Orthodox Christianity Vol II, Chp 6: God in the Old Testament

Our forefathers in the Old Testament sought to see God’s face and know His name; it is essentially a personal, not an abstract seeking of God. It’s not a philosophical system that the mind constructs in order to ascend to God. When Moses asked to see God’s glory and he saw His “back,” he experienced a revelation of God’s name, YHWH, in His glory. The holy name of YHWH, however, was never an answer to the question that Jacob had asked after he wrestled with God, which he himself named “Penuel” (face of God), nor was it a direct answer to Moses’ question after he saw the burning bush and asked for God’s name. Names were important for the people in the Old Testament because it revealed the essential characteristic of a person so that a bond could be created, such as making covenants and prayers. God comes to us personally in different actions and experiences at our human level through names. For example, the Lover of Mankind, the Merciful, the Savior, the Lord of Hosts. Even so, our words fail to label exactly who God is by name. We cannot classify God into our categories, and our eyes are not entirely capable of seeing God directly. We can experience God’s presence in many ways on earth. In the Old Testament, this mystical presence of God was often called the kabod of God (the glory of God) or Shekhina in Hebrew. This glory was shown as the burning bush, the whispering wind, the pillar of clouds in the desert, a thundering storm, the fire of the holy mountain, and the tabernacle’s mercy seat of God. Solomon’s temple was, in fact, built around the worship of God’s name, YHWH. Much of Orthodox liturgical worship is built around a person’s name too. We hymn that God’s presence has come to dwell in the Most Holy Theotokos and Virgin Mary, and now we are the temples of God and the tabernacles where He dwells. In this way, the names of God begin to stand in for His glory and mysterious appearances to mankind, which deserve our utmost reverence. The divine names all foreshadow the ultimate appearance, Jesus Christ Himself, the Word Incarnate. On a more profound theme, the Old Testament examples of seeking God’s name, face, and presence shows us that humanity has forgotten God; but, the Lover of Mankind, has not forgotten our names and our world. The Holy Trinity spoke even to Moses in the burning bush as “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” This passage recalls that God is not of the dead, but that He fills all things with His living presence. In addition, it recalls that Moses was also still living and not forgotten when he appeared at the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor.