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THE AWESOME NAMES OF GOD
Part Two*

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20:7, NIV)

IT IS INTERESTING to consider that God was in the unique position of choosing His own name. He chose His own identity and, through the different names He calls Himself, God not only reveals His character and personality, but also how He relates to us, His children. Names such as Creator, Redeemer, Savior, Judge, Father, Defender, Counselor, Everlasting, Strong and Mighty, all give us glimpses of who our awesome God is. As we look at the various names God is called in the Bible, we can come to a deeper understanding of who He is, and what He longs to do for us. It also gives us greater boldness and confidence to come before Him in prayer, knowing that based on His character, He will hear and answer!

In our weekly study, we would like to look at some of God’s names and what they mean to us in our daily lives. Some of the names we have chosen begin with the name Jehovah which, according to Strong’s Concordance, means self-existent, eternal God. Others start with El meaning The Mighty One. For a more in-depth study of each of these names, we invite you to see this week’s Scripture guide:

JEHOVAH BORE—THE LORD CREATOR
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” (Gen 1:3, NIV). It is an amazing thing to read the story of creation and realize that God spoke everything into being. Our Creator God is so powerful that it took only His words to set whole worlds and solar systems into place which are perfectly balanced and functional. He has done the same for us, creating us as very complex beings, created in His image. Psalm 139:14 says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” The Bible also tells us that God is able to heal that which He has created, and that He longs to bring healing to His people. Just as God’s words are powerful, they are also trustworthy. As we marvel at the wonders He has created for us to enjoy, perhaps we can also believe Him to extend His healing power to that which He created.

JEHOVAH MEPHALTI—THE LORD MY DELIVERER
“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:2). In 2 Chronicles 20, the people of Judah were in a desperate situation. Several of their enemies had conspired against them and formed a confederation to defeat them. A great army was coming after them. Without the intervention of God, the people of Judah would certainly have been wiped out by this powerful enemy. Yet their leader, Jehoshaphat, cried out to God for strategy. God spoke to Jehoshaphat to let go of their fear, position themselves to meet the enemy head-on, worship Him, and then stand still and watch their enemy be defeated. As they obeyed God, He did an amazing thing. He caused the confederation of enemies to turn on each other, and they were completely destroyed without ever engaging the people of Judah in battle. In fact, the Bible says not one of their enemies was left alive! God delivered them from a hopeless situation with great victory—and with great spoils. The Bible goes on to say that it took the people of Judah three days to collect all the treasures from the fallen enemy, and the treasure was more than they could carry home. We worship the same God, Jehovah Mephalti, that delivered Judah that day. If we would obey Him as they did, we, too, would see Him work mightily on our behalf to deliver us from situations that seem overwhelming and impossible.

JEHOVAH MAGINNENU—THE LORD OUR DEFENSE
“For the LORD is our defense; and the Holy One of Israel is our king” (Psalm 89:18, KJV). To defend is ward off attack from or guard against assault or injury. There are so many times in life when we can feel attacked or assaulted, overwhelmed or defeated. Yet the Bible says that God is our Jehovah Maginnenu—our defense. The Bible is particularly clear about God’s defense of the weak and fatherless—those who cannot defend themselves. Just as God is our deliverer, we can call upon Him to be our defender as well, and bring us to a place of safety from the torrential storms of life.

EL QADOSH—THE HOLY GOD
“But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness” (Isaiah 5:16). In his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer writes, “Neither the writer nor the reader of these words is qualified to appreciate the holiness of God…We cannot grasp the true meaning of the divine holiness by thinking of someone or something very pure and then raising the concept to the highest degree we are capable of. God’s holiness is not simply the best we know infinitely bettered—it cannot be imagined…God is holy and He has made holiness the moral condition necessary to the health of His universe. Whatever is holy is healthy; evil is a moral sickness that must end ultimately in death…Since God’s first concern for His universe is its moral health, that is, its holiness, whatever is contrary to this is necessarily under His eternal displeasure. To preserve His creation God must destroy whatever would destroy it. Every wrathful judgment in the history of the world has been a holy act of preservation. The holiness of God, the wrath of God, and the health of the creation are inseparably united. God’s wrath is His utter intolerance of whatever degrades and destroys. He hates iniquity as a mother hates the disease that takes her child’s life” (pp.104, 106).

EL NOSE’—A FORGIVING GOD
“O LORD our God, you answered them; you were to Israel a forgiving God” (Psalm 99:8). Of course, the good news is that even though we are unholy and sinful in and of ourselves, God has provided a path of forgiveness that allows us to once again be in communion with Him. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has made a way for us to not only live in forgiveness and righteousness through Jesus’ death, but also to live in victory through His resurrection. Just as God’s holiness is something we cannot grasp, neither is the love He has for us which sparked Him to go to tremendous lengths in order to make us a holy people and a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9)!

EL SIMCHATH GILI—GOD, MY JOY AND MY DELIGHT
“Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God” (Psalm 43:4). Delighting in something produces joy, and joy produces strength. Grief and mourning rob us of our strength, both spiritually and physically. There is a weakness that comes from such an emotional and spiritual load. But God knows that joy brings a new vitality and strength, “for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Joy produces the kind of strength we need to move forward. When we delight ourselves in God and in His working in our lives, it not only produces physical strength, but spiritual vitality as well. As you allow God, El Simchath Gili, to be your joy and delight, you will find a new wind of strength blowing through your spirit and your home.

EL EMUNAH—THE FAITHFUL GOD
“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands” (Deuteronomy 7:9, NIV). A.W. Tozer once again provides us with beautiful insight into God’s character: “God, being who He is, cannot cease to be what He is, and being what He is, He cannot act out of character with Himself. He is at once faithful and immutable, so all His words and acts must be and must remain faithful. Men become unfaithful out of desire, fear, weakness, loss of interest, or because of some strong influences from without. Obviously none of these forces can affect God in any way. He is His own reason for all He is and does…Upon God’s faithfulness rests our whole hope of future blessedness. Only as He is faithful will His covenants stand and His promises be honored. Only as we have complete assurance that He is faithful may we live in peace and look forward with assurance to the life to come. The tempted, the anxious, the fearful, the discouraged may all find new hope and good cheer in the knowledge that our Heavenly Father is faithful. He will ever be true to His pledged word. The hard-pressed sons of the covenant may be sure that He will never remove His loving-kindness from them nor suffer His faithfulness to fail” (pp. 79, 81).

May our awesome God, whose Name is above all names, richly bless you and your household in days ahead,
Jack and Rebecca Sytsema

©2006 Children of Destiny. All rights reserved.
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THE AWESOME NAMES OF GOD, Part Two
SCRIPTURE GUIDE

JEHOVAH BORE—THE LORD CREATOR
and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.”
(Gen 14:19, NIV)

Is this the way you repay the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you? (Deut 32:6, NIV)

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”-- (Eccl 12:1, NIV)

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. (Isa 40:28, NIV)

I am the LORD, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your King. (Isa 43:15, NIV)

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-- who is forever praised. Amen. (Rom 1:25, NIV)

and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
(Col 3:10, NIV)

So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. (1 Pet 4:19, NIV)

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. (Ps 139:13NIV)

Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created. He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that will never pass away. (Ps 148:5-6, NIV)

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. (Isa 40:26, NIV)

This is what God the LORD says-- he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
(Isa 42:5, NIV)

But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” (Isa 43:1, NIV)

It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts. (Isa 45:12, NIV)

For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. (Col 1:16, NIV)

"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." (Rev 4:11, NIV)

JEHOVAH MEPHALTI—THE LORD MY DELIVERER
He said: "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer” (2 Sam 22:2, NIV)

Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay. (Ps 40:17, NIV)

O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, who shields my head in the day of battle-- (Ps 140:7, NIV)

He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. (Ps 144:2, NIV)

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.” (Rom 11:26, NIV)

“The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.” (1 Sam 17:37, NIV)

As surely as I valued your life today, so may the LORD value my life and deliver me from all trouble.
(1 Sam 26:24, NIV)

Rather, worship the LORD your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.
(II Ki 17:39, NIV)

Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him." Selah But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. (Ps 3:2-3, NIV)

For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. (Ps 72:12, NIV)

But you, O Sovereign LORD, deal well with me for your name's sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me. (Ps 109:21, NIV)

The LORD said, “Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose; surely I will make your enemies plead with you in times of disaster and times of distress.” (Jer 15:11, NIV)

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matt 6:13, NIV)

He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us. (2 Cor 1:10, NIV)

JEHOVAH MAGINNENU—THE LORD OUR DEFENSE
“For the LORD is our defense; and the Holy One of Israel is our king” (Psalm 89:18, KJV).

He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.
(Deut 10:18, NIV)

And this he said about Judah: "Hear, O LORD, the cry of Judah; bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause. Oh, be his help against his foes!" (Deut 33:7, NIV)

This is what your Sovereign LORD says, your God, who defends his people: “See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again.”
(Isa 51:22, NIV)

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. (I Jn 2:1, NIV)

He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD. (Jer 22:16, NIV)

EL QADOSH—THE HOLY GOD
But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness. (Isa 5:16, NIV)

There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
(1 Sam 2:2, NIV)

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. (1 Chr 16:10, NIV)

Cry out, "Save us, O God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, that we may glory in your praise." (1 Chr 16:35, NIV)

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel. In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. (Ps 22:3-4, NIV)

Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. (Ps 30:4, NIV)

In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. (Ps 33:21, NIV)

I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. (Ps 71:22, NIV)

Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? (Ps 77:13, NIV)

Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name. (Ps 97:12, NIV)

Let them praise your great and awesome name-- he is holy. The King is mighty, he loves justice-- you have established equity; in Jacob you have done what is just and right. Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy. (Ps 99:3-5, NIV)

He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever-- holy and awesome is his name.
(Ps 111:9, NIV)

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
(Prov 9:10, NIV)

And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." (Isa 6:3, NIV)

"To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. (Isa 40:25, NIV)

for the Mighty One has done great things for me-- holy is his name. (Luke 1:49, NIV)

for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." (1 Pet 1:16, NIV)

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. (I Jn 2:20, NIV)

Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed. (Rev 15:4, NIV)

EL NOSE’—A FORGIVING GOD
O LORD our God, you answered them; you were to Israel a forgiving God. (Ps 99:8, NIV)

For the sake of your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, though it is great. (Ps 25:11, NIV)

I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. (Jer 33:8, NIV)

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
(Matt 6:12-15, NIV)

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. (Mark 11:25, NIV)

If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven-- if there was anything to forgive-- I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, (2 Cor 2:10, NIV)

For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. (Heb 8:12, NIV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (I Jn 1:9, NIV)

EL SIMCHATH GILI—GOD, MY JOY AND MY DELIGHT
Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God. (Ps 43:4, NIV)

And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of choice foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10, NLT)

But look! God will not reject a person of integrity, nor will he make evildoers prosper. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. (Job 8:20-21, NLT)

You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and wine. I will lie down in peace and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe. (Psalm 4:7-8, NLT)

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Protect them, so all who love your name may be filled with joy. For you bless the godly, O LORD, surrounding them with your shield of love. (Psalm 5:11-12, NLT)

I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. (Psalm 9:2, NLT)

I will bless the LORD who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is filled with joy, and my mouth shouts his praises! My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your godly one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. (Psalm 16:7-11, NLT)

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Ps 37:4, NIV)

Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation. (Ps 35:9, NIV)

I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isa 61:10, NIV)

He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth. (Luke 1:14NIV)

EL EMUNAH—THE FAITHFUL GOD
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. (Deut 7:9, NIV)

For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. (Ps 33:4-5, NIV)

My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his horn will be exalted. (Ps 89:24, NIV)

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. (Ps 145:13, NIV)

the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them-- the LORD, who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free,
(Ps 146:6-7, NIV)

I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God. (Zech 8:8, NIV)

God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
(1 Cor 1:9, NIV)

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (1 Cor 10:13, NIV)

But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." (2 Cor 1:18, NIV)

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. (II Th 3:3, NIV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (I Jn 1:9, NIV)

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. (Rev 19:11, NIV)

*For "The Awesome Names of God, Part One," click here.

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