Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
(1 Chronicles 16:10 NKJV)
This verse is easy to skip by (or never have read or noticed) in an OT book not much studied; yet there is much to be grasped here.
In this post, we will consider three words that reference God: Glory, Name, and Lord. First “Glory.”
The Hebrew word, and the corresponding Greek word (in the Septuagint, LXX*) are not easy to translate. Various English translations use “Glory,” as the NKJV does above; others use “Blessed,” still others use “Honor,” “Praise,” and “Boast.” That’s quite a range, and it still doesn’t quite capture the idea.
A standard Hebrew Bible lexicon defines the Hebrew word here–hâlal, haw-lal’–as “to boast, glory, make one’s boast.” The difficulty is that in English the word “boast” carries a somewhat negative connotation as it relates to “bragging” or something like ‘my god is bigger / better than your god.’ We’ll return to this in a moment.
But the root meaning of hâlal, haw-lal’ is “to shine” in the sense of “to clear” as in draw central attention to in a way that reveals it’s true essence. So in the world of theater, the hâlal, haw-lal’ would be whatever is in the central, most-intense spotlight on the stage. But, the word means more than just illuminated / highlighted: it is freighted with the idea of such light revealing the distinctive character of what it is in the spotlight. So, here in 1 Chronicles 16:10 the idea is not just that our absolute focus should be on “the Holy Name” but that it should be with the full unveiling of God’s deepest character, His Essence of Being.
הָלַל hâlal, haw-lal’; a primitive root; to be clear (orig. of sound, but usually of color); to shine; hence, to make a show, to boast; and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; causatively, to celebrate; also to stultify:—(make) boast (self), celebrate, commend, (deal, make), fool(-ish, -ly), glory, give (light), be (make, feign self) mad (against), give in marriage, (sing, be worthy of) praise, rage, renowned, shine.
Strong’s Definition
Of course such a thing is infinitely vast beyond our conception, nor will we ever as created beings grasp it even in eternity. However, this verse has a context: we are to hâlal, haw-lal’ the Holy Name, which Name is “The Lord” (הוה Yâhovah / yeh·ho·vaw, Strong’s H3068). The Name, Yehovah (sometimes pronounced, Jehovah) is the most-personal, sacred name of God. It is God’s name upon the creation of man in Genesis 2 (translated LORD, all caps in most Bibles), and is the name of God expressed to Moses at the burning bush, and in more than 6,000 (!) occurrences in the OT.
In the Greek Septuagint* of the OT, it is translated by the Koine Greek word “Kurios” (meaning Lord), which is exactly the Koine word used of “The Lord Jesus Christ” in the NT. Jesus was, is, and will always be Yehovah (Jehovah).
*The Septuagint (abbreviated LXX) is a Greek translation of the Hebrew OT approximately in the year 200 B.C. that was widely used in Israel at the time of Christ and is commonly the version cited by the NT when making reference to the OT (which makes sense because the NT is written in Greek). It is possible, though not certain, that the everyday language of Christ and the Apostles was a mixture of both Greek and Aramaic and Hebrew, as is common in many multi-cultural communities even to this day.
So, let’s return to the root idea of “shine,” “to reveal the essence of.” It is to do so of the “Holy Name” of the Saving God, Yehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is revealed in the NT, as the Lamb of God. By the use of “Name” it means the designation, the identifier of that Person of God Who is that Personal God, Savior, as at the time of Moses.
Well, one might respond, this is pretty obvious, as what else should it ever be that we “shine upon,” and in that sense lift up, as in praise / boast / honor (as the word is translation in various Bibles)? Sadly, it is often something else that has that focus.
First, the focus is often on man himself, as in the guy or gal in the pew. Every message, event, mood-setting act that lifts up man’s concerns or aspirations is stolen valor, taking that spot light away from Yehovah God.
A second mis-focus is that of the church. Glorifying the church–either a denomination or a specific body–is likewise stolen valor. The central focus should not be on some collective ‘us’ as is often the temptation of the leadership of a local body or those in leadership of a denomination or movement.
Finally, a third mis-focus is the world. This can occur with positive overtones as with some expression of the so-called “The Great Commission” or with the opposition of “sin” broadly as it occurs in the circumstances that surround us (often discounting that it primarily occurs within our own hearts as if there were a serpent lying at the bottom of each man’s heart, using the metaphor of Puritan Thomas Goodwin). It can also be expressed in a condemning sense of recounting the awfulness of “them” who are not present in this moment and in this place, and who do not accord with us in faith and practice. It requires very little effort to find evil everywhere today, as it has been so possible since Cain killed Abel.
However, what this verse is calling our attention toward is to hone in on the very Holy Name of the Lord, as the object of our thought and the focus of our search, quest, to understand Him and His Work as deeply as we can possibly do at our present state of immaturity and incompleteness.
How can we apply this to our lives? Let me borrow the metaphor of an old farmhouse screen door on a hinge (I am indebted to the late great preacher at First Baptist of Dallas, Dr. Criswell). Picture the old style long, loose spring used on farm house screen doors of the early years before all the fancy piston closures. When a child ran out of the house, as children are inclined to do, they threw open the screen door and sprinted out. Those seated in the house would hear that rusty spring stretch and stretch until it was silent at the maximum extension; then it would be followed by a different ever more intense squeaking sound with the rush of wind as the screen door came crashing back to its at rest position with a slam shut.
Let’s use that metaphor for the contents of our skull, and in public gatherings of the church, for the subject of proclamation by the preacher. In both contexts, where is that ‘at rest’ or ‘slam shut’ position of the preaching, and / or our thinking? Is it on the Divine Essence of the Savior? Does every aside, every sidebar word or thought find its return, by the natural act of that spring in our skull, or the inclination of the preacher, to the seeking of the glory of God?
1 Chronicles 16:10 says that doing so not only glorifies God but bring joy to our hearts. But more about that, in a next post.