Mikealone

[allonamike-blog]

I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. 

(Rev. 1:8)

Alpha and the Omega is a name of God in two verses and a name of Jesus (Yeshua‘) in one verse. It describes them using the alphabet as if to say that they span the whole alphabet and extend beyond it. The Message Bible captures the sense by using the English phrase “A to Z.” It is possible that the Hebrew letters aleph and tau were used to convey God’s eternal nature before the Greek ones.

There are similar ideas expressed in other names for God in the Old Testament: He is the Creator and Maker of all things. The nearest equivalent is the statement that God is the First and the Last. In the New Testament, Jesus is the Beginning and the end, and again the First and the Last.

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“I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to 

you.” Exodus 3:14

This signifies the real being of God, his self-existence, and that he is the Being of beings; as also it denotes his eternity and immutability, and his constancy and faithfulness in fulfilling his promises, for it includes all time, past, present, and to come; and the sense is, not only I am what I am at present, but I am what I have been, and I am what I shall be, and shall be what I am. The Platonists and Pythagoreans seem to have borrowed their (to on) from hence, which expresses with them the eternal and invariable Being; and so the Septuagint version here is (o wn) : it is said F26, that the temple of Minerva at Sais, a city of Egypt, had this inscription on it,

``I am all that exists, is, and shall be.''

And on the temple of Apollo at Delphos was written (ei), the contraction of (eimi), "I am”

. Our Lord seems to refer to this name, (John 8:58) , and indeed is the person that now appeared; and the words may be rendered, "I shall be what I shall be"

The incarnate God, God manifest in the flesh:

thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto

you or as the Targum of Jonathan has it,

``I am he that is, and that shall be.''

This is the name Ehjeh or Jehovah, Moses is empowered to make use of, and to declare, as the name of the Great God by whom he was sent; and which might serve both to encourage him and strengthen the faith of the Israelites, that they should be delivered by him.

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“Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am Jehovah.”

Leviticus 26:2

The seventh day Sabbaths, and the seventh year sabbaths; especially the former are meant. In which religious worship was given to the one true and living God. And therefore, the observance of them is strictly enjoined. And hence this law follows closely upon the former, though Aben Ezra restrains it to the sabbatical years, or seventh-year sabbaths, as he applies the sanctuary in the following clause to the jubilee year, which is said to be holy (Lev. 26:12). Supposing that this refers unto and stands in strict connection with the laws of the preceding chapter, concerning the sabbatical (Lev. 25:1), and jubilee years (Lev. 25:8).

“And reverence my sanctuary”: By attending in it, and on the worship in it, with reverence and godly fear (see Lev. 19:30).

“I am the Lord”: Who had a right to such religious worship, and to command such things, in which he ought to be obeyed, his sabbaths kept, and sanctuary reverenced. “And reverence my sanctuary”, by attending in it, and on the worship in it, with reverence and godly fear.

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Genesis 17:1 – “I am El Shaddai”

“Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless.”  Gen. 17:1 The name “God Almighty” is often translated from the Hebrew name for God “El Shaddai”.  When we read this in common English translations, the title “God Almighty” may cause us to think it refers to God being ‘all-powerful’.  While this is not untrue – God is all-powerful – another interpretation shows us that there is much more to Hebrew language and thought.  According to Rashi, the Hebrew for Shaddai (she-dai) could be understood as “I am the One whose divinity is sufficient to all creation.”

God's appearance to a 99-year-old Abram. Again God confirms His expansive covenant promises: to make Abram a father of nations and to give to him and his offspring the land of Canaan. At this time, God even changes Abram's name to Abraham to mark the occasion. This time, though, the repetition of the promise comes with God's requirements for Abraham: walk with me, be blameless, and circumcise yourself and every male of your household from now through every generation in the future.

[allonamike-blog]

I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

                                                                                       Exodus 20:2-6

By saying, “I am the LORD (Yahweh) your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery,” God introduces himself by name to establish his authority behind the stipulations that follow. The implicit imperative is to believe that God exists and that his proper name is “Yahweh.” This verse also serves as the motive clause for the following imperatives. Since Yahweh alone freed Israel from Egypt, he is Israel’s King, hence its legislator. Yahweh alone is also Israel’s God, and the worship of other gods is prohibited as the central doctrine of Biblical religion.

The text follows an ancient royal treaty pattern where Yahweh is formally acknowledged as Israel’s king. Israel is the subject people who are expected to render complete submission, allegiance, and obedience to him out of gratitude for his past mercies, respect for his sovereignty, and trust in his ongoing care. The covenant logic establishes an exclusive relationship in which the subject population may have only one sovereign. Ancient oaths and treaties prohibit subjects and vassals from accepting alternative sovereigns or protectors. In the ancient near east, a suzerain’s (or sovereign’s) prior benefactions to a vassal (such as deliverance from an enemy) are a primary motive to accept an offer of the covenant, thus the deliverance from Egypt motivates Israel’s acceptance of the covenant stipulations described in the following imperatives

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“Be still and know that I am God,”

This verse does encourage believers to reflect on who God is, but there is more to this psalm than one verse—and verse 10 is actually more of a wake-up call to be in awe than a gentle call to rest. Taking time out of our day to meditate on Scripture and be silent with listening ears toward God is mentioned in other sections of Scripture (Psalm 119:15, Joshua 1:8, Luke 5:16, and others). But this command—“Be still…”—is written in the context of a time of trouble and war.

Instead of interpreting “be still” as a gentle suggestion, the meaning in this psalm lends itself more to: “cease striving” or “stop” and more specifically in this context “stop fighting,” which is directed toward the enemies of the people of God. The people of God should interpret the command for themselves to read more like: ‘snap out of it,’ ‘wake up,’ ‘stop fearing’—acknowledge who your God is—be in awe! However, it is good to note that there’s nothing wrong with the words in the translation “be still;” those words are not incorrect, it is simply helpful to note the context of the phrase. Verse 10 has something to say to both the enemies of God and the people of God, but it is the people of God the psalm is written to

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John 17:3 New International Version (NIV)

3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

This is life eternal - This is the source of eternal life, or it is in this manner that it is to be obtained. The knowledge of God and of his Son Jesus Christ is itself a source of unspeakable and eternal joy. Compare John 11: 25; John 6:63; John 12:50

Might know thee - The word "know" here, as in other places, expresses more than a mere speculative acquaintance with the character and perfections of God. "It includes all the impressions on the mind and life which a just view of God and of the Saviour is fitted to produce." It includes, of course, love, reverence, obedience, honor, gratitude, supreme affection. "To know God as he is" is to know and regard him as a lawgiver, a sovereign, a parent, a friend. It is to yield the whole soul to him and strive to obey his law.

And Jesus Christ - To know Jesus Christ is to have a practical impression of him as he is - that is, to suffer his character and work to make their due impression on the heart and life. Simply to have heard that there is a Saviour is not to know it. To have been taught in childhood and trained up in the belief of it is not to know it. To know him is to have a just, practical view of him in all his perfections as God and man; as a mediator; as a prophet, a priest, and a king. It is to feel our need of such a Saviour, to see that we are sinners, and to yield the whole soul to him, knowing that he is a Saviour suited to our needs and that in his hands our souls are safe. Compare Ephesians 3:19; Titus 1:16; Philippians 3:10; 1 John 5:20. In this verse is contained the sum and essence of the Christian religion, as it is distinguished from all the schemes of idolatry and philosophy, and all the false plans on which men have sought to obtain eternal life. The Gentiles worshipped many gods; the Christian worships one - the living and the true God; the Jew, the Deist, the Muslim, the Socinian, profess to acknowledge one God, without any atoning sacrifice and Mediator; the true Christian approaches him through the great Mediator, equal with the Father, who for us became incarnate, and died that he might reconcile us to God.