Names of God: Jehovah

                Jehovah has so many variations of the name because, from my experience, it is the one with the most titles. Jehovah means God in a sense of lordship, and adding on an attribute afterwards, such as Jehovah Yahweh (Genesis 2:4), changes it from just God to a reference of God's divine salvation. Some of you may have heard of some of these names before, but they all come in handy when needed. Again, these names are not made to spice up your prayer life. Yes, use them in prayer, but this is about learning who God is through His titles.

                Jehovah Maccaddeshem (Exodus 31:13). He is, "the Lord God of my sanctification." He is the God who sanctifies us. To sanctify something means to concentration it, set it apart and make it holy. He is the God who makes us holy. In all of His holiness and glory He is able to take a sinner and declare them holy. Just as He took Sunday, a day as ordinary as any other, and sanctified it. He can make anything holy. That is something that only He can do because only He is fully holy. He is the one that pulls you out of your sinful life and makes you holy by His blood.

                Jehovah Rohi (Psalms 23:1). He is, ":the Lord my shepherd." He is the God that looks over us, tends to us, and protects us. Thanks to Him, we shall not want. A shepherd feeds and waters his flock, and protects it from hard. We are the sheep, and He is the shepherd. Sheep have no self-protective abilities. Sheep will follow anything that is moving, even right off of a cliff. It cannot distinguish sound or danger well at all. Sheep just wonder. It is the shepherd's job to protect them; just as us sinners wonder, not knowing the danger that we are in or how defenseless we truly are, God steps in and protects us. He is our shepherd who guides us and helps defend and care for us.

                Jehovah Shammah (Ezekiel 48:38). He is, "the Lord who is present." He is always with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) and He is always with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). He dwells inside of us (Ephesians 3:17, 1 Corinthians 3:16) God is always with us! He will never step away, especially when we need Him most. Sometimes we do not feel Him, but that does not mean that He is not there. He is always right beside you, even when you do not see Him or feel Him. He is with you every step of the way. He will not step away from you.

                Jehovah Rapha (Exodus 15:26). He is "the Lord our healer." He is our healer! Physically (Deuteronomy 7:15, Mark 6:56), mentally (Galatians 3:13-14), spiritually (Matthew 8:16-17), and emotionally (Isaiah 53:7) He heals us of our wounds and sicknesses. He heals us of anything that bothers us because He wants the best for us. He wants us healthy and well, but we must listen to His will before He will heal us.

                Jehovah Tsidkenu (Jeremiah 23:6). He is "the Lord our righteousness." He is the one who stands before others and declares us righteous. We are evil and sinful without Him. He is the one who makes us righteous and pure. He is the one who helps us conquer our sins and our fears. He is the one who changes us from the inside out to become something new. It is all His handwork, nothing of ours.

                Jehovah Jireh (Genesis 22:13-14). He is "the Lord will provide." He is the God of our provision. He will always meet our needs! If there is every something that you need, He already sees it and has already created a way to make your need met. He knows us personally and knows our needs, from food to money to pain and healing. He knows our needs and provides for us, because He owns everything and loves us.

                Jehovah Nissi (Exodus 17:15). He is "the Lord our banner." He goes into battle with us and He is our symbol. He is our victory in battle. Whether it is spiritual or mental, He steps into the battle field and exercises His authority and victory over our enemy. He is the one who gives us victory in combat. He is the name that we call upon and the name that we fight under. He is our leader, our power and our symbol.

                Jehovah Shalom (Judges 6:24). He is "the Lord is peace." When He spoke, "peace, be still" to the raging waters (Matthew 8:23-27) He was showing that He is the peace. He created peace and wherever He is, peace follows. He gives us peace that is not like the world's peace (John 14:27). His peace can calm and storms and withstand the raging seas of life. He is where we find our everlasting peace.

                Jehovah Sabboth (Isaiah 6:1-3). He is "the Lord of hosts." He is the one who sits upon the throne and fills Heaven with His presence. He is the one that fills us and gives us the will to do right. He is the one that fills the temples with His presence. He is the one who's presence dwelling in a place brings joy and jubilee unlike any other. His presence is longed after.

                Jehovah Gmolah (Jeremiah 51:6). He is "the God of recompense." He is the one who pays back our enemies, He is the one who brings vengeance. "Vehemence is mine," says the Lord (Romans 12:19) He is the one who will repay evil for evil, and He is the one who will curse those who curse us. He is also the one who will repay good for good, and bless those who bless us. He is the one who knows what is just to be given, and He is the only one fit for it.

                With so many titles and names, you can see why God's names can help you understand the vast amount of people that He is. With these names, we begin to understand who He is. He is God alone, and He alone does so much for us.


                                                                                                                                         -D