The Prophet Had No Name (1st Kings 13)

 The Prophet Had No Name (1st Kings 13)

he was called a man of God

   sent with God’s Word to rulers and kings

calling leaders and nations to repentance

   faithfully, courageously declaring

the whole counsel of God with no regard or fear

he had no name for history or scripture to record

or did his mother name him at birth

   only to never be recalled by family, clan, or tribe?

God called him – he obeyed

   leaving all, going, and announcing

 

but then…

the lure of this world, contrary spirits,

   the misleading words of “religious” prophets

   and his own divided heart

shipwrecked his “ministry”

  took him down a wrong path

  losing his way, he lost his life, lost his name

his ministry over, his name erased, his destiny shattered

 

why would God record this story?

how often did he record even the names of His enemies

    or the enemies of His people?

maybe, just maybe,

it was God’s grace that we do not know

   we do not know his name, but we know his mission

   and we know his Redeemer and King

he heard and heeded the call

   he went, gave the Word

    then took a wrong turn

slain by a lion, finally buried,

    no tombstone, no marker, no name

 

i believe one day we will see this nameless brother

   and a great multitude of souls forgotten by men

but whose names are ever revered by our Lord

    in that place where sorrow and mourning are no more

where all of us are given a new name

    old names discarded, all forgiven, all made new

where corrective, prophetic words will be unneeded

    where the guidance and communion

    of the Holy Spirit will be complete and clear

where no religious spirit will mislead or distract

 

    until that day i will remember

the nameless man of God

    who made a name for himself – No Name

    and guard my heart and my path

but i have already taken many wrong turns

    trying to make a name or numbing my fear of man

cognizant that history, highway interchanges

   or even street signs, probably will not record my name

 

the prophet had no name, but he had a calling

   he had a purpose and a destiny

today, as i gaze through the lens of Scripture

   that nameless man of God looks like me.

 

mark d. cooke, All Soul’s Day, 11/02/2020