The Decision Dare Study These Lesson Passages 1.Take Your Stand (Josh. 24:14-15), page 55

1. The Decision Dare Study These Lesson Passages 1.Take Your Stand (Josh. 24:14-15), page 55 2.Refuse Shallow Commitment (Josh. 24:16-18), page 57 3.Count the Cost (Josh. 24:19-25), page 58 Lesson Goal To help adults dare to decide about living in covenant relationship with the Lord. Biblical Truth Adults demonstrate courage by deciding to live in covenant relationship with the Lord. My Mission 1. Demonstrate courage by daring to take a stand for the Lord. 2. Demonstrate courage by refusing to make a shallow commitment to the Lord. 3. Demonstrate courage by counting the cost of serving the Lord.

2. Baali Ishi

3. Jehovah or Yahweh? JHVH Deuteronomy 14:23 (KJV) 23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. Deuteronomy 14:23 (HCSB) 23 You are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, in the presence of Yahweh your God at the place where He chooses to have His name dwell, so that you will always learn to fear the LORD your God.

4. יהוה Tetragrammaton JHVH or‏ YHWH ‎

5. This movement to alter God's name with absolutely nothing that resembles scriptural, textual, or linguistic support, has misled huge numbers of Christians into denying the Bible and accepting the work of Bible-scoffing atheists who have dominated the academic field of biblical studies since the mid-nineteenth century.

6. Hebrew Old Testament is God's word and it clearly says Yehovah, which becomes Jehovah in English pronunciation, and pronounced He'ova in Spanish.

7. Myth of No Vowels First we must deal with the common myth and that is that there are no vowels expressed in the Hebrew text. This is a convenient line of nonsense for those who want to change the text to fit their own views, but it is a dishonest line. Elaborate diacritic marks, called pointing by English-speaking Hebrew scholars, provide extensive information for vowels, doubled letters, stops, and other phonological features. Bible "correctors" are either ignorant of this fact or they pretend that they do not exist. Those who are aware of them and argue that they may be ignored because they were introduced into the text by the Massoretes at a later date are giving themselves free rein to alter virtually every word in the entire Hebrew Old Testament. Not only do these biblical detractors deny God's promise to forever preserve his word, every jot and tittle, but they open the door for Bible manipulation that has no other criteria than personal judgment or fancy. If we are to deny the Masoretic reading we can do no end of mischief to the text by inserting our own vowels, doubled letters, and stops. This allows us to change positives into negatives, passives into actives and vice versa, statement verbs into causative verbs and vice versa, to convert verbs into nouns and vice versa, and to even change the entire meaning of the verb itself. Many words could have several or even a dozen different varied meanings by toying with the pointing. Furthermore, some diacritics indicate different letters entirely. A dot over the right side of a shin indicates an SH, while a dot over the left side of it indicates an S. A dot inside of a vav is pronounce like a long U while a dot over the vav turns it into an O, so the removal or addition of such a dot is fair game to the Yahweh crowd. A dot inside a Pe is pronounced like P, while if it lacks a dot it become an F. Similarly a Bet with a dot is a B and a V without one. A number of other letters have similar features of changing their sounds according to the presence or position of a dot. If we are to ignore the vowel pointings, we are equally justified in changing S to SH and vice versa, or many other consonant changes, since the Massoretes were responsible for the consonant identifying diacritics as well. Suggestions to alter the text is a common method of attacking the Bible that has been employed by Bible-scoffing scholars in academia for over 100 years, it is a common practice that I encountered frequently among fellow students in Hebrew classes. The practice is taught and encouraged by those who consider the Bible to be mythology.

8. It is amazing to see this being done by people who claim to honor the Bible. Dr. G.A. Riplinger, in her tome, In Awe of His Word, points out that ignoring the vowel marks in the Hebrew allow Jews and atheists to remove future references to our Saviour from the Old Testament by toying with these vowels. [Riplinger, pp. 433-434]. For this reason vowelless Tanakhs (Hebrew name for Old Testament) are sometimes used. In fact, if the Masoretic diacritics are ignored, there is scarcely a word in the entire Bible, if there is any at all, that cannot be altered or changed completely. Why is it that alleged Bible-believers think that it is wrong to change words in the Bible into entirely different words, but it is alright to ignore the reading of the Hebrew text and alter the name of God without any evidence to support their altered reading other than the opinion of 19th century atheists? In fact, they are changing it when linguistic evidence shows that the pronunciation that they are using is wrong.

13. The name "Yahweh" is not clearly found in the Hebrew Scriptures The main criticism of the name "Yahweh" is that the vocalized Hebrew spelling "Yahweh" is found in no extant Hebrew Text.

14. Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew יהוה, transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown Yahweh is a letter-by-letter English transliteration of יהוה a vocalization of יהוה composed by Gesenius in the 19th Century. Wilhelm Gesenius [1786-1842] Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

18. Joshua 23:7 (KJV) 7 That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:

19. The following is a summary of the excuses that they have used for their refusing to insert the true name Yahweh. • It's used in most English versions • We're following an ancient tradition • The word "Jehovah" does not accurately present any form of the Name ever used in Hebrew (What about "Yahweh"??) • Use of any proper name...is entirely inappropriate • It lacks devotional qualities

20. Yahweh the Storm God • Kittel, like most biblical scholars within the • academic community today, was a believer in • the storm god theory. Storm gods of Near Eastern • and Vedic mythology were responsible for storms • and disease. • From an article that he wrote in The New Schaff: • "The origins of Yahweh worship...it appears that this cult was established before Deborah...Thus Yahweh appears as an old deity of Sinai, revered in untold antiquity as a weather-god..." (The New Schaff, Vol. XII, p. 472)."

21. Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention Deuteronomy 14:23 (KJV) 23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. Deuteronomy 14:23 (HCSB) 23 You are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, in the presence of Yahweh your God at the place where He chooses to have His name dwell, so that you will always learn to fear the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 14:23 (NIV) 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. Deuteronomy 14:23 (ESV) 23 And before the LORD your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. Deuteronomy 14:23 (ASV) 23 And thou shalt eat before Jehovah thy God, in the place which he shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, the tithe of thy grain, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd and of thy flock; that thou mayest learn to fear Jehovah thy God always. Deuteronomy 14:23 (NKJV) 23 And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. Deuteronomy 14:23 (NASB77) 23 "And you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the first-born of your herd and your flock, in order that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. Deuteronomy 14:23 (NASB) 23 "You shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. Deuteronomy 14:23 (GW) 23 Eat the tenth of your grain, new wine, and olive oil, and eat the firstborn of your cattle, sheep, and goats in the presence of the LORD your God in the place he will choose to put his name. Then you will learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live. Deuteronomy 14:23 (NLT) 23 Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the LORD your God chooses for his name to be honored—and eat it there in his presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 14:23 (TLB) 23 Bring this tithe to eat before the Lord your God at the place he shall choose as his sanctuary; this applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn of your flocks and herds. The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives. Deuteronomy 14:23 (AMP) 23 And you shall eat before the Lord your God in the place in which He will cause His Name [and Presence] to dwell the tithe (tenth) of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstlings of your herd and your flock, that you may learn [reverently] to fear the Lord your God always. Deuteronomy 14:23 (BBE) 23 And make a feast before the Lord your God, in the place which is to be marked out, where his name will be for ever, of the tenth part of your grain and your wine and your oil, and the first births of your herds and your flocks; so that you may have the fear of the Lord your God in your hearts at all times. Deuteronomy 14:23 (Darby) 23 And thou shalt eat before Jehovah thy God, in the place which he will choose to cause his name to dwell there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear Jehovah thy God continually. Deuteronomy 14:23 (MSG) 23 Bring this into the Presence of GOD, your God, at the place he designates for worship and there eat the tithe from your grain, wine, and oil and the firstborn from your herds and flocks. In this way you will learn to live in deep reverence before GOD, your God, as long as you live. Deuteronomy 14:23 (YLT) 23 and thou hast eaten before Jehovah thy God, in the place where He doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle, the tithe of thy corn, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd, and of thy flock, so that thou dost learn to fear Jehovah thy God all the days.

22. Jehovah or Yahweh? The word Jehovah has exactly 7 letters. Seven, in the Bible, is the number of God’s perfection. Not only that, but the word Jehovah occurs exactly 7 times in the word of God. The word Yahweh has 6 letterswhich in the Bible is associated with man. That leaves me with the impression that man has tampered with God’s perfect name. On that point alone, I would be very leery about using Yahweh instead of Jehovah.

23. Jehovah occurs exactly 7 times Genesis 22:14 (KJV) And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. Exodus 6:3 KJV 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. Exodus 17:15 (KJV) And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi: Judges 6:24 (KJV) Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. Psalms 83:18 KJVThat men may know that thou, whose name alone isJEHOVAH,art the most high over all the earth. Isaiah 12:2 KJVBehold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAHis my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Isaiah 26:4 KJVTrust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAHis everlasting strength:

24. Neophytus Vamvas (1770-1856) Translation of the Bible into Katharevousa Greek

25. Raymond Martin's Pugio FideiadversusMauros et Judaeos (1270, p. 559) containing the phrase "Jehova, sive Adonay, qvia Dominus es omnium" (Jehovah Adonay, for you are the Lord of all).[123]

26. Geneva Bible, 1560. (Psalm 83:18)

27. Latin rendering of the Tetragrammaton has been the form "Jova" (Origenis Hexaplorum, edited by Frederick Field, 1875.)

28. As this 1805 German Bible illustration showsthat  when Jesus read in the synagogue from the scroll of Isaiah, he pronounced God's name out loud.—

29. The following versions of the Bible render the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah either exclusively or in selected verses:

30. If we are to change the Tetragrammaton to YHVH, we should also change the spelling of Jerusalem to Yerusalem, Jericho to Yericho, etc. In addition, if Yahweh were the correct spelling of the Tetragrammaton, a German would pronounce that w like our v, which moves it closer to what the Bible says, Jehovah. So all of this is a strange mixture of German and English pronunciation designed to make folks ask, “Yea, hath God said…?”

31. "God is not without a name; he has a personal name (Jehovah).God's name belongs with his revelation." -Dictionary of New Testament Theology (Volume 2, pages 649, 653)

32. The 1971 New American Standard Bible preface under the heading "The proper Name for God" says in part, It is inconceivable to think of spiritual matters without a proper designation for the Supreme Deity. Thus the most common name for deity is God, a translation of the original Elohim…There is yet another name which is particularly assigned to God as His special or proper name, that is, the four letters YHWH …This name has not been pronounced by the Jews because of reverence for the great sacredness of the divine name. Therefore, it was consistently pronounced and translated LORD. It is known thatfor many years YHWH has been transliterated as Yahweh…However, it is felt by many who are in touch with the laity of our churches that this name conveys no religious or spiritual overtones. It is strange, uncommon, and without sufficient religious and devotional background. No amount of scholarly debate can overcome this deficiency. Hence, it was decided to avoid the use of this name in the translation proper. (page ix) The above statement is signed "Editorial Board."

33. JEHOVAH back through the centuries Some of the documentation John Gill cites in tracing the pronunciation of JEHOVAH back through the centuries includes: • 277 B.C. (p. 249) • A.D. 70 (i.e. Josephus, pp. 219, 221) • A.D. 120 (i.e. Zohar, p. 213) • A.D. 200 (Lamentations 5:21 “the points [vowels]were then,” p. 198.) • A.D. 250 (“Origen...quotes the Hebrew reading ofPs. 118:25, 26 [which uses JEHOVAH three times] and agreeable to the presentpunctuation [vowels]...by which it isevident that the Jews pointed as they donow,” pp. 188-189, 192.) • A.D. 380 (“Jerom says indeed, that the wordJehovah was in his time foundwritten...,” pp. 58-60, 175-176.) • A.D. 927 (Saadiah Gaon’s book on the Hebrewvowel points cited the vowels ofJehovah, pp. 140-141)

34. Note that in English Bibles, only those from 1985 onward purvey the "Yahweh" pronunciation, while "Jehovah" is documented in ancient sources as far back as 277 BC. Jehovah not YAHWEH

35. it is just a guess "The pronunciation of yhwh as Yahweh is a scholarly guess."-Anchor Bible Dictionary, VI-1011. "Transliteration" has a technical meaning, and it was used incorrectly. Yahweh is a transliteration of ... (some pointed Hebrew), but that is a very strange way of putting things, since this pointed Hebrew did not exist in advance but was constructed by reverse transliteration. Yahweh is not a transliteration but a reading, where the consonants are given and the vowels conjectured. People here seem to ascribe a high degree of certainty to this conjecture, but it is just a guess, supported by only little evidence, and there are variant conjectures.

36. To fabricate this new word for God, "Yahweh," scholars went to entirely non-biblical sources, including history, philology, and rationalism, making these sciences authoritative over the Bible. Like most such modern "discoveries," the "Yahweh" word is based entirely upon assumptions, without one shred -- not one dot -- of evidence.

37. New American Standard Bible preface It is known that for many years YHWH has been transliterated as Yahweh…However, it is felt bymany who are in touch with the laity of our churches that this name conveys no religious or spiritualovertones. It is strange, uncommon, and without sufficient religious and devotional background.No amount of scholarly debate can overcome this deficiency. Hence, it was decided to avoid the use of this name in the translation proper. Editorial Board 1971 New American Standard Bible preface

39. vowel points and accents Jesus explained in Matthew 5: 18 that one "jot" (yod the smallest Hebrew letter) nor one "tittle" (the smallest vowel point or accent) would pass away. Jesus Christ our Saviour and Messiah specifically attested to these vowel points and accents and their use in the Holy Scriptures J = jod = H = heh = V = vav = H = heh = "Yehovah - pronounced {yeh-ho-vaw'} - is the correct Hebrew rendering. "-Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

41. Y to J Issue The final issue that must be addressed concerns the conversion of Y to J. This is such an utterly silly and ignorant criticism that I find it embarrassing that there are actually Christians that present it as an argument. I already dealt with the issue in my article on the name of Jesus, but I will restate some of it here with some additional historical linguistic information provided by Dr. Riplinger. Y becomes a J in every name in English, French, and Spanish. In English the J is pronounced like J in Japan, while in French it is pronounced like S in pleasure, in Spanish it is pronounced like an H, in German it is pronounced like Y. This is a phonological and orthographical issue, not a theological one. There is no theological issue at stake in how one language interprets a certain phoneme. In every case of a name in Hebrew that begins with a yod (Y) it is pronounced with the appropriate phoneme for that language. This came about through phonological and orthographical changes in the developments of those languages. Even Hebrew itself went through huge phonological and orthographical changes in its long history. God's name is not a magic word to be chanted for power as the name cult seems to suggest for both the names of God and Jesus. My name comes from a Hebrew word meaning given by God, which begins with a Y in Hebrew. It is Jean (zhan) in French, Juan (hwan) in Spanish, Giovanni in Italian, Hans in German, Yani in modern Greek, Ivan (eevan) in Russian, Yahya or Hanna (with a heavy H) in Arabic, and other variations exist in other languages. They all translate as John and I have no trouble adapting to any of them within the respective cultures and there is no reason for me to be insulted by any of these names. On the other hand, being addressed by a made up name based on a pagan deity would insult me.

42. If these name cultists find the J so objectionable, why don't they refer to Elijah as Elaiyah, Jeramiah as Yeramaiyah, Jacob as Yakov, Jonathan as Yanatan, Jerusalem as Yerushaleem, and so forth. For that matter why don't they use the Hebrew pronunciation for all of the names in the Bible, such as Dahveed, Moshe (Moses), Shmu'el (Samuel), Sha'ul (Saul), Shlomo (Solomon), and so forth, if they consider the issue to be so important. Since those who call God by a name that is not even Hebrew at all, and since they do so without a scrap of evidence to override the very solid evidence to the contrary, why do they have any constraints at all about inventing whimsical pointings for other names in the Bible? Why not call David Dahwid, Duwad, Diwad, or Deewud. Or how about Da'ud as Arabic pronounces it? Since Yahwe sounds like an Arabic word (except for the long A) this should go over well. Better yet, why not Dood. After all, as I have already pointed out, the vav is read as a long U when there is a dot in the middle of it. The modern translations that want to relate to the modern youth could spell him Dude. Think of the great "Christian" rock lyrics that could come from that. While we are at it why not call Moses Mose instead of Moshe so it fits the atheist scholars view that his name is related to an Egyptian pharaoh with a similar name. Moshe could also be Masih (Arabic for Messiah), Shlomo could be Sulemaw, and Shmu'el could be Smiwal?

43. For those who still who are still confused about the phonological issue of sound changes between and within languages, the following historical-linguistic summary from the World Book Encyclopedia concerning the Y to J conversion as it relates to English should be helpful. "The sound of the Hebrew letter jod came into English as the letter 'I,' used as a consonant and having the soft 'g' sound, like today's 'j.' In the past the letter 'I' was used as both a vowel (i) sound and as the consonant 'j' sound. The OED says that the sound of 'j,' though originally printed as 'I,' was pronounced as a soft 'g' (Oxford English Dictionary, Unabridged, 2nd Edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991, s.v. J). The 'JE' sound in JEHOVAH was spelled 'IE' and pronounced as 'JE.' To distinguish the consonant sound (soft 'g') of the letter 'I' from the vowel sound of 'I,' many scribes in the 1200s began putting a tail on the soft 'g' 'I',' making it look like our modern 'J.' The Spanish, in the 1500s, were the first to more consistently try to distinguish the consonant I (soft 'g') sound as the shape of a 'J.' At that same time English printers used 'J' and 'I' fonts interchangeably (as documented elsewhere in this book). During the 1600s, most languages began consistently using the extended 'I' form, now called a 'J,' to represent the 'j' (soft 'g') sound." [quoted in Riplinger, p. 418]

44. This movement to alter God's name with absolutely nothing that resembles scriptural, textual, or linguistic support, has misled huge numbers of Christians into denying the Bible and accepting the work of Bible-scoffing atheists who have dominated the academic field of biblical studies since the mid-nineteenth century.

45. If they deny what the KJV says about the name of God, then they do not believe the KJV is God's word. In fact, they do not believe that the Hebrew Old Testament is God's word either, because it clearly says Yehovah, which becomes Jehovah in English pronunciation, and pronounced He'ova in Spanish. If one can change that word simply on a whim, which is all the Yahweh spelling is, then they can deny the spelling of absolutely any other word in the entire Hebrew Bible.

46. In the 18th century John Gill outlined examples of the Jehovah pronunciation going back before the time of Christ. The following examples of its use appear in Gill's work and are listed In Awe of Thy Word: "An occurrence from 277 B.C. (p. 249), Josephus in 70 A.D. (pp. 219, 221), the Zohar from 120 AD, A copy of Lamentations from 200 AD, Origen in Psalm 250 quotes Psalm 118:25 where Jehovah is mentioned three times, Jerome in 380 AD, and the grammarian Saadiah Gaon's book on Hebrew diacritics cited the vowels of Jehovah."

47. many no longer "prove" anything if it comes to them from some supposed learned scholar. Many of these alleged scholars are members of secret orders and mystic cult organizations, trying to peddle their paganized heresies by infusing them into the theologies and doctrines of the Church.

48. "Yehova, which was in agreement with the beginning of all the theophoric names, was the authentic pronunciation...“ (Yehovah in Hebrew = Jehovah in English)

49. To the left is a card from the witchcraft deck of tarot. The four letters of the tetragrammaton are spaced between each letter spelling tarot. Read the letters clockwise you have tarot. Read them backward and you find "Tora" an abbreviation of "Torah." Those who believe in the four letter tetragrammaton believe that all the Law of God may be found reduced to the four letters YHWH. Yahweh is not a Hebrew name. -Ency Brit 11Ed Vol 15 p 321

50. And, look to the left at the card. Who is that red figure upon whom the whole revolving system of Tarot, Tora, YHWH, and knowledge rest or sabbaths, but the ole devil himself. Opposite the red devil is his other form of the serpent, the form and figure through which he deceives the world. The Egyptian witch of mysticism sits upon the circle as the revealer and protector (sword) of the mystic name of Yah. My claims and statements are against many scholars and sacred high chairs of learning, which I have found to be the blind leaders of the blind. To long the herd instinct has taken over the Christian mind and many no longer "prove" anything if it comes to them from some supposed learned scholar. Many of these alleged scholars are members of secret orders and mystic cult organizations, trying to peddle their paganized heresies by infusing them into the theologies and doctrines of the Church.