Getting to Know God - Elohim
I want to ask you a question before we start. What is the purpose of life for a Christian?
Those who are a bit older may be thinking back through their catechisms for an answer …
How would you answer that simple question? What is our purpose? A simple answer would be to know God and make Him known. Simple isn’t it – to firstly develop a relationship with God – to get to know him and then shre that knowledge with others – to make him known.
It is so simple, yet it begs another question – How can we – mortal man hope to get to know God – that infinite, amorphous, being who or which can’t be described with any known words. How can we possible know about him?
The answer is simple – He has revealed himself to us through his word. Aspects of his character and his dealings with people are recorded for all and sundry to read. Included in this record are many divinely appointed names which describe God and his character.
I’m sure that many of you know that names in the ancient times were things of great significance.
It’s like the newspaper ad which read “Lost – One Dog. Brown hair with several bald spots. Right leg broken due to car accident. Rear left hip hurt. Right eye missing. Left ear bitten off in a dog fight. Answers to the name ‘Lucky’”
Names were given to express something about a person. People were named after …
• Occasions - Cain or (qayin) was named because God fulfilled his promise and Eve “gained possession” (qana) of a child.
• Events – Babel was so named because it sounded like the Hebrew for “confused”
• Circumstances – Isaac means “laughter” and was named so because his parents laughed when told that they would have a son born. Samuel means “heard by God” as a sign that God heard his mother’s prayer.
• Personal Transformations – Abram became Abraham, Saul to Paul
• Their mission – Isaiah was called “The Lord saves” which was representative of his ministry message.
Right through scripture we see names telling us important things about people and God is no different. They are an important source of knowledge of who God is and I want to begin to look at some of these names over the next months. We’ve already been exposed to YHWH through Pastor Roger’s series of Christ’s I am sayings. And I’m not going to be stealing any of his thunder I’m sure. I want to examine some of the other names we find through the Bible and consider what they teach us about God.
So let’s pray that God gives us wisdom and understanding as we begin our studies.
Pray
If you’ve got your bibles there, that is great, but I don’t think that you are going to need them for this first verse. Genesis 1:1 – do you all know it. On the count of 3 we are all going to quote it – ready …
Who created the world? – God. This is the first time we see God mentioned in the Bible – the first verse and it is the first name I want to focus on. It is the word Elohim. And is found over 2000 times through out the Bible. It is found 32 times alone in the first chapter of Genesis. It is the general term used for God, but has some specific meaning also.
Before we look at what this word means – let me ask you another question … What can you tell about God from the creation account?
We see here God as the creator of all things – the powerful one who is able to speak a word and bring stars into space, planets into being, living animals and man to life. We see a God who is awesome and creative who existed, before all else and more powerful than all his creations – we see him as Elohim.
I want to quickly touch on 3 aspects of the name Elohim tonight …
1) Elohim – A God who is mighty
Elohim is an interesting word. It’s roots are somewhat uncertain. Most scholars believe it comes from the root “el” which means “to be strong” or “to be pre-eminent” The use of “Elohim” is not limited to the Hebrew religion though. Elohim is the term used for other pagan gods (Ex 18:11), angelic beings (Job 1:6) and even monarchs (Ex 18:11). It was a term which referred to the power and greatness of its subject, but in Scripture, is overwhelmingly used of the God YHWH, a powerful God and a God above all others.
El is another name often given to God and often relates to a God of Power. Deuteronomy 10:17 we read …
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.
For YHWH your Elohim is Elohim of Elohim and YHWH of YHWH, the great El, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.
El and Elohim are used interchangably when talking about a powerful God, a Great God, one in control of all things.
How do we know that God is mighty? Well we only need to look at the first verse in the Bible. “In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth.” It was God, Elohim who brought you into being.
A little boy once prayed “Dear God, please take care of my daddy and my momy and my sister and my brother and my doggy and me. Oh and please take care of yourself, God. If anything happens to you, we’re gonna be in a big mess.”
Elohim tells us that God created all things and sustains all things. He was the one who gave you life and for what purpose? None other than for you to get to know him. You are precious in his sight and although he is awesome and mighty, he wants a relationship with you. Does that blow your mind? It should. You are a unique creation of God – one of a kind. You are special – special to the mighty God who created you. God don’t make no junk, you can be sure of that – so if you are struggling with yourself – your body, your intellect, your looks. Take heart - get to know the one who cares.
2) Elohim – Three Gods in One
Another interesting thing about this name is that in the Hebrew it is actually plural. The “im” ending of Elohim is a plural ending of masculine nouns in Hebrew. The plural for cherub is cherubim. Ther plural for seraph is seraphim So when we say God created the world, what is actually meant is that Gods plural and more than one created the world.
Now the interesting thing is that although Elohim is plural, it is often treated as a singular noun. In Gen 1:26&27 we therefore have
Then God (Elohim plural) said (singular), "Let us (plural) make man in our (plural) image, in our (plural) likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God (plural) created man in his (singular) own image,
Here we have a plural God acting as one. Referring to himself as multiple, yet have a single image. Quite amazing really.
Some say that the plural is just a plural of majesty. The queen for example would say of herself, “We are well” – meaning herself alone is well. The plural is used as a sign of her majesty and importance. She is of far more importance than could ever conceivably be fit into a single person. So she uses the plural.
But in this plural, there is so much more… Why would God be described by a term which is plural? Does this mean there is more than one God?
No . Deut 6:4 says quite clearly - Hear, O Israel: The LORD (YHWH) our God (Elohim), the LORD (YWHW) is one.
There is one God, yet he is someway plural. This fact supports the idea of the trinity – the fact that there re three persons, but one essence shared by all. The Hebrew writers were entirely right in saying that they had Gods, but only one God. It is a difficult concept for us to grapple with and one that people right down through the ages have stuggled with. How can 3 = 1. Someone has tried to represent the trinity using this diagram. The Father is not the same person as the Son or the Spirit. They are 3 distinct and separate entities, But they are all God and there is only 1 God. 3 distinct persons, but one essence making up God.
Elohim speaks to us therefore of God’s triune being – Father, Son and Holy Spirit in one.
3) Elohim – Worthy of Praise
The third thing about this name that I want to draw your attention to is again linked to the reason why we were created. It is our response to God
Turn with me to Rev 4:11.
REV 4:11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
What should our response be to God? In Revelation 4 we get a glimpse into heaven’s throne room and some of the characters there. We are told about a group of 24 elders - and though we are not sure who they are, they are created beings as all beings have been created by God. And from their title as elders, we can assume that they hold an exalted position. They are standing around his throne worshipping God. That is what our response to such a Great and mighty Elohim should be.
"You are worthy, our YHWH and Elohim, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
This tells us that we were created because God wanted to. We are here because of his will and to do his will. The response to this should be one of giving him glory, honor and power.
Glory is a word that means to have a right opinion of. We are told to think rightly of God, to holding him up for all that he is. It implies that having a right opinion of God gives him honour. We are to live in such a way as to give all of creation a correct opinion or estimate of who God is. He is mighty and powerful – awesome and majestic. He deserves our respect and we are to have a right opinion of him.
Elohim is also worthy to receive Honor. Honor is value. Giving honor is valuing a person. It is recognising their intrinsic worth because of who they are and what they have done. Elohim is worthy to be valued because he is the creator of all things. He is the sustainer of all life – of you and me. What a crime it would be not to value the one who gave so much for each of us.
To give glory is to live so that others can have a correct opinion of God. To have honour is to be valued. To be worthy to receive power. Now this is an interesting description, because Elohim is the mighty God above all others. He has all power already – he is omnipotent.
There was a first grade boy who regularly was late home from school. Sometimes he was upto 20 min late. His mother asked him, “You get out of school the same time every dy. Why can’t you get home at the same time?” He answered – “ It depends on the cars.” “What do cars have to do with it asked his mum. “Well,” the young boy explained “The lollilpop lady who takes us across the street makes us wait until some cares come along so she can stop them.”
Now God is not a power hungry being like this lollipop lady. He has all the power anyway. The Greek here actually reads. You are worthy, to receive the glory, the honor and the power. It is representative of the supreme and complete glory, the one and only and the greatest honor and the utmost and full power. It is not so much the giving of power that is important as the recognizing that he has power – even over our own lives.
Is that how you view God? Do you want to give him all that he is due? He created the world and we are here because he wills it. We need to live our life in such a way to accomplish His will – to reflect him, to show the world the character of God – show his love, his peace, his mercy, his gentlehess. To miss this is to miss fulfillment. Not to do this is to have existed instead of really living.
What is your response to God as creator? Does knowing him as Elohim – the great and mighty God change how you look at him. If so, the response he deserves is praise and worship – not just on Sundays, but throughout every day of our lives.
