Bill's Bible Blog

H2a4-d – El Olam, The Everlasting God, part 4

“Abraham and his family lived at Beersheba in the land of the Canaanites for a long time, and it was there where he called on the name of the LORD as the Eternal God, El Olam.”
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🤔 I. HISTORICAL 4.

What got me started on this Names of God series of blogs was when I researched and wrote the blog about the 10 times God ‘showed up’ in Abram/Abraham’s life. From the first time, when God appeared to tell him to leave his family, friends and home for the past 75 years, to the tenth time, when he was commanded to sacrifice Isaac, although the ages are not exactly known, assuming it was about halfway between his birth and Sarah’s death, was about 45 years. That means God appeared to Abram/Abraham, on average, about once every 5 years after the first time.

I think this situation could be seen as a parallel with our own experience as a Christian.

Even condensing Abraham’s life of 175 years to our average age of 85 years, adjusting the age from him starting at 75 to us starting at 20, we could easily have 5 years between significant encounters with God from 20 to 80 years old.

So, what did Abraham do in between times when God showed up? What should WE do?  We have a clue in our theme verse, “…he called on the name of the LORD…”

So, what does “calling on the Name of the Lord” mean?

To understand this practice, it helps to know the cultural situation better.

Worship and identifying with a god was a bigger part of everyone’s lives in those days. Compared to the people of the Bible in Abraham’s place and time over 4,000 years ago, we live in a very godless society.

It seems like, from the Genesis stories, that the peoples of Abraham’s day and region in this earlier part of history were closer to Elohim, the Creator Godhead. He spoke to King Amalek and Pharoah in dreams. There were other priests of God, such as Melchizedek, who served and worshipped Him as El Elyon. And it seemed that God expected a certain level of obedience to His natural laws or He would take a personal hand in punishing or destroying, such as the case of Sodom and Gomorrah.

We are a different people and we live in a different time and place. However, God is still the same, “yesterday, today and forever.” He is still El Olam, the Eternal God, and I believe there are truths about God as displayed to those people, in those countries almost half-way around the world and separated from us by over 4,000 years of history that are still true and meaningful to us today.
For the men, “calling on the name of the Lord,” was a public act of worship at an open-air altar. For the women, it was more often a private act at a household altar. In the public event, all of the men in the nomad camp would attend. Abraham would sacrifice an animal from his flocks or herds to his God, and while all or parts of it was burning, offer up words of praise and thanksgiving for what God had done for them since the last time, and then make prayer requests for upcoming needs. This was even done when there were visitors to the encampment, so the ceremony also acted as a witness and testimony about their God.

To summarize, “calling on the Name of the Lord meant:

1. Worship and Praise:  Public acts of devotion, thanking God, and acknowledging His rule in your life.
2. Seeking Help:  Asking God for protection, wisdom, and provision for upcoming journeys or during difficult times.
3. Covenant Identity: Publicly declaring your faith and identifying with your God, thus distinguishing you from surrounding cultures who worshipped different gods.

🤔 It seems to me that maybe we could use a little more of this public aspect in our worship today…?
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📖 II. Additional verses:

📜 Old Testament 4. Isaiah 40:28 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God⁵, the LORD (YHWH), the Maker of the ends of the earth; does not become weary or tired.”

⁵ Elohe Olam = the second place where God is specifically named by a variation of the theme name, El Olam.
📃 New Testament 4. There are several places in Revelation where God describes Himself in a way that means the same as our theme Name–

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the beginning and the end; who is, and who was, and who is to come…”
Our pastor, J.D. Greear, described what these phrases mean when teaching about Revelation recently, they mean:  God was there at the beginning of everything, He’ll be there at the END of everything, AND He IS everything in between! What an awesome concept for our awesome God!
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🙌 III. WORSHIP 4: As we’ve seen, the concept of God’s eternal nature is expressed using different words in the Bible. Following are some of those words, verses and concepts, interwoven so that you can pray them back to God in worship.

O ha’Olam, the Eternal One, ♾️
💖 You have loved me with an everlasting love.
🌍 Before the foundation of the world,
      You knew me.
🧑‍🦲 Before I even drew breath,
      You loved me. ❤️
👀 Before ever I sought You,
     You died for me,  ✝️
So that I could be with You forever and ever. ♾️ 
         Amen. 🙏
🙌 I praise You, I glorify You, 👏
I thank You for Your everlasting love ❤️
    That knows no bounds or boundaries. 🪟

When I was lost, you found me. 🐑
When I was trapped, You delivered me. 🐁
When I was sick in my trespasses and sins,
     You healed me. ⚕️

You’ve saved me from the judgment
     that is to come. ⚖️
You’ve lifted me from the clinging mire 👣
     and placed my feet on solid stone. 🪨
Even the sting of death ⚰️
     has been cleansed from my soul. 💟
          Hallelujah ❗️ 🙌
O El Olam, You are the Eternal God, ♾️
     with an eternal plan, 📃
     with an eternal love, ❤️
You are too wonderful for me to behold.💥

My mind cannot comprehend Your plan.❓️
My heart cannot encompass Your love. 💗
You are too great for me 🛐
     In my little piece of space and time. 🌎
     In my tiny, little human mind. 🤏
You reached down from eternity ♾️
     and saved me, even me.🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️
My thoughts fail me, 🎓
     and fall short of your glory.💥
My heart fails me, 💗
     and falls short of your love.❤️
My will fails me, 🛐
     and I fall short of Your holiness.🤍
The holy, holy, holiness 🗯 ☁️ 💨
     Of only You, my God in heaven above.
You have loved me
     with Your everlasting love, ♾️ ❤
And have restored me
     with Your grace from above. ⚕️ ✝️
Forever I will praise You, 🙌
Forever I will love You, 💗
Forever I will know You, 🛐
     and in Your heaven dwell 🌌
With You, the Everlasting God, ♾️
     The great El Olam.

Amen, and amen❗️
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Bill Crews

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