What Does Yahweh God Desire?

by Steve Bastin

One prominent preacher set out to find out what the people of his area wanted as he considered establishing a church in Southern California.  Considered from a marketing standpoint, that is a good way to begin.

If one wants to be successful in business it is important that one consider how to best satisfy one’s customers.  If the church is viewed as simply a “religious business,” by all means, determine what the customer wants!

The classic examples of how not to succeed were the salesmen who tried to sell refrigerators to Eskimos and shoe salesmen who tried to sell shoes to people who went barefoot.  Certainly there was an untapped market, but the desire for the product was not there.

Many churches today are being constructed on a business model.  Give people what they want and they will flock to your doors.  (No pun intended.)

Let me suggest that it is another god who is being worshipped in such churches.  Yahweh God of Israel had particular demands that He made.  It was not Israel who determined the nature of their religion nor their obligations.  It was their God who made demands upon them.

Some call the name of their god, Allah.  Others call their God, Yahweh.  Does it matter what you call God?

There have always been other gods whom people served.  When Israel was in Egypt, they lived among people who worshipped other gods with other names.

When Moses stood before Pharaoh, he said, “Thus says Yahweh , the god of Israel, ‘Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”

Pharaoh responded, “Who is Yahweh that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?  I do not know Yahweh, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”

Pharaoh had many gods.  None of them were named “Yahweh.”  He desired some evidence that he should add “another” god to his pantheon.  He soon discovered the power of this new God, Yahweh.  Wave after wave of destruction came crashing down on the Pharaoh and his people.  Finally he acknowledged Yahweh and set the people of Yahweh free.

Did the name matter?  Ask Pharaoh!

Concerning Allah, the Qur-an says, “We shall not join (in worship) any (gods) with our Lord.  And exalted is the Majesty of our Lord:  He has taken neither a wife nor a son.” (Sura 72)

Concerning Yahweh, the Bible says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Allah has no son.  Yahweh has one, an only begotten Son, Jesus.  Obviously, Allah and Yahweh are not the same God.

The Qur-an teaches:  “Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy, - they will attain salvation.  But those whose balance is light, will be those who have lost their souls; in Hell will they abide.”  (Sura 23)

Yahweh’s book teaches:  “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Rom 6:23)

Allah saves those whose good deeds outweigh their evil deeds.  Yahweh saves those who accept His Son, Jesus, as Lord and Messiah.  (See Acts 2.)  Yahweh saves based on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.  Allah saves based on some unknown scale of determining how good a good deed is and how bad a bad deed is.

Yahweh is not Allah, nor is He to be equated with any other heathen god.  He is the God who has spoken to us through His prophets and has given us His final revelation in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

Even David, when he desired to build a temple, did not dare begin construction without first determining the will of Yahweh God.  When Nathan returned with God’s answer, David did not hesitate to lay aside his plans because of the will of God.

The priests did not consult the people in building the temple.  They did not canvas the neighborhood to find out what people wanted.  They did not offer pig sacrifices because people were raising hogs.

The priest’s duty was to instruct the people out of the law given through Moses at Mt. Sinai.  The temple services were dictated by God’s law.  The laws came from the mouth of God and not from some “community consensus.”  All of the rituals and ceremonies were laid out in the law delivered by Moses.

Cain offered a sacrifice to God, which God rejected.  When offered an opportunity to do better, Cain chose instead to kill his brother.  That was not what Yahweh God desired!

Nadab and Abihu entered the temple with “strange fire” to burn incense as an offering to God.  Fire went out from the presence of Yahweh and consumed them.  They did not do what Yahweh God desired!

When Jesus came before John the Baptist to be baptized, John protested, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”  Jesus responded, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

God sent John to preach and baptize.  That was His will for the nation of Israel.  Jesus submitted to the will of Yahweh God.  Strange sounds are being heard from many “pastors” today as they insist that it is not necessary to be baptized.  Jesus knew better!  One suspects that if John had continued to refuse, Jesus might have gone looking for someone else.

One woman told me, “I don’t care what the Bible says, I’m going to . . .”  Others may not be quite so vocal, but show the same attitude in their disrespect for what is plainly declared in Yahweh God’s Word.

In contrast to such a belligerent attitude is the one who wrote in a Psalm, “Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You.”  Or consider the response of Jesus to the temptations by Satan, “It is written . . .”

Church is a group of people who have been called by Yahweh God to be His special people.  They have been called to serve Him.  They have been called to worship Him.  They are people who have chosen to “seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness.”

There are many gods in our world.  There is only one true God and His name is Yahweh.  As Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”  Do you serve Yahweh God who gave us the Bible?