God
Throughout the Old Testament God chose different names and titles in order to reveal His character to us. This was so that we could get to know Him personally and relate to Him. After all when you meet someone you want to get to know, your first question is usually, “what is your name”? Well, God is no different He knows us intimately and desires for us to know Him. Below are a list of different names and titles God chose to give to us in order that man may understand who He is, and what He is. I pray that as you read the names and titles of God you will come to know the One who formed you in the womb, and planned your days before the was yet even one. (Psalm 139:13,16)
Elohim
In the book of Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 we read, ” In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This word for God in the Hebrew is “Elohim” it means “the all-powerful, almighty One.”2 God is revealing Himself as ” the mighty God” who creates, who brings into existence something out of nothing. This word for God is also in it’s plural form, suggesting not more than One God, but plurality in one unit. This concept is understood further as God reveals Himself in the rest of scripture as three person’s in One, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 3 (Matthew 28:19)
El Shaddai
In Genesis chapter 35 we find a scared, and tired Jacob. Two of Jacob’s son’s had just killed every single male in one entire city over the rape of their sister and Jacob’s daughter Dinah. Jacob knew that his life and the life of his family were now in danger. Exasperated, he yelled at his son’s and they began to argue; Here God stepped in and revealed Himself to Jacob as “El Shaddai”. God told Jacob what he needed to do to save himself and his family, then Jacob remembered that God had saved him once before when he was scared to see his brother Esau years after he had stolen his blessing. He remembered that God had been with him wherever he went, and as Jacob heeded God’s call and began to sojourn, the cities around Jacob fell in such great terror the Bible says, that no one pursued Jacob and his family. This was the power of God, this was “El Shaddai” protecting His own. Finally in verse 11, God says to Jacob, ” I am El Shaddai; be fruitful and multiply; A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from you. The land which I give to Abraham and Issac, I will give it to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you.” With the name “El Shaddai” God reveals Himself as One who is great enough to subdue men with His might in order to rescue His own people, and He is the blesser of His people and able to supply their every need.
El-Roi
In Genesis chapter 16 we find the story of Hagar. Hagar was a maid to Sarah, the wife of Abraham. Now Sarah had no children and she desperately wanted some, but she could not conceive. So she gave her maid Hagar to her husband Abraham as a wife so that she might obtain children through her. Once Hagar conceived, Sara become jealous of her and began to treat her very harshly the Bible says. Hagar became frightened and overwhelmed, and ran away into the wilderness where she was without help and all alone. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar, “El-Roi”. Verse 13 reads, ” Then she (Hagar) called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are El-Roi; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?” God saw the mistreatment of Hagar, and came to her. Though she was of little importance to anyone else, and the abuse she endured seemed to go unnoticed, there was One who took notice, the One who sees, El-Roi.
Lord of Sabaoth
In James 5:1-6 we read, ” Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!
Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.”
God reveals Himself in this passage with the title “Lord Sabaoth”, which means “God of Hosts”; this designates Him as God of the armies of heaven and earth. It is His “royal name”, designating Him King over both general human history and the history of redemption for those who have called on His name. 4
YHWH
This is what is often referred to as the “tetragrammaton” (big word I know), it means “four letters”. It is the actual name of God. In Exodus 3:13-14 we read, ” Moses said to God, “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.’ “ The I AM in these verses is the four letter word YHWH in Hebrew. In Jewish tradition this name was considered so sacred that it was never spoken out loud for fear that God’s name would be taken in vain. The title “Adonai”, which means “Lord” was instead put in it’s place. This name of course conveys the meaning of One who is self-sustaining, He is and was and will always be. He is unchanging.
From these names alone we can see that God is infinite, eternal, unchangeable in His being, wise, powerful, holy, just, good, compassionate, loving, merciful, gracious, is truth, and fully sovereign. 5
David says in Psalm 139:7-10, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” If today you find yourself running from God, please know that you cannot out run God, He is everywhere. John 4:24 says, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” He has revealed Himself so that He may be known by you today. Remember, God is El-Roi, He sees all. God is Elohim, He created you. God is El shaddai, He protects and sustains you. God is Lord of Sabaoth, He fights for you. God is YHWH, He is the same yesterday, today and forever, you can trust Him.
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Notes
1 Robert Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998), 153
2 Stanley Rosenthal, One God or Three, ( Lighthouse Point: Messianic Good News Inc.), 23
3 Melissa Williamson, The Names of God, (2009)
4 Reymond, 159