YAHWEH: The Puzzle of God

“There are only three great puzzles in the world, the puzzle of love, the puzzle of death, and, between each of these and part of both of them, the puzzle of God. God is the greatest puzzle of all.”

These are the opening words of Niall Williams’ novel 'As It is in Heaven'. Williams understands why so many people cannot use the word ‘God’ without a puzzled expression on their faces. Throughout time, man and women have tried to piece together the evidence for God. Does God exist at all, and if he does, who is he?

For the ancient Hebrew people, whose traditions and discoveries have been passed down to us, the puzzle of God was wrapped up in the name Yahweh: the name of God used throughout the Old Testament. Yahweh is not a name in the same way as ’Mike’ or ‘Eleanor’, because observant Jews do not believe that the name of God should be spoken. Rather, it is a collection of letters used to suggest where God’s name would be if only God’s name could be used! Like 007 for James Bond, the name Yahweh is a kind of code-name pointing to the identity of the Hebrew God. Scholars suggest that the codename is likely to be derived from God’s meeting with Moses at the burning bush. Here, God introduces himself as the “I AM”, and YHWH sems to be a version of this name.

In most English Bibles the term ‘The LORD’ is used wherever this name of God appears, but this isn’t the end of the story. In the Hebrew tradition, names are often placed alongside an attribute of the person named: Frank the Fearless; Ethel the Ineffable; Barry the Brave. And the same is true for God. Yahweh Rapha means ‘The LORD our healer’; Yahweh Sabaoth is ‘The LORD of Hosts’; Yahweh Shalom points to ‘The LORD our Peace’. As the story of God unfolds, these names are each given in response to an incident or event in which an aspect of God is revealed: God’s character is shown through his actions. In these stories we find clues to the identity of God, and if you piece them all together - following the clues like a trail of bread crumbs through the pages of the Bible - you begin to get a picture of who God is.

Solving the Puzzle of God is a lifetime’s adventure: but it is an adventure worth pursuing – and we have not been left without clues...

Crossroads is searching for an Audio and Multi-Media Coordinator. To give leadership to the Sound and Multimedia teams and to technically maintain and build the already complex Audio and Multimedia systems.

16 Hours a week, mainly in the weekends. For more information download the job description here: to apply please send your Cv and an accompanying motivational letter to search@xrds.nl attn. Johan Verboom