Hello my treasured friends and family. I hope you are well and enjoying this season. The Thanksgiving holiday is now in our rearview mirror, and the reality of Christmas is quickly approaching, straight ahead, and in our sights. This holiday season can be such a lovely time of year although it can also be a bit tough, for reasons we are all too familiar with. I guess this is one of the reasons why we need to do our best at keeping the reason-for-the-season close to our heart and in our mind. It is so easy to get caught up in commercial Christmas, but keeping the real reason close to our heart acts like a safety belt does, as we are driving down the road to our next stop. It can serve as a tool to help us stay focused on what really matters and to be aware of the many twists and turns that can come with the holiday seasons. It helps to keep us grounded and aids in helping to protect us against the possible negative outcomes that can occur. That helpful safety belt of truth will protect us from getting too caught up in the commercial side of the holidays. Christmas is coming whether some of us want it to or not, but we can be guaranteed a much more peaceful experience as we travel through this time of year, if we remember to keep our eyes focused on celebrating the birth of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ.
Who is this Jesus one might ask? That is a pretty big question, and I never thought you would ask, wink wink ;-) I will do my best to explain how I would answer this huge multi- faceted question, if I only had a sentence or two to do it in. Jesus is God in the form of man, God with skin, the creator of everything.
Scripture explains it best, so I have included below a few of the many scriptures that point to this truth.
Hebrews 1:3 ESV
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high...
Matthew 1:23 ESV
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
1 John 5:20 ESV
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
It has always fascinated me the many names of God and I have wanted to understand them better. The reason there are so many names used to describe God in The Bible, is because each of the many names of God describes a different aspect of His many-faceted character. No single name can describe all that God is. I was excited to research some informative sights to help explain each name.
Below is a link to an informative sight that thoroughly explains the many names of God by the late great Adrian Rogers who I learned much from through my parents' introduction to his TV program years ago. In return I enjoyed sharing his program with my two adult sons' as they grew up, to help teach them about God.
Here is another sight explaining some of the better-known names of God that are mentioned in the Bible: I am including a link that contains a video if you would rather the names below, be read out loud to you.
EL, ELOAH [el, el-oh-ah]: God "mighty, strong, prominent" (Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 139:19) – etymologically, El appears to mean “power” and “might” (Genesis 31:29). El is associated with other qualities, such as integrity (Numbers 23:19), jealousy (Deuteronomy 5:9), and compassion (Nehemiah 9:31), but the root idea of “might” remains.
ELOHIM [el-oh-heem]: God “Creator, Mighty and Strong” (Genesis 17:7; Jeremiah 31:33) – the plural form of Eloah. Being plural, Elohim which accommodates the doctrine of the Trinity. From the Bible’s first sentence, the superlative nature of God’s power is evident as God (Elohim) speaks the world into existence (Genesis 1:1).
EL SHADDAI [el-shah-dahy]: “God Almighty,” “The Mighty One of Jacob” (Genesis 49:24; Psalm 132:2,5) – speaks to God’s ultimate power over all.
ADONAI [ˌædɒˈnaɪ; ah-daw-nahy]: “Lord” (Genesis 15:2; Judges 6:15) – used in place of YHWH, which was thought by the Jews to be too sacred to be uttered by sinful men. In the Old Testament, YHWH is more often used in God’s dealings with His people, while Adonai is used more when He deals with the Gentiles.
YHWH / YAHWEH / JEHOVAH [yah-way / ji-hoh-veh]: “LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4; Daniel 9:14) – strictly speaking, the only proper name for God. Translated in English Bibles “LORD” (all capitals) to distinguish it from Adonai, “Lord.” The revelation of the name is given to Moses “I Am who I Am” (Exodus 3:14). This name specifies an immediacy, a presence. Yahweh is present, accessible, near to those who call on Him for deliverance (Psalm 107:13), forgiveness (Psalm 25:11) and guidance (Psalm 31:3).
YAHWEH-JIREH [yah-way-ji-reh]: "The Lord Will Provide" (Genesis 22:14) – the name memorialized by Abraham when God provided the ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac.
YAHWEH-RAPHA [yah-way-raw-faw]: "The Lord Who Heals" (Exodus 15:26) – “I am Jehovah who heals you” both in body and soul. In body, by preserving from and curing diseases, and in soul, by pardoning iniquities.
YAHWEH-NISSI [yah-way-nee-see]: "The Lord Our Banner" (Exodus 17:15), where banner is understood to be a rallying place. This name commemorates the desert victory over the Amalekites in Exodus 17.
YAHWEH-M'KADDESH [yah-way-meh-kad-esh]: "The Lord Who Sanctifies, Makes Holy" (Leviticus 20:8; Ezekiel 37:28) – God makes it clear that He alone, not the law, can cleanse His people and make them holy.
YAHWEH-SHALOM [yah-way-shah-lohm]: "The Lord Our Peace" (Judges 6:24) – the name given by Gideon to the altar he built after the Angel of the Lord assured him he would not die as he thought he would after seeing Him.
YAHWEH-ELOHIM [yah-way-el-oh-him]: "LORD God" (Genesis 2:4; Psalm 59:5) – a combination of God’s unique name YHWH and the generic word for “God” signifying that He is the Lord who is God.
YAHWEH-TSIDKENU [yah-way-tzid-kay-noo]: "The Lord Our Righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:16) – As with YHWH-M’Kaddesh, it is God alone who provides righteousness (from the Hebrew word tsidkenu) to man, ultimately in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, who became sin for us “that we might become the Righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
YAHWEH-ROHI [yah-way-roh-hee]: "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, “The Lord is my shepherd [Yahweh-Rohi]; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1, ESV).
YAHWEH-SHAMMAH [yah-way-sham-mahw]: "The Lord Is There” (Ezekiel 48:35) – the name ascribed to Jerusalem and the Temple there, indicating that the once-departed glory of the Lord (Ezekiel 8—11) had returned (Ezekiel 44:1-4).
YAHWEH-SABAOTH [yah-way-sah-bah-ohth]: "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, of Jews and Gentiles, of rich and poor, master and slave. 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 ELYON [el-el-yohn]: “Most High" (Deuteronomy 26:19) – derived from the Hebrew root for “go up” or “ascend,” so the implication is of that which is the very highest. El Elyon denotes exaltation and speaks of absolute right to lordship.
EL ROI [el-roh-ee]: "God of Seeing" (Genesis 16:13) – the name ascribed to God by Hagar, alone and desperate in the wilderness after being driven out by Sarah (Genesis 16:1-14). When Hagar met the Angel of the Lord, she realized she had seen God Himself in a theophany. She also realized that El Roi saw her in her distress and testified that He is a God who lives and sees all.
EL-OLAM [el-oh-lahm]: "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” (Psalm 90:2).
EL-GIBHOR [el-ghee-bohr]: “Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6) – the name describing the Messiah, Christ Jesus, in this prophetic portion of Isaiah. As a powerful and mighty warrior, the Messiah, the Mighty God, will accomplish the destruction of God’s enemies and rule with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15).
When we realize there are so many facets of God, that He needed multiple names to help us understand who He is, what He does, what He can do, what He will do, what He has done, and what He promises for each of us, it makes us want to write those names close to our hearts. If we do this, we can hold them tightly to our chest, like a safety belt, so we can reference frequently and be reminded of how great our God is. How much more exciting is it to celebrate the birth of Jesus, when we better understand who He is?!
Until next time, know I am keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers. I so appreciate your love and emotional support in my life. Thank you for your feedback via comments or private messaging. Be encouraged to keep His promises in your heart and enjoy the beauty this time of the year can bring.
Big hugs and holiday cheer to you all,
Jen