“I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them.”
I saw a video post recently that was hilarious to me. In the video a rather plain looking man was being asked what God’s name was, and without hesitation the man replied, “It’s in the Lord’s prayer, ‘Our father who lives in heaven, Harold be his name.’” Imagine if this were true. We would be reciting “Harold, you are my God: I will exalt you and praise your name …” (Isaiah 25:1), or how about “For Harold so loved the world he gave his only begotten son …” (John 3:16). No offense to any Harolds out there, but the feeling of awe and reverence for God just doesn’t quite connect to me with the name Harold.
In our passage today the name for God is in the Hebrew “El Shaddai,” God Almighty. The name means “the all sufficient one”; God is the all-sufficient source of our blessings. It also means God is all powerful, and that no problem is too big for our almighty God to handle. God is confirming here to Moses His covenant to the forefathers of faith, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He is the God of all their needs and His promises are always true. However, God goes on to state they did not know Him (God) as the Lord.
The word in the Hebrew for Lord is “Jehovah.” God is sharing that the forefathers of faith knew of God’s might and power, but did not fully grasp and understand how personal God is in His relationship to His people and persons which is why they came up short at times in disobedience to Him. The name Jehovah means “the one who is, the self-existent one.” The Lord God who is not only mighty and powerful, but is also a personal God and one that never changes. His promises never fail. He is always faithful even when our faith fails. Therefore, we should obey him. As the prophet Samuel declared to King Saul, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22). Saul thought he would please God with the outward ceremony, but God wanted his heart.
Many Christians today go through life without a close relationship with God. They believe, but their worship is only to please the flesh. They acknowledge God’s might and power, but don’t know how to enjoy a personal relationship with God. They miss that the Lord God manifested Himself to us in Jesus Christ for such a relationship. “But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).
The veil of the temple was torn in two to give the believer access to a loving God and a personal relationship with Him. Harold is not His name; Jesus is His name. And we are united with all the saints in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 1:2).
By Pastor David Massie, Friend of Bible League
