What do you mean God or the Lord is not His name?! That was my first reaction. About 12 years ago, someone mentioned to me that God actually has a name. It blew my mind. I was confused and excited to find out more.
If you think about this, it makes perfect sense for the Creator to have a name. How else would He be different from other gods? Most Christians and Muslims think they pray to the same God. The same with the back of the dollar bill, where you have a ton of free masonry/illuminati symbols but the inscriptions say ‘IN GOD WE TRUST’. Apparently, not the same God as the God of the Bible. If a person says they believe in God, it does not automatically mean the God of the Bible. Maybe that is why the Bible also mentions the phrase, ‘the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’ so many times; to make sure the reader knows exactly who it is talking about.
To me, knowing His name makes the whole relationship more personal and intimate. For instance; if my wife was a doctor, I would not address her as doctor Trollip at home. If I were to be a judge, I would not expect my wife to call me your honour at home. Sure, that is still a title in a professional environment, but we have a deeper relationship than just a doctor-patient or judicial-court relationship. We are lovers and friends. I would call her on her real name or even have a special name for her, and just her. The bottom-line is; the bride and bridegroom know each other’s names. He knows your name and we are called by His name. Sounds basic, yet we call our Maker on a title of a British land owner – Lord.
If you would type in the google browser ‘definition of lord’, the first 2 results that pop up are:
1. noun
a man of noble rank or high office; a nobleman.
“lords and ladies were entertained here”
2. exclamation: Lord
used in exclamations expressing surprise or worry, or for emphasis.
“Lord, I’m cold!”
This is absolutely appalling, especially if you consider that the Most High has a name. But I guess you can’t expect anything better from the secular realm. People all over the world have become accustomed to taking His name in vain. It only takes 5 min of any Hollywood production to realise how perversity and blasphemy have been normalised. But wait, what if the Maker of the universe has a unique name?
If you were looking for a lengthy blog on whether His precious name (יהוה) is pronounced as Yahweh, Yahuah, Yahuwah or Jehovah, this is the wrong address. There are multiple sites that explain their reasons for favouring a specific pronunciation of the name. But I really want to get to the heart of His name. For this purpose we will stick with ‘Yah’. And don’t get me wrong, I don’t judge people that still call Yah on a title. Most people are just entirely unaware that He has a name.
The Hebrew word for name is ‘shem’ and the definition for ‘shem‘ is;
Shem
Original: שׁם
Transliteration: shêm
Strong’s Definition: A primitive word; an appellation, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honour, authority, character: – + base, [in-] fame [-ous], name (-d), renown, report.
AHLB Definition: The wind, or breath, of someone or something is its character.
Here we can clearly conclude how a name relates to the honour and character of an individual. It gives a specific mark or distinction to an individual. The question is, do we know His character and how is He different from the other gods?
Psalms 103:8
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
These are just some of His attributes and character. This is what makes our Abba different. He is not easily angered and He is filled with mercy. What a beautiful King we serve! All of Scripture can be read in the context of portraying Yah’s character. It begs the question, What part of Yah’s character does this piece of Scripture reveal to our hearts? Scripture is His heart and His being, unsealed to us.
Now if we add the Hebrew letter ‘nun’ to the end if the Shem (name) you get the the word Shemen which means oil.;
Shemen
Original: שׁמן
Transliteration: shemen
Phonetic: sheh’-men
Strong’s Definition: From H8080; grease, especially liquid (as from the olive, often perfumed); figuratively richness: – anointing, X fat (things), X fruitful, oil ([-ed]), ointment, olive, + pine.
The nun at end represents a seed, heir or son. The Son enables us to produce the character of the Name. When we have the Son (n) that came in His name (shem) we are able to produce fruit. In this case precious oil (shemen).
Song of Songs 1:3 TS2009
For fragrance your oils are good. Your name is oil poured forth, Therefore the young women love you.
Oil comes through pressing and difficult times. When Yah engages with us in the oil-press (Gethsemane) things don’t always look pretty, but He just cares about unlocking the potential He has placed within you- almost like a seed that bears potential to become something fruitful.
When we take the base word again, shem, and add the Hebrew letter ayin (a), we end up with shema, which means to hear and do. Basically shema boils down to obedience. This ties in with the oil. Like in Matthew 25, oil and obedience go hand in hand. The ayin could mean to see/eye. We can see the name of Yah manifest when we walk in obedience.
Shema
Original: שׁמע
Transliteration: shâma‛
Phonetic: shaw-mah
Strong’s Definition: A primitive root; to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively to tell, etc.): – X attentively, call (gather) together, X carefully, X certainly, consent, consider, be content, declare, X diligently, discern, give ear, (cause to, let, make to) hear (-ken, tell), X indeed, listen, make (a) noise, (be) obedient, obey, perceive, (make a) proclaim (-ation), publish, regard, report, shew (forth), (make a) sound, X surely, tell, understand, whosoever [heareth], witness.
The name of Yah is what creates the oil of obedience. Well, not just His name alone but a name in Hebrew context relates to the nature or character of that person.
Proverbs 22:1
A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold.
To Abba character matters more than wealth. When we know His name, His character, and see how He is worthy to be worshipped, we become like Him and walk in His image and that is obedience. You become what you behold. The more you behold the Father, the more you will mirror His likeness and character. Walking in obedience (shema) navigates us to the oil-press (shemen) where we behold our King and as we behold Him, His name and His character (shem), gradually becomes our own.
Isaiah 10:27
It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.
His anointing oil, His Name, breaks the yoke of our oppressed identity and character. And as we take His yoke upon us, His burden that is light, we become free. Our chains are broken as the oil flows over it, almost like a key unlocking it, setting us free from a slave mentality giving us the mind and character of Yeshua.
There is truly a connection between knowing His name and knowing Him intimately. Not just His name, but the character of His name. We are able to replicate the character of Yah, when the Seed of His Son is birthed within us. And through that intimacy and fellowship, obedience flows like a river filled with oil. Through obedience the character/name of Yah is manifest. What a privilege to know Him and to walk in His ways!
Shalom fam
Edgar<>Judah
