Abraham's well, Beersheba Israel
Do you have a nickname? Not just a shortened version of your given name, but a name of endearment or description given to you by your family, friends or maybe even a bully at school.
Names are very important and they often can tell us a lot about a person... names like Big Jack or Princess or Buddy or Stinky can give us word pictures about a person.
The names of God tell us, His family, a lot about Him too...
The bible is filled with the names of God... Elohim, Yahweh, El Shaddai, Adonai, Jehovah -jireh, Jehovah-shalom, Messiah, Christ and many more... but mostly in our English bibles we see God's name written as God and Lord. It is hard to catch the true and deep flavor of the names of God and why they are so important in showing us who God is.
To the ancients, a name was a window into the character and the abilities of a person... and even God Himself.
God told Mary and Joseph to name their firstborn baby Jesus. Jesus means "God saves".
So when we are hearing Jesus, the Jews were hearing "God saves"! What a perfect describer for this baby who would grow up to save the whole world!
I feel bad for Jabez and Mahlon and Achan... who's names mean "sorrow", "sickness" and "trouble". I wonder if we get the phrase "here comes trouble" from Achan?
If we just dig in the bible a little we can learn God's names and from that learn about His wonderful and awesome character.
One of my favorite names for God is found in Genesis 17. God appears to Abram and says...
"I am God the Almighty"
"A ni El Shaddai" (el-shadd-i)
Everyone in the ancient world believed in god... most believed in many gods. We call them idols (literally means "block of wood"... I love that!)
How did the ancients know which god was the real or best god.
They had a very easy test... the strongest or mightiest god was the real god!
So, God appears to Abram and says... Abram I am the true God because I am the ALL Mighty God. Literally, El means god and shaddai means mighty.
Why God used that "nickname" to show who He was to Abram is so interesting!
Abram was a ninety-nine year old man at that time. He had a pretty good and successful life... but the one thing that was most important to a man of his day he did not have... and that was a child. It was a great cultural shame not to have children. And to make things worse, Abram means "exulted or great father"! Every time his name was spoken it reminded him of the biggest shame of his life!
But God, El Shaddai was about to show Abram just how mighty of a God He was! God changed Abram's name to Abraham... "father of a multitude of nations"!
God would have to be the mightiest of all and the true God if he could take a ninety-nine year old man and his old wife and make them the patriarchs of a multitude of nations... and God Almighty... El Shaddai... did just that! Abraham's descendants are as numerous as the stars!
God showed this ancient man that he was the mightiest God... the only true God... and the story of Abraham shows us that too!
What are you facing that needs a might God...are you carrying something heavy... do you need to see God's mighty power in your life?
Don't turn to other things (blocks of wood) to help you... you have El Shaddai... the Almighty God, who loves you more than you could ever imagine, to help you. Just ask... and keep on asking!
He is also know as Jehovah-jireh (Genesis 22), the God Who Provides! Our Almighty God will provide what you need... what you really need!
Here are some other names of God...
God is El Sabaoth~ the God of the Armies of Heaven
God is El Elyon~ the Most High God
God is Adonai~ Master
God is Jehovah~ The Lord, The Self-Existent God, God's Covenant Name
God is Jehovah Raah~ The Lord My Shepherd
God is Jehovah Rapha~ The Lord Who Heals
God is Jehovah Mekoddishkem~ The Lord Who Sanctifies You
God is El Olam~ The Everlasting God
God is Jehovah Shalom~ The Lord Of Peace
God is Elohim~ The Creator, The Triune God
There are more names of God that show His wonderful character... and His ability! No wonder the Bible says that He is our
ALL IN ALL...
everything we would ever need or want!
I love your Sunday Scriptures, Yvonne, and I think this is one of my favorites! Have a wonderful and blessed new year!
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredible post! I love this and plan to read it to my children as we are out of town and cannot go to our church today! This was wonderful and I love learning about the different names of God…it shows each aspect of His character…it shows that He meets us right where we are and He is everything we need! Thanks so much for posting this! Have a wonderful Sunday and a Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteI will now think of "God saves" whenever I think of Jesus name.
ReplyDeleteFondly,
Glenda
I learn so much on your posts. This was awesome.
ReplyDeleteAnd my nickname is Shelly, typical of Michele.
I love God has nicknames, too!!
You KNOW I have a nickname:) You are so knowledgeable and so generous to share that knowledge. XO
ReplyDeleteThere's a wonderful song that I've heard where they sing the name the Bible calls God in each of the books of Bible! It's wonderful!
ReplyDeleteblessings,
karianne
This post was a blessing to me.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Elza
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, Yvonne! It's wonderful to know that even God has nicknames.
ReplyDeleteYvonne,
ReplyDeleteWonderful!!!
Most of the names of God I have learned through songs, hymns!!!
I am grateful that he is a "living" God...no wood for me!
Thank you for your continual messages through Sunday Scripture.
Fondly,
Pat
beautiful post! When we were expecting our children, each time we really wanted to pick names that had a good meaning...becasue we know that the name is important in the Bible. I think it's so true
ReplyDeletevery nice
ReplyDeletethank you so much
have nice day =)
I know this is an old post, but I enjoy your blog very much and have been spending the morning reading thru it.
ReplyDeleteI thought you might enjoy this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2qm3eD4akM
Remember, there is but One God.