Hebrews to Negroes: Ep. 1: Renamed by Empire, Remembered by God

0:10 Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and this is Faith on the Go, where you take the word with you on your drive to work, while you're getting ready in the morning, or even in those quiet moments before prayer. Real life, real word, and real growth, all while you are on the go. Before we get into today's word, let's take a moment to center ourselves with a familiar prayer. The prayer of Jabez. Oh, that you will bless me indeed and enlarge my territory. Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.

0:55 Father God, we come before you this day asking that you will indeed bless us, not just with what we have, but in who we are becoming. Enlarge our territory, Lord. Lord, expand our capacity, our mindset, our ability to receive what you have for us. Let your hand be upon us, guiding us, covering us, and leading us in every decision we make. And Father, keep us from harm, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, that we may walk in peace and not in pain. And Lord, just as you heard Jabez when he cried out to you, hear us now.

1:35 Your word says that you granted his request, and we believe that you are the same God today. So we come boldly before you, knowing that you hear us, knowing that you see us, and knowing that you respond to the prayers of your people. Have your way in this moment as we sit, listen, and receive your word. In Jesus' name, amen. Hello and welcome back to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

2:16 I'm your host Connie Morris and we have started a new series and this is day one episode one of our new series titled Hebrews to Negroes. Today's topic will be on when a people lose their name. Today we'll begin with one foundational truth. Before captivity, there was identity. Before oppression, there was origin. Before man gave people names, God already knew their names. We're going to learn that names do matter to God. In scripture, names were never casual. Names carry meaning. Names carry destiny. Names carry destiny. Names carry covenant. Names could speak to a person's assignment or family line, spiritual condition, or divine purpose.

3:02 We learned that Abram became Abraham, Sarai became Sarah, Jacob became Israel, Simon became Peter, and Saul became Paul. But there is another kind of name change we see in Scripture. The kind that does not come from God, but from empires. The kind that comes from captivity, from control, slavery, and domination. We talked about Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah are the names of young men from Judah. They had names connected to God. But when Babylonian took them captive. Babylonian gave them new names that was not innocent. Babylon was not just changing what people call them.

3:45 Babylon was trying to change what they remember. Because when a system wants to control a people, one of the first things it does is attack identity. It changes the language. It changes the names. It changes history. It changes the education. And it changes the image of God. It changes the story that people tell about themselves. And if that system is successful, people may begin to answer to a name God never gave them. I want to take a pause here because I just finished a series on the Morris Perspective podcast, and I titled it Twisted Words. And Twisted Words is how they take one word, the society, and they give it a meaning and they call it something.

4:30 And it becomes not just that word, it becomes that identity of a group of people. And you know what I'm talking about. But now we see that it didn't originate in America. We see here that Babylon was a way that if I change your name, if I take you hostage, if I take you captive and I change your name, I want you to remember Babylon. The God that you serve in this present time that's holding you hostage, not the God that can get you free. Whenever we water down the power of God, we stay captive to the enemy. And so you have to pay attention to words. You have to pay attention to what names are being used.

5:11 Pay attention to the narrative because these systems, they are used, the names and the words are used to control people. Why? Because we were created in the image of God. We covered a lot of that in our verbal suicide series. And our words create images. Our word create, like they have power of life or death. If someone gives you a name that means death and they keep calling you by that name, that means death. And so you have to understand, like I have to find a way to combat that name calling because the God I know is about life, right? So what happens when we start to change names. Or change words to fit a group of people. And we start to mess with their identity.

5:54 And so after, you know, it takes a while, like a generation before you can fit, forget your identity. And so if you're in captivity for a long time and you get used to being called like these names that they created for the Hebrew boys and you're like, how did you keep your power if they called you by another name. That's interesting, right? And so when we start to attack identity, we begin to, in a society, change the language. We love to change the name because we mentioned that before is that those names mean so much to you. You have a name and if they don't say it right or they mispronounce it, it seems like it's personal because that name means a lot to you. When we change names.

6:38 We change language. We start to change history. We start to change the education, what they need to learn. We start to indoctrinate, indoctrinate, instead of educate. And it changes the image of God because first you have a God that's big and then you got this other guy that calling you and you're like, I don't even know this guy, you know, and you keep calling me that and that means death. So I have to find a way to combat death. But it also changes the story that people tell about themselves, because after a while, you forget. So if that system is successful, people may begin to answer to a name God never gave them. And that, mind you, of the enslaved people, they had a name, and yet when they were taken into slaves, they gave them another name, and that's not the name that God gave them, right? So let's go through...

7:28 Some teaching points here. First one is God names before man renames. The Bible begins this conversation with identity. In Genesis 14, 13, Abram is called Abram the Hebrew. The word matters because it points to a people, a lineage, a covenant story before modern racial labels ever exist. Before words like Negro, colored, black, African-American, minority, or marginalized, people had names, they had families, they had languages, they had nations, they had tribes, they had land, they had memory, and most important, they had identity. The tragedy of slavery was not only physical bondage, it was also identity theft.

8:12 People were taken from their homes, their families' names were stripped, their language were beaten out of them, their tribal connections were broken, their spiritual history was distorted, and their children were renamed. Their bodies were sold, their humanity was denied. But here is the part we cannot miss. What man stole, God still remembers. Man can't erase records, but he cannot erase God's knowledge. Man can change names, but cannot change God's covenant memory. And man may scatter people, but he cannot hide them from the God who sees. That's why Isaiah 43.1 is so powerful. I have called thee by name, thou art mine.

8:58 God does not say, I called you by the name your oppressor gave you. God does not say, I called you by the label society placed on you. God says, I have called thee by name. That means God knows the real identity beneath the imposed label. Let you not forget that. Teaching point number two, captivity often begins with forgetting. In Exodus 1.8, the Bible says, Now there arose a new king over Egypt who knew not Joseph. The one line, this is very powerful. A new king rose who did not know Joseph. He did not honor the history. He did not remember how Joseph had saved Egypt. He did not respect the covenant people.

9:40 He only saw them as a threat. Then the Egyptians said, come on, let us deal wisely with them. What does that mean? Let us deal wisely with them. That phrase means they created a strategy. They develop a system. They use policy, labor, fear, and oppression to control the children of Israel. Isn't that something? Let us deal wisely with them. Whenever they become threatened, they find a way to oppress, to develop a system of control. So this is important to remember on day one, because identity theft does not always happen all at once. Sometimes it happens through a system.

10:22 First, the people are redefined. Then they are feared. Then they are controlled. Then they are oppressed, then their children are targeted. We see that on the news a lot. Then their history is rewritten. That is what happened in Egypt. And the same pattern can be seen throughout history. Whenever powerful systems decide that a people must be controlled, diminished, or erased, the issue is not only slavery, the issue is memory. Because if people forget who they are, They can't begin to live beneath who God has called them to be. Haven't we seen that in the society? And this was on my other episode. I want to bring it up now.

11:04 There was a spelling bee that I watched. And the spelling bee asked this young white male to spell the word niggas. And so if you think about it in a common language, you'll say, okay, I can spell it. You know, it has two G's, an A and an S. I can figure that out. but this word was not, that word. The word niggas, N-E-G-U-S, it meant kingship, royalty, you know, so it had a very powerful name. It had a powerful meaning. And this little young white guy, little white boy, I think he had to been about 12 years old. He was in a spelling bee and he was familiar with that term because he spelled it right and he understood what the definition meant.

11:49 And the more I think about that. And that's how I came up with the title, Twisted Words. And so that whole series was powerful. But this right here reminds me too of how names, the same powerful thing. If you change their name, how can I get them not to remember? How do I get them not to remember? That's the whole thing. What has God called you? What is your real name? You are from royalty. You are from a covenant-keeping God, and no matter what they do here. We cannot ever forget that. We cannot throw our Bible on the table and say that's the white man's Bible. Because when we look at it, it starts out in Africa. Hello.

12:31 So we need to pick up our Bible. We need to understand our name. We need to understand who our God is. And remember that he has not forgotten your name. Teaching point number three, Babylon changed their names, but not their God. In Daniel 1, Babylon took young men from Judah and placed them in the king's system. Babylon changed his diet, their education, their environment, and their names. You got to know this, right? Daniel means something connected to God as judge. Hananiah points to the Lord's grace or favor. Mishael asks, who is like God? Azariah means the Lord has help.

13:13 You see their names? The real names, Daniel, Daniel real name was God as judge. Hananiah's meaning of his name was grace or favor. Mishael name was who is like God. And Azariah, the Lord has helped. When they were in Babylon, they never forgot their true names. And that explains the power that they carry when they were asked to do things different from what they were taught as children of God. You have to read Daniel. Let's continue. But Babylon renamed them. Why? Because Babylon wanted to replace covenant identity with empire identity.

13:54 Babylon wanted them to forget Jerusalem. They wanted them to forget the God of Israel. Babylon wanted them to serve the king's table. Babylon wanted them to become useful to the system that captured them. But Daniel made up his mind. Daniel 1.8 says, Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. Let's go to Daniel. Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. Daniel 1. I want to read the whole 1 verse 8. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank.

14:34 Therefore, he requested the prince of the Enoch that he might not defile himself. So he says, I won't be able to eat this. So he was bold enough, say, can you give me something else to eat? And the first thing happens is that we have to purpose in our heart not to forget our God, not to forget our name, right? And so we see this is the key. Daniel was renamed, but he was not redefined. Daniel was displaced, but he was not disconnected from God. Daniel was trained in Babylon, but he did not belong to Babylon. Daniel answered to a foreign name, but he still carried covenant conviction.

15:17 This is a word for any people who have been renamed by the systems of oppression. The name they gave you does not have to become the identity you accept. First thing we see here, and we see it throughout. This podcast today is that we understand, first of all, that God names before man's renamed. So God already given you a name. And then we understand that the reason for captivity, the reason for the things that we as black and brown people experience in America is for us to get so caught up in the world that we forget our name. We forget our covenant with God.

15:58 And then we see here that they can change your name, but they cannot change your God. If you stay connected to God, and if you know the story of Daniel and the three Hebrew boys, remember they threw them in the fire because they wouldn't bow down, but they came out strong. They kept getting promoted. Daniel lived, I think, through four kings, you know? He still has a place in the book of Revelation. His book of Daniel, if you read it with Revelations, they go together. So Daniel's purpose was so strong. His story was so strong. He did not forget his God. So he gets to be part of what you call our end time prophecy.

16:39 Let's go to teaching point number four. Negro was an assigned identity, not the original identity. Title of this series is Hebrews to Negroes. The word Negro became a racial label placed on people of African descent, especially in the context of slavery, colonization, classification, racial classification. It was not a covenant name. It was not a tribal name. It was not a family name. It was not a name rooted in divine purpose. It was a label created within the system that classified people by race and used those classifications to justify inequality, bondage, and social control.

17:19 That matters because this series is not just asking, what were we called? It's asking, who were we before someone else named us? What did God know before history was rewritten? And what identity was buried beneath the labels of captivity? That was God. What has God remembered that system tried to erase? Wow. That was what day one leaves us with. It must begin with a name because restoration begins when we stop believing that the name of bondage is greater than the name of God. Wow. Let's go to teaching point number five.

18:00 Identity must lead us back to God, not pride. So as we get to learn more and more about our culture, our history through the Bible, and through different textbooks, and through the Holy Spirit, we must understand that it's not for us to turn prideful. We must study identity. We must not turn identity into an idol. The goal is not to say that we are better than someone else. The goal is not to replace one from a pride with another. The goal is not hatred. It's not bitterness, revenge. It is restoration. The goal is to return to God. The goal is to recover the truth. The goal is to heal from trauma of stolen identity.

18:40 The goal is to understand scripture without the filter of oppression. The goal is to know that God has already seen the people whom others try to erase. Because true identity must produce humility, humility, wholeness, wisdom, covenant, faithfulness. If identity leaves us away from Christ, it becomes dangerous. If identity makes us hate, it becomes corrupted. If identity makes us proud, but not righteous, it becomes another form of bondage. The question is not only who am I, the question is who am I in God? Reminder of what we just discussed. We have to understand that Names carry memory. When you take away a person's name, you interrupt their connection to family, land, language, and history.

19:28 Number two, systems rename people to control them. Babylon renamed Daniel and his friends. Slavery renamed African people. Oppression often begins by changing what people answer to. Number three, God's knowledge is greater than man's records. Even when records are destroyed, God knows the truth. Heaven does not lose documentation. And number four, captivity does not erase the covenant. Israel was oppressed in Egypt, exiled in Babylon, and scattered among nations. But God still remembered his people. And number five, identity must lead back to obedience.

20:10 Knowing who you are should make you walk closer to God, not further away from him. So what did they try to make us forget? You know, they tried to make us forget our names, our families, our language, our history, our spiritual authority, that we were created in the image of God. They tried to make us forget that God hears the cry of the oppressed, that bondage is not the end of the story. But the Bible tells us something different. When Israel cried to Egypt, cried in Egypt, God heard them. Exodus chapter 2, verse 23 to 25 says, And the children of Israel sighed by reason of bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of bondage.

20:55 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them. God hears, God remembers, and God looks, and God responds. Some questions I want to leave you with is, what names or labels have been placed on you that God never gave you? What parts of your identity have been shaped more by society than by Scripture? What does it mean to believe that God knows your real name, even when history has been distorted? And how can learning the truth about identity.

21:35 Lead you closer to Christ instead of into anger or pride? What would change in your life if you truly believe God has called me by name and I belong to him? How would you answer these questions? And knowing the answer, how would that change your perspective on things, both past, present, and your future? Let's change the atmosphere with our words through some decrees. And it says, It identity. I decree according to Isaiah 43, 1, that God has called me by name and I belong to him.

22:17 I decree that what man tries to erase, God can reveal. I decree that stolen names do not cancel divine identity. I decree that captivity does not cancel the covenant. I decree that being renamed by system does forgotten by God. I decree that God, who remembered Israel and Egypt, still remembers His people today. I decree that my identity will not lead me into hatred, pride, or bitterness, but into truth, healing, wisdom, and covenant. I decree I will not answer to every label society places on me. I decree that I will seek the name, the purpose, identity God has spoken over my life. I decree according to Exodus 22, 24, God remembers his covenant.

23:02 And I decree according to Daniel 1, 8, I can live in a foreign system and still keep a faithful heart. I decree that the name man gave me is not greater than the name God knows. Let's pray. Father God, you are the God who calls us by name. You are the God who remembers what man tries to erase. You have a God who sees beyond labels, beyond captivity, beyond broken records, beyond stolen history, beyond false name placed on your people, Lord. Today, we ask you to restore our understanding of our identity. Help us to know who we are without becoming prideful. Help us to seek truth without becoming hateful.

23:43 Help us to examine history without losing our holiness. Help us to ask hard questions while remaining anchored in Christ. Father, we bring every stolen name, every broken family line, every erased history, every silenced language, every distorted image, every identity wound passed down through generations. Heal what was broken. Reveal what was hidden. Restore what was stolen. Correct what was false. Awake what has been sleeping. And Lord, just like Daniel was renamed in Babylon, yet he remained faithful to you. Help us to live in this world without letting it define us. Let us remember that our identity is not found in oppression.

24:25 Slavery, racism, or labels. Our identity is found in you. Call us back to the covenant. Call us back to truth. call us back to righteousness, call us back to Jesus Christ. May we never forget that name that man gave us is not greater than the name that you have given us. In Jesus' name, amen. I want to close it out to let you know that before we were called Negroes, we had a name. Before system erased records, God remembered. And before captivity renamed the people, haven't already knew who we were. And what God knows, man cannot permanently erase. And I thank you.

25:07 That was the end of episode one, day one of our new topic, Hebrews to Negroes. And it's very, very rich, as you can see, understanding our history through the Bible, which is so powerful. And sometimes I'm just, I pause and I'm just amazed. And I listen to it again and I'll hear things I didn't hear or even thought I didn't say because God can speak to each and every one of your hearts. And so I'd like to say I added a special segment to the podcast. It's an opportunity to accept Jesus. As your Lord and Savior. I never, ever want to take for granted that everyone knows Jesus.

25:48 And so take the time to say the prayer and then join me back for episode two, day two, from covenant to captivity. This has been the Diary of Black Women podcast, and I'm your host, Connie Morris, and I'll see you on the next episode. Before we close today, I don't want to take for granted that everyone listening knows Jesus personally. If you have listened to this episode or any other episodes and felt something stirring in your heart, maybe you know about God, but you're not sure you truly know Him. Maybe you grew up in church, walked away, got hurt, became tired, and never fully surrendered your life to Jesus.

26:28 I want you to know this. God loves you. He has not forgotten you. He is not waiting to shame you. He is calling you home. The Bible says in Romans 10, 9, if you declare with your mouth. Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Salvation is not about being perfect. It's about surrendering to the one who is perfect. Jesus died for your sins, rose again, and made a way for you to be forgiven, restored, and made new. So right where you are, you can pray this prayer with me. Lord Jesus, I come to you today with an open heart.

27:10 I believe you are the son of God. I believe you died on the cross for my sins. And I believe that God raised you from the dead today. I confess that I need you. I repent of my sins. I ask you to forgive me, cleanse me, and make me brand new. Jesus, come into my heart. Be my Lord, my Savior, my Redeemer, and my King. I surrender my life to you. I give you my past, my present, and my future. Teach me how to walk with you. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Lead me in truth, healing, obedience, and love. From this day forward, I belong to you. In Jesus' name, amen.

27:53 If you pray that prayer from your heart, I want you to know that heaven has heard you. This is not the end. This is only the beginning of your walk with Jesus. Find a Bible-believing church, begin reading the word of God, pray daily, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grow. God is not looking for perfection from you. He is inviting you into relationship, transformation, and eternal life. through Jesus Christ. And remember, you are loved, you are not forgotten, and God still has a purpose for your life. Thank you for listening to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast. Until next time, keep walking in truth, faith, and freedom.

28:44 Family, thank you for spending time with me today. To every woman listening who has ever felt hidden, overlooked, or pushed aside, hear me clearly. God has not forgotten you, and neither have I. Now let's go before the Lord and close this out with a word from God. Because someone out there needs this reminder today. Jeremiah 29, 11, verses 11 through 14. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then when you call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you, you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

29:32 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and bring you back from captivity. Father God, we thank you for your word, that it is true, that it is living, that it is for us. You said you know the plans you have for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. So today we receive that, not just in our minds, but in our hearts. When we feel overlooked, remind us you still see us. When we feel forgotten, remind us you still have a plan. And when we feel hidden, remind us you are still working. Your word says that when we call on you, you will listen. So we call on you now. Hear us.

30:16 Strengthen us. Guide us. Help us to seek you with our whole heart, not halfway, not sometimes, but fully. And as we seek you, let us find you in every season, in every place. Even the hidden one. Restore what was lost, renew what feels broken, and remind us that nothing in our lives is wasted in your hand. Lord, we trust you, we believe you, and we stand on your word. In Jesus' name, amen. This is Diary of a Black Woman podcast, and I'm your host, Connie Morris, and I'll see you on the next episode.