Kept by The Names Of God
Why does God show Himself to
us through different names? As we study
the Old Testament, we find that nearly every time God reveals a new name for
Himself the people are either facing a new challenge of some kind or are experiencing
tremendous breakthrough. Something is
happening. It’s not business as usual.
Following the plight of
Israel from Genesis on through the prophets, is like watching Him perform a
passionate dance with His people, who all too often drift away or are prone to
taking the lead.
The God of Israel was not
interested in titles that would make Him look good. He chose names that would be like beacons or
signals in the dark to a nation of stubborn people who, although He called
them His own, their eyes and feet were constantly moving away. Just the same,
He never stopped calling out to them, giving them new names for reaching Him,
that explained where His heart was:
But now, O Jacob, listen to the
LORD who created you. O Israel, the One who formed you says, "Do not be
afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are Mine.” (Isaiah 43:1)
Had the people of Israel not
followed Him through these events, He would probably have been nobody more
than, “a God,” to them. A generic name
which could fit any other deity. Had God
left them out on the dance floor of history alone, to pick and choose their own
partners, this little prosperous nation would probably be a lot different today
than it is.
God is a God of
relationship. You can tell this by the
way He names Himself and His people. He
even told Adam to give names to the animals.
And who named Adam? He did. His name means, "man from the red earth". Adam gave His wife the name Eve, which means,
“to breathe and to live.” If God wasn’t
interested in relationship, He would not have put so much value into names.
God put His Name on Israel
not because of who they were. He did not
look out and see them, full of perfect potential and say, “That’s them, they
are the ones I want!”. When He chose
them, they were not even, “a people”. He
raised them like children. His desire
was to become a father to them. It still
is. Abba Father is one of His other names
and we will study it later.
When the Bible
was being translated from Hebrew into other languages, there were certain
aspects of the Jewish culture that were not completely understood by the
translators. One example is that, where
the Hebrew language has a spectrum or wide range of meanings for individual
words, English often has only one meaning to cover it. That is why, in our Bible, every time we read
the name God, it could have a different meaning. Here are some examples. First you will see a passage of scripture
that the name God is found in and then a discussion of what that name means:
[ELOHIM]
“In the beginning, God (ELOHIM) created the
heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1.
This is the very first mention of “Elohim” in
scripture. This name means Creator God
who by His awesome power speaks the world into being. He is the one who began it all. There is no
one greater than Him.
The name Elohim is the plural form of El or
Eloah and is one of the oldest designations for divinity in the world. Although the name is in plural form, it is not used to indicate belief in many gods. Rather, it is used to emphasize the majesty of the one true God of Israel. Christians see in this name a hint of the Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Three in One.
[ADONAY]
"After
these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Fear
not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.’ And Abram said, “Lord
(ADONAY) what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my
house is this Eliezer of Damascus?’”
Genesis 15:1-2.
ADONAY is a name meaning Lord and refers to
ownership, as in the slave/master relationship.
Abram understood this relationship.
He had his own personal slave whom he had purchased, Eliezer. Sarai had her own personal slave too,
Hagar.
In
Bible times, a slave was not what we would perceive them to be today. Our American history has clouded our thinking
of what it is like to be a slave. In
Israel, if a man purchased a slave, that slave belonged to Him. But that person was supposed to be treated
well. This slave was supposed to be
protected, cared for and treated like family.
Male
slaves underwent circumcision along with other men in the family. They participated in the Passover
celebration. This was not so with the
hired, paid help though. Therefore, when
Abram saw that he and Sarai could not produce an heir for His name, he knew
that Eliezer, his servant could be trusted to carry out this very important
title.
1
Peter 2:16 tells us, “Live as people who are free,
not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants/slaves of
God.” How does
this apply to us?
In the beginning, we belonged to our Creator, Elohim. Right?
We were His. Then, Adam and Eve
disobeyed; in doing so they sold out to God’s enemy, Satan. The Bible tells us that they became slaves to
the Kingdom of Darkness. Sin became their master and ours also through
them.
Good news though! God and His Son already had a plan in
place. Yes, the decision to give man a
choice, who he wanted to serve had turned out badly. But that was a decision God and His Son were
willing to allow. This did not come as a surprise to either one of them. They
were prepared. This was just not the
outcome that they would have hoped for.
Jesus bought us back again with His own blood. Why? Because He always considered us to be
His. ADONAY is a good Master. He is willing to, “fight to win,” for us and
He did. He set up a plan to buy and
redeem us back. Then He followed through
even though it required great personal sacrifice.
Why does God show Himself to us through different names? In our society, today, we categorize
everything. We have an accountant to do
our taxes. We have a mechanic to fix our
cars. We have a banker to handle our
money … that is why it should be refreshing to know that:
When we need a doctor, He is YAHWEH ROPHE, the God who heals.
When we feel invisible and need someone to see us, He is El ROI. The
God who sees me.
When you find yourself in a state of inner conflict, He is YAHWEH
SHALOM. The God of Peace.
God introduced himself to Moses in Exodus, chapter three as:
“I Am who i AM.” I am YAHWEH. That’s who I am. I will be to you whoever you need me to be.
Who do you need Him
to be today for you? Let’s find that
Name of God and pray it.
