Jehovah; The I AM, the Self-Existent One

In the Old Testament, the name Jehovah is the most used name for God. The Hebrew letters are YHWH. By adding the vowels  "e," "o," and "a" and changing the letters "Y" to "J" and "w" to "v," we get Jehovah. Or by only adding the vowels "a" and "e" we get Yahweh which links the name to the Hebrew word meaning "to be, to exist."

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So "Jehovah, or Yahweh, implies a Being who is absolutely self-existent. That means God always was, is, and always will be. He doesn't need anything outside of Himself. Nobody made God! Rather, He is the Creator of all."

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven. -Genesis 2:4

"Anytime you see the name Lord in all capital letters (or capital and small capital letters) in the Bible, it is the name Jehovah, the self-existent One." But if you see Lord written with a capital L and the rest of the letters lowercase, that is the name of God that means "God is our Lord and Master"; Adonai. 

Jehovah is the most holy, glorious name of God. It was a name that filled the Jews with awe and made them fearful. They felt the name was so sacred that they would not even pronounce it.

In Exodus 3 the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a burning bush. God told Moses to remove his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God. God assured Moses that He had seen the affliction of His people and that He would deliver them from the Egyptians. In verse 14, God called Himself I AM WHO I AM and told Moses to tell the Israelites that I AM had sent him to them. In verse 15, God said His name was the LORD which was to be a memorial-name to all generations.

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The name for Jehovah then "is the eternal I AM, the Alpha (the beginning) and Omega (the end), who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. All of life is in Him. He has never failed. He is the self-existent, covenant-keeping God. He keeps His promises. He does what He says He will do. He never changes. He is the I AM."

We read in Hebrews 13:5-6 that the Lord, the eternal I AM will never desert us or forsake us. He is our helper and we do not need to be afraid.
Exodus 34:6-7 reveals that God is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and truth. He forgives sin and does not leave the guilty unpunished. Jehovah is all that we will ever need!

-Discover 4 Yourself Inductive Bible Studies for Kids!; God, What's Your Name?; Kay Arthur and Janna Arndt; pp. 76-80


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