Yahweh is the name of the Heavenly Father. His name, which He says is “My memorial to all generations,” (Exodus 3:15) carries the meaning of “He is,” or “He causes to be.”
Because of tradition, the precious name of the Heavenly Father has been removed from His own book.
Yahweh placed His name in the scriptures nearly 7,000 times. And 7,000 times bible translators substituted it with a generic title such as “LORD” or “GOD.” In fact, “Yahweh” is the 7th most commonly used word in the Hebrew scriptures.
There is no real justification for this tradition, for the scriptures tell us that we are not to add to or take away from His word.
Pro 30:4-6- Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, If you know? 5 Every word of Elohim is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. 6 Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
Rev 22:18-19- For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, Elohim will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, Elohim shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
The third commandment also forbids this practice.
So when I speak of the Heavenly Father, I do believe we should use His name with the same kind of frequency we see in scripture:
1 Pe 4:11- If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of Elohim.
The most common question I hear among those I share this truth with is “Doesn’t Yahweh know who I’m talking to? Why does it matter what I call Him, He answers me anyway?”
It is true that Yahweh does and will answer prayer and accept praise from those who have no knowledge of His true name. But what about those who DO know but don’t care?
Psal 44:20- If we had forgotten the name of our Elohim, Or stretched out our hands to a foreign god, 21 Would not Elohim search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.
What does Yahweh really want us to do? Call Him whatever we want? Follow the traditions of men? Or call Him by the name He has assigned to Himself?
I do not think there is anything wrong with calling Yahweh our Father, Master, Creator, etc. which are all fitting titles. What I think Yahweh would have a real problem with is changing His name from Yahweh to “the LORD” or “GOD.”
He gave us His personal name for a reason. He is not some generic “Lord” from an unreachable heaven. He wants a personal relationship with us and so He gave us His personal name. He wants us to know Him on a “first name basis.” Over and over again He tells us to call upon His name, praise His name, pray in His name, bless in His name, love His name, and proclaim His name to all nations.
It is extremely ironic, if not prophetic, what Yahweh declared to Jeremiah when we understand that the word “Baal” means “Lord.” See the Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon entry for “Baal”
01168 Ba’al:
Meaning: Baal = “lord”
1) supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites
In light of this, consider what Yahweh said to Jeremiah regarding the people of his day:
Jere 23:26-27- “How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal.” (LORD)
Also consider what Yahweh declared to Hosea:
Hose 2:16- And it shall be at that day, saith Yahweh, that thou shalt call me Ishi (My Husband); and shalt call me no more Baali (My lord). For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.
Notice that Baal’s name is not changed or translated and therefore lives on while Yahweh’s name is categorically removed from the scriptures. Actually, if they did try to translate the name Baal, look at how it would read in another verse:
1 Kin 18:21 (KJV) And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if the Lord (Baal), follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.
Yes, the Hebrew actually reads “ha Ba’al” or “the Lord” in this passage. Because of this relationship between Baal and Lord, I prefer not to use Lord at all. Lord is the word used to replace Yahweh’s name.
Of course, I’m not saying that the entire Christian world is worshiping “Baal”, but the coincidence here seems quite striking. Anciently, they were worshiping Ba’al (LORD) instead of Yahweh. And today, people are calling Him “LORD” instead of “YAHWEH.” Satan must be enjoying this. I notice that the word “Satan” (a Hebrew word) is still in our bibles but Yahweh’s name is taken out. What a shame!
So, why not call upon His name? Every righteous man in biblical history did so.
Men during the time of Adam called on the name of Yahweh
Gene 4:26- And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then [men] began to call on the name of Yahweh.
Abraham called upon the name of Yahweh:
Gene 12:7- Then Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to Yahweh, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent [with] Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to Yahweh and called on the name of Yahweh.
Moshe called upon the name of Yahweh:
Exod 3:15- Moreover Elohim said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: `Yahweh Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’
David called upon the name of Yahweh:
Psal 116:13- I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of Yahweh.
Psal 116:17- I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of Yahweh.
EliYah the prophet called upon the name of Yahweh:
1 Kin 18:24- “Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of Yahweh; and the Elohim who answers by fire, He is Elohim.” So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.”
Yahushua the Messiah called upon the name of Yahweh:
John 17:25- “O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 “And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare [it], that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
What more do we need? If the scriptures are written for our learning and righteous men for our example, do the scriptures not clearly show that HIS people call on His name? Let’s see what else the word of Yahweh says:
Isai 52:6- Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that day That I am He who speaks: `Behold, it is I.’ “
Let’s look at an end time prophecy. Will Yahweh’s people be calling on His name at that time, in this age?
Zech 13:7- “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, Against the Man who is My Companion,” Says Yahweh of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered; Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.
8 And it shall come to pass in all the land,” Says Yahweh, “That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one- third shall be left in it:
9 I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, `This is My people’; And each one will say, `Yahweh is my Elohim.’ “
Here is another prophetic scripture reveals His people are using His name:
Reve 14:1- Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred [and] forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
Clearly, His people use His name. What’s stopping us? The fear of what men will say? Being the oddball? That shouldn’t have any effect on whether we do anything our Father says to do. We should never be ashamed of His word.
Some have said that these scriptures that speak of His “name” do not actually speak of the literal spoken and written name of Yahweh but rather His character and reputation. A simple study of the meaning of the word “Shem” that is translated “name” in our English bibles will reveal that this word, very much like our English word, not only means a “character” but also means a literal written and spoken name.
If I say to you that I come in the name of peace, then I am telling you that I want to characterize myself as offering peace. These things are indeed true. However, if I told you that my name was JimBob then I would not be telling you the truth. Here is an example of a falsification:
Isai 42:8- I am Yahweh, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.
This has been changed to:
I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.
The latter statement is simply not true! And it’s not like it was a simple mistake by the translators. It was completely on purpose. Most prefaces of bible translations will cite familiarity and tradition as the reasons for the substitutions. But this isn’t according to what Yahweh has told us to do in the scriptures with His name.
So rather than going with the traditions, I always say “Yahweh” whenever the word “LORD” is found in all capital letters. This was the translator’s indicator that Yahweh’s holy name was originally there.
It’s high time that we proclaim the name of Yahweh, just as all men in the scriptures have done.
As Moshe said:
Deut 32:1- “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2 Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As raindrops on the tender herb, And as showers on the grass. 3 For I proclaim the name of Yahweh: Ascribe greatness to our Elohim.
So what will we choose? Will we choose the traditions of men or the word of Almighty Yahweh? I don’t know about you, but I’m going with the Word…just as He inspired it!