Yahweh, the Name of the LORD

Yahweh
Yahweh is most often translated in the Old Testament as “Lord”. To understand Yahweh we have to understand that the Jews were very careful about saying or writing the Lord’s name lest they sin by saying it in vain. It is also important to know that this iteration of the name of God is one of the oldest ones and comes at a time when ancient Hebrew was very limited in that there were no punctuation marks or in the case of Yahweh it contained no vowels. Yahweh, a combination of the tetragrammaton (YHWH) with the vowels of 'Adhonay, transliterated as Yehowah, but read aloud by the Hebrews 'adhonay. This is where some traditions get their translation of Jehovah.
Yahweh has its roots in the event of the burning bush were God reveals Himself as “I AM”. For most of the Old Testament Yahweh is more future tense in the sense of “He will be” in relation to his covenant relationship with His people. There is a sense of promise in His name that begins to be fulfilled in Christ. It projects the fact that He can be known in a personal sense.
This prophetic nature of Yahweh is fulfilled in John 14:8-9
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." 9 Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
While other names are more descriptive of His nature and His attributes, Yahweh is His personal name. It is the name by which He wants to be known.
Ex 3:13-15
Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" 15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD (Yahweh), 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, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Theology of the Holy Spirit

Image
  I haven’t written in my blog for a while now. However, seeing as the point of this stream is to talk about Spirit-led Living, I feel that there is something that I must address. Growing up I would read the New Testament and I formed a theology based on what I read on its’ pages. I believed that it was true, and I also believed that those things were not only for then, but also for today. Through the years as I was involved with several denominations, Wesleyan, Free Methodist, Assemblies of God, and Grace Brethren among others; I never felt that I could sign on the dotted line to become a member as agreeing with all their doctrinal positions. While I agreed with a large portion of what they believed, they all had doctrinal points that I felt were not Biblical. It wasn’t until I came upon the Vineyard that I felt that I found my tribe. From the Evangelicals I took a deep reverence for the Gospel and the Word as the inspired, inerrant word of God and the litmus test for all that we ...
Read more

Transparency

So, at her goodbye party, Michelle challenged us to be more transparent. Here goes my first attempt. I don’t usually write about my personal life on Facebook, both because I am a private person and second because I’m always concerned about what people will think. One of my shortcomings is that I have always been a people pleaser. As such, I tend to stay away from personal or controversial topics. No more. The time has come to take a bold personal stand for the sake of Christ. I am passionately in love with Jesus. However, I don’t always live that way. I have my struggles and if I want Him to stand up for me on Judgment Day; I need to stand for Him now. While I have a wonderful wife who is my best friend, I don’t have any close male friends and I struggle with loneliness. I have tried to reach out to guys but unless I initiate interactions, those relationships tend to go nowhere. I finally realized that if I want a friend, I am going to have to open up to someone and t...
Read more

Transparency - Part 2

First, I want to thank those of you who have given me feedback and told me to keep going. It really has been encouraging. As Pastor Karl continues his series on “Beating the Devil With his Own Stick”, he challenged us to look at the lies the enemy has spoken to us. Some of us have bought into these lies, but if you are like me, they are just there below the surface. We don’t think about them consciously all that much, but they are like those nasty noseeums that buzz around your head when you’re mowing the lawn. I’ve got a couple of favorite ones that tend to hang on in the back of my mind. “Your father was a failure and so are you.” My father started a number of businesses all which folded within a couple of years. He also planted over 10 churches in his lifetime. Most never grew beyond 50-60 people. I have no idea if any of them still exist today. Counting JesusChurch, this is my 5 th church plant that I have been a part of and none of the previous 4 still exists today. ...
Read more