Christmas is in the air! As I drive around town I see houses decked out with pine boughs and Christmas lights, trees decorated in windows of living rooms and yes, black Friday shopping for the season. In many ways, we have an Advent looking forward to the celebration of Christmas Day.
Advent season is upon us, and from a spiritual perspective, we prepare our hearts with anticipation. We look forward to what December 25th means in the Christian community, but in a greater way, what God has put into play in history through the coming of Christ: hope, peace, love and joy. Each of these themes is reflected in the Names of God as well as in the Advent season. Having raised my children in an African culture I understand that names are more than just what you call someone. A name represents the very person. Segun is ‘Tuesday’ because that is the day he was born. Comfort is named so because the hope is she will bring comfort to those with whom she is friend and family. Moses Abraham Lincoln, a student at ACTS in John’s class, is named after those his parents respect and revere. So, what of the Names of God? Is there a difference between small lord in the Bible and LORD? What does the original transcript say? Is He actually called a comforter, a friend, a Lord, a Messiah? Is He the healer, the way, the light of the world?
Sprinkled into the devotions this advent season we will look at just some of the names of God as recorded in His Word. And we will start with God’s response to this question by Moses, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” (Exodus 3:13) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.” (3:14)
I AM. This is the Hebrew word YHWH or Yahweh. The lack of vowels is simply because no vowels were used in the Hebrew language until about 900 AD. And Yahweh means, “I AM.” God defines Himself as “I AM.” The great philosopher Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am.” The fact that we are reasoning beings points to our existence. With God, it is so much more. I AM. He is. He always has been and always will be. Who is God? He is everything. He is. And that is the essence of being GOD.
The Hebrew people recognized the holiness of God’s Name, and when reading YHWH would instead say, “Adonai” which is Lord or Master. This is because they were afraid to mispronounce the Name of God (YHWH) and therefore take His name in vain or somehow show disrespect. It was powerful. God is the great I AM. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1946 and are our oldest manuscripts (albeit copies) of the Hebrew Bible. They date back close to the time of Christ. When scribes were copying them, they would leave out the name YHWH and it would be written in at a later date with a special pen, by a purified scribe. You can literally see the difference in script. When reading Yahweh, the added vowels would remind the reader to instead say ‘Adonai’ out loud.
So much reverence. So much respect. Such an understanding that God is God and we are not.
And then we look to the Advent season and realize that this amazing, awesome, holy, majestic God, who IS GOD, humbly entered our world as a baby as the first step to reconciling man to Himself.
The great I AM. What a blessing that He desired friendship with us so much that He also provided a solution and reconciliation.
Who, being in very natureGod,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2:6-11)
God. The great I AM.
Our song for today is 10 000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) by Matt Redman