He Reveals What He Is Like

There is another way, though, to come to know our Creator better-by means of the Bible. This is particularly important because there are things about him that science and the universe cannot reveal at all and other things that are much clearer from the Bible. An example of the former is the Creator's personal name. Only the Bible discloses both the Creator's name and its import. In Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible, his name appears some 7,000 times as four consonants that can be transliterated YHWH or JHVH,  pronounced Jehovah in English.  -Exodus 3:15; 6:3. 

For us to come to know the Creator better, we need to appreciate that he is not just an abstract "First Cause" or a vague  "I Am."  His personal name shows that. It is a form of a Hebrew verb meaning "become" or "prove to be." (Compare Genesis 27:29; Ecclesiastes 11:3) God's name signifies "He Causes to Become" and emphasis that he both  purposes and acts.  By our knowing and using his name, we can better appreciate that he fulfills promises and actively brings his purposes to realization.  

The Bible is the source of knowledge of God's purposes and personality.  The Genesis record reveals that at one time mankind was at peace with Good and had the prospect of a long, meaningful life.  (Genesis 1:28; 2:7-9) Consistent with the import of his name, we can be sure that Jehovah will end the suffering and frustration that humans have long faced. We read about the fulfilling of this purpose:   "The physical world was made subject to frustration, not by its own desire, but by the will of the Creator, who in making it so, gave it a hope that it might one day be . . .made to share in the glorious liberty of the children of God." -Romans 8:20, 21, The New Testament Letters. by J.W.C. Wand.

Next time: Conclusion of He Reveals What He Is Like

From the Watchtower magazine, 1999