NONE GREATER: FEBRUARY 10, 2021

NAMES OF GOD - continued

Tonight we will examine two commonly used names by which we identify God.

First: ‘The Rock’

“The Rock —His work is perfect; all His ways are entirely just. A faithful God, without prejudice, He is righteous and true.” (Deuteronomy 32:4, HCSB)

Numerous times throughout Israel’s wanderings, throughout the experiences of David, the Shepherd-King God’s presence was as a ‘rock.’ The idea of rock suggests several ways in which God makes Himself known to us:

a). stability

Most of us are familiar with Face Rock, just south of Bandon OR. The rock, legend tells us is the face of a beautiful Native American princess, who swam out to sea only to be grasped by a sea monster. Refusing to look at the monster, she lay on her back, looking skyward, and died in that pose - still facing skyward. The rock has been there for generations and through countless storms, ceaseless waves, the near constant wind continues to be visible. Likely that rock will continue to draw attention till the Lord returns. In a similar way, Israel experienced the presence of God as a Rock - always present, never changing, always promising protection, always offering stability in the midst of near-constant change.

David, living in the desert for years prior to ascending the throne knew God’s protection as a Rock - a place of shelter from the heat of the day, a place to hide, a Rock where he could stay hidden from Saul. David knew God as Rock on which he could stand - a solid foundation for his life as he literally ran for his life from the threat of Saul, the very king who enlisted David for service.

The other word, our final word, is the Hebrew word ‘adonai.’

In general usage the word means ‘master, sir, lord’ referring to someone superior to one’s self. It is a work indicating respect, a word giving honor to the one being addressed.

However, the plural form of this noun is often used for God and in the OT is often translated ‘Lord’ (as opposed to YHWH which is almost always translated as LORD (all capitol letters).

Amos, a prophet of God in the same period as Isaiah, shares a vision in Amos 7. He uses the word ‘Adonai’ alongside the Hebrew name for God, YHWH. Putting these two names together underline the uniquness of God AND the respect for God which prompted Amos to serve Him.

One final name: : Saboath, a plural word often used in connection with YHWH. The word ‘sabaoth’ means ’force, weight, might.’

This ‘name’ of God is used often with the life of David. for example, “David became more and more powerful, and the Lord God of Hosts was with him.” (2 Samuel 5:10, HCSB)

THis way of identifying God was also common in the establishment of Jerusalem as the city where God chose to ‘dwell.’ As Isaiah spoke of the coming climactic battle between God and the forces of evil, we read “Listen, a tumult on the mountains, like that of a mighty people! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations being gathered together! The Lord of Hosts is mobilizing an army for war.” (Isaiah 13:4, HCSB)

CONCLUSIONS

this has not been an exhaustive study of the ways in which people have come to understand and experience the presence and power of God. Hopefully, these brief studies have demonstrated several crucial truths:

a). God is beyond any description. As He makes Himself known in the circumstances of our lives, we experience just the edges of His ways.

b). As our experiences with God continue our understanding of His character and nature deepens. Just as we grow in our knolwedge of one another through the shared experiences of life, so as God works in and through us we grow in our knowledge of who He is.

c). Finally, though this has been necessarily brief, it is my hope that these brief overviews will ignite a hunger in your life to dig deeply into God’s Word and learn of Him.