During the month of April, I’ve chosen to blog through the alphabet. Each day I will use a letter to share a Name of the Lord that begins with that letter based on Proverbs 18:10 and the fact that there is strength in the Lord’s Name. I pray you’ll be blessed and that you’ll stop by often.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”

Proverbs 18:10 – NIV

Yahweh

Of all the Names of the Lord, we probably recognize this name as God’s Name. As you read through your Bible, you will see this Name often. You’ll know this Name of the Lord as “Lord.”

A beautiful church

Moses encountered Yahweh on a mountain in the form of a burning bush (Exodus 3-4:17). Intrigued by the bush that wasn’t consumed, Moses drew closer to the Lord. In Yahweh’s presence, Moses stood on holy ground and was told to remove his sandals.

During this conversation, Moses offered excuses for not being the one to lead the Hebrew nation out of bondage. But God continued to reassure Moses that Yahweh would be with him.

Moses thought of everything, including who to say had sent him. Yahweh’s words hold deep meaning and yet there is simplicity. “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?”

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.” (Exodus 3:13-14 – NIV)

The Israelites knew exactly who had sent Moses. The God of their ancestors would lead them out of slavery. Yahweh.

In one of my favorite books, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion, Debbie Williams has this to say about Yahweh.

“Jehovah is the proper name of the one true God. So distinguished is His name that rabbinical writings refer to Yahweh as ‘The Great and Terrible Name,’ ‘The Unutterable Name,’ ‘The Holy Name,’ and ‘The Name of Four Letters’ (because from the Hebrew it is rendered YHVH.”[i]

The Name of the Lord was and is so precious and holy to the Jewish people. They revered the Name and were cautious of using it in a way that would go against God’s commands. Remember Exodus 20:7?

Mrs. Williams goes on to share this insight. “Could it be that due to our familiarity with the Lord, we have become irreverent and unappreciative of God’s divine majesty and name?”[ii]

I suspect she might be correct.

As I near the end of the alphabet and end this series on the Names of the Lord, I pray that you will have found something special in His Name. I pray that you have come to understand that God’s Name is able to provide all that you need. But most of all, pray that you have come to God through His Names.

God had a few more words to say to Moses on that mountaintop, even about His Name. Exodus 3:15 (NIV) says this. “This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.”

Yahweh. From generation to generation God has been remembered by this Name. What a beautiful Name!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna

[i] Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion, Debbie Williams, Howard Books, 2006, page 235.

[ii] Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion, Debbie Williams, Howard Books, 2006, page 235.