The God Who Sees

This name of God, El Roi, is one of my favorites. Oh, sure, it only appears once (Gen 16:13). But it has some serious implications.

Remember the story? Sarai was upset that Hagar was pregnant (Go figure, Sarai. Wasn't that your idea?), so she mistreated her and Hagar ran into the desert. Alone and discouraged, God found her and told her to go back to Abram and Sarai. Ishmael would be her son. In response, she said, "You are the God who sees" -- El Roi.

The term has positive and negative connotations. She was awed that God found her where she was. She was awed that He promised to take care of her, that He saw her and cared about her and her unborn baby. Positives, all. And she was amazed because she had remained alive.

A similar concept is found in Psalm 139.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all (Psa 139:2-4).

David sees this as "too wonderful" (Psa 139:6). That the God of the universe would be watching me that closely is truly wonderful.

Of course, unless you're perfect, you can also see the ominous side of "the God who Sees". He sees what you do wrong as well. We've heard "God is always watching you" as a means of deterring sin, but we rarely really think about that. Perhaps we ought.

Why is it one of my favorites? I tend to think of God as transcendent, as far above, as "something other". He's really ... out there, so far above me that I can barely even perceive Him. This title, "the God who Sees", brings back the immanence of God. He's not only "out there". He's right here. He is indeed concerned about the here and now, a God who sees me. It's an intimacy I need. And what about that negative factor knowing that He's watching when I sin as well? Well, I can really use that, too. That is a good thing. Win-win! Yes, one of my favorites indeed.

The Lord of Hosts

Sabaoth ... that's the Hebrew term. It means "hosts". (No, not "the one who hosts the party", but lots and lots of people, often amassed for war.) This term is used some 285 times in the Old Testament with both YHWH and Elohim. In Amos 4:13 we read, "Behold, He who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is His thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth-- the LORD, the God of hosts, is His name!"

The term is not likely to make you feel warm and gushy. It isn't a term that would inspire "the man upstairs" thinking. The imagery is that of a Master of a massive army. Not the kind of thing one takes trivially. It's not trivial when you read "Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways" (Hag 1:7). You see, when a parent says, "I want you to think about what you're doing," it has one effect. When the Commander of an army does it, it's not the same effect.

Of course, it can have the opposite effect. When David went up against Goliath, here's what he said.

"You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied" (1 Sam 17:45).

If your not paying attention, "the LORD of hosts" will slip on by. But David is answering that classic question. Goliath says, "I'm going to feed you to the birds of the air" and David assures him "I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air." You can almost hear it, can't you? "Oh, yeah? You and what army?!" And that's David's answer.

You see, if you are opposed to the Lord of Hosts, it's not a pleasant place to be. But if God is for us, who can be against us? And, really, what more would you need than that?

Names of God - El Elyon

What are these names all about? I mean, look ... I don't have a lot of names. I have one. So what exactly is all this stuff about "names of God"? Well, the names revealed in Scripture are one of the ways that God reveals Himself to us. They tell us His nature, His character. Anyone who loves God and wants to worship Him would want very much to be familiar with what He has chosen to tell us about Himself.

So take this one, for instance -- El Elyon. Now, if you've been following at all, you already know the name, "El". It is His "generic" name. It is, in fact, more of His title. Elyon is a Hebrew word for "high". According to Strong's, as a title it means "the Supreme" (the highest). That's the sense of it. God Supreme. Oh, okay, see if you recognize this one: "The Most High". That one should ring a bell. Very common in Scripture.

We read, for instance, that Melchizedek was "priest of God Most High" (Gen 14:18). We see that nations are determined by the Most High (Deu 32:8). Do a search of the Psalms and you will find repeated references to the Most High. One that really strikes a chord with me is Psa 21:7 where David writes, "The king trusts in the LORD, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved." Why is that so thrilling? Well, the steadfast love of a good woman or the steadfast love of a good parent is as wonderful thing, so imagine the awesome security of the steadfast love of the Most High. Psalm 47 says "The LORD, the Most High, is to be feared ...", a sentiment we don't hear much these days when it comes to God. "Oh, no," we are assured, "He's a God of love. No need for fear." Nice sentiment ... just not biblical. Jeremiah assures us, "Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?" (Lam 3:38). And it was this term, "Most High", that was part of the whole original concept of sin: "I will make myself like the Most High."

I particularly like this title of God. When government and economics and society and even the Church look bad, I have something higher to which to appeal; I have the Most High. David, fleeing from Saul, wrote, "I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me." You see? That's the idea. Remembering God, El Elyon, the Supreme, the Most High, reminds me that He alone is Sovereign, that He alone is Master, that there is none like Him. Circumstances become less significant, less frightening, less troubling. I read stuff about the dangerous rise of Islam in the world or how the government plans to do this or that horrible thing and I don't need to fear because I cry out to God Most High who fulfills His purpose for me. We know that "the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom He will" (Dan 5:21). Resting in the hands of the One who is over all, the one who steadfastly loves me and is Most High -- there is no safer place to be.

Names of God - El Shaddai

One of the early names of God comes originally from Genesis 17.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless, that I may make My covenant between Me and you, and may multiply you greatly" (Gen 17:1-2)

Translated there as "God Almighty", the Hebrew term behind it is El Shaddai. It is used some 30 times in the Old Testament and typically translated "God Almighty". I think, though, that we could use some clarification.

We know what El means. We already got that part. What about Shaddai? The word can be difficult to chase down. The root word appears to be shad, which translates to "destroy". You can find these together in Isa 13:6 where Isaiah warns "destruction from the Almighty it will come!" That is shad from El Shaddai. But it doesn't seem to make sense in the Gen 17 context. "I am God the Destroyer; I will multiply you greatly." Huh? Some say that it comes from sadu (not found in the Old Testament) which refers to a mountain. This approach takes it to a related concept, the Hebrew word for "breast". The Hebrew concept derived from this term is "sufficient, enough". You see, it's quite clear in human terms that a mother's breasts are sufficient to provide what her baby needs. And this seems to be the idea in the name, El Shaddai.

In this case, perhaps "God Almighty" isn't quite the best. Perhaps "God All-Sufficient"? It is, then, the God that supplies all you need (which, of course, requires "almighty"). This is the God introduced to Abraham at 99 years old when God was promising to multiply him greatly. "Don't worry about it, Abraham. I am all you need." It is this God in Gen 35:3 that tells Jacob, "I am El Shaddai: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body." "I'm all you need." It is this God about whom the psalmist says, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, 'My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust'" (Psa 91:1-2). He is all the refuge and fortress you need.

El Shaddai, God Almighty, God All-Sufficient. It is almost an intimate name with the images it casts. It is a commentary on the sufficiency of God. He is, indeed, all we need.

Names of God - LORD God

Okay, so now we have El (or, more often, Elohim) and YHWH -- Jehovah. One of the earliest (and perhaps most interesting) names of God is the conjunction of the two. Genesis 2:4 references "the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens." The capitalization there is typical of many translations. Whenever you see a translation that capitalizes "LORD", it is translating the word YHWH. This term, then, is a dual term of YHWH and Elohim. Or, it is "YHWH who is God". (Remember, YHWH is His name and Elohim is His title.) (Note: There are places that the two are reversed. Those would look like Lord GOD, where "Lord" contains lower case letters and "God" is in capitals. In these cases it is typically adonai YHWH, where adonai means "lord".)

These two together are found in the Ten Commandments when God commands, "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain" (Exo 20:7). While many modern Christians fear that any irreverent use of the word "God" is a violation of this command, rationally the text is saying more literally that the name -- YHWH -- should not be taken in vain. In this approach, God whose name is YHWH needs to be honored (as opposed to simply worrying about the use of a title in a coarse manner). God (whose name is YHWH) in all that He is (which is the significance of "His Name") must not be referenced vainly. The problem in this commandment doesn't occur with the mouth; it occurs with the heart and is only expressed with the mouth. YHWH God demands and deserves respect, and we ought to supply it.

We ought to supply respect in reverence. Using God's name as a swear word isn't any worse than a flippant reference to God, like some are prone to do when calling Him "the Man Upstairs" or something like it. We ought to supply respect with our attention. Using God's name in vain can (and often does) occur in church when we mouth praises and prayers while our hearts are far from Him. We ought to supply respect in gratitude. It is a vain use of God's name when we claim to be His followers and fail to be thankful.

Jehovah is God. That's one of the common names applied to God. It has practical significance to believers. The Self-Sufficient One is the Power and Authority. He earns and demands our respect and attention.

Names of God - YHWH

The name of God used most often in the Bible is this name which we have learned to pronounce "Jehovah". It is the Tetragrammaton, the name of God too sacred to be spoken. It is first offered by God when Moses asks at the burning bush, "Whom shall I tell them sent me?" It is the great "I Am". It is the personal name of God.

From a philosophy perspective, the name is simply stunning. You see, in human existence all things are contingent. All things are cause and effect. Something causes this effect which causes in turn that effect and so on. Science likes to trace the origins of the planet and its life to the Big Bang, but no one can go any farther back because something had to cause the Big Bang. We know that for every effect there must be a cause. But to avoid infinite regression, there must, at some point, be an existence that is not an effect, an uncaused cause, an unmoved mover -- a self-existent being that has no dependencies, no contingencies. God's primary name, YHWH, is the claim that He alone is that singular Being.

It is the same name that Jesus claimed and almost got murdered on the spot for it.

So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple (John 8:57-59).

Jockey all you want, but both in the Greek grammar and in the response of the Jews it's quite clear that Jesus claimed, just as God did with Moses, to be YHWH, the Self-existent One.

His completely unique name and trait of self-existence has large ramifications. One is the complete lack of dependency. We tend to think that God needs ... something. He needs our obedience. He needs our praise. He needs His people. None of it is true. He surely wants all that, but there is no lack in God, no dependency on anything or anyone but Himself. He is self-existent. Another is the fact of His self-centeredness. I know, I know, that sounds bad, but it is only logical and, in fact, absolutely mandatory. Since He alone is YHWH, the Self-Existent One, He is indeed the true center of the universe. His first allegiance, logically and morally, is to Himself. We like to think that it is we who are the important ones, but it is not so. God is. We rank under Him. As the Self-Existent One, He is the one of supreme importance and value and any time we impugn that, we diminish His Godhood. On the other side of the coin, since He is self-existent, there are no contingencies for Him. That means that He does whatever He wants. He lifts up and lays low, brings about and prevents from happening, enriches and impoverishes, all without interference. He doesn't wring His hands, hoping that His people will do the right thing and get it done. He doesn't depend on us. In Job we read, "Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right, or is it gain to Him if you make your ways blameless?" (Job 22:3). That might surprise you. I mean, "Of course God is pleased if I do what's right!" Yes, but I have not added pleasure to God by doing so. He has no contingencies, no lack of pleasure that He needs or would have had if I had done the right thing.

"Jehovah" -- YHWH -- is the singular name of God. Other names are tied to it. Other terms are linked with it. It is, however, at the root of God's name and, more importantly, the root of His existence. It is a much bigger name than we often realize. It speaks of His uniqueness, His self-existence, His sovereignty, His independence, His omnipotence ... and on and on. It's a really, really big name ... built out of 4 little letters.

Names of God - El

I thought that, since Sunday is a great day to reflect on the Lord, perhaps I'd do a series on the names of God ... you know, spread out over a whole bunch of Sundays. (I almost said "a month of Sundays", but I'm not really sure what that means.) The first needs to be this name -- El -- because so many others are built on it.

One of the most common names for God in the Old Testament is this Hebrew word, El. To be most precise, it isn't a name so much as a title. It is linguistically tied to "Allah" (although that is about the end of any connection between the Judeo-Christian God and the God of Islam). This version -- singular -- is used some 250 times in the Old Testament. The plural version, Elohim, is used some 2570 times. Some versions of El may reference pagan gods or even human powers (see Psa 82:6). It references powers which could include magistrates, angels, or judges.

Interestingly, when speaking of the one, true God, Elohim (the plural) is often used with singular verbs. This is the earliest suggestion of the Trinity, a plurality of one, a single entity of three. It is this reference that has Genesis 1:26 quoting God (one) saying, "Let us make man in our image ...". It is the reason that the Bible may refer to God as Creator, Christ as Creator, or the Holy Spirit as Creator -- the plural entity of God, which is one.

The basic meaning behind the word is "strength". It references "the strong one". This is the basic idea whether referencing humans or judges or angels -- strength. And this is the first thought in the names of God that include El in their wording. It is a title that speaks first and foremost of His strength, His power. The very first name applied to God -- the title by which He is first known -- is The Strong One. It's a very good start.