Over the last few years, I’ve been on a journey of learning and unlearning. Despite being uncomfortable, I feel led to share some of what I’ve been discovering more and more as I position myself every day to continually abide in Yeshua the Messiah. I definitely do not have it all figured out, but every day I am learning more about Yah’s truth.
I believe our maturity in Yah is connected to our heart growing near to Him and shedding off any weight that we may have picked up in religious doctrine that does not align with the truth. Our Father is known by many names. Growing up in the Christian religious faith, I’ve known to call our Father: Lord, God, Lord God, and Yahweh. But the most common reference I hear is Lord, God, Father, or any combination of the three. God’s name is revealed in Scripture, so why doesn’t mainstream Christianity make it more known today?
Our Father’s Name is Revealed in Scripture
You may be familiar with the account of Moses and the burning bush in Exodus 3 where the God of Israel revealed His name for the first time. This is later confirmed in Exodus 6:3 which says that God appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by the name of El Shaddai (God Almighty) but not by His name, YHWH.
Psalm 68:4 reveals God’s name too. When I read this Scripture for the first time, all I could think was “Wow, the answer I am seeking is right here in front of me”. I wasn’t in church when I read this Scripture. I was studying on my own after watching a documentary and this verse was mentioned so I just had to see for myself. I had to test everything. You’ll see it in your Bible too. I know that it is shown in the KJV and NKJV versions. If you read other versions, it may say “LORD” instead. Here’s how it reads in the KJV:
“Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.”
JAH in the Strong’s Concordance is #H3050 which says that it is the proper name of the one true God, that it is Jehovah in the shortened form, and that its etymology is a contraction for YHWH (Strong’s #H3068). Jehovah is Strong’s #H3068 which I’ve seen written out as YHWH and YHVH and are said to be two variations of the same word.
It’s very easy to go down a rabbit hole to gain an understanding of the true and exact spelling and pronunciation of YHWH especially since there aren’t English vowels between the consonants to help us truly transliterate God’s name. If you ever study this for yourself, you will see a lot of variations in the pronunciation and spelling of YHWH. But don’t let that rabbit hole create a wedge between you and the Creator or between you and your brother or sister within the body of believers.
For me, reading and understanding Psalm 68:4 is enough evidence to begin to know, mention, and extol the name of God. Yah is His name! HalleluYah! We say His name more than we may realize.
Lord and God are Titles
Lord (Adonai in Hebrew) and God (Elohim in Hebrew) are examples of titles for a person or a deity, not the name of the person or a deity. It is certainly fine to reverence Yah as Lord and God. Psalm 136:2-3 proclaims that Yah is God of gods and Lord of lords. Plus, the fathers of the faith knew Yah as God Almighty. Today, we live in a time where we know God has revealed His name to us as written in Scripture. As a follower and believer of Yeshua the Messiah, I want to bring attention to His Father’s name just as much as I do His title.
There are other gods and lords out there that people worship, knowingly or unknowingly. To put it honestly, sororities and fraternities ultimately serve Greek gods and goddesses despite the prayers recited to Jesus and God that are part of some of their ceremonies and rituals. Anything and anyone can become an idol. Are we asking Yah to share the throne? Every day we have to examine our hearts and position ourselves rightly before Yah. We have to ask ourselves, who are we serving and submitting to?
The Ineffable Name Doctrine
There is a lot to unpack with the Ineffable Name Doctrine and I won’t go into the deep details here. However, I feel that it is important to mention because it explains why we see LORD and LORD GOD in the Scriptures today which take the place of where YHWH should be.
In short, the Ineffable Name Doctrine is the teaching that YHWH is too holy to pronounce, so therefore it shouldn’t be said at all. This doctrine teaches when YHWH shows up in Scripture, it should be read or spoken as LORD and/or LORD GOD. In many Bible translations today, you will see this done. This article explains it well and goes into the titles of God too. The only thing this article presents that I don’t fully agree with is the statement that it was the tradition of the Israelites not to pronounce or spell out God’s name. But how can that be true when God revealed Himself unto Moses and the psalm of David proclaims His name as well?
I am doing a study on this and believe that this doctrine was introduced much later. Some say that the Ineffable Name Doctrine came about as a misinterpretation of the third commandment:
“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
The third commandment doesn’t mean to refrain from saying God’s name. It has a much deeper meaning of making sure we are not having pointless thoughts, feelings, or actions about God and His character as we live our lives. This article makes some valid points about understanding the third commandment. After reading that article, it led me to prayer for repentance because there are so many subtle ways that this happens and I have to check my thoughts and my heart daily.
Test All Things
I recently heard a pastor mention this quote from Barna Group’s 2009 Year-in-Review report. Although the quote is 15 years old, it still speaks to some of the Christian reality today regarding the beliefs we have and have passed down. The quote reads:
“The problem facing the Christian Church is not that people lack a complete set of beliefs; the problem is that they have a full set of beliefs in mind, which they think are consistent with biblical teachings, and they are neither open to being proven wrong nor to learning new insights.”
This quote encourages me to keep testing everything (1 Thessalonians 5:21). This has been an eye-opening journey of discovering the truth under all the traditions of what I’ve known about the Christian faith. Studying the Scriptures with the Strong’s concordance and trusted commentaries while also examining the etymology of the words was overwhelming for me at first. I had to learn to pray, slow down, hear, listen, re-read, journal, and revisit my notes frequently so that the Scriptures could take root in my heart. At some point, the head knowledge I gain needs to change my heart to take root and sometimes that’s a rocky journey and I am growing in grace.
Have you ever wrestled with your faith? Are you open to testing everything? Do you know the reasons behind the traditions you uphold? Are you willing to change those traditions if you’ve discovered they don’t fully align with Yah’s truth as revealed in the Scriptures?
These are some of the questions I’ve asked myself over the last few years. This has led me to re-examine many aspects of my faith, including understanding the name of God. The Holy Spirit has been so kind to me during this process and I am being transformed little by little. I am finding Yah’s way all over again. I feel like a child learning to walk again and as an adult that feels very, very uncomfortable. However, it is necessary and I am learning to be okay with that.
I encourage you to answer the questions I posed above and sit with them while inviting Yah and His Spirit into the process. I pray peace over your spirit as you do so. Amen and Shalom.
Continually, Abiding. 
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