Jesus said in John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
Ps 91:14-15 says “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
In our Western culture, personal names can be little more than labels to distinguish one person from another. Sometimes nicknames are chosen which tell something about a person.
To a lot of people the names God mean little more than an idea of a supreme being.
It says little to them about God’s character, His ways, and what God means to each of us as human beings.
The many names of God in the Bible help us to understand who He is and His character, His works, and His relationship to us. When we understand Him more, we can relate to Him more deeply.
NAMES IN THE BIBLE
In the Bible the names that God uses to describe Himself to us are ‘like miniature portraits and promises”.
I’ve grown to know God more as I’ve grown in my understanding of His name and how God reveals Himself through those names.
Here are some of my favourites.
YAHWEH-JIREH: “The Lord Will Provide” (Genesis 22:14)
YAHWEH-RAPHA: “The Lord Who Heals” (Exodus 15:26) – “I am Jehovah who heals you” both in body and soul.
EL SHADDAI: “God Almighty,” ALL Sufficiency “(Genesis 49:24; Psalm 132:2,5) speaks of God’s ultimate power over all.
YAHWEH-SHALOM: “The Lord Our Peace” (Judges 6:24)
YAHWEH-ROHI: “The Lord Our Shepherd” (Psalm 23:1) – After David pondered his relationship as a shepherd to his sheep, he realized that was exactly the relationship God had with him, and so he declares, “Yahweh-Rohi is my Shepherd. I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1).
YAHWEH-SHAMMAH: “The Lord Is There” (Ezekiel 48:35).
YAHWEH-SABAOTH: “The Lord of Hosts” (Isaiah 1:24; Psalm 46:7) – Hosts means “hordes,” both of angels and of men. He is Lord of the host of heaven and of the inhabitants of the earth. The name is expressive of the majesty, power, and authority of God and shows that He is able to accomplish what He determines to do.
EL-OLAM: “Everlasting God” (Psalm 90:1-3) – God’s nature is without beginning or end, free from all constraints of time, and He contains within Himself the very cause of time itself. “From everlasting to everlasting You are God.”
Getting to know God takes time, and like any relationship you aren’t going to get to know Him in 5 minutes. But amazingly we are invited to get to know Him – GOD HIMSELF. The creator of the universe, who is full of all majesty, power and might. Who heals, works miracles, provides, who is just and true and right. A God who is always there.
There’s an open invitation that God gives to know Him.
Why not take Him up on it?