Know this: God is God, and God, God.
He made us; we didn’t make him.
We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.
Psalm 100:3
Observation: In this interpretation, this verse makes ... almost no sense. This is because there are actually multiple root words being used here, but in creating a simplified reading of the text, both words have been interpreted as "God". One of the words is Yahweh, the Great I Am, the name of the Lord as given to Moses. The other word is less specific, but is intended to define God the Creator, the being who should be known and understood by all humans as the one who created the universe. Therefore, a better understanding of this verse would be something like "Everyone should know this ... Yahweh is the Creator of everything, including you; You are his and he cares for you daily."
Application: I have been using The Message for my devotions for two weeks short of a year. It hasn't been as terrible as I feared it would be. ;-) There are some elements of The Message that provide very clear and very interesting insights. There are other times when, most certainly, the attempt to simplify a complicated idea results in not only a narrow understanding, but a clearly flawed - or different - understanding. I may appreciate this version of the Bible more than I did a year ago, but I'm also looking forward to a new version.
Prayer: I declare today that God, you are God, my God, the God who provides for me and my family. I love thinking on your names, like Yahweh, Adonai, Elohim, El Shadai, El Roi, Jehovah Nissi, and so on. That said, I declare this, that you are the great God, creator of heaven, earth, and me. I am yours, and you care for me. Thank you for your great love. Amen.
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