When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it Yahweh Shalom. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Judges 6:22-24

Yahweh Shalom: The Lord is Peace

This year as a part of our homeschool, I am taking my oldest daughter through the fruit of the Spirit, one per month, and we are memorizing Scriptures about each. November is peace. We have read about it, prayed for it, dwelled on it. What is peace? Or rather…Who?

Some think courage is the opposite of fear, but after many years of being afraid of everything, I don’t think so. Courage coexists with fear; it is born of fear, because without fear courage cannot exist. I am afraid of almost everything, so living every day is an act of great courage for me. No, courage is not the opposite of fear, exactly. Peace is.

The knowledge that no one is going to harm you, and the lack of compulsion to harm anyone else before they can – that is the fully opposite feeling, and that is peace. I have felt it, too. Like air in my starving lungs.

But this world inspires fear, not peace. In this wild world there is always death and destruction lurking in the dark places, and hiding well as they can even in the light. I once had someone say to me, “If we knew all the dangers we could encounter when we leave the house, we would never dare to step out the front door.” The world in sin is a world to fear.

But God conquered death; He is not susceptible to destruction. When we stay with Him, we stay with peace, because He is peace. He is peace Himself! He is Yahweh Shalom.

Hallelujah Yahweh Shalom!

Then Joshua warned the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is Elohim Kedoshim. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you abandon the Lord and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.”

But the people answered Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!”

Joshua 24:19-21

Elohim Kedoshim: Holy God (sometimes Holy and Jealous God)

Can we talk for a minute about something we don’t usually talk about?

It is hard to serve the Lord. It is hard to be in constant relationship with someone who is perfect when we are so far from it. It is even hard to be loved by Him.

So why do we do it? We don’t have to. Joshua offered the Israelites the chance to choose another path, and Jesus offered it to his disciples:

“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

John 6:67-68

Why do we do it? The Israelites would not leave the God who saved them again and again by miraculous means. The disciples would not leave the One who had the words of eternal life. And we will not leave because there is no other god like Elohim Kedoshim. There is no god like the Holy God.

To whom else would we go?

And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against El Chay.

2 Kings 19:15-16

El Chay: The Living God

Hezekiah had received a message. One of doubt and the terror that accompanies it; we are no different than anyone else. Our God is as useless as theirs are. Look – here it is, the message to Hezekiah:

This message is for King Hezekiah of Judah. Don’t let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that Jerusalem will not be captured by the king of Assyria. You know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria have done wherever they have gone. They have completely destroyed everyone who stood in their way! Why should you be any different? Have the gods of other nations rescued them—such nations as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Tel-assar? My predecessors destroyed them all!

2 Kings 19:10-12

Sennacherib thought he knew. He had made a mockery of so many other gods, and he thought he knew no god could withstand him. His confidence was profound.

And profoundly wrong.

I struggle disagreeing with confident people; I have been wrong enough times in my life to know how very possible it is. But Hezekiah had someone else to be confident in, and he knew what few others knew; his was the Living God. Why should he be any different? Because his God is alive. Not wood. Not Stone. Spirit. And one day, flesh.

He is El Chay. He is the Living God.

There is no one like the God of Israel.^[i]
    He rides across the heavens to help you,
    across the skies in majestic splendor.
The eternal God is your refuge,
    and his everlasting arms are under you.
He drives out the enemy before you;
    he cries out, ‘Destroy them!’
So Israel will live in safety,
    prosperous Jacob in security,
in a land of grain and new wine,
    while the heavens drop down dew.
How blessed you are, O Israel!
    Who else is like you, a people saved by the Lord?
He is your protecting shield
    and Yahweh Cheneb!
Your enemies will cringe before you,
    and you will stomp on their backs!

Deuteronomy 33:26-29, from “the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave to the people of Israel before his death” (v. 1)

Yahweh Cheneb: The LORD My Sword

How hard it is to be still and allow the Lord to fight for me. I despise conflict; I am by nature peace-loving and people-pleasing, and yet. Even in the midst of my conflict aversion, there are times it is hard not to defend myself.

When people attack “Christians” for something I did not do – often because of my faith. When my intelligence is insulted. When I am demeaned and disrespected. When I am reminded of my flaws. When I am swept aside.

But God does not sweep me aside. He sees me; He sees around me, better than I do. And unlike most other people, He is deeply invested in my good; He is more deeply invested in my life than I am. And He is protective.

He is Yahweh Cheneb. He is the Lord My Sword, and He will fight for me. My own weapons – down.

There is no one like the God of Israel.^[i]
    He rides across the heavens to help you,
    across the skies in majestic splendor.
The eternal God is your refuge,
    and his everlasting arms are under you.
He drives out the enemy before you;
    he cries out, ‘Destroy them!’
So Israel will live in safety,
    prosperous Jacob in security,
in a land of grain and new wine,
    while the heavens drop down dew.
How blessed you are, O Israel!
    Who else is like you, a people saved by the Lord?
He is your [Yahweh Magen]
    and your triumphant sword!
Your enemies will cringe before you,
    and you will stomp on their backs!

Deuteronomy 33:26-29, from “the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave to the people of Israel before his death” (v. 1)

Yahweh Magen: The Lord is My Shield

This has ever been true in my life. The Lord is My Shield. How many times have I felt Him stand in front of me, seen Him break the flood before it broke me? Hallelujah to Yahweh Magen. Hallelujah to the Lord My Shield!

The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the Lord rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is [El Emunah] who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him. Therefore, you must obey all these commands, decrees, and regulations I am giving you today.

Deuteronomy 7:7-11

El Emunah (El Hanne-eman): The Faithful God

Faithful in love, faithful in discipline. Can you be one without the other?

God cannot; it would not be loving if He did not do what He said. Then how could we believe Him? How could we trust an arbitrary God who allowed whim to carry Him wherever it chose, who based His actions on fickle feelings? No. He is not arbitrary, whimsical, or fickle. God is deep and steady like a rock in the ocean. His steadiness, His faithfulness, settles us; it gives us certainty in the midst of chaos. God will do what He says He will do. That, at least, we can count on. Because He is El Emunah. He is faithful God.

“In the distant future, when you are suffering all these things, you will finally return to the Lord your God and listen to what he tells you. For the Lord your God is [El Rachum]; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors. 

“Now search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now, and search from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything as great as this ever been seen or heard before?”

Deuteronomy 4:30-32

El Rachum: The God of Compassion (also translated The Merciful God)

From the exhortation of Moses to the people of Israel to obey God, we hear this name: El Rachum. The God of Compassion.

When we think of obedience to an authority, that authority’s compassion does not usually come to mind. Obedience comes from force, not compassion, right?

No, not here. Here Moses encourages the people to obey one whose compassion inspires obedience; the One and Only who is as deeply invested in our lives as we are. ❤

While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them.  Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”

So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.

After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”). He said, “They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now the Lord will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.”

Exodus 17:8-16

Yahweh Nissi: The LORD Our Banner (Victory)

I love so much about this story. Moses’s friends literally holding up his tired arms. The incredible effort Joshua and the warriors had to make, though it was God who gave them victory. The way each supported the others, and no one part was unnecessary; Moses supported Joshua, Aaron and Hur supported Moses, and God supported them all.

And I love that this victory was a hard earned thing; God could have simply wiped out the Amalekites, as He’s proven on occasion, but He didn’t. He let them work for this victory, throwing His weight in only to tip the balance. Like the anchor on a tug of war chain – there was a whole line of people pulling on that rope, but with God as their anchor they would not be defeated. Because a victory without a fight is far less satisfying than one that is earned.

God gave them victory, but He also gave them satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. They each had a part, and they fulfilled it.

Thought seed: what part of the battle is God giving me to fight, though it is His presence that will determine the victory?

He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for [Yahweh Rapha].”

Exodus 15:26

Yahweh Rapha: The LORD heals you

Healing. What a loaded topic right now.

Now, in November 2020, when our country has been reeling for seven months from a pandemic and a feud. When politicians are using a serious, real problem to their own ends, when us ‘real’ folk are on the rack being pulled between health and financial security, when people are dying all over the world and doctors can’t make it stop. And in the midst of this, we are supposed to blindly put our trust in Yahweh Rapha who allowed it?

Not just our trust, but our obedience. Look at what He says:

1. Listen carefully
2. Do what is right in His sight
3. Obeying His commands
4. Keeping all His decrees

Four times. So many, many times our eyes skip right over the first part of this verse, straight to the healing (we like that part). But four times He repeats that His people must obey to be healed! FOUR. TIMES.

God repeats Himself frequently in Scripture, and usually about things He knows we’ll skip over or need to hear more than once. Like obedience.

Because here’s the thing – we can be a little entitled when it comes to God’s miraculous power. We believe He can heal us, so He should or will heal us, regardless of what we do. He heals us because He can and He’s good and wants us to be healed, right? Yes, He can. Yes, He wants to. But what would we do with His gift if He did?

Jesus in his life once healed 10 lepers. Only one of them returned to say thank you.

Some smokers who’ve had to have an actual hole inserted straight into their throats so they can breathe – just choose to smoke through that opening instead.

When Jesus healed a paralyzed man who was waiting outside the pool of Bethesda, He was gentle enough to ask first, “Do you want to be healed?” Because truth be told – that healing we so crave… comes with a lot of responsibility we didn’t have before. It’s not as free as it looks.

I know we want – we need – the healing that is wrapped up in God’s character, that is in fact one of His many Names. But can we really say we’ll be responsible with it if He gives it to us? Or will we just – like the human beings we are – continue to act the way we’ve been acting and wind up right back in the same place we were before? Would we make the choices that make us stay healed?

Maybe that’s what obedience is for – to break the cycle of foolish or sinful behavior that led to the disease in the first place, so that when we are healed, we stay healed. Because Yahweh Rapha is a God of full healing. And that begins in the most sick of all our places, our hearts.

Seed for thought: What would I do with wholeness, with health, if God – Yahweh Rapha – granted it to me?

When [Yahweh] saw Moses coming to take a closer look, [Elohim] called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

“Here I am!” Moses replied.

Exodus 3:4 (NLT, names of God added from OJB and other sources)

Yahweh: I Am, self-existent One

This is The Name. In the Orthodox Jewish Bible, it is now written as Hashem, “The Name.” This is the one name of God that His chosen nation dare not utter with unworthy lips. It is that holy; it is that His. I have already written some about this name from Genesis.

What does it mean that God declares Himself “I Am”? How can that be someone’s name? When I first heard that God called Himself “I Am,” I didn’t understand; “I Am” what? I thought someone had accidentally left off the ending! It took me many years to understand that “I Am” is a complete sentence, and a profound one.

This name, this one, profound, simple name tells us so many things about God, and leaves room for all the things it cannot say; for a God as complex as ours, only a wide name will do. Here are just a few of the many things the Name says about Him:

• God exists. Many are the souls who have decided what they do not see does not exist; this name clears that debate up in a hurry. Oh yes, God is real. Of all the things in this entire universe, He is the most real; only He is noncreated, indestructible, and enduring through all time.
• God exists in the present tense. He’s not a relic of an ancient world, passed away like the crumbling buildings and ancient roads we can sometimes find left behind. He’s not some distant future waiting in heaven to punish us for all the wrong we’ve done on earth, like a parent waiting at home for a report card from school. No, He’s here. He’s always here, right here, with us, present. ❤
• Since God is real and since He is present, His existence and presence are of utmost importance in our own lives. We run no chance of avoiding Him, and so He must be related to in some way. Our method of relating is up to us, but God must be faced.

And when did He choose to tell Moses all those things? When Moses had given up. When Moses had lost belief in anything, everything, and his things most of all. Moses had tried to help the Jews (wasn’t that his purpose?) – and failed. Failed beyond failure, run away, fled in utter terror into hiding in the desert, and settled into exile. He, the prince of Egypt, was out tending his father-in-law’s sheep – a lower-than-low profession in the eyes of many people of his time – while he bided his time until he could go home to his wife and live his simple, mundane, humble life.

Until this moment, when the God who is real – the God who is present – showed up suddenly and said, “Face me.” Face me, because Yahweh; I AM. And Moses, who had avoided the gaze of God for so long, had to look Him in the face and not ignore Him anymore.

Moses is not the only one who tried to keep God at arm’s length – who knew of Him without knowing Him. It is easier to talk about God than to talk to Him sometimes. He asks us to do some scary things, like go back to the people we’ve sinned against (Pharaoh, the Egyptians, and the Jews, if you will) and tell them about Him. But however scary, there will come a point where we must look Him in the face. It is unavoidable; it is Who He is, Yahweh.

Thought seed: Have I been avoiding God, and if so, why and how? What scary thing do I think He will ask me to do that I cannot do? What is it that’s scaring me away?