Friday, April 24, 2015

THE "AH"; LIKE IN "AH"HA MOMENT

It is possible that not many noticed, but Abraham and Sarah of the Genesis account were not always known as such.  Their given names were Abram and Sarai.

Why the later addition to the spelling of their names?

The part that's been added is "ah".  Abram then became Abraham and Sarai became Sarah.  James L. Garlow speaks of this transition:

This name change is precisely what occurred when God made covenant with Abram. The man's name changed from Abram to AbrAHam.  The two letters that are added are "AH", which come from Yahwa (YAH-way), the name of God that appears approximately 6,800 times in the Old Testament.  We pronounce it "Jehovah".

But originally God's name was simply four letters: "YHWH."  When He made the covenant with Abram, He put the "H" from His name into Abraham's name and changed Sara to "Sarah".  The Hebrew letter "H" is the sound of breath, generally signifying the breath or presence of God.

This was a strong factor; the breath of God upon the leader of faith.  That the Bible is inspired carries the meaning that it is God-breathed.  In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is called the "Holy Pneuma" in Greek.  Pneuma means wind.  Literally it means the Holy puff of God.

We have what we call "AH-HA" moments.  Abram and Sarai had the deepest and most significant.  Today, God breaths life into us day by day through His Holy Spirit.  May you and I live out our walk in strong "AH-HA" fashion.

There's more to us than us; just as there was more to Abram than Abram.  There was....God.

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