John Hancock
Often when we ask for a person’s signature, we will call it their “John Hancock.” This is because of the fifty-six signatures on the Declaration of Independence, one stands out above the rest. That signature belongs to John Hancock. He was the first to sign the declaration and he signed it in a large and legible script so that the King of England could read his name without using glasses. Mr. Hancock wanted it to be very clear where his allegiance lay. His commitment to his country was so clear that when King George III offered amnesty to all who would cease fighting, John Hancock was among the select few who were left out of the offer.
A similar thing happened to Moses. Its found in Exodus 34:5-7 Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
At first it appears to be pretty pompous of the Lord. But when we seek to connect to the Lord, listening for His still small Voice to teach us, He will lead us to the Truth, guiding us beyond what offends our natural minds. As I sought Him He surprised me with His answer. Numbers 6:24-27 “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’ “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” God places His Name upon His people through His Word. Add to that this revelation: Psalms 138:2 I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name! God magnifies His Word above His Name. Let that sink in. Reading this for the first time you immediately think of the Scripture, and that would be right. Yet consider that Jesus is the Living Word of God. In essence, God was exalting Jesus – the Word above His Name, and writing His Sons’ Name onto the heart of Moses. And don’t forget Acts 11:26 …and in Antioch the disciples were first called Christ…..ians. Jesus put His Word in their hearts along with His Name! The good news for us is that God writes His Name – Jesus, Yeshua – on our hearts through His Word. Through our obedience and surrender in our wilderness; and in our dying spiritually to ourselves through prayer, fasting, seeking, submission, and obedience. As we meet Him – the Word, outside the camp, at Christ’s crucifixion, He is, and will continue to write His Name – His Word – His Story – on our hearts. That’s pretty powerful.
