Knowing God's Name Part 2, by Aije Barnes, Sept 3, Issue 1 Vol 5

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness–trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never]. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.” ‭Psalm‬ ‭91:14-16‬ ‭AMP‬‬ 

Some weeks ago, when I shared on the first part of this series  and as I mentioned in the last ministration, It is important to keep up because in knowing God's name there are a lot of benefits to this as shown in the opening verses above. Please remember to claim God's promises as for your life and circumstances as a child of His, as you begin to gain an understanding of the knowledge of His name. Today, I will share in two other names of God. They are ELOHIM and EL SHADDAI. 

ELOHIM: God “Creator, Mighty and Strong” (Genesis 17:7; Jeremiah 31:33) – the plural form of Eloah, which accommodates the doctrine of the Trinity. From the Bible’s first sentence, the superlative nature of God’s power is evident as God (Elohim) speaks the world into existence (Genesis 1:1). Here, God's name represents the Trinity- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit as One. This One God, is our Creator, is Mighty and is Strong. Knowing this, as his child, you can boldly say, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Romans‬ ‭8:31‬ ‭KJV‬‬. The knowledge of this name of God dispels fear no matter what the circumstances in your life might be, because you know Who is there for you. He is Mighty, He is Strong and when He speaks, His Word comes into being. 

EL SHADDAI: “God Almighty,” “The Mighty One of Jacob” (Genesis 49:24; Psalm 132:2,5) – speaks to God’s ultimate power over all. This name of God emphasises the nature of God as The Almighty. There is none like Him neither is there any beside Him. “Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭4:35‬ ‭KJV‬‬

God is also referred to as the Mighty One of Jacob. This name of God means so much to me because it connects the mightiness of God to man. By this I mean, God graciously choose Jacob to demonstrate His mightiness on his behalf.  This to me, is so mind-blowing and words cannot describe how much I stand in awe of God for His choice of this man to demonstrate His Might. In case you don't know who Jacob was or have forgotten, please allow me to remind you. Jacob, was the second born twin of Isaac, who was the God's promised child to Abraham.  This history of Jacob is good however, the man himself, started fighting with his twin brother Esau whilst still in his mother's womb and continued the fight as soon as he was born by grabbing hold of his brother's heel. But he didn't stop there. When he grew up, he forced Esau to sell his birthright in the moment of his weakness. He later deceived their father, Isaac, in making sure he took all the blessings associated with being the firstborn. In short, Jacob whose name means deceiver, lived up to his name. Not surprisingly, he had to run for his life from his twin who, as you can imagine, was not a happy man.  But look at what the scriptures says of Jacob: “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.” Romans‬ ‭9:13-16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

So you can see that it was not Jacob's righteousness that made God choose him but God's mercy and grace. You will also later find that Jacob returned home to reconcile with his brother Esau. God made this possible. 

This does not give us the license to sin because we feel God will be Mighty in our behalf or to say what is the point trying to be good because God may like someone else. Neither of this attitude is right. What the story of Jacob teaches us is Esau's 'goodness ' could not earn him his righteousness neither could Jacob's deceitfulness. Both men were sinners. In the eyes of man, everyone will frown on what Jacob did. But God in His mercy showed His love for us 'sinners' by choosing to love Jacob over Esau. 

So when you come to God in prayer and call on His name remember His mercy on you as 'Jacob' and the grace He has made available to you through Jesus. 

'For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4:15-16‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Remember God's promises that follow you as shown in the opening verse above when you know His name 

More next time... 

Shalom