Ex. 6:2, 3, "And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them."  The name JHVH or YHWH appears in the old testament over 6000 times and is translated primarily into English as "Lord" or "Lord God."  According to Vines the tetragrammation YHWH appears without its own vowels and its exact pronunciation is debated (Jehovah, Yehovah, Jahweh, Yahweh).  In the above quoted text God tells us that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not know him by the name Jehovah.  It wasn't that the name Jehovah was outside their mental knowledge, but they had not experienced the fulfillment of that name.  The name JEHOVAH is God's covenant name.  The name Jehovah translated Lord God and Lord first appears in Gen. 2:4 and its chief use is in connection with the covenants God made/fulfilled.  The name is used in connection with the covenant of the law of sin and death and with the covenant of marriage both of which are set forth for us in the second chapter of Genesis.  Furthermore the name is used throughout Gen. chapters 3 and 4 as the scriptures unfold to us God's dealings with man under the covenant of the law of sin and death. In similar fashion in Gen. Chapter 12 when God began to reveal his covenant promises to Abram the English word Lord is translated from the Hebrew "Jehovah."  Most frequently when God spoke to Abram and to Isaac and to Jacob about the covenant promises it was under the name Jehovah that he spoke to them.

    Now our text says that by the name of Jehovah God was not known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Now it is apparent that they knew the name Jehovah in association with the covenant promises.  However, they did not know the name experientially in the fulfillment of those covenant promises.  God is not only a covenant making God, but he is also a covenant keeping God.  In Ex. 6:1-8 the name Jehovah appears six times as God proclaims to the children of Israel thru Moses that he is going to fulfill the covenant that he established with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Four times in the passage we see the phrase "I am the Lord," which means "I am Jehovah."  Thus as God declares to them he is come to fulfill the covenant it is as the covenant making/covenant keeping Jehovah that he comes to fulfill his promises.  Also in this passage there is a declaration of seven things God is going to do to fulfill his covenant.  

These seven things are:
1.  "I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians."
2.  "I will rid you out of their bondage."
3.  "I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with great judgments."
4.  "I will take you to me for a people."
5.  "I will be to you a God."
6.  "I will bring you into the land..."
7.  "I will give it you for a heritage."

    Any discussion of the name Jehovah would be incomplete without noting the everlasting covenant of redemption which God made before the foundation of the world and which God will completely fulfill at the end of this time world.  This covenant is set forth for us in Rom. 8:28-30, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."  In this covenant that God made before the world began there are five things that God has promised to do for his covenant people.  

These are:
1.  Foreknew them.
2.  Predestinate them.
3.  Call them.
4.  Justify them.
5.  Glorify them.

    Since God is Jehovah and we know by the name of "Jehovah" God is both a covenant making and a covenant fulfilling God we can rest with the sweet assurance that Jehovah has/will fulfill all five provisions (promises) of the everlasting covenant of redemption.  Previously we had noted that God as "God Almighty" manifest himself as the power of execution of the covenant of redemption.  Now we conclude that as Jehovah, God manifests himself as the covenant maker/fulfiller of this everlasting covenant of redemption.

In our next essay we will consider the name, "Rock," as it describes God to us.

Elder Vernon Denton is the pastor of Denton Primitive Baptist Church, Denton, Texas.