In Deuteronomy 28:58, God tells the Israelites that His name is "glorious and awesome (fearful)". And in the priestly command recorded in Numbers 6:22-27, God actually put His name on the children of Israel to bless them. But God did this, not because Israel was worthy, but because He wanted to restore the relationship between Himself and His creation through Abraham's Seed (Y'shua). Just as an adoptive parent gives his name/surname to the adopted child, in God putting His own name on them, He showed that He took pleasure in and utterly loved them. His name also assured them of His constant care and protection and that they possessed all the rights of sonship. "In all places where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you." (Exodus 20:24b WEB)

And because of the atoning work of Y'shua haMashiach (Jesus the Christ) on Calvary, we are adopted sons and daughters into that same heritage of love, care, authority, and protection: "...you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'" (Romans 8:15b WEB)

"So what?" you ask...
Just this: chose His name . . . HE determined which Hebrew words best describe His nature . . . and then, HE disclosed that name and various attributes to us! God chose to reveal Himself to humankind in the Hebrew language, not in the language of the Anglo-Saxon world. Consequently, all of His distictive attributes, which cannot be ascribed to any other being, are entirely overshadowed in their translation into lesser words bearing only general meaning to the millions of gods in the world. As Dr. Adam Clarke wrote:

"In both of these words, "God" and "Lord", the centralising identity of the supreme Creator is lost, for they are used indiscriminately of the deities of the heathen and the God of the Christians; it would be far better if in the authorised Version of the Scriptures [the King James Bible] had left this "name of God" in its original form, untranslated. "Shaddai" is invariably translated "Almighty," in which word again the identity is lost; for the word "Almighty" is merely a word in common usage for the designation of the ordinary powers of the universe."

And His purpose in revealing His distinctive name and ±40 other names and titles was so that we might know Him, draw near to Him, and receive from Him. Unlike all the other gods of the nations, the God of the Bible is the only One who demands nothing from us in order to pursue a relationship with Him. Even under the Old Covenantal blood-sacrifice system, God didn't command the sacrifices to indulge some unquenchable thirst for blood — as the other gods possessed — but He required the sacrifices...

• to help us understand that sin is such a serious matter that He cannot simply disregard it, that atonement must be made for it;
• so we would accredit to Him absolute, uncompromising holiness, morality, and perfection; and
• to then make a way for Him to draw near to us without discrediting His holiness.

And under the New Covenant, God provided the perfect, once-for-all-time sacrifice in the Person of Y'shua haMashiach. In the most dramatic and outrageous expression of His abounding love for us, the Almighty paid the ultimate price to atone for our detestable sin, and He permanently destroyed the veil that separated us from Him (Matthew 27:51). Through that one act, He declared and demonstrated to us that we no longer have to offer sacrifices or have a Priest intercede for us in order to approach Him.

No other god throughout all of man's history has ever done that! That's because no other god throughout history could do that....!

Only is the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists . . . only is thrice glorious in holiness . . . only is absolutely just while also being overwhelmingly merciful . . . only is both Judge and Redeemer . . . only says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) Only is fully worthy of our love, our devotion, our praise, and our adoration.

While other gods require strict adherence to a list of regulations, repetitive ritualistic observances, and prescribed sacrifices (even blood sacrifices as continue to this day in Muslim countries, Israel and in Hinduism) — while receiving nothing from their god in return. The God of the Bible, however, asks only for your heart. And in return, He promises to never leave you nor forsake you, to provide your every need, to encourage you in life's struggles, to shelter you in your storms, to heal your deepest hurts, to comfort you in your sorrow....

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