He purifies us and makes us holy

Wait a minute! Didn't I already meditate on this name at the beginning of February?

No, that was El Qadosh, the Holy God. Qadosh and Qadash might sound almost the same, but there's a subtle difference in meaning. Qadosh is an adjective, meaning holy or sacred, while qadash is a verb, meaning to sanctify or to make holy.

We read in the Bible that God made the sabbath day holy - meaning He consecrated it and set it apart for a specific purpose. We also read in Exodus that the tabernacle, the altar and the priests were "sanctified." But where it gets more radical is when God speaks to the people as a whole, telling them, "I am Yahweh Qadash - the Lord who makes you holy." (Ex 31: 13, Lev 20: 8)

Although it's God who sanctifies, there are also a surprising number of verses where the people are told to,"Sanctify yourselves..." - for example, in Joshua 3: 5, where Joshua tells the people, "Sanctify yourselves" (or consecrate/purify yourselves, depending on your Bible translation) because tomorrow the Lord will do great wonders among you."

That doesn't mean that we can become holy by our own efforts. When we look more closely at those Old Testament verses, we discover that it's more about consecrating ourselves for God's sake and getting rid of anything that would defile us.  Sometimes the people were asked to wash their clothes or their body, sometimes they offered sacrifices for sin; they were asked to observe the sabbath and follow dietary restrictions that involved not eating "unclean" animals. It also meant abstaining from certain sexual practices, and getting rid of idols, witchcraft, mildew and other things that would defile them. Interestingly, a few times in the writings of Ezekiel, qadash is simply translated as, "prepare." It's about preparing and purifying ourselves for the Lord.

We have a part to play, but God's part is much bigger. Our part is to recognise and confess sin; God's part is to forgive and cleanse from sin (Greek katharizō, as in 1 John 1: 9) and to make us holy. (Greek hagiazō, as in 1 Cor 6:11 or 1 Thess 5: 23) 

The New Testament writer to the Hebrews concludes his letter by reminding them that Jesus shed his blood to "make us holy." (Heb 13: 12)  He did His part first, and when we do our part we can enter into the benefit of that. He is still Yahweh Qadash today.

Love personified

This one is so familiar to us that we're inclined to miss how radical it is. Even non-believers have heard that, "God is love," or that, "God so loved the world," and it's perhaps in danger of becoming a religious slogan, rather than a mind-blowing, life-changing truth.

"Yahweh Elohim Ahavah - the Lord your God loves you," is a phrase that appears several times in the Old Testament. This was a revolutionary idea because the gods of ancient peoples were distant and untouchable; they didn't have love for mere human beings. The word ahavah appears three times in Jeremiah 31: 3 - 

"I have loved you with an everlasting love, and drawn you to myself with lovingkindness."

The New Testament picks up the theme, of course, and Jesus demonstrated it: that our God is a God who loves us; in fact, His love encompasses everyone in the world. It's a strong theme in John's first letter, where he even goes as far as to say, "Theos esti Agapē - God is Love." Not just that God loves or that He is loving, but that His very being personifies for us what love is.

🧡 No, the heart shaped lake in the photo isn't AI. It's actually Lough Ouler in Co. Wicklow, Ireland, and I believe the photo credit goes to Mark McGuire.
 

What's this about Fire ?

Yesterday I meditated on four different names of God that overlapped or were similar to names I've already studied over the past two months. Today's name, however, was something completely different, and I confess that I didn't expect my writing about it would fill four whole pages in my journal.

If I were to play a word association game, asking people what thoughts and feelings are evoked by the word fire, I suspect the answers would mostly be positive: warmth, light, security, comfort, home... Fire (the Hebrew word is 'ēš and the Greek word is pyr ) is probably a neutral or positive concept for most people - unless you lost your home in a house fire or you were once burned and badly injured by a flame.

Throughout scripture, fire often symbolises God's presence - such as when He appeared to Moses in the burning bush. (Exodus 3: 2, which clearly says that the bush burned with fire - 'ēš - but was not consumed - 'ākal).

One of the ways that God led His people during forty years in the wilderness was by a pillar of fire - 'ammûd 'ēš - at night. Exodus 13: 21 specifically says that this was, "to give them light," but I can imagine that it also gave them warmth during the cold desert nights, and gave them the comfort of knowing that He was guiding them - that they weren't lost or alone.

After three months of following the pillar of fire, the people gather at the foot of Mount Sinai, where God is going to give them His Law. Exodus 19: 18 tells us that God descended on the mountain in fire: there was lots of smoke and also an earthquake.

I can imagine that this time the sight was quite scary. These people had probably never heard of a volcano, but the sight of this burning, shaking mountain must have evoked a similar sense of awe and apprehension. Verse 16 says that they were trembling.

But, however awe-inspiring the sight, this was still not a "consuming fire" - akal esh. The mountain was not burned up or destroyed.

This phrase or name, consuming fire, is found only three times in the Bible: in Deut 4: 24, where the people are being warned against idolatry; in Deut 9: 3, where they are about to cross the Jordan and God is promising to drive out and destroy the wicked, idolatrous peoples who currently occupy Canaan; and in Hebrews 12: 29, where the writer is probably quoting one of the Old Testament scriptures, and the context is that God will one day shake the heavens and earth so that the shakeable is removed and only the unshakeable remains. Verse 28 says that we are being given an unshakeable kingdom.

So, knowing that God is a Consuming Fire - Akal Esh should be a reason for awe and respect, but not for fear. The verb 'ākal simply means to eat, to devour or consume, and when speaking of fire it usually refers to God's burning up of impurity and evil. In 1 Cor 3, for example, we are urged to be careful how we build our lives because our work will be "tested by fire" and the worthless things will be consumed. We're told, however, that the believer will still be saved, even if he or she loses some worthless building stuff in the fire. 

So, the Consuming Fire is for destroying evil, not for destroying people. The only times it's a threat to people is when they're deeply entrenched in rebellion, idolatry and wickedness. This is what is being referred to in Deut 9: 3 and Ex 32: 10. Yet, even in that Exodus account, after the golden calf episode, God is glad to answer Moses' prayer and not to consume the people, even though they deserved it.

When "tongues of fire" fell on the believers in Acts chapter 2, the flames did not consume them, but rather empowered them and gave them boldness to share their faith. This is probably also what John the Baptist was referring to (in Matt 3: 11 and Luke 3: 16) when he said that Jesus would baptise believers "with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

So, knowing God as Akal Esh is not something to be dreaded but something to be embraced: He is able to eliminate all the impurities that hinder us in life, so that we emerge refined like gold, with nothing to be ashamed of.

Royal Majesty - King of Kings

One of the biggest mistakes the people of Israel ever made was when they rejected God's kingship and demanded to have a human king like all the pagan nations around them... but despite this fundamental error, there were still some times in the early days when they remembered and proclaimed God's majesty - His right to reign over their lives and their nation.

One of those times was when King David and the people had been gathering in gold, silver and precious stones for the building of a future temple where Yahweh would be worshipped. In an outpouring of thankfulness, David prayed, "Yours, oh Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory and the majesty (hôd), for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours is the Kingdom (the right to be King) and You are exalted as head above all... You reign over all... in Your hand is power and might." (1 Chronicles 29: 11 - 12)

In both the Old and New Testaments, two different words are used for God's majesty: one is used as a name, referring to His sovereign authority, as when it's written in Hebrews that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. The other name in each case is used more like an adjective, referring to His glory, splendour and magnificence. We find this second understanding when the psalmists describe Him as "clothed in majesty," or the apostle Peter writes that they were, "eyewitnesses of His majesty." (1 Pet 1: 16)

The prophet Jeremiah takes the first understanding of Majesty even further, by referring to God not only as Israel's King, but also as Melek Haggoyim - King of the nations (Jer 10: 7) and this is echoed in several of the Psalms:

Psalm 22: 27 - 28 - All the families of the nations will worship before You, for kingship belongs to the Lord and He rules over the nations.

Psalm 47: 8 - God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne.

When the redeemed believers in Revelation 15: 3 - 4 proclaim, "Just and pure are your ways, oh King of the nations... all nations will come and worship before You..," the Greek is Basileus hagios, which more literally means King of the saints or King of the consecrated ones. He is King in an even more meaningful way in the live of those who actually chose to make Him their King.

But then, at the end of time (Rev19: 16) Christ appears under another name: Basileus basileōn - King of Kings. As Paul told the Philippians, one day every knee will bow and every tongue will need to confess that He is Lord of lords. Even the kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers who never acknowledged His authority during their lifetime will one day have to recognise that He truly does hold ultimate authority in our universe.

It is so much wiser to choose His kingship now and know Him as Baslieus hagios before encountering Him as Balileus basileōn.

God is Spirit

Spirit or Holy Spirit is one of the most common names of God. That's Rûah ha Qadosh in the Old Testament and Pneuma Hagion in the New Testament. Jesus Himself said (John 4: 24) that God is Spirit; He doesn't have a physical body like a mere human being would. That's why Jesus told his earthly disciples that He needed to leave them so that the Spirit could come to be with them. As long as Jesus was on earth, He had the limitations of a human body: He could only be in one place; He couldn't be in Jerusalem and Capernaum at the same time. But the Holy Spirit is omnipresent: everywhere at the same time. As David proclaimed in Psalm 139: 7, No matter where we go, God the Spirit is there.

Yesterday and today, I meditated on dozens of scriptures in both Old and New Testament that tell us

Who the Holy Spirit is and what He does: He makes us holy; He builds godly character in us; He gives us boldness to share our faith; He brings freedom; He gives us unity; He gives us love and wisdom; He helps us to pray; He reassures us we are God's children; He anoints us for tasks; He helps us know what to pray...

The same Spirit who was there at creation (Gen 1: 2, Psalm 33: 6) is the Spirit who dwells in us, guides us and transforms us today. Of course, there's a warning that we can quench Him (1 Thess 5: 19) or grieve Him (Eph 4: 30) but also a promise that we can be "filled" with His presence and power.
 

Your Creator is your Husband

The Bible often uses pictures or allegories to describe God: He's described as a Shepherd and a Gardener, as a Father and a Friend. And, in just a few verses, He's also described as a Husband.

The Hebrew Bā'al (not to be confused with the pagan god Baal) is the word most often used for husband. It's the word we find in Isaiah 54: 5, when the prophet tells Israel, Don't feel afraid or abandoned, for your Creator is your Husband.

The word husband perhaps evokes different emotions for different people. In some cultures a husband is a dominant authority figure, while in other cultures he's a symbol of love and tenderness, care and commitment. A victim of domestic abuse will experience fear when thinking of her husband, a divorced woman will experience grief.... but the engaged or newly married woman will feel cherished and loved - because this person has chosen her and committed to spend the rest of his life with her.

Perhaps because of the different understandings, or even the possible confusion with the god Baal (bā'al and baal both have the additional meaning of lord or master), the Bible also uses another word for husband: ishi ('îš) which doesn't also mean master, but instead carries the meaning of steward or caregiver. In Hosea 2: 16, God tells Israel, "When that day comes, you will call me, my Husband; you will no longer call me, my Master." (Older Bible translations say, a little cryptically for the modern reader, "You will call me Ishi and no longer call me Baali.") 

The meaning is clear. In calling Himself our Husband, God is speaking of the love and care, the cherishing and lifelong commitment He has towards us. It's one of the most precious and intimate relationships a person can know in life and - whether we are male or female - God extends that care and commitment to whoever trusts in His love.

Strong and Mighty

Gibôr is an interesting adjective in Hebrew: usually translated mighty in the Old Testament, it means strong and powerful, but it also means brave and courageous.

When not being used to speak of El Gibôr - the Mighty God, it's most often used either to speak of angels or to describe soldiers who were strong and courageous warriors. The phrase, "mighty men of valour," is used a lot in the books of Chronicles, and there was even a specific group of soldiers whose courageous exploits earned them the name of, "David's mighty men."

But that strength and courage are infinite when speaking of Yahweh Gibôr or El Gibôr, the Mighty God that those Old Testament warriors served. When David described the King of Glory in Psalm 24: 8, he called Him, The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, mighty in battle.

When the prophet Isaiah foretold the birth of Jesus, he told us, seven hundred years in advance, that one of the Messiah's names would be the Mighty God. (Isaiah 9: 6)

But our God is not only strong and mighty in the battle against evil, He is strong in other ways too. In Job 36: 5, He's described as mighty in strength and mighty in wisdom. When the prophet Zephaniah told the people that the Mighty God was in their midst to save them, he went on to describe Him in ways that range from tenderness to exuberance: "He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing." (Zeph 3: 17)

The prophet Jeremiah has a word of caution for those who consider themselves strong (Jer 9: 23 - 24) - Don't let the wise boast of their wisdom, or the strong (gibôr) boast of their strength, or the rich boast of their wealth..." The only thing worth boasting about, he says, is that we know the kindness, justice and righteousness of our mighty God. 

El Gibôr, the Mighty God is not only strong and courageous within Himself; He is also able to give us strength and courage when we need them in our own battles and challenges of everyday life. And when something is really too much for us, He's like a mighty warrior who will fight on our behalf. (Ex 14: 14)

Light in the darkness

There are hundreds of verses in the Bible that speak of God's light, but only a handful that actually use light as a name (sometimes capitalised and written as Light in our English Bibles.)

Isaiah 10: 17 calls Him ôr yiśrā'ēl - the Light of Israel. But Jesus took that even further in the New Testament, calling Himself phos o cosmos - the Light of the whole world. (See John 8: 12 and John 9: 5) The apostle John begins his gospel by telling us that Jesus was the true Light (John 1: 9), the One who shines in the darkness and brings the light of life to all mankind.

And it's not just a temporary light; there are verses in Isaiah and in Revelation that say He is the Everlasting Light, the One who is with us for all eternity. See, for example, Isaiah 60: 19 - 20.

What really makes a difference, though, is that He is not just a general light for mankind, for Israel or for the church. He is also ever present as source of light and direction for individual believers. David proclaims in Psalm 27: 1 - The Lord is my Light and my Saviour/Salvation.

What are the implications of knowing God as my Light? It means I never need to walk in darkness; I don't need to be afraid of the unknown or of enemy ambush, because the Lord will be there at the right time to shine His light and to guide me. 

Of course, one of the common ways He guides us is through His written Word, the Bible. The writer of another psalm says that God's Word is also a light for us, in the here and now as well as in making decisions about the future. "Your Word is a lamp (nîr) for my feet and a light (ôr) for my path." (Psalm 119: 105)

But Jesus also gave us a solemn warning. In telling us that He's the Light of the world, He promised that those who follow Him will never walk in darkness (John 8: 12), but He also warned that some people choose the darkness over the light because their actions are evil and they want to keep them hidden. (John 3: 19) 

So the choice is clear. The Light is there and He's available to us, but we have to make a personal choice to follow Him and walk in the light.

The Good Shepherd

Psalm 23: 1 is possibly one of the best known verses in the Torah and the Bible. Even people of no faith have heard of it, and it's sung often at funerals: The Lord's my Shepherd.

Understanding the biblical pictures of God as our Shepherd has always been of interest to me - and no, it's not because I happen to have a sheepdog. In our typical British understanding of a shepherd, it looks as if the man has more relationship with his dog than with his sheep. (And that makes a lot of sense if you have the privilege of working in partnership every day with an intelligent border collie?!)

But I've also lived in other parts of the world - in Africa and in southern Spain - where the style of shepherding is probably more similar to the Middle Eastern model that David wrote of in Psalm 23 or that Jesus had in mind when He said the things we read in John 10. I've seen the Shepherd walking in front of his sheep all day, leading them across the hillside to where they'll find fresh pasture or water to drink. And so there have been several times in my life when I've done an in-depth study of Psalm 23 and considered all that it means to know the Lord as our Shepherd - Yahweh Rā'â.

Those six short verses of Psalm 23 are so rich, you could meditate on them for a whole week. They promise care and provision (vs 1), rest and refreshing (vs 2), restoration and guidance (vs 3), protection and comfort (vs 4), security, victory over enemies, healing and anointing, abundance (vs 5), goodness and mercy, and a safe home in God's presence forever (vs 6). Wow! What a list of blessings if we know the Lord as our Shepherd.

It's obvious that David drew on his own experiences as a shepherd boy when he was writing the psalm. Another shepherd, Canadian agriculturalist, Phillip Keller, was born to missionary parents in Kenya. His book, "A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23," gives all kinds of fascinating insights, drawn from his own experiences of tending sheep. It's worth a read if you've not encountered it before. I remember reading it more than 30 years ago.

Shepherds were a familiar sight in Bible times. When we get to the New Testament, we find Jesus not only describing Himself as a shepherd, but saying that He is the Good Shepherd - the One who is willing to give His life for the sheep. (John 10: 11 and 15) He promises that His sheep will hear His voice. (John 10: 3 - 4) He tells a parable about a shepherd going searching for a sheep that has wandered off and got itself lost. (Luke 15) and compares that to the joy in heaven when a sinner repents.

The Bible shows us God as a Father, as a Friend, as a King, as a Saviour... but perhaps there are few pictures more tender than that of the Shepherd finding the sheep that was lost and then gently caring for all it's needs.

Fountain of Living Water

Māqôr Hai Mayim - Fountain of Living Water. The phrase appears twice in the book of Jeremiah (2: 13 and 17: 13) and in both verses the Lord is reproaching the people for forsaking Him, the spring of life.

I've always loved waterfalls and they were a favourite hiking destination back when I could walk with the dogs. There's something majestic about a huge waterfall, but even a small one is attractive to me because of the way the water is flowing and alive - not just standing still. That's what the Lord wants to be for us: an ever flowing fountain of life. David declared it in Psalm 36: 9 - With You is the fountain of life (māqôr hai).

A verse that was a favourite of mine, when I was a dancer in France back in the 1980s is the last verse of Psalm 87: Singers and dancers alike will say toutes mes sources sont en Toi - all my fountains, all my springs of joy are in You.

Isaiah echoed the same idea when he wrote: - With joy you will draw water from the wells/springs of salvation - mayan yeshua.  (Is 12: 3)

Jesus Himself used this imagery, not only identifying Himself as the source of life, but also saying  in John 7: 38 that rivers of living water would flow from those who believe in Him. Verse 39 explains that He was speaking about the Holy Spirit.

I remember that Jeremiah 2: 13 really stood out to me during one of my quiet times, also back in the 1980s. I wrote about it in my journal at the time. God says that His people had committed two evils: not only had they abandoned Him, the Fountain of Living Water - Māqôr Hai Mayim, they had also built cisterns for themselves - cracked cisterns that were incapable of holding water for long. It struck me that cistern water had probably been flowing at one time, but if kept in a cistern and not added to regularly, it would become stagnant... and a cracked, leaky cistern would eventually become empty. I felt challenged to keep receiving "fresh manna" from the Lord every day and not to depend on cistern water - old revelation from months or years previously.

So, this name of God reminds us that He is our Fountain of Living Water, and that He also wants that spring of life to flow within us, and then through us to others.

Gracious God

Gracious isn't a word that's often used or well understood today. We tend to hear it used to describe someone's gracious hospitality or to convey that someone responded politely in the face of rudeness or insults.

Sometimes you even hear people confusing graceful and gracious, saying that God is graceful. It's understandable because the word looks as if it means, "full of grace" - like when we read in John 1: 14 that Jesus was "full of grace and truth."

The dictionary, however, clearly explains the difference between the two: graceful refers to, "elegance, poise, physical beauty and fluidity of movement" (like a ballerina), while gracious refers to, "kindness, warmth, courtesy and generosity of character." Graceful describes how someone moves or looks, while gracious describes how someone treats others. The dictionary links gracious not only with kindness and generosity, but also with forgiveness, mercy and favour.

So it's understandable that the Hebrew words hanûn, hanan and hēn are often translated as mercy or compassion in the Old Testament; they express that God shows us kindness and favour, even when we don't deserve it.

But in a broader sense, Yahweh Hannûn (or Channun) expresses that God is gracious towards us - not only that He forgives us when we do wrong, but also that He's kind and generous towards us, even when we've done nothing in particular to deserve His favour. Grace in this sense is truly "undeserved kindness." 

The priestly blessing in Num 6: 25 says, "May the Lord be gracious to you," and throughout the Old Testament we see different people praying for and depending on the grace and favour of God. The same understanding continues into the New Testament, where the Greek word charis is similarly used to mean both favour and grace, or even free gift.

The Jerusalem Council (Acts15: 11) stated clearly that we are saved by the grace of God, and not through our own efforts in keeping the Law. Paul's letters to New Testament believers continually unpack this fundamental truth, summing it up well in Eph 2: 8 - it is because of God's grace that you are saved through faith and not through anything that you yourselves have actually done; salvation is a free gift.

But the grace of God goes even beyond saving us from sin and death. It's by grace that we can approach the throne of God and come right into His presence (Heb 4: 16.) It's also God's grace that helps us to persevere in times of difficulty (in 1 Cor 12: 9. for example.)

And even though God's grace is sufficient to save us when we first encounter Him, we discover the astonishing truth that we can continually grow in God's grace - in experiencing it ourselves and in extending it to others - even as we also continue to grow in our knowledge of God. (2 Peter 3: 18) Yes, it's something we can grow in, and the Lord continually gives us more grace as we also keep on growing in knowing Him.

Compassionate, merciful God

Rahûm and raham appear a few dozen times in the Old Testament, sometimes translated as compassionate and sometimes translated as merciful.

For me as a native English speaker, it seems that compassionate and merciful differ slightly in meaning: we feel compassion when someone is suffering (the word literally means "suffering with") but we extend mercy when someone's own wrongdoing is the cause of their suffering. But they're closely linked and both Hebrew words are translated both ways. The same verse can be translated either way in different Bible versions.

I counted more than half a dozen times that rahûm was linked to the phrase, "slow to anger" (for example, in Psalm 103 vs 8) where the context clearly implies that God is being merciful in the face of people's sin and disobedience.

Etymologically, rahûm and raham are both derived from rehem - one of the Hebrew words for womb - suggesting that they describe the kind of tender affection a mother feels for her own child. This is borne out by Isaiah 49: 15, which says that God's compassion for us is even greater than a mother's feelings for her child.

God Himself proclaimed to Moses that He is merciful, gracious, compassionate, patient, loving and faithful. (Exodus 34: 6) Lamentations 3: 22 declares that, "His compassion never fails," or, "His mercies never come to an end." David enumerates exactly the same list of God's qualities in Psalm 86: 15. 

When mercy and compassion appear in the same verse in English (it happens often in the psalms), usually one of the Hebrew words is rahûm or raham and the other is hesed - a word that's often translated in other places as "lovingkindness." And the Hebrew word hannûn (gracious) often appears in those same verses. That's the name I'll be reflecting on tomorrow.

While rahûm and raham most often seem to convey the sense of mercy/merciful in the Old Testament, the New Testament references to Jesus mostly convey the sense of compassion (usually the Greek word splagchnizomai). It's often used immediately before He heals someone who is sick or suffering: when healing two blind men in Matt 20: 34 or a leper in Mark 1: 41; when setting free the Gerasene demoniac in Mark 5: 19 or the demon-possessed boy in Mark 9: 22.

It's also used when He sees the bereaved widow of Nain weeping over the loss of her son (Luke 7: 13) and several times when He sees how lost the crowds are - like sheep without shepherd. In Mark 14: 14, His compassion led Him to heal the sick, and in Mark 6: 34, His compassion led Him to teach the crowds God's truth.

Splagchnizomai is also the word that Jesus chooses in Luke 15:20 to describe how the father felt on seeing his prodigal son returning. There it conveys both mercy for the son's misdeeds, as well as tender affection and compassion for the suffering the son had brought on himself.

So, the Old Testament tells us clearly that God is both merciful and compassionate, the gospels show us demonstrating that in person, and some of the New Testament letters also use the Greek words sympathēs and eusplagchnos when they urge us to show that same compassion to each other in brotherly love (for example, in 1 Peter 3: 8). We who've experienced God's mercy, should be the first to show mercy and compassion to others.

God of Heaven

What do you think of when you hear the word heaven? The Hebrews used the term shamayim in three different ways:

Firstly, they used it to refer to the sky within the earth's atmosphere - as in Genesis 7, when God told Noah to take the different birds of the air (shamayim) onto the Ark with him.

Secondly, they used it to refer to space, where the planets and stars are - as when God told Abraham in Genesis 15 to look to the heaven (shamayim) and count the stars if he could; or like when the writer of Psalm 8 exclaims, "When I consider the heavens (shamayim), the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you set in place, what is man, that you would think about him?"

Thirdly, they used it to refer to the dwelling place of God and the angels - as when we read in Psalm 103: 19 that God has established His throne in heaven (shamayim). In different places throughout the Old Testament, we read that God watches mankind from heaven, or hears their prayers from heaven; that's the third meaning of shamayim.

All three understandings appear over and over again in the scriptures, and the intended meaning is always clear from the context. When the psalmist wrote that the heavens declare the glory of God, he was speaking about the sky and the beauty of creation. (Psalm 19: 1) When Ezekiel shared a prophetic picture in which the "birds of the heavens" build nests in a big tree (Ezekiel 31: 6), he was obviously referring to something happening here on earth.

However the arrogance of the people in Genesis 11 was that they thought they could build a tower that would allow them to ascend to heaven, the dwelling place of God. And Lucifer's sin in Isaiah 14: 13 was that he wanted to set up his own throne in heaven, the place where God's throne had been established for all eternity.

Nonetheless, the Israelites sometimes made it doubly clear when they were referring to the third meaning of shamayim. In a dozen or more places they called God's dwelling place, the heaven of heavens. We don't always see this in our English translations, where it simply says that God lives in heaven, or perhaps in "highest heaven," but the Hebrew is more explicit. For example, Moses says in Deut 10: 14 that, "The heavens (shamayim) and the heaven (shamayim) of heavens (shamayim) belong to the Lord." When Solomon was dedicating the new temple in Jerusalem, he acknowledged that no building could contain the Lord because heaven, even the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him. (1 Kings 8: 27) 

So when the Hebrews spoke of El Shamayim or Yahweh Shamayim, they weren't speaking of some distant God who lived in an intangible place far away; they were recognising that He was Lord over everything and everywhere: Lord of the earth, Lord of the sky, and Lord of the heavenly realms. Perhaps this is also why some of the psalmists write that God is "exalted above the heavens." They're acknowledging that He is Lord far beyond the boundaries of our galaxy. His throne is outside and above all that is known to us; He is truly the Lord of the universe.

Psalm 123 begins,  "I lift up my eyes to you who dwell in the heavens."

This understanding continues into the New Testament. Jesus taught us to pray, "Our Father in heaven... " (Matt 6: 9) The Greek word is οὐρανός - ouranos. While the Old Testament believers often prayed to El Shamayim - God of Heaven, we in the new covenant era often pray to Patēr Ouranos - Heavenly Father. It's our privilege to know Him as Father; spiritually speaking we even have the honour of being seated with Him in heavenly places (epouranios - Eph 2: 6)  - but He is still the God of the entire universe and the "heaven of heavens."

The God of Heaven is already enthroned over everything that exists. He deserves also to be Lord over our finances, our relationships, our schedules, our values and our decisions about the future.

Creator of all

Today's name of God is the first one that's ever mentioned in the Bible. Genesis 1:1 tells us that, In the beginning, God (Elohim) was the Creator (Bārā) of heaven and earth, the origin of everything that exists.

The rather mind-blowing reality, however, is that creation was not a one-off event that happened long, long ago. God is still Creator and He continues to create, even in the 21st Century.

Psalm 104: 30, for example, says that God not only created the earth, back in the beginning of time, but He also, "renews the face of the earth" on an ongoing basis. Isaiah 65: 17 says that He will one day create a new heaven and earth - something that is echoed in Revelation 21: 1.

Amos 4: 13 speaks of His creating the wind... something that needs to happen on a regular basis. Interestingly, the word for wind is ruach and it also means breath or spirit - as when God breathed the breath of life into man (Gen 2: 7) or when Job says, "The Spirit of God created me, and the breath of El Shaddai gave me life." 

(Job 33: 4)

God can create so much more than the physical world around us. David prays, "Create a clean heart in me, oh God, and renew a right spirit (ruach) in me." (Psalm 51: 10) The verb ḥāḏaš (renew) is often used to express the fact that God continues to create, restore and make new every day.

Isaiah tells us that God is not only the Creator of the ends of the earth; He is also the One who can create new strength in those who wait expectantly for Him to renew them in times of weariness. (Isaiah 40: 28 - 31)

This understanding of a God who is our Creator appears dozens of times in the Old Testament, and then continues to be a common theme in the New, where the Greek word is usually ktizō. Paul reminds the Colossians that everything, whether physical or spiritual, visible or invisible, was created by Him and for Him. (Col 1: 16) John's gospel tells us that Jesus was with the Father at creation and played a part in everything that was made. (John 1: 3) The angels around God's throne in heaven continue to proclaim that He created all things for His pleasure. (Rev 4: 11)

The Bible also tells us why we were created. The book of Genesis shows that we were created to have fellowship with God, to reflect His image and to take care of the creation here on earth. The New Testament tells us that He also wants us to be His co-workers (the Greek word in 1 Cor 3: 9 is synergos.) We are God's masterpiece, created in Jesus Christ, to do good works that He prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2: 10)

Living in a world that God created therefore has implications for how we live our lives. The writer of Ecclesiastes urges young people to, "Remember your Creator while you are young, before difficult days come and you find yourself saying that life isn't pleasant any more." (Eccl 12: 1) There's a poignancy to this plea, as the writer, thought by many to be Solomon, was writing in a time of disillusionment, a season of feeling fed up with the futility of life. Remember your Creator now, he's saying, before it's too late and you discover you've messed your life up by ignoring Him.

Indeed, Paul tells the citizens of Rome that not remembering God leads to all kinds of foolishness and evil. The greatest foolishness of all is when man goes his own way and worships created things instead of worshipping the Creator. We are without excuse, he says, because God has clearly revealed Himself through His creation. (Romans 1: 20 and 25) This is similar to what David wrote in Psalm 19: 1, when he said that the heavens display God's glory and handiwork.

Made in God's image, we are naturally creative too. God invites us to use our creativity for His glory, and He promises to create new strength in us as we follow in His ways.

 

My Refuge and my Shield

Yesterday I began looking at two names of God that I expected to be closely related: Yahweh Machsi, the Lord is my Refuge, and Yahweh Māgēn, the Lord is my Shield.

They're both to do with protection, so I expected that I would keep encountering both names in the same Bible verses, especially in the psalms. Even before starting to read the scriptures, my initial thought was that a refuge is somewhere you run to hide, while a shield is with you when you're out and about, especially when you're going into battle.

The Lord is both of those things to us; He's a shield to protect us from, "the fiery darts of the enemy" (Ephesians 6: 16) and to enable us to face all the dangers and battles of everyday life. But He's also a refuge, a hiding place when things get too much and we need a safe place to escape to.

Sure enough, I did find that the experience of God as a shield and a refuge often did appear in the same verse, but it wasn't always the Hebrew word machsi/maḥăsê; sometimes it was other names, like miśgāḇ, sēṯer or mānôs that were used to express refuge or hiding place. So I decided to zoom in yesterday on the Lord my Shield, and today I'm looking more closely at the different Hebrew names that mean the Lord my Refuge or Hiding Place.

Read on in the two posts below for more about these names of God.

 

The Lord our Shield

Shortly after God called Abraham, He appeared to him in a vision, saying, "Don't be afraid; I am your shield and your very great reward."

There was no coincidence about the timing of this reassurance. When Abraham set out to follow God's call in Genesis 12, he took his nephew, Lot, with him. The two men separated in Genesis 13, after a conflict among their workers, and Lot ultimately moved to Sodom. In Genesis 14, we see Abraham rescuing Lot, who had been captured when armies invaded the city of Sodom.

Abraham didn't live in a city; he and his household were relative nomads, living in tents. If a walled city like Sodom was vulnerable to attack (archeological excavations in Jordan suggest that Sodom was a massive, heavily fortified city), how much more vulnerable was Abraham's small tribe of 300 people, living alone and isolated.

But it's precisely at this moment that God appears to Abraham and promises, I am your Shield, your guarantee of safety. The Hebrew word is māḡēn.

David, a man who regularly fought in war (and who for the early years of his life also didn't have the protection of a walled city) picked up this name and regularly proclaimed Yahweh Māḡēn in his songs.

Psalm 3: 3 - You are a shield for me.

Psalm 28: 11 - The Lord is my strength and my shield.

Psalm 33: 20 - Wait for God; He is our help and our shield.

Those of us who follow and honour the Lord are urged in scripture to trust Him for protection (Psalm 115: 11) : You who fear the Lord, trust in Him. He is your help (Yahweh Ezra) and your shield. (Yahweh Māḡēn)

I couldn't help noticing the recurring link between the Shield and His Word. Trusting in God's protection is closely linked to trusting what He has spoken.

Psalm 18: 30 - As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tested and pure (ṣārap̄ - refined like gold). He is a shield to all those that trust in Him.

Proverbs 30: 5 - Every word of the Lord is proven true. (ṣārap̄ ) He is a shield to everyone who puts their trust in Him.

Psalm 119: 114 - You are my hiding place and my shield. I put my hope in your word.

The message is clear: if we want to experience God as our shield in the battles of everyday life, we need to trust Him and we need to trust His word. We can only trust His word if we know it, and we can only know it if we are reading it regularly and listening to His voice.

My refuge and hiding place

I began this meditation by reflecting on Yahweh Machsi (maḥăsê) - the Lord my Refuge, but as I began looking up Bible verses, I discovered that there are several different Hebrew words translated as refuge in our English Bibles. The concept of seeking safety and protection in God was such a common experience that the Old Testament believers had many different words to express it.

Maḥăsê was one of the most common, found for example in Psalm 46: 1 - The Lord is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. It's also occasionally translated as shelter. 

But twice in that same psalm, refuge is the Hebrew word miśgab, translated in other parts of the Bible as defence, or "high tower." It's used also in Psalm 9: 9 - the Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

Mānôs is used only a few times, sometimes translated refuge and sometimes translated escape. There are scriptures that even use a few of these refuge words in the same verse: 

Psalm 59: 16 - You have been my defence (miśgab) and refuge (mānôs). 

Psalm 94: 22 - The Lord is my defence (miśgab) ... and the rock of my refuge (maḥăsê).

Then there's sēṯer, translated in Psalm 32: 7 and Psalm 119: 114 as, You are my hiding place. It's more often translated in the Old Testament as "secret," so it's referring to the kind of refuge where you can't be found.

I meditated on many verses and I discovered even a few more Hebrew words, but the conclusion is clear: Yahweh Machsi is our safe place, a hiding place; the place we can escape to when we need defending or protecting; our refuge and strength in any kind of trouble we might face.

The Unchanging One

Yahweh Lo Shanah - the God who never changes. It's stated most clearly in Malachi 3: 6, where God says, "I am the Lord; I never change..."

Throughout the Old Testament we discover this truth: that God is consistent and dependable. He doesn't change His mind or go back on His word; He doesn't have second thoughts about His promises, the way humans sometimes do. (Numbers 23: 19)

This idea is echoed in 2 Tim 2: 13, where Paul writes that, even if we are unfaithful, God remains faithful, for "He cannot deny Himself."

This understanding of an unchanging God continues throughout the New Testament. Older Bible translations often use the word immutable, while more modern translations talk about "the unchanging nature" of His purpose and His promise. (Heb 6: 17 - 18)

James emphasises that it's not just His promises and purposes that are unchanging; God Himself is unchanging in His nature and character. Every good gift comes from Him and, "He does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1: 17)

Hebrews 13: 8 sums it up well by saying that Jesus Christ is, "yesterday, today and forever the same." The Greek word is autos: He remains Himself, He doesn't change who He is.

Does this mean that God becomes old-fashioned and out of date? No!  Because He is eternal (outside of our time restraints), He doesn't need to learn new things or move with the times, because He was already omniscient, knowing everything from the beginning.

So, His unchanging nature and character don't make our faith irrelevant today; rather they give us security and consistent certainty to live by.

The most high God

I saw yesterday that El is the most basic name for God in Hebrew, but it is usually combined with some other word that expresses who God is. Perhaps because ēl refers to any god at all, even false, pagan gods, the Hebrews often clarified that their God was Elohim, the supreme God, and El Elyôn, the most high God - high above the fake gods of other nations.

The name El Elyôn first appears in Genesis 14, when Abraham meets a man called Melchizedek, a priest of the most high God. He blesses Abraham in the name of El Elyon. Later, in the New Testament, the writer to the Hebrews makes much of the parallel that Jesus is our great high priest, a priest like Melchizedek, who introduces us to God most high.

The name appears again and again in the psalms, for example in Psalm 97: 9 - For you, Lord, are high (Elyon) above all the earth; you are exalted above all gods.

The psalmists sing praise to El Elyon, they fulfil vows to El Elyon, they take refuge in El Elyon, and sadly, they also confess how they have sinned against El Elyon. 

When describing the fall of Lucifer (Satan) Isaiah says (Is 14: 14) that Lucifer's sin was to try to exalt himself as high as he could, so that he would be equal to El Elyon, the most high God.

It was probably no surprise to the Israelites when God told them that His ways of thinking and acting were high above their thoughts and actions. (Is 55: 8) They had had centuries of understanding that their God, Yahweh, was the most high God.

New Testament believers recognised that Jesus was this most high God, come to live among them as a human being. Peter preached in Acts 2: 33 that the risen Jesus had been exalted to the most high place, at the right hand of God. Paul told the Philippians that God had raised Jesus to the place of highest honour and given Him a name that is above all other names. (Phil 2: 9) The writer to the Hebrews also explained that Jesus had been given the highest place of honour in heaven. (Heb 7: 26)

So the question for each one of us who know God personally is, will we give Him the highest place in our lives or will other things be of much greater importance to us? He is already God Most High - among the nations, among the "gods," among the heavens - but how high a place, how high a priority will I give Him in my own life?

More than "just" a God...

It doesn't get more straightforward than this. El is the most basic Hebrew word for God or gods. It's derived from an ancient word meaning power or might. (The Arabic name Allah shares a similar linguistic origin.)

But here's the interesting thing: El is rarely used by itself in the Bible. It's found in place names (Bethel = house of God) and people's names (Samuel = God hears) and otherwise only in a few straightforward sentences. It's found most often in the book of Job - perhaps because Job was a man who sought to honour and obey God, but He didn't really know Him at first. The early chapters of Job contain some wrong understanding of what God is like.

In other parts of the Bible, El is more usually combined with another word that describes who God is. He's El Elyon - God most high. He's high above all the other, false so-called gods. Half a dozen times in the Old Testament He's referred to as the "God of gods." In previous blog posts this year, I've reflected on:  

• El Hai - the living God 
• El Shama - the God who hears
• El Roi - the God who sees
• El Haggadol - the great God
• El Shaddai - the all-powerful God
• El Olam - the eternal God
• El Nāśā - the forgiving God
• El Hanne'eaman - the faithful God
• El Yeshuati - the God who saves
• El Qadosh - the holy God

and there are many more that I'll meditate on over the coming weeks:

• El Echad - the one God
• El Emet - the God of truth
• El Deah - the God of knowledge
• El Racham - the compassionate God
• El Hakkavod - the God of glory
• El Shamayim - the God of heaven

It makes sense that we need a lot of different names to describe an infinite God, and I'm looking forward to reflecting on more of them over the next couple of months. I don't want to be like Job, who knew God only as El. I want to be a friend who draws close enough to discover the richness of who God truly is.

More tomorrow about El Elyon - God most high.

Yâ or Yahweh.... who is He?

It's been five weeks since I started "investigating" and meditating on different biblical names of God. I've looked at more than 30 names, and many of those include the word Yahweh (or Jehovah in some Bible Translations.) The name Yahweh appears nearly 7000 times in the Old Testament, either as a stand-alone name or as part of a longer name. What does it mean and why is it so important?

YHWH - Yahweh or its shortened form Yâ is the name that God attributed to Himself.

After 400 years of slavery in Egypt, it would have been understandable if the people of Israel had begun to doubt the existence of their God. But He wasn't dead; He was only too aware of their suffering. The long years of oppression were no surprise to Him either. In fact, He had already told Abraham long ago (Genesis 15: 13) that his descendants would be oppressed for 400 years in a foreign country.

When the time came for the great escape, God chose and called Moses to lead the people in the great exodus from Egypt. Not convinced at first, the reluctant Moses asks God, "What will I say if people ask me the name of the God who has sent me to them?"

God replies, "I am who I am. Tell them that "I am" (Hebrew hāyâ) has sent you." (Exodus 3: 13 - 14) And so, from that declaration, Yâ or Yahweh became the most holy name of God, and the starting point for many of the other names that I've been reflecting on during these past weeks.

"I am" seems a strange and simple name, but it's also powerful. At its most basic level, it means, "I exist," and its present tense suggests timelessness. God was "I am" in the days of Moses, and He is still "I am" today. He never becomes "I was," but is constantly forever "I am."

Jesus wasn't getting His grammar mixed up when He said (in John 8: 58), "Before Abraham was, I am." By using that sacred name of God, He was telling people that He is timeless, unchanging, the pre-existent One. As He would later say in John's vision (Rev 1: 8) He is the One, "who was, and is, and is to come."

God is pre-existent and self-sufficient. No one created Him; rather He was and is the Creator of everything that exists. He needs nothing and no one; He's never lonely or bored, He never lacks anything. He is Yahweh, the all-sufficient One.

The shorter, more poetic form of His name - Yâ or Jah - appears around 50 times in the Old Testament, mainly in worship and song, so we see it often in the Psalms. Psalm 68: 4 specifically declares, "His name is Yâ."

It gives us our internationally known word Alleluia, Alleluya or Hallelujah. Whatever the language, whatever the spelling, it means, "Praise the Lord" - from the verb hālal and the name Yâ. It appears, for example, as the very first word or words in Psalm 106 and in many other psalms too.

It's also found in the names of biblical people... such as Elijah, Jeremiah, Josiah, Jehoiada... Bible names often carried great significance. Elijah's name, for example, means, "The Lord (Yâ) is God (El)" - something that he declared publicly when he challenged those who worshipped false Gods like Baal.

The people of Israel knew that Yahweh was the pre-existent, all sufficient God, who nonetheless invited them into relationship with them. So they incorporated His name into their songs, into the names of their children and their towns. They lived in awe of YHWH, the great "I am."

God is our righteousness

At the time when the prophet Jeremiah was writing, Israel and Judah were a mess. The people had consistently rebelled against God and persisted in doing things that were not right. But the prophet foretold a future time when Israel, Judah and Jerusalem would be known by the name Yahweh Tzidkenu - the Lord our righteousness. (Jer 23: 6 and Jer 33: 16)

David expresses a similar understanding in Psalm 4: 1 when he prays to Elohim Tzedeki - God of my righteousness. The names come from the Hebrew word ṣeḏeq, meaning right, correct, innocent or righteous.

All through the Bible, we read that God is righteous: He only does what is just and right; He never does anything wrong. But these names of God take that righteousness a bit further, saying that He imparts or accredits His righteousness to us - a righteousness that we could never achieve by our own efforts.

As far back as Genesis 15: 6 (quoted again in Romans 4: 3 and Galatians 3: 6) we read that Abraham trusted God and God credited it to him as righteousness. Likewise, Romans 10: 4 tells us that Jesus fulfilled all of the Law, so that those who believe in Him could be seen as righteous. (Greek dikaiosynē)

In Psalm 24: 4 - 5, the Israelites are urged to have, "clean hands and a pure heart," but reminded that their righteousness is actually a blessing from the Lord and not a result of their own efforts. Similarly, Isaiah told them that every accusation or condemning word spoken against them would be silenced - not because they always did what was right, but because their righteousness came from the Lord.

This understanding gives incredible hope and security to those of us who follow Jesus. Paul sums it up in Philippians 3: 9, saying that we don't rely on a self-made righteousness that comes from keeping the Law, but rather on a righteousness that comes from God Himself and is based on our faith in Christ. The Lord is our righteousness!