April 2, 2020 Coronavotions (devotional thoughts for the lock-down)

Considering the names of God: El Olam

In Isa. 40, the prophet chastises God’s people for thinking that God is unaware of them. The prophet describes God’s sovereign rule of His creation at length and then asks: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.” (29)

“The Everlasting God” is the translation of the Hebrew El Olam (El meaning God, and Olam meaning “forever, perpetual, everlasting”). The Everlasting God has always been and always will be; nothing is hidden from His sight and nothing transpires that He does not direct. El Olam has abiding strength so that He orchestrates the affairs of nations and never falters even though the strongest men grow weary.

Isaiah goes on to offer words of comfort based upon the truth represented in El Olam: “30 Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, 31 yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”

El Olam, the Everlasting God, is eternal and as an eternally existing God, knows all things, controls all things and disposes of all things as He sees fit. As the Everlasting God, there is nothing hidden from His sight and there is nothing outside His dominion.

Let us understand that El Olam, the Everlasting God, watches over us today. He continues to know all things and control all things; He remains aware of us and continues to care for us. As we observe the transitory nature of life, as we observe our years following rapidly one after another, as we experience the grief and frustration of a fallen world, let us turn to El Olam, the Everlasting God. He has always been and forever will be.

Days will pass, centuries will come and go, nations will rise and fall, we will know joy and we will know sorrow, we will live and we will die, but El Olam will always be and He is our God.

Jim Bordwine