Why understanding God as YHWH (Yahweh) can improve your relationship with Him-Part 1?
How do you view God? As a scary judge? Or a loving Father? How you understand God impacts your relationship with Him and your response to Him. Additionally, the way you view Him affects how you reflect Him to others as you are His ambassadors. Therefore, it is crucial that your understanding of His infinite character continues to grow. Come alongside me in a journey exploring God as YHWH.
Background
In my last post How to Improve your Understanding of the Bible Using the Notice and Wonder Technique: Genesis 2 Edition, I challenged you to use the Notice and Wonder technique when reading Genesis 2. It’s a crazy chapter, and there are a lot of things to notice and wonder! But I want us to focus in on one specific noticing and wondering that you may have had. You may have noticed in Genesis 1-2:3, the word for God was Elohim (or in most English versions just God), and then in Genesis 2:4 and following God’s name changed to Yahweh Elohim (or in most English versions Lord God). You can see the name changes better if you use the Names of God Bible Translation which can be found on Bible Gateway. I’ll insert a sample of the chapter below. So one of your wonderings may be “Why did God change his name?” (You may also have noticed that Genesis 2 seems to be a second account of creation that differs from Genesis 1. We won’t get into that fully, but we may touch on it as we discuss the name of God.)
Names of God Bible Translation
Genesis 2: 2-6 (NOG)
2 Heaven and earth and everything in them were finished. 2 By the seventh day Elohim had finished the work he had been doing. On the seventh day he stopped the work he had been doing. 3 Then Elohim blessed the seventh day and set it apart as holy, because on that day he stopped all his work of creation. 4 This is the account of heaven and earth when they were created, at the time when Yahweh Elohim made earth and heaven. 5 Wild bushes and plants were not on the earth yet because Yahweh Elohim hadn’t sent rain on the earth. Also, there was no one to farm the land. 6 Instead, underground water would come up from the earth and water the entire surface of the ground.”
The Two Names of God
God has two primary names in the Old Testament: Elohim and Yahweh (YHWH). Elohim is used exclusively in Genesis 1.
Why is this important?
In my previous posts, I stated that I believe that there are vital questions in Genesis that each person needs to grasp in some capacity in order to understand the purpose of Jesus and the good news of the Gospel. The questions we need to answer are—
- Who is God?
- Who did God intend us to be?
- And why was eating the forbidden fruit was so significant?
Currently, I’ve only discussed one name of God: Elohim. With just that one perspective, we don’t have a full grasp of God and therefore, we can’t fully understand who God created us to be.
Elohim
I’m going to spend this post focusing on YHWH, so if you want more information on God as Elohim check out my previous posts: Understanding Elohim and the Kingly Attributes of God and Understanding God: The Significance of Logos in the Gospel of John-Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
YHWH (Yahweh)
A Note Before We Begin
Jewish people don’t ever say Yahweh aloud because they don’t want to take his name in vain. In fact because the original Hebrew text didn’t use vowels, the original pronunciation was most likely lost. Instead Jews would use the word Adonai, which means “Lord” or Hashem which means “the name.” English translations started using Lord as a substitute for Adonai. Some English people also use the title Jehovah, but that is just a Latinized version of a blend the consonants of the word YHWH with the vowels of the word Adonai. The four letters in Hebrew are also known as the Tetragrammaton which means the four letters (Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey).
Starting in Exodus
Although it may be intuitive to start in Genesis, I think we may gain more by diving into Exodus first.
Burning Bush
1610–16, The MET
I encourage you to read Exodus 3 in its entirety before we begin, but I’m mainly going to concentrate on Exodus 3:14. It might be helpful to read it in the Names of God Bible translation. However, I’ll talk a little bit about the section to build some background. Some things should stand out to you:
- Where is Moses? He is on Horeb, the mountain of God (Elohim).
- A messenger (or angel) of Yahweh called out to Moses from a bush that was burning but that was not being consumed.
- Yahweh and Elohim seem to be used interchangeably for God.
- Elohim intitatied contact by calling out to Moses by name. Moses responded by saying “Here I am.”
- Elohim states that the ground near Him is holy, and he told Moses to take off his shoes.
- God states his identity: I am the Elohim of your ancestors, the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
- Yahweh shows his compassionate nature.
- God states his name as “Ehyeh Who Ehyeh.”: Elohim answered Moses, “Ehyeh Who Ehyeh. This is what you must say to the people of Israel: ‘Ehyeh has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14
- He the refers to Himself as Yawhew Elohim: “This is what you must say to the people of Israel: Yahweh Elohim of your ancestors, the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever. This is my title throughout every generation.’” Exodus 3: 15
“Ehyeh Who Ehyeh” or “I AM WHO I AM”
What is God trying to say about Himself when he uses “I AM WHO I AM” (or as other translations state “I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE”) as His name? According to Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers, He implies the following:
- “an existence different from all other existence. “I am, and there is none beside me” (Isaiah 45:6);
- an existence out of time, with which time has nothing to do (John 8:58);
- an existence that is real, all other being shadowy;
- an independent and unconditioned existence, from which all other is derived, and on which it is dependent.”
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary gives a similar list:
- That he is self-existent: he has his being of himself.
- That he is eternal and unchangeable, and always the same, yesterday, to-day, and for ever.
- That he is incomprehensible; we cannot by searching find him out: this name checks all bold and curious inquiries concerning God.
- That he is faithful and true.
What does that mean for me?
What would God want to describe himself as “I AM WHO I AM” to the Egyptians and Moses? How would this differentiate Him from other gods in their culture? How does thinking about God as “I AM” affect how you view Him?
Back to Genesis 2
Notice and Wonder
Pause for a moment and reread Genesis 2. Use your noticing and wondering skills that I’ve referenced in previous post How to Improve your Understanding of the Bible Using the Notice and Wonder Technique: Genesis 2 Edition, and look specifically at God’s relationship as Yahweh Elohim to mankind. What do you notice? What do you wonder?
My Noticings
In the first column I listed some of the things I noticed about God (YHWH Elohim) in Genesis 2. Then in the second column I listed aspects of God that are the same or different in Genesis 1 as Elohim. Feel free to look back on my post as a reference Understanding Elohim: The Kingly Attributes of God to help you.
YHWH vs Elohim
Whereas Elohim as a just, creator king seems distant. The name Yahweh (YHWH) suggests more intimacy. He fashioned us with his hands and shared his very own breath with us. He is not merely our creator but our Father. He is our provider and our sustainer who cares for us both physically and emotionally.
Here is a quote from Exodus Rabbah, a Jewish Midrash (Jewish commentary):
“The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to those, You want to know my name? I am called according to my actions. When I judge the creatures I am Elohim, and when I have mercy with my world, I am named YHWH.” (3:6)
So What?
Impacting Ourselves
How should our understanding of Yahweh (YHWH) impact our lives?
- Understanding God as Yahweh should provoke in us a relational response; He is our loving Father. This causes us to seek Him and not fear him. We can trust him because he desires to protect, sustain, and provide for us; He loves us!
- Understanding the character of Yahweh helps understand what it means to be created in the image of Elohim. (See my previous posts Reflecting God’s Image—Part 1: Insights from Scripture and Reflection Questions and Reflecting God’s Image—Part 2: An Infinitely-Faceted Diamond.)
- Right relationships are important to God, so they should also be important to us.
Impacting Others in General
How does focusing on God as Yahweh impact others around us? I think simply we need to actively love our neighbors better. I’m currently reading a book called The Art of Neighboring by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon to help me improve in this area
Note: I am not currently participating in affiliate marketing.
Impacting those Under Our Care (Students or Children, etc.)
How do we communicate God as Elohim to our students/children?
I want to hear from you! How do you think we can communicate Yahweh (YHWH) to others? Here are some of the things I’m brainstorming:
- We can approach our students/children holistically instead of seeing them as a compilation of their behaviors.
- In Science we can start a garden caring for our plants as God cares for creation.
- In English Language Arts we can discuss relationships among and between characters when writing and reading.
- In Fine Art we can focus on people as subjects and instead of as objects. We can use art to emphasize relational aspects and feelings instead of just focusing on skill.
- In Social Studies class we can focus on and evaluate how people impact culture and how different cultures interact with one another.
- In math we can incorporate trade books when applicable or other cross curricular lessons to engage students.
Summary
Whereas the title Elohim emphasizes God’s kingly attributes of power and justice, the name of Yahweh evokes a loving father. Since we are made in His image, we are made in both the image of Elohim and Yahweh. We are made to be creators and rulers and focus on justice, but we are also relational beings who need to be loving and merciful.
Check out my Bible Studies on Genesis 2 and Exodus 3 to help reflect on these passages further.
Stay Tuned
I’m hoping to publish a prayer book for young boys sometime this year. Be sure to subscribe if you want the latest updates!
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