February 1
God’s Word Reveals His Character
I
will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness
and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name (Psalm 138:2)
Many people do not really understand what God is
saying here because in our Western Society we have no true concept that defines
what is meant by a person’s “name”. In
most places the word certainly means “name” as we Westerners understand it
(like naming a child “William”) but, and especially in the case with God, it
has far more meaning.[1] God is saying in Psalm 138:2 that He places
His Word above His reputation. Another
way to phrase it is that His Word reveals
His reputation or the truth
concerning His character and nature.
The Hebrew word for “name” in this passage is shem which means, “reputation, fame,
glory” (Studylight.org). The Complete Jewish Bible renders the latter part of
the passage, “….for you have made your
word [even] greater than the whole of your reputation.” The Strong’s
Concordance defines shem, “As a mark
or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character” (Strong’s
#8034). Jeff A. Benner of the Ancient Hebrew Research Center writes:
“What is God's
name? Most will answer with Yahweh or God but we must remember that a name or shem in Hebrew is the character of the
individual so the correct question should be ‘What is God’s character?’”[2]
We cannot have any sufficient knowledge of God’s
reputation—what He is truly like, what are His characteristics, etc. apart from
His Word. Satan knows that the best way to cast aspersions upon God’s character
is to attack His Word. Destroying a person’s reputation is as simple as causing
people to doubt the truth of what they say. Satan has done this for centuries.
Believe what God’s Word says about His character and refuse all teachings and
theological concepts that contradict it.
[1]
One Hebrew
teacher says, “So it’s easy to see why lazy translators will translate SHEM as ‘name’,
even where that translation makes no sense at all.” Penton, Glenn The Hebrew
Word Shem http://beth-abraham.org/shem.html (Last accessed: May 6, 2014)
[2]
Benner,
Jeff A. Exodus 20:7, http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/40_exodus1.html (Last
accessed: May 6, 2014)
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