ELOHIM

During the Great Red Swapout this week (when Christmas went back into boxes)...I moved some books on a shelf and uncovered a treasure. You know how much fun it is to find something you forgot you had? I found a 15-year-old coffee table book by Kay Arthur on the names of God ("To Know Him By Name"). Timothy Botts did the caligraphy. What a feast for the eyes! I liked it so much I brought it into the bedroom and put it up on an easel. Then the bedroom stuff all had to shift.

As I thought again about all the names of God, probably "Elohim" is my favorite. Elohim is God's name as Creator...and I love it that He so easily can make something out of nothing. "Praise Him, all stars of light!...let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created." Ps. 148.3,5 (Note to self: it's awesome to think about Him creating the grand expanse of the heavens...but where would you be if He hadn't created your new heart?).

Then I remembered the songs that Chris Tomlin wrote to salute God's creativity. Tomlin read in Psalm 33.6 "by the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host". So he wrote song lyrics that say..."He wrapped Himself in light and darkness tried to hide...and trembled at His voice". I can just see Elohim spinning around and stars coming out of His mouth as He speaks them into existence and wraps Himself in light ("covering Thyself with light as with a cloak" Psalm 104.2). The spoken Word is POWER. The spoken Word causes darkness to head for the tall grass.

Those same stars appear each night at God calls them out by name. What a huge concept chunk! Do you know how many stars that Hubble says are out there? Psalm 147.4 says "He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them". And He knew they were there before we made a camera that could see them.

Yes, creation logically SHOUTS for a Creator (Ps. 19.1-4) and the Creator's name is Elohim. He put those stars above our heads so that we would want to know Him. Who else could figure out how to make man feel like two things at once...like a speck ("who is man that you would take notice of him?") and at the same time uniquely and completely desired ("But it was for our sins he was wounded, and for our evil doings he was crushed; he took the punishment by which we have peace, and by his wounds we are made well.")

Only our God.

"Look at the night skies...who do you think made all this? Who marches this army of stars out each night, counts them off, calls each by name? So magnificent! So powerful! And never overlooks a single one! " Isaiah 40.26 (TM)