Featured God Placing His Name There, Passover, Sabbath, Witness, Heathen

God, Name o

• Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology /
  
• God, Name of

God, Name of
The God of Israel was known by many different names, titles, and epithets. God's particular names derive both from his revealing his attributes and character to Israel and from Israel's response to him. However, alongside this wealth of names and epithets in the Bible, the concept of God's "Name" itself plays an important role. In the Bible God reveals his Name, puts his Name in a place, causes places to bear his Name, protects by the power of his Name, and Acts for the sake of his Name. People call on, pronounce blessings, minister, preach, speak, pray, believe, take oaths, and wage war in his Name. They may revere, fear, suffer for, blaspheme, misuse, be called by, be kept by, or build a temple for the Name.

As God's image-bearer Adam imitated God's creative speech by naming the creation ( Gen 2:19-20 ): this naming gave expression to the order in the universe and showed Adam's understanding of the character, place, and function of the animals. Adam may well have been able to name other creatures, but only God can assign his own name; only he can fully understand himself and reveal his character and nature ( Exod 3:13-14 ; 6:2-3 ).

God's "Name" becomes a summary statement of his own nature and of how he has revealed himself to the world; it becomes virtually synonymous with the word "God" itself.

God's "Name" and God's "Glory." In studies of the Old Testament it has become commonplace to distinguish rather sharply between the "glory theology" of the cultic/priestly literature and the "name theology" of Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomistic history (Joshua through Kings). This distinction is ordinarily portrayed as emphasizing either God's transcendence or his immanence. Biblical literature oriented to the activities of the priests and Levites in their duties at the sanctuary is said to emphasize God's immanence, his real presence in the world. The pillar of fire and cloud — the theophany of the divine presence, the Shekinah glory appears physically and materially with Israel in the wilderness and at her sanctuaries.

The tabernacle and temple were viewed as God's dwelling-place ( Exodus 15:13 Exodus 15:17 ; Lev 15:31 ; 26:11 ; 2 Sam 7:6 ; 15:25 ; 1 Chron 9:19 ; Psalm 84:1 ; Psalms 132:5 Psalms 132:7 ). The ark was God's throne and footstool ( 1 Sam 4:4 ; 2 Sam 6:2 ; 1 Chron 28:2 ; Ezek 43:7 ). Wherever the ark went, God went. Israel served "in the presence of the Lord" at the tabernacle and temple. Some have argued that the development of a "name theology" in ancient Israel was given impetus by the loss of the ark itself.

Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomistic history are then widely viewed as a corrective to this earlier "cruder" concept that God dwelled in a building. Deuteronomy seeks to preserve the transcendence of God with an idea theologically more sublime and subtle. It is not God himself materially and physically who dwells at the sanctuary, but rather God's "Name" dwells there. Deuteronomy is quite clear. Heaven is the dwelling-place of God (26:15). When Solomon dedicates the temple, he says, "But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple that I have built!" ( 1 Kings 8:27 ). Solomon goes on to pray that when the Israelites direct their prayers toward the temple, God would "hear from heaven, your dwelling place" (vv. 30, 39, 43, 49). Rather than God's "Glory" the pillar of fire and cloud coming to the city ( Ezekiel 10:1-5 Ezekiel 10:18 ; 43:3-7 ),

Deuteronomy prefers to speak of God as "choosing a place as a dwelling for his Name" ( 12:11 ; 14:23 ; Deuteronomy 16:2 Deuteronomy 16:6 Deuteronomy 16:11 ; 26:2 ) or "putting his Name in a place" ( Deuteronomy 12:5 Deuteronomy 12:21 ; 14:24 ).


The "Name" became a hypostasis for God, an alternative realization of his presence, but freed from the corporeal and physical notions associated with "glory theology"; this substitute way of speaking thus preserved the transcendence of God above and beyond the creation.

 

pt2;
In spite of the fact that this contrast between "glory theology/immanence" and "name theology/transcendence" has been widely adopted among Old Testament scholars, it needs rather to be set in a different context, one that does not pit crude against sublime or early against later.

A number of passages show the complete compatibility of the two concepts and suggest a different way of relating them. Most important in this regard is Exodus 33:12-23. Here four different "manifestations" of God are described in juxtaposition: his presence, his glory, his name, and his goodness. In response to God's assurance that his presence would go with Israel, Moses requests to see God's glory (vv. 14, 18).

The Lord, however, declines this request and says instead, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and compassion on whom I will have compassion. But no one can see my face [= "presence"] and live" (vv. 19-20).

This incident follows the account of Israel's worshiping the golden calf, a moment in her history that prompted deep concern that a holy God would not continue with this nation but would erupt in judgment against it. How can a holy God be in the presence of a sinful nation? In God's own answer to this issue, a careful distinction is made between God's presence/glory and his name/goodness. God's presence and glory were holy, awesome, and unapproachable, and sinners must be shielded from exposure (v. 22). But Moses could experience the name and goodness of God, both of which express the disposition of the divine nature to show mercy (v. 19). Those who worship the Lord become familiar with his name ( Exod 3:14 ; 6:2-3 ).

The distinction suggested here is borne out in the remainder of the Old Testament as well. God's glory remains an awesome, holy, unapproachable, and dangerous manifestation. When his glory appears before the nation, it is the cloud-encased pillar of fire the cloud shielding and protecting from exposure to the consuming fire of divine glory ( Exod 16:10 ; 24:16 ; 40:34 ; 1 Kings 8:11 ; 2 Chron 7:2 ). God's name, by contrast, is that which Israel can know, approach, and experience it suggests his goodness and mercy.

The psalmists do not trust in or call upon God's glory, but rather on his name. God's majestic self-manifestation in the form of his glory is common in dramatic and occasional theophanies attended by fire, noise, and earthquake, but his name is the mode by which he is known in the context of ordinary, ongoing worship. "Glory" is the form of the divine appearance in the dramatic events of redemptive history at the exodus, at Sinai, at the dedication of the tabernacle and temple. But "Name" portrays God's approachability and mercy, and it is the mode of worship as Israel approaches the sanctuary, the "place where he has chosen to put his name."

But even with this more nuanced approach in view, God's glory and his name are both divine self-revelations and must be closely related. Isaiah most clearly takes this step: "See, the Name of the Lord comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke" ( Isa 30:27 ). Here it is the Name that becomes the cloud-encased pillar of fire. Though name and glory are distinguishable for their own respective nuances, they are ultimately revelation of one and the same Lord, the God who is judge and yet who is disposed to show mercy.

Extrabiblical texts may also enhance appreciation for what it means that the Lord "set his name" in a place. A similar expression is found twice in the Amarna letters from the second half of the second millennium b.c. King Abdu-Heba "set his name in the land of Jerusalem." This expression suggests both ownership and conquest. For God to place his name on a place or nation is also to imply his ownership of the world, of Israel, and of her land. In Deuteronomy where the emphasis is on possessing the land and on Israel's covenant with God, expressing God's presence through his "name" reminds the nation of his ownership and dominion. Rather than diminish or correct the notion of God's immanent presence, God's name in Deuteronomy affirms the very real presence of God in the fullness of his character and covenantal commitment to those on whom he had set that name.

God's Name in the New Testament. The New Testament draws on the Old and continues to use the wide range of idioms associated with God's name. God's name is the theme and basis for worship, prayer, and actions just as it was in the Old Testament.

Of particular interest in the New Testament, however, is the way in which the writers treat the theme "the name of Jesus." This is especially true in the writings of John. People are to believe on Jesus' name ( John 1:12 ; 2:23 ) and to pray in his name ( 14:13-14 ). The power of God's name is in the name that God gave to Jesus ( 17:11-12 ). Jesus associates himself with God's mighty self-disclosure as "I AM" ( 8:58 ). John reports Jesus' promise to the one who overcomes, "I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name" ( Rev 3:12 ; 22:4 ). Just as God had put his name on the place Jerusalem in the Old Testament, now Jesus puts his new name the name he won for himself in his warfare at the cross on individuals; he proclaims his ownership and dominion, that they belong to him through his conquest on the cross.

Paul also reports that God has given to Jesus a name that is above all other names, so that at the mention of his name every knee in heaven, on earth, and under the earth should bow ( Php 2:9-10 ). The writer of Hebrews describes Jesus as the exact representation of the glory of God, one who has a name superior to that of the angels ( 1:4 ).

Raymond B. Dillard

See also God; God, Names of; Jesus Christ, Name and Titles of

Bibliography. J. Barr, Congress Volume, Oxford, pp. 31-38; R. de Vaux, Das Ferne und Nahe Wort, pp. 219-28; L. Laberge, Estudios Biblicos43 (1985): 209-36; J. G. McConville, Tyn Bul 30 (1979): 149-64; G. von Rad, Studies in Deuteronomy, pp. 37-44; J. G. Wenham, Tyn Bul 22 (1971): 103-18, W. Elwell, TAB pp. 5-10.

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Edited by Walter A. Elwell
Copyright © 1996 by Walter A. Elwell. Published by Baker Books, a division of
Baker Book House Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan USA.

 

7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

 

The last passover was the first Lords supper given to the True Israel.

 

This thread is designed to open up the significance of God placing His name, laws, and ordinances on a people, and a place.
Those teachings and ordinances that were found in the OLD COVENANT, WHICH HAVE BEEN FULFILLED IN CHRIST;
[the old covenant HAS ended].
People who hold a form of dispensational theology, and what is called New Covenant theology are just not going to understand at all.
They will jump back and forth in a confused fashion and not be able to see what is offered.

Criswell - For the Christian, the memorial observance of the Lord's Supper replaces the Passover Feast in this day of grace (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 5:7, 8). The Jews remembered their deliverance from Egypt in the annual Passover festival (cf. Ex. 12:24-27). Jesus died at Passover time as the new Passover Lamb (5:7) through whom believers are delivered from sin and Satan. As the Savior ate the Last Supper during the Passover and just before He died (cf. Matt. 26:19-30), He instituted this memorial of His death (vv. 24, 25).

John Currid applies this section - The Lord’s Supper in the New Testament is a Passover commemoration (see Matt. 26:17–19). Every Passover meal included two elements: wine and unleavened bread. The wine symbolized the blood of the lamb that was shed for the Israelites to protect them from the avenging angel. The bread signified the bread that the Hebrews carried on their backs when they left Egypt in haste. Jesus reinterprets those two elements and pronounces the Passover event a type of foreshadowing of himself and his ministry. In Matthew 26:26–28, Jesus says that the wine is a figure of the blood of Christ that takes away the sins of his people, and the bread is a figure of his body that is hung on the cross for sinners. In short, what Jesus is proclaiming is that he is the Passover Lamb, who by the shedding of his blood is a substitute for his people, protecting them from the wrath and judgement of God. In other words, as Israel is covered by the blood of the Passover lamb, so the new Israel is covered by the blood of the Messiah (see John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:19; 1 Cor. 5:7). The fact of the matter is that when Christians celebrate the Lord’s Supper they are keeping the Passover that God commanded his people to honour in perpetuity....The reason that Christians celebrate the Passover in this way is, first, to remind themselves of the work of Christ in delivering his people from death and darkness. It is, furthermore, a sign that believers are the people of God and the covenant, and that God dwells in their midst. And, finally, it is a sign of the continuity of the people of God from the Old Testament to the New Testament and beyond.(EPSC-Ex)
The “NASB Study Bible” translates “owlam” in Exodus 21, verse 6, as “permanently.” The NIV presents a portion of this verse as: “‘Then he will be his servant for life.'” “Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible” offers definitions for “owlam” that include “eternal” and “perpetual” but also includes the idea of “lasting.” As we see, the service of a particular individual was a life-long commitment–lasting as long as either the servant or master lived.

In another place where “owlam” is translated “forever,” the obvious intent is for a lifetime. In this example, the mother of Samuel is quoted: “But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, ‘Not until the child is weaned; then I will take him, that he may appear before the LORD and REMAIN THERE FOREVER'” (1 Samuel 1:22). But we know that Samuel died–that he is not NOW still before the LORD! (Compare 1 Samuel 25:1).

In Biblical usage of the word “forever,” we see that the context and application MAY be for something that will come to an end. God said of the Temple that Solomon built, “‘For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually'” (2 Chronicles 7:16). However, because of the sins of Israel and then Judah, God caused this Temple to be destroyed! (Compare 2 Chronicles 36:15-21).

When studying the concept of “forever” in context, we see a variety of intended meanings. The word can express a never-ending condition or situation, but it can also refer to a certain limited period of time, based on the life of the parties involved and also dependent on relevant conditions.

David Harris

 

As we can see....you are not going to get it ,as you are consistent in not getting it. Thanks for your participation, but you are not addressing the OP.
The OLD TESTAMENT types point to Jesus.

 

Moses asked for the Name of the One who sent Him. God replied I AM THAT I AM.
Although the Bible uses many names and titles for God, God especially identified"The LORD"[YHWH] AS MY NAME.
EX.6:3;
3 And 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.

Isa.42:8
8 I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
This is a distinctive name, which he shares with no other.
psalm83
18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.
God saved Israel through judgments on Egypt in a manner calculated to cause both nations to know that "I Am the LORD"
We cannot overstate the significance Of God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt.
Much more, this act of national salvation foreshadowed Christ's work of eternal salvation, For He is our PASSOVER 1cor5:7, who redeemed people from every nation. Rev.5:6,9.
Therefore God's revelation of His Name in Israel's exodus has eternal significance for the world. The name reveals the Redeemer, and it's meaningless at the heart of the gospel of Christ.

Reformed Systematic Theology, pg549,550 Joel Beeke, Paul Smalley

 

Yes.
I think whatever was written in the OLD TESTAMENT was written for our instruction;1 Cor10
11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

The persons in the new testament are meant to study and learn the implications of what was recorded for us in scripture. This thread is trying to show the importance of God placing His name.
The work Of God among His people were meant to be a light to the heathen.

Deut4:
4 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you.

2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you.

4 But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.

5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.

6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?

8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

 

pg558;
We find confirmation of this aspect of the Divine Name, for God in the broader context as well, for God repeatedly affirms His compassion for his suffering people and His intention to save them
[Ex2:24-25; 3:7-10,,16-17]
God's sovereign independence does hold Him back from personal relationships, for "thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn"
[4:22]
In the exodus, God gave a deeper revelation of His covenantal name than even what was granted to Abraham, for the Lord fulfilled the promise of His Covenant.[6:2-5]
Even the plagues demonstrated His Covenant love, for they fell on the Egyptians, but not the households of Israel,so that they" might know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth"[8:22-23].

There is no hint in Exodus that God's transcendent glory as the LORD inhibits His compassionate faithfulness to His people.
He is the covenant Lord.
Therefore, "the Lord" is a name of redeeming love and covenant fidelity.

 

Amos2.5-7
5 But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

6 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;

7 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek:
and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid,
to profane my holy name:

The keeping holy the Lord's day forms an important object for their attention who would promote true godliness. Religion never prospers while sabbaths are trodden under foot. No wonder there was a general decay of religion, and corruption of manners among the Jews, when they forsook the sanctuary and profaned the sabbath. Those little consider what an evil they do, who profane the sabbath. We must answer for the sins others are led to commit by our example.

Here are other sins that are linked. Idolatry, despising the poor, sexual deviance, all form the picture of turning from God commandments

Matthew Henry.

 

ezk22;26-Matthew; Henry

Ezekiel 22:26

Her priests have violated my law
Or, "forced it" F9; they gave a wrong explanation of it, made it speak what it should not; they wrested the sense and meaning of it, and did and taught things contrary to it; they broke it themselves, who should have instructed others in it, and exhorted them to have kept it, and encouraged them by their own example: and have profaned my holy things;
sacrifices and oblations, which were only to be offered and eaten by holy persons; they made them common to others who should not have partook of them: they have put no difference between the holy and the profane;
between holy persons and things, and profane persons and things; they made no difference in their practice between the one and the other; but promiscuously conversed with holy and profane persons, and used holy and profane things, without distinguishing one from the other: neither have they showed the difference between the unclean and the
clean:
they did not show to the people, as was the duty of their office, what was clean or unclean for sacrifice; what was clean and allowed to be eaten, and what was unclean and forbid to be eaten; nor who were clean and who were unclean persons for conversation; who were to be kept company with, and who not: and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths;
were not careful to observe them themselves, and connived at them that broke them; they might have seen men carrying burdens, and doing other servile works on such days, but they turned their eyes another way, and would not look at them; and when they did see them were silent, and would not reprove them: and I am profaned among them;

 

Yes, I agree. They fragment scripture as to not use.2/3 of it.