Elohim is a hebrew word for God, it means mighty one, creator of the universe. As we have started a new year, I’ve been so focused on the holiness and power of God. I love that just as we are starting a new year on our calendar, the Bible starts with Genesis and the story of the creation of the world. Genesis 1 is a powerful account of God making our universe, our planet, our entire world. That’s pretty amazing, I often take for granted the absolute power of Elohim, our Creator, the maker of the earth. Elohim stands above all others, He’s the picture of perfect love, wrath, justice and complete sovereignty. He has no equal.
Do we adequately fear God? Our culture is consumed with love for ourselves and our comfort, acceptance of any philosophy and doing what makes us happy, trying to be constantly politically correct. God is none of those things.
I love how C.S. Lewis illustrates God’s power through the character of Aslan in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. When Mr. Beaver tells Susan that Aslan is a great lion, she seems surprised and seemingly intimidated. She expresses that she is nervous about meeting a lion and asks if Aslan is safe. I love Mr. Beaver’s response: “Safe? Who said anything about safe? Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King.”
To be a just God, He must be good. He must be a God of Love but He must also be a God of wrath. Administration of perfect justice requires both. It defines and separates right from wrong. I often find comfort in the goodness of God but probably don’t focus on the absolute holiness of God enough. Our God, the maker of heaven and earth (Elohim) needs nothing from us, but because of His goodness and love for us, desires to have a relationship with us.
I am learning to respect the holiness of God, to have a healthy fear of Elohim and His power. I am also falling more in love with my creator and desiring to be closer to Him in my day to day routine.
The fact that God, in His ultimate wisdom and compassion for His children, sent His Son to die for us so that we could experience eternal joy is absolutely mind blowing. Cling to God and His love for you. Respect the holiness and wrath of our sovereign maker, develop a healthy fear and reverence for Elohim. Draw near to Him. My prayer for this new year is that I would recognize God’s holiness and serve Him because He is perfect love.
…and because He is good.
Psalm 96:12-13
12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
13 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
John 1:1-5
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Romans 2:3-5
3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
