Chapter 6
JEHOVAH
– GOD’S COVENANT, REDEMPTIVE NAME
"And they
that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not
forsaken them that seek thee." Psalms 9:10
Jehovah is God’s
most famous name. It is the name of him who alone is the necessary and
self-existent Being. The name, Jehovah, implies God’s eternality. It comes from
a root word which signifies “to be.” Jehovah is, God who is, who was, and who
is to come (Rev. 1:4). This is God’s personal, proper, and incommunicable name.
"That men may know that thou, whose
name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth" (Ps.
83:18). The other names of God are sometimes applied to creatures, but Jehovah
is used exclusively of the true and living God.
In his book, “The
Divine Inspiration of the Bible,”
A. W. Pink gives the following, instructive comments showing the distinct
use of God’s names “Elohim” and “Jehovah.”
"The names
Elohim and Jehovah are found on the pages of the Old Testament several thousand
times, but they are never employed loosely or used alternately. Each of these
names has a definite significance and scope, and were we to substitute the one
for the other the beauty and perfection of a multitude of passages would be
destroyed. To illustrate: the word God occurs all through Genesis 1, but 'Lord
God' in Genesis 2. Were these two Divine titles reversed here, a flaw and
blemish would be the consequences. 'God' is the creatorial
title, whereas 'Lord' implies covenant relationship and shows God's dealings
with His own people. Hence, in Gen. 1, 'God' is used, and in Gen. 2, 'Lord God'
is employed, and all through the remainder of the Old Testament these two
Divine titles are used discriminately and in harmony
with the meaning of first mention. One or two examples must suffice. "And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two
and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in,
went in male and female of all flesh, as God (Elohim) had commanded him.” 'God' because it was the Creator commanding
with respect to His creatures, as such; but in the remainder of the same verse,
we read, "and the Lord (Jehovah)
shut him in" (Gen. 7:15,16),
because God's action here toward Noah was based upon covenant relationship.
When going forth to meet Goliath David said "This
day will the Lord (Jehovah) deliver thee into mine hand (because
David was in covenant relationship with him); and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give
the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air,
and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth (which was not in
covenant relationship with Him) may know
that there is a God (Elohim) in
Israel. And all this assembly (which were in covenant relationship with
him) shall know that the Lord (Jehovah) saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our
hands" (1 Sam. 17:46,47). Once more: "And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel.
Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat
cried out, and the Lord (Jehovah) helped him; and God (Elohim) moved them to depart from him" (2 Chr. 18:31). And
thus it is all through the Old Testament."
The name Jehovah is frequently used as a compound
with other words to set forth some specific aspect of God’s character and work
in meeting the needs of his elect. There are fourteen of these Jehovah titles
in the Old Testament.
1. JEHOVAH-JIREH --
"The Lord will
provide." "And Abraham called
the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount
of the Lord it shall be
seen" (Gen. 22 :14).
2. JEHOVAH-RAPHA -- "The Lord
that healeth thee." "And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is
right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his
statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought
upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord
that healeth thee" (Ex. 15:26).
3. JEHOVAH-NISSI -- "The Lord
our Banner." "And Moses built
an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi"
(Ex. 17:15).
4. JEHOVAH-M'KADDESH -- "The
Lord which doth sanctify you.":
"Speak thou also unto the children
of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between
me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you" (Ex.
31:13); "And ye shall keep my
statutes, and do them: I am the Lord
which sanctify you" (Lev. 20:8).
5. JEHOVAH-RA-AH -- "The Lord
my Shepherd." "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not
want" (Ps. 23:1).
6. JEHOVAH-HOSEENU -- " The Lord
our Maker." "O come, let us
worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord
our maker" (Ps. 95 :6).
7. JEHOVAH-ELOHEENU -- "The Lord
our God." "Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his
footstool; for he is holy...He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept
his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them. Thou answeredst
them, O Lord our God: thou wast a
God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions" (Ps.
99:5,7,8).
8. JEHOVAH-ELOHEKA -- "The Lord
thy God." "I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee
out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: ... Thou shalt not bow
down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that
hate me...Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord
thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name
in vain" (Ex.20:2,5,7).
9. JEHOVAH-ELOHAY -- "The Lord
my God." "And ye shall flee to
the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the
earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and
the Lord my God shall come, and
all the saints with thee" (Zech. 14:5).
10. JEHOVAH-SHALOM
-- "The Lord our
Peace.": "Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it
Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of
the Abiezrites" (Judges 6:24).
11. JEHOVAH-TSEBAHOTH -- "The Lord
of Hosts" "And this man went up
out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in
Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there" (1 Sam. 1:3); "And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth
had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been
made like unto Gomorrha" (Rom. 9:29); "Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you
kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them
which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth"
(Jas. 5:4).
12. JEHOVAH-HELEYON -- "The Lord
Most High." "I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness: and
will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high" (Ps. 7:17); "For the Lord most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the
earth" (Ps. 47:2); "For
thou, Lord, art high above all
the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods" (Ps. 97:9).
13. JEHOVAH-TSIDKEENU -- "The Lord
our Righteousness." "In his
days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name
whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jer. 23:6); "In those days shall Judah be saved,
and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be
called, The Lord our
righteousness" (Jer. 33:16).
14. JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH -- "The Lord
is there." "It was round about
eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be,
The Lord is there"
(Ezek. 48 :35).