Jehovah Mekoddishkem (mek-KAH-dish-KIM) is a long, tongue-twisty name for an incredibly important truth.

It is God who set us apart for His purposes and accomplishes sanctification in our life. Our job is to follow Him in trust and obedience.

So far, it has been a week of a big God. Today, we will look at a small moment and the God who was in it.

First, a brief recap: Ten years had passed since God had promised Abram, a wealthy shepherd and future father of Israel, that he would have an heir. Nothing had happened and the biological clocks were ticking. Sarai, Abram’s wife, came up with a logical conclusion to the problem; Have Abram father the next generation through Hagar, her young Egyptian maid. Abram agreed. Hagar likely didn’t get a vote. However, after Hagar became pregnant by Abram, it began to dawn on her how her fortunes had improved. In an unwise move, she acted contemptuously toward her barren mistress. Sarai complained to Abram who said. “Do whatever you want.” The resulting mistreatment by Sarai caused Hagar to flee to the desert.

Throughout history, people believed that a Supreme Being brought the physical universe into existence and continued to act upon it. In the mid-1800’s, with the introduction of evolutionary theory, a new worldview emerged. It centered around a universe that not only thought itself up, but continued to keep itself running. Today the creation vs. evolution debate is still alive and well.

What is that old saying? “You never have a second chance to make a first impression.”

Like English, Hebrew has small letter gods and capital letter gods. The Elohim of Genesis 1:1, is as big as they get. He is the “all-powerful creator of the universe who knows all, creates all and is everywhere at all times.” Creators are, by definition, bigger than and outside of what they have made. Because of this, they decide what they will create and the rules by which it will operate. (True, though not always popular.)