Noticing the Names of God

For many years, I’ve read through the Bible each year, but last year, mid-year, I started doing something different. I began to highlight the occurrences of different words, e.g., righteousness, hope, peace, justice, love, etc., each in a different color. Something else I highlighted was each use of one of God’s proper (i.e., capitalized) names. The first thing that stands out from doing this is just how God-focused the Bible truly is. Of course, this shouldn’t be surprising. The Bible is by Him and is fundamentally about Him. But it is still striking to see the amount of color that pops out on the pages just from highlighting every time God is mentioned by name.

Because I started this practice midway through my Bible reading last year, I am just now beginning to highlight Genesis as I start another pass through Scripture. And in doing so, I’ve noticed something I had never noticed before, despite having read Genesis countless times…

Many people are familiar with the way the Bible begins: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1, ESV). Right out of the gate, God is the main actor and the focus of the account. This continues throughout chapter 1 and into chapter 2, each time with God being referred to as “God” (i.e., Elohim). In Genesis 2:4, however, things shift. Having summarized the whole of God’s creative acts, the narrative returns to the creation of humans and zooms in with more detail. And it is here that suddenly a different name for God is used: “LORD God” (i.e., Yahweh Elohim), the covenantal, relational name for God.

We see that “the LORD God”…

           ·           “made the earth and the heavens” (v. 4).

        ·           “had not caused it to rain” (v. 5).
·           “formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (v. 7).
·           “planted a garden in Eden” (v. 8).
·           “made to spring up every tree” (v. 9).
·           “took the man and put him in the garden of Eden” (v. 15).
·           “commanded the man” not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (v. 16).
·           “said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone’” (v. 18).
·           “had formed [every creature] and brought them to the man to see what he would call them” (v. 19).
·           “caused a deep sleep to fall” on Adam and “took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh” (v. 21).
·           “made [the rib] into a woman and brought her to the man” (v. 22).

For the rest of chapter 2, then, as the narrative details the creation of Adam, describes the garden in which he was placed and the mission he was given, and recounts the creation of his helpmate Eve, it is God’s relational name that is used. This literary shift emphasizes that God is not a Creator who merely brought the world and its inhabitants into existence and then left His creation to exist on its own without any involvement from Him, but rather He is intimately involved, especially when it comes to the pinnacle of His creation--humankind.

But that’s not the only thing I noticed when highlighting God’s names in Genesis 1-3. There is another sudden shift, this time when Satan comes on the scene in Genesis 3:1. As he tempts Eve to question God’s goodness, he asks, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’” (Genesis 3:1b, ESV). Notice we are back to “Elohim” instead of “Yahweh Elohim.”

Isn’t that just like our Enemy? To distract us from the relationship God wants to have with us? To minimize the covenantal care that God shows us? To paint Him as merely a lofty and detached Sovereign instead of the loving Creator who has our best interests at heart and who made us specifically to know and be known by Him in perfect love?

Interestingly, while the narrator continues to refer to God as “Yahweh Elohim” beginning again in Genesis 3:8, Eve copies Satan’s language and refers to God simply as “Elohim” when she is conversing with her tempter. It isn’t until after Eve and Adam give into temptation and after God has handed down the consequences of their disobedience, banned them from Eden, mercifully provided sacrificial coverings for them, and graciously helped Eve through the now-difficult process of conception, pregnancy, and birth that she refers to God as “Yahweh.” She failed God, yet God still covenanted with her. She rebelled in pride, yet God was merciful and still allowed her to draw near to Him. 

Of course, we cannot be sure how and at what point God revealed Himself as Yahweh to Adam and Eve, because Scripture doesn’t tell us. Perhaps Eve referred to Him as “Elohim” when conversing with Satan because that was all she knew Him by at that point. But at the very least, the Spirit-inspired choice of words by the author of Genesis in naming God throughout Genesis 1-3 causes us to reflect on God’s covenantal nature, how our Enemy would like nothing more than for us to doubt God’s all-loving and all-wise care for us, and how God’s covenant with us stands strong despite our failings, because it is based on His perfect character not on anything we bring to the table.

I hope you are encouraged today to know that the Sovereign God who created you is One who desires to be in a loving relationship with you both now and for all eternity, who gives you both place and purpose in life. I hope you choose to resist Satan’s lies that would have you believe that God is distant or that He doesn’t care about you. And I hope you find rest in the fact that God’s love for and promises to you are true and sure because of who He is--not just Elohim, but Yahweh Elohim. 

Photo credit: Betsy Traylor. Used with permission.