I know you stated that Jews don’t ever say the actual name of God, and that I’ve learned it was taken out of our Bibles for that very reason and replaced with LORD. The reason was that they didn’t want to break the commandment by saying it wrong and/or out of respect. What do you personally think? Do you think that “You shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain,” isn’t so much about the literal, actual name of God, but rather something deeper like “Don’t take my name (character) and defame it” or “Don’t claim you know me and slander my character by misrepresenting it?” It seems to me like God would be more upset if we claim we are are follower of Him and then do horrible things in “His name,” rather than just mispronouncing YHWH or even verbally just saying it. Just wondering… Names have so much meaning in the Hebrew, more of a whole-character-issue rather than a title.
Terriann,
I agree with what you say, and yes- I personally don’t use God’s Holy Name as a sign of respect. I used to not even write the word “God” and would write G-d, but when I realized that every Bible I ever read, whether Jewish or Gentile in origin used “God”, I figured that this wasn’t such a bad thing.
I recently posted about how the Tetragrammaton isn’t so much a name, like Steve or Terriann, or Joe, but a definition and description of who and what God is. I think the best interpretation of the four letters is “I am that which I am”, or just as good, “I will be that which I will be.” God is not subject to the linear timeline that mortals are, so “I am” and “I will be” is the same as “I have been”- God is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow, throughout eternity. His name is not a name but a description.
Here is a link to that post: http://www.messianicmoment.com/is-gods-name-really-a-name/
I know you stated that Jews don’t ever say the actual name of God, and that I’ve learned it was taken out of our Bibles for that very reason and replaced with LORD. The reason was that they didn’t want to break the commandment by saying it wrong and/or out of respect. What do you personally think? Do you think that “You shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain,” isn’t so much about the literal, actual name of God, but rather something deeper like “Don’t take my name (character) and defame it” or “Don’t claim you know me and slander my character by misrepresenting it?” It seems to me like God would be more upset if we claim we are are follower of Him and then do horrible things in “His name,” rather than just mispronouncing YHWH or even verbally just saying it. Just wondering… Names have so much meaning in the Hebrew, more of a whole-character-issue rather than a title.
Terriann,
I agree with what you say, and yes- I personally don’t use God’s Holy Name as a sign of respect. I used to not even write the word “God” and would write G-d, but when I realized that every Bible I ever read, whether Jewish or Gentile in origin used “God”, I figured that this wasn’t such a bad thing.
I recently posted about how the Tetragrammaton isn’t so much a name, like Steve or Terriann, or Joe, but a definition and description of who and what God is. I think the best interpretation of the four letters is “I am that which I am”, or just as good, “I will be that which I will be.” God is not subject to the linear timeline that mortals are, so “I am” and “I will be” is the same as “I have been”- God is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow, throughout eternity. His name is not a name but a description.
Here is a link to that post:
http://www.messianicmoment.com/is-gods-name-really-a-name/