Knowing God...His Names (Part 2)

El Elyon is God Most High

“You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God…I will ascend above the tips of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13a-14).

            A beautiful angel, whom El Elyon created, was jealous and envious of Him. Lucifer, made perfect in beauty and splendor, was not satisfied with his position in Heaven. He seemed to be of the mindset that he could do a better job in running the universe. What was his initial disagreement with his Creator? The Bible does not elaborate much regarding Lucifer’s grievance against the Most High, but whatever it was, it caused him to lose his place in Heaven. The Bible says: “But you are brought down to the realm of the dead to the depths of the pit” (Isaiah 14:15). Lucifer was unable to fight successfully against El Elyon who is God Most High. As a result, what he could not accomplish in Heaven, he tried to do on earth and that was to rule. Despite his desperate attempts, He was never able to be equal to the Most High, so he opted to destroy everything that was good and of El Elyon. Nevertheless, when we think of El Elyon, we can be confident in knowing that no one can rise above the Him for He is the greatest and only God who sits above and looks below.

             

El Roi is the God Who Sees Me

“She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me’” (Genesis 16:13).

            There was trouble on the home front between Sarai and her handmaiden Hagar. Sarai had been barren and although promised a child by the Lord, she thought that she would move things along and allow Hagar to be a surrogate for the old couple to have a child. After Hagar had conceived, there was friction between Sarai and Hagar. Sarai was not going to put up with it any longer and treated Hagar harshly which led to Hagar fleeing into the wilderness from her mistress ((Genesis 16). While there, an angel of the Lord found her there and told her to return to Sarai and that she would have a child who should be named Ishmael. After giving Hagar details into the life ahead for her son, the angel left. After their dialogue, Hagar givens God the name of El Roi because she knew that God could see her. The Bible says: “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). There is no place in the universe that we can go where El Roi does not see us or know about our troubles.

Jehovah Jirah is the Lord who Provides

“So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided’ (Genesis 22:14).

            Abraham had waited for years to have an heir. Even though finally had a son, Ishmael was not the son of promise with whom God would have His special covenant with. After years of waiting, God finally blessed Abraham and Sarah to have a son of their own. Isaac was their son of promise, but there was a test that God did to prove Abraham’s loyalty to Him. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son on an altar to Him. Isaac, not knowing what was about to take place, asked his father about the sacrifice being that they only had supplies for the fire and wood. Abraham responded by say: “’God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering my son,’ And the two of them went on together” (Genesis 22:8). Abraham had faith even though he did not see an escape out of his situation. When Abraham was about to slay his son, an angel of the Lord called out to him and told him not to kill him but provided a ram in his place. God was Abraham’s Jehovah Jireh and is ours as well for He provides for those who place their trust in Him.

Jehovah Nissi is the Lord our Banner

“Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner” (Exodus 17:15).

            The children of Israel had been attacked by one of their enemies, the Amalekites, so Moses had Joshua to choose some fighting men to fight against them. During the battle, Moses held up his hands so that the Israelites would win. As long as his hands were up, the Israelites were winning, but if he lowered his hands, they would begin to lose. Therefore, Aaron and Hur got a stone for Moses to sit on and they helped to hold up his hands. The power, however, was not merely in Moses’ hands, but the Power of Jehovah Nissi was a banner over him so that when his hands went up, the Power of Jehovah Nissi came down. The Bible says: “…Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation” (Exodus 17:15). The Lord, Jehovah Nissi, is our banner whenever the enemy comes against us, His banner over us gives us to power to defeat him when we lift our hands, heads, and hearts towards Him.

Jehovah Rapha is the Lord who Heals

 

“He said, ‘If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you” (Exodus 15:26).

            The Lord had been true to His word and rescued the Children of Israel out of Egypt. His only request was that they love Him with all their heart, soul, and mind by doing what was right in His eyes and He would not send them the diseases of the Egyptians but would heal them. Therefore, God himself declared that He is Jehovah Rapha the Lord who Heals. Evidence of this was shown when as part of the signs that God showed to Moses at the burning bush was to have him stick his hand in his cloak and upon removal, it was white as snow with leprosy. Then, the Lord had him to place his hand back in his cloak and remove it once more. His hand had been healed and had returned to its normalcy; therefore, showing that God is Jehovah Rapha the Lord who Heals. The Bible says: “The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness” (Psalm 41:3). We can have total faith and reliance that no illness nor disease can overpower us because we belong to the One who heals – our Jehovah Rapha. 

 El Shaddai is the Almighty God

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1).

            The Lord took time to come to Abram during his old age and made a covenant with him regarding the descendants who would come after him. The Lord called himself El Shaddai, God Almighty, and in so doing, He was letting Abram know His unique authority to establish covenants with His chosen on the earth because no one was above Him, and all of His creation were His subjects with whom He could do as He pleased. Therefore, the covenant that El Shaddai made with Abram was one that only He had the power to fulfill. Abram had been promised that he would be the father of many nations and was instructed to walk righteously before El Shaddai. Abram’s name was then changed from Abram to Abraham by El Shaddai, for Abraham was walking in a newness of life for which the Lord was going to make him great. The Bible says: “No longer will you be called Abram, your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations” (Genesis 17:5). El Shaddai has the power to do wonders in our lives just like He did with Abraham if we too will walk blamelessly before Him. It’s not that we can do so on our own but because we have El Shaddai who is God Almighty on our side, He will not let us fail.

 Adonai is “Lord” our God

“But Abram said to the king of Sodom, ‘With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heavens….’” (Genesis 14:22).

            In the Bible, the term Lord (Adonai) is often used as a title of respect with someone who is in a high-ranking position of authority. Sarah addressed Abraham as lord (Adonai) out of respect for him being her husband (1 Peter 3:6), and David called King Saul lord (Adonai) when addressing him due to his position as king. The Bible says: “Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, ‘My lord the king!’ When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground” (1 Samuel 24:8). As you can see, Lord (Adonai) is often used in the Bible to give respect to whom it was due. Nevertheless, there is something different and unique when we use it to address God. The Bible says: “They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is the Lord of lords and King of kings – and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers” (Revelation 17:14). The Word of God lets us know that He is Lord (Adonai) above all other lords, and no one compares to His might and power. Therefore, there may be many who carry the title of lord, but there is only One true Adonai in whom we are to serve.

           

Yahweh Rohi is the Lord our Shepherd

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1).

            David the psalmist had gone through a lot of test and trials as he had to flee from King Saul due to his jealousy of David’s anointing. Nevertheless, David knew that the Lord was his Shepherd. Why did David compare the Lord to that of a shepherd? Could it have been that David had experience in the area of shepherding and knew the care that a good shepherd would give to their sheep? One can quite accurately draw that conclusion because it was out of the fields that David was called to be anointed as the second king of Israel. The Bible says: “So he (Samuel) asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ ‘There is still the youngest,’ Jesse answered, ‘He is tending the sheep.’ Samuel said, ‘Send for him….’ So he sent for him and had him brought in…. Then the Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint him, this is the one’” (1 Samuel 16:11-12). David had his humble beginnings as a shepherd prior to becoming king and knew that it took great dedication to tend to sheep who had and still have the reputation of being dumb animals. David did not consider himself to be wise in comparison to the Lord but knew that Yahweh Rohi had to lead him as a shepherd would lead his flock; therefore, Yahweh Rohi was his Shepherd. Yahweh Rohi is our Shepherd as well and keeps us from going astray when we submit ourselves to His leading. We cannot successfully live as a Christian without the direction of Yahweh Rohi who is the Good Shepherd.

Yahweh M’Kaddesh is the Lord who Sanctifies and Makes one Holy

“Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy” (Leviticus 20:7).

            When the Lord had delivered the Children of Israel out of Egypt, He gave them laws and ordinances for them to follow. They were His chosen people and because of this, they were to be representatives of His to the other nations. They were not to behave as their heathen neighbors did by worshiping idols and partaking in debauchery. Therefore, Yahweh M’Kadesh, who is the Lord who sanctifies and makes one holy, let them know that when they followed Him, they would be blessed. The Bible says, “Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart – they do no wrong but follow his ways. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed” (Psalm 119:2-4). Yaweh M’Kadesh sanctifies us which means that He sets us apart for His service and as holy people, we are to honor Him by keeping His decrees. It is important to know that we are not saved by our works because Jesus already came and died for our sins, but in honoring Yahweh M’Kaesh, we acknowledge that He has made us holy and as a result, we produce good fruit through the works that we do so that others may get to know Him through us.

Now that we have gone through some of the names of God, let’s dive in by getting to know Him even better as we allow each name to become more personal in our daily lives. 

Join us on MONDAY for our next week's lesson where we will dig into knowing God as our personal ELOHIM.