The God of the Bible

THE GOD OF THE BIBLE

The God of Israel goes by a variety of names in the Hebrew Bible. Most are “el” derivatives (El-Shaddai; El-Olam; El-Roi, etc.). At other times, Israel’s God is referred to with Hebrew ha-shem (“the Name”; e.g., Isaiah 30:27 [cp. vv. 29, 30). Ugarit / Canaanite language share the Hebrew word “el”—a sort of generic word for god or lord. El-Shaddai is the name by which the God of Israel identified Himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 17:1; Exodus 6:2–3). It wasn’t until Moses that God identifies Himself as Yahweh [YHWH].

GOD AS MAN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

Genesis 18

Abraham and Sarah are visited by three men. The language used is clear, two are angels and the third is actually the LORD, the God of Israel.

Genesis 32:22–32 (cf. Genesis 48:15–16; Hosea 12:4)

A little less clear is Genesis 32:22–32, Jacob wrestles with a man who is also called an angel. Considerately, his incident is referenced in Genesis 48. When Jacob is about to die he blesses Joseph’s children, and he says “May the God... the angel who has been rescuing me from all sorts of evil, bless these young men. (Genesis 48:15–16). Grammatically, the Hebrew verb bless is singular, it’s important because Jacob does not use the word they (for example, may they bless these young men)—instead, the context tells us that the God and the angel in this passage are one in the same. This particular angel was God in human form.

Exodus 23:21

There are OT verses about trusting in the Name of the LORD. This passage occurs after the crossing of the Red Sea and after the giving of the commandments at Mount Sinai—Be careful! Be sure to obey him. Don’t rebel against him, because he won’t forgive your transgression, since my Name is in him. (Exodus 23:21). God is saying, my Name, my essence, my presence is in Him.

• Heb. השם [ha-Shem, the Name]. Another way to refer to the God of Israel—modern-day Judaism dare not speak the divine name Yahweh—they will say Adonai, the LORD, or ha-Shem.

Interestingly, in the NT when Jesus prays at the Garden of Gethsemane, He thanks God for the Name given to Him (John 17:11–12). He’s not literally thanking God that His name is Jesus, and not something else like Bert. Jesus is essentially saying—I am glad that I came as a man incarnate and I have your Name inside me (the essence of God Himself embodied).

...And who took the Israelites to the Promised Land? Because if we look at the Hebrew Bible, we have (1) God, (2) the Angel, and (3) the presence of God—and all three are correct! They are different ways to speak about the same thing. In the case of the Angel, He was visible, in human form and He shows up elsewhere as the Captain of the LORD’S host. We clearly have God as man in the OT. This is very consistent with the OT, but it can easily be missed in the OT. Whenever we come across the Name of the LORD, think about this passage in Exodus 23, where we see God as man in the OT.