1 Chronicles 11:12 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighty men. (I bet you didn't see that one coming. Did you?)
Now, talk about needing therapy for the rest of your life. How would you like to be labeled the son or daughter of "Doo Doo" or of "Dough Dough?" Either way, this is gonna get messy (pun intended). Folks, in my mind, there are only two choices of pronunciation here..........you choose. Life as a dummy or life as excrement. I am well aware that there is most likely a Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Chinese, or some African tribal pronunciation for this (that the majority of society cannot pronounce, nor has ever heard of, except the guy living in a tent by the Nile River in Egypt). I am also sure that it probably has nothing to do with "Doo Doo" or being a "Dough Dough." However, for the sake of my point........we are going to pronounce it southern style.........."Doo Doo" or "Dough Dough". You choose. You only get two choices.
First and foremost, this scripture has always cracked me up every time I have read it. But tonight, as I was sitting here giggling over this, a light bulb came on. I like to think of that light bulb as Jesus. This really blows my mind because I am over here laughing at this, and probably taking it to an irreverent level in my mind, when I really started meditating on what I was thinking. Here is what I am thinking..
This is from John Chapter 1 in The Message Bible:
"But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves. These are the God-begotten, not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten, not sex-begotten."
This is wonderful news. We don't have to live out our whole lives as the sons and daughters of "Doo Doo" or "Dough Dough." We have been rescued in Christ to become our true selves. Maybe your past has labeled you. You can't seem to live down that label that you have slapped on yourself or that was slapped on you by society and circumstances. Maybe you were "born on the wrong side of the tracks" and that reputation has followed you, plagued you, your whole life. This reminds me of Rahab, the harlot. She was always referred to as "Rahab the harlot." But, you know what? Rahab the harlot wound up in the Hall of Faith in the book of Hebrews Chapter 11.
Not only was she mentioned there, but she was mentioned in Matthew as being a part of the lineage of Christ. And we can duly note that there, she is not mentioned as Rahab the harlot, but Rahab the mother of Boaz. And Boaz, is a name that we recognize as being in the lineage of Christ. Rahab did a mighty thing when she received the spies from Israel that were sent into Jericho. She put her life on the line. Rahab's old life was swallowed up by the destruction of Jericho, but she kept on traveling because she had her eyes fixed on a new city.......the city of God.
I like that the book of Hebrews 11 says that "God was not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." I think of my life and all the things I have done to bring shame upon the name of God, but I see hope here in these lines.
We have been God-begotten, not blood begotten. The reality of this makes us children of God not children of an insulting label. There is more to me, when I am living out my life in Christ, than a label. Now, to round this up..........Eleazar, the son of Dodo, was one of the three mighty men in King David's army. Not bad for a man born with a "family stigma"?
I should put a disclaimer here, because surely someone who is a biblical scholar in Timbuktoo, who does not even have internet connection, will find my blog and proclaim that I am preaching falsehood because the actual pronunciation is............blah blah blah. I know already. It was just a "Far Side" cartoon analogy. I mixed a few ingredients together and came out with a potent elixir. I like my elixir......leave me alone! God really does have a sense of humor. Does anybody read Far Side cartoons? HA!
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