Hallowed Be Thy Name
Daniel said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.” Daniel 2:20
Blessed – Daniel understood the most important aspect of worship: God’s name must be blessed. When all else fails, when everything seems confused and chaotic, God’s name must be blessed. When we are at the end of our rope, when the king threatens our lives and we have no answer, God’s name must be blessed. Above all else, God’s name must be blessed.
Why?
Well, the answer to that question reveals an entire orientation toward life. It begins with the Aramaic word berak. Daniel lived in Babylon. He spoke a sister language to Hebrew. So, the verb berak is sister to the Hebrew barak. Both words have the same meaning – to figuratively clothe another with power, praise, prosperity and longevity. Almost every occurrence of the word assumes that a superior blesses an inferior, for example, when a king passes good favor to a subject. To receive a blessing in this way was a great honor and it was highly prized.
But now we see something very odd. Can a man bless God? Does God need us to clothe Him in power, praise, prosperity and longevity? Hardly! Since the Old Testament sees God as the only source of true blessing, how is it possible for men to use the term in relation to God? God is really the source of all life. His name, the representation of His true character, nature and attributes, is blessed because blessing His name recognizes that all that we have and all that we are depends entirely on Him. Our blessing is vocalized thanksgiving for His grace. He is faithful and reliable in the demonstration of His character. That means that we have breath itself and all that goes with it. Blessing God is recognizing His absolute sovereignty over me. When I hallow God’s name, I am agreeing with God that His name is to be sanctified as holy, to be reverenced above all other names and to be recognized as the one and only source of all that is living. All of this is involved in blessing God’s name. As Daniel clearly says, blessing God’s name is the immediate result of realizing that all wisdom and power belong to Him. So, we don’t “clothe” God. We praise His willingness to clothe us.
We often expect that God should bless us. We want His grace to be poured out upon our lives. We recognize the privilege and honor that accrues to us when the King of the universe grants us favor. But Daniel knew that there was a more important aspect of blessing. There is one case where the lowly can offer blessing to the mighty, where the least can honor the best. You and I can bless God with our gratitude and thanksgiving. We have nothing to offer Him that has not come from His hand except our undying loyalty and recognition of His majesty. And God is good. He accepts our praise delightfully.
Today, let your lips offer a blessing to God. You have an entire life to be grateful for. Why not tell Him so?
