2S6-3: Calling On The Name Of The Lord – A Forgotten Command?

“He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark.”-2 Samuel 6:2

Alrighty, so we encounter some major confusion in the last part of 2 Samuel 6, verse 2.

What in the world does it mean when it talks about the Ark, the Name of God, and the Cherubim on the lid of the Ark?

Some folks say the Tetragrammaton (YHVH) was carved into the lid above the Cherubim.

Other folks say this passage is simply glorifying the Lord and attaching His holy presence to the Ark.

However, the ancient Israelite sages take a different perspective that I find quite interesting.

They view this passage as a needed explanation to affirm exactly which god this Ark represented!

Surprising, right?

You’re probably thinking, isn’t it obvious this golden box with winged cherubim represented only the God of Israel and nobody else?

Well, here’s what we gotta come to terms with.

Remember, the Ark had been in Philistine possession for a whopping 70 years!

On top of that, when it came to proper Torah observance, to put it delicately, let’s just say the Israelites had fallen far from the original instructions God had given them at Sinai.

Still, you may be thinking how can this be?

Especially when you think about all of the detailed instructions, not to mention all of the time and effort that went into building the Ark.

Well, the fact is, this is one of those rare times in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) that God’s formal and personal name YEHOVAH is used in direct connection with the Ark.

I’m serious.

We already know that over 6000 appearances of God’s name have been erased from both the original Hebrew Scriptures and our English translations of the Bible.

They’ve been replaced with words like “Lord,” “God,” “The Name (HASHEM),” and so on.

So from around the 4th century, a new tradition arose of NOT pronouncing God’s Name when reading the Scriptures out loud.

Even the sharpest Hebrew scholars took up this practice because God’s formal name didn’t appear in the text anymore.

Well, here’s your takeaway for today.

It’s high time we bring God’s Name back into our prayers and devotionals.

Over and over, Scripture commands us to call on the Name of the Lord.

Why ignore that?

In passages like 1 Samuel 6:2, God’s Name, YEHOVAH, is directly tied to His presence and the Ark of the Covenant.

Yet, for centuries, traditions erased His Name from our readings and replaced it with titles like “Lord” or “God.”

But the Bible doesn’t shy away from His Name—it exalts it!

Restoring its use honors God’s command and draws us closer to Him.

Let’s stop holding back and boldly proclaim His Name in worship and prayer…EVEN IF WE DON’T HAVE THE CORRECT PRONUNCIATION ANYMORE.

I know I’m gonna get a lot of flack for saying this…

But that’s where my convictions lie.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this!