In the last segment, we ended by quoting part of the 91st Psalm:
I will set him on high because he has known my name. He shall call upon me and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him, with long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation. (Psalm 91)
What did he mean when he said, “. . .because he hath known my name?” What is his name and why is that so important to know his name?
In my studies, I’ve learned a little secret that I would like to share with you: If you would like to know what God would like you to know about himself . . . check out the names he calls himself. They are concise and succinct descriptors of his characteristics and attributes and they come from the only one who really ought to know!
For example: When God was sending Moses to deliver His message to Pharaoh of Egypt, Moses implored, “But who shall I say sent me?” God simply told him to tell the fellow that YHWH (or Yahweh) which means “I am that I am” has sent you. In other words, . . . my name is, “I exist” – in the past, in the present, in the future. God was revealing something eternally important about himself – chiefly that he exists exclusively on the both sides of “now” and has all sufficiency of life in himself throughout the vast foreverness of forever. He is also known by such names as Elohim, Adonai, and El Shaddai:
Yahweh GOD – “I am that I am”
Elohim LORD God
Adonai Sovereign LORD
El Shaddai Almighty God (completely able to accomplish anything)
God, is referred to hundreds of times in the scriptures as “Jehovah” either as a reference to himself or referred to by others. The varied nuances of his name become insights into who he is; what he does; how he thinks; and how we should respond. And if God really wants to make a point in describing who he is, he uses a compound method where he places a hyphen, or slash between his name, Jehovah, and the name used as the descriptor.
Encountering these compound descriptive names is like being handed a precious gem stone with the instructions to methodically rotate the treasure and view each individual facet of the stone. As the individual facets are examined a whole new and exciting revelation of the uniqueness of the gem stone opens up and a new appreciation for the whole stone is exponentially enhanced.
At one point, Anna Marie and I chose eleven of these compound names and memorized them. We love to make it into a little game to try to identify characteristics of our everyday situations and then connect them up with one of the compound names of God. I am going to share those eleven names/descriptors here in alphabetical order so that it will be easy for you to remember them:
Jehovah - Hoseenu
Jehovah-Hoseenu: The Lord our Maker, The Creator: (Ps. 95:6) There is nothing that exists today that was not designed, engineered, and brought into existence by the Lord our Maker. He is the Creator of everything. It is almost impossible for the human mind to dare fathom this truth. Jehovah-Hoseenu is not only the indefatigable maker of everything that exists, but he is also the sustainer of all things, all systems, and all functions that are in existence. I may be the only viewer who will go to the IMAX theater to watch the movie about the Hubble space telescope and sit there and cry like a baby! My heart and my head have a hard time grasping the magnitude and wonder of the experience. The telescope focuses on the farthest object in view, then travels to that point. When the spaceship arrives at that destination the telescope focuses in on not less, but a million times more out there than was ever seen before. Where, oh where, does his created vastness end? Only Jehovah knows.
It is not just with the scope and vastness of Jehovah’s gigantic accomplishments in space that we creatures are overwhelmed. His works are equally overwhelming in all things tiny and invisible. I will neither get into things molecular, nor try to explain the marvels of DNA structure and function. But I would ask you to stop for a second and rub together your thumb and forefinger. Can you feel it? Those are the tire treads on your flanges. Every 30,000 miles or so, I have to drive my car into my local tire shop and have the attendants replace my tires because I have worn off all the treads. They tell me the tires are “slick” and “bald” and they are dangerous and life threatening because they will no longer properly “grip the road.” But in Jehovah’s world, I have never needed to go into the heavenly hand shop and have my fingers and thumbs replaced so that I could successfully hold on to a slick glass of ice tea. He grows my needed finger-treads from the inside out. And he is so creative that no two sets of finger-treads are of the same design for the billions of people he has created. Let us be reminded again that there is nothing that exists today that was not designed, engineered, and brought into existence by the Lord, our Maker and Creator. Jehovah-Hoseenu.
Jehovah – Jireh
Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord Who Provides: (Gen. 22-14). Not only does Jehovah create, and sustain everything that exists, but he also makes available the distribution possibilities of all things. “But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). Jehovah is the source – everything else is a resource.
Everything I have today has come to me as a direct gift from God, or is the by-product of a gift exchange. I am taking something that I now possess and am trading it for something additional that I need now, or perceive I will need in the future. But, let there be no confusion, it all came from God in the first place.
Jehovah – M’Kaddesh
Jehovah-M’Kaddesh: The Lord Who Sanctifies: (Ex. 31:13). God has made provision and it is his desire to clean me up and allow me to live a holy life here on earth so that one day I can go to a holy heaven and live with a holy God forever. Nothing impure, sinful, or unholy will ever be allowed to enter into his heaven. God says that it is our sin that separates us from him and he offers to purge us, cleanse us, and set us apart, dedicated to be holy on this earth as a sign between God and us that we are keeping his statutes and allowing the Holy Spirit to live the life of Jesus Christ through us to the glory of the Father.
Throughout history, from the time of Jesus’ ascension on the mount of transfiguration upward into heaven, some folks have endeavored to usurp the simplicity and beauty of Jehovah-M’Kaddesh by lowering the high bar of simple holiness and purity of life. Lowering the high bar may serve to increase the weekly attendance of the group, but it doesn’t do much for changing the world for goodness.
Jehovah-M’Kaddesh simply proclaims God’s demand for holy living by declaring: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be ye holy in all you do: for it is written, ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’” That’s not “if”, “maybe”, or “someday” . . . that means be holy now.
So, what’s the alternative to living a righteous life? Let’s investigate another compound name for Jehovah used to describe who he is and what he does.
Jehovah – Makkeh
Jehovah-Makkeh: The Lord Who Smites: (Ezek. 7-9). “I will not look on you with pity or spare you; I will repay you in accordance with your conduct and the detestable practices among you. Then you will know that it is I the Lord who strikes the blow.” When the occasion calls for it, Jehovah is not opposed to smiting. He did it in the garden of Eden. He dramatically did it at the flood.
Another memorable incident of Jehovah-Makkeh’s smiting took place at Kadesh Barnea (Num. 14). Moses had led the children of Israel to the entrance of the promised land. It was time to enter and claim the land. Aaron, the high priest and brother of Moses, and Miriam, their sister, decided to start a little rebellion against Moses’ authority, saying that Moses was not the only person who was authorized to speak for God. They saw themselves as equally entitled and deserving of the position. However, for their indolence, Miriam was instantly smitten with leprosy and her flesh began to rot away. Moses incessantly begged God to restore her health and seven days later she was returned to perfect health.
Before entering into the promised land at Kadesh Barnea, Moses appointed twelve men (one representative from each tribe) to infiltrate the enemy territory and bring back a strategic assessment that would help in their invasion. They were given forty days to complete their report. Two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua, came back with a glowing report and encouraged the entering into the promised land immediately. The other ten spies said that it would have been better for all the children of Israel to have stayed in Egypt rather than letting Moses foolishly lead them and their families into certain and sure death. “There are giants in that land and we are but grasshoppers; we must choose a new leader who will take us back to our secure bondage in Egypt.”
God told them that they would all wander in the wilderness for the next forty years (one year for each day of their rebellious assessment trip and report). Not one person of their entire nation who was alive that day, except for Caleb and Joshua, would ever experience entering into the promised land. They would all die within the next forty years in the desert.
A short time later, the same people decided to revolt against the authority of Aaron being the chief priest. Their insolence even splashed over into another rebellion against Moses. This time Jehovah-Makkeh would smite them in an unusual way because of their contempt for the Lord. The very ground under the feet of the rebels split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them with their households and all Korah’s men and all their possessions. “They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community” (Numbers 16:33). Then a fire came out from Jehovah and consumed the additional 250 men who were offering incense. Messing with the God who smites is being stuck on stupid!
Next Week: Seven more names for you to memorize