I don't know if I have ever confessed this here on the blog...one of the main reasons that I am doing this blog and continue doing it is so that one day...it might be 20, 30 or 40 years from now that my children, grandchildren (Yahweh willing) will wonder what Dad and Granddad thought about the things of God, the things of Yahweh...I know that I would love to have more from my parents and grandparents...all deceased now. So I maintain the discipline of journaling out loud in a blog. If I did not have the accountability of a blog I know that I would quit...so the accountability is a great thing for me.
I point that out to say today's post is a complete cut and paste from the Tyndale Bible Dictionary. My normal practice is to read multiple sources, tons of scripture, pray hard and then write...however, when I read the following and read all the other sources...my thought was I want my kids to read the following one day. So please forgive the long cut and paste in a blog but I believe that you will be richly blessed if you prayerfully read...looking up the referenced scriptures as you are prompted...ENJOY!
This name Yahweh reveals God’s nature in the highest and fullest sense possible. It includes, or presupposes, the meaning of the other names. Yahweh particularly stresses the absolute faithfulness of God. God had promised the patriarchs that he would be their God, that he would be with them and deliver and bless them, keep them, and give them a land as a place of service and inheritance. Moses is told by God that Israel is about to behold and experience the unchangeableness of God as he steadfastly and wondrously remembers his word and executes it to the fullest degree. God would prove to be a faithful, redeeming, upholding, restoring God. In working out this redemption, God would demonstrate that he is all that his name implies: merciful, gracious, patient, full of loving-kindness, truthful, faithful, forgiving, just, and righteous (Ex 34:5–6). Truly, Jacob had received an insight into the meaning of the name when he exclaimed, “I wait for thy salvation, O Yahweh” (Gn 49:18).
Yahweh, then, is the name par excellence of Israel’s God. As Yahweh, he is a faithful covenant God who, having given his word of love and life, keeps that word by bestowing love and life abundantly on his own.
In view of the richness of the name Yahweh, it can be understood why there were stringent rules regarding its proper use (Lv 24:11, 16). It also explains why thankful, rejoicing, worshiping Israelites used the abbreviated form of Yahweh in song when they sang Hallelujah: “Praise Yah” (Pss 104:35; 106:1; 149:1; 150:1).
Several other compound names occur infrequently:
Yahweh-Nissi (nissi, “my banner”) is the name that Moses called on when he built an altar celebrating Israel’s God-given victory over the Amalekites (Ex 17:15). Isaiah uses the term nissi when speaking of the coming Messiah who is to be the conqueror (Is 11:10).
Yahweh-Rapha (rapha’, “healer”) appears in Exodus 15:26, when Israel is assured that God, their healer, will prevent the diseases of Egypt from affecting Israel. Although the name is only used once, God was often called upon and praised as the healing One (e.g., Ps 103:3; Is 30:26; Jer 6:14).
Yahweh-Rohi (ro’i, “my shepherd”) appears in Psalm 23:1. The concept of Yahweh as shepherd is explicated in Ezekiel 34. “I myself will be the Shepherd of my sheep” (v 15). Jesus demonstrated this concept’s full meaning when as a shepherd he gave his life for his sheep.
Yahweh-Jireh (yir’eh, “to see ahead or to provide”) appears in Genesis 22:14. Abraham gave this name to the place where God provided a substitute for his son Isaac, whom Abraham was to offer as a sacrifice to God. Yahweh-Shalom (shalom, “peace”) is the name Gideon gave to the altar he built when the angel of the Lord came to give him orders to fight the Midianites (Jgs 6:24).
Yahweh appears with a few forms of the term tsadaq, “righteousness.” Yahweh is spoken of as our righteousness in Jeremiah 23:6; the thought evidently is that David’s Righteous Branch (the Messiah) will attribute God’s righteousness to those who are incorporated in the new covenant. This concept is expressed in the Pentateuch a number of times when it is said that God has provided a way for living righteously; that is, God provides a way of sanctification (cf. Lv 20:8; 22:9). Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (542). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.