Tyler Ward
spiritual formation pastor
This past weekend, Pastor Ron continued the Unshakable series – together we are looking at several of the names of God that we read about in the Scriptures, discovering from them more about who our God is, and finding more certainty in him than ever before, in light of what these names reveal to us.
The name that we reflected on this past weekend is an extremely important and powerful name…it’s the name Yahweh or Jehovah. Unlike all of the other names for God that we find in the Bible – which serve more as titles or descriptions – this name is the personal name for God. As such, knowing God by this name is like being on a first name basis with him.
His other names – such as Elohim (Creator), Abba (Daddy), El Shaddai (God Almighty), El Roi (the All Seeing/All Knowing God), El Olam (the Everlasting God) – represent what God is like and the roles that he plays. It’s similar to some of the names that people might describe me with – pastor, mister, buddy, husband, shorty, good looking…you get the point. Referring to God as Yahweh, though, is like referring to me as Tyler. It is his personal name.
Its root comes from the Hebrew verb that means “to be.” It’s often translated as “I Am,” and usually communicates this idea that God is the self-existent one – the one who has always been and always will be. Nothing brought him into existence, nothing can put him out of existence, and he is not dependent on anyone/anything for his existence.
As Pastor Ron pointed out, we are first introduced to this name in the story of Moses found in Exodus 3. God’s people had been slaves in Egypt for hundreds of years, he had heard their cries, and he was going to use Moses to set them free.
This story reveals to us several things that are really at the heart of who Yahweh is and how he interacts with us. First of all, we see that Yahweh is relational and intimate with us. He is not distant, disconnected, or unconcerned. Rather, he hears our cries – just as he heard the cries of the Israelite people. He was fully aware of what they were going through, and he is fully aware of what we go through as well.
In addition to this, not only is Yahweh aware and concerned, he actually meets us in our despair. He comes into our midst – into our experience – in order to come alongside of us and give us hope. He comes down to rescue us and set us free.
This is at the heart of who Yahweh is. As the Scriptures remind us, our God does not change. He is the same today as he has always been. So in light of this, when we face moments that seemed to be shaken, we can find tremendous joy and peace in knowing that Yahweh is with us. He knows us, is concerned about us, steps into our experience with us, and is the one who can rescue and restore us.
There is a Hebrew word of praise that I think is appropriate for us when we think about our God as Yahweh. It’s the word Hallelujah, which comes from the Hebrew word for praise – hallelu – and this name for God – Yahweh…literally, praise Yahweh. Hallelujah! Thanks to our God who has not abandoned us or rejected us – but who has come down to make all things right again.
- Have there been moments in your life when it seemed like God was not hearing your cries? When it seemed like he did not care?
- What are some things you can do to remind yourself that Yahweh always hears and always cares – even when it seems like he doesn’t?
- What are some examples of times in your life when Yahweh came into your experience and rescued you, set you free, and restored you?
- What are some areas in your life right now, in which you need Yahweh to come and rescue you, set you free, and restore you?
No comments:
Post a Comment