Yahweh Elohim: The Only True God

Yahweh Elohim Israel—The Lord God of Israel. The only true God

In today’s society, at least in the United States, there is a plethora of gods people worship. Most do not worship physical idols, but in terms of what we value most, what we see as important and spend most of our time on, many things qualify.

We often joke about “Keeping up with the Joneses” and living like “the one who dies with the most toys wins.” Yet, even though we act like it’s a joke, our lives often bear it out. One of God’s names is Elohim. It means He is the God of Israel, as opposed to other false gods.

The truth is that God has no rivals. Anything else is a false God. He is the only one we are to live for. (Ex. 20:3, Deut. 5:7) Not power, not wealth or social status.

Personally, I have to fight against thinking about others’ opinions of me and how I measure up. How about you? What do you find competes with God in your life? Let’s talk about it.

Jehovah-Rohi The Lord Is Our Shepherd

In last week’s post we looked at the name Jehovah Jireh, which means The Lord Provides.  Jehovah-Rohi, the Lord is Our Shepherd is similar, but, in my opinion, encompasses even more.  A shepherd provides for his sheep but he also leads them and protects them.

 

He does it because they can’t lead themselves without getting into trouble. Phillip Keller, in his book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, tells us that sheep need attention and meticulous care. They have a mob mentality and move about in herds. They can only see what’s right in front of them—more sheep!  

 

 

 

They can’t see their surroundings. Only the shepherd can. There may be predators, or natural hazards, like a cliff for example, that the sheep must stay away from in order to avoid injury or even death. Only the shepherd can see the bigger picture and guide them safely where they need to go.

A good shepherd guides, leads, and protects his flock but he also gives them everything they need.  Each day he leads them to clean water and pastures to satisfy their thirst and need for food. Only the shepherd knows where this is.  Because he leads, protects, and takes care of their needs, he sheep trust him.  They even recognize his voice and will not follow another shepherd they don’t know.

We are the same with God, Jehovah-Rohi.  God sees the big picture in our lives. He leads us, protects us if we head his direction, and takes care of our needs. Just as the sheep trust their shepherd, we can trust the Good Shepherd. There are obstacles and hazards we have to negotiate in our lives, but we don’t have to do it alone. God has promised to walk with us every step of our journey in life if we’ll follow him.   

How have you seen God lead you,either recently  or in the past?  What difference has it made?  Share it here so we can encourage each other.