Yahweh - Reflections on Theology (Essentials Blue)

For:  The Essentials Blue Online Worship History Class with Dan Wilt

In my reading yesterday of N.T. Wright's Book Simply Christian, there was a quote which grabbed my full and utter attention.  In the chapter discussing the nature of God, he says:

"With God's name there is another confusion which we must sort out.  Because God's personal name was not to be spoken, the ancient Israelites developed a technique for avoiding doing so when reading their scriptures.  When they came to the word YHWH, they would say ADONAI (which means "my Lord") instead.  As a way of reminding themselves that this was what they had to do, they would sometimes write the consonants of YHWH with the vowels of ADONAI.  This confused some later readers, who tried to say the two words together.  With a bit of a stretch (and because some letters were interchangeable, including Y with J and W with V), they created the hybrid JEHOVAH."

YHWH, or pronounced Yahweh, was the formal name of God to the ancient Jews; one that commanded much respect and referred to God's deity.  As Wright notes, the name commanded such reverence; Yahweh itself is commonly believed to translate to God, the "I AM".  Adonai, on the other hand refers to the more personal name and nature of God, the more relational side.

It seems such a simple thought, but it blows me away that Jehovah, one of the most common names in reference of God ("Jehovah-Jireh" God the provider, "Jehovah-Shalom" God of Peace, "Jehovah-Rophe", God the Healer, etc.) is a, albeit accidental, combination of His divinity and His relational heart.  Combining the God of the Red Sea, the God of the Great Flood, the God of all creation with the God who comforts me in my sleep, the God who provides for my needs and desires, the God who intimately knows me likes no other and loves me like no other.....  That is a very powerful combination. 

It is somewhat easier for me to sometimes think of God as separate operating entities and to compartmentalize the way He responds to us.  But last night during worship, I simply meditated on the idea of God the I AM as partnered together with God my comforter and provider.  In that realization of how indescribable His awesome power is, coupled with how sweet His loving compassion is, my heart cried out for Haiti and asked that He would move swiftly.

With His mighty power.  With His great compassion.  With His unfailing love.  Yahweh.  Adonai.  Jehovah.  We simply say, "Come."