There has been a stir among believers who recognize the importance of our heavenly Father's Sacred Name. Rumors of new developments to support a specific pronunciation, ministries and believers discussing and debating why they support a certain pronunciation over another, and even believers attacking and smearing others who do not recognize their pronunciation as tried and true. Where is the love?
There is no doubt that the Sacred Name of יהוה is important. We should be constantly searching for indisputable evidence. But do not forget the Love you had at first.
Do not forget to love.
I'm thankful for the recent stir and always appreciate how our Father uses even turmoil and dissension for His good works. He breathes life into areas that one would never consider possible. In this case, as I sat confused as to why believers were dividing over the Name, he moved me to study about it even deeper than I had before. He deepens my faith once again...
Striving to know how to pronounce the Sacred Name is an important endeavor... but what's most important is that one have a clean and pure grasp of Who He Is. We need to know what the Name means more so than we need to have its proper pronunciation. The meaning and understanding of the Character of HaShem is way more important than knowing the pronunciation. Remember, even our forefathers did not fully grasp יהוה:
Elohim spoke further to Moses and said to him, "I am יהוה; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as El Shaddai, but My name, יהוה, I did not make Myself known to them.
Exodus 6:3
To know the Name of יהוה does not mean to know the pronunciation, but it means to know what the Name reveals about who יהוה is. When one knows who יהוה is, they are better equipped to glorify Him.
We should fully know the image of יהוה before we put a staff in the ground over pronunciation.
Look around. Much of the world is confused and lost as to the true image of our Creator and Father. Even those striving to be His children fumble around with His true image. This needs to be our main focus: studying and applying His image in our lives. Be Holy as He is Holy. We are a scattered people who need to come together in love as we strive to "remember" and learn the whole truth about His whole Word.
Yes, many have been blessed with eyes to see that Scripture is crystal clear about the image of יהוה:
The Law of יהוה is the self-revealed image of the Most High.
Our Messiah Yahusha walked and displayed this very image while teaching others to do the same. The image and Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Our Apostles called us to walk in his example. We were made in this very image.
But are we walking in His image when we fight over something He has clearly taken away from us? We are not called to quarrel over the pronunciation. It was lost for a reason. Understand... the Father is allowing the confusion. Why?
Maybe it's because our main focus needs to be on who He is and the instructions He gave us?
Maybe we need to be focusing on what true repentance looks like?
Maybe He wants us to focus on working together, building each other up in the Way, and keeping our focus on running to catch up with our perfect Messiah on His narrow path?
Many of us are far too disconnected from the Hebrew Language to even come close to staking a profound claim on the true pronunciation of His Sacred Name. Even Hebrew scholars have mustered discord over the pronunciation. The reality is that we do not know for sure the exact pronunciation. If we did, there would be less dispute. But we do have the blueprint for His Image, and we've been given a brilliant and perfect example to chase after. Following Messiah and understanding their image needs to remain our main focus, whether we believe we know the Sacred Name or need to keep searching. Thankfully, even the mute can call on the One-True-Elohim! Even those who cannot pronounce the Name can reach out to Him. More importantly, we can know who He is, what he looks like, and His desires for us! We can worship Him in any language and have confidence we speak of the same Elohim. We can do this when we properly identify, strive to imitate, and when we proclaim Who-He-Is to the world!
We know we worship the same Elohim not by how we pronounce the Name, but when we agree, walk, and proclaim His true image according to the whole of Scripture.
May we all take a step back and realign our focus. Let's concentrate on sticking to the narrow path and learning from our Master Yahusha as he teaches us, his brothers and sisters, how to walk as we were created. And let's edify our brothers and sisters as they too, strive to walk in his perfect image.
Of course, we should be constantly asking the Father to reveal His Sacred Name... but more importantly, we should be asking Him to make His Sacred Name true in our lives. Let us come together as we strive to live lives that give Him the glory he deserves!
Shalom!
Sean is a former Atheist who was finally awoken to the reality of our Creator—which lead him to the one place he thought he would never step foot: “Bible College.” During his studies, our Heavenly Father flipped his Christian worldview upside down in order to reveal the Whole truth of His perfect Word. As a follower of Messiah Yahusha (Christ Jesus), Sean encourages believers to deepen their faith, seek the truth, test everything, and be willing to walk in the true image they were created: the image of the Most High and His flawless son.