6 Verses, 7 Names, 1 Promise

I find it incredible that our God wants us to know Him. And through His Word He reveals so much about His character, inviting us to know Him intimately and deeply, even giving us names by which we can call Him. 

While the Bible is full of names for God and His Son Jesus, the Old Testament lays out 7 compound names for God. Seven names we can call upon. Seven names that are, in fact, a promise of who He will be to us when we depend on Him and rely on Him. 

Scripture uses the picture of sheep to represent us. And just a short journey into that research you’ll immediately see why, and let me tell you, while horribly unflattering, it’s terribly true. Sheep are defenseless, they’re prone to getting lost, they require almost constant care, they need to be led from in front as opposed to cattle which are driven from behind… and, simply put, they're not too bright! In fact, after a shepherd has safely confined them in their enclosure, sheep will find even the slightest breach, take the discrete exit and wander off, leaving all safety and care behind them. Sounds a little too familiar, doesn’t it?!

With that said, sheep need a shepherd, and while Scripture uses sheep as a metaphor for us, it is Jesus who is described as our Great Shepherd. Hebrews 13 tells us:

Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21

The word “Shepherd” is Strongs H7462 ra’ah, and it means: to tend a flock, to associate with (as a friend), companion, keep company with, feed, make friendship with, and keep. Doesn’t that make this metaphor even more beautiful?!

We see the love, care, and sacrifice for us by our Shepherd in Hebrews 7:25 where we see that He is our Great High Priest and He lives to make intercession for us. 1 Peter 1:19 tells us that He died for His sheep; John 17:12 tells us that we, His sheep, were given to Him by His Father; and lastly, in John 18:9, Jesus confidently and lovingly states to His Father, “Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.” A worthy Shepherd indeed!

It's almost impossible to reference God as our Shepherd without visiting one of David's most loved and memorized psalms — Psalm 23.

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

One of the most exquisite things about this psalm is that in it, we find references to the seven compound names for God, which is incredible because Psalm 23 holds only 6 verses! As David recounts the horror—the valley of death—he finds himself in, he simultaneously reveals God’s total and complete adequacy in his life. David’s experiences in this passage echo each of the provisions God's names for Himself encapsulate and in the end, David realizes that he lacks nothing and that God was indeed everything He promised to be. 

But before we dive into that, let’s break down a few really amazing things hidden away in this passage.

We find David immediately telling us that the Lord is shepherding him. He’s not just telling us who God is by title to him in his life, but what the Lord does for him: He gently leads him as a good Shepherd does. The word “lead” in this first verse is Strongs H5095 nahal, and it means: to lead or guide to a watering place, bring to a place of rest, refresh, to gently lead, to protect, sustain, carry. That is what David was experiencing with God, being gently led, refreshed, sustained, and protected.

David tells us that the Lord his Shepherd leads him beside still water, which is fascinating since sheep will not drink from fast-moving streams. Sheep require still water to drink from so a good shepherd leading his sheep to water will either find a still spot or dam up an area if the water is moving, to provide a still, calm place that his sheep can handle. I don’t know about you but I get easily overwhelmed when there's a lot going on around me. Isn’t it wonderful to know that our Shepherd can and will lead us to still waters? 

By the time we get to verse 4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me”, something shifts. This is where David stops telling us about his Shepherd and begins speaking to his Shepherd. An interesting little fact to note here is that David received comfort from both the Shepherd’s staff and the rod. And we need to know that they are two very different things. A staff was a long, slender piece of wood, usually with a crook on the end, and would have been used by the shepherd to assist his sheep, to help gather them, to tend to them, or even lift them when in need. A shepherd’s rod, however, was used for defending and protecting his sheep. It’s amazing to realize that David was experiencing both of these things from God. David knew and experienced the multifaceted, all-encompassing love of a shepherd for his sheep.

Lastly, as David closes, he references his eternal, heavenly home with the Lord. Kings, as David was, did not reside in earthly temples, those were for the priests. David was not speaking here of dwelling in the temple with the Lord. For David to say that he would “dwell in the house of the Lord forever” shows he understood life beyond this world. He was anticipating an eternity with his Father in heaven, forever. Wow!

As we read through Psalm 23 we find David worshiping the Lord, his Shepherd. And as he explains who his God is to him and how he lacks for nothing because of his great God, he lists the things he has from God therefore describing areas of his life that are fulfilled and without lack. It is here where we find him referencing the seven compound names of God. 

1. Jehovah-Raah (Psalm 23): The Lord our shepherd 

This entire passage speaks to this name of God. “The Lord is my Shepherd…” David saw himself as a helpless sheep and his great and mighty God as his Shepherd, his Jehovah-Raah.

2. Jehovah-Jireh (Genesis 22:14): The Lord will provide 

David said, “I shall not want”. David, who was in the depths of anguish, lacked for nothing. He went on to say, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures”, showing he was experiencing no lack of provision. He was experiencing God as his Jehovah-Jireh.

3. Jehovah-Shalom (Judges 6:24): The Lord our peace

In this passage, we are told that God led David beside the still waters, a place David recognized as a place where he would never lack peace. David knew his God to be his Jehovah-Shalom.

4. Jehovah-Rapha (Exodus 15:26): The Lord that heals

As David so beautifully puts it, he understood that his God, and only his God, could restore his soul. He knew that with God, his Jehovah-Rapha, he would not lack restoration.

5. Jehovah-Tsidkenu (Jeremiah 33:16): The Lord our righteousness

David tells us that God led him in the paths of righteousness, telling us he knew God to be his Jehovah-Tsidkenu because he did not lack guidance.

6. Jehovah-Shammah (Ezekiel 48:35): The Lord ever-present

David was in the depths, in the valley of the shadow of death, and yet he absolutely knew that he was not alone. He said that he would “fear no evil” because God was with him. In addition, both the staff and the rod, in their unique ways, brought comfort to David. Because of these things, he experienced God to be his Jehovah-Shammah, knowing he did not lack for courage because the Lord was there.

7. Jehovah-Nissi (Exodus 17:15): The Lord our banner

In verse 5, David says that God prepared a table for him in the presence of his enemies. It’s important to note that the word table here is a synecdoche, a figure of speech, meaning the table was a part of something being used to reference a whole. The table meant something much bigger. David is describing that God didn’t place a wooden table before him, but that God prepared a feast, a luxurious spread upon a table. And He did it in the company of David's enemies. Why? Because under the banner of his Lord, David did not lack protection, preservation, or honor, no matter what he was facing.

It is so important for us to always remember that while the Bible holds 66 books, there is only 1 beautiful story, exquisitely stitched together in the most astounding ways. I just love when I see the threads connecting, when I see cohesion from Old Testament to New, and see again that this book with over 35 writers really only has 1 author, the Lord God — One voice, One Spirit, the voice of God to us. 

The seven compound names for God describe His completeness. And tucked away in just 6 verses, David, in the beautiful writing style that only belonged to him, shared not just his deep anguish, but 7 names for the One who was more than able to be the complete adequacy for his every need. A promise we are each given by God today, that no matter what we are facing. He is everything we need.

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