by Samantha Jones
“And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.‘” Exodus 3:14
The words within the Scripture above echoed throughout the mountain top on Sinai where Moses stood, face to face with God, who had just spoken. Though in the form of a burning bush, God revealed Himself to Moses and reminded Him of who was in control. Now let’s pause the story here… buckle up for a journey through the revelation of the Divine name of YHWH throughout the ages.
The History:
First, to begin in our comprehension of the Divine Name, we must understand its history. According to Richard Baukham in his work titled “Who Is God?,” the Divine Name consists of the four Hebrew letters “YHWH,” and is also referred to as the “Tetragrammaton”–meaning “four letters” (35). Throughout history, the spelling of the Divine Name has evolved along with the additions of vowels to the Hebrew language. However, these vowels are incapable of replacing those that “once belonged to the Name itself,” and instead are pulled from the names “Adonai” (meaning “my Lord”) in Hebrew, and “Kyrios” (meaning “Lord”) in Greek (36). In our Bibles today, the use of “LORD” in all uppercase letters refers to the Name itself, in order to provide clarity when reading Scripture.
The Revelation:
God reveals His Divine Name to us in Scripture (now we can resume that story in Exodus from earlier). The Bible states that “the angel of the LORD appeared to [Moses] in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush” (Ex. 3.2). Yahweh appears to His servant Moses in the form of a bush that is burning, yet not consumed by the flames. This in and of itself is a beautiful demonstration of the power of the Almighty. God also commands Moses to remove his sandals from his feet–for the ground where God dwelt was “holy” (Ex. 3.5).
John M. Frame, in his article titled “Divine Revelation: God Making Himself Known,” discusses the different types of revelation we see of the Name throughout Scripture: both “general” and “special” (Frame). First, general revelation as Frame examines, is God revealing Himself to humanity through morality and nature–to everybody. We find evidence of this type of revelation in Romans 1, as God’s existence, His character and His standards for morality are discussed. Second, we have special revelation–God revealing Himself to individuals through specific means, “charging them to bring the message to others” (Frame). Frame concludes that “the Bible as a whole is a special revelation of God in written form” (Frame).
Yahweh Still Speaks Today:
John Piper discusses the “absolute reality” of God in his article “Who Is Yahweh?” (Piper). The meaning of YHWH points directly to God’s omnipotence, as well as the independence which He forever wields. This means that God is not dependent upon anything for His existence or for anything else–He reigns supreme and is the Orchestrator of all things–and therefore He makes up all of reality itself. There is nothing before, nor behind the Almighty–He simply encompasses all of reality because He is reality.
The meaning of YHWH points directly to God’s omnipotence, as well as the independence which He forever wields.
Yahweh was, is, and will always be. God is not silent in our present age, but constantly speaking to us and through us for the furthering of His kingdom.
The Divine Name is also used throughout the Psalms during the time of David, a man after God’s own heart. He writes, even in his own times of desperation, that “the LORD reigns,” and that He will “hear” the righteous and “deliver” them from all troubles (Ps. 97.1; 34.17).
In Jeremiah 33, the Lord states that He will answer those who call to Him.
In John 10, Jesus declares that we, His “sheep”, follow His voice and know it, just as He knows us (John 10.27).
Although God is not physically dwelling among us on this earth, Yahweh still speaks to us. We have been given Scripture as a written, blessed assurance of the hope we find in Christ alone. Hebrews 4:12 states that the Word of God is “alive and active,” useful for “correction, reproof, and training in righteousness” (Heb. 4.12; 2 Tim. 2.16). Scripture provides us today with the guidelines to live in accordance with the “good, pleasing, and perfect” will of God (Rom. 12.2).
Conclusion:
My hope in writing this article is that my readers grow in confidence and knowledge of the Name YHWH in its evolution through history, its revelation to the people of God within Scripture, and lastly the ways in which Yahweh still speaks to us today. I believe it is extremely important to study deeply the intricately-woven revelation of our Creator, as we will know Him more and more when we do so! The Divine Name speaks to us both then and now. I will end with a challenge to you as my reader: begin taking the time to look for the revelation of the Divine Name in Scripture, as well as the many ways that God shows Himself to us today.
Leave a Reply