Jehovah Tsidkenu

I have a lot of papers with things written down on them. For some reason the act of writing it out helps my mind remember. I usually never go back to look at these papers, but the other day I came across a little scrap in a pile that just had one thing written on it, “Jehovah Tsidkenu”. I vaguely remembered being interested in the Hebrew names of God a few years ago. Word origins and meanings have always intrigued me. But all that was on the paper was the name, so I had to look it up.

Indulge me in some brief entymology. I knew that Jehovah was the name for God and meant something similar to “I am”, so I was really just interested in the word tsidkenu. On a basic level, “Jehovah Tsidkenu” is The Lord our Righteousness. Now that is pretty awesome just like that. It’s found in Jeremiah 23:6, “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is the name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” I even found a powerful sermon of Spurgeon’s all about Christ as our righteousness. (Check it out here.)

But what really struck me was the meaning of Jehovah. From blueletterbible.org, “Jehovah is translated as “The Existing One” or “Lord.” The chief meaning of Jehovah is derived from the Hebrew word Havah meaning “to be” or “to exist.” It also suggests “to become” or specifically “to become known” — this denotes a God who reveals Himself unceasingly.” Wow, what an amazing thought to contemplate. He is the ever existing One who becomes known. The gospel is contained in God’s name! God’s name tells us that He reveals Himself, which points us to Christ, His Son who revealed the truth to mankind. I am so thankful for the richness of God’s word and its power for salvation!