This can be done using reflection:
String name = "your_drawable";
final Field field = R.drawable.getField(name);
int id = field.getInt(null);
Drawable drawable = getResources().getDrawable(id);
Or using Resources.getIdentifier()
:
String name = "your_drawable";
int id = getResources().getIdentifier(name, "drawable", getPackageName());
Drawable drawable = getResources().getDrawable(id);
Then use this for setting the drawable in either case:
view.setBackground(drawable)