Theoblogy is starting a new series in its weekly postings : Monday Musings. Every Monday, we will post a small reflection written by Jay.M Nair on various topics like theology, doctrine, church matters, culture etc.
Attending a Charismatic Sunday service recently, I was introduced to, probably one of the worst songs written on God. The song listed the different names of Yahweh like Yahweh-Jireh, Yahweh-Shalom etc and had a brief explanation of what these names mean to us. What made this song detestable in my eyes was first of all, the way the song was sung, was so below anything that could be called proper reverence to God. For the tune was at best a nursery rhyme. Secondly and more seriously, the words especially the interpretation of these names by the writer was pitiful. The interesting thing is that this song is not an odd one out. There are many songs sung today which follow the same method of interpretation when it comes to understanding these names of God. I stood there baffled over the song being sung with much enthusiasm by believers around me. I started prayerfully thinking over what is wrong here. The thing that struck me was that every single name of God is interpreted in the song within the context of our felt needs. Therefore Yahweh-Jireh is always about God being the provider for our earthly needs and Yahweh-Shalom is always about God bringing peace in the midst of the storms of this earthly life. However if anyone cares to know how these words are used in the Canon of Scripture, then it would be clear that this is not the emphasis of Scriptures. What illumined my mind that day was the fact that if these names are understood in the broader canvas of the Canon, then we would see how all of these names are pointing to Jesus Christ. In other words, if these names are to be properly understood, then they are not to be interpreted with in the context of our felt needs, but rather in their redemptive historical context.
Thus for example, take Yahweh-Jireh, meaning "The Lord Will Provide". In Genesis 22:14, Abraham memorialized the place with this name, where God provided a ram to be sacrificed in the place of Isaac. In its immediate context, God did indeed provide a ram to spare Isaac. However if we understand this in the broader canvas of the Canon, then its not difficult at all to see that the lamb, God ultimately provided for sparing us is Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. Thus we who are New Testament believers, when we sing about our God being Yahweh-Jireh, it should essentially be all about God’s provision of the Lamb of God who was slain for our sins. This however is never stressed in any song that I have ever heard on the name of God as being Yahweh-Jireh.
It could be shown how all such names of God point to the person and work of Jesus Christ, if they are properly interpreted in their redemptive historical context. Here is a sampling :
Yahweh-Elohim, meaning "LORD God”. Found in Genesis 2:4 and Psalms 59:5, it refers to God being the Lord of Lords. In the New Testament, Jesus is affirmed as the Lord of Lords (Rev 17:14, Rev 19:16).
Yahweh-Rapha, meaning "The Lord Who Heals". In Exodus 15:26, God promised the Israelites on the basis of their obedience, protection from diseases He brought upon the Egyptians. God thus does heal our bodies from sicknesses, however in the broader context and as explicitly taught in the New Testament, the healing that God gives us ultimately is the healing from our sins which comes through Jesus Christ. (1Pet 2:24)
Yahweh-Nissi, meaning "The Lord Our Banner". In Exodus 17:15 after their victory over the Amalekites, Moses set up an altar and called it Yahweh-Nissi. The word banner speaks of a sign or a flag of our victory and also a rallying point. Today the covenant people of God has a banner which speaks of the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the ultimate victory of God and His people, where by we are lead by His spirit in a triumphant procession (2Cor 2:14).
Yahweh-M’Kaddesh, meaning "The Lord Who Sanctifies”. Found in Leviticus 20:8 and Ezekiel 37:28, God emphatically declares how He alone makes us holy. This truth finds its ultimate basis in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose life, death and resurrection accomplishes our salvation. (Jn 17:19, 2Ti 1:9, Heb 10:14).
Yahweh-Shalom, meaning “The Lord Our Peace”. Gideon built an altar and called it this name when God assured him how he shall not die after seeing Him. Thus the peace referred here has nothing even in its immediate context to do with psychological relief in the midst of the storms of this earthly life. The peace here is explicitly peace with God for a sinner who deserves to be dead when he faces God. This peace thus speaks of a sparing of oneself from the due wrath of God and a grace that one does not deserve. It is in this light that this name refers ultimately to our Peace – our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. (Eph 2:13-14a, Rom 5:1)
Yahweh-Tsidkenu, meaning "The Lord Our Righteousness”. In Jeremiah 33:16, the prophet prophesies how the people of God shall be saved, not on the basis of their own merits but rather on the basis of the merits of their Lord. This prophetic passage is foretelling how God’s salvation is on the basis of imputed righteousness. This is explicitly gospel truth. We are saved on the basis of an active and perfect obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Law of God during His entire earthly life. (Rom5:19b)
Yahweh-Rohi, meaning “The Lord Our Shepherd”. In Psalm 23:1, David declares how the Lord takes care of him like a shepherd takes care of his sheep. The New Testament is full of affirmations both from the mouth of our Lord (Jn 10:11, Jn 10:14) and from His Apostles(Heb 13:20, 1Pet 2:25, Rev 7:17) that Jesus Christ is the great and good shepherd of the sheep of God.
Yahweh-Shammah, meaning “The Lord Is There”. Found only in Ezekiel, it speaks of the returning of the once departed glory of God to the temple and Jerusalem. Eschatologically, the presence of God especially through His Son Jesus Christ is the temple for the people of God.(Rev 21:22) The New Testament Canon begins with Matthew identifying Jesus as the Emmanuel spoken of by the Prophet. Thus the ever present, temple or meeting place whereby we can meet God is Jesus Himself and thus in the ultimate sense even this name is speaking of Jesus Christ.
Yahweh-Sabaoth, meaning “The Lord of Hosts”. Found in Isaiah 1:24 and Psalm 46:7, it means God is the Lord of the whole host of heaven and earth. The name thus speaks of His majesty and authority over heaven and earth. After His resurrection, Jesus Christ tells His disciples how all authority over heaven and earth has been given to Him and thus how His mission on earth – to build His Church, shall not fail. Thus this name which speaks of how God is able to accomplish every thing he has purposed to do, points ultimately to Jesus Christ.
The point I am making here is not in anyway that all the names of God refer to Jesus Christ alone, or that there is no distinction to be made between the Persons of the God head. There are other names of God which cannot be applied to this treatment. These names however should be understood in their redemptive-historical context. The reason being the very nature of these names. These names does not tell us who God is (His attributes), which apply to all the Persons of the Trinity. But rather these names reveal the Person and Work of God as experienced in due course of redemptive history. It is no wonder that these names then point to the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, in whom is bound all of God’s redemptive purposes.
The presence of the afore mentioned song and the enthusiasm with which some Christians are singing it should cause all biblically informed Christians to lament. It is a sad thing that most pastors, especially in India seems to have no Christocentric approach to hermeneutics, when it comes to interpreting redemptive history as unfolded in the Scriptures. Thus much of the Bible is reduced to a mere moral science text book or a bunch of cute little stories about how God meets our felt needs. Unless we recover this simple yet inevitable Christocentric hermeneutic, both our preaching and our worship will lead the church to dwindle down into a Christ-less Christianity .
