My Evaluation – God Has a Name by John Mark Comer

John Mark Comer’s writing style is very informal and simple. There are many one-word sentences and one sentence paragraphs. The style reminds me of Rob Bell. This may make his work more accessible for certain audiences, but it isn’t my favorite. Some may find his way of wording things bordering on irreverent at time.

It is hard to find anything significant to disagree with in the content of the book. My main critique is that there was nothing innovative or novel. If you are already familiar with these concepts, this book may not be worth your time. If these concepts are new for you, then this may be a great book to start with.

• LORD in the Bible stands for God’s personal name Yahweh.
• Yahweh created other gods (Elohim) that have a real impact in the world.
• Evil is a result of free will. Free will is necessary for a loving relationship.
• God is both loving and just.

The Second Edition

The second edition includes an extra appendix on contemplative practices. We become what we think about, so we should spend more time thinking about God. This is a practice that God can use to transform us.

• Look at God, looking at you, in love
• Yield to God’s love
• Rest in God’s love

John Mark Comer provides three practices to try:

• Meditation
• Lectio Divina
• Imaginative Prayer

Book Summary – God Has a Name by John Mark Comer

Exodus 34:6-7 is what God says about himself to Moses on top of Mt. Sinai. This is the passage most quoted and alluded to by other passages in all of Scripture. Each chapter in the book discusses one line from this passage. First, John Mark Comer discusses the original Hebrew. Second, he looks at stories in Scripture that quote this passage. Third, he looks at how Jesus fits in with the line. Last, he ends with a discussion about what that line means for us today.

“The LORD [Yahweh], The LORD [Yahweh], the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

Exodus 34:6-7

God’s Name is Yahweh

God revealed his name (Yahweh) to Moses from the burning bush. Out of reverence for his name, it became habit to avoid saying or writing God’s name. This is why most Bible’s translate Yahweh as LORD. Lord can be misinterpreted as more of a title than a personal name. A name in ancient near eastern culture carried more weight than names do for us today. A name was key part of identity. Yahweh means “I am who I am” (ehyeh-asher-ehyeh in Hebrew). This communicates that a key part of God’s identity is his consistency and stability. In Jesus, Yahweh becomes a human being. Following Jesus means declaring that Jesus is Lord.

Realizing that God has a personal name has implications for us today. God wants to have a relationship with each of us. He responds to us and wishes to partner with us to rule in his kingdom. We should relate to God as a friend, not as a formula.

God’s name is repeated twice to emphasize the importance. The reason that God needed to reveal his name was to distinguish himself from all the other gods. God created humans as well as other spiritual beings, called Elohim. The Bible claims that Yahweh is the one true creator God and made everything that exists. This means that Yahweh created other gods. These other gods are in a whole different category, but still very real. There are numerous stories in the Old Testament that describe these lesser gods and their influence over geographical areas and people groups. When Jesus arrived, one of the focuses of his ministry was performing exorcisms. The Bible provides a monotheistic worldview in contrast to the polytheism or universalism of other worldviews.

God is Compassionate and Gracious

When God begins to describe his character, he starts with the most important aspects of compassionate and gracious. The Hebrew word for compassionate is rahum. The root of the word means “female womb”. This evokes the type of emotion/feeling that is unique to a parent for a child. The Hebrew word for gracious is hanun, which is more of an action word than a feeling word. God takes action based on his mercy, not what we have done. Jesus lived out this aspect of God’s character in his merciful approach to healing and loving his enemies. This is an example for us who follow Jesus. We are compassionate because God is compassionate. We are gracious because God is gracious.

God is Slow to Anger

The Hebrew for “slow to anger” is erek apayim, which means “long of nostril”. God does not have a quick temper, like many of the other gods. He repeatedly gives his people many chances to repent. He does eventually get angry. God gets angry at evil. There are times when the appropriate, mature and just response to evil is anger. God’s wrath can be active or passive and can be present or future. God’s present wrath tends to be passive, letting evil suffer the natural consequences, while God’s future wrath is more active. There is an ultimate judgment coming. Jesus was slow to anger but did get angry, especially at the religious leaders who were steering people away from God.

God is Abounding in Love and Faithfulness

The Hebrew word for love here is hesed. This means steadfast love, unfailing love, or covenant loyalty. The Hebrew word for faithfulness is emet. This is similar to “amen” and “truth or trustworthy”. God’s love is trustworthy. The story of the Bible is God enacting his plan to redeem his people through Abraham to Israel to Jesus. We have hope for the future because of God’s character. It isn’t hope that nothing bad happens, but that God is stronger than everything and will be faithful.

God Does Not Leave the Guilty Unpunished

The last part of the passage about punishing children for the sins of their parents makes us uncomfortable today. John Mark Comer gives four things to think about how to interpret these verses. First, the comparison between God’s love to a thousand generations compared to his punishment to the third and fourth communicates how much greater is God’s love than his wrath.

Second, some people don’t want forgiveness and continue to choose to rebel. God’s punishment is not retributive, but about healing and renewal for his world. God will put an end to evil once and for all. For those who have seen true evil, there is comfort in God’s justice.

Third, often parents’ sin has consequences for their children. This is easy to see with divorce, abuse, etc. There are ripple effects that impact those closest.

Fourth, there are times where the same sinful patterns resurface in subsequent generations. God will continue to punish sin in each generation until it is gone.

The reconciliation of God’s love and justice in the death of Jesus is the fullest expression of God’s character.

My Top Takeaways – God Has a Name by John Mark Comer

God is Relational

There are many good reminders in the book, but my top takeaway is that God is personal. He desires a relationship with each of us. He wants to rule creation in partnership with us. My philosophical and scientific nature and background has made me more comfortable with Aristotle’s God than the God of the Bible. That is, God as the first cause, the unmoved mover and known by his immutable attributes. I can keep this type of God in my head, but Yahweh wants my heart.