OLD
TESTAMENT REVELATION OF GOD
It is possible that the average
Christian does not realize the greatness of the God we serve. In fact, it is
probable that no man can comprehend His greatness. Giving the matter some
thought could increase our appreciation of Him, and what He has done for us.
When we consider that He has
brought us from spiritual darkness to light, and from the brink of hell to the
hope of heaven, it should make us gratefully humble. The more humble we become,
the greater God appears; and the greater He appears, the more thankful we
should be that He has loved us so much.
In this study we may consider
some attributes of God to which we ordinarily give little thought in a
systematic manner, but the ground will still be familiar. As Peter said, it is
good to have our pure minds stirred up by way of remembrance. (See 2 Peter
1:12, 13 and 3:1.)
“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
and his greatness is unsearchable” (Psa. 145:3).
I. GOD REVEALED IN HIS NAMES
Genesis 1:1, 2, 26
1 In the beginning God created
the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form,
and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God
moved upon the face of the waters.
26 And God said, Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness….
Psalm 83:18
18 That men may know that thou,
whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
“GOD” is generally thought of as
an all-encompassing term meaning the Almighty Creator and Ruler of the
universe—He is. However, the various usages of the word GOD, especially in the
Old Testament, have not always been clearly revealed by the translators from
the Hebrew and Aramaic languages. The general term “GOD” tells what God is, but
His names reveal who He is in the different contexts of His works.
A. ELOHIM: The first use of the word in
Genesis 1:1 is simply “God” but the Hebrew root word is “Elohim” (variations:
El and Eloah), which means “strong and Almighty One,” or “God most high.” The
form “Elohim” is a peculiar word, which is sometimes said to express
uni-plurality, or unity in plurality. The Trinity is partly concealed, yet
initially revealed in “Elohim.” In this first chapter, we see GOD in verse 1,
the Holy Ghost in verse 2, and the SON (possibly also the Holy Ghost) in verse
26. It is said that God as “Elohim” is used 2,500 times in the Old Testament.
B. JEHOVAH: In Genesis 2:4
we find “LORD God,” as “Jehovah,” meaning “the self-existent One who reveals
Himself.” It is used in Exodus 3:14 as “I AM THAT I AM.” Then Jesus used “Yahweh”
generally for “Jehovah” as God’s personal name. “Jehovah” has ten variations in
the Hebrew language, only the translators bring three of which out: (1) “Jehovah-jirah”
(Gen. 22:14), meaning, “Jehovah will provide.” (2) “Jehovah-shalom,”
(Judg. 6:24), meaning “Jehovah is peace.” (3) “Jehovah-nissi” (Exo.
17:15), meaning “Jehovah is my banner. (See Zondervan’s Bible Dictionary).
It is interesting to note that
when “LORD” is printed all in capital letters, it refers to God as “Jehovah.”
C. ADONAI: “Lord”
(capitalized, but not all capital letters) means “Master,” or “One who
rules everything external to Him”—all of His creation. An interesting example
is found in Exodus 4:10-12. “And Moses said unto the LORD [Jehovah], O my Lord
[Adonai], I am not eloquent….” Since service for the Master is the subject,
Moses addresses Jehovah as “Lord.” But the answer in verses 11 and 12 refers to
God’s creative power, so He replies as “Jehovah—LORD.”
To the average reader these
things seem unimportant, so they usually go without notice; but since we are reading
GOD’S WORD, which He inspired holy men of old to write (2 Pet. 1:19-21), we
must understand that they wrote correctly. Again, the translators have not
always made the understanding easy; but on the other hand, the reader can
easily overlook the differentiation they have shown.
II. GOD’S HOLY ATTRIBUTES
Psalm 145:8-12
8 The LORD is gracious, and
full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
9 The LORD is good to all: and
his tender mercies are over all his works.
10 All thy works shall praise
thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.
11 They shall speak of the
glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
12 To make known to the sons
of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
This passage is a concise
description of God’s innate personality; His manner of being, or existing.
Extensive research of the Scriptures reveals His attributes individually, such
as: His omnipotence—all power; His omniscience—all inclusive
knowledge and wisdom; His omnipresence—He is everywhere at all times; His
holiness, justice, and goodness—moral attributes; His sovereignty—unaccountable
to anyone, but always doing right; His transcendence over His world—He WAS
before He MADE: His impassibility—no created being can inflict suffering upon
Him at their own will, though He can enter into our suffering with us at His
own will; His fellowship—He desires to be present with His people and to share
reciprocal enjoyments. Of course, He has many more attributes. (Review Psalm
106—His mighty works.)
III. GOD’S HOLY CHARACTER
Isaiah 63:9
9 In all their affliction he
was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his
pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
Exodus 15:11
11 Who is like unto thee, O
LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in
praises, doing wonders?
The passage from Isaiah speaks
principally of His love under all circumstances. As totally undeserving as we
were in our depraved nature, He gave His Son to save us—“God SO LOVED…!” He
shares our afflictions, and pities us in our foolish choices, redeeming us, or
“buying us back,” with the price of sacred blood. His longsuffering love for a
rebellious people fills the pages of the Old Testament history, but culminates
gloriously on Calvary’s cross! There was love even in His chastenings and His
judgments. And He will continue to love us even if we choose hell!
In Exodus 15:11 we glimpse His
moral perfection; perfection in holiness; glorious even beyond the extremity of
glory! Awesomely to be feared even as we offer Him our praises! O! the wonder
of it all!
We have restricted this study
largely to the revelation of God in the Old Testament, but with “laser beams”
of glory from the New Testament claiming a place in the record. Volumes have
been written, but none like “the volume of the Book” (Psa. 40:7; Heb. 10:7)—the
Bible. The Verse above says it well—“Great is the LORD [Jehovah, the great I
AM!], and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.” AMEN!
If you have never accepted or if you have fallen away from Jesus Christ here are three steps you need to take to be saved:
You must admit you are a sinner, confess your sin to Jesus, repent (turn from all you know is wrong), ask Jesus to come in your heart, and begin to follow Jesus by reading and obeying his word and go to a bible believing church that teaches his word. And tell someone what Christ Jesus Has Done For You (Rev 12:10)
May God through Christ bless you!
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