Carolyn E. Jacobs

This week’s name is awesome – El Chay, the Living God. Yahweh is throwing shade with this one. So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here, and listen to the words of Yahweh your Elohim.”  Joshua continued, “This is how you will know that El Chay is among you and that he will certainly force the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites out of your way. – Joshua 3:9-10, Names of God version Why does Joshua make the distinction that Yahweh is El Chay, the Living God? Because Yahweh has ears that hear, eyes that see, and a mouth that speaks. Yes, he is Spirit, but he presented himself in…

Our name of God for week 18 is Ish, Hebrew for Husband. Serendipitously, I came up with this graphic. No, the double entendre wasn’t intentional, but it’s a great way to illustrate a biblical type. As James Hamilton puts it, a promise-shaped pattern. We’ve talked about types before.         Did Abraham realize that the ram caught in the thicket was a foreshadowing of  the Passover lamb, sacrificed for our sins, which was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus’s death and resurrection? No. But we have the bread crumb trail to recognize it now.   When the death angel spared the Israelites in Egypt because they’d put blood on their…

“On that day she will call me her Ish,” declares Yahweh. “She will no longer call me her master.” – Hosea 2:16 Names of God version Ish, in Hebrew, means husband. That’s our name for this week. Doesn’t the verse above sound like some beautiful, “Once upon a time” fairy tale? My heart soars thinking of the day when all will be restored and Yahweh will be Ish. But it’s no fairy tale. It’s infinitely better and infinitely worse. That the verse comes from Hosea is a big clue. Imagine that outside, the birds are singing; the sun is shining. Inside, the groom is standing with the pastor, full of love…

This week’s name of God is Melek, King. In Genesis 14, we’re introduced to this mysterious king, Melchizedek. And Melchizedek the king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has handed over your enemies to you.” – Genesis 14:18-20 We don’t learn much more about him in the Old Testament, but it turns out he’s a type of Christ. Types are Old Testament foreshadowings of New Testament fulfillments. James Hamilton’s book, Typology, Understanding the Bible’s Promise-Shaped Patterns, is a great…

Many Jewish prayers start this way: Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam It means, Blessed are you, oh Lord our God, King of the Universe This makes my heart sing. This week’s name in Ann Spangler’s study, Praying the Names of God for 52 Weeks, is Melek, King. The concept of a monarchy goes against the American grain. We tossed King George’s fetters off and never looked back. Monarchs, as all humans, are flawed. We’ve got lots of examples of kings unfit to rule, be they biblical, otherwise historical, or modern. Yahweh warned us. Through the prophet Samuel, he said that the king would oppress the people and take the…