Sheep, listen! The Lord is Salvation!

Three storms tonight

This is a Feature | Faith piece, separate from our news coverage. Here first are the facts, from the National Hurricane Center’s latest products.

Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, around 8:30 p.m. CT Friday as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph, the National Hurricane Center said, citing NWS Doppler radar. By 9 p.m., the center was about 50 miles east of Pensacola and 50 miles west-northwest of Panama City, with winds of 100 mph, according to the center's 9 p.m. update.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay/Gulf County line in Florida, and a Storm Surge Warning runs from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Suwannee River. The center called the surge life-threatening and said water could reach 6 to 9 feet above ground from the Alabama/Florida border to Grayton Beach if the peak surge comes at high tide.

In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Rachel had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph at 7 p.m. CT, about 745 miles southwest of San Diego, according to Intermediate Advisory 51A. A Tropical Storm Warning covers the west coast of Baja California from San Jose de Las Palomas north to the U.S.-Mexico border, and a Tropical Storm Watch covers the Southern California coast from the border to the San Diego/Orange County line. The center expects Rachel to approach northern Baja California or Southern California late Saturday or early Sunday.

Farther south, Hurricane Simon had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph at 7 p.m. CT, about 190 miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico, according to Intermediate Advisory 10A. The center’s latest forecast has Simon peaking near 145 mph around 1 p.m. CT Saturday off Mexico’s west-central coast, where a Hurricane Warning is in effect from Punta San Telmo to Punta Mita.

The names behind the storms

Isaias is a Latin form of Isaiah, used in some versions of the Vulgate. The prophet’s Hebrew name, Yeshayahu, means “Yahweh is salvation,” according to Behind the Name; Strong’s Concordance (H3470) gives “Jehovah has saved.” Put plainly: the Lord is salvation.

Rachel comes from the Hebrew Rachel (Raḥel), meaning “ewe,” a female sheep (Strong’s H7354). She was Jacob’s wife, and the Bible first introduces her coming with her father’s flock: “behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep” (Genesis 29:6, KJV).

Simon is the New Testament Greek form of the Hebrew Shimon, from shama, “to hear, to listen,” according to Behind the Name; Strong’s (H8095) gives “heard.” The Old Testament spells it Simeon. When Leah named Jacob’s second son, she said, “Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon” (Genesis 29:33, KJV).

Read side by side, the three names say: the Lord is salvation; his sheep; the Lord has heard.

The Shepherd’s voice

In John 10, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11, KJV). A few verses later he says:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28, KJV)

Stay safe

If you are in the path of Isaias, Rachel or Simon, follow your local officials and the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center, and heed evacuation orders. Forecasts and warnings: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/. How to prepare: https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes.