"Look! This Is Our God" - Conclusion of The Meaning of God's Name

To Illustrate: Parents know how versatile and adaptable they must be in caring for their children.  In the course of a single day, a parent may be called upon  to act as a nurse, a cook, a teacher, a disciplinarian, a judge, and much more.  Many feel overwhelmed by the wide range of roles they are expected to fill.  They remark upon  the absolute faith put in them by  their little ones, who never doubt that Mommy or Daddy can make the hurt better, settle all disputes, fix any broken toy, and answer whatever question pops into their endlessly inquisitive minds. Some parents are humbled and occasionally frustrated by their own limitations.  They feel woefully inadequate to fill many of these roles.

Jehovah too is a loving parent. Yet, within the framework of his own perfect standards, there is nothing he cannot become in order to care for his earthly children in the best possible way.  So his name, Jehovah, invites  us to think of him as the best Father imaginable.  (James 1:17)  Moses and all other faithful Israelites soon learned  that Jehovah is true to his name.  They watched  in awe as he caused himself to become an unbeatable Military Commander, the Master of all natural elements, a peerless Lawgiver, Judge, Architect, Provider of food and water, Preserver  of clothing and footwear-and more.

So God has made his personal name known, has explained its meaning and has even demonstrated that the meaning is true. Unquestionably, God wants us to know him.  How do we respond?  Moses wanted to know God.  That intense desire shaped Moses' life course and led him to draw very close to his heavenly Father.  (Numbers 12:6-8; Hebrews 11:27)  Sadly, few of Moses'  contemporaries  had the same desire. When Moses mentioned Jehovah by name to Pharaoh, that haughty Egyptian monarch retorted:  "Who is Jehovah?" (Exodus 5:2) Pharaoh did  not want to learn more about Jehovah. Rather, he cynically dismissed the God of Israel as being unimportant or irrelevant.  That outlook is all too common today.  It blinds people to one of the  most important of all truths-Jehovah is the Sovereign Lord.

Next time: "Look! This Is Our God" - The Sovereign Lord Jehovah

From the book: Draw Close to Jehovah