Elah

 •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 11
 
This name for God occurs 89 times, and with one exception (Jer. 11:1111Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. (Jeremiah 11:11)), is found only in the Books of Ezra and Daniel, the name meaning an Object of worship. Occasionally it is applied to man-made gods, but otherwise to the only One, to whom the word rightly belongs. In Ezra it occurs 43 times, and always in connection with the building of the Temple in the time of Zerubbabel and Joshua, and later on of Ezra. Building the Temple, surrounded by cruel and fanatical foes, with little strength of their own, we can understand how they turned to God again and again in their times of sore trial and difficulty. It occurs 45 times in the Book of Daniel. It is very noticeable in that book it is strikingly connected with the expression, The God of Heaven, which occurs 5 times. How naturally Daniel and his companions would turn to the God of Heaven, when in a land of idols, and a captive in a strange country. What a resource is God to His people in all similar times and circumstances!