Like you, I’m sure
I prayed to ‘God’ for this and that
From my girl to womanhood
Raised by Southern Baptists
I most times called God ‘Jesus’
In retrospect I’ve determined
That most of my Bible learning
Came through attending
Those good ol’
Vacation Bible Schools
Run by local churches every summer
Our teachers broke the stories down
Like the Parting of the Red Sea
Into tantalizing
Bite-size crayon-coloring bits
But one thing they didn’t tell us
Was that the ‘God’ of the Bible
Was different from Jesus
And that He…like Jesus
Had an oft-mentioned name
As well
Nor did, later, any clergy
The pastors, priests
Or reverend doctors bother to note –
While they liberally sprinkled the names
Adam and Eve, Moses and Job
Abraham Samson and Noah
Joseph Joshua Josiah Jeremiah
Matthew Mark Luke and John
Peter and the Apostle Paul
That way back in Exodus
The second book of the Bible
That ‘God’ had, indeed
Revealed his illustrious name!
As God had promised Abraham
He’d made his offspring
His Chosen People
And when they’d asked
‘Who are we to tell others you are’?
Hebrew scriptures show that God
Revealed his name in the form
Of four consonants – a tetragrametton
Y – H – W – H
And told them its meaning:
“I WILL BECOME WHAT I
CHOOSE TO BECOME”
Using that tetragrametton
Almighty God further said
In Exodus 3:15
“This is what you are to say…
YHWH (JEHOVAH)
The God of Abraham…Isaac and Jacob
Has sent me…”
“This is my name forever”
The tetragrametton
Yes, was unpronounceable
And in these modern times
Today’s ‘Chosen’
Disdain His name as too holy
And ignobly write it as ‘g _ d’
But thanks be to God himself
Starting with 15th century scholars
Bible translators added vowels
To the tetragrammeton
And man was finally able to vocalize
His Holy Name!
In Latin, YaHWeH
In English, JeHoVaH
JEHOVAH
A name Majestic
A name Magnificent
A name encompassing everything
In the universe that is good
A name Quintessent
A name of which its four consonants
Y H W H
Are found in the Hebrew Scriptures
Some 7000 times!
(How many times would I
For an instance
Need to identify myself by name
Before it would dawn on you
That I really, really wanted you to
Call me by that name!)
So, knowing His exquisite name…I use it
Joyously! Rapturously!
Knowing its scriptural meaning
I am built up in faith
His name embodies an exhilarating aspect
Of His power and personality!
He Becomes
Whatever he wants to become!
And yet, this is most thrilling:
He wants us to know him personally
Jehovah wants to be real to us
Like a real friend
He introduces himself to us
So, as for me I will forever
Call often, abundantly, fervently
Upon my heavenly friend
By his revealed name
The most Majestically Magnificent
The most Quintessent name
In all the universe
‘JEHOVAH’
According to Psalm 83:18
“May people know that you, whose name is
JEHOVAH
You alone are the Most High
Over all the earth”
O how Beauteous the name!
By Jahgirl
04/23/2019