Mark's Daily Reading Journal

Good morning...after several days off I am trying to get back into the swing of things.  I have to confess that there has been another huge mountain that has stopped me in my tracks...it is the thought of trying to communicate anything about God's name YHWH.  I have become overwhelmed and almost paralyzed every time I come to the foot of this breath taking mountain.  Each of the other names I have not hesitated to tackle in one blog post...but every time I tried to prayerfully look at YHWH, Yahweh...my mental and spiritual RAM overloaded and was burned up:)  So I believe our LORD, Yahweh, was trying to tell me to take several days to do this...that is what I am going to do!

YHWY is the most important name for God in the Old Testament, amazingly it is a name that many of our English versions never even translates. Whenever you see the word LORD in all capital letters, you know that it is Yahweh.  The King James version translates it this way except for four instances it is translated Jehovah, however, in Hebrew the name had four letters—YHWH, today we pronounce it as Yahweh.

Exod 6:3  And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.

Ps 83:18  That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

Isa 12:2  Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Isa 26:4  Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

The Jews held this name of God in such reverence and awe that they refused to speak this name, they were fearful of accidentally taking HIS name in vain. So whenever they came to this name in their reading, they pronounced the word “adonai” which means “my lord.” Most English translations have followed the same pattern. They translate the proper name Yahweh with the word LORD in all caps.  As far as I know only the Broadman Holman Christian Standard Bible translates it Yahweh.

I don't know about you but if I share my name with someone I prefer for them to use the name I give them!  Since God has revealed HIS name to us don't you believe it would be wise of HIS children to use the name HE gave us?  If someone remembers and calls you by name after one meeting with them it makes you feel good...it is amazing how important it is to people to know their name!  Know HIS name!  Know HIS name!  Why are you making such a big deal about this Mark?  Because it impacts your faith and the faith of your children!  Psalm 9:10 Those who know Your name trust in You because You have not abandoned those who seek You, Lord.

If I may be so bold as to say that I don't believe that the English word LORD communicates to us the same way a proper name does like Mark, Diane, Zach, Kyle or Alexis. Yahweh is God’s proper name in Hebrew. The importance of it can be seen in the sheer frequency of its use. It occurs 6,828 times in the Old Testament.

Then where did the name Jehovah come from?  Great question...the name Jehovah originated from an attempt to pronounce the consonants YHWH with the vowels from the word adonai. In the oldest Hebrew texts there are no vowels. Whenever YHWH occurred in the text, the word adonai was pronounced by the Jewish people.

What does Yahweh mean? 

I believe that Exodus 3:13-15 holds the key for understanding the meaning of the name Yahweh.  God commands Moses to go to Egypt and to bring his people out of captivity.  Then Moses asked God, “If 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?’ what should I tell them?”  14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.   This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever;  this is how I am to be remembered in every generation. (HCSB)

God gives three answers to the question, “What shall I tell them your name is?”  In verse 14 God says, “I AM WHO I AM.”  A few words later in 14 God says, “I AM has sent me to you.”  Finally, in verse 15 God says, “Yahweh … has sent me to you … this is my name for ever.”

Two things lead me to believe that this passage gives us an understanding of the  name Yahweh.  First, the name Yahweh and the name I AM are built out of the same Hebrew word hayah. The other is that Yahweh seems to be used here interchangeably with I AM. "I AM has sent me to you." “Yahweh … has sent me to you"  I think it would be safe to say that God’s purpose in this meeting with Moses is to reveal, as he never had before (check out Exodus 6:2), the meaning of his personal name Yahweh.

Over the next several days I prayerfully hope to behold the glory of the LORD, the glory of the great I AM, the glory of Yahweh as we gaze upon HIS magnificent name as HE has revealed it to us in HIS precious Word.  My prayer is that as we gaze upon HIS matchless name and as the Holy Spirit unfolds HIS name to our understanding our eyes will be opened to HIS goodness, grace, mercy, power, authority, presence...our eyes will be opened to Yahweh, our eyes will be opened to JESUS!

John 8:58  Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Before Abraham was, I am.” 

Ps 27:13-14 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! 14  Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

love HIM, trust HIM,

m

If you do a careful search I believe that you will find 11 men in scripture with the name Eliezer.  The name simply and profoundly means "God is my help."  In the title I listed the different ways that it could be translated from the Hebrew.  You have to go back to Gen 15:2 to find the servants name, I almost titled today's post "the unnamed servant," until I found him in chapter 15.

Ge 15:2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what can You give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 

At the end of his life Abraham is still walking in faith with God, he is still trusting God's promises and taking God at HIS Word.  Remember, Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.  By faith he sent his servant on a 500 mile journey...he did not have a Hummer.  He shared the promise with his servant and sent him on the journey.

Ge 24:7  The Lord, the God of heaven,  who took me from my father’s house and from my native land,  who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘I will give this land to your offspring ’— He will send His angel before you,  and you can take a wife for my son from there.

This promise is repeated in God's Word multiple times, you may be wondering why I am keying in on this particular promise...it is because that you and I are included in this promise spoken to Abraham thousands of years ago! 

Gal 3:16 16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say “and to seeds,” as though referring to many, but and to your seed,   referring to one, who is Christ.

In our reading in Matthew you have a leper cleansed, today that would be like a person with full blown AIDS being healed.  The leper came to Jesus saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.  Reaching out His hand He touched him, saying, 'I am willing; be made clean.'"  A few verses later the Centurion comes and speaks to Jesus.

Matt 8:8-10  “Lord,” the centurion replied, “I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But only say the word, and my servant will be cured.  9 For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command.  I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following Him, “I assure you: I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith!

Eliezer, the leper and the Centurion all acted in faith, each one knew something of the character and attributes of God and acted on that knowledge.  None of them had the whole counsel of God's Word that we have today.  The promises that were true for them are true for you and I.  The primary difference is that we have the ability to constantly review and meditate on those promises.

How many times in scripture do you see Jesus amazed at a great faith?  More often it is "O ye of little faith."  I don't know if we can still amaze HIM, Jesus, with our faith since HE is omniscient and all.  I long to have a faith that would have amazed Jesus while HE was on earth in the flesh.  If you are like me, you are wondering how...how can I have a faith like that?  I believe that HE gave us the answer in Proverbs today.  I know that these words are very familiar to many of you, but please pause and meditate on them for a moment...take them with you into today.

Proverbs 3:1-6  My son, don’t forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commands; for they will bring you many days, a full life,   and well-being. Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you.  Tie them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.  Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.

Father in Heaven,

Again and again I acknowledge my desperation for YOU...please Father enable me by YOUR indwelling Spirit to trust you with all my heart, not to look to myself, to think about YOU in everything and then cling to the promise that YOU will faithfully direct my paths...grant me a faith that might amaze YOU, I believe, help my unbelief!  Please do this for YOUR glory and my joy.

I love you,

M

 I copied the text below from a John Piper sermon from December 23, 2001.  You may read the sermon in its entirety at http://www.desiringgod.org/  Simply search “The Word was made flesh”

As I was reading this morning in Zachariah chapter 8 and I read things like: “I am extremely jealous for Zion; I m jealous for her with great wrath 8:2.”  & “I will save my people fro the land of the east…I will bring them back…They will be my people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God 8:7–8.”  “So I have resolved again in these days to do what is good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah.  Don’t be afraid 8:15.”

I could not help but go in my spirit to John chapter 1, whether in the body or out of the body I don’t know, I know such a man, whether in the body or out of the body I do not know…God knows…JUST KIDDING…sorry

I did go there in my heart and marveled at what our triune God did in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.  What HE did demands a response!  Dr. Rogers used to say, “you are free to choose, but you must choose, you are not free not to choose.”

Five truths about the Word-Made-Flesh.

1.     He is Jesus Christ after he is made flesh: Savior and God-anointed King of all.

2.     He is God: He was with God and was God.

3.     He was called the Word: God-in-communication, God-Expressing-Himself.

4.     He is the Creator: all things were made through him, but he himself was not made.

5.     He is life and Light: the living power to see and the all-satisfying splendor to be seen.

What are the responses you might give to all this revelation about Jesus Christ, the Word-Made-Flesh?

One Response: I Do not Know Him and I Do not Receive Him

One is described in verses 10-11, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. (11) He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.” You might here this and say, “I do not know him and I do not receive him.” That is a very frightening things so say about your Maker and your Life and your Light. At the very least I plead with you, Don’t say that lightly this Christmas.

Another Response: I Know Him and I Receive Him

The other response is found in verses 12-13, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, (13) who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” This is the response I pray for this morning. Receive this great Word-Made-Flesh. Receive him as Savior and King and God and Word and Creator and Life and Light. And all that God is for you in him!

Christmas is like God sending his Son into the world to find all the Bin Ladens of the world, hiding in the caves of darkness and death. Instead of throwing flames into the caves, he first stands at the mouth of the caves and says, “Come out into the light for I have died on the cross for sinners; if you will receive me as your God and your Substitute and your Treasure, my death counts for your death and my righteousness counts as your righteousness, and you will have eternal life.”

Piper, J. (2007). Sermons from John Piper (2000-2007). Minneapolis: Desiring God.

 

 

John 1:1-18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.