about yourself as a result.

Questions:

• After researching the history of your name, does it resonate with your identity?
• What is one of your favorite names of God, and why?
• What is one of the least favorite names you have been called and why? How about one of your favorite names?