Elohim- Who Made Us

 

by Annmarie Worthington

No, I haven’t disappeared off the planet. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and whenever I think on my blog, I say things I shouldn’t. So, I’ve been thinking through some things in private, not allowing myself to blog. In the meantime, I’ve had some great Scripture studies I want to share with you.

I’ve been going through all the Hebrew names used for God in order to get to know my Heavenly Father and my Savior better. You can never spend enough study time learning about them. I’ve also been doing an in-depth study of Mosiah. But, that’s not done, so for now I’ll just bring up the names of God I’ve been learning.

The first one is Elohim. It is sometimes translated Almighty God or Creator. Elohim is taken from two Hebrew roots. The first is El which means mighty or strong. It is used in reference for any gods. The second root is him, which is essentially a plural ending. Its first occurrence in scripture is Genesis 1:1

“In the beginning, God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth.”

Because of the plural ending, it really should have been translated “In the beginning Gods created the heavens and the earth. You see futher evidence plurality in Genesis 1:26.

“Then God (Elohim) said, “Let Us make man in Our image….”

The Scriptures go into more detail about His creation of us in the Psalms.

“For thou hast possessed my reins (Hebrew=created my inward parts): Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.… I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:13-14

Some translations say, “…thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb”.

I’d been thinking about God as the maker of our bodies. Mostly because my body sometimes seems defective. I’m hypo-thyroid. Even with thyroid medicine my body doesn’t convert my T3 to T4 (or maybe it is the other way around) so I have to take two kinds of thyroid medicines. I also don’t convert my folic acid, so I have to take medicine for that, AND I have PSOD, so I have to take medicine for that.  It gets tiresome,  literally so, when my thyroid medicine isn’t working.

Does that mean that God wasn’t paying attention when he was forming my inward parts? Was He napping during the endocrine system section? No. I think He made me this way intentionally. As He does all of us. Why do I think that?

Look in Exodus 4:10-11

“And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord?”

Moses was giving his reasons for not speaking to Pharoah. He had a speech impediment. Surely God wouldn’t call him to be a public speaker, let alone a national ambassador? Why yes, yes He would. Especially since He was the one who made Moses’s mouth. Therefore, if He called Moses to the task of speaking, Moses would be up to that task. Maybe he’d need God’s help, but he’d be able to accomplish what he was called to.

Why would God make Moses that way if He knew He’d need to speak? Maybe the better question is why does He make any of us “defective”. The answer is in John 9:2-3.

“And his disciples asked him, saying , ‘Master, who did sin , this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?’  Jesus answered , ‘Neither hath this man sinned , nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.’”

Let me make a quick doctrinal tangent in this verse before I continue our topic. Notice that they asked him if this man had sinned. Yet, he was born blind. If he was born that way, when could he have possibly sinned? I’m so glad you asked.  This verse demonstrates that the disciples clearly believed in a pre-earth existence. There was no other opportunity for the man to sin before he was born. I know many evangelicals criticize  us for our belief in a pre-earth existence, saying it is mentioned nowhere in the Bible. I believe it is there, you just have to read the passages with an open mind.  Tangent over.

The Creator intentionally made this man blind. Why? To make manifest the works of God. His deformity was on purpose. It was easy to see how God would be made manifest in him. The world got to learn of the Savior’s healing power to restore his sight.

But, you might ask how the works of God can be made manifest in your or my defects. Not sure. I just know if He made you the way, He did it for a purpose. So, ask Him. You might be surprised at what He’ll accomplish in and through you BECAUSE of the various ways your body doesn’t cooperate with the norm.

I’m learning to rely on His grace. I also think people can see me rely on His grace. With my schedule (single mom, homeschooling, several jobs) people might be able to attribute any ability to keep up with all that by my being one of those lucky energetic, high metabolism people. But, with my physical issues, that is not only NOT the reason I accomplish what I do, it’s not possible. I truly am only able to do the things I do because I know my Heavenly Father called me to them and He will supply my needs. He is the one who lifts me up when I am so exhausted all I want to do is cry. He is the one who brings me comfort when I feel I’ve been asked to do too much alone. It has nothing to do with my energy and capabilities at all. I think that brings Him glory. When people ask me how I do it, I can truly answer, I don’t. He does.

I can’t wait to share with you some of the other names of God I’ve learned. But, this will have to do today.