The name יהוה (YHWH or Yahweh) has not been pronounced by the most of the Jewish people for over a millennium. Some say the reason for this is because of the 3rd commandment to not take the name of (יהוה) Yahweh in vain (see The Sacred Name, Part-2 - Name in Vain). Another reason that it is not to be used is out of reverence for the great sacredness of the divine name. They use substitutions like HaShem meaning "The name" or Adonai which means "My Lord". They even write "G‑d" and "L‑rd" removing the vowels. Most people in the protestant church don't use the name Yahweh either. They substitute His name with "LORD" or "God".
I absolutely agree that we should respect His great name. However, I have a different opinion as to how we walk that out. In Exodus, Yahweh tells Moses His name is to be used for all generations. Are we not part of "all generations"?
Exodus 3:15 - God furthermore said to Moses, "This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: '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 the name for all generations [to use] to call upon Me.
This verse makes it sound like we can or should use His name. When I question how to live something out, I look to the people in the Bible for examples. David was a man after Yahweh's own heart. Even though he made mistakes, he was repentant and loved Him.
1 Samual 13:14 - "... YHWH has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and Yahweh has appointed him ruler over His people..."
Act 13:22 - "... He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, 'I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.'
Most of the people in the Bible used the name Yahweh. Although David is not the only example, he is a great example for this subject. David talked about, called upon, and praised Yahweh using His name more than anyone else in scripture.
Here are some examples:
David praised Yahweh:
Psalm 20:7 (KJV) - Some [trust] in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of Yahweh our God.
Psalm 30:12 (KJV) - To the end that [my] glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Yahweh my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
David spoke to Yahweh:
Psalm 3:3 - But You, Yahweh, are a shield around me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
David spoke about Yahweh:
Psalm 3:4 - I was crying out to Yahweh with my voice, And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah
Psalm 23:1 - A Psalm of David. Yahweh is my shepherd, I will not be in need.
These are only a few examples of King David using the name of Yahweh (the Scripture is wrought with examples). If you were to search for the Hebrew Strong's number 3068 you would no longer doubt what I am saying.
Now I will do a quick historical summary of Jeremiah 42-44. The purpose of this history is to show how a group of Jews who went to Egypt against Yahweh's instructions and were punished "to not ever use the name Yahweh again". I would recommend reading it yourself for a complete account.
During the time of the exile of the Southern Tribes to Babylon, there was a remnant of Jews who were left in Judea. The remnant were tired of the wars and famine of those days and wanted to go to Egypt. They went to Jeremiah the prophet and pleaded with him to pray to Yahweh to ask Him what they should do. Then they told Jeremiah they would listen to everything Yahweh tells them and do it whether they liked it or not.
After ten days, Jeremiah told the commanders that Yahweh said to stay in Israel and He would build them up, that He would save and rescue them. He told them not to be afraid of the king of Babylon. Since they actually saw the wrath that Yahweh had poured out on the Southern tribes for their disobedience and they promised to do what He asked, He said if they didn't listen and went to Egypt anyway then what they feared would overtake them and they would die in Egypt and become a curse.
The arrogant men told Jeremiah that he was lying, that Yahweh didn't say that. They decided to disobey and went to Egypt. Later, Jeremiah was told to reiterate what he was told to those who went, that since they disobeyed and went to Egypt that the punishments that happened to Jerusalem were to happen to them in Egypt as well.
Then Jeremiah also said to them:
Jeremiah 44:26-27 - "In return, hear the word of Yahweh, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt: 'Behold, I have sworn by My great name,' says Yahweh, 'that My name shall never be invoked again by the mouth of anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, "As my Lord Yahweh lives. ..."
Yahweh was speaking to this particular remnant that disobeyed His words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah. He was not speaking to all generations or even to all people who will ever live in Egypt. There was more said about their punishment, but this article is about His name. So I will leave it there.
Stop and think about that... Those people saw the prophecies of Jeremiah happen, they knew he was a prophet, they sent him to inquire of Yahweh and swore to do what He told them to do. Then they not only disobeyed, but they said that Jeremiah was lying about it. They knew better. They rebelled against the prophet and Yahweh Himself.
Their ultimate punishment was death. So this was no small sin. Think about this... For Yahweh to take His name out of their mouth must have been one of the biggest punishments He could do to someone. This is remarkable! Not only does the general population not use His memorial name... most probably don't even know it.
Since Yahweh said it was a punishment to not be allowed to ever speak His name, then wouldn't the flip side of this be a blessing to use it? If it is a blessing to call upon His name, then why would we not want to use it? I believe that He wants us to praise His Name, to praise the name of Yahweh. Again, read the Psalms (all of the Scriptures actually) and note where His name should have been and you will see this done constantly.
He wants us to know and remember His name. That can be difficult to do if it is never spoken and never read.
Isaiah 12:4 - And on that day you will say, “Give thanks to Yahweh, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make [proclaim] them remember that His name is exalted.”
Psalm 105:1 (KJV) - O give thanks unto Yahweh; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.
I believe that today we are scripturally allowed to use His name, but many because of their traditions choose not to. The idea of not using His name is a hedge to protect against abuse of His name or taking it in vain. Many traditions in organized religion are hedges to not break His laws, however, sometimes those very hedges cause other laws to be broken. Since He has said to call on His name and to praise His name, then to not use it at all, I believe, to be a hedge that breaks those instructions.
Zechariah 13:9 (KJV) - And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, Yahweh is my God.
I believe that Yeshua (Jesus) spoke of this as well in Matthew 15:3, "... Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition."
Hedge upon hedge upon hedge... Isn't it time to separate the traditions of men from the commandments of Yahweh? We have all the examples we need in the scripture that we need to... "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints." Jude 1:3
Thank you for reading, and my Yahweh bless you abundantly.
Link to the previous articles of this series:
The Sacred Name, Part 1 - Name Replacement
The Sacred Name, Part 2 - Name in Vain
(The images are public domain from pixabay.com.)
All scripture quotations unless otherwise noted were taken from the NASB©.
Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
