Chapter 4. The Seven Redemptive Names of God.

Chapter 4. The Seven Redemptive Names of God.

In Exodus 3 we are introduced to the covenant name of God. God was known by other names, but this name is his revelation of himself as “the covenant making and keeping God.”

The background to the story is that Israel was in slavery in Egypt and groaned under the captivity they were experiencing. “God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob (Exod 2:24).” This covenant, made with Abraham, and renewed with Isaac and Jacob, spoke of the Egyptian bondage: “Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure (Gen 15:13-16)."

Now the time had come and, as a result, God decided to do something about his promise to Abraham. God always works his deliverance through a man, so he set out to call Moses to the task of delivering Israel. This involved revealing himself to Moses. In this revelation God reveals his name: “God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I AM has sent me to you.'" Say to the Israelites, `The LORD, 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, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation (Exod 3:14, 15).”

The phrase “I am who I am” is in the Hebrew “YHWH” and is usually translated either as Jehovah (KJV) or YAHWEH , or THE LORD (often in capitals in Modern translations). The exact pronunciation is unsure as the Jews would not say the name of God and written Hebrew has no vowels. It is generally agreed that “Yahweh” is the probable pronunciation.

It means two things:

(i)                   “I am who I am” and this speaks of God’s eternal and unchanging nature. It speaks of God as he is in his essential unchanging nature; that which he permanently is, what is unalterably him. He is this, he will always be this; he hasn’t ever been anything else.

(ii)                 “I am seen” – thus it speaks of God’s nature as a revealing God. He is the God who continually reveals himself to man.

This name, YHWH, is God’s covenant name. It is the name God chose to reveal himself to man when in covenant with them. Where this name appears in the Bible we are being reminded that this is the God who makes and keeps covenant with man. God’s relationship with man is always depicted in the Bible as a covenant relationship. God’s relationship with man is a covenant relationship – a relationship defined by the protocols of covenant law.

The sort of relationship required in a covenant relationship is one of faithfulness, or faith. Faith is not a set of beliefs, but is a relationship. The scholars of the Greek (Orthodox) Church argue that the Western church mistranslates the Greek word pistis as “faith” thereby making it into a noun. They argue that it should always be translated as a verb, “faithfulness” in the sense of fidelity, loyalty, being true to one’s word. God is always faithful to his covenant, even when we are unfaithful. In covenant relationship with us he is “the same, yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8).”

There is, in fact, only one covenant between man and God, the covenant outlined in Ephesians chapter 1. This covenant was:

(i)                   Made before the foundation of the world, so it is eternal. God decided on it all by himself.

(ii)                 Through Adam he brought man into this covenant.

(iii)                He knew, before man was made that man would rebel against the covenant and FALL from covenant relationship so he built into this covenant a way of returning to covenant relationship through redemption. So this is an eternal covenant of redemption. The “Fall” is a fall from covenant relationship.

(iv)               Christ came to restore the covenant relationship. Thus in one sense the covenant made by Christ is not a “New Covenant”, it is a restoration of what was originally the case in creation. However, because God has added blessings through Christ that were not found in the Old Covenant, there is a sense in which it is a “New Covenant.”

So the covenant name of God, YHWH, is not an exclusive revelation to Israel, in fact the name YHWH appears in Genesis 2 where God first establishes covenant with Adam. The later covenants with Israel were secondary to this great covenant and were temporary in their provisions.

The name YHWH appears in seven compound forms in the Bible, “YHWH-xxx.” These seven compound names speak of the covenant provisions of God’s eternal covenant to mankind and they cover every need of man in life. The coupling of the provision with the eternal name of God has the effect of making the promise contained in the provision a promise that is eternally true for anyone who enters covenant relationship with God. Thus God reveals himself through these seven names and the corresponding actions that arise out of the names. The promises contained in these names were not just promises for Israel, when she lived in covenant relationship with God. They are promises that have always been true for anyone who lives in covenant relationship with God – before Israel, and since Christ died. They have no time limit, nor are they limited in any way to a particular dispensation. They are aspects of God’s essential nature which are always true towards those who love him. They are aspects of the eternal covenant.

In every spiritual experience in which we receive provision from God we need to look beyond the provision to the Provider.

The seven compound names of God, with an interpretation, are as follows:

Jehovah Shammah (Ezek 48:35).

The Lord is There.

“I am the Lord who reveals himself to those who are in covenant relationship with me as the God who is always there with them.”

Jehovah Shalom (Judg 6:24).

The Lord our peace.

“I am the Lord who reveals himself to those who are in covenant relationship with me as the God who is always peace and peace bringer.”

Jehovah Rohi (Psalm 23:1-3).

The Lord is my Shepherd or Herdsman or Companion. It has the idea of friendship.

“I am the Lord who reveals himself to those who are in covenant relationship with me as the God who is always your shepherd, caring for you.”

Jehovah Jireh (Gen 22:14).

The Lord will provide.

“I am the Lord who reveals himself to those who are in covenant relationship with me as the God who is always providing for your every need.”

Jehovah Nissi (Exod 17:15).

The Lord is my banner, captain, victory.

“I am the Lord who reveals himself to those who are in covenant relationship with me as the God who is always granting you victory over all of your enemies.”

Jehovah Tsidkenu (Jere 23:5-6).

The Lord our righteousness.

“I am the Lord who reveals himself to those who are in covenant relationship with me as the God who is always providing you with the righteousness that you cannot provide for yourself.”

Jehovah Rapha (Exod 15:26).

The Lord who heals. Literally – your doctor.

“I am the Lord who reveals himself to those who are in covenant relationship with me as the God who is always healing you.”

Some of these names have particular reference to healing.

The Lord our Righteousness.

The greatest miracle of healing is, of course, the healing of man’s relationship with God through the removal of sin. This was achieved through Christ on the Cross. Our sins were credited to Christ and his righteousness was credited to us: “The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness - for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification (Rom 4:23-25).”

This is only the beginning of the miracle of receiving the gift of righteousness. Receiving “the gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17)” starts a process of transformation whereby we are changed and are made righteous progressively. This is a healing of the whole personality from the destruction sin has caused.

We are to live righteous lives. We are to walk in paths of righteousness: “He leads me in paths of righteousness (Psalm 23:3).” We don’t make the paths - he does; we just walk.

When we realize it is his righteousness we are to walk in and not our own we stop focusing on our own unworthiness. We think “Why not me?” instead of “Why me?” In Christ God has made me worthy to be his servant.

The Lord our Banner, or Victory.

Sin brings us into defeat to evil forces, the world, the flesh, the Devil and all of his evil hosts.

Christ has triumphed over every principality and power: “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Col 2:15).” “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death (Heb 2:14,15).”

It is clear, from the ministry of Christ, that much sickness is directly caused by demonic forces. Christ has given us all authority over Satanic and demonic powers: “If God is for us, who can be against us… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 8:31, 37-39).”

The Holy Spirit comes to our aid when we are under demonic attack: “When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will raise a standard against him. (Isa 59:19).” A better translation of this is: “When the enemy comes in then, like a flood, the Holy Spirit will raise up a standard against him.”

The Lord our Healer.

The Hebrew word means a doctor, or physician. The Lord is our doctor – if we let him be so.

I am the Lord who heals you. Rapha. The modern Hebrew word for doctor is rofe. Thus “I am the Lord your doctor.” The word is the same and has not changed in meaning in 3500 years.

"I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed (MAL 3:6).”

“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings (MAL 4:2)”

In the context of God’s unchangeableness healing is promised – and the prophecy here relates to God’s dealings with his people at the end of this present evil age. Jesus is always the same (Heb 13:8).

Notice that this covenant name and promise was given to Israel while they were at Marah, just out of Egypt: “There the Lord (YHWH) made a decree (covenant) and a law for them: … I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord (YHWH) who heals you (Literally, your doctor).” It was before they came to Sinai, so this promise has nothing to do with keeping the Law of Moses, nor has it anything to do with becoming part of what we usually call “the Old Covenant” made between Israel and God through Moses.

Instead this was an inclusion of Israel into the original covenant of God with man and into its provisions. The Law and covenant given at Sinai was only an “intrusion (Gal 3:19 – “added”)” into God’s plan, it was not the main thing God was doing. The obedience God is asking here is the obedience of faith, not the mechanical response to Law.

I talked about Exodus 15 in the last chapter so I won’t recap that here.

Jesus didn’t shed his blood and suffer so you could be healed when you get to heaven. There isn’t any sickness in heaven to be healed from.

The Bible doesn’t say, “By his stripes you WILL BE HEALED.” Rather it says, “we are healed (Isa 53:5).”

The Lord our Peace.

The Hebrew word is shalom. Yes, it means “peace” but it also means much more than that. “Shalom” is really a state of wholeness in every area of life. It means to be healthy and whole in a medical sense, physically, mentally and emotionally. It also means to be at peace with God, to be whole spiritually. It means to be whole in all of our human relationships and with the world around us including being at peace with potential enemies. It means to have our financial needs met. It means to be prosperous, successful, in whatever we undertake. It is a very full word. So it means more than just “healing” it means “to be in health.”

A good summary of Shalom is the following: “I pray that you may be in good health and that all may go well with you (you prosper) even as your soul is getting along well (3 John 2).”

This is the peace Jesus has bought for us: “the punishment that has brought our peace was upon him (Isa 53:5).”

The Lord our Shepherd.

One of the great promises of Psalm 23, the Shepherd psalm is found in the third verse:

“He restores my soul.”

As we go through life things tear at the fabric of our inner lives and our soul gets damaged. We can end up with the three primary areas of our soul not functioning to their capacity. Our minds can be bound by fearful thoughts or angry thoughts. Our emotions can be fractures by traumas, abuse and hurts. Our wills can be bowed down under fear and so we are unable to act freely as God desires.

We all need our soul to be restored to some degree, and the ministry of God, or Christ, as our Shepherd has this special promise attached to it, “He restores our soul.”

Conclusion:

These seven names speak of what is eternally true of God in his covenant relationship with man. For us to not believe and receive these gifts is an injustice to God who paid the price through the death of Jesus on the Cross. These seven covenant names are eternal and unchangable.

We can no more say, “Healing is not for today” than we can say, “The gift of righteousness is not for today,” or, “the gift of peace is not for today,” or “The role of the Lord as my shepherd in not for today.”

Each of these covenant provisions are a gift – if we enter the covenant we receive the blessings of the covenant. We do nothing to earn them – Christ did it all. They are received by faith.

Thus the gift of righteousness is received by faith – as is the gift of peace. By faith we know Jesus as our shepherd. By faith we overcome every work of the evil one. By faith we are healed of all of the diseases of the Egyptians. There is no difference.

The value of the redemptive names is in the fact that they reveal what our redemption includes. He has many other names but only seven redemptive names and these names are never used in scripture except in his dealings with man. His redemption covers the whole scope of human need. They are the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.