Why study
the Names of God?
Spurgeon writes...
What
pleasure he finds in the very name of his Benefactor and Master. All
through Scripture we ought to notice the titles by which God is called in
each distinct place. We are so poverty-stricken
in
thought that we generally use but one name for God; not so the rich soul
of David: throughout the Psalms you will find him appropriately ringing
the changes upon Adonai, El, Elohim,
Jehovah,
and all the varied combinations of names which loving hearts were wont to
give to the glorious
LORD of hosts
The
names of God employed in prayer in holy Scripture are always significant.
Holy
men
of old were not so poverty-stricken in language as always to address God
under one name, nor were they so careless as to speak with him under such
a title as might first come to hand; but in their approaches to the Most
High they carefully regarded that attribute of the divine nature from
which they expected the blessing which they desired. If they needed that
their enemies should be overthrown they pleaded with the arm of his
strength; if they were wrongfully entreated, they prayed to the God of
righteousness; if they needed pardon for their sins, they pleaded with the
God of mercy; and such names as Jehovah, Elohim, Shaddai, are not used
indiscriminately in the prayers of the saints of old, but always with
selection and judgment.
In another place
Spurgeon writes...
God, the
living God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, sets forth his own
name and title, that there may be no mistake as to who he is. “I am the
LORD (Jehovah),” saith he, “and my glory will I not give to another,
neither my praise to graven images.” (Isa 42:8) He also sets forth his
name at large, for the comfort of his people. Is it not written, “They
that know Thy name well put their trust in Thee” (Ps 9:10)? There is
something in every name of God which may breed faith in our souls.
Whether we know him as Jehovah, Elohim, Shaddai, or Lord, or by whatsoever
other name he has been pleased to manifest Himself, that title becomes the
ground of our confidence, and is the means of fostering faith in his
people’s minds, when they come to understand its meaning.
To a
trembling people the Lord enlarges on His wonderful Names. I think He also
does it to excite our wonder and our gratitude. He that loves us so much
is Jehovah: He that can create and destroy; He that is the self-existent
God; He, even He, has set His heart upon His people, and loves them and
counts them precious in His sight. It is a marvellous thing. The more one
thinks of it, the more shall he be overwhelmed with astonishment, that He
Who is everything should love us who are less than nothing. It is the Holy
One Who has deigned to choose, and to love unholy men, and to look upon
them in grace, and save them from their sins.
That you
may bow low in loving gratitude, God lets you see Who He is. That you may
see how great a stoop of condescension He has made, when He loves His
unworthy people, and takes them into union with Himself, you are made to
see how great and glorious is the divine Name.
Where is the
first mention of Elohim?
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God
created the
heavens and the earth
Most authorities
agree that "Elohim" is derived from "El" meaning "mighty (one), strong
(strength)." The Hebrew ending "-im" added to "El" indicates
plurality. Although one cannot be dogmatic, the use of the plural
"Elohim" with the 3rd person singular masculine form of the verb "created"
suggests plurality in the Godhead. In Ge 1:1-2:4, Elohim is described as
Creator 35x in 35 verses.
O blest Creator of the light,
Who mak’st the day with radiance bright,
And o’er the forming world didst call
The light from chaos first of all.
How does
Jn 1:1 parallel
Gen 1:1?
John 1:1 In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was
God.
Who is
"the Word"?
John 1:14 And the Word
became flesh, and dwelt (tabernacled) among us and
we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father,
full of grace and truth. (Spurgeon)
(cf
Rev 19:14)
So here we see that
"the
Word" Who was with God at creation (in
the context of the incarnation
John 1) is Jesus Christ. (cf notes
Colossians 1:16,
Hebrews 1:1;
1:2;
1:3)
Behold the great Creator makes
Himself a house of clay,
A robe of virgin flesh He takes
Which He will wear for ay.
Hark, hark, the wise eternal Word,
Like a weak infant cries!
In form of servant is the Lord,
And God in cradles lies.
How does Genesis substantiate the idea of plurality of God?
Genesis 1:2
The earth was
formless and
void and
darkness was over the surface of
the deep and
the Spirit of Elohim was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then
Elohim said, "Let there be light there was light"
Although the term
Trinity is not in the Bible, the creation by Elohim supports
the involvement of the the "tri-unity" of God - Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. (Clearly this verse does not "prove" the Trinity but only supports
this doctrine. The Trinity of God is a vast, often controversial subject -
the interested student is referred to the excellent articles --
Trinity [Article 1] or
Trinity [Article 2])
In addition to the heavens and the earth, what else do we learn about
Elohim as Creator?
Psalms 139:14-16 I will give
thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful
are Thy works and
my soul knows it very well. 15 My
frame was not hidden from Thee when I was
made in secret and
skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;16 Thine eyes have
seen my unformed substance; and in Thy book were all written the
days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of
them. (Spurgeon's
notes)
"Fearfully and
wonderfully made" might be rephrased as “I am an awesome wonder”. Note
also that the psalmist describes Elohim's creation of men and women as
"wonderful" (marvelous, amazing) without qualification. So this
description includes YOU, His creation! "Written the days that were
ordained for me" suggests the idea that the life of a person, and the
structure and meaning of that person’s life, are all established from the
beginning by God, with the implicit idea that every life has purpose.
Spurgeon writes "An architect draws his plans, and makes out his
specifications; just so did the great Maker of our frame write down all
our members in the book of his purposes." In summary, your life in
Elohim's "book" has purpose whether you believe it or whether you feel
like it is of any value. You can be content with how you look, how big or
small He made you or even whether you have a deformity - the question is
are you content and will you rest in this "wonderful" truth?
Spurgeon writes...
Cannot He who made us thus wondrously
when we were not, still carry on His work
of power till He has
perfected us, though we feel unable to aid in the process, and are lying
in great sorrow and self loathing, as though cast into the lowest parts of
the earth?...
That we have eyes, and ears, and hands,
and feet, is all due to the wise and gracious purpose of heaven: it was so
ordered in the secret decree by which all things are as they are. God's
purposes concern our limbs and faculties. Their form, and shape, and
everything about them were appointed of God long before they had any
existence.
Wiersbe comments...
"After all He made
you, planned your potential and ordered your days. This is not some kind
of blind fatalism that
paralyzes you. It is the wise plan of a loving Father Who knows what is
best for you. Accept what you are as His gift to you,
and
then use it wisely as your gift to Him. You are unique. God made you that
way."
(Wiersbe,
W: With the Word: Chapter-by-Chapter Bible Handbook. Nelson
or
Logos)
How did the LORD
respond to Moses when he "complained" about his "speech impediment" and
that he was not eloquent?
Exodus 4:10
Then Moses said to
the LORD, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither
recently nor
in time past, nor since Thou hast spoken to Thy servant; for I am
slow of speech and slow
of tongue." 11 The LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who
makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD ?
Moses was politely
saying to God - "But you overlooked the fact that I've got this speech
impediment. With this impediment I surely can't fulfill your assignment
and purpose for me".
“An excuse is
the skin of a reason stuffed with
a lie” (Billy Sunday)
But God gave Moses
everything he needed for success. All he had to do was trust the great I
AM.
And so God said
"Now then go and I
even I will be with your mouth..." (Exodus
4:12)
We are all like
Moses with a tendency to look at ourselves and our physical or mental
shortcomings instead of looking at Elohim Who spoke the world into
existence and for Whom our impediment is no obstacle. Where is your focus?
Your impediment or Elohim's incomprehensible
omnipotence?
If we give our
Elohim what we have, even if it's deformed, He can use it for His glory.
Elohim Who created us can overcome every human weakness. Anyone who thinks
he cannot follow the call of God because of personal problems or deficits
needs to meditate on this passage (Exodus
4).
But you still may be questioning -
What about deformities and infirmities? Surely these cannot have a "high"
purpose? (Read
John 9 for context)
John 9:3 Jesus answered, "It
was neither that this man sinned, nor his
parents;
but it
was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. (cf
Jn 11:3-4, 21:18,19)
This man was blind to fulfill the
purposes of God. Jesus' point is that even in situations such as
deformities, afflictions, death, etc, God can be glorified. (See Torrey's
excellent topic on
Afflictions Made Beneficial)
Some of our sufferings, like the trials
of Job, are for God’s glory, either through our resulting refinement or
through a spectacular healing as in
Jn 9. God’s purpose is not always
presently known to us, but we have God’s assurance that His purpose is
good (see note
Romans 8:28;
Ge 50:20)
Click for challenging and encouraging
story of Fanny Crosby who was blind from childhood.
Look …
•Look around and be
distressed.
•Look inside and be
depressed.
•Look at God's Name
and be at rest
Corrie Ten Boom
So as the psalmist encourages let us
with our lips and our lives to...
Psalm 66:1 Shout joyfully to
ELOHIM, all the earth; 2 Sing the GLORY of His NAME. Make His praise
GLORIOUS. 3 Say to ELOHIM, "How awesome are Thy works! Because of the
greatness of Thy power Thine enemies will give feigned obedience to Thee.
4 "All the earth will worship Thee, and will sing praises to Thee. They
will sing praises to Thy NAME." Selah. 5 Come and see the works of
ELOHIM,
Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
See Spurgeon's note on Psalm 61:
v1,
v2,
v3,
v4,
v5
Note how David "runs" into the
strong tower of the great name of our omnipotent Creator God,
ELOHIM...
Psalm 61:1 Hear my cry, O
ELOHIM; Give heed to my prayer. 2 From the end of the earth I
call to Thee when my heart is faint; Lead me to the Rock that is higher
than I. 3 For Thou have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength
against the enemy. 4 Let me dwell in Thy tent forever. Let me take
refuge in the shelter of Thy wings. Selah. 5 For Thou hast heard my
vows, O ELOHIM; Thou hast given me the inheritance of those who
fear Thy NAME. 6 You will prolong the king's life. His years will
be as many generations. 7 He will abide before
ELOHIM forever. Appoint lovingkindness and truth that they may
preserve him. 8 So I will sing praise to thy NAME forever, that I
may pay my vows day by day
The Creator
(click
full poem)
by Annie Johnson Flint
God takes
the years - the old, the new,
With their changing scenes and brief
The close-shut bud and the fruiting bough,
Flower and fading leaf,
Grace and
glory and lack and loss,
The song, the sigh, the strife
The joy of hope and the hope fulfilled,
And makes of the years a life
><> ><> ><>
ELOHIM
OUR SHEPHERD
OUR REDEEMER
Jacob as he prepares to depart
this life for the next, gives us precious insight into a lifetime of
experiencing Elohim. And as someone has well said it is always wise to listen
carefully to the words of a man who is at the end of his life, especially
if he is a man of Elohim...
Genesis 48:15
And he (Jacob) blessed Joseph, and said, "Elohim
before Whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
Elohim
Who has been my Shepherd all my life to this day, 16 The
Angel
Who has redeemed me from all evil
There are several significant
observations in these passages: Notice how Jacob seamlessly and
synonymously associates Elohim with the
Angel of the LORD.
We also observe the first uses in Scripture of shepherd and
redeemed (see word study on
goel/ga'al)
both of these wonderful words associated with our Elohim.
Meditate
on this
picture of Elohim as your Creator Who is also your Shepherd, the One Who has "re-created"
(redeemed) you. Surely, such glorious and profound truths cannot but evoke
loudest praises from your innermost being to your incomparable Elohim!
Praise Him, Praise Him
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! hail Him! highest archangels in glory;
Strength and honor give to His holy Name!
Like a Shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,
In His arms He carries them all day long:
Refrain
Praise Him! Praise Him!
Tell of His excellent greatness.
Praise Him! Praise Him!
Ever in joyful song!
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins He suffered, and bled, and died.
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong.
Refrain
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever.
Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet, and Priest, and King!
Christ is coming! over the world victorious,
Pow’r and glory unto the Lord belong.
Refrain
