My God Has a Name

These days it is becoming increasingly important for us as followers of Yeshua to be truly clear about the God that we love and serve…even down to his very name.  With the rise of Islam and other religions across the globe, there are many attempts underway to blend the faiths and make equal their deities.  However, the Torah, Yeshua, and the Apostles make it abundantly clear that we are to have no other god but the God of the Hebrews.  In Exodus 20:3 we are told that “you shall not recognize the gods of others in my Presence.”  In Exodus 23:13 God goes even further in instructing that “you shall not mention the names of the gods of others”.  Why is this so important to him?

The answer to that question is the same as it has been since Adam and Eve. He loves us and is giving us this instruction to prevent us from harming ourselves and others with deceptions.  Our relationship with him is far too important!  His principles are an extension of his grace and mercy towards us, in that instead of giving us what we deserve for our unfaithful lifestyle (sin), He forgives and then instructs us on how to not fall into the same ditch again….and again…and again. He is not a Groom that leaves his Bride guessing concerning how she should live. His heart is to protect us.  Such a great love!

With various religious denominations now adapting the stance that the Christian “God” and the Muslim “Allah” are one in the same, we need to be sharp to understand that they are absolutely not.  Frankly, I’ve heard the same kind of gibberish all of my life. “Buddha is just another name for God.” “It doesn’t matter what you call God – He goes by many names.” That is NOT what the Bible – the Word of God – tells us. Here is the test he puts before each one of us. Do I take seriously what HE says – or do I get to “pick and choose” what I want to believe?

If you agree that we are to take seriously what God says, then we need to know what he says!

Moshe said to God, “Look, when I appear before the people of Isra’el and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you’; and they ask me ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God said to Moshe, “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I am/will be what I am/will be],” and added, “Here is what you are to say to the people of Isra’el: ‘Ehyeh [I Am/ I Will Be] has sent me to you.’” God said further to Moshe, “Say this to the people of Isra’el: ‘Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya’akov, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered generation after generation.”  — Exodus 3:13-15

God spoke to Moshe; he said to him, “I am ADONAI. I appeared to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya’akov as El Shaddai, although I did not make myself know to them by my name, Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [YHVH – pronounced “YaHWeH” or YeHoVaH]. — Exodus 6:2-3

ADONAI [in all caps this means YHVH] descended in a cloud, stood with him [Moshe] there and pronounced the name of ADONAI. ADONAI passed before him and proclaimed “YUD-HEH-VAV-HEH!!!  Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [YHVH/YaHWeH/YeHoVaH] is God, merciful and compassionate, forgiving offenses, crimes and sins…” — Exodus 34:5-7

When was the last time in conversation with him that you actually called him by his name?  Yes – I know. His name is so “Jewish”.  Why is that a problem?  You do realize that Yeshua is Jewish…in fact, the Hebrew Messiah given to us through the line of the tribe of JUdah?  “Jesus” is a nice sounding Greek name. The problem is that there is a Muslim Jesus too. They are waiting for him to “return” and set the record straight regarding his first coming—that he never claimed to be the messiah, that the Jews and Christians have got it all wrong, and that Allah is the one true God.  Hmmm. Do you think it just might be important to be able to tell the difference between the two? He is and always will be Yeshua, King of the Universe, who came to the earth as a Hebrew Rabbi (master teacher) and the Messiah. He is not a Muslim Mufti, nor a Greek or Roman deity (a human promoted to a godly form and power), nor a European or American Christian.  Will you recognize Yeshua, Lion of the Tribe of Judah and King of Israel, when he returns? Or will you be looking for something more western, or something else to fit your thoughts of him?

Folks, it is time to make a few decisions for yourself on some crucial questions. Is YHVH who he claims to be?  Is he the One Divine God who is the Supreme, Almighty Creator of the universe…who is without beginning and end? Or is he just another deity among hundreds of others mankind bows down to? Did YHVH create the earth, the heavens, and all life – including you and me? Did he and only he set into action a plan of redemptive covenants that he chose to run through the physical bloodline of the Hebrew people (Isra’el), whom he chose and destined from among the nations to bring forth Messiah? 

Is Yeshua, whose very Hebrew name means “YHVH Saves”, who he claims to be – a descendant of the Israelite King David and the Messiah for both Jew and Gentile? Is he King of Isra’el who reigns over all who become a part of her, His Bride? Is Yeshua the Word of YHVH (the Torah) made flesh to walk, live, teach, die, and be resurrected among us? If Yeshua was with YHVH in the beginning, was YHVH, and still is YHVH (John 1), then do you think of him as the Supreme Divine King of the Universe? Or is Yeshua just another deity among the hundreds of manmade deities? What do you sincerely believe and live by with all your deepest conviction?

YHVH – Yeshua.  Deity or Divine?  Just another god among others – or the Supreme Being to whom all of creation is accountable?  Do you believe that he is the Hebrew King of the Universe, Messiah, and Final Judge of Mankind – accessible by only one path and unchanging?  Or do you believe that we get to pick and choose our own path because it is one of many paths to God?  Again, deity or Divine? This is the final choice in this final age.  Your choice will determine the path you walk in these last days. Your choice will also determine your eternity. Choose wisely.

YHVH – he is who HE says he is. He is the Supreme God, Creator and King of the Universe.  He is Aleph Tav – the Beginning and End – of all times and things.  Yeshua is YHVH come among us as a man of flesh and blood upon the earth to save us and to dwell with us. Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh.  In ancient paleo-Hebrew YHVH’s name is “Behold the Hand, Behold the Nail.”   In ancient Hebrew, YHVH’s name is “The Hand the Secures Existence”.  My God has a name.  From generation to generation, His name is YHVH – YaHWeH/YeHoVaH!  Everything he was, is, and will be is within his name.  I will shout his wonderful name from every mountaintop, every shoreline, and everywhere in between!

Hallel-u-Yah! [Praise to Yahweh!]

© Deborah Munson, 2020