YHWH Elohe-ka / YHWH Your God
YHWH Elohe-nu / YHWH Our God
"I am YHWH your God,
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
Out of the house of bondage.
You shall have no other gods before Me."
~ Exodus 20:2-3 (author)
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
Out of the house of bondage.
You shall have no other gods before Me."
~ Exodus 20:2-3 (author)
For all people walk each in the name of his god,
But we will walk in the name of the LORD our God
Forever and ever.
~ Micah 4:5 (NKJV)
But we will walk in the name of the LORD our God
Forever and ever.
~ Micah 4:5 (NKJV)
The Lord prefaces His presentation of the Ten Commandments with a clear statement of ownership. I am YHWH. I purchased you out of your bondage to those who serve other gods, and you are now Mine. I am your God.
No doubt many people might take a dim view of a God Who sets people free, then turns around and imposes a bunch of rules on them. Shouldn't freedom mean freedom from such restrictions? They would assert that He either isn't a good God or doesn't love them if He's going to set them free but then make their lives so miserable. They might even contend that no one else should have a right to tell them what to do, even if He is God.
Such is the modern view of religion. It's not too far off the mark. Religion is about obeying God as a duty. It's about a bunch of standards to which we'll never quite measure up. It's about law, judgment, and condemnation. It imposes a burden upon people they are unable to bear.
The answer to religion and its law is not lawlessness, which also imposes unbearable burden. The answer is relationship. Relationship is bound up in the name YHWH your God.
YHWH says "I am yours." As the God of His people, He sees to their every need. He receives their prayers. He disciplines so that they might experience ever greater blessing. He protects and preserves His people.
The ownership is mutual. God purchases those who are His. He gives them Himself in return. Because YHWH has declared, "I am your God," we have the privilege to call Him by the name Elohe-nu: Our God.
For believers in Jesus Christ, YHWH Our God even comes to live inside of us. Neither bound by law nor given to lawlessness, we walk in the liberty and power to live in the Spirit of the law, which gives life.
Your feedback is appreciated. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Hi Anne, it is so nice to be here in your blog that talks about God. You are a lovely daughter of God. :)
ReplyDeleteI praise Him for being my God.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that something? That I can call the Creator of the universe by name, that I can call Him MY God.
ReplyDeleteAnother instructive post here, Anne.
(It's good to be home in my Iowa, but I also loved your Colorado. OUR God, Elohe-nu, is surely in both places... So, Anne, you grew up in Colorado and now live in Michigan, is that right?)
Grace, I can see from your blog that you're also a lovely daughter of God. I'm delighted to meet you.
ReplyDeleteDenise, I never run out of reasons to praise Him.
Jennifer, correct, I was born in Denver, lived thereabouts for 28 years, and have lived in Michigan for 19 years. As for "My God" -- THAT'S tomorrow's post.
A great post, Anne.
ReplyDeleteIf we are tempted to forget that our life comes from Our God, it's helpful to go out and observe the world and remind ourselves what life looks like without Him.
I did this recently. As a result, I'm sobered, grateful, and convinced that I need to get out there more often.
Dear Anne,
ReplyDeleteHow powerful are your words, and how your passion for God shines through every one!
Yes. Every man and woman walks by their god. In this age, we have called good evil, and evil good, and it breaks my heart and wearies me to see many people call their gods good, and miss the God we know loves them so much.
I pray for strength and wisdom to shine light where I may. A good friend encouraged me in this recently. :)
God bless you, Anne.
Gwen, I agree that we hurt only ourselves to call good evil and evil good. And the first step to turning away from a false god is seeing it as such.
ReplyDelete