Elohim
Genesis 1:1
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In the late 1800’s, a band of bank robbers with an ingenious leader began to roam the West. They moved from town to town for years without ever being caught, finally simply fading away into history. To this day, no one knows for sure who they were. In fact, no one is certain exactly how many of them there were. About all that we know is that there were always three men inside the bank during a robbery. One was very tall and skinny. The other two were average in height and build. You would think there would a better description than this after the gang had been in dozens of banks, but that was the most ingenious part of their plan.
Each of the men who entered the bank had a distinguishing feature about him. The tall thief always wore an enormous bandana with huge pink polka dots to cover his face. One of the others always had a massive Mexican sombrero with flashy gilding on his head. The third man in the bank had a large belt buckle made of gold with very intricate design. As the men would rush into the bank with guns drawn, the victim’s eyes were always attracted to these oddities. The well planned robbery was always over so quickly that no one ever noticed any other features of the men. Not the color of eyes or hair, not even how many men were outside holding the horses. Nothing. Of course the marshals were frustrated with the lack of information to go on, but every job was the same. People noticed the superficial details, but missed the things of significance.
Unfortunately we Christians too often approach God the same way. We attend church or study our Bibles so that we can meet God. We come into His presence and immediately we are attracted to some superficial element of worship. We want to walk away from the encounter with a good feeling or a short line we can quote. Sometimes it is enough to say we were present. After our brief encounter, these irrelevant things are all we remember. Just like the people in the bank, we missed the things of significance.
Sometimes we have only ourselves to blame for this sad state of affairs. We go into God’s presence with sin in our lives our the wrong motivation for worship. Our priorities are upside down so we don’t even realize how much we have missed. Sometimes the churches themselves promote this distracted worship by shifting the focus from God to entertainment and replacing the truths of Scripture with glamourous fluff. Whatever the reason, we miss the depth of the encounter and walk away from God’s presence with nothing of substance to show from our time with God.
This morning we are going to uncover one of these significant details that tend to slip by modern Christians unnoticed. We are going to begin a series of studies on the names of God presented to us in Scripture. You may be surprised to know that God names himself by many different titles in Scripture. There are literally dozens that we could study. I am sure you could name a few of the English translations if you thought about it for a minute. You know God of course, but we also are familiar with LORD. There are some combinations that come to mind like Almighty God and Most High. You might even know some of the Hebrew names of God, like Elohim, Adonai, and Jehovah. That fact that God would use different titles to identify Himself to man should alert us to some significance He attaches to his name. In fact, names were very important in Bible times for two reasons.
First, names were very significant because they revealed the character of the person named. They tell us what the person is like, how they might be expected to act, or what is important about them. My daughter’s name is Abigail Keakaokalani. Rhonda and I chose that name partly because we liked the sound of the name, but also for the meaning attached to it. Abigail means father’s joy, and my little girl is certainly the apple of my eye. Her Hawaiian middle name means shadow of heaven and was intended to remind us of the significance of her birth. Partly it reminds us that she was born in Hawaii. That is significant because we would never have been there except that we dedicated our lives to God’s use no matter where He might direct. Partly it reminds us of how precious a gift God had given us.
In Scripture, names also were used to tell part of the story about person. You remember Jacob the deceiver. When he finally submitted his life to God’s leadership, God changed the deceiver’s name to Israel, which means God prevails. This was the name God’s people would bear for the rest of time. Names in the Bible are significant for this revelation of character, but Bible names also reveal relationship in many instances.
They describe how people relate to each other. That is a more familiar concept to us. Each of us is known by several names. Abigail calls me daddy. Rhonda calls me sweetheart, my dad calls me son, you call me pastor. Each of these names reveals something of the relationship I have with different people.
Besides telling us about him, God’s names also help us understand how we are to relate to Him. As we study his names, we come to a more complete understanding of who He is, and we develop a more intimate relationship with him. God’s names are important to Him. That is why he has recorded them for us, that’s why one of the 10 commandments tells us to honor His name. Not taking His name has to do with more than swearing. He does not want us to use his name in vain. That word means empty or worthless. We are to know God well enough to attach worth to His name when we use it. This knowledge of God is the most important knowledge man can ever gain.
Today we will begin our study of God’s names with the first name God gives us in Scripture. Genesis 1:1 begins with the words “In the beginning God” This is the english translation of the Hebrew name Elohim. This morning we will look at who Elohim is and how we relate to him.
Introduction
If names reveal character and relationship, how do you name God. Ho do you find one word that encompasses all of God’s character and reflects accurately who He is? This seems an impossible task for a man let alone for the supreme being of the universe. I mean, just consider David for minute. We know him as a shepherd, a king, a warrior, a prophet, a poet. How much must be locked away in the title God. Translators throughout the ages have struggled to translate the name elohim adequately. One of the most beautiful translations is in the Chinese language where elohim is translated Lord of Heaven. This is elohim, the lord of heaven, God. It is the second most common name in Scripture for God, used more than 2500 times, and it is the first name by which God makes himself known to us. In fact, it is the only name God uses throughout the entire Creation account from Genesis 1:1-2:3 (35 times). So
I. Who is Elohim
A. El is an ancient term for supreme authority
1. Ancient cultures were all pantheistic - having many gods
a. Wind
b. Rain
c. Sun
d. moon
e. Fertility
f. War
2. There was always a chief god
a. This god ruled the pantheon
b. He was above all others in power and honor
c. He was el
3. God used the term in a similar way
a. Exodus 7:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
b. After the 10 plagues, Moses was supreme above Pharoh
(1) in every way he was greater than the most powerful king on earth
(2) he represented the pinnacle of power and authority
B. The Creator is the true El
1. He is the only one without rival
a. He is first in all things
(1) first in existence
(2) first in power
(3) first in authority
(4) first in honor
(5) fist in majesty
(6) he is the top of the heap
b. What does it mean to be the pinnacle of all that is
(1) before Him there was nothing else
(a) didn’t find earth and mold it
(b) created it “ex nihilo” - out of nothing
(c) he alone is the eternal one without beginning or end
(2) above him there is nothing else
(a) He stands taller than all the elohim man has ever created
(b) Exodus 15:11 - Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
(c) all of creation exalts the Elohim
(d) Psalm 19:1-6 - The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
(e) Elohim alone possesses all the attributes of Divinity
(3) without Him there is nothing else
(a) old philosophers believed we were God’s dream
(b) not accurate, but close
i) we are real, eternally so
ii) we cannot exist apart from God
a) Isaiah 40:26
b) Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
(4) he is superior to everything in every way
(a) existence
(b) ability
(c) character
(d) he is Elohim
2. Elohim is the Creator - study names in the context they are given
a. He is personal
(1) man is made in his image
(a) not physical, we know God is a Spirit
(b) in personhood
i) we reason and are intelligent - comparatively
ii) we feel - having emotions
iii) we choose, having will and bearing responsibility for our choices
(2) He is a personal being
(a) not some essence as mystics and new agers teach
i) more than a force or blob of energy
ii) more than something sensed
(b) he possesses the qualities fo personhood
i) reasons
ii) feels
iii) acts according to His will
(3) he is unique personhood
(a) there are singular and plural words for elohim
i) in ancient, el is singular
ii) God chooses elohim, which is the plural
(b) Gen 1:26
i) speaks of a plural singular
ii) points to the triune nature of God
a) God is on essence in three persons
1) some people use the egg
2) I prefer the three states of water
3) none perfectly explain
b. He is powerful - sovereign God of all the earth
(1) nothing has any hold over him
(a) he existed prior to all things (in the beginning God)
(b) he exists independently of all things
i) needs nothing outside of Himself
ii) without boundaries outside of Himself
(2) he holds everything
(a) he is omnipotent
i) having all power
ii) making something out of nothing
(b) he has the right to control creation
i) he made it
ii) in essence, he owns it - and us
(c) he exercises His right ruling supremely over all creation
i) God has a plan, purposes which only He knows
a) acts 15:18
b) Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
ii) His plan is all inclusive
a) Eph 1:11
b) In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
iii) he is in absolute control
a) Psalm 135:6
b) Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
(3) What about the bad things in life
c. He is proper - he is good God
(1) some people question God’s goodness
(a) sin
(b) sickness
(c) sorrow
(d) death
(2) Elohim reveals his nature in creation
(a) GO BACK TO GENESIS 1 - look at the “it was goods”
(b) what is good
i) pleasant
ii) beneficial
(c) everything God does is good
i) in creation
ii) for eternity
(3) how can a good God permit bad things
(a) can begin to understand when we remember two things
(b) God is not the author of sin
i) it is true, he created everything
ii) he created everything good
iii) his highest creation was granted free will
a) men and angels make moral choices
b) men and angels chose to rebel
1) Lucifer
2) Adam and Eve
3) You and I
(c) Creation was made to glorify God
i) it’s not about you
a) it is just for us to suffer for our sin
b) it is not just for us to judge God because we re justly served
c) the worst we have is better than we deserve
ii) it’s all about Him
a) all of creation was made to exalt God’s name
b) in perfection, creation glorified elohim
c) in sin creation dishonors elohim
d) in redemption, creation glorifies elohim more than in perfection
Deuteronomy 10:17 - For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, This is elohim supreme being of all the universe revealed and exalted in the creation. He is personal, he is powerful, and he is proper. It is his desire that we know him, that is why He reveals Himself to us. Once we see Him for who and what He is, he expects us to respond to Him. So we must consider the question,
II. What response does Elohim desire
A. Submit to the sovereign God of gods
1. Job faced awful circumstances
a. Lost everything
b. Physically afflicted
c. because he was right with God
2. Job questioned God
a. Questioned his motives
b. Questioned his justice
3. God responded as Elohim the creator
a. Job 38:4-5 - Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
b. For two chapters, Job was reminded of who Elohim was
4. Job repented of his rebellion
a. Job 42:2, 4-6 - I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
b. Job saw God for who he was
5. Our place is to follow
a. Stop arguing and resisting
b. Come humbly before the throne of Elohim
c. Surrender our will to Him
B. Seek to know him - He is a personal God who desires to be known personally by each of us
1. Worship Him alone
a. Exodus 20:1-5 - And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God,
(1) he is worthy of worship
(2) he is jealous of worship
(3) he will not share his place with idols
b. We cannot make Elohim part of our pantheon of gods
(1) discuss the shelf of gods again
(2) we try to relegate Elohim to a role among our gods
(a) god of pleasure
i) what I like
ii) what I want
iii) what makes me feel good
(b) good of materialism
(c) most of all - the god of self
i) exalting our wills above God’s
ii) refusing to exalt him to the highest position, the only God, in our lives
2. Discover in Him the meaning of life
a. Isaiah 42:5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
b. Isaiah 43:1 - “ But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
c. God is the source of human life
d. Humans are created in the image of a personal God
e. Human life is sacred to Him
(1) we are not just here by chance, a random collection of cells and energy
(2) we are here by the design of a purposeful creator
(a) God formed us individually in our mother’s wombs
(b) we have innate value as the special creation of God
i) not some self esteem theory - we are without merit lone
ii) value because God values us
a) that is why abortion is so heinous to Christians
b) that is why this situation with Terry Shivo is causing such an uproar
3. Place our dependance in Him
a. The ex nihilo creator of the universe can meet every need I face in life
b. The eternal source of temporal life can provide for every need I have after life as well
Close
This is Elohim - God of gods. Have you had too small a picture of Him? Maybe you are here this morning and you have been questioning God, debating with him the way Job did. You have failed to recognize the sovereign of the universe. Maybe you are here with doubts and anxiety about life or death and what comes after. Elohim has the answers. He desires to know you, to meet your needs, and to be your God. How will you respond to Elohim this morning?
Pray
1. Christian - is he the only God, or one of the gods you serve
2. Maybe you are here and you do not know God yet, you are still separated from him by your sin. He has paid the price, and opened the door for a personal relationship. But you have to make the choice.
