#yahweh

[crisaunty]

my faith is weak, i need his strength

[jesusisyahweh]

“Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭4‬

[ohhliviafacee]

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

Hebrews 13:8

[thegoodmorningman]

Good Morning!!! Just wait until you see what I want to do to the Constitution!!!

[chapelofmyheart]

A Christian witch is just someone who uses the Holy Spirit to its full potential because they know everything is truly possible with God.

[mariefollowerofjesuschrist]

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. You entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey while the crowds yelled Hosanna! Then days later they called for your death. You are the Saviour of the world, Lord Jesus. Thank you!

[artist-issues]

Listen, doubt doesn't have to be a bad thing. Doubt is a step up into strong faith. Think about it.

Accepting what those who know more than you say because you're humble and willing is good. But when you start to ask questions, that's not bad. That just means you want to know the answers, and know them for sure, whether your parents and your community are there to give them to you or not.

See? When you "doubt" something, you start examining the thing you're doubting. You start testing your weight to it. You start considering yourself, and it, in a new light. How else would you approach something you've been hearing all your life with this new, independent interest, seeing it with your own eyes, unless doubt made you approach it, fresh?

The good news is, when it comes to Christianity and the God of the Bible, there are strong, solid answers to those questions. The fact that you're asking them is good, because you'll see for yourself that there are answers. And then you'll get to decide, just between you and God, not "what will my community/parents/friends think," what to do with those answers. If you don't start asking questions you wouldn't get that fresh, "making my faith my own" vibe. The Bible says "come and see." It says "seek and find." It says, "put to test the things you have heard." Asking questions is not bad, as long as you're genuinely looking for answers.

What's bad is when you're asking questions and behind it all you actually already won't be satisfied with ANY answers...because you're in love with the idea of your own "skepticism" and "reasoning." There's answers, but you've gotten to a place where no answers are "good enough" for you. That's not the kind of doubt I'm talking about; that's the kind of doubt that's bad and nonsensical.

There's another kind of doubt, too, that just sits in uncertainty and doesn't look for answers. Because there's some twisted romance in being unsure and unsteady and halting in place, all tortured and anxious, and wanting "special revelation" and feeling cast out because you didn't get it. That's bad. That's not the kind of doubt I'm talking about. Again, there are answers. Be humble enough to go find them.

And finally, be careful that you're not just asking questions because you really just wanna live a certain way or do a certain thing that the Bible 100% says not to do. Because doubt is a quick way to get to shrug off that whole "Christianity" thing so you can do whatever you want.

Doubt can make faith stronger, but only because you're looking to put that faith in answers, not your own reasoning.

[bi-numi-aliyani]

Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah!... No, actually, it's Yahweh,

A somewhat notable Deity considered by the ancient Israelite people their National God and first attested from the early 9th century BCE.¹

This c. 1518 painting by Raphael is based on a mystical vision of 𒀭Yahweh attributed to the prophet Ezekiel who belonged to a priestly lineage said to be descended from the legendary Joshua. Ezekiel was active during the time the Kingdom of Judah was conquered by the Neo-Babylonian Empire in the early 6th century BCE. (Public domain)

𒀭Yahweh was also apparently worshipped among the Edomites, the Israelites' southern neighbors, based on a reference to “Yahweh of Teman” in an inscription on an early 8th century BCE jar discovered at the site of Kuntillet Ajrud in the Sinai with Teman being a major Edomite clan.¹ It's believed the Ajrud outpost was established by the northern Kingdom of Israel as the region fell into their domain after a botched invasion by the southern Kingdom of Judah. The two kingdoms were also under the influence of the Neo-Assyrian Empire at this time with contemporaneous Assyrian records noting both Judahite and northern Israelite representatives at the capital city of Kalhu (known as Nimrud in modern times).²

Illustrations of the two vessels from Kuntillet Ajrud with translations. It's debated if the 𒀭Bes-type figures on Pithos A are meant to depict 𒀭Yahweh and His Consort 𒀭Asheratah, but it should be noted the righthand figure does not actually have visible genitals as the outdated illustration here shows.³ (Source)

Although 𒀭Yahweh is primarily associated with monotheistic religion nowadays for obvious reasons, historical evidence indicates He was first worshipped in a polytheistic context as the Israelite culture distinguished itself from the Canaanite milieu it emerged from. This can even be seen within the Hebrew Bible; A wonderful example is found in the Book of Habakkuk in the form of an archaic Hebrew poem describing 𒀭Yahweh and His Company including the Plague-God 𒀭Resheph (His Name is usually mistranslated as “plague” in English Bibles) battling sea monsters. Another one of the most noted can be seen in the Book of Deuteronomy and indicates 𒀭Yahweh was probably worshipped as One of the Seventy (symbolically “many”) Sons of 𒀭El:

⁸ When Elyon apportioned the nations, when He divided humankind, He fixed the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the Gods; ⁹ Yahweh's own portion was His people, Jacob His allotted share.

Deuteronomy 32:8–9 (adapted from the New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition, 2021)

𒀭Yahweh very much fits the form of other Storm-Gods worshipped in cultures of the Syro-Palestinian region during the Iron Age. The other most famous example of such a Deity is the Levantine manifestation of 𒀭Ba'al Who is cast as 𒀭Yahweh's greatest Rival in the collection of texts within the Hebrew Bible known as the Deuteronomistic history, although the presence of 𒀭Ba'al's name at Ajrud would suggest this conflict is a later idea. It's even been suggested 𒀭Yahweh was originally associated specifically with destructive elements of weather such as flash floods.⁴ Although there are some respectable academic claims of pre-Israelite attestations of 𒀭Yahweh from the Late Bronze Age, none of these are secure and all of them are very much contested.⁵ The scholar Christian Frevel also fascinatingly proposed in 2021 that 𒀭Yahweh was the tutelary Deity of the Omride clan which came to rule the northern Kingdom of Israel for over a century and established its capital of Samaria.¹

A modern artistic impression of a ritual performed by ancient Israelites at the Temple of 𒀭Yahweh in Jerusalem during the Iron Age. The dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem built by King Solomon (c. 1910) by William Hole. (Public domain)

The emergence of monotheism from traditional Israelite belief is an incredibly convoluted topic that I don't intend to get into the weeds of here. One of the most recognizable milestones therein, though, was the religious reforms of King Josiah of Judah shortly before our dear Ezekiel's time. This saw the absolute consolidation of religious authority in the Temple of 𒀭Yahweh at Jerusalem and even the forced closure of all other cultic sites in Judah. However, there's also direct evidence that 𒀭Yahweh continued to be worshipped among other Gods and Goddesses well after the monotheistic, Jerusalem-centric religion which came to be known as Judaism had entered its Second Temple Period.

Most notably a community of Israelites living on the island of Elephantine at ancient Egypt's southern frontier had a Pantheon in which 𒀭Yahweh was associated with the Goddess 𒀭Anat and another God named 𒀭Bethel.⁶ They even had Priestesses of Yahweh and were apparently on good terms with Jerusalem as indicated by the Aramaic-language texts written in Egyptian Demotic script discovered at Elephantine. An analysis of the narrative of Aaron's Rod in the Book of Numbers has also led to the alluring proposition that worship of the famous 𒀭Asherah as 𒀭Yahweh's Consort may have continued even within the Jerusalemite cult itself during this period.⁷

An altar of incense discovered at the site of ancient Ta'anakh. Although it's dated to the tenth century BCE, predating any secure attestations of 𒀭Yahweh, some researchers believe the top and second-to-bottom registers are intended to symbolize Him with His 𒀭Asherah likewise on the alternating registers. (Source)

There's so many fascinating developments being made in archaeology and the study of history unraveling more about the ancient Israelites and the worship of 𒀭Yahweh before our very eyes. I honestly feel incredibly privileged to be alive just in time to witness such a thing. Although I haven't “worked with” 𒀭Yahweh myself within my primarily Canaanite Pagan practice, I'd be very interested to hear and discuss different perspectives on this fascinating ancient Deity and it'd make me very happy to see what some of you think. Shulmu 𒁲𒈬 and thank you so much for reading!

Another thing

Given what part of the world this all concerns, I feel I would be morally remiss to say nothing of the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people in their homeland and particularly in Gaza. I find this important because earlier today the so-called President of the United States Donald Trump expressed the US's intent to “take over” and ethnically cleanse Gaza at a public event alongside Benjamin Netanyahu, the so-called Prime Minister of Israel. In the face of such great evil, I feel obligated by simple virtue of being a human to state I wholeheartedly support the full liberation of Palestine and an end to the unjust and unlawful occupation with all it has wrought. Arab.org is a website which allows you to support Palestinians via a simple click of a button with no donation necessary along with providing further resources. Free Palestine 🇵🇸

References

Frevel, Christian. “When and from Where Did YHWH Emerge? Some Reflections on Early Yahwism in Israel and Judah.” Entangled Religions 12:2 (March 30, 2021). https://doi.org/10.46586/er.12.2021.8776.

Na’aman, Nadav. “Samaria and Judah in an Early 8th-Century Assyrian Wine List.” Tel Aviv 46:1 (January 2, 2019): pp. 12–20. https://www.academia.edu/43169801.

This was clarified by archaeologist Ze'ev Meshel in communication with Nir Hasson reporting for Haaretz, https://www.facebook.com/share/1JASsUsdcN.

Fleming, Daniel E. “Yahweh among the Baals: Israel and the Storm Gods.” Essay. In Mighty Baal: Essays in Honor of Mark S. Smith, edited by Stephen C. Russel and Esther J. Hamori, pp. 160–74. Harvard Semitic Studies 66. Leiden, Netherlands; Boston, Massachusetts, United States: Brill, 2020.

Pfeiffer, Henrik. “The Origin of YHWH and its Attestation.” Essay. In The Origins of Yahwism, edited by Markus Witte and Jürgen van Oorschot, pp. 115–44. Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift Für Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 484. Berlin, Germany; Boston, Massachusetts, United States: De Gruyter, 2017.

Cornell, Colin. “Judeans and Goddesses at Elephantine.” Ancient Near East Today 7:11 (November 2019). American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR). https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2019/11/Judeans-and-Goddesses-at-Elephantine.

Eichler, Raanan. “Aaron’s Flowering Staff: A Priestly Asherah?” TheTorah.com, 2019. https://www.thetorah.com/article/aarons-flowering-staff-a-priestly-asherah.

[christianconversations]

YHWH-Yireh

“YHWH-Yireh” or “The Lord Will Provide,” is a testament to one of the most fundamental truths of life—God’s provision.

As Genesis narrows its focus from the human race, broadly, to Abraham, specifically, we see the Almighty miraculously give the barren man and his wife a son, through whom He promised blessing, for the entire world. Abraham had no reason to doubt God; His love and merciful care were ever-present. Yet, he must have wondered, when his Creator and Sustainer, Who had been so deliberate in appointing an heir in Issac, called for the sacrifice of this same beloved child.

That was far from His holy character, Who neither assented to, nor demanded the substitutionary death of those, “made in His image”!Nevertheless, without doubting, Abraham gathered himself and his son and went to Mount Moriah. Clinging to a deep faith, that many of us could never fathom, he believed in the LORD to make things right—to save his boy and give means for a sacrifice.

Then, atop that mountain, at the most climactic moment, God stayed Abraham’s hand and protected Isaac. “Do not lay your hand on the lad,” He said, while, before the father’s eyes, a ram appeared to take his place. What unspeakable relief! In his praise, Abraham called the place, “YHWH-Yireh”— a fitting title, too, for the One, Who made a way, in the impossible.

This same YHWH provided a sacrifice for the sins of the entire world—a Redeemer, to open the door for man to approach the Father, by faith, in the Son. Because He did not remove His righteous hand from Jesus Christ, we are free—a reality which Abraham saw, then, foreshadowed. Just as God gave His Heavenly Lamb, so He provides, daily, for those whose faith in that blessed blood, spilled on Calvary, has engrafted them into His holy family!

Whatever you’re going through, surrender it to “YHWH-Yireh.” He will provide what is best.

[dailychristianblog]

[crisaunty]

the more i stray away from christ, the more empty i feel. lord save me. the evil inside of me is attempting to take over.

[jesusisyahweh]

“‘Again, truly I tell you, if two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them.’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭19‬-‭20‬

[ohhliviafacee]

"You talk about God too much!"

I don't talk about Him enough.

[writethestory365]

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[chapelofmyheart]

You must not think that Jesus wouldn't want to speak to you. Jesus wants to speak to all people. No background, race, identity, practice, etc. will ever make Jesus see you as unworthy of speaking to him. Jesus is a man of the people, those who have done good and those who have done bad. He wants all people (those who are willing to reach out to him) to give their words to him. You must remember that even though he is God, he was also a human on earth. God showed great strength by coming to this world in the very shoes of his own creation so he could be beaten down and feel the same pain that us people have felt throughout our lives. Come to him if that is what you seek. He will not scold you for being a human. Jesus spent his days gathering those who were also hurt and considered "outcasts". Do not compare yourself to those who you consider righteous, they might have an annotated bible or constantly visit the church or have a different identity than you but do not let it make you forget that you too are a vessel for the holy spirit.

Jesus is a shepherd, not a hunter.