The Names of God - Yahweh-Yireh

Introduction
My message today is about one of God’s names:  Yahweh-Yireh, also known more commonly as Jehovah-Jireh.  Ancient Hebrew didn't have vowels, only consonants, which leaves a lot of room for interpretation on how to pronounce this ancient word.  Yahweh is spelled YHWH.  The letter Y can be pronounced as John or Yan.  Also, the letter W can be pronounced as What or Vat.  Therefore, Yahweh could be Jahvey.  Added to this confusion is that in the middle ages, Jews wanting to avoid saying or writing God's name would add the vowels for the Hebrew word Adonai in with the consonants of YHWH to render YaHoWaiH or JaHoVaiH, which is where we may get the word, Jehovah.  Most scholars believe the ancient pronunciation was closer to Yahweh.

Genesis 22:1-14
¹ Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.

“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”

² “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

³ The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

⁶ So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, ⁷ Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”

⁸ “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

⁹ When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. ¹⁰ And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. ¹¹ At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”

¹² “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

¹³ Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴ Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

Yahweh-Yireh
This is a strange and disturbing passage with which we should never become completely comfortable.  Anytime religious texts that promotes a loving and holy God commanding a person to sacrifice another human being, it should give us pause.  However, the passage reveals God’s name:  Yahweh-Yireh (or Jehovah-Jireh).

Yahweh means "I Am" or "I Am Who I Am".  In other words, God is who He is and we don't get to determine what He is like.  He created us in His image.  We don't get to create Him in ours.  God is the Great I Am.

Yireh means “see to it".  Vanilla Ice once rapped: "If there's a problem, yo, I'll save it."  God sees the problem and then sees to it and provides the solution.

People like there needs met.  In a world of uncertainty, it’s good to know we will have food to eat, shelter for warmth, companionship, etc.  Unfortunately, we always want more. 

I had an experience that illustrates this.  When my son was 2 years old, we were riding alone in the car and I had a really big bag of potato chips.  I decided we were going to eat as many of those chips as we wanted.  So I started eating and gave a chip to my son.  He loved it and wanted more.  SO I stated handing him chips one by one.  He would eat one and ask for another. I decided I would give him as many as he wanted, but I wasn't going to give him the bag and let him stick his grimy two-year-old hands in the bag.  After repeatedly giving Gavin chip after chip, he started asking for the bag.  I told him, he could have as many as he wanted, but only one chip at a time.  He couldn't have the bag.  He didn't like that.  He started to get upset and throw a fit.  He wanted the whole bag to himself.  He didn't want to have to depend upon me to give him each chip.

This is the human condition.  We don't want to depend on God or anyone else.  We want what we want and we want it independently.  We want things our way and leads to sin.  We see this from almost the very beginning of humanity.  In Genesis, we read how Adam and Eve in the Garden f Eden.  It was the very definition of paradise.  They had every thing they could ever want and it was perfect.  God said they could eat anything in the Garden except for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  This alone would be a test to prove their loving obedience to God.  But then a Satan slithers up to them as a snake and convinces them "God is withholding something good from you."  And they wanted it and they believed a snake instead of God.

I see this in the church sometimes.  People have everything they need—people in the church that care about them, people that sacrifice for them and love them unconditionally while overlooking their faults, and so many good things.  And maybe for a time, they will tell you “This church has been such a blessing…”   They will be fine for a time, but unfortunately it often happens that these same families start to want something more they feel the church isn’t providing—better music, better kids programs, whatever—and they go looking somewhere else or they just get bored with the church and stop coming.  For them, God and His Church are just something to use to get what they want or need. They consume the church as a product or a fruit; and when they are finished with it or what more, they will move on and consume something or someone else.  This is the human heart and it is incredibly wicked.  Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?”

And so humanity finds itself broken and corrupt, with no way to be healed.  But God is Jehovah-Jireh, the God who sees the problem and the God who provides the solution.

Abraham and Isaac
It is passages like this Abraham/Isaac story that convince me the Bible was inspired by God.  Yes, God used people to write and compile the stories, but their work was guided by God.  If it had only been a human effort, the editors would have gotten rid of passages like Genesis 22 a long time ago.  The editing committee would have sat together and said, "Come on guys.  This passage makes God look really bad.  We need to get rid of it."  But God is not trying to make us like Him.  He is Yahweh.  He is who He is.  

This story has an important purpose.  One purpose is to disabuse us of our entitlement mentality.  Lest we ever begin to think of God as our personal Sugar Daddy in the Sky who only exists to give us stuff and make us happy, the story of Abraham and Isaac serves to shake us from our selfishness.  In the image of Isaac on the altar, we see the agonizing cost of our broken relationship with God.  We see the agony of a father (Abraham) poised to sacrifice his only son (Isaac) and we are appalled.

Many religions throughout the millennia have advocated human sacrifice (and even child sacrifice) as a method to appease or manipulate the gods.  Yahweh actually forbids and abhors human sacrifice in the Bible (Deut. 18:10).  Yahweh cannot be controlled—He is who He is and He is sovereign.

The story of Abraham and Isaac foreshadows what God has done for us. While other so-called “gods” (which are really idols and false gods or demons parading as god) entice people to sacrifice their children in order to get something, the One True God—Jehovah-Jireh/Yahweh-Yireh, the God who provides—gave up His own Son for us.  He did this, not because we deserved it, but because we desperately needed it.

Mt Moriah is Mt. Calvary
Many scholars believe (and I agree) that Mount Moriah, where Abraham laid his son on the altar, is the same location where thousands of years later Jesus, the Son of God, was crucified on the cross.  God wanted Abraham and us to know the agony He would go through to provide for our deepest need and the cost of our atonement.

Notice what Genesis 22:14 says, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”  These words were spoken 2,000 years before Christ was even born and died on top of Mount Moriah (what the Christians call Mount Calvary).  No one could have known that one day a Messiah would be born that John 3:16 tells us is God’s “only Son”.  No one could have known he would be called "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world".  No one could have known that God’s Son would be bound and nailed to a cross for our sin.  No one could know this accept Yahweh-Yireh, who is the God who sees and provides what we really need.

God, Yahweh-Yireh, sees deeply into every situation and even far into the future and works out His perfect plans for us.  We must have faith like Abraham, especially when we don’t understand.  We need to trust God is providing for our truest needs.  And this is extremely important, because we feel like we have needs but we don’t always know what we really need.  We cry out to God in our perceived needs.  We pray for things we want and think we need.  We may even pray for things that seem reasonable and even noble—things like safety for our family, healing and health, etc.  And it’s ok to pray for those things.  But God really see our deepest needs and He provides.  And we have to trust Him because we can’t see the big picture and God’s providence may take forms we don’t understand.  We can’t even see what’s going to happen this afternoon and God is thinking thousands of years down the road.  He sees eternity and He wants you there with Him.  So we have to have faith—like Abraham—and listen for God’s voice and keep our eyes open.  God may provide a solution that’s just right there like a ram with its horns caught in a thicket.

Closing
What do you need today?  What do you really need?
You may not know.  You may have some idea.  You may think you know.
But maybe God has something to show you.  It could be a solution you haven’t seen before.
It could be that you’ve been looking at the problem all wrong.
God wants to give you new insight.
Ultimately, God has already seen to everything you really need for eternity.
On the mountain of the Lord it was provided in Jesus Christ on the cross.
Maybe you just need to accept it.
Well, I invite you to spend a moment talking to Yahweh-Yireh, the God Who Provides now.

The Names of God - Yahweh-Nissi

Introduction
There are over 250 flags that represent various countries around the world.

Originally, flags were mainly used for warfare, identifying friend from foe and rallying warriors together during the chaos of a battle.

In the 1600s, sailors started flying flags to show their ship’s country of origin.

Today, a flag is a way for a country to portray itself to the rest of the world. 

The colors and symbols have deep meanings that signify the core values of a nation.

I may be a bit biased, but I think the flag of the United States of America is one of the most beautiful flags in the world.  In 1777, the continental congress established the official flag of the United States. The flag has 13 stripes, alternating red and white to represent the 13 original colonies and a white star for each state on a blue field, representing a new constellation.  When America began as an independence democratic republic, it was something brand new in the world of nations and our flag with it's stripes and a new constellation of stars represents us well. 

Even the colors of the flag are symbolic.  Red symbolizes hardiness and valor. 
White symbolizes purity and innocence.  Blue represents vigilance, perseverance, and justice.

And so the flag represents the nation we call home, The United States of America.  We are a collection of individual states located on the North American continent.  In 1776, the 13 original colonies decided to unite together and separate from the British empire as an independent nation.  Over the years, the number has grown to 50 states who are united together as the United States of America.  The name describes who we are and our flag is the banner under which we rally together.

The various names of God in the Bible tell us about God and what He is like.  As we continue our message series about the names of God, it is fitting that we talk about this particular name of God on the 4^th of July.  The name for today is Yahweh-Nissi, which means “The Lord is My Banner.”

Exodus 17:8-15
⁸ While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. ⁹ Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”

¹⁰ So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. ¹² Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on.
Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. ¹³ As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.

¹⁴ After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵ Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”). ¹⁶ He said, “They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.”

Yahweh-Nissi
God chose the Israelites to be His people, to represent Him to the world.  They would be His people and He would be their God.  All the nations of the world would be able to look at the way the Israelites lived and know what God is like.  This was God’s plan, because He wants the world to know Him and have a relationship with Him.

And so, God chose Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land.
Along the way, while God’s people were still quite unorganized and vulnerable, the Amalekites treacherously attacked them. 

The attack was so despicable because the Israelites were not threatening Amalek.  In fact, they were moving in the opposite direction.  Yet the Amalekites wanted to to destroy God's people.  The Amalekites came to represent for Jews and Christians anyone or anything that is an enemy of God.  Ultimately, the Amalekites represent sin itself—which is the ultimate rebellion in the human heart against the Lordship of God in our lives.

God was with the Israelites.  He protected them when they were defenseless.  Joshua led a group of men out to fight the Amalekites while Moses stood atop a hill.  In his hand, Moses held his famous staff—the one God turned into a snake to show Pharaoh God’s power, the same staff Moses held high when God parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could escape the charging Egyptian army.  It was a staff, much like a pole used to wave a battle flag, only there wasn’t a flag on the staff—it was just the pole.

The battle between Israel and her enemies was fierce.  Yet the staff in Moses’ hand was a rallying cry to Israel’s soldiers.  Whenever they saw it raised high above Moses’ head, the Israelites fought fiercely to win the battle. But when Moses’ arms grew weary and he lowered the staff, God’s people began to lose.  So Moses’ assistants, Aaron and Hur, helped Moses keep the  staff up high for all to see and Israel won the battle to defeat God’s enemies.

There was no visible flag on Moses’ staff.  God Himself is the flag.  Yahweh-Nissi means “The Lord is my banner (or flag)”.

YHWH – Adonai - YaHoVaiH
Now some translations render this name as Jehovah-Nissi.  Jehovah is an alternate way to pronounce Yahweh.  Ancient Hebrew had no vowels.  Yahweh is spelled YHWH.  In some languages, Y has a J sound and W has a V sound.  (In Germany John is pronounced Yan and What is pronounced Vhat.)  In the 12^th century, Jews, wanting to avoid saying God’s Holy Name (Yahweh) interspersing the vowels from the Hebrew word for Lord (Adonai) with the consonants for Yahweh (YHWH).  This rendered the name Ya-Ho-Wai-H or Ja-Ho-Vai-H (depending on how you pronounce the Y's and W's).

The consensus among scholars today is the original pronunciation was Yahweh.[i]   Whether we pronounce the name Jehovah-Nissi or Yahweh-Nissi, the meaning is still the same:  The Lord is My Banner or Yahweh is My Banner.  And a banner serves the same purpose as a flag.

Representing God
It’s an interesting responsibility--to represent God.  God was the Israelites’ flag and the Israelites were to be God’s people.  In other words, the Israelites were to represent God just like the American flag represents America. When people look at Israel (and we’re talking about Biblical Israel not the modern country of Israel; modern Israel is not the same as Biblical Israel adn they are not under the same covenant nor are they God's representatives in our modern world.)  Whenever people looked at ancient, Biblical Israel, they were looking at a people whose whole purpose was to represent God.  The food they ate, the clothes they wore, the religion they practiced, the songs they sang, everything was supposed to tell the whole world what God is like. 

Unfortunately, Israel failed.  Israel became more interested in their own power and prestige in the world than with what God wanted.  They just wanted to live the good life, enjoy pleasure, and live their lives the way they wanted regardless of what God wanted.  Israel became no different than any of the other nations around them.  In their hearts, they threw down their Banner (God) on the ground and trampled it under their feet.

Yet Yahweh-Nissi raised up a remnant to be faithful and represent Him.  God sent Jesus Christ to call God’s people to repent of their sin and return to God.  And all who accept the invitation become God’s holy people and have the privilege of representing God to the world.

In the New Testament in Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus said, ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

Now, Jesus and His true followers are the flag of God.  Our lives symbolize who God is just as the American flag symbolizes the United States.  As long as Christians lift up God as our banner, we cannot be defeated.  Even when Jesus died on the cross, He was not defeated, but He defeated sin and death and all the forces of evil.

Closing
From time to time, flags on our flag poles become worn and frayed due to the wind and weather.
We replace them when this happens.  Sometimes the way we represent God to the world becomes worn and frayed.  Sometimes it’s due to a particular rough spiritual battle.  Other times it’s just due to the normal wear and tear of living the Christian life.  With God’s help, we can renew our witness to the Lord.  Let’s pray and ask the Lord to help us renew our witness today.

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[i]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah#:~:text=The%20derived%20forms%20Iehouah%20and,and%20the%20King%20James%20Version.

Introspective Prayer - The Examen by McKenzi Marlow

Today, I am pleased to share the final instalment in a series on prayer by a member of my church, McKenzi Marlow.  McKenzi is a deep thinker and an excellent writer and the prayer technique she chose for this week fits her personality perfectly.  Enjoy McKenzi's explanation of the Examen Prayer and try it out for yourself.
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Hello regular readers of Pastor Chris’s blog!

Have you ever heard of St. Ignatius of Loyola?

Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight who lived in the 16^th century. On May 20, 1521, he was wounded by a cannon ball while defending Pamplona from French invaders. During his recovery, Ignatius entertained himself by reading a biography on Christ and past saints. He became fascinated by the lives the first Christians led and experienced a spiritual awakening. Once recovered, Ignatius began imitating the saints; he lived as a beggar, fasted regularly, and spent seven hours a day in prayer! Later in life, Ignatius became an ordained Catholic minister and founded the Society of Jesus, known today as the Jesuits. His most famous work, and the one that inspired today’s post, was approved by the Pope for study in 1548. It is called The Spiritual Exercises.

 Among the exercises Ignatius outlines in his piece is his famous Daily Examen. Mark Thibodeaux, a prayer and discernment expert in the Jesuit community, encourages us to use St. Ignatius’s Examen to “review our recent past to find God and God’s blessings in life.” He writes that the most important thing to do is to ask for “insight into what graces we might need to live the next day well.” The Examen is the most introspective, personal prayer method I have come across in my research over the past few weeks. It requires emotional maturity as you look at your actions, words, and thoughts from the Holy Spirit’s perspective and condemn them—not justify them—before asking for forgiveness. Its purpose is to reveal our transgressions so that we can work on fixing them to become more like Jesus. I realize The Examen sounds messy, but don’t worry! It seems St. Ignatius was just as Type-A as I am because he provided us with a structure to follow as we delve into our character before the Almighty.

First, jesuitresource.org says we must pause, breathe, and allow ourselves time to enter the presence of God. As I sat on my bed, crisscross apple sauce, I tried to empty my mind to focus on my quiet time. And while I thought about emptying my mind, I realized I was thirsty. And then I remembered I hadn’t had much water that day. And then I felt guilty for not watering the body God gave me. And then I felt guilty for entering the presence of God thinking about water when the Living Water was right there . . .

Frustrated, I decided to start over. Every time I drew air into my nostrils, I imagined my lungs swelling behind my ribs like balloons before gently emptying the air back through my nose. I counted fifteen breaths before I was finally calm and quiet. Step one: pause and breathe complete!

Step two is a bit more involved. Now that we have acknowledged we are in the presence of God Almighty, Creator of the Universe, it’s time to thank Him. Thibodeaux writes, “I allow my mind to wander as I reflect on the ways God has blessed me on this particular day.” It doesn’t matter how big or small the blessing is, recount it. As I moved through the week, I had fun remembering my day and picking out the smallest details. Some nights I would say, “God! Thank you for sending that scarlet Cardinal to perch on the tree at the end of the deck. He was beautiful!” On my birthday I said, “God, thank you for my parents! They had to work, but they still managed to make my day special with red roses and two cakes!” I relished in the diversity of His blessings, and even felt myself smiling as I told God the ways He’d delighted me that day.

Warmed up with thanksgiving, we turn to step three: invite the Holy Spirit to illuminate your mistakes and failures of the day. Ugh. Failure is my worst nightmare; it’s embarrassing, you disappoint yourself, and sometimes you even let other people in your life down. So, it’s better to just keep moving, letting mistakes glance off your back without a second thought. Right? Nope. St. Ignatius’s ancient method doesn’t allow for anything to be swept under the rug, shoved into the closet, or discretely hidden in a drawer. It is not in the Holy Spirit’s nature to hide, and we don’t want Him to! We need this daily inspection to keep us in tip top spiritual shape.  

After humbly submitting to the Holy Spirit, we can move to step four. It’s time to review and recognize our mistakes for what they are. I remember feeling my smile stumble as I remembered the times I’d gotten angry when someone wasn’t driving the way I thought they should, or the times I’d allowed cynicism to erode my spirit while reading the news. As Christians, we are meant to be gentle, optimistic lights that point others to God. I can’t be a beacon for Heaven if I’m defeated by one news article or incensed by another motorist’s negligent use of their blinker! And, if I cannot recognize and admit these moments of weakness as failures, how will I be able to admit to worse sins? Even though these two steps in St. Ignatius’s Examen are arduous, they are crucial! Without them we become blind to our imperfections and our pride begins to whisper “Oh, but see, you’re doing well! What do you need the Spirit for?” And that, readers, is a dangerous thought.

But take heart! Step five is easy. Now that you’ve been searched and admitted your failures (good job), you can repent and ask our gracious Father for forgiveness. Thibodeaux makes it sound so simple. If you’ve made a mistake, tell Him and then ask for help moving on and the wisdom to better handle similar moments in the future. That’s the lovely thing about what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. Because He covered my sins as a sacrificial lamb, I can sit on my bed, crisscross apple sauce, and ask the God of the Universe for forgiveness . . . and He grants it! The debt is paid!

Now that we’ve thanked God for our daily blessings, been searched and admitted our failures, and been forgiven, we can turn to tomorrow. Step six says to imagine the next day and ask for help making future decisions. Do you have a long commute? Ask God to soothe your frustration before it can boil into anger. Do you find yourself extremely distressed while reading the news? Ask God to help you pray through each headline. If you know you have a big test or interview or presentation the next day, ask God for clarity and calm in the moment. Step six is not an excuse for us to dwell on the future. I can’t teleport to 2023 to find myself a job after grad school, so I leave that problem out of my nightly prayers. A time will come when I begin praying through that anxiety, but I since haven’t even stepped foot on campus as a grad student yet, I know that time is not now. The Examen calls us to pray for tomorrow’s small worries, so we can give them to God and get some much-needed rest.

At the end of the week, I feel my prayer life has been refreshed by this streamlined, introspective approach to prayer. I deviated from the method a bit and chose to perform St. Ignatius’s Examen as a journal prompt after two nights because, as I’ve learned, writing improves my focus. I enjoyed this prayer method because it included God in my day. Every morning, God makes sure we have something beautiful around us whether it’s an emerald green hummingbird hovering above my mom’s hot pink roses or short, encouraging text messages from friends. The Examen helped me remember to thank Him for taking time to fill my day with bursts of joy even as I faced the ugly truth of myself every night.  

I’ve learned, over the course of this three-week experiment, that prayer is a process just as much as it is a conversation, but it never has to be perfect. God is the Father of Lights and the Lord of Armies, yes, but He is also the Wonderful Counselor and our Heavenly Father. Whether you journal or speak into silence, He just wants to communicate with you. What an honor! Ultimately, I feel encouraged in my journey, and I hope you feel the same.

In Christ,

Mckenzi 

Citation:

Ryan, Edward A. “St. Ignatius of Loyola.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 January 2021, https://www.britannica.com/biography/St-Ignatius-of-Loyola. Accessed 27 June 2021.

“The Examen: A Daily Prayer.” Jesuitresource.org, Xavier University, n.d. https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/jesuit-a-z/terms-e/daily-examen#:~:text=The%20Examen%20is%20simply%20a,the%20presence%20of%20the%20Holy.

Thibodeaux, Mark. “Try the Daily Examen.” Loyola Press, n.d. https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/ignatian-spirituality/examen-and-ignatian-prayer/how-can-i-pray-try-the-daily-examen/

 

 

 

 

The Names of God - Yahweh

Introduction
My son, Gavin, will turn 23 in just a couple weeks.  He was the very first of my Mom’s grandchildren.  After we had a child, the dam broke for my siblings and the nieces and nephews just started coming one after another.  I’m not very good with names, so it started getting tough to keep up with everyone’s name.  My sister thought she was gonna have twins at one point.  I said, “That’s awesome!” (but I was thinking “How in the world am I gonna tell them apart and remember their names?”)  My sister said, “Yeah twins!  Isn’t that amazing?  And one will be a boy and one is a girl. But I’m not sure what to name them?”

Well, I’m a fixer and an innovator and I’m practical.  So I said, “I think you should call the girl Denise.”  “That’s a pretty name,” said my sister, “but what about the boy?  What should I name him?”  I said, “Denephew.” …Cause then it would be Deniece and Denephew…

That's not really a true story, but I thought it was a funny joke about names.  This summer, we are reviewing the names of God in Scripture.  God has many names that represent His multifaceted character.  And He has told us His names because God wants us to know Him and what He is like.  So through this series, I challenge you to expand your thinking about God.  God is infinite and it is not enough to know Him only in one way.  You should strive to know God better and understand His many qualities. So far, we have learned:

• God is Elohim – A Triune God who is Three in One: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
• He is El Shaddai – the Almighty, All-Sufficient God who is everything you need
• He is Abba Father – and you can relate to God like an infant to a loving daddy
• Today, we learn God’s eternal name – Yahweh

Exodus 3:1-6
¹ One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. ³ “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”

⁴ When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

“Here I am!” Moses replied.

⁵ “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. ⁶ I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

Have you hear this story?  God asked Moses to go tell the Pharaoh of Egypt to let God's people go.  God was going to use Moses to lead the Hebrew's out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land.

Exodus 3:13-15
¹³ But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”

¹⁴ God replied to Moses, “I am who i am. Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.” ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh,^[e] the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.

This is my eternal name,
    my name to remember for all generations.

 

Yahweh - I AM WHO I AM
People in the ancient Middle East were very superstitious.  They believed you could manipulate a god if you knew its name.  In Egypt, where Moses grew up, they had many, many gods.  The Egyptians used their gods’ names and magical spells to manipulate nature.  But amidst a the thousands and thousands of Egyptian gods, which one was speaking to Moses from the burning bush?

 

There is only one real God.  All others are fakes or idols or demons.  God reveals His proper name to Moses, which shows He is eternal and He cannot be manipulated.  God reveals His name is Yahweh, and it’s a word that is hard to translate.  It means something like “I AM WHO I AM”.  You get the sense of the unchanging, eternal quality of God’s character.  He is who He is.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Notice that it is also present tense.  It is not, I WAS or I WILL BE.  It is I AM.  God is not some forgotten relic of the past or something we look forward to in the future.  God is RIGHT NOW.  And He is always RIGHT NOW. 

 

One thing that is hard for mortal to comprehend is that God created time.  If God created time then that means at some point time didn't exist.  We can’t imagine an existence without time.  The human mind tries to mark everything by what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow.  Sometimes, we are so consumed by our infatuation with time, we forget to live right now in the moment.  Many people spend years in counseling because of emotional scars from their childhood.  Their past keeps them from living a full life in the present.  Others are so filled with anxiety about what might happen in the feature they are unable to live fully in the present, right now.

God is not like that.  God is the great I AM.  He is always, RIGHT NOW.

 

Yahweh and Jehovah

Ancient Hebrew writing is weird.  First of all, they write backwards, from right to left.  Some scholars think this is because ancient Hebrew was written on clay tablets or chiseled into stone and it was easier to chisel from right to left.  They would hold the chisel in their left hand and a hammer in their right (because most people are right handed).  This made it easier to chisel sentences from right to left.  Many ancient languages that were primarily engraved on stone went from right to left. It wasn't until people started using paper and ink that it became more common to go from left to right (because going right to left would smear the ink on the paper).

Another weird thing is ancient Hebrew didn't have vowels, only consonants (vowels weren't invented until much later).  So a name like Bill, would be spelled BLL.  The vowel sounds were just assumed. So God's name Yahweh was spelled YHWH.  Nobody in the ancient world complained or thought it was dumb not to have vowels; they were just thrilled to be able to write down sounds for the first time.

Something else that complicates language is how the sounds of letter can change over time and also in different places.  Everyone in America knows how to pronounce the name JOHN (say it to yourself).  However, if you go to Germany, the same name spelled JOHN will be pronounced Yan, because J in Germany has a Y sound.  If you go to Mexico, it's pronounced Wan, because they give J a W sound.

Another letter sound that shifts arounds is W.  In America, you would say, "What do you want?"  But in Russia, it might be pronounced "Vat do you vant?"  This changing sound of letters has affected the way the name of God has been passed down through the ages and even produced an alternate name--Jehovah.

Starting around 300 BC (the time in between the completion of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament), Jew’s became very superstitious about using God’s name.[i]  The third of the Ten Commandments says, “Do not misuse the name of the Lord.” Or “Do not take the Lord’s name in vain.”  (Exodus 20:7).  A proper interpretation of this is that God's people who represent Him shouldn't misrepresent His character by their bad behavior.  Well, many Jews began to misinterpret the third commandment to believe they shouldn’t even say or write Yahweh at all (even though God said Yahweh was to be His name for all generations).  So, the Jews from 300 BC on began to substitute the Hebrew word for Lord (Adonai) instead of saying or writing Yahweh.  Others would intersperse the vowels from Adonai into the consonants for YHWH (because they had invented vowels by that point) rendering the word YaHoWaiH or JaHoVaH.  This is where we get the word Jehovah, which is common way to say God's name today.  The superstition about saying or writing God's name has persisted throughout the centuries right up until our time.  In most translations, you will find Yahweh translated as LORD, with the word in all capital letters,  Whenever you LORD written in all-caps in the Bible, it indicates the word is actually Yahweh.

 

Jesus is Yahweh
Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”  However, many people read the Bible and remark that the Old Testament seems much harsher than the New Testament.  Perhaps you have felt that way.  Sometimes people will say, “I like Jesus, but I don’t like the God of the Old Testament.  Jesus is so loving, but God is so vengeful in the Old Testament.” 

 

I can understand how some people could get the impression that Jesus is somehow different from Yahweh in the Old Testament.  However, that’s an oversimplification of the Bible that doesn’t really hold true.  If you study and understand the Bible, you will find mercy in grace in the Old Testament too. For instance, God saved the Israelites from slavery in Egypt before they were good people.  That's mercy and grace.  You also find judgment and vengeance in the New Testament.  Have you read Revelation?  It's full of God's vengeance and plagues and judgment.  We see "Old Testament" style vengeance and judgement in the New Testament book of Acts too.  Remember the time the Holy Spirit struck Annanias and Saphira dead on the spot for lying to Peter in the New Testament Book of Acts?  (Acts 5:1-11)   And there are many other places throughout the New Testament where we see the God of the New Testament acting just like He does in the Old Testament.  It's just that the New Testament primarily focuses on Yahweh invitation to humanity to be reconciled with God.  Also, understand than the New Testament is less than a quarter of the length of the Old Testament.  So to call the Old Testament harsh and the New Testament sweet is a naïve oversimplification.  

 

Jesus in the New Testament and Yahweh in the Old Testament are the same God.  In fact, Jesus even specifically called himself “I AM” (the translation of God’s name, Yahweh).  While arguing with the Jews about what it means to be a child of God and to follow God, Jesus said he was God.  In John 8:58, Jesus referred to himself with the ancient eternal name of God when he said, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I am!”  Remember how I told you the Jews were extremely superstitious about God’s name?  Saying God’s name was enough to get a person stoned to death and the Jews in John 8 tried to stone Jesus to death.  However, because Jesus is Yahweh, the great I AM, He was able to disappear and escape unharmed.

 

So many people only see Jesus as their friend or their buddy.  Jesus is a friend for sinners, bu a true friend is someone who tells you the truth even if you don’t want to hear it.  Furthermore, Jesus is more than just your friend.  Jesus is the eternal, all knowing, all present, all powerful God of the universe.  We would be fools to forget it and only think of Jesus as our buddy.

 

The God of the Old Testament and Jesus of the New Testament are one in the same. There is no difference whatsoever in the character and actions of the Old Testament and New Testament God.  He is who He is.  Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean you can disregard it.  The Old Testament focuses more on the power, judgment, and sovereignty of God.  The New Testament focuses more on God’s reconciling mercy, love, and grace.  It’s not one or the other.  It’s both.  That is why Jesus preached throughout the Gospels, “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” (Mark 1:15) 

 

The Bad News you don’t want to hear because it makes you feel uncomfortable is that you have sinned, and the consequences of your sin is death and eternal punishment.  The Good News is Jesus/God loves you so much He paid for your sin by dying on the cross.  He took your place.  Therefore, you can repent and be saved.  However, you must repent and let God be the absolute Lord of our life or you are in eternal danger.

 

Conclusion
I want to do something strange as we close.  Right now, you are on Holy Ground in the presence of a strange and Holy God.  When Yahweh spoke to Moses from the burning bush, He said, “Take off your sandals for you are standing on holy ground…” 

 

So now, in the presence of Holy Yahweh in this Holy place, I invite you to take off your shoes…

 

Now, Bow your head and close your eyes.  Imagine that Yahweh is with you right now (because He is).  Feel the heat from the burning bush warm on your skin.  God is calling your name...  He says, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of your ancestors.  I am the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament and the God of today.  I am Yahweh—the Great I AM.  I Am Who I Am.  I do not change.  You cannot control me.  You cannot make Me who You want me to be, but I can make you into the person you were designed to be.”

 

Now talk to Yahweh… or just listen to what He would say to you for a few moments…

 

Amen.

---

[i] https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yahweh

Praying Through The Psalm by McKenzi Marlow

Today, I am pleased to share the second instalment in a series on prayer by a member of my church, McKenzi Marlow.  McKenzi is a talented young lady who graduated Summa Cum Laude from Samford University with a BA in English and literature concentration.  McKenzi will enter the English Masters program at Auburn University this fall where she will also be teaching and doing research.  Today, McKenzi shares about her experience with praying through the Psalms over the last week and over the weekend while on a trip to Austin, Texas.

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Hello regular readers of Pastor Chris’ blog!

As I mentioned last week, most of my prayers up until now have been collections of petitions and intercessions to God. It wasn’t until I began seeking Christ and Christian community on my own in college that I realized prayer was deeper and more complex. Last week, Dr. Floyd’s article introduced the idea of beginning prayer time with scripture. Since opening my prayers with Psalm 63 had been beneficial, I decided this week would be the perfect time to learn how to pray through the whole book of Psalms. 

I began, as anyone would in the 21^st century, by Googling “how to pray the Psalms.” One of the first links led me to The Upper Room website and their articles on prayer. According to The Upper Room staff writer, the book of Psalms is known in both the Jewish and Christian traditions as the “prayer book of the Bible.” Unlike a normal poetry collection, the Psalms are meant to be used in conversation with God; to praise Him, exalt Him, and tell Him our anxieties. The Upper Room article says, “[The Psalms] teach us to hide nothing from God, but to bring all that is real into the only relationship that can bless and heal the worst in us.” Confirmed in my suspicion that Psalms are the key to a healthy prayer life, I decided to let the “words of the Psalms accompany [me] into God’s presence” this week (“Praying the Psalms”). 

Unlike Dr. Floyd, The Upper Room failed to provide me with specific instructions for praying the Psalms. To their credit, they did include a list of Psalms to pray in certain situations. If I felt contented, for example, The Upper Room recommended Psalm 23. If I felt anxious, they recommended Psalm 70. Though helpful, this list is not a structured method for prayer. Disappointed, I turned once again to Google. To my relief, I stumbled upon “How to Pray the Psalms” by Pastor Benjamin Kandt. Kandt is the pastor of formation and mission at New City Church in Orlando. In his article, he gives a brief explanation of how to—you guessed it—go about praying the Psalms. Though his article is not a prayer method outline like Dr. Floyd’s, I still found Kandt’s observations beneficial. 

The first tip Pastor Kandt gives is “pray through the whole Psalter.” Psalters are collections of Psalms “arranged for liturgical worship in Christian churches” meaning they are intended for public, corporate worship like hymnals (Kiczek). For those of us who do not own Psalters, Pastor Kandt gives instructions for using our familiar Bibles. He gives two methods. To simulate the structure of the Psalter you can, “Multiply the day of the month by five and pray those psalms” (Kandt). Now, if you’re anything like me, you balk at the mention of math, even if it’s a simple calculation. Nevertheless, I whipped out my phone and crunched the numbers. Since it was the fourteenth of June, I was supposed to begin with Psalm 70. Great! But I had a problem: where should I stop? According to his article, Pastor Kandt prayed five psalms in succession. Should I just count up from 70 and pray Psalms 70-74? Perturbed, I decided to review the second way to simulate the Psalter. Kandt writes we can forgo math (hooray) and “start with Psalm 1 and pray it in the morning, afternoon, and evening. . . [moving] to Psalm 2 the next day.” Needless to say, I chose this method. 

My method selected, I read Kandt’s next tip. His second bullet point says to “make the psalm’s words your words.” Whether the psalmist is lamenting or praising, we are meant to take their emotion in stride instead of hopping around looking for the right words to fit our mood. As I moved through the first seven psalms, I found it difficult to push myself to feel negative emotions, especially when I went on vacation. It’s hard to call for vengeance on your enemies while surrounded by friends. It is important, however, not to skip over psalms of vengeance or sorrow when we aren’t feeling those negative emotions. In Romans, Paul says we are to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12: 5). In other words, we are supposed to empathize with our fellow man. If I can’t even identify with a psalmist’s joy and sorrow, how am I going to do so with my friends’ and family’s. Allowing the psalmist’s phrases to guide my prayers meant my laments were longer, but when I did get to praise God, my joy was brighter.

While we pray through the Psalms, regardless of their tone, Kandt recommends we “meditate on [them].” This step was difficult for me, especially while I was vacationing. Getting up thirty minutes earlier than everyone else to ponder the Psalms after staying up thirty minutes later the night before was not something I really wanted to do. It required a lot of discipline to sit still and reread verses that jumped out at me. Most of the time I could feel my mind trying to wander while I attempted to let God “shine His light” on the passage (Kandt). 

Kandt’s fourth tip is to “memorize the Psalms.” In times of spiritual speechlessness—those nights when you just don’t know what to say to our Father—having the Word stored away will help you articulate what you need to say. Last week, I decided I didn’t have time to memorize anything properly, but I will be circling back to memorization in my private spiritual life. I already have the opening verse of Psalm 63 locked and loaded! 

Kandt’s fifth tip is to “pray the psalms like an apple tree or Christmas tree.” When I saw that line for the first time, I raised an eyebrow at its childish, Bible School vocabulary only to sheepishly force the brow back down after reading his explanation. Those phrases are actually useful! Kandt explains apple picking as choosing “pleas and praises” from the Psalms and making them your own. As an English major, I try to avoid taking quotes out of context to use for my specific purposes, which is what Kandt’s apple picking sounded like to me. That left the Christmas tree method. 

With the Christmas tree method, you simply “[hang] your pleas and praises” from the Psalm’s words. As I allowed the different psalms to inform my mood and length of my prayers, I was glad the Christmas tree method was so customizable. For example, Psalm 1 says, “Blessed is the man / who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.” I read the verse and then began hanging my plea and praise. I prayed, “Father, help me turn from the counsel of the wicked and listen to Your good instructions instead.” Here, I pleaded for salvation from wicked counsel and praised God’s goodness. With that branch decorated, I moved on to the next verse. By the end of the passage, I felt like I’d had a fulfilling, deep conversation with someone close to me. 

The sixth and final tip is to “pray the Psalm through Jesus & with Jesus.” This tip works in tandem with the third, meditation. As you’re sitting there, eyes closed, attempting to mull over a specific word or phrase that stuck out to you, imagine Jesus doing the same thing. When I lamented, I imagined Him lamenting in the Garden of Gethsemane, and when I praised God, I imagined Jesus praising Him after performing miracles to reveal His glory. I felt closer to Jesus because I realized I was praying the same words He would have known, loved, and used two thousand years ago. This revelation added an extra layer of fervent awe to my prayers even as I struggled to be still during meditation. 

At the end of the week, my prayer life felt a little dehydrated. I started strong, Christmas tree-ing every Psalm I read, all three times I read it, but by the end of the week, I was just throwing random ornaments at the passage as I let my eyes scan the words. Autopilot praying isn’t fair to God, and it definitely isn’t going to help our relationship flourish. I think Pastor Kandt’s tips are useful, but they would benefit from having more structure or at least a journaling session as the final step. Though disappointed, I appreciate the challenge that praying the Psalms posed. Wish me luck as I attempt to follow my third method this week. I’ll let you know how it goes! 

In Christ,
Mckenzi Marlow

Citation:

Kandt, Benjamin. “How to Pray the Psalms.” praypsalms.org, Medium, 16 July 2017, https://praypsalms.org/how-to-pray-the-psalms-60484747091a 

Kiczek, Steven. “Cataloging Biblical Materials: Differentiating Psalms from Psalters.” Princeton University Library’s Cataloging Documentation, Princeton University Library, https://library.princeton.edu/departments/tsd/katmandu/bible/psalmpsalter.html 

“Praying the Psalms.” The Upper Room, upperroom.org , 2021, https://www.upperroom.org/resources/praying-the-psalms