What’s in a name?

Rebekah (Rebecca or Rivkah) (רִבְקָה “Captivating”, “Enchantingly Beautiful”, “Noose” or “Snare”, Standard Hebrew Rivqa).

“From the unused root בְקָה, meaning to tie firmly (BDB). Its derivative is more common: רִבְקָה, stall.
BDB does not translate Rebekah. Both Jones and the NOBSE render the name: A Rope With A Noose. Jones quotes Gesenius who suggests this woman to ensnare a man with her beauty. But although the Biblical occurrence of this name has to do with a lot, not with the snaring of a man by beauty. The name denotes merely a tying up of cattle, both for their own protection, the establishment of their home and to keep them from wandering off. Within this name lies the notion that individuals are placed together by something higher or smarter than they.”
Abarim Publications

A secondary meaning of Rebecca is “heifer”, which is a cow that is over one year old that has not produced a calf.
In the Old Testament, a ‘red’ (golden) heifer was important in sacrifice: to ratify a covenant (Genesis 15:9), expiate a violent death (Deuteronomy 21:1-9), or restore ritual cleanliness (Numbers 16, Hebrews 9:13). The best heifer was used for sacrifice; unblemished, without defect, and perhaps most importantly, signifying purity.

Speaking of placing individuals together (refer above), there was a song that I used to sing as a child. My parents have a recording of me singing it when I was three and Elizabeth says that she wants to play it at her wedding. :)

Bind us together, Lord, Bind us together
with chords that cannot be broken
Bind us together, Lord, bind us together,
Bind us together with love.

There is only one God, there is only one King,
There is only one body, that is why we sing…

My heart wanders very frequently and recently it has been doing quite a bit of wandering and being distracted. But these past couple of days have forced me to reevaluate what my values are and what is truly important in my life. And yesterday’s workshop by Rev. Malcom Tan about evangelism and the sermons about zeal and passion by both Rev. Wee Boon Hup and Pastor Benny Ho, made me think. They also gave me confirmation. I can wait for 2 years, I know that’s what I’m to do.

Purity isn’t just about chastity, but also about cleaning out the ’sewers of one’s mind’ (as we heard during a miraculous devotion one morning). It’s also about keeping your time pure and free, clear to spend time with God and keeping Him your priority. With work and trying to keep up with the multiple commitments of school and church; attending meetings, doing research, writing essays, doing admin work and proposals, it’s been hard to stay focused on what’s important.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above.
-Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.

Note: I just noticed the ‘grace’. *grin*