The Names of God

Jehovah-Tsidkenu

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1 “What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the Lord.

2 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: “Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them. 3 But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the Lord, have spoken!

5 “For the time is coming,”
    says the Lord,
“when I will raise up a righteous descendant
    from King David’s line.
He will be a King who rules with wisdom.
    He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
6 And this will be his name:
    ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’
In that day Judah will be saved,
    and Israel will live in safety. – Jeremiah 23:1-6 NLT

YHWH–Tsidkenu – The LORD Our Righteousness.” The context for this passage is when the prophets of God warned the nation of Judah to repent and return to the Lord. They had long ago abandoned their reverence for and allegiance to Yahweh, choosing instead to worship the false gods of the surrounding nations. Their apostasy and spiritual adultery were insatiable and despite the warnings of men like Jeremiah, they refused to repent. Even then Jeremiah received his commission to serve as God’s mouthpiece, he was told that his efforts would prove unsuccessful because the people would not change their way. The coming judgment was inevitable and inescapable.

“Listen! I am calling the armies of the kingdoms of the north to come to Jerusalem. I, the Lord, have spoken!

“They will set their thrones
    at the gates of the city.
They will attack its walls
    and all the other towns of Judah.
I will pronounce judgment
    on my people for all their evil—
for deserting me and burning incense to other gods.
    Yes, they worship idols made with their own hands!” – Jeremiah 1:15-16 NLT

God was going to punish the southern kingdom of Judah for its unrighteousness. He had set them as His treasured possession but they had failed to live up to His holy standards. Not only were they unable to keep their covenant commitments to Him, but they had also broken His commandments and failed to worship Him alone.

While they claimed to be faithful to Yahweh, their behavior did not mirror their expressed beliefs. God put a high priority on righteous living, providing them with a non-negotiable code of conduct meant to regulate every area of their lives. His standard of conduct was high.

“You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” – Leviticus 19:2 NLT

They were forbidden from deceiving, defrauding, or robbing their neighbor. They were to treat the disadvantaged and disabled with respect and honor. Gossip was forbidden, as well as unjust business transactions. Workers were to be paid fairly and treated with dignity. In every area of life, they were to express love for one another and live according to God’s righteous standards.

“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.” – Leviticus 19:15 ESV

All of these commands are found in Leviticus 19, and after each one, God included the statement, “I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:4 ESV). He repeatedly reminded them that He was Yahweh, the God of Israel. They belonged to Him and He expected them to live in keeping with His will and in gratitude for their unmerited status as His chosen people.

Some understood the magnitude of God’s grace and expressed their appreciation for the privilege of keeping His commands. David referred to Yahweh as “God of my righteousness!” (Psalm 4:1 ESV). David understood that God was the source of his righteousness. His capacity for right living was a gift from Yahweh, not something he self-produced. In yet another psalm, David expressed his desire that God would judge him fairly and justly, according to his righteousness.

The Lord judges the peoples;
    judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
    and according to the integrity that is in me.
Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
    and may you establish the righteous—
you who test the minds and hearts,
    O righteous God!
My shield is with God,
    who saves the upright in heart.
God is a righteous judge,
    and a God who feels indignation every day. – Psalm 7;8-11 ESV

But David was not claiming to be self-righteous and deserving of God’s gratitude and reward. He understood that his righteousness was based on God’s holy standard and not some man-based criteria for good behavior. The “upright in heart” are not those who produce good works in their own strength, but who faithfully follow the will of a righteous God.

David knew that right behavior, the kind of behavior that would be acceptable to a righteous God, was nothing more than faithful adherence to His will.

Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?
    Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?
Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,
    speaking the truth from sincere hearts.
Those who refuse to gossip
    or harm their neighbors
    or speak evil of their friends.
Those who despise flagrant sinners,
    and honor the faithful followers of the Lord,
    and keep their promises even when it hurts.
Those who lend money without charging interest,
    and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.
Such people will stand firm forever. – Psalm 15:1-5 NLT

But the people of Judah had not kept God’s commands. They had violated His will by ignoring His rules for right living. From top to bottom, the nation of Judah was rife with rebellious people who refused to live according to God’s righteous standards. Even Judah’s kings and priests were complicit in the nation’s spiritual failure and God would hold them accountable.

“What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for…” – Jeremiah 23:1 NLT

He goes on to level his accusations against these leaders and warn them of their fate.

“Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them.” – Jeremiah 23:2 NLT

They knew the rules. They understood what God expected of them as the shepherds of His flock, but they had chosen to use their God-given authority to fleece the flock of God for personal gain. They did not rule in righteousness. They did not lead and love well. Their conduct did not comport with God’s call on their lives and the LORD Our Righteousness was not pleased.

Judgment would come. The unrighteous would suffer for their sins. The Babylonians would invade Judah, besiege the capital city of Jerusalem, and bring the entire nation to its knees. The righteous God would pour out His wrath on His unrighteous people. Their city would be destroyed and their leaders would be killed or taken captive. The Temple would be reduced to rubble and the inhabitants of Judah would be exiled to the land of Babylon for 70 years.

But their righteous God was far from done. Despite their disobedience and unfaithfulness, He would do the right thing. He would keep His covenant commitment to His covenant-breaking people. After seven decades of captivity in Babylon, a ragtag remnant would return to the land of Judah. But their homecoming would be anything but joyful and their future would be filled with hard work and difficulties. But their righteous God would care for them because He was not yet done fulfilling His righteous will for them.

Through His prophet Jeremiah, God promises to restore the fortunes of Judah.

“I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again.” – Jeremiah 23:4 NLT

This promise has yet to be fulfilled. But it will be. God goes on to state, “For the time is coming when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land” (Jeremiah 23:5 NLT). This king will be called, “The LORD Is Our Righteousness”

YHWH-Tsidkenu will be like no other king Israel has ever had. He will be the Shepherd-King who rules in righteousness, restoring the fortunes of God’s people and enabling them to live in obedience to His commands. Jeremiah goes on to describe this future King of Israel.

14 “The day will come, says the Lord, when I will do for Israel and Judah all the good things I have promised them.

15 “In those days and at that time
    I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line.
    He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
16 In that day Judah will be saved,
    and Jerusalem will live in safety.
And this will be its name:
    ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’” – Jeremiah 33:141-6 NLT

This prophetic promise points to the coming of Jesus, the Son of God and Savior of the world. Jesus came to make righteousness available to all who would believe. As the apostle Paul states, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:22-22 ESV).

Righteousness is impossible without God’s help. David knew that and so did the apostle Paul. Even with the righteous law available to them, the people of Israel and Judah could not live up to its demanding standards. But the law was never intended to be a litmus test for righteousness; it was designed to expose sin. 

For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. – Romans 3:20 NLT

The law reveals man’s need for a Savior. It exposes man’s lack of righteousness and his incapacity to maintain a right standing with God. That was the whole purpose behind the sacrificial system. Even with the law to guide them, the people of God would end up sinning and damage their relationship with the LORD Our Righteousness. Their sin would have to be atoned for and “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22 ESV).

But Jesus came to make righteousness available by offering Himself as the once-for-all-time sacrifice for mankind’s sins. He sacrificed His sinless life on behalf of sinful men so that they could be restored to a right standing with God. Paul boldly declares that the Gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:16-17 ESV).;

The Israelites were given the impossible task of living up to God’s righteous standard by attempting to keep His law. But God never expected them to pull it off. That’s why He gave them the sacrificial system. Yet, as the author of Hebrews makes clear, “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4 NLT).

The law was “a shadow of the good things to come” and could never “make perfect those who draw near” (Hebrews 10:1 NLT). It pointed to the better sacrifice to come: The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:9 ESV). It was always God’s will for Jesus to become the sole source of salvation for the sins of mankind.

“For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.” – Hebrews 10:10 NLT

Jesus was destined to be the LORD Our Righteousness. As the sinless Son of God, He took on human flesh, lived a sinless life, and became the perfect sacrifice that could satisfy the just demands of a holy God, because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). But because He came, lived, died, and rose again, the righteousness of God is available to all who believe. The apostle Paul succinctly summarizes the gracious gift of righteousness that Jesus made possible to all who believe.

I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. – Philippians 3:9 NLT

Jesus is the LORD our Righteousness.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Jehovah-M’Kaddesh

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7 “Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.” – Leviticus 20:7-8 ESV

YHWH–M’Kaddesh – The LORD Who Sanctifies, Makes Holy.” The key to understanding this name of God lies in its association with the Hebrew term, qāḏaš (קָדַש) which, according to the Outline of Biblical Usage carries the following meanings: “to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate.”

In verse 7, God commands the Israelites to “consecrate” (qāḏaš) themselves. The purpose for their consecration is their holiness; they are to “be holy” (qāḏôš), This is the adjective form of the root word qāḏaš and describes their set apart or sacred status as God’s chosen people. They are called to live ceremonially and morally different lives than those of every other people group on earth because they belong to God. They are His children and should reflect His holy character through adherence to His holy law.

But in this passage, God reminds His chosen people that their set-apart status is not the byproduct of law-keeping. In other words, they don’t earn their holiness through obedience or strict adherence to a set of religious rules or rituals. He states, “I am the Lord who sanctifies (qāḏaš) you.” God had already chosen them as His own and that distinction had nothing to do with their behavior. In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses informed the people of Israel, whom God had recently released from captivity in Egypt, that they belonged to Him. 

“For you are a holy (qāḏôš) people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.

“The LORD did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the LORD loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors.” – Deuteronomy 7:6-8 NLT

Moses states that they were already holy in God’s eyes and it had nothing to do with their adherence to the law. So, their set-apart status had nothing to do with their behavior. God’s rescue of them from captivity in Egypt had not been the result of their worthiness or some form of reward for their righteous character. It wasn’t even because they were a mighty and powerful nation that could prove beneficial to God’s plans. In fact, Moses states that their size and significance had nothing to do with their selection by God. Yahweh had chosen them as His special treasure, even though they “were the smallest of nations” (Deuteronomy 7:7 NLT).

But the Leviticus passage conveys God’s expectation that the Israelites live in keeping with their status as His special treasure. Their behavior was to match their identity as His chosen ones. They were already holy because God had hand-picked them; now they were to live like it. That’s why God tells them, “Keep my statutes and do them” (Leviticus 20:8 ESV). This was not an option but a command. Yahweh was communicating His non-negotiable expectation of His chosen people. They were to live as who they were as His treasured possession.

Moses went on to tell the Israelites that their obedience to God’s laws was binding and not up for debate.

“…you must obey all these commands, decrees, and regulations I am giving you today.” – Deuteronomy 7:11 NLT

Yet, their obedience to God’s law could not make them holy. Only God could do that. Their adherence to the law was proof of their set-apart status. It gave evidence of their standing as His treasure possession because the law had been given to them alone. It was God’s way of differentiating the Israelites from every other nation on earth. The law was intended to be God’s code of conduct for regulating their actions and attitudes as His people. It was the key to being holy. If the Israelites had been allowed to live just like all the other nations, there would have been no tangible difference between them. But God’s people were to live holy, set-apart lives that made them distinctively different from the rest of the nations on earth.

But the Israelites had a difficult time living up to their holy identity. According to God, they were holy, but they found it virtually impossible to maintain the standard God had given them.  Over the centuries, they repeatedly failed to obey God’s law, choosing instead to compromise their convictions and blend in with the nations around them. This did not make them any less holy or set apart in God’s eyes. In fact, it caused Him to punish them for bringing shame and dishonor to His name. They ended up in captivity again, this time in Assyria and Babylon. But the Book of Ezekiel prophecies about a future day when God will restore Israel because they remain His treasured possession. He is YHWH–M’Kaddesh, The LORD who makes holy.

“…they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” – Ezekiel 7:24-27 ESV

God had called the people of Israel. He had set them apart and, in doing so, made them holy in His eyes. But He expected them to live in keeping with their identity as His children. He provided them with His law so they would know what holiness looked like in everyday life. Their relationship with Him came with rules. Their unmerited status as His chosen possession came with conditions and expectations. That’s why God commanded them to “be holy.” They were to display their identity through obedience to His commands.

But look closely at Ezekiel 7:24. Despite their failure to faithfully carry out God’s commands, the day is coming when God will see that they do. He confidently declares, “They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes.” Their conduct will line up with their status as His holy people. Their character will reflect their consecrated state as His treasured possession. He will make it happen. Jehovah-M’Kaddesh will ensure that His people are positionally and practically holy in every way.

The apostle Paul picks up on this theme in his first letter to the church in Corinth.

Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something, so that no one can boast in his presence. He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” – 1 Coronthians 1:26-31 NLT

Notice that Paul reminds the Corinthians that they too were called by God. He chose them, not the other way around, and His choice of them had nothing to do with their wisdom, power, or status. They had done nothing to deserve their calling. In fact, Paul states that they were foolish, weak, low, and despised. In the world’s eyes, they were regarded as nothing. Even their relationship with Jesus had been God’s doing.

He [God] is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus. – 1 Corinthians 1:30 NLT

God had called them and set them apart. He is the one who set them apart as His own.

God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. – 1 Corinthians 1:9 NLT

Paul echoes this wonderful reality in his letter to the Romans.

For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. – Romans 8:29-30 NLT

God is Jehovah-M’Kaddesh, the one who sanctifies and sets apart. It is He who makes our salvation and sanctification possible.

So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. – Hebrews 2:11 NLT

Through His death on the cross, Jesus made our holiness possible. He paid the price for our sins, dying the death we deserved to die, so that we might be restored to a right relationship with our holy Father.

But when this priest had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand of God, where he is now waiting until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy. – Hebrews 11:12-14 NLT

We are holy but we are also becoming progressively more holy. It is an ongoing process that requires our willing reliance upon God’s Spirit and our faithful obedience to His will for our lives. The apostle Peter gives us the recipe for living holy lives as we wait for the return of Christ.

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” – 1 Peter 1:13-16 NLT

God is Jehovah-M’Kaddesh, the one who sanctifies, but we also have a role to play and we wait for the completion of His sanctifying process in our lives: The glorification of our bodies. We cannot make ourselves holy; only God can do that and He has chosen to do it through the sacrificial death of His Son. But we can exhibit our holy standing by living as God’s obedient children through the indwelling power of the Spirit and the guidance of His Word.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Jehovah-Nissi

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8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” – Exodus 17;8-16 ESV

YHWH–Nissi – the LORD is my Banner. Like many of the other names of God, this one was coined by one of His servants; in this case, it was Moses. While this is one of the more familiar names of God, its meaning is sometimes difficult to grasp. Yet the context of the story recorded in Exodus provides insight into what prompted Moses had in mind when he built an altar to God and named it “The LORD is my banner.

On this occasion, Moses is leading the people of Israel to the land of Canaan. He had been used by God to deliver them from their captivity in Egypt and was in the process of guiding them across the barren Sinai peninsula to the land that God had promised to them as their inheritance. While their escape from Egypt had been divinely orchestrated by God and inaugurated with their miraculous crossing of the Red Sea on dry ground, the rest of journey had not been easy or trouble-free.

One month after leaving Egypt, this rag-tag group of former slaves arrived at the wilderness of Sin, hungry and tired. It is estimated that there were as many as one and a half million men, women, and children under Moses’ direction and this large entourage would have consumed massive quantities of food and water. Moses was likely forced to ration their resources to ensure they could make it to Canaan without starving to death. So when they arrived at Sin, the people expressed their frustration with Moses, saying, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (Exodus 16:2-3 ESV).

As the saying goes, they were not happy campers. Their excitement at leaving Egypt had long worn off and they had run out of patience with their newfound leader. Weariness and hunger clouded their collective memory and caused them to long for the “good old days” in Egypt. Somehow they forgot that they had been slaves laboring under the heavy hand of Pharaoh. But Moses took their complaint to God, who appeared to them and said, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 16:12 ESV). And God delivered on His word. The next morning, the people woke up to find the ground covered in “a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground” (Exodus 16:14 ESV). They were commanded to gather only as much as they needed to feed their family; no hoarding was allowed. Any excess they gathered would spoil before they could eat it. God was letting them know that He would be their provider and care for their needs all the way to the land of Canaan, and He did so for more than 40 years.

The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan. – Exodus 16:35 ESV

Eventually, the people moved on from the wilderness of Sin and traveled to a place called Rephidim, where they ran into another problem: There was no water for them to drink (Exodus 17:1). Once again, the people voiced their frustration to Moses.

“Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” – Exodus 17:3 ESV

They were not being melodramatic or speaking in hyperbole; they feared for their lives. Moses recognized the extent of their anger and expressed his concern to God, stating, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me” (Exodus 17:4 ESV). As their leader, he knew he would be the one to bear the brunt of their anger and frustration but, once again, God intervened.

And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” – Exodus 17:5-6 ESV

This point in the story is critical to understanding what happens next. God gave Moses specific instructions. He was to use the staff of Aaron to strike a rock so that it would produce fresh water. This was the same staff that God used to turn the water of the Nile into blood (Exodus 7). This time, rather than transforming the source of life into death, God caused a barren rock to produce life-giving water to nourish his people.

But Moses adds an important addendum to this story, stating, “they tested the Lord by saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’ (Exodus 17:7 ESV). The people didn’t just complain, they doubted God’s presence. They questioned His faithfulness and provision. Even though He had continued to provide them with manna every morning, they doubted His willingness or ability to care for their needs.

What happens next is important. Moses used Aaron’s rod to strike the rock and a stream of fresh water poured out. God came through in a big way. But after having their thirst miraculously quenched by God, another faith-testing trial took place. With the rock continuing to provide all the water they needed, the people enjoyed their respite in Rephidim. But their comfortable oasis in the wilderness was about to get uncomfortably crowded.

Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. – Exodus 17:8 ESV

This time, the problem was not a lack of food or water, but the presence of a formidable enemy. This would be their first real exposure to what the future held in store for them. Their destiny was Canaan, and when they arrived, they would find it filled with nations who would oppose their presence and resist their efforts to take up residence. If they couldn’t handle hunger and thirst, how would survive the many battles that lay ahead?

Faced with a formidable enemy, Moses instructed Joshua to form a militia. It is important to recognize that the Israelites were not a well-organized fighting force. Up until a month ago, they had been indentured servants and slaves. They would have had no weapons and little to no experience in warfare. But Joshua obeyed Moses and conscripted enough men to go into battle against the Amalekites. At the same time, Moses climbed a nearby hill carrying Aaron’s staff. The text doesn’t explain where Moses got the idea to do what he did, simply states, “Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed” (Exodus 17:11 ESV). The staff that turned the water of the Nile into blood and produced water from a rock was used to bring victory in battle. As long as Moses held the staff aloft, the battle went in favor of the Israelites. But as soon as he grew weary and let his hands drop, the enemy prevailed.

Seeing the back and forth nature of the conflict and the obvious impact that staff was having, Aaron and Hur stepped in to provide assistance to their weary friend.

Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. – Exodus 17:12-13 ESV

Joshua and the people fought valiantly. Moses struggled to hold up the staff. Aaron and Hur provided much-needed support and encouragement. But God brought the victory. That’s the point of the story and the meaning behind the name YHWH–Nissi. Immediately after the battle, God gave Moses a message.

“Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” – Exodus 17:14 ESV

This would not be a one-time battle with a single victorious outcome, but it would result in the eventual eradication of the Amalekites. They would show up again and would continue to dog the steps of the Israelites all along the way to Canaan. Just prior to their entry into the land of Canaan, God would command the Israelites to wipe out the Amalekites once and for all.

“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.” – Deuteronomy 25:17-19 ESV

God didn’t wipe out the Amalekites at Rephidim, but He did prove to the Israelites that, with His help, they could be victorious. When Moses named the altar The LORD our Banner, he was making a statement about the ongoing presence and power of God. The staff he held in his hand throughout the battle was a symbol of God’s leadership, power, and provision. It had turned water into blood, produced water from a rock, and victory over the Amalekites.

The Hebrew word translated as “banner” is nēs and it can mean “something lifted up.” It was used to refer to a standard or banner that served to rally troops in the middle of a battle. In the case of the battle at Rephidim, Moses was lifting up the staff of Aaron that was to serve as a reminder of God’s power and provision. He was with them and He was providing for them. Whether they needed a sign to convince Pharaoh to let them go or water to help them keep going on, God could and would provide. When they needed a victory over their enemy, all they needed to do was look up and God showed up.

There is another point in the story of the Israelites when God forced the people to look up so that they could see His deliverance. On this occasion, they resorted to grumbling and complaining again, communicating their dissatisfaction with the manna and the lack of water. Angered by their lack of gratitude and absence of faith, God sent a plague of serpents to punish them. When Moses interceded on their behalf, God instructed him, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live” (Numbers 21:8 ESV). Moses did as God instructed and when anyone was bit, all they had to do was look at the bronze serpent on the pole and they would be healed. This is a strange story that raises all kinds of questions until you read the commentary of Jesus, spoken centuries later.

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” – John 3:14-15 ESV

The serpent was simply a sign or symbol of a future and greater source of healing. But in both cases, something had to be lifted up. The bronze serpent became the standard for healing. In the same way, as Jesus was lifted up on the cross, he became the standard for spiritual restoration and redemption. Later in John’s gospel, he records the promise that Jesus offered to all who looked to Him for salvation from sin and deliverance from death.

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. – John 12:32-33 ESV

YHWH–Nissi – the LORD is my Banner. He is my standard, the one to whom I look in my time of greatest need; for salvation, daily sustenance, victory in battle, and the provision of my future inheritance.

So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” As he was saying these things, many believed in him. – John 8:28-30 ESV

Look up and let YHWH–Nissi lift you up.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Jehovah-Sabaoth

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33 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; they refuse to let them go. 34 Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name. He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon. – Jeremiah 50:33-34 ESV

YHWH–Tsabaoth – the LORD of Hosts. This name occurs 71 times in the Book of Jeremiah. The book’s author repeatedly refers to Yahweh by this distinctive designation to remind his audience of God’s sovereign power and authority. The people of Judah were guilty of turning their backs on God by violating their covenant commitment to Him. Rather than worship Him as the one true God, they had committed spiritual adultery with the false gods of the surrounding nations. As a result, God gave Jeremiah a commission to deliver His message of pending judgment to the disobedient nation of Judah.

“Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.” – Jeremiah 1:14-16 ESV

God warned Jeremiah that his job would not be easy because his audience would not be receptive to his message.

“They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.” – Jeremiah 1:19 ESV

Jeremiah would deliver God’s message of repentance but would have few takers. Despite his warnings of pending judgment, the stubborn people of Judah would refuse to change their ways. Hundreds of years earlier, the northern kingdom of Israel had received the same message and failed to take God’s warning seriously. The result was their destruction at the hands of the Assyrians. Now, it was Judah’s turn to heed God’s call or face similar consequences.

Jeremiah attempted to use Israel’s fall to motivate the reluctant people of Judah. He delivered God’s stinging indictment on Judah’s refusal to learn from the demise of their northern neighbor.

“I divorced faithless Israel because of her adultery. But that treacherous sister Judah had no fear, and now she, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution. Israel treated it all so lightly—she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted. But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the Lord, have spoken!” – Jeremiah 3:8-10 NLT

Just as God used the Assyrians to mete out punishment on the disobedient nation of Israel, He would call on the Babylonians to serve as His agents of judgment against Judah.

Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts…
“Behold, I am bringing against you
    a nation from afar, O house of Israel,
declares the Lord.
It is an enduring nation;
    it is an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know,
    nor can you understand what they say.
Their quiver is like an open tomb;
    they are all mighty warriors.
They shall eat up your harvest and your food;
    they shall eat up your sons and your daughters;
they shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
    they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
your fortified cities in which you trust
    they shall beat down with the sword.” – Jeremiah 5:14, 15-17 ESV

It is important to note that God refers to Himself as YHWH–Tsabaoth, the Lord of Hosts. The second part of His name is tsᵉbâʼâh in Hebrew and carries various meanings, including “that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.” In some modern translations, it is rendered “the Lord of Armies.” The New Living Translation adds a further distinction by rendering it “the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

However, within the context of the Book of Jeremiah, it makes more sense to view this name as a reminder of God’s sovereign control over all the armies of the earth. He has the power and authority to command kings and nations to do His bidding. As the Lord of Armies, God can orchestrate the actions of foreign powers and utilize their vast resources to accomplish His divine will. Once again, using the name YHWH–Tsabaoth, Jeremiah delivers a power message regarding God’s sovereign power.

But the God of Israel is no idol!
    He is the Creator of everything that exists,
including his people, his own special possession.
    The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name!

“You are my battle-ax and sword,”
    says the Lord.
“With you I will shatter nations
    and destroy many kingdoms.
With you I will shatter armies—
    destroying the horse and rider,
    the chariot and charioteer.
With you I will shatter men and women,
    old people and children,
    young men and young women.
With you I will shatter shepherds and flocks,
    farmers and oxen,
    captains and officers.” – Jeremiah 51:19-21 NLT

God would use the Babylonians as His instrument of judgment against His own chosen people. The forces of King Nebuchadnezzar would operate under God’s command, carrying out His will and accomplishing His divine plan for Judah’s destruction. But, as the Lord of Armies, God would also carry out His vengeance against the Babylonians for their role in the fall of Judah.

“I will repay Babylon
    and the people of Babylonia
for all the wrong they have done
    to my people in Jerusalem,” says the Lord. – Jeremiah 51:24 NLT

Neither Nebuchadnezzar nor his people did what they did out of coercion or against their will. God simply used their desire for global conquest to carry out His judgment against the nation of Judah. But they would pay dearly for their will destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the deportation of God’s people.

This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled to the ground,
    and her massive gates will be burned.
The builders from many lands have worked in vain,
    for their work will be destroyed by fire!” – Jeremiah 51:58 NLT

Jeremiah was one of the few prophets who lived to see the fall of Judah and the deportation of the people. He had to watch as the city of Jerusalem was ransacked and the Temple destroyed. He witnessed the captives being led in chains as they made their way to Babylon. Through it all, he continued to serve as God’s spokesman. When the captives were led away, he gave them a scroll containing all of the judgments YHWH–Tsabaoth would bring against the Babylonians. The Lord of Armies was not done.

Jeremiah had recorded on a scroll all the terrible disasters that would soon come upon Babylon—all the words written here. He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, read aloud everything on this scroll. Then say, ‘Lord, you have said that you will destroy Babylon so that neither people nor animals will remain here. She will lie empty and abandoned forever.’ When you have finished reading the scroll, tie it to a stone and throw it into the Euphrates River. Then say, ‘In this same way Babylon and her people will sink, never again to rise, because of the disasters I will bring upon her.’” – Jeremiah 51:60-64 NLT

God would repay the Babylonians for their role in Judah’s destruction. He would muster other earthly armies against them, bringing the once mighty nation of Babylon to its knees. But more importantly, YHWH–Tsabaoth would restore His people. The prophet Isaiah records God’s message of Babylon’s destruction and Judah’s deliverance.

“Come down, virgin daughter of Babylon, and sit in the dust.
    For your days of sitting on a throne have ended.
O daughter of Babylonia, never again will you be
    the lovely princess, tender and delicate.
Take heavy millstones and grind flour.
    Remove your veil, and strip off your robe.
    Expose yourself to public view.
You will be naked and burdened with shame.
I will take vengeance against you without pity.” – Isaiah 47:1-3 NLT

Then Isaiah adds these comforting words:

Our Redeemer, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    is the Holy One of Israel. – Isaiah 47:104 NLT

God is powerful and sovereign over all. He controls kings and nations. He orchestrates the affairs of the world and uses earthly powers to accomplish His divine will. As Isaiah puts it, “The nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing— mere emptiness and froth” (Isaiah 40:17 NLT). Interestingly enough, it was Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, who made the following insightful disclosure concerning God’s power and sovereignty as YHWH–Tsabaoth.

“His rule is everlasting,
    and his kingdom is eternal.
All the people of the earth
    are nothing compared to him.
He does as he pleases
    among the angels of heaven
    and among the people of the earth.
No one can stop him or say to him,
    ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’” – Daniel 4:34-35 NLT

Jehovah-Sabaoth is, as Nebuchadnezzar concluded, “the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud” (Daniel 4:37 NLT). He rules and reigns over all, including the armies of heaven and the armies of this world. He has the power to rebuke and redeem, destroy and restore, and to judge and justify. He is sovereign, all-powerful, all-knowing, and always in complete control of all things at all times. He is the Lord of Armies and He can always be trusted to use His power to accomplish His purposes for the glory of His name and the good of His people.

Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory! – Psalm 24:10 ESV

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Jehovah-Kanna

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10 The Lord replied, “Listen, I am making a covenant with you in the presence of all your people. I will perform miracles that have never been performed anywhere in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people around you will see the power of the Lord—the awesome power I will display for you. 11 But listen carefully to everything I command you today.…12 Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped. 13 Instead, you must break down their pagan altars, smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles. 14 You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.”– Exodus 34:10-14 ESV

In Genesis 22, the story is recorded of Abraham preparing to offer up his own son as a sacrifice on a hastily constructed altar. This disconcerting tale makes for difficult reading, especially when you realize that Abraham was following the commands of Elohim, the God who had miraculously enabled his barren wife Sarah to give birth to Isaac years earlier. Yet, in obeying the command of God and trusting the future of his only son to the faithfulness of God, Abraham was given the privilege of seeing God work a miracle of redemption, delivering his son from certain death. Rather than requiring Abraham to go through with the sacrifice, God provided a ram to serve as Isaac’s substitute. This led Abraham to call the place upon which he built the altar, Jehovah-Jireh, which means something to the effect of “God sees and provides.”

Abraham had experienced this aspect of God’s character for the very first time and it led him to memorialize his newfound awareness of God’s foresight and gracious provision with an appellation worthy of God’s glory. In the Genesis account, Moses adds the note, “To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided” (Genesis 22:14 NLT). This indicates that Abraham shared this story and it was passed down from one generation to another. But, even more importantly, Moses’ aside also serves a prophetic role, foreshadowing another day when God the Father would offer up His sinless Son as the substitutionary atonement for the sins of mankind. That fateful event would take place on the very same mountain. God saw the helpless and hopeless state of humanity, enslaved and condemned by sin, and facing divine judgment, and He responded by providing a Savior. He sent His Son to serve as the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world (John 1:9). 

But how did humanity end up in such a sad and desperate state? It was the result of their own disobedience to God; their refusal to recognize Him as the one true God and worship Him alone. The apostle Paul describes humanity’s downward trajectory and its consequences.

…they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! – Romans 1:21-25 NLT

In today’s passage, we have another name of God that describes an aspect of His character that gets often overlooked. It may even come across as an ungodly and unacceptable way to refer to God; yet, the Exodus 34 passage reveals that this is God’s self-revelation; His way of describing His divine nature to fallen mankind.

He is “the LORD, whose name is Jealous…” (Exodus 34:14 ESV). He is YHWH-qannā’. But this is more than just a name; it expresses His character. This self-designation is an extension of the commandment God gave that prohibits the worship of anyone or anything other than Himself.

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.” – Exodus 20:4-5 NLT

Yahweh is a jealous God. This thought may sound strange to us and leave us feeling uncomfortable. In part, this is a result of our own love-hate relationship with jealousy. We tend to view jealousy in a negative light, associating it with sin. Even the apostle Paul lumped jealousy in with a list of other egregious behaviors that are the byproducts of man’s sinful nature.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. – Galatians 5:19-21 NLT

It’s difficult to associate such an unflattering character quality with our Holy God. Yet, God refers to Himself as being jealous and even designates it as one of His names. It is not a reaction or a temporary trait; it is an expression of His very nature.

We tend to associate jealousy with envy and covetousness. When we read God’s command, “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 17 NLT), we substitute jealousy for coveting. But jealousy and covetousness are two different things. To covet is to wrongly desire that which belongs to someone else. It doesn’t belong to you and you have no right to possess it. It is closely associated with stealing. When King David saw Bathsheba bathing on a nearby rooftop, he lusted after her. When he was informed that she was a married woman, his lust turned to covetousness. He knew she was off-limits but it did not stop him from sending for her so that he might commit adultery with her.

The Hebrew word, qannā’, which is translated as “jealous” is only used of God in the Bible, and it almost always associated with His judgment against the worship of false gods.

“Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” – Deuteronomy 4:23-24 ESV

“You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.” – Deuteronomy 6:14-15 ESV

These passages are not inferring that God is jealous of us. This does not describe the jealousy of a husband whose wife shows affection to another man. God’s jealousy is not about His need for our affection or adoration; it is about the integrity of His name. The people of Israel were His chosen possession. He had created them and they bore the responsibility of living as the children of God. Their actions and behavior were to reflect their position as His earthly representatives.

When Joshua was nearing the end of his life, he pleaded with the people of Israel to swear allegiance to Yahweh, stating, “as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15 NLT). The Israelites, eager to complete their conquest and occupation of the land of Canaan, declared their willingness to serve Yahweh only.

“We would never abandon the Lord and serve other gods. For the Lord our God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes. As we traveled through the wilderness among our enemies, he preserved us. It was the Lord who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. So we, too, will serve the Lord, for he alone is our God.” – Joshua 24:16-18 NLT

But Joshua wasn’t buying what they were selling. He knew them all too well and voiced doubt in their sincerity. After having served as their leader for years, he was convinced they would continue to rebel against God and face future judgment as a result

“You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you abandon the Lord and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.” – Joshua 24:19-20 NLT

When the people assured Joshua of their sincerity, he demanded proof, instructing them to, “destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel” (Joshua 24:23 NLT). He was not suggesting that God needed their undivided attention and affection. Yahweh is not desperate for our attention. He isn’t jealous that we share our affection with other gods. He is jealous and protective of the holiness of His name.

“Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord…” – Ezekiel 36:22-23 NLT

Our spiritual infidelity is not about unrequited love but about the unacceptable dishonoring of God’s name and character.  In the Exodus 34 passage, Noses reminds the Israelites that Yahweh is “a God who is jealous about his relationship with you” (Exodus 34:14 ESV). That relationship was to reflect their awareness of His glory, holiness, and worthiness of their undivided worship and attention. When they devoted their time and attention to false gods, it did nothing to diminish God’s self-esteem or worthiness; it dishonored His name among the nations.

He had set His name upon the people of Israel. In the Book of Isaiah, He refers to them as His children and promises to “bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created” (Isaiah 43:6-7 ESV). Their identity was based on their identification as children of God who bore the name of God. When they showered their affections on false gods, it was not their lack of love that brought down God’s anger and judgment; it was their lack of respect for His name. That’s why God demands that their affection be accompanied by allegiance to His glory and greatness.

“…if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT

As the bearers of God’s name, the Israelites bore the responsibility of loving and living in keeping with their status as the sons and daughters of God. And God makes it clear that their obedience and obeisance would demonstrate to the world that they belonged to Him.

“The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord…” – Deuteronomy 28:9-10 ESV

God is YHWH-qannā’ – Jehovah-Kanna. He is jealous and protective of His name and, as His name-bearers, we have a non-negotiable responsibility to preserve the integrity of His name as we dedicate the entirety of our lives to His glory alone.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Jehovah-Jireh

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13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”– Genesis  22:13-14 ESV

Genesis 22 contains the familiar and somewhat unsettling story of Abraham’s attempted sacrifice of his son Isaac. Moses records every excruciating detail surrounding this God-sanctioned event that required a loving father to offer up the life of his one-and-only son as a sacrifice. Abraham had received clear and non-negotiable instructions from ‘ĕlōhîm.

“Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” – Genesis 22:2 ESV

Amazingly, the text contains no pushback from Abraham. There is no record of him arguing with or questioning God’s command. It simply states, “So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac” (Genesis 22:3 ESV).

Three days into their journey to the region of Moriah, Abraham saw their final destination in the distance and decided to leave his servants behind. He and Isaac would travel alone to the place of sacrifice. Abraham, perhaps hoping to hide his true intentions from his unwitting son, told his servants, “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back” (Genesis 22:5 NLT). Some have determined this to be a statement of faith on Abraham’s part, suggesting that he was confident that God would spare his son. But it seems more likely that Abraham was waiting until the last minute to let Isaac in on the true nature of their journey. His son had no way of knowing the fate that lay in store for him.

Moses describes how Abraham took all the elements he would need for the sacrifice, including a knife, a blazing torch, and wood. Then he adds the heartwrenching notation: “And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son” (Genesis 22:6 ESV). Isaac was carrying the very wood upon which his young life would be consumed.

For those of us living on this side of the crucifixion, it should be easy to recognize the similarities between Isaac and Jesus. Both entered the world through miraculous, God-ordained births. Isaac was born to an elderly and barren woman. Jesus was born to a young virgin girl. Each of them was deeply adored by their respective fathers. And just as Abraham was facing the prospect of sacrificing his son, centuries later, God would offer up His one and only Son as the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). There is even a striking similarity between Isaac bearing the wood for his own sacrifice and Jesus carrying the cross upon which He would be crucified.

But for the Jews for whom Moses recorded this story, none of these links to the future death of the Messiah would have been apparent. For them, this story would have had significance because it involved Isaac, who would later become the father of Jacob, the man whom God later renamed, Israel. And it was from this one man that they owed their very existence. To hear the story of how Jacob’s father was almost put to death by order of Yahweh must have left them appalled and confused. How could their God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, order such a thing? And, of course, they would have been viewing this entire scene through the lens of the Mosaic Law. They had been given clear instructions to avoid the religious rituals and customs of their pagan neighbors.

You must not worship the Lord your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods. – Leviticus 12:31 NLT

And yet, Abraham had no written law to guide his actions. He was operating according to the spoken word of God Almighty, and His instructions had been clear.

“Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” – Genesis 22:2 NLT

The disconcerting nature of this divine command must have left Abraham filled with questions. Why would God require the sacrifice of the very son whom He had miraculously provided? What possible good could come from something so seemingly wicked? But the key is found in three words found in the opening verse of this chapter: God tested Abraham.

The people of Israel were very familiar with the concept of divine testing. In fact, their ancestors had spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness, enduring ongoing tests from Yahweh that were designed to increase their dependence upon Him. The Book of Deuteronomy records Moses’ powerful words spoken to the people of Israel as they prepared to enter the land of Canaan for the first time.

“Remember how the LORD your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell. Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the LORD your God disciplines you for your own good.” – Deuteronomy 8:2-5 NLT

So, it seems highly likely that the original readers of this book would have understood the nature of the test that Abraham was having to face. They knew that Yahweh expected obedience from His people because obedience was a sign of dependence and faith. They knew what disobedience looked like because they had grumbled and whined about their dislike for manna. During their years wandering in the wilderness, they spent more time complaining to Moses than they spent worshiping and expressing gratitude to God.

As Abraham and Isaac made their way to the site of the sacrifice, Isaac couldn’t help but notice that something was missing.

He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” – Genesis 22:7 ESV

To the young Isaac, this was a glaring oversight. Why had his father failed to select an unblemished lamb before they left home? How were they going to find a suitable animal out in the wilderness? But Abraham calmly answered, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (Genesis 22:8 ESV). Once again, some believe this was an expression of Abraham’s faith. They suggest that Abraham somehow knew that God would provide a substitute. But, according to the author of Hebrews, Abraham was declaring his belief that Isaac was the lamb that God had provided. The sacrifice would take place. But Abraham still believed that God would fulfill His covenant promise, even if it meant raising Isaac from the dead.

It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead. – Hebrews 11:17-19 NLT

Abraham fully intended to go through with God’s command. He did not delay, hoping for a last-minute reprieve. He did not scan the horizon, hoping for a lamb to miraculously appear. No, Moses records that “Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice” (Genesis 22:0-10 NLT).

One can only imagine the turmoil going on in Abraham’s mind and heart. Every fiber of his being must have been conflicted as his fatherly instincts waged war against his desire to walk before God and be blameless (Genesis 17:1). Interestingly enough, Moses provides no insight into Isaac’s reactions. The young boy appears to have remained eerily silent throughout this ordeal. He asked no further questions. He refused to put up a struggle. But just as Abraham prepared to shed the blood of his own innocent son, God intervened.

“Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” – Genesis 22:21 ESV

Abraham clearly loved Isaac. But he reverenced God. The Hebrew word for “fear” is יָרֵא (yārē’) and, in this context, it refers to reverent awe for God that is expressed through obedience. Abraham did not do what he did out of fear of God’s wrath, but out of reverence for God’s holiness and power. His obedience was an expression of his faith in an all-powerful and perfectly righteous God.

As the author of Hebrews suggests, “Abraham did receive his son back from the dead” (Hebrews 11:17 NLT). In Abraham’s mind, Isaac’s death was a foregone conclusion. But, at the very last second, his son’s life was spared. God provided a substitute.

Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. – Genesis 22:17 ESV

This verse foreshadows another sacrifice that would take place centuries later. It too would involve a loving Father and His precious Son. But this time, there would be no last-minute reprieve. There would be no substitute. In fact, the Son would serve as the substitute for sinful mankind. The apostle Paul reminds us of the tremendous cost that our Heavenly Father paid so that we might live to see another day.

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? – Romans 8:32 ESV

Abraham had his son returned to him, and out of gratitude and a growing reverence for this gracious and compassionate God, he named the place Jehovah-Jireh (YHWH-Yireh), which is most commonly translated as “the Lord will provide.” Isaac had been spared, not because he deserved it, but because God had plans to offer a far more significant and superior sacrifice. The apostle Paul declares the glory of this future gift the Lamb who would take away the sins of the world.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. – Romans 3:23-26 NLT

There seems to be far more going on in this story than simply God’s provision of a substitute sacrifice. As important as that was, it paints an incomplete picture of ‘ĕlōhîm’s actions. Moses named the location YHWH yirʾe. The second half of that name is a transliteration of the Hebrew word rā’â which means “to see,” “look,” or “foresee.”

The Amplified Bible translates verse 14 as follows:

So Abraham named that place The LORD Will Provide. And it is said to this day, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be seen and provided.”

The Aramaic Bible in Plain English also weaves in the idea of seeing, adding the aspect of appearance.

And Abraham called the name of that place “LORD JEHOVAH will appear” of which it is said today, “In this mountain LORD JEHOVAH will appear.”

The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, gives the meaning of the name as “The LORD hath seen.”

The 1917 Jewish Publication Society translation renders verse 14 this way:

And Abraham called the name of that place Adonai-jireh; as it is said to this day: “In the mount where the LORD is seen.

There seems to be far more going on here than the provision of a ram to take the place of Isaac. God saw Abraham’s faith and responded by providing a substitute. In that gracious act of mercy, Abraham saw the hand of God. And in the entire sequence of events, we can see God’s plan to send His Son as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). The same Hebrew word that is transliterated as jireh is used in verse 13 where it states, “Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.”

Throughout this entire scenario, sight plays a significant role. God was watching. Abraham was waiting to see what God would do. As Hebrews makes clear, he was counting on the fact that God could raise his son back to life. But then he saw the ram and experienced the grace of God. For modern-day Christians reading this account of Abraham and Isaac, we get to see that Mount Moriah was the eventual site of the Temple built by Solomon. It would also be the same area in which the sinless Son of God sacrificed His life on behalf of sinful humanity. Jehovah-Jireh sees and provides, not only a ram for the son of Abraham but His own Son for the sins of the world. He saw the need for His Son to be a Savior long before the world was made, Adam and Eve were created, or the fall took place. And we are the beneficiaries of God’s foresight and faithfulness, just as Isaac was.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Jehovah

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13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”– Exodus 3:13-14 ESV

This blog post is the first in a series that will investigate the names of God. Throughout the Old Testament, God is referred to by a wide range of different names or appellations that provide insight into His interactions with mankind. We will be focusing our attention on the name Jehovah and its many variations. Jehovah is the name that most consider to be the proper name of God. Its first use is found in the Book of Exodus when God spoke to Moses in the wilderness.

One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. – Exodus 3:1-2 NLT

As Moses approached this supernatural and inexplicable phenomenon, he was confronted by the voice of God.

When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

“Here I am!” Moses replied.

“Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God. – Exodus 3:4-6 NLT

In His divine encounter with Moses, God introduces Himself as ‘ĕlōhîm, the same name used throughout the early chapters of Genesis.

In the beginning, God [‘ĕlōhîm] created the heavens and the earth. – Genesis 1:1 ESV

Elohim is the plural of Eloah and is the most common name used for God in the Hebrew Bible, occurring more than 2500 times. It is sometimes abbreviated to its two-letter form of El. But in all of its forms, Elohim is a name that is used to refer both to men and false gods throughout the Hebrew Bible. Exodus 20 contains God’s proclamation to Moses of the Ten Commandments, which includes the following prohibition:

“You shall have no other gods [‘ĕlōhîm] before me.” – Exodus 20:3 ESV

So the name Elohim was a common designation used by the Hebrews to refer to any deity. But throughout the Book of Genesis, it was the name used by the patriarchs when speaking of the one true God. Even in His initial encounter with Moses, God introduces Himself by the name Elohim.

“I am the God [‘ĕlōhîm] of your father—the God of Abraham, the God [‘ĕlōhîm] of Isaac, and the God [‘ĕlōhîm] of Jacob.” – Exodus 3:6 NLT

Yet, when God informs Moses that he is to be the deliverer of the people of Israel who are living as slaves in Egypt, Moses is reticent to accept his commission. Instead, he asks Elohim for further clarification.

“If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God [‘ĕlōhîm] of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” – Exodus 3:13 NLT

Moses knew that his people had long ago lost interest in Elohim, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. During their 400-year stint in Egypt, they had acclimated to the ways of their Egyptian hosts. In time, they had assimilated into the surrounding culture, adapting themselves to the local customs and even adopting the Egyptian gods as their own.

In the book of Ezekiel, God confirms that during their stay in Egypt, the Israelites had developed an unhealthy attachment to the false gods of Egypt.

“When I chose Israel—when I revealed myself to the descendants of Jacob in Egypt—I took a solemn oath that I, the Lord, would be their God. I took a solemn oath that day that I would bring them out of Egypt to a land I had discovered and explored for them—a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the best of all lands anywhere. Then I said to them, ‘Each of you, get rid of the vile images you are so obsessed with. Do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt, for I am the Lord your God.’” – Ezekiel 20:5-7 NLT

Having lived in Egypt most of his adult life, Moses was well aware of this problem and knew the people of Israel would be reluctant to obey the commands of a God they didn’t know. How were they to know that the Elohim of Abraham was any different than the Elohims of Egypt? It didn’t help that there had been a 400-year period when God seemed silent. Their increasing apostasy had led Him to cut off all communication with His people. But with His appearance at the burning bush, God broke that silence. Now, Moses wanted to know how he was supposed to reintroduce this long-forgotten God to the people of Israel.

At this point, even Moses is unsure of his visitor’s identity. While he seems to know that he is conversing with a deity, he has no way of knowing that it is the God of his forefathers. So, he seeks a name, an appellation to identify the God he is speaking to. And God responds:

“I AM that I AM.” And he said, “You must say this to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” – Exodus 3:14 NLT

The answer Moses receives is not so much a name as it is a declaration of authority. God informs Moses that He is the “self-existing one,” the eternal, all-powerful creator of heaven and earth. He is uncreated and has always existed. Unlike the Elohims of the Egyptians, God is not the byproduct of man’s imagination.

“I AM is the ultimate statement of self-sufficiency, self-existence, and immediate presence. God’s existence is not contingent upon anyone else. His plans are not contingent upon any circumstances. He promises that He will be what He will be; that is, He will be the eternally constant God. He stands, ever-present and unchangeable, completely sufficient in Himself to do what He wills to do and to accomplish what He wills to accomplish.” – https://www.gotquestions.org/I-AM-WHO-I-AM-Exodus-3-14

Moses is being sent by the one true God. And to ensure that Moses fully comprehends who it is that is speaking to him, God adds:

“You must say this to the Israelites, ‘The LORD—the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial from generation to generation.’” – Exodus 3:15 NLT

For the very first time, God refers to Himself as Yᵊhōvâ ‘ĕlōhîm. In ancient Hebrew, Yᵊhōvâ is rendered as YHWH because no vowels were used in their written language. The sound of the vowels was added when the text was read and the exact pronunciation of each word was clarified. But because the vowels were added verbally and passed down through oral tradition, some of the pronunciation of Hebrew words has been lost to time. The name YHWH is often referred to as a tetragrammaton and over the centuries there has been much debate as to its pronunciation.

The most common usage is “Yahweh” (YAH-way); while other variations include “Yehowah,” “Yahuweh,” or “Yahawah. ” For most Christians, the form of “Jehovah” is the most familiar and is the result of “a Germanic pronunciation of the Latinized transliteration of the Hebrew YHWH. It is the letters of the tetragrammaton, Latinized into JHVH, with vowels inserted. ‘Yahweh’ or ‘Yehowah’ is far more likely to be the correct pronunciation” (“Is Jehovah the true name of God.” GotQuestions.org. https://www.gotquestions.org/jehovah.html).

But regardless of how the word is pronounced, its meaning is clear. God was letting Moses know that He was the ever-present God, who was ready, willing, and able to act on behalf of His enslaved people.

“I am that I am” means “God will reveal Himself in His actions through history.” – Charles Gianotti, “The Meaning of the Divine Name YHWH,” Bibliotheca Sacra 142:565 (January-March 1985):45.

Yahweh was not distant or disinterested; He had not been absent or uninformed as to their suffering. In fact, He clearly states that He had been fully aware of all that had been going on over the last four centuries.

“I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey…” – Exodus 3:7-8 NLT

Yahweh was ready to intervene on their behalf and He was informing Moses of the role he would play.

“Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.” – Exodus 3:10 NLT

Moses was getting the unexpected news that the people of Israel were about to be set free and he was Yahweh’s designated choice to serve as their deliverer. Though Moses attempted to get out of this God-ordained assignment, he eventually recognized that Yahweh’s call was non-negotiable, and God once again communicated the message Moses was to deliver to the captive Israelites.

“Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.

This is my eternal name,
    my name to remember for all generations.” – Exodus 3:15 NLT

The name Yahweh (Jehovah) was to become the Israelite’s primary designation for their God. This personal name would help to set Him apart and would soon be attached to a variety of other names that further helped to enhance the nature of His character and their unique relationship with Him.

Jehovah-Rohi – The LORD My Shepherd

Jehovah-Jireh – The LORD Shall Provide

Jehovah-Rapha – The LORD Who Heals

Jehovah-Nissi – The LORD Is My Banner

Jehovah–M’Kaddesh – The LORD Who Sanctifies

Over the next few weeks, we will explore each of these names and others as we attempt to learn the nature of God by investigating the names of God. These appellations provide insight into His character and provide a well-rounded understanding of who He is and how He interfaces with His people.

When Moses returned to Israel, he stood before Pharaoh and declared, “This is what the LORD [Jehovah], the God of Israel, says: Let my people go so they may hold a festival in my honor in the wilderness” (Exodus 5:12 NLT). But Pharaoh, the self-proclaimed deity and ruler of the Egyptian people was not impressed. He boldly proclaimed, “Is that so? And who is the LORD [Jehovah]? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the LORD [Jehovah], and I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2 NLT).

But Pharaoh would eventually have a change of heart. In time and after a series of devastating plagues, this pride-filled potentate would recognize that Jehovah was the one true God. Pharaoh would discover that the God of the Israelites was the “self-existing one” who was the eternal, all-powerful creator of heaven and earth. He had no equal and Pharaoh had no chance of standing against Him.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.