What's In A Name?

“You must faithfully keep all my commands by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord. Do not bring shame on my holy name, for I will display my holiness among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who makes you holy. It was I who rescued you from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. I am the Lord.” [Leviticus 22.31-33]

I am not sure why Bible translators interpreted the Hebrew word we see in the Bible as LORD (usually presented all caps or small caps) as such instead of presenting it as the proper name of God - most closely pronounced "Yahweh." I think modern readers fail to grasp the full meaning of the contexts in which God's name is used when they only see the words, "the LORD."

The thing is, as we see in today's reading if we look into the original Hebrew word used, God used His own name, Yahweh, quite a bit. Depending on which translation is studied, His proper name is used well over 6,000 times. He particularly used His own name as He referred to holiness above.

When Jesus taught us to pray (Matthew 6), it should be no surprise that He taught us to pray (among other things), "...hallowed by Thy name..." or, as the NLT puts it, "..may Your name be kept holy..." This really makes great sense if we understand that God gave every indication that He Himself placed such importance on His own name. It is only fitting that we acknowledge what God has already declared! His name is holy!

I have been challenged this year through the One Year Chronological Bible to mentally pronounce the name, "Yahweh" when I read the words "the LORD" in caps or small caps. It is helping me to understand that God Himself made a big deal about His name. Just as many of us research the meanings of our names and how they ironically apply to who we are, so it is important that we understand the meaning of God's name!

And then, there is the fact that, regardless of God's name, I am privileged to call Him, Father...

Father, You are so good! Help me to understand Your name more. Help me to see how much You revere Your own name and therefore how much I should revere it! But also, help me not forget the eternal privilege I have to call You, "Father" because of Jesus.