God passes onto
me the inspiration to write this message of His name. I pray for
wisdom to deliver this message clearly and correctly in His name, Jehovah,
through his son Jesus.
A common problem
amongst all religions is addressing their God by His name. Will
God be offended? Does He have a name? What will others think
of me if I speak His name aloud?
From the Jehovah's
Witnesses site we get the following excerpt:
"2. God has
many titles but has only one name. That name is JEHOVAH. In most
Bibles, God's name has been removed and has been replaced with the
titles LORD or GOD. But when the Bible was written, the name
Jehovah
appeared in it some 7,000 times!—Exodus 3:15; Psalm 83:18."
If you are able,
seek a bible that isn't afraid to use Jehovah's name when it should
be used. In the ancient Hebrew texts, we often see these letters,
JHVH or YHWH, where translators mutate the Holy Name into Lord.
Why? Some claim that since we don't know the vowels, Hebrew writers
omitted them, it would be more honorable to use Lord or God. Do
these same translators refer to Adam as First? Absolutely not!
Ever wonder why? Think about it. What being would want The
Name concealed? In recent times, there have been other mutations
of the Bible to become politically correct by calling God a he/she.
Would you be offended if someone said your father was a girl or your
mother was a boy?
Jews and others
take the commandment at Exodus 20:7 both literally and too far.
"You shall not take the
name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him
guiltless who takes his name in vain."
From Webster's Dictionary,
we get the definition of vain:
- Lacking substance or worth:
vain talk.
- Excessively proud of one's appearance
or accomplishments; conceited.
Jehovah wasn't asking
us to never speak His name, he was asking us to not be conceited when
using His name. He didn't command us to keep secret the name of
God, nor did he demand that we never use His name. He only wants
us to not use it in the context of excessive pride. Jehovah, Yahweh
wants us to speak his name, he is a proud, jealous God who likes to
hear His name spoken by everyone. So in correctly translating
the commandment we would get:
"You shall not take the
name of Jehovah, your God, in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him
guiltless who takes his name in vain."
How idiotic the
psalmist would look had they wrote the following without using Jehovah
where intended. If the name is hidden from you, how can you trust
this level of moron? Which one of these translations could
you trust? A? B?
A. Psalm 9:10
- "Those knowing your name will trust in you, for you will certainly
not leave those looking for you, O Lord."
B. Psalm 9:10
- "Those knowing your name will trust in you, for you will certainly
not leave those looking for you, O Jehovah."
If you chose A,
I must ask. Have you heard so much negative speak of Jehovah that
your heart has been hardened to receptivity? Oh, you chose B?
Well then, you are amongst a very small group. Religions such
as Islam are the most open to using God's name. They speak of
Allah consistently and with genuine warmth. Don't fear using His
name. Jehovah wants to hear it from your lips to His ears.
Be a mirror of Jesus
in all things. - Amen
By Rev. Matthew
Gerrior December 1, 2002