What's in a Name?

1 Kings 8:28-30 "Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today:29 that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said,'My name shall be there,' that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place." NKJV 

Teaching through the book to the Hebrews on Saturdays for Reach and Teach Bible College has been a blast because it's like being in a gold mine. Everywhere you turn, there's a nugget you didn't notice before. From the Rabbinical teaching method of Remez to Melech Tzedek and the Cohen vay Melech to the things that aren't even technically in the text, but you end up discussing in class. Totally Holy Spirit led - there have been many "moments" through the class where we have entered into discussion on something that technically isn't directly from the text, but touches someone's heart because it is a response to some situation in their lives.

Last week I was talking about how God has placed certain things right in front of us to be seen as faith builders (I think we were at the end of chapter 3 moving into chapter 4 discussing belief.) One of those things that I mentioned is from the 1 Kings scripture above where God says that He will write His name on the land. Orthodox Jews and even some more liberal Jews will not speak the name of God or even write God ... instead they write something like G_d or say Ha Shem - which means The Name in Hebrew. Sometimes, they will even use the first letter of Shem to refer to God, which in Hebrew looks like a rounded "W"and is called the Shin (sheen) - see below:

Now, and this is really cool, look at an Aerial map of Jerusalem or visualize based on the topographical representation below.  There are three valleys that run through the land.  On the eastern side of the temple mount is the Kidron Valley.  Running up right next to the western side of the temple mount and under what is known as "Robbinson's Arch" and seperating Mount Moriah from Mount Zion is the Tyropoeon valley.  Just a little further off to the west on the other side of Mount Zion is the Gehenna Valley.  These three valleys join together at south just under the old City of David, forming a letter Shin - Ha Shem - The Name - the name of God written on the land.

Awesome.  There is no god like our God Most High.  Baruk Ha Shem!