| Names of God in the Old Testament · Elohim (God) · Jehovah/Yahweh (the self-existent one: I AM) · Jehovah-jireh (the Lord will provide) · Jehovah-rapha (the Lord who heals) · Jehovah-nissi (the Lord our banner) · Jehovah-Shalom (the Lord our peace) · Jehovah-ra-ah (the Lord my shepherd) · Jehovah-tsidkenu (the Lord our righteousness) · Jehovah-shammad (the Lord is present) · Jehovah-Elohim (the Lord God) · Jehovah Sabaoth (the Lord of hosts) · El Elyon (the most high God) · Adonai (our master) · El Shaddai (Almighty God, the strength giver) · El Olam (everlasting God) | Jesus said, "I AM... · the resurrection · the way · the truth · the life · the light of the world · the bread of life · the good shepherd · the door of the sheep · the true vine." "Before Abraham was, I AM." Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. |
The Word for today:
Genesis 20:1-21:21
mark this: Genesis 16:13
So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You are a God of seeing (El Roi)," for she said, "Truly here I have seen him who looks after me."
and this: Philippians 2:9
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.
Today we conclude a series of three articles on the names of God. The various names of God constitute a vast subject that, if comprehensively taught, would consume a year of blog articles. Stand in the Rain hopes to give you an awareness and appreciation of this subject, and point you in the direction of further self-study.
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It may startle you to know that we have already, in Genesis, been introduced to God as…
Elohim:
In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
Jehovah Elohim:
This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God (Jehovah Elohim) made the earth and the heavens. (Genesis 2:4)
El Elyon:
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of God Most High (El Elyon). (Genesis 14:18)
Adonai Jehovah:
And Abram said, Lord GOD (Adonai Jehovah), what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? (Genesis 15:2)
El Shaddai:
And when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, "I am God Almighty (El Shaddai); walk before me, and be blameless. (Genesis 17:1)
El Olam:
And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God (El Olam.) (Genesis 21:33)
El Roi:
So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You are a God of seeing (El Roi)," for she said, "Truly here I have seen him who looks after me." (Genesis 16:13)
Jehovah Jireh:
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, "The LORD will provide (Jehovah Jireh)"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided." (Genesis 22:13-14)
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As you can see, some of the names are powerful, while some of the names are sweet and kind.
My favorite name (other than the all-encompassing "YHWH" and God's incarnate name, "Jesus,") is "El Roi," the name given to God by Hagar, the Egyptian wife of Abraham. She had been forced to flee from Sarah, but God found her in the desert and encouraged her:
So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You are a God of seeing (El Roi)," for she said, "truly here I have seen him who looks after me." (Genesis 16:13)
As far as I can tell, Hagar is the only person in scripture who gives God a name; in every other instance, God names himself. People have called God a lot of things, but God liked "he who looks after me" so much that he put it in his book!
Be on the lookout for the names of God, remembering as you do that the culminating name--the name above all names (1), the final word on what God AM (2) --is Jesus:
| Names of God in the Old Testament · Elohim (God) · Jehovah/Yahweh (the self-existent one: I AM) · Jehovah-jireh (the Lord will provide) · Jehovah-rapha (the Lord who heals) · Jehovah-nissi (the Lord our banner) · Jehovah-Shalom (the Lord our peace) · Jehovah-ra-ah (the Lord my shepherd) · Jehovah-tsidkenu (the Lord our righteousness) · Jehovah-shammad (the Lord is present) · Jehovah-Elohim (the Lord God) · Jehovah Sabaoth (the Lord of hosts) · El Elyon (the most high God) · Adonai (our master) · El Shaddai (Almighty God, the strength giver) · El Olam (everlasting God) | Jesus said, "I AM... · the resurrection · the way · the truth · the life · the light of the world · the bread of life · the good shepherd · the door of the sheep · the true vine." "Before Abraham was, I AM." Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. |
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(1) Philippians 2:9; (2) see Exodus 3:14, John 8:58, and Hebrews 1:1-3
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