Treasures New and Old

Calling on the Name of the Lord: Elohim

As shared in the last article, God’s name is very important. His name is holy, pure, and represents His character and love towards us. We, as Christians, need to learn to pray in His Name as we call upon Him. The Scripture is full of examples of men calling on the name of God in their prayers. I listed a few last time. I’ll list them again:

• Abraham called on the name of the Lord (Genesis 12:8; 13:4).
• The Lord proclaimed His own name before Moses (Exodus 33:19; 34:5).
• Israel was warned against profaning the name of the Lord (Leviticus 18:21; 22:2, 32).
• The name of the Lord was not to be taken in vain (Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11).
• The priests of Israel were to minister in the name of the Lord (Deuteronomy 18:5; 21:5).
• The name of God is called “wonderful” in Isaiah 9:6.
• To call on the name of the Lord was to worship Him as God (Genesis 21:33; 26:25).

Last time we looked at the name “God of Peace.” He has many names and each has been given to us so that we can pray more specifically and use one of the many characteristics that is embodied in our God. This time we will look at Elohim.

Elohim

Elohim – God’s First Name Revealed to us in the Bible

Let’s start with a definition from Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary:

Elohim H430: “elohiym el-o-heem’ “Plural of H433 [eloahh]; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative: – angels, X exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.”

Note: In Hebrew, nouns are either singular, dual (two or a pair), or plural (three or more). This thinking comes rather naturally since we encounter so many dual things in our lives: two eyes, two ears, hands, feet, legs, arms, etc., two horses or oxen on a plow, cart, or chariot. ELOHIM has the plural ending so is three or more.

Elohim can be found in 568 verses in the Old Testament in books like Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Nehemiah, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, Jonah, Micah, Zechariah, and Malachi. Not all of the Old Testament books, but most of them. The more general use of the word (small g – gods) appears over 2,200 times in all the Old Testament. As you can see from the short definition above, it is used to refer to not just to God Himself, but to other deities as well. But we will concentrate on the Creator God.

The first name that God revealed to us comes in the Book of Genesis. It is ELOHIM, and in Genesis 1:1, it refers to the Trinity for ELOHIM, is plural and says, “In the beginning God [ELOHIM] created the heaven and the earth.” Elohim has the normal plural ending in Hebrew which includes a mem. We also know this is a plural name because when God created mankind, He said, “Let Us make man in Our own image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26a; paraphrased). Noticed that God said let “Us” make man in “Our” image. If there were only one person making that declaration, then He would surely have said, “Let Me make man in My image”, but He did not.

Elohim is the Creator God: In fact, in the account of creation, all Three Persons of the Trinity were involved, and only the name Elohim is used for all of the creative acts. God’s name, ELOHIM, could be thought of almost like a last name. God the Father is Elohim. God the Son is Elohim, and God the Spirit is Elohim. They are one but three persons. ELOHIM is God in Three Persons and is God’s name that is associated with Creation because the Psalmist writes that “[t]he heavens declare the glory of God [ELOHIM]” (Psalm 19:1b).

Elohim is the Mighty God: Often a plural ending is added to a noun in Hebrew to show strength. Exodus 32:11 says “And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?” Also we have Deuteronomy 3:24: “O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?” When we need the intervention of a Mighty God – call on the name of Elohim.

Since Elohim has a few ways that the root (elohei) can be constructed with other words, we can see that our God is indeed omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, etc. Look at these constructs:

• God our Father (Elohim Avinu)
• God of Truth (Elohim Emet)
• God the Father (Elohim HaVa)
• The Living God (Elohim Chayim)
• God in Heaven (Elohim Bashamsyim)
• Our God (Eloheynu)
• God of my Praise (Elohei Tehillati)
• The Eternal God (Ehohei Kedem)
• God of Hosts (armies) (Elohei Tseva’ot)
• God of Justice (Elohei Mishpat)
• God who is Near (Elohei Mikkarov)
• God of my Strength (Elohei Ma’uzzi)
• My God (Elohai)
• The Son of God (Ben Elohim)

And these are not all of the constructs found in Scripture. When in prayer or praise, think of using His Creator, Mighty name or one of His constructs to help you focus your thougths on Him and His character in your time of need.

Until He returns:

May God bless you all!

Bro. Joe

References

Strong, J. Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries. Meyers, R. (2005). e-Sword. [computer software] . Franklin, TN: Equipping Ministries Foundation. (Original work published 1539)

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