It is apparent, even to the ordinary reader of the Scriptures, that the revelation God has been pleased to make of Himself is gradual and progressive. Now believers walk in the light, as the light; but in a former day clouds and darkness were round about Him, and necessarily so as long as righteousness and judgment were the habitation of His throne. But when Christ had accomplished the work of atonement, glorifying God in all that He is, having been made sin for us, the veil behind which God had dwelt, and which had concealed Him from His people, was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and God could righteously gratify His own heart in coming out into the full display of what He is as revealed in Christ, on the ground of redemption. These are cardinal and fundamental truths; and they are stated as preparatory to a brief consideration of the several names of God, under which He revealed Himself in the various dispensations found in the Old Testament histories. That God is the same in nature and attributes in both the Old and New Testaments; that, in other words, He is immutable, is a necessity of the perfections of His divine being; but it is yet true that the aspects under which He is presented in different ages vary, and it is these aspects which are embodied in His several names.
ELOHIM is, as often remarked, the common name for God, viewed as the Divine Being with whom men as men have to do, and as the One to whom they are accountable. It is a plural word. The singular is Eloah, and this form is often used, especially in the book of Job. Heathen sometimes used the word for their deities, and doubtless from this fact arises the question in Psalm 18, “For who is God (Eloah) save the Lord (Jehovah)? Or who is a rock save our Elohim?” That is, the true Eloah was Jehovah, and the only rock was Elohim. The reason for the use of the plural word (Elohim) is variously explained. There are those, as might be expected, who contend that it is simply, according to Hebrew usage, a plural of excellence, that the word in this form conveys the excellency or the perfections of the One spoken of; there are others who maintain that it is divinely intended to set forth the Trinity, the unity of the Godhead in the three Persons of the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In support of this the devout reader will not fail to notice the language of Genesis 1:26,26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26) “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Inasmuch, indeed, as the term expresses all that God is, all the persons of the Godhead must be included.
It is quite true that this could not be comprehended at the time. It was not indeed until the baptism of our blessed Lord that the whole truth of the Trinity came out. Then God spake from heaven; His beloved Son was on the earth; and the Holy Spirit descended and abode upon the Son. But now that the full revelation of God has been made, and the Holy Spirit has come, who searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God, we can go back, as led and taught of Him, and discover much that could not before have been understood. It is one of the perils of the present moment that the Old Testament scriptures are being limited to the light possessed at the time they were given. The truth is, that their latent meaning can only be apprehended when looking back upon them from the full shining of the light of Christianity. There is no incongruity whatever, therefore, in affirming that God chose the special word Elohim to express the truth of the Trinity. For example, we read in Genesis that God created the heaven and the earth; and in John’s gospel it is said of the Word, the Word who afterward became flesh, “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.” We know consequently that the eternal Son is comprised in the word “God” in Genesis, and as we ponder upon it we learn more of the glory of the person of our Redeemer.
To the patriarchs God made Himself known under another appellation. The first mention of this is found in Genesis 17:1,1And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. (Genesis 17:1) “The Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God”; that is, EL SHADDAI—God Almighty. But the meaning of the word El is said to be strength, omnipotence; and Shaddai is thought by some to signify the same thing, while others prefer the rendering of all-sufficient, or self-sufficiency. The combination of the two words will, in either case, import divine attributes, as omnipotence and all-sufficiency can only be found in God. These two words are used, for example, in the passage, “And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord: and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty [El Shaddai], but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them” (Ex. 6:2-32And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord: 3And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. (Exodus 6:2‑3). See also Gen. 28:3; 35:113And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; (Genesis 28:3)
11And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; (Genesis 35:11) and so forth). When the word “Almighty” stands alone in our translation it generally represents Shaddai. There is a beautiful combination of this name with that of Jehovah in 2 Corinthians 6, “I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” The God who was known to Abraham as Shaddai, and to Israel as Jehovah, was now declared as Father in that blessed and intimate relationship into which, in His precious grace, He had taken His people in association with Christ.
From what has been already said, it will be understood that JEHOVAH is the name God specially took in His covenant relationship with Israel. It is not, as the reader may easily ascertain, that the word was not used before God communicated it to Moses, but it was now first employed in connection with the chosen nation. The following remarks may help as to this: “In Genesis 2 and 3 it was of all importance to connect Jehovah, Israel’s national God, with the one only Creator, God. So in Exodus 9:30,30But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord God. (Exodus 9:30) the God of the Hebrews, whose name was Jehovah, is declared to be Elohim.... Otherwise Jehovah is a name, Elohim a being; only Jehovah is Elohim, but the former is a personal name—the name He took in His dealings and relationship with men, but especially with His people. The word signifies the self-existent One, and, as another has observed, is practically translated, “Who is, and was, and is to come.” Derived from the verb “to exist,” it expresses the eternity, and, consequently, the immutability, of His being; and it thus brings before our souls the One who eternally is, who existed before all time, endures through all time, and continues after all time has passed away. He is thus the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last; and the use of these expressions (Rev. 22:1313I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. (Revelation 22:13)) proves, beyond all contradiction, that the Jesus of the New is the Jehovah of the Old Testament.
El has been referred to in connection with Shaddai, and it is also used with ELION, and is then translated the “Most High God.” An examination of the various places in which this name is found will show that it is God’s “millennial name above all idolatrous gods, and demons, and all power.” It is in this character that God is said to be “possessor of heaven and earth” (Gen. 14:18-1918And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: (Genesis 14:18‑19)). Hence it was that Nebuchadnezzar was to lie under God’s judgment until he should “know that the Most High ruled in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will”; and that this end was accomplished is seen in that, when his understanding returned, he blessed the Most High, and so forth (Dan. 4:25-3425That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 26And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. 27Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. 28All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. 29At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. 30The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? 31While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 32And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 33The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. 34And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: (Daniel 4:25‑34)). Balaam in like manner uses this title when about to speak of the future glory and supremacy of Israel among the nations. In Psalm 91 it is found in connection with Shaddai (the Almighty). It says, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High (Elion) shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty “(Shaddai), and in Psalm 47:22For the Lord most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth. (Psalm 47:2) it is seen in combination with Jehovah; and it is added, “He is a great King over all the earth.” These instances are interesting as proving that it is God, the one God, who reveals Himself to men under these different names in distinct relationships.
Most readers of the Scriptures are familiar with the term ADONAI as another divine name. It is translated in our English version as Lord, but is generally distinguished from Jehovah, which is also rendered Lord, by the use of small letters instead of capitals. It means, as to the root of the word, Master, Ruler, or Owner; but the form Adonai is only used of God, and of Him as One who has taken power and is in the relationship of Lord to those who call upon His name. It is therefore especially applied to Christ in His exaltation at the right hand of God. This may be seen from a reference to Psalm 110, and to the Lord’s citation from it when confuting His adversaries. “The Lord [Jehovah] said unto my Lord [Adonai], Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psa. 110:11<<A Psalm of David.>> The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. (Psalm 110:1)). In Matthew 22 The Lord expressly applies this scripture to Himself, to Himself as Christ the Messiah (Matt. 22:42-4442Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? (Matthew 22:42‑44)), and employs it to demonstrate that David’s Son was also David’s Lord, that, in a word, He was the Root as well as the Offspring of David. In Genesis 15:22And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? (Genesis 15:2) Abraham addresses God, not as given in our version, Lord God, but as Adonai Jehovah. This example will suffice to show once again that all these divine names are used of the one God, even that of Adonai, which is specially reserved for Christ in His exaltation on high. (The full Adonai character of our blessed Lord is displayed in Philippians 2:9-119Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9‑11).)
There are other divine titles which it will suffice to mention for the reader’s consideration. In the poetic books “JAE” is often employed, and it is this word which is embedded in the term Hallelujah, or “Praise ye Jah.” Its significance has not been determined; it is generally supposed to be a shortened, or a poetic, form of Jehovah. Then there are the words God used when sending Moses for the deliverance of His people; the first is given as “I AM THAT I AM,” and the second as “I AM.” Both of these are forms of the same word signifying existence; the former is sometimes, and perhaps rightly rendered, “I will be that I will be.” The thought expressed in both is akin to the meaning of Jehovah (and necessarily so as coming from the same verb), and speaks of unchanging being, or existence. There is yet another term, not in itself perhaps a divine name or title, but one which from its frequent and special application to God is almost to be so regarded. It is ATTA HU, and it is found in such phrases as, Thou art He. The equivalent is employed in Hebrews 1, “Thou art the same” (vs. 12), which indeed is given as the translation of ATTA HU in Psalm 102:2727But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. (Psalm 102:27). This term speaks also, as will be at once perceived, of the immutability of God, of the One who always is, and who is ever unchangeable.
We need not further pursue the subject, as enough has been said to point out the various ways in which God has been pleased to reveal Himself under these different names. It is a mark of His tenderness that He has done so; and it proclaims at the same time His unspeakable grace in thus displaying what He is in Himself to His people. He might have concealed Himself forever in the blissful solitude of His own all-sufficing existence; but long before the foundation of the world, in the far distance of a past eternity, He chose us in Christ that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Before however these eternal counsels were communicated, the first man, Adam, was brought upon the scene; and after he, the responsible man, had failed, God continued for four thousand years to wait upon man to see if fruit for Himself could be produced. His trial of man went on until the cross, and then when God had demonstrated that man had lost everything on the footing of responsibility, He revealed all the grace which was in His heart in “the gospel of God... concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” In Him, as we may yet see, God has been fully revealed; and He is also the man of God’s counsels, and in Him all the thoughts of God’s heart will be accomplished. The partial unfoldings of the Old Testament have passed away before, or rather have been merged in, Him who is glorified at God’s right hand; and this is told out in the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.