THE STORY, Chapter 4
Exodus 1-7, 10-14
Deliverance

YHWH

“I AM WHO I AM . . . .say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' . . .this is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation." Exodus 3:14-15(NIV)

Reflection

Elohim is the Hebrew word for the creator God in Genesis 1. YHWH (Hebrew has no vowels) is rendered “the Lord” in the Bible beginning in Genesis 2 and now God reveals himself to Moses also as YHWH. We pronounce this name Yaweh as a guess. This is the aspect of God who is personal, who intervenes, who is active in history and in your life. Jehovah is another way to say YHWH.   When a Hebrew would read the Bible the name YHWH was too holy to pronounce, therefore they would say “adonai” (the secular term for ‘lord’). The name Jehovah comes from misapplying the vowels of adonai to YHWH.

With this history in mind we learn that the Names of God were intended to be revered and honored as indeed they were.

May I suggest that none of us ever use the Lord’s name in vain, speaking the name of God or Jesus or Christ only in the most reverent and respectful of ways?    

Prayer

“Lord, I will not only honor your name today with my lips, I will seek to live, speak and act so that others may sense that my life is one which is about honoring God. For this, Lord, I ask your help. Amen."