Isaiah 12 – Thanksgiving for God’s Salvation & Do you know God’s name?

Four HandsYou know this is pretty cool being able to talk to You whenever I want.  I’m not sure what to call You though, should I call you Jehovah, or God, or Dad? Since I’m only 12 years old I guess I should call you Dad. Well, you’re still God and Jehovah, but you’re also my Dad.  I don’t know, but anyway…

1 Tablet
Tablet
This tablet was found in Jerusalem, dated 10th century B.C. The writing is ancient Hebrew and contains the word YHWH.

I read the Bible and study a lot about You and Jesus every day because You’re awesome, but I guess I missed about Immanuel, the one in Isa 7:14, that He’s Jesus and the king of Israel and the Messiah, the Savior of the world (Isa 9:6-7).  

But this is kind of confusing because even though Jesus hadn’t been born at that time, You were there and You and Jesus is the same (1 Jn 5:5; Jn 10:30)But I guess I shouldn’t be confused or anything because You’re God, and I know You can do anything (Matt 19:26; Mk 10:27; Lk 18:27), and create anything that we can’t even imagine (Isa 64:4; 1 Cor 2:9).

1 And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

“I will praise thee” – the “I” is probably the nation praising the Lord for the deliverance He is sure to bring.

2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

2 The Mesha Stele
The Mesha Stele
The Stele explains that for 40 years Moab had been under the thumb of Israel from Kings Omri to Ahab. Moab won its independence. The inscription includes a reference to the House of YAHWEH.

“The Lord JEHOVAH” – two Hebrew forms for the personal name of God are given: the first is “Yah.”  The name JEHOVAH was probably pronounced “Yahweh.”

3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

“Wells” – perhaps an allusion to God’s abundant provision of water for Israel during the wilderness wanderings (cf Ex 15:25, 27).  But here God’s future saving act is itself the “well” from which Israel will draw life-giving water (see Ps 36:9; Jer 21:13; Jn 4:10).

4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

5 Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

“Cry out and shout” – these two imperatives occur again in 54:1, where Zion rejoices over the restoration of other people.

 

Do you know God’s name?
Does He want you to know it?

3 Ancient Tax Receipt
Ancient Tax Receipt
Tax receipt dating around the 8th century BC which includes the word “House of YHWH”. It measures 8 ½ centimeters.
   
Jon Seligman, Jerusalem regional archaeologist for the Antiquities Authority, said the find was significant. “The layer is a closed, sealed
archaeological layer that has been undisturbed since the 8th century BC.

Think about this for a second … what is the first thing you do when introduced to someone?  After a customary greeting, it is likely that you exchange names.  In most cases this is just the beginning of getting to know someone.

It is exactly the same with God:

And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations (Ex 3:13-15).

And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:

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 (Ex 6:2-3).  

God also introduced Himself to His prophet Isaiah:

I am the LORD: that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images (Isa 42:8).

Trust ye in the LORD forever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength (Isa 26:4).

That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth (Ps 83:18).

5 Limestone
Limestone
Said to be around 2000 years old, archaeologists found a rare limestone priestly ritual cup in the old city of Jerusalem.
What is unusual about it is that it contains ten lines of writing. The writing contains the word YHWH, dated the 1st century A.D.

In fact in the original writings of the Bible, God’s name, Jehovah, is present more than six thousand times!  His name is even embedded within the personal names of many early worshipers, like Elijah (Jah) which translates “My God is Jehovah.”

Or words like Hallelujah (Jah) which means “praise Jehovah all you people.”  With some research you can also find God’s name in other ancient writings, and archaeological finds such as coins etc.

Jehovah is God’s name as revealed through the Bible.

God is not a nameless, distant entity, beyond knowing or understanding. Although we cannot see Him with our eyes, He is a person, and He has a name.

The ancient Hebrew did not include vowels.  So the name always appeared as YHWH.  It is transliterated in Hebrew as YAHWEH.  In English it is JEHOVAH.  

4 Ketef Hinnom Amulets
Ketef Hinnom Amulets
Two tiny silver scrolls in the form of amulets were discovered at a burial cave at Ketef Hinnom. Written in ancient Hebrew script dated to the 7th century BCE, the scrolls comprise the earliest-known fragments of a biblical text and pre-date the earliest scrolls from Qumran by more than 300 years.

A form of what is known as the priestly blessing is contained in the scroll.It also contains the oldest known form of the Divine Name of God(Known as the Tetragrammatom).

7 Gabriels Stone
Gabriel’s Stone
Gabriels Stone. A 1st century B.C. stone tablet discovered a decade ago near the Dead Sea in Jordan has been translated, showing it to be an apocalyptic description attributed to the angel Gabriel.

The text of the tablet makes clear references to the Messiah who will destroy evil and bring in righteousness. In the stone tablet, Gabriel commands the Messiah to live after three days, a seeming reference to the resurrection of Jesus.

6 Mosaics
Mosaics
A church in Tiberius, a city on the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel, has been excavated and dated around 300-400 A.D.

Three dedicatory inscriptions written in anciet Greek are incorporated in the mosaics.

In one of the inscriptions is tthe line: “Our Lord protect the soul of your servant…”

One of the mosaics is adrned with a medallion in which there is a large cross flanked by the lettters Alpha and Omega one of he names of Jesus/God (Is 44:6, Rev 1:8, 21:6-7, 22:13).

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