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1. Introduction
In this lesson, we will examine five further names and attributes of Yahweh. These reveal not only who Yahweh is, but also how He relates to His covenant people. The same divine character is revealed through our relationship with God as our Father.
A. Old Testament Revelation of God
- The Triune God existed before the creation of the world.
- Our heavenly Father’s original purpose was to have sons and daughters.
- God is eternal, having neither beginning nor end.
- Scripture reveals God as genuinely present and active within His creation.
- Scripture reveals God acting within genuine temporal sequence.
- Yahweh, the God revealed in the Old Testament, is the same God whom Jesus reveals to us as Father.
- Yahweh is relational and establishes covenants with His people.
- Yahweh faithfully keeps His covenant promises.
- Because God is relational, He genuinely responds to human actions, repentance and intercession.
- God’s response may change while His character and covenant faithfulness remain unchanged
B. Old Testament Names of Yahweh
- His Old Testament primary name is Yahweh (we will see that this is no longer His primary name later).
- All descriptors (e.g. Rapha) are related to us, not God.
- He is our provider (Yahweh Jireh).
- God is our healer (Yahweh Rapha).
2. Further Attributes of Yahweh: Nissi – Yahweh Our Banner
Like Yahweh Jireh and Yahweh Rapha, the name Yahweh Nissi reveals both who Yahweh is and how He relates to His covenant people. Yahweh is the banner under which His people gather and the One upon whom they depend for victory.
A. God is Our Battle Banner
And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
Exodus 17:11
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner; for he said, “Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
The Hebrew expression Yahweh Nissi means “Yahweh is my banner.” A banner identified the people gathered beneath it and served as their rallying point in battle. Moses therefore declared that Israel belonged to Yahweh and that their victory came from Him.
B. Yahweh Fights For His People
Joshua fought against Amalek while Moses remained dependent upon Yahweh. Israel was not passive: Joshua fought, Moses interceded, and Aaron and Hur supported him. Nevertheless, their ultimate victory came from Yahweh.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:
Romans 8:35-37
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us
Christian victory does not mean avoiding tribulation or danger. It means that nothing can separate us from Christ’s love and that our final victory is secured through Him.
C. Worship Expresses Our Dependence
Moses’ raised hands represented Israel’s continuing dependence upon Yahweh. Although Exodus does not explicitly describe his action as praise and worship, raising our hands in worship can similarly express surrender, trust and dependence upon God. Victory does not come from the physical act of raising our hands. It comes from Yahweh, toward whom our worship is directed.
D. Victory is Found in Corporate Praise
Moses did not stand alone. When he became weary, Aaron and Hur supported him. Likewise, believers support one another through prayer, encouragement and practical support. We gather beneath the same banner and stand together in the same faith.
For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Matthew 18:20
E. His Banner Over Us Is Love
During the battle, we can find great fellowship with Jesus.
Paul’s comparison of marriage to Christ and the Church in Ephesians 5:31–32, provides a beautiful illustration of Christ’s covenant love.
For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Ephesians 5:31-32
In the Song of Solomon, this marital imagery, although not another occurrence of the name Yahweh Nissi, it provides a powerful picture that those gathered under His authority are also held securely within His love..
He brought me to the banqueting house,
Song of Solomon 2:4-6
And his banner over me was love.
Sustain me with cakes of raisins,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am lovesick.
His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
3. Yahweh Shalom – God Our Peace
A. In The Midst of Conflict There is Peace
Gideon lived at a time when Israel was oppressed by the Midianites. Yahweh called him to deliver Israel and promised, “Surely I will be with you” (Judges 6:16). However, when Gideon realised that he had seen the Angel of Yahweh, he became afraid that he would die.
Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the LORD. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face.
Judges 6:22-24
Then the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it Yahweh Shalom, The-LORD-Is-Peace.
The Hebrew expression Yahweh Shalom means “Yahweh is peace.” Gideon had not yet defeated the Midianites, but he experienced peace because Yahweh was present with him and had promised to deliver Israel. Biblical peace is therefore more than the absence of conflict. It is the security, wholeness and wellbeing that come from knowing that Yahweh is with us.
B. We Can Know Perfect Peace
Prophetically speaking, Gideon’s encounter reveals that we can know perfect peace when we meet with God’s glory. Gideon feared that the presence of Yahweh would bring death, but Yahweh answered him: “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.”
Some people believe that approaching God reverently means remaining fearful, distant and uncertain in His presence. However, what is sometimes called reverence may be religious fear.
True reverence recognises God’s holiness, but it does not require us to withdraw from Him. As we come to know God as our Father, fear of rejection is replaced by the peace, confidence and intimacy of children who know that they are loved and welcomed in His presence.
C. Jesus is Called the Prince of Peace
For unto us a Child is born,
Isaiah 9:6
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
God’s glory does not drive His children away. Through Christ, we are invited to come confidently into the Father’s presence, where fear gives way to perfect peace.
D. God of Peace Defeats Evil
And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.
Romans 16:20
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
This verse presents a powerful biblical paradox: the God of peace establishes peace by defeating evil. His peace is not weakness or passivity. It is the restoration of His righteous order through the victory of Christ.
Yahweh Shalom is our peace before the battle, with us during the battle and the One who will ultimately bring every conflict to an end.
4. Yahweh Tsidkenu – God, Our Righteousness
A. Jesus Is Our Righteousness
Yahweh Tsidkenu means “Yahweh our righteousness.” Jeremiah prophetically applies this name to the coming King from the line of David:
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD,
Jeremiah 23:5-6
“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’
The righteous Branch is Jesus Christ. He does not merely teach us about righteousness; He Himself becomes our righteousness. What Yahweh promised through Jeremiah is fulfilled in Jesus.
Jeremiah 33:15–16 repeats this promise but declares that Jerusalem will also be called “Yahweh our righteousness.” The righteousness of the King therefore becomes the righteousness and identity of His covenant people.
B. Righteousness Is Given Through the New Covenant
Righteousness is an essential part of the New Covenant. God promised not only to forgive His people but also to transform them inwardly:
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Jeremiah 31:33-34
Hebrews 8:7–13 quotes this prophecy and identifies it as the New Covenant.
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
Hebrews 8:7,10-13
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Under this covenant, God forgives our sins, brings us into relationship with Himself and writes His ways within our hearts. Our righteousness is not achieved through our successful observance of the Old Covenant. It is received through our relationship with Jesus Christ under the New Covenant.
C. We Become the Righteousness of God
Through the New Covenant, we do not merely receive instructions about righteousness. In Christ, we become the righteousness of God:
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21
“Yahweh our righteousness” is therefore more than a description of God’s righteous character. It reveals what Yahweh provides for His covenant people. Through Jesus and the New Covenant, His righteousness becomes our righteousness and our new position before the Father.
In the Believer’s Victory Over Sin, we find that we give Him our sins, and He gives us His righteousness.
5. Yahweh Rohi – God, Our Shepherd
A. God; the Old Testament Shepherd
The Old Testament refers to God shepherding us so we do not lack and we find food, rest, water and leading:
The Lord is my shepherd;
Psalms 23:1
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
(Yahweh) leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
(Yahweh) leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
As our Shepherd, Yahweh provides what we need. He brings us into rest, leads us to places of refreshment, restores our souls and directs us along the right path.
The sheep are not expected to find their own way. They learn to recognise and follow the shepherd who knows where to lead them. Yahweh Rohi therefore reveals both God’s provision and our dependence upon His guidance.
B. Yahweh Personally Shepherds His People
When Israel’s human shepherds failed, Yahweh promised that He would personally seek and care for His sheep:
‘For thus says the Lord GOD: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.
Ezekiel 34:11-12
Yahweh does not abandon His people when human leaders fail them. He searches for those who are lost, brings back those who have wandered and cares for those who are wounded.
C. Jesus is Our Good Shepherd
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
John 10:11
Jesus reveals the shepherding heart of the Father. He does not merely guide and provide for His sheep; He gives His life to rescue them. Yahweh Rohi is therefore not merely a description of God’s authority. It reveals His personal care for His people. Our Father provides for us, restores us, leads us and brings us safely into His rest.
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
John 10:27
As we grow into maturity we learn to know His voice. I have learned that this takes time, experience, listening to leaders and abiding in Him to correctly hear and interpret His voice.
6. Yahweh M’kadesh: Yahweh Who Sanctifies Us
Yahweh M’kadesh means “Yahweh who sanctifies” or “Yahweh who makes holy.” This name does not merely tell us that Yahweh is holy. It reveals what He does for His covenant people: He sets them apart for Himself and becomes the source of their holiness.
A. He is the One Who Sanctifies Us
Holiness means being separated from what is sinful and set apart for God and His purposes. God called Israel to be His own special people, distinct from the nations around them.
“Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
Exodaus 31:13
The Sabbath was a covenant sign demonstrating that Israel belonged to Yahweh. However, Israel did not make itself holy merely by keeping a religious regulation. Yahweh declared, “I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”
B. Yahweh Is The Source of Our Holiness
Some people present God’s holiness principally as something that creates a great separation between God and humanity.
This does not deny that Yahweh is holy. Rather, it emphasises that His holiness is not intended merely to keep us at a distance. He shares His holy presence with His covenant people and sets them apart as His own.
Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
Leviticus 20:7-8
C. Yahweh is the Source of Our Holiness
The people were commanded to consecrate themselves, yet Yahweh remained the One who sanctified them. Holiness therefore involves our response of obedience, but its source is God Himself. More than this, God’s original intention was to have sons and daughters who were blameless and holy.
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself
Ephesians 1:4-5
God’s purpose was to have sons and daughters who are holy and blameless before Him. Because we are in Christ, no accusation can stand against us before God.
Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Romans 8:33-34
D. Yahweh is to Be Worshipped in His Holiness
In our lesson on Revelation 4 and 5, we learned the importance of worshipping Yahweh in His holiness. According to the sequence established in that lesson, this song belongs to the Old Covenant setting, before Jesus entered heaven as the victorious Lamb.
The four living creatures …they do not rest day or night, saying:
Revelation 4:8
“Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!”
The living creatures worship Yahweh because He is eternally holy. Worshipping His holiness remains necessary for believers today, not because God keeps us at a distance, but because His holiness reveals who He is and forms His character within us. We become increasingly like the One whom we behold and worship.
E. The Father Who Lives Within Us
This attribute of Yahweh means that holiness is not something we must produce alone. God is present and active within His people.
one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Ephesians 4:6
We are holy because we belong to the Father, have been set apart for Him and carry His presence within us. His presence does not make us passive; it gives us the grace and power to live as His holy people.
F. Living in Victorious Holiness
Because Yahweh M’kadesh lives within us, we can experience victory in living a life separated unto God. He gives us grace to resist sinful influences, establish healthy boundaries and leave relationships or situations that continually draw us away from Him.
Yahweh M’kadesh means that holiness is not founded upon fear, distance or human effort. The Father has made us His own, lives within us and enables us to express His holiness in the world.
Yahweh sanctifies Israel → holiness was part of the Father’s original purpose → Jesus becomes our sanctification → we worship Yahweh in His holiness → the Father lives within us → we live in victorious holiness.
7. Summary
A. Old Testament Revelation of God:
- The Triune God existed before the creation of the world.
- Our heavenly Father’s original purpose was to have sons and daughters.
- God is eternal, having neither beginning nor end.
- Scripture reveals God as genuinely present and active within His creation.
- Scripture reveals God acting within genuine temporal sequence.
- Yahweh, the God revealed in the Old Testament, is the same God whom Jesus reveals to us as Father.
- Yahweh is relational and establishes covenants with His people.
- Yahweh faithfully keeps His covenant promises.
- Because God is relational, He genuinely responds to human actions, repentance and intercession.
- God’s response may change while His character and covenant faithfulness remain unchanged.
B. Old Testament Names of Yahweh:
- Expressions such as Yahweh Jireh and Yahweh Rapha reveal both who Yahweh is and how He relates to His covenant people.
- Yahweh Jireh means “Yahweh will see” or “Yahweh will provide.”
- Yahweh provided a ram to die in Isaac’s place. For Christians, this anticipates the greater provision of the Father giving His Son for the world.
- God continues to supply His children with sufficient grace for every good work.
- The expression commonly known as Yahweh Rapha comes from God’s declaration, “I am Yahweh, your healer.”
- Yahweh revealed Himself as the One who preserves His people from disease and heals them.
- Isaiah connected healing and restoration with the suffering of Yahweh’s Servant.
- Matthew shows that Isaiah’s promised restoration includes physical healing.
- Through His healing ministry, Jesus demonstrated the healing compassion of the Father.
C. Further Attributes of Yahweh
- Our Father is our Battle Banner (Yahweh Nissi).
- He is our Peace (Yahweh Shalom).
- Our Father is our Righteousness (Yahweh Tsidkenu).
- God is our Shepherd (Yahweh Rohi).
- He is our sanctification (Yahweh M’kadesh).
These names reveal that Yahweh does not stand apart from His covenant people. He is our banner, peace, righteousness, shepherd and sanctifier. In Christ, the Father brings His people into the reality revealed by each name.
© Use by Permission Awakening Impact Ministries/Dr Neville Westerbeek van Eerten D. Miss 2027
