Well, maybe not always, but that’s another post.
I do love that God has revealed Himself in so many ways so that we can know Him. Really know Him. He’s given us His Word, His Son, His Spirit, and His creation to reveal Himself to us.
But I also love the mystery that surrounds Him. We can’t know everything about Him. Including His name. ”His name?” you say. ”He has many names and they are all in the bible.” True. True. But most names for God in the bible are titles or attributes. What do you think God would say if you asked Him His name? He told Moses. Oh yeah.
Take a minute and read Exodus 3:13-18. When Moses asked “Hey, what do I say if they ask me Your name?” (UGV – unauthorized Godseeker version) God responded in two ways. He said, “Tell them that I AM has sent me to you.” Wow. What does that mean? Long theological discussion boils down to, “Well, I just AM.”
Then He also said, “Tell them YHWH…has sent me to you. ” What? How do you say that? Your bible (as mine does) probably says “the LORD” (with little caps – couldn’t do that here). When we pronounce it we say “Yahweh” (Yah – way). But we really don’t know. Yahweh was made when the early Hebrews inserted the vowels from Adonai (the Lord – lower case letters in our bibles) It is also created Jehovah. Depends on what language you are translating too. Even longer discussion. But they knew who that was. That was the God of their fathers. That was and is His name.
The bottom line is God has a name. A name that we really can’t say because we don’t know how. The Hebrews always said Adonai when they read it. They considered it too holy to be read.
He has revealed Himself. Yet He remains mysterious. He is God. He is YHWH.
Brian
Great post, I agree. One of the things I love about the way God does things is how when he moves, he does it so big that it blows anything man can do our of the water. It just proves even more how great and awesome He is. For example:
1. Take 1 boy’s lunch and feed 5000 people. (Have you ever tried to make something that 1 of your kids has and split it even between 2 of them it doesn’t go far.)
2. Moses asks God His name and the name is so HOLY, we can’t even say it.
[...] 15, 2009 by b.rizzle Remember last week’s post on God’s name? Well, after an extended break I have begun to read through the Psalms again, this time in the [...]