Yahweh is his name

First, let me make it clear that I do not believe you have to use the Hebrew names in order to receive salvation. How can I? Yahweh drew me unto himself years before I even knew he had a name. However, I encourage you to learn his name and use it. It has really, really blessed me to do so.

In the first pages of my bible, and most bibles, even before "In the beginning," you'll find an explanation of the various names used for Yahweh in the scriptures. I had no idea this was there until recently (my 8yr old showed me). It explains that "God" is a translation of the Hebrew word "elohim," and is used for any deity (closer study will reveal that it's also used as “magistrate” or "judge" as in 1 Sam 2:25) and that the word used for "master" is often "Lord,” with little letters, “a rendering of Adonai.”

My bible says, "There is yet another name which is particularly assigned to God as His special or proper name, that is, the four letters YHWH. This name has not been pronounced by the Jews because of reverence for the great sacredness of the divine name. Therefore it was consistently pronounced and translated LORD. ... It is known that for many years YHWH has been transliterated as Yahweh, however no complete certainty attaches to this pronunciation."

Two things to note here. One is that this is the name particularly assigned to the supreme elohim of scripture. It’s his proper name. There is no other elohim known by that name. His name is a sure way to tell him apart from other deities. A friend of ours from India (sorry, not Zac Poonen) said that in that country there are so many elohim recognized that using the name Yahweh made a significant difference. If you used the generic word for “god” you might be speaking of a doorknob or a cat.

The other thing to note, and I really think it’s time the record was set straight, is that although using the name Yahweh nowadays gets you labeled as a Messianic Jew (which I’m certainly not), replacing his name with LORD (Adonai) is a Jewish tradition. There is no commandment in scripture not to use his name. Quite the contrary, he goes to great lengths to make his name known!

Is he my lord? Most assuredly! Is he my elohim or god? Certainly! But who is he? He is Yahweh.

Personally, I use the term master and lord interchangeably. I don’t like to use the term “god” to deonote deity and certainly not in place of my father’s name. Instead, I use elohim. I won’t make a big fuss of it, but it’s worth noting that the name Gad in scripture is that of a pagan deity and pronounced “gawd” (look at the birth of Jacob’s son in Gen, also Is 65:11) Not funny that our elohim’s most commonly used name is the same as that of a pagan elohim and yet his proper name is disguised in scripture as the title, “the LORD.”

Now that I’ve been using the name Yahweh for awhile, I find the name “god” so impersonal! It’d be like calling Bobby “husband” all the time. He is my husband, and I do call him that sometimes, among other endearing titles, but it’s not his name. Most importantly, if I were talking to someone else and referred to him as “chowderhead,” they’d have no idea who I was talking about! No mistakes are made when I refer to my elohim as Yahweh, though I do get some dirty looks.

My scripture reading has taken on a new depth now that I know about the translations. I haven’t yet got one of those fancy “names” bibles, ‘cause they’re expensive and I’m pretty attached to my NASB, but even my children have taken quickly to translating when reading aloud. It sure makes passages like Exo 15:3 more clear. "The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name.” What? No it’s not! Try this, “Yahweh is a warrior; Yahweh is His name.” Next time you’re reading scripture trying putting his name in where you see the words “the LORD” and see what you think. Better yet, if you have a few minutes, do a quick concordance search in your bible program (you do have one, don’t you? If not, you can download esword for free) for, “the LORD is his name,” and consider the places and ways his name is used.

(Incidentally, we believe that taking his name in vain isn't so much about speaking his name, but more like the way a woman take's her husband's name when she marries him.  Just as with marriage, don't do this in vain!)