Name Game Series

NAME GAME

SCRIPTURE:

Genesis 2:19-20 ERV

19 The Lord God used dust from the ground and made every animal in the fields and every bird in the air. He brought all these animals to the man, and the man gave them all a name. The man gave names to all the animals and birds. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.

PROLOGUE:

It seems to me there are profound implications when God tells man to name the animals. Later one of the accomplishments of King Solomon was his investigation of the natural world around him. The command God gave to man to name the animals is far more than a simple task; it is a divine mandate pregnant with meaning.

To be the “Keeper of Names” was a Divine mandate; the calling of mankind in the natural world. Let’s trace this original charge through history, showing what God expects of man in relation to the created world and how this expectation is echoed in Solomon’s wisdom.

CALLING OF MAN IN THE NATURAL WORLD

In the hush of Eden, before the curse had twisted leaf and soil, God formed from the earth each beastof the field and each bird 🦤of the air. Then He brought them to the man—not to instruct him, not to dominate the moment with divine voice, but to listen. The Lord, who had spoken stars into being and carved rivers into the land, paused……..

["He counts the number of the stars;

He calls them all by name."— Psalm 147:4]

……and watched what the man would call them.

“……..and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.”(Genesis 2:19)

This was no idle exercise. It was a sacred invitation—a summons to know, to discern, and to speak into the world something reflective of divine order.

To name is to observe.

To name is to categorize.

To name is to accept responsibility.

From the beginning, man was not merely a tenant of Eden. He was its steward, its interpreter, and its voice. He was given dominion, yes—but not dominion as tyranny. His was the dominion of insight, the dominion of naming in harmony with reality as God created it. He was to look long into the eyes of the 🐢creatures and understand their essence.

It seems to me that this naming task set the tone for all science, all poetry, all theology that would follow. It was the first human act of “logos”—reasoned speech in the image of God.

WEIGHT OF WISDOM

Generations passed, the garden faded from human memory, but the calling did not. And when God granted Solomon wisdom—so vast that it was like “the sand on the seashore” (1 Kings 4:29)—the king did not merely write laws or judge disputes. He turned his gaze outward, back to creation.

“He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals birds reptiles and fish.”

(1 Kings 4:33)

Solomon fulfilled in royal splendor what Adam began in humble dust: the holy act of observing the natural world with reverent intelligence.

His wisdom was not separate from nature; it was expressed through nature.

Much like the dialogue between God and Job (although God did all the talking); by knowing the world, he came to know God more fully. The cedars told him of strength and permanence.

The hyssop whispered humility.

The lion roared with authority, and the ant marched with diligence. And all these lessons flowed into his proverbs, his decisions, his governance.

ETERNAL EXPECTATION

So what does God expect of man? (more specifically, YOU!?)

"Lift up your eyes on high,

And see who has created these things

Who brings out their host by number;

He calls them all by name,

By the greatness of His might

And the strength of His power…”

— Isaiah 40:26 (NKJV)

God expects man to know the world—not exploit it blindly or worship it idolatrously, but to learn it, name it, care for it, and draw wisdom from it.

God expects man to carry Eden in his DNA, even outside its gates.

To carry Adam’s task and Solomon’s curiosity.

To look into the complexity of the created order and see not randomness, but design….DIVINE DESIGN.

To use science not to replace God, but to MARVEL AT HIM.

To use naming not to conquer, but to serve.

EPILOGUE:

In a world full of distractions, this sacred task still echoes:

Name the creature.

Learn the pattern.

Understand the rhythm.

Write the proverb.

Care for the soil.

Listen to the stars.

And in all your wisdom,

“…remember your Creator….” (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

POST SCRIPT:

Johannes Kepler, the 17th-century German astronomer and mathematician who was instrumental in formulating the laws of planetary motion; considered studying nature was an act of worship and a means of understanding the mind of the Creator. His famous quote regarding his explanations of natural laws………

"I was merely thinking God's thoughts after Him."