“For I will proclaim the name of Adonai.
Come, declare the greatness of our God!”
-Deuteronomy 32:3
Verse 3 communicates a very profound and deep point that I think is lost on most readers especially if they hail from the West.
We’re told that the Song of Moses is in the Name of Adonai.
Although we call this song the Song of Moses, this poem is actually NOT in Moses’ name.
Actually, it wasn’t even Moses’ idea to have this song named after him.
What we’ve got to understand is that the words in this song do not represent the thoughts of Moses.
They represent the thoughts of God.
When we’re told to do something in God’s name, what we’re really saying is to act in accordance with the Lord’s attributes and character.
Do you know what the Hebrew word for name is?
It is SHEM.
That’s right.
When religious Jews refer to the Lord as HA-SHEM, literally they’re referring to the God of Israel as “The Name”.
But it’s not just a “name” to them because remember in the Middle East, a name functions far beyond just being a word of simple identification.
In English, although we have expressions like “live up to your name” or “uphold the family name” etcetera, I think we’ve really lost the true meaning of the word name in our society.
Do you wanna know how I know this is true?
In the United States for example, when you want to apply for credit or buy a house or engage in any kind of transaction involving money, what’s the one thing you have to submit to show your trustworthiness?
It most definitely is NOT your name.
It’s actually your social security number.
That’s right.
Creditors in Western society could give two hoots about your name.
Isn’t that sad evidence of how there is practically no significance if any attached to our names anymore?
They’re just treated as a group of letters sounded out and one name is just as good as another.
This is so different to how names were viewed in the Middle East.
During Bible times, one’s name was synonymous with one’s reputation.
Awesome Shabbat teaching to share again!
The Name is neither mentioned nor explained. It’s like we don’t want to deal with His Name, we pretend it doesn’t exist, while pretending that it matters. That is ludicrous!!
I have been trying for years to get people, almost exclusively Gentiles who have no understanding of the Jewish mindset, which is how the entire Bible was written, that “the” name is not just a name.
Those we call “Holy Namers” constantly try to show that there is a one-and-only -one correct way to pronounce the Tetragrammaton (the 4-letters that spell God’s name) and that when we read in the Bible that we are to call on the name of the Lord, or something similar, that it requires pronouncing that name.
WRONG!!!
The name of the Lord that is to be called upon or made known to the world is his repute, his goodness, his glory, and everything about him EXCEPT how we pronounce the four letters.
Hey Steven, This was a great explanation. Thanks for sharing!