“God said to Moses, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations’” (Exodus 3:15).
When reading the Old Testament, you may come across the word “LORD” printed in capital letters. This is because many versions of the Bible make no attempt to translate the most holy and sacred name of God: יהוה (yod - hei - vav - hei) (YHVH). Four letters long, it is sometimes referred to as the Tetragrammaton, a Greek word meaning “the sign of the four [letters].” Depending on what circle you’re in, you may hear these letters pronounced Yahweh or Jehovah––but understand, both are attempts to pronounce the same four Hebrew letters that constitute God’s personal name as revealed to Moses at the burning bush.
In Jewish circles, “the name YHVH is considered so holy that the Jews dare not speak it. Whenever the Torah is being read aloud and the name of YHVH is encountered, the word Adonai (“Lord”) or Hashem (“The Name”) is substituted in order to avoid uttering this holy name. Also when copying Torah scrolls, a scribe exercises the utmost caution when printing God’s name. Before printing the letters, he says aloud, “I am about to write the name of God in honor of His holy name.” If a king should address him as he writes the name of God, he is not permitted to pause for a reply, but must first complete the printing of these four letters. And, should a scribe make the slightest error in printing God’s name, he is forbidden to correct his mistake. The entire sheet of parchment must be replaced” (Grant Luton, In His Own Words, pg. 4).
Something fascinating about God’s holy name is revealed when we convert the letters (yod - hei - vav - hei) to numbers. As we know, the Hebrew alphabet is alphanumeric. Every letter doubles as a number. Below are the first ten letters and their numeric equivalence:
If you do the math, the Tetragrammaton adds up to 26.
י + ה + ו + ה
5 + 6 + 5 + 10 = 26
In connection, we find that a cube has 26 identical features:
Features of a Cube:
12 Identical Edges
8 Identical Corners
6 Identical Surfaces
_________________________
26 Features
This shape with 26 features is relevant if we take into account God’s dwelling place in the past, present, and future. In the past, He dwelt in the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was a perfect cube. In the future, He will dwell in the new Jerusalem. The new Jerusalem is a perfect cube. And right now, in the present moment, He dwells within us. Who are we? He calls us the salt of the earth. The salt crystal happens to be the only cube found in nature.
Past: “Then he prepared an inner sanctuary within the house in order to place there the ark of the covenant of the LORD. The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height” (1 Kings 6:19-20).
Present: “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13).
Future: “The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long” (Revelation 21:16).
