Jehovah Israel

“Jehovah, the God of Israel”, is a name of God used 54 times in the Bible.  That is more than all the other “Jehovah-compound" names combined.  No study of the compound names of Jehovah used in the Bible would be complete without a close look at this, His most used name.

The first time something occurs in the Bible is very important.  This name is first mentioned, here, “And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.”  Exodus 5:1  Moses is speaking to Pharaoh and letting him know who is ordering him to let the people go. Pharaoh was considered a god in Egypt and to be giving an order means you are greater in authority than the one you are giving the order to, so this was an intentional provoking on God’s part.  He is saying that the LORD God of Israel (Jehovah God of Israel) is also Lord of all the earth, King of all Kings.  The one who chose this weak, tiny, insignificant people, actually only one man and his family when they were first chosen, is the Lord of all. 

There are 3 uses of this name in the story of Achan, who commits the first blatant disregard for the command of the Lord after the people enter the promised land.  With the blessing of having the God of the Universe as the God who chose your nation to be “first among nations” comes the curse if you do not follow Him and His commands.

In some of the verses that follow in Joshua this name is revealed as the God who fights for Israel, as the One who is the inheritance of the tribe of Levi, who are given no land or animals or crops of their own, but who are provided for by the offerings of the people.

Numerous times this name is a ‘lead in’ for recalling the fact that God delivered the people from slavery in Egypt.

Solomon uses this name 3 times in his prayer to dedicate the first temple in Jerusalem.

Israel becomes the name of the Southern Kingdom and Judah becomes the name of the Northern Kingdom when the nation is divided, but the division of the kingdoms does not cause Jehovah to change His name, He still refers to Himself by this name to both the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah.

2 Chronicles uses this name more than any other book.  Solomon and many of the kings in 2 Chronicles use it to remind God of His covenant commitment to this people.

The last time it is used is Luke 1:68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, 
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,”  The father of John the Baptist, full of the Holy Spirit uses it as he proclaims that God is indeed faithful to His promises to the nation and has sent their long awaited Messiah.

God has chosen to have His name tied to only one nation. That can either make us mad or grateful.  If we are jealous, thinking that we should have been the chosen nation then we will constantly be at war with them and with God.  But if we take the humble attitude of the Syrophoenician woman in Matthew 15:27 and say, “God You have every right to choose whomever You want, but please hear my prayer.”

In choosing to be known as the God of Israel Jehovah is poking at our pride.  Will we humbly accept His choice or will be act like Joseph’s brothers and, out of jealousy, throw him in a pit and sell him.  Will we humbly accept His choice or will we be one of the nations at the end of this age for whom Jerusalem is a cup of trembling?  Zechariah 12:1-3 “The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel.

Thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, ² “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. ³ It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.”

The nations rage because they are prideful and against the idea that God can choose whomever He wants.  (Psalm 2:1,2)

God chooses a nation that same way He chooses each of us individually.  Not because of anything in us, but simply because of His great love and grace and that choice brings with it responsibility.  That choice brings with it blessings and cursings.  The cursings are as much a proof of His faithfulness as the blessings, because they are meant to lead us back to Him in repentance.

So we praise Jehovah, the God of Israel, because He has chosen also to be the God of (insert your name here)!