"Who Is The Lord That I Should Obey His Voice?”
by Chris Simmons
The first time that we read of Moses and Aaron coming before Pharaoh to make God's request to "let My people go," Pharaoh responded by asking, "who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?" and then simply admitting to Moses and Aaron, "I do not know the Lord" (Exodus 5:2). Pharaoh would then be introduced to God through the series of miraculous plagues through the hands of Moses and so we learn from this account of the need to know God. In like manner, we read in the book of Job of wicked people who ask the question, "who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we entreat Him?" (Job 21:15).
In biblical times, it was considered a distinct privilege to know another's name, because to do so provided the avenue to that person's thoughts and the means to the establishment of a relationship with him. If we are to know God and to have any hope of re-establishing a relationship with Him, we need to start by knowing the names by which He is called. God has blessed us by revealing Himself by several names which offer special insight into who He is, how we can please Him, what is involved in being in fellowship with Him, and how He can bless us.
To begin with, we must understand the fundamental importance of the name used thousands of times in the Old Testament. Involved in every name of God we are to consider is one of the most important names for God in the Old Testament, Yahweh, or Jehovah. This name is from the verb "to be," meaning simply but profoundly, "I am who I am," and "I will be who I will be." This is the Hebrew name by which God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). The name Jehovah, or "I am," expresses the fact that He is not only immortal and eternal, but the original and exclusive source of all. It is Jehovah who is behind everything and to whom everything must finally be traced. The name indicates absolute self-existence and proclaims the truth that nothing else defines who God is but God Himself. We learn who God is by what He has said and what He has done. "The name Jehovah itself … reveals God as the eternal, self-existent One, the God of revelation, the God of moral and spiritual attributes – of righteousness, holiness, love, and therefore of redemption, the God who stands in special covenant relation to Israel in contrast to Elohim, the general name of God in relation to all the nations" (Names of God, by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago). The Jews certainly understood the significance of this name as they were ready to stone Jesus for stating in John 8:58, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."
We should always treat the name of Jehovah God with tremendous reverence and respect. "The Jews never pronounced this name, not even in reading their own Scriptures. So sacred did they deem it, that when it occurred in their books, instead of the word Yahweh, they substituted the word Adonaay, 'Lord'" (Barnes' Notes). Yet we live in a society where God's name is profaned in such great propensity, that we must strive to retain our proper attitude of reverence and awe for God and His name. Will the name of Jehovah God be sacred to us? Or will we become numb to the profane use of His name in our world today and fail to properly honor the names by which He has chosen to reveal Himself to us?
It is in various combinations with the name Jehovah that God chose to reveal Himself in several different names that help further define who He is and what He seeks to do for man. Consider the following Hebrew names for God.
- Jehovah-Jireh, "The Lord will provide" (Genesis 22:13-14);
- Jehovah-Rapha, "The Lord will heal or restore" (Exodus 15:26);
- Jehovah-Shalom, "The Lord our peace" (Judges 6:24);
- Jehovah-Tsidqenuw, "The Lord our righteousness" (Jeremiah 23:6);
- Jehovah-Shammah, "The Lord is there" (Ezekiel 48:35);
- Jehovah-Nissi, "The Lord our banner" (Exodus 17:8-15);
- Jehovah-Ra'ah, "The Lord my shepherd" (Psalms 23:1).
In each of these names, God has chosen to reveal Himself to us and give us insight into His holy nature. It is our responsibility to know Him "with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:13). Our eternal destiny depends on our ability to intimately know God in every way that His word has revealed to us (II Thessalonians 1:7-9). The goal is to devote ourselves to studying these names by which He has chosen to reveal Himself to us that we might draw closer to Him (James 4:8; Hebrews 4:16; 7:19, 25).
