When I first started studying the names of God, I thought that I would do two or three “El” articles and then move into the well-known Yahweh names. I had no idea that there were close to twenty different “El” names! Each of these names give a picture of a different part of God’s nature and shows us another perspective of the God we serve. Each one of these could be a separate post, but I’ll condense it to save about three weeks!
El Echad - The One God
Malachi 2:10 “Have we not all one Father? Has not One God (El Echad) created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another by profaning the covenant of the fathers?”
Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is One (El Echad) Yahweh.”
It doesn’t matter what the world says. It doesn’t matter what compromising preachers say. It doesn’t matter what’s politically correct. There is only one God - period.
El Hanne’eman - The Faithful God
Deuteronomy 7:9 “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the Faithful God (El Hanne’eman) who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments”
Hebrews 13:5 “For He Himself has said,“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
God keeps His covenant. He is always faithful. If He said something in His Word, whether it’s a warning or a promise - you can bet on it!
El Emmett - The God of Truth
Psalm 31:5 “Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Yahweh, God of truth (El Emmett).”
Psalm 57:3 “God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.”
Now we can see why it’s impossible for God to lie. He’s the God of truth! God speaks the truth, loves the truth, and expects the truth.
El De’ot - The God of Knowledge
1 Samuel 2:3 “Talk no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth, for Yahweh is the God of knowledge (El De’ot); and by Him actions are weighed.”
God knows every thought, every intent, every secret thing. Believers never have to worry about what they don’t know. When it’s time to know, God will give us the knowledge!
El Kabowd - The God of Glory
Psalm 29:3 “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory (El Kabowd) thunders; Yahweh is over many waters.”
Our God is glorious - the God of Glory!
El Qadowsh - The Holy God
Isaiah 5:16 “But Yahweh of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God who is holy (El Qadowsh) shall be hallowed in righteousness.”
It’s God’s holiness that calls us to be holy in our conduct. Leviticus 11:45 (quoted in 1 Peter 1:16) says, “You shall therefore be holy, for I [God] am holy.”
El Channun - The Gracious God
Jonah 4:2 “So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious God (El Channun) and merciful, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.”
Jonah knew this part of God’s nature, and He didn’t want to share it with Israel’s enemies in Ninevah. God is still just as gracious to us today. (He isn’t more or less gracious, as we’ve already found out.) God’s grace is a part of His nature - aren’t you glad?
El Ma`owz Chayil - God My Strength and Power
2 Samuel 22:33 “God [is] my strength [and] power (El Ma’owz Chayil): and he makes my way perfect.”
When you’re weak, He is strong! Literally, Ma’owz is a place of strength - as long as you’re there, you’re strong! Notice what He does with His strength - He makes our way perfect! We have God's strength behind us when we decide to obey what He says!
El Rachum - Merciful God
Deuteronomy 4:30-31 “When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice (for yahweh your God is a Merciful God [El Rachum]), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.”
Even after we sin, God will always have mercy on us when we repent. He is our Merciful God! Remember though, there is a flip side to El Rachum...
El Tsaddik - The Just God
Isaiah 45:21 “Tell and bring forth your case; yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, yahweh? And there is no other God besides Me, a Just God (El Tsaddik) and a Savior; there is none besides Me.”
Even though He is merciful, God can never let sin go unpunished. Even repented sin requires punishment - that is why Jesus came. He came to take our punishment so that God could be just when He let us go free. God is just, and sin is costly!
El Yeshua - God of My Salvation
Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God my salvation (El Yeshua), I will trust and not be afraid; for Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.”
When did God become our salvation? When Jesus (Yeshua) bore our sin on the cross! Isn’t it amazing that Yeshua was part of God’s name even in the Old Testament?
El Kanno - The Jealous God
Exodus 20:5 “You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God (El Kanno), visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me.”
God hates sharing you. He hates getting half of you and losing the other half of you to the world. He wants every part of you, every second of your day, and every ounce of your devotion.
El Chaiyai - The God of My Life
Psalm 42:8 “yahweh will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me— a prayer to the God of my life (El Chaiyai).”
This name makes everything that God is personal to us. The God of Salvation is the God of my life! The Gracious and Merciful God is the God of my life! The God of Strength and Power is the God of my life! If you’ll let Him, He wants to be the God of your life too!
Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God (the Faithful God, the God of Truth, the God of Knowledge, the God of Strength and Power, the Gracious God, the Merciful God, the Holy God) is for us, who can be against us?”
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