My Best Friend Has a Name
Some time ago, in my desires to be closer to God I cried out to Him, asking if He wanted to reveal a name I could call Him. Though I enjoy calling Him by descriptive titles, it feels weird not being able to call Him by a personal name.
Of course I know the various names offered to us from Hebrew Scripture. I always used to think we were "unworthy" of calling to God Almighty by such vocalizations. I think this thought came to me from the fact that even the Jews refuse to use such names of God, for they feel it is too sacred to be uttered. It seems they are worried the true pronunciation has been perverted or lost since it was revealed to Moses and others in the Old Testament.
I hope not to make a mistake in this, but I don't think that is right. Should those who know God as their Father be afraid to call Him by Name? Will He strike us down for trying? Maybe, but I prefer to be stricken than to fail to call out to Him. I need Him more than water and bread, and I refuse to live in human fear. Besides, the Jews (in general) failed to know God when He spoke with them face-to-face in the form of Jesus Christ. Should I live in the same restrictive fear that they do? I refuse. God, in the form of the Holy Spirit, has come to live inside my heart. He is in you too, if you believe in Jesus and confess Him as Lord.
Several times lately I have cried out in agony, and the word, "Abba" has come out many times... seemingly without intention, it just comes out naturally. While this is not a name in particular, but rather like saying with affection, "Daddy"... still, it feels more like calling personally to the One and Only God I know. In addition, I'm desiring to describe my God as "Yahweh". This name given to us describes the fact that God is that He IS (The Great I AM). We may not fully understand or appreciate the awesomeness of such a name... but I am learning, and I want to try to describe Him and call upon Him.
I've also been thinking of Jesus sometimes as "Jeshua" (or "Yahshua", or "Yeshua", etc), a closer equivalent to how His name might have sounded in Hebrew/Aramaic, while He was on earth.
I'm not sure how "important" these distinctions are. I don't personally fully appreciate or desire to be proponent of the resulting legalism over the exacting name spellings and pronunciations. Though I submit that there are many things about this subject I don't understand, and some of this care may be warranted. Right now, these names have much significance to me. I'm not too worried about imperfect pronunciation in my own journey and according to my current conscience. Not because I don't fear belittling our God. But when you think about it, if there is a "perfect" pronunciation, it is in the very voice God boomed to Moses (or whispered, don't know). The very moment Moses repeated it, it would have sounded "different". A woman's voice saying it would be even more different (because of the higher frequency of vibrations - pitch, and softer... I would say more "beautiful" or "better"!). Or a man with a speech impediment or people with different nationality accent influences. Or how about a child, who is just learning to speak? Were all the Hebrew children slapped every time they tried to utter God's name imperfectly and forbidden to try until their tongues had "matured" (forty credits/hours of classes to perfect it required)? I tend to think not. I don't imagine people were punished for trying the best their tongues had to offer to cry out to God. The Scripture even reveals that Moses himself had a speech problem (or at least he lacked confidence and boldness at first), and Moses was no god.
Many people from other countries where other languages are spoken have names that are hard for Americans to pronounce. It can be a little frustrating for the person with such a name to hear our distorted attempts. But in general, it is appreciated when people give it "their best shot". It's not likely that a person who tries will get a punch in the face, nor should such a mis-pronunciation disallow a relationship between people. I prefer to attempt to pronounce someone's true name rather than them saying, "Just call me ____" (input some English name in the blanks that is not actually their name). It is my hope that, in my efforts to know God better, He will be patient with me as I try to use different names of Him that I find wonderful to utter - even if imperfectly so.
I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately. My thoughts were renewed today as I've been listening to "A New Hallelujah", Michael W. Smith's latest album. He uses several of these Hebrew names for God in the songs, and it struck me as awesome... for it is what I've been wanting to do. Worship feels something special when uttered in the tongue of the "people of God" (at least a few words). After all, it was through Israel that salvation came. We as Gentiles are made one with the Jews through Christ, but it was not always this way. I think we best not forget this, for it is a major facet of the Bible's story. This unity of the two peoples is even described by the apostles as a "great mystery". God could have set one nation apart for Himself and rejected all others. We are under His amazing grace, all unworthy. I'm humbled by this fact. Have we forgotten this? Have we, in our views of what is "fair", reduced this to "no big deal" that once all Gentiles were separated from the promises? Wow, what grace: that God extends it to whomever He pleases, and that we can also receive it!
I'm still cautious about this, for I don't want to take the Lord's name in vain. My comparisons to human situations are not perfect, for God can be and is different from anything we understand in this world... and His Name is also set apart and holy, unlike any other name or thing that can be named with a word. Yet, something tells me, that like many other Pharisaical additions to the Law of God, that maybe the name of God was "lost" for the wrong, self-righteous reasons. I am not accusing, for my understanding is limited on the subject. I simply am looking for a way to refer to the God I already know. I hope He will be honored in my personal walk with Him, as I seek to know Him better. It would be awesome if He "re-revealed" His name in vocal utterance to His people... but we will settle to worship the God we cannot see or hear, for it is this faith that He requires of us.
Note: I provide the following links, not as authoritative truth about God and His nature, but rather to give some background information on some of the Hebrew names of God (stuff that I can't adequately know by instinct, nor have I studied greatly). I'm not qualified to judge all the facts, to approve or disapprove them.