NAMES OF GOD.
ELOHIM. The Lord who creates. This is the name for God the Creator. If there is no Creator in the Universe, then man cannot be sure that his life has a cosmic backing. If there is no Creator, then his life is meaningless. An atheist is someone with no invisible means of support. If God goes, then everything worthwhile goes with Him and then everything lacks stability and reality. Today’s generation is hanging its hopes on the wrong peg - materialism. Without God the Universe does not make sense.
JEHOVAH. When God introduces a great change in history, He announces Himself under a new name. Jehovah means to be actively present. It contains the thought of faithfulness and unchangeableness. It is God involving Himself in His creation in a distinctively personal way. Parenthood is the impulse to love - the impulse that desires an object to whom love and character can be given. Jehovah Elohim is a tender, loving God.
EL SHADDAI. God the mountain. This name implies strength in contrast to human frailty. God strengthens and nourishes His people. God is sufficient for every situation. Things are not enough to sustain spiritual life. God the enough is able to sustain spiritual life.
JIREH. The Lord will provide. Gen ch 22 v 8 and v 14. God provides a multiplicity of things for His people, including food to eat, air to breathe and light to see by. He also provides a penalty for sin. Jesus gave Himself to set man free. God dared to create man with freedom to love and to hate. By His death Jesus broke the power, which prevented man loving and now man has the power to live a sinless life. One moment Hell yawned beneath His feet and in another moment Heaven shone before His eyes. Psalm 105 v 40-1. Neh ch 9 v 21. Psalm 68 v 10. Gen ch 45 v 11. Joseph did the right thing in feeding his brothers. Gen ch 50 v 21. Heb ch 13 v 21. 1 Tim ch 6 v 17.
ROPHE. The God who heals. Next to sin, nothing has taken more toll of human happiness than illness and disease. When medical science fails, God is still there. 75% of illnesses are emotionally induced. 25% of them are due to structural faults or damage. When man breaks God's laws they break him. If man does not have health, then some law has been broken somewhere by his ancestors, by himself, by society or by factors in man’s environment. A mental attitude may well be the route cause - such as resentment, bitterness, worry, anxiety, fear or hate. Human bodies record the difference.
NISSI. The Lord is my banner. Ex ch 17 v 15. It was a commemorative event after the defeat of the Amalekites. The word means an ensign, pole or standard. When God's banner was raised, Israel had victory. God brought Israel into physical life beyond Egypt. They were to engage in warfare. The enemy was not pleased. A believer is thrust into spiritual warfare, whether he likes it or not. He has no choice in the matter. Satan has declared war. Psalm 60 v 4. Song of Sol ch 2 v 4.
QUADESH. The Lord who sanctifies. Sanctification cannot be achieved until man first experiences salvation. Believers are set apart for service. It involves separation, dedication, purification and ministration. God expects man to break with all known sin. “You clean it – I shall use it.”
SHALOM. The Lord is peace. Judges ch 6 v 24. 1 Cor ch 14 v 33. 2 Thes ch 3 v 16. Isaiah ch 9 v 6. Jesus is described as the Prince of Peace. Man can have peace with God. This peace passes all understanding. God gives His rest to mankind. There can be no peace in the Middle East until all parties recognise the prince of Peace.
ROHE. Everything a good shepherd is to his sheep, God is to His people. A shepherd lives for his sheep, night and day, cares for them like children and calls each one by name. God guides His sheep through their Earthly pilgrimage by suiting His guidance to their individual needs. A door opens unexpectedly before man. God shuts lesser doors so that He may open bigger doors. He guides man through Christian fellowship. The correction of a fellowship keeps the individual from going astray. God guides through man’s own spiritually developed reason and discernment. Guidance is always in line with Scripture. Man may have to see Earthly securities buried before he can see the glory of Heaven opened to him.
TSIDKENU. The Lord our righteousness. Dan ch 9 v 7. Righteousness belongs to believers. The word means - to be straight. God demands righteousness. Man could not be followers of an immoral God. Righteousness involves doing the right thing at all times. The greatest thing about God is not His might but His moral character. Psalm 89 v 14 and 97 v 2. Righteousness and justice are two of the foundations of God’s throne.
SHAMMAH. The Lord who is always there. Ezek ch 48 v 35. The name of the city is “The Lord is there.” Mal ch 3 v 6. God does not change. Change is taking place so rapidly that it is difficult for man to cope with it. But God does not change. Man’s main aim is not to do what lies dimly in the distant but what lies clearly at hand.
ADONI. Lord and Master. It involves ownership, lordship and divine authority. Materialism is failing. Communism has failed - it can only be held together by force. Democracy is failing. Capitalism is failing. Wealth and material things are becoming meaningless. God will shake everything, which has no purpose to reveal the only thing, which will last - faith in God. There is a great shaking of Earthly values. Even health is shakeable.
JESUS. God saves. He will save His people. Words are an expression of a hidden thought. Jesus showed what God is really like by a sustained day by day revelation. He is the ever-present one. If God is not like Jesus, then man ought not to be interested in Him. The Greeks tried to find God through philosophy. The Jews tried to find Him through morality and the law. God revealed Himself in Jesus. God wants man to be like Him. Grace is the motherly characteristic and truth is the fatherly characteristic. In the incarnate Son man sees the Fatherhood and Motherhood of God.