August 21, 2019

365 Days of the Great Names of God, Day 264: El Yeshuati (The God Of My Salvation)


El Yeshuati (The God Of My Salvation)

"Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense ; he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2 NIV)

Out and in.

After the death of Moses, God charged Joshua with the task of leading His people out and in. Out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. Out of wandering and into home. Out of death and into life.

Joshua was the right person for the task not only because he was faithful, brave, and respected, but because the very meaning of his name—"Yeshua" in Hebrew, which means, "Yahweh is salvation"—spoke of what God would do through his leadership...of what God was always doing: saving His beloved.

Many years later, the prophet Isaiah would echo this ongoing action when he called God "El Yeshuati": God Of My Salvation.

And many years after that, the speaking and echoing would turn into a shout when another Yeshua was born: "She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua, [which means 'ADONAI saves,'] because he will save his people from their sins," as The Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) translates 
Matthew 1:21—or, as we're more familiar with it in the NIV and other versions where the Hebrew "Yeshua" is translated "Jesus" in the Greek: "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

Through this Yeshua ("Yahweh is salvation"), El Yeshuati, the God of our salvation, would bring us out and in.

Out of the wilderness and into the new Promised Land where every promise is a "yes" (2 Corinthains 1:20).

Out of wandering and into home (John 14:23).

Out of death and into life (John 3:16).


El Yeshuati, bring us out today. Bring us in. Surely, You are our salvation. We will trust and not be afraid.

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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!