Mighty God
In Hebrew, the word translated “Mighty” in Isaiah 9:6 unsurprisingly means “powerful”, “strong,” “valiant,” and “brave.” The Hebrew word translated “God” is El. El is most commonly translated “God” in our English Bibles, but it also means “strong”, “power”, and “mighty.”
So, in a sense, “Mighty God” means “the strong, strong One.”
The Messiah will be superlative. Above all else. Not a god. The God.
He’s great, and He’s awesome. He executes justice; He feeds and clothes sojourners (Deuteronomy 10:17-21); He keeps His steadfast, covenant love with His people (Nehemiah 9:32); He is great in counsel, mighty in deed; He sees all, rewards obedience, rescues His people, and gives them an inheritance (Jeremiah 32:17).
That’s an impressive resumé.
In Deuteronomy 5, when God gives the 10 commandments through Moses, the very first thing He says is, “I am the LORD your God. You shall have no other gods before me.” The second commandment keeps the same theme: don’t make idols. Don’t give your love and worship to anything less than me.
Why does God lead with these?
His answer: “For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…”
Jealousy is defined as “fiercely protective or vigilant of one’s rights or possessions.“ God’s rights are his God-ness. His possessions are us, his creation.
God is abundantly clear that we are to have no other gods before Him. He is also very aware that there are and will be many other “gods” that we will create and serve. Anything that comes before Him in the ordering of our love he calls an idol. In Bible times, most idols were made of wood or metal. Our modern idols tend to be made of ego, money, power, possessions…you name it. Whatever they look like, our idols steal the love and worship that is rightly due to God alone. He is jealous for us and for our worship because he created us.
Jesus told the rich young ruler that the most important commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” Why?
Because we become like what we love.
So let’s spend some focused time this week learning to love the Mighty God who alone is worthy of our worship. The Mighty God who – imagine this! – comes to us, is given to us! Let’s not miss this or lose sight of it. Almighty God – from whom and in whom is everything – gives Himself to us! But not as our possession or servant – as our Mighty God.
This is awe–some in the truest sense of the word. May we be filled with awe and wonder as we reflect this week on the Messiah as Mighty God.
Mighty God, help us this week to grow in our awe and wonder of the “strong, strong One.” As St. Augustine said, “My love is my weight; wherever I go my love is what brings me there.” Give weight to my love for you, that it may bring me where you want me to be.
Questions for Reflection:
- What connotations do you typically associate with the word “jealous”?
- After reading this article, how do you feel about the idea of God being a “jealous” God?
- In his sermon “Source and Surface Idols,” Matt Chandler identifies four main idols that are at the root of much of the idolatry in our lives: comfort, control, approval, and power. Which of these idols tends to take the place of Mighty God in your life?
- What would it take for Mighty God to take the place of this idol?
