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| artwork by Krista Hamrick |
Krista Hamrick’s beautiful original art print, Name Above All Names Alphabet, has so inspired me. Each of the 26 individual Names she has identified are so special, as Krista has intricately painted, almost like stained glass windows, each one with its Scripture reference. Krista has said, “This is probably the painting that I have most enjoyed researching, designing, redesigning and painting. Beth Willis Miller has expanded upon each name with devotional word studies. By knowing, believing and trusting who God says He is, we can be confident in who He has created us to be.” I so agree with Krista!
My heart has been drawn to do a word study for each of the names included in her art print. Krista and I felt led to publish our Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ …available now on Amazon as a softcover book and as a Kindle book at this link.
Combining the beauty of Krista's artistic excellence with these word study devotionals is perfect for individual quiet reflection or small group Bible studies focusing on the Name Above All Names—Jesus Christ—and His attributes and characteristics.
Review by Michele Morin: “The infinite variety in nature, the curious complexity of human behavior, the synchronicity of multiple systems in our own anatomy — and in the solar system — all point, through general revelation, to the nature of God: multi-faceted, magnificent, and yet mysterious. Special revelation in Scripture picks up where creation leaves off, and Beth Willis Miller has teamed up with artist Krista Hamrick to focus on twenty-six pieces of evidence in Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ. The result is an alphabetical collection that resembles a twenty-six sided gem, each facet reflecting a slightly different hue of the nature of God the Son. From Alpha and Omega to King of Zion, each devotional highlights the Scriptural basis for the name in multiple translations and then provides commentary on the verses. Beth applies the truth and then invites her readers to join her in a prayer that turns the truth into a paean of praise. No mere academic exercise, the point of Name Above All Names Devotional is threefold:
Look up – Meditate on the name and what it reveals about the character of God.
Look in – I am propelled to ask galvanizing questions about my discoveries: “Because God is ___________________, I should therefore _______________.”
Look out – Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.
With full-color art work and space for notes, Name Above All Names Devotional is a treasure for devotional reading, a resource for serious study, and a thoughtful and inspiring gift for loved ones.” (review by Michele Morin)
I was inspired by Phil Wickham's anointed hymn, At Your Name (Yahweh, Yahweh) while studying Exodus 3:13,15…
HCSB: Then Moses asked
God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them: The God of your fathers has
sent me to you, and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ what should I tell them?” God
also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: Yahweh, the God of your
fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent
me to you. This is My name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every
generation.”
LEB: But Moses said to God, “Look, if I go to the Israelites and I say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is his name?’ then what shall I say to them?” And God said again to Moses, “So you must say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is my remembrance from generation to generation.’”
NOG: Then Moses replied to Elohim, “Suppose I go to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The Elohim of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?” Again Elohim said to Moses, “This is what you must say to the people of Israel: Yahweh Elohim of your ancestors, the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever. This is my title throughout every generation.”
WEB: Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you;’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?” God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.”
Pastor Ken Hemphill writes: “Most Bible scholars would agree that the name Yahweh, or Jehovah, as it is sometimes translated, would be the proper name of God. The other names, including the compound names, provide further revelation of His character and His activity. JEHOVAH (YHWH…or JHVH) Note that the 4 letters (tetra means 4) of YHWH are often referred to as the Tetragrammaton. Vowels were added to the Tetragrammaton (literally "four lettered name"…Prior to 6th century Hebrew has no vowels—added to text AD 600-700) yielding the Name...YAHWEH ... which is most commonly transliterated (transcribed from one alphabet into corresponding letters of another alphabet) as...JEHOVAH. Various scholars have suggested different translations of the name of God used in this passage. The name is from the imperfect stem of the Hebrew verb "to be." The imperfect tense denotes an action that started in the past, continues in the present, but is not yet complete. Many Bible scholars follow the simple translation that we have in our text, "I am who I am." One of our Old Testament scholars at Southwestern translates it this way: "I AM who I have always been." I like this translation because it affirms that the God who spoke from the burning bush is the same God who worked through the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It also implies His ability and desire to work through Moses in the present and the future. However we translate this name, we can be assured that it affirms God's self-existence and His eternality.”
Pastor Alexander Maclaren writes in his Expositions of Holy Scripture: “The fire that burns and does not burn out, which has no tendency to destruction in its very energy, and is not consumed by its own activity, is surely a symbol of the One Being, whose being derives its law and its source from itself, who only can say—“I AM THAT I AM”—the law of His nature, the foundation of His being, the only conditions of His existence being, as it were, enclosed within the limits of His own nature. He says, “I AM THAT I AM.” All other creatures are links; this is the staple from which they all hang. All other being is derived, and therefore limited and changeful; this being is underived, absolute, self-dependent, and therefore unalterable forevermore. Because we live, we die. In living, the process is going on of which death is the end. But God lives forevermore, a flame that does not burn out; therefore His resources are inexhaustible, His power unwearied. He needs no rest for recuperation of wasted energy. His gifts diminish not the store which He has to bestow. He gives and is none the poorer. He works and is never weary. He operates unspent; He loves and He loves forever. And through the ages, the fire burns on, unconsumed and undecayed.”
Pastor John Piper writes: “The most common and the most important name for God in the Old Testament is a name that in our English versions never even gets translated. Whenever you see the word LORD in all capital letters, you know that this name is behind it. In Hebrew the name had four letters — YHWH — and may have been pronounced something like Yahweh. The Jews came to regard this word with such reverence that they would never take it upon their lips, lest they inadvertently take the name in vain. So whenever they came to this name in their reading, they pronounced the word “adonai” which means “my lord.” The English versions have basically followed the same pattern. They translate the proper name Yahweh with the word LORD in all caps. This approach is not a very satisfactory thing to do, because the English word LORD does not communicate to our ears a proper name like John or Michael or Noël. But Yahweh is God’s proper name in Hebrew. The importance of it can be seen in the sheer frequency of its use. It occurs 6,828 times in the Old Testament. That’s more than three times as often as the simple word for “God” (Elohim – 2,600; El – 238). What this fact shows is that God aims to be known not as a generic deity, but as a specific Person with a name that carries his unique character and mission. (Note: The word “Jehovah” originated from an attempt to pronounce the consonants YHWH with the vowels from the word adonai. In the oldest Hebrew texts there are no vowels. So it is easy to see how this would happen since whenever YHWH occurred in the text, the word adonai was pronounced by the reverent Jew.) The most important text in all the Bible for understanding the meaning of the name Yahweh is Exodus 3:13,15. God has just commanded Moses to go to Egypt and to bring his people Israel out of captivity. Moses says to God, “‘If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.”’ God also said to Moses, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, “The LORD (that is, Yahweh!), the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.’” Two facts persuade me that this text provides an interpretation of the name Yahweh. One is that the name Yahweh and the name I AM are built out of the same Hebrew word (hayah). The other is that Yahweh seems to be used here interchangeably with I AM. “I AM has sent me to you” (v. 14). “Yahweh . . . has sent me to you” (v. 15). I think it would be safe to say that God’s purpose in this meeting with Moses is to reveal, as he never had before (Exodus 6:2), the meaning of his personal name, Yahweh. The key is in the phrase, I AM, and especially in the phrase, I AM WHO I AM. So here is where we ought to spend a lot of time meditating. What does it mean when you ask your God, Who are you? and he answers, I AM WHO I AM? I hope you can begin to feel how important these words are. There aren’t any words more important than these. Any words that you think might be are important only because these words are true. The more you ponder them, the more awesome they become.”
LEB: But Moses said to God, “Look, if I go to the Israelites and I say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is his name?’ then what shall I say to them?” And God said again to Moses, “So you must say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is my remembrance from generation to generation.’”
NOG: Then Moses replied to Elohim, “Suppose I go to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The Elohim of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?” Again Elohim said to Moses, “This is what you must say to the people of Israel: Yahweh Elohim of your ancestors, the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever. This is my title throughout every generation.”
WEB: Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you;’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?” God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.”
Pastor Ken Hemphill writes: “Most Bible scholars would agree that the name Yahweh, or Jehovah, as it is sometimes translated, would be the proper name of God. The other names, including the compound names, provide further revelation of His character and His activity. JEHOVAH (YHWH…or JHVH) Note that the 4 letters (tetra means 4) of YHWH are often referred to as the Tetragrammaton. Vowels were added to the Tetragrammaton (literally "four lettered name"…Prior to 6th century Hebrew has no vowels—added to text AD 600-700) yielding the Name...YAHWEH ... which is most commonly transliterated (transcribed from one alphabet into corresponding letters of another alphabet) as...JEHOVAH. Various scholars have suggested different translations of the name of God used in this passage. The name is from the imperfect stem of the Hebrew verb "to be." The imperfect tense denotes an action that started in the past, continues in the present, but is not yet complete. Many Bible scholars follow the simple translation that we have in our text, "I am who I am." One of our Old Testament scholars at Southwestern translates it this way: "I AM who I have always been." I like this translation because it affirms that the God who spoke from the burning bush is the same God who worked through the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It also implies His ability and desire to work through Moses in the present and the future. However we translate this name, we can be assured that it affirms God's self-existence and His eternality.”
Pastor Alexander Maclaren writes in his Expositions of Holy Scripture: “The fire that burns and does not burn out, which has no tendency to destruction in its very energy, and is not consumed by its own activity, is surely a symbol of the One Being, whose being derives its law and its source from itself, who only can say—“I AM THAT I AM”—the law of His nature, the foundation of His being, the only conditions of His existence being, as it were, enclosed within the limits of His own nature. He says, “I AM THAT I AM.” All other creatures are links; this is the staple from which they all hang. All other being is derived, and therefore limited and changeful; this being is underived, absolute, self-dependent, and therefore unalterable forevermore. Because we live, we die. In living, the process is going on of which death is the end. But God lives forevermore, a flame that does not burn out; therefore His resources are inexhaustible, His power unwearied. He needs no rest for recuperation of wasted energy. His gifts diminish not the store which He has to bestow. He gives and is none the poorer. He works and is never weary. He operates unspent; He loves and He loves forever. And through the ages, the fire burns on, unconsumed and undecayed.”
Pastor John Piper writes: “The most common and the most important name for God in the Old Testament is a name that in our English versions never even gets translated. Whenever you see the word LORD in all capital letters, you know that this name is behind it. In Hebrew the name had four letters — YHWH — and may have been pronounced something like Yahweh. The Jews came to regard this word with such reverence that they would never take it upon their lips, lest they inadvertently take the name in vain. So whenever they came to this name in their reading, they pronounced the word “adonai” which means “my lord.” The English versions have basically followed the same pattern. They translate the proper name Yahweh with the word LORD in all caps. This approach is not a very satisfactory thing to do, because the English word LORD does not communicate to our ears a proper name like John or Michael or Noël. But Yahweh is God’s proper name in Hebrew. The importance of it can be seen in the sheer frequency of its use. It occurs 6,828 times in the Old Testament. That’s more than three times as often as the simple word for “God” (Elohim – 2,600; El – 238). What this fact shows is that God aims to be known not as a generic deity, but as a specific Person with a name that carries his unique character and mission. (Note: The word “Jehovah” originated from an attempt to pronounce the consonants YHWH with the vowels from the word adonai. In the oldest Hebrew texts there are no vowels. So it is easy to see how this would happen since whenever YHWH occurred in the text, the word adonai was pronounced by the reverent Jew.) The most important text in all the Bible for understanding the meaning of the name Yahweh is Exodus 3:13,15. God has just commanded Moses to go to Egypt and to bring his people Israel out of captivity. Moses says to God, “‘If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.”’ God also said to Moses, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, “The LORD (that is, Yahweh!), the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.’” Two facts persuade me that this text provides an interpretation of the name Yahweh. One is that the name Yahweh and the name I AM are built out of the same Hebrew word (hayah). The other is that Yahweh seems to be used here interchangeably with I AM. “I AM has sent me to you” (v. 14). “Yahweh . . . has sent me to you” (v. 15). I think it would be safe to say that God’s purpose in this meeting with Moses is to reveal, as he never had before (Exodus 6:2), the meaning of his personal name, Yahweh. The key is in the phrase, I AM, and especially in the phrase, I AM WHO I AM. So here is where we ought to spend a lot of time meditating. What does it mean when you ask your God, Who are you? and he answers, I AM WHO I AM? I hope you can begin to feel how important these words are. There aren’t any words more important than these. Any words that you think might be are important only because these words are true. The more you ponder them, the more awesome they become.”
Our world has seen more change from 1900 to the present than in all history
recorded before 1900, and things continue to accelerate rapidly. As time speeds
by, measured not just in minutes or seconds but in nanoseconds (billionths of a
second), everything changes. Technology changes so fast in our
twenty-first-century world that we can barely keep up with the upgrades on our
computers. Our bodies undergo the inevitable aging process, and we witness
constant upheaval in the nations of the world. Material things change and
deteriorate. The changes in the world do not change God one bit or thwart his
plans. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever, and his love extends to the
next generation and the next. Our security can’t be found in any of the things
in this ever-changing world. Instead, our security is in God and his promises.
Unchanging Lord Jesus, Yahweh, I praise You and
worship You for Your love and faithfulness that extend from one generation to
the next. Thank You that although our circumstances may change and the things
around us pass away, You remain the same forever. Help me to find my security
in your eternal sameness. Through all
generations, even before you made the earth, You have been our dwelling place.
You are God, without beginning or end. I am thankful that wherever I go, I
don’t have to feel insecure or anxious because You are there! Thank You for Your
faithfulness and loving-kindness that follows me all the days of my life. In Your mighty Name Above All Names—Yahweh, we pray,
amen.
Look Up—meditate on Exodus 3:13,15
Look In—as you meditate on Exodus 3:13,15 pray to see how you might apply it to your life.
Look Out—as you meditate on Exodus 3:13,15 pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others.
26 Name Above All Names Alphabet Posts Page…
Weekly LinkUps…
Look Up—meditate on Exodus 3:13,15
Look In—as you meditate on Exodus 3:13,15 pray to see how you might apply it to your life.
Look Out—as you meditate on Exodus 3:13,15 pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others.
26 Name Above All Names Alphabet Posts Page…
Weekly LinkUps…
YHWH is one of my favorite names of God to ponder -- the unmentionableness of it reminds me that God is shrouded in mystery to our mortal minds -- and yet He has made Himself known in Christ. So much to rejoice in!
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by Michele...I so appreciate your thoughtful comments...many blessings to you ❤️
DeleteBeautiful reminder this morning, Beth, that our God forever remains the same. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteJoanne, thank you so much for stopping by! I so agree with you...mamy blessings to you ❤️
DeleteYHWH is a favourite name for me to ponder too, so I found it interesting to see how it came to have vowels in it.
ReplyDeleteYour posts as so VERY interesting dear Bath !
What a huge lot of research you have done to write this series for us.
Do you have the whole series in a document you could email to me ?
Many blessings and deep appreciation.
Mary G.
Thank you, sweet Mary, for your kind encouragement. Krista Hamrick and I are working on a project to upload all the studies and artwork onto CreateSpace as a devotional book available on Amazon. In the meantime I have a page here on my blog with all of the posts together. Many blessings to you ❤️
Deletethank you for drawing our minds and hearts to the very essence of our Lord God. always worth remembering!
ReplyDeleteSue, thank you so much for stopping by...many blessings to you!
DeleteI think we miss so much by not digging into the Hebrew words of the names of God. Such richness and depth that don't translate so well to English. Thank you for this post.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Karen, I so agree with you...the Holy Spirit illuminates our understanding with out in-depth study. Many blessings to you!
DeleteGod is so beautiful. He calls to my heart. This Name is powerful and clear to me. Thank you, Beth, for the insights drawn from many others, but especially from God's Word, no matter what version.
ReplyDeleteMay He continue to bless you, ~ linda
Linda, you are such a sweet encourager to me and so many others! I love this paragraph from the review Michele Morin provided for our book, "The infinite variety in nature, the curious complexity of human behavior, the synchronicity of multiple systems in our own anatomy — and in the solar system — all point, through general revelation, to the nature of God: multi-faceted, magnificent, and yet mysterious. Special revelation in Scripture picks up where creation leaves off, and Beth Willis Miller has teamed up with artist Krista Hamrick to focus on twenty-six pieces of evidence in Name Above All Names. The result is an alphabetical collection that resembles a twenty-six sided gem, each facet reflecting a slightly different hue of the nature of God the Son." She describes so well what I experience as I review these precious names of Christ once again. Many blessings to you!
DeleteBeth, what a God we serve! He is all powerful and never changing. I am so glad that we can rely on Him to not change. Thanks for sharing with Thankful Thursdays.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Lori! I so agree with you! Many blessings to you ❤️
DeleteYes, look up, look in and look out are a great way to study and learn about God and His truths as they apply to me and my life. Thanks for sharing at Let's Get Real Link Up
ReplyDeleteKaren, thank you for stopping by! Many blessings to you ❤️
DeleteEnjoying this devotional here as much as in my bedside book. I'm up to the letter "q" in my memorization of the names and verses, and find my thoughts going to the list automatically when I wake up in the middle of the night. Such a great help in meditation on His character!
ReplyDeleteMichele, you are such a delight! I love your encouraging comments! I, too, find myself going to these magnificent Names of Christ when I wake up in the middle of the night...as I repeat each one, even with my eyes closed I am picturing Krista's incredible artwork...I experience His Peace, enjoy His wonderful presence and drift back off to sleep in His everlasting arms...what a Savior! Many blessings to you ❤️
DeleteBeth, thanks for linking up at Mondays @ Soul Survival. Have a blessed 4th!
ReplyDeleteDonna, thanks so much for stopping by! Many blessings to you today too!
DeleteBeautiful blog. I'm visiting from Monday's Musings. Have a blessed week.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind comment, Carolina. Many blessings to you!
DeleteGreat reflections- such a good idea for a study to focus on the names of God. I love the artwork too.
ReplyDeleteCarly, I so appreciate you taking time to stop by and leave such encouraging comments! Many blessings to you!
Deletegood morning ... visiting you over at Ifeoma's, stopping in to say 'hi' 1 more time here!
ReplyDelete;-}
Linda, thanks again for stopping by from Ifeoma's to say "hi"...your encouragement is very much appreciated! Many blessings to you!
DeleteI have become a little obsessed with this Name God revealed to us! Loved reading your and Piper's thoughts. Thanks for sharing this at the Booknificent Thursday link-up on Mommynificent.com this week!
ReplyDeleteTina
Tina, I so appreciate you stopping by to share your comments here...Many blessings to you!
Delete