(13) ―And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto
them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what
shall I say unto them?
(14) And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of
Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
(15) And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God
of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is
my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations‖. (Exod 3:13-15)
(1) ―Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons
of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
(2) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that,
when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is‖. (1 John 3:1-2)
In short, this prayer is addressed to ̳our Father: the YHWH of Abraham, Isaac and Israel‘.
Which art in heaven
―Which art in heaven" is an indication of Elohim's supernatural qualities. The rich Hebrew imagery describes
the disciple‘s relationship to Elohim, but does not neglect His connection to the family of YHWH. In a
father/son relationship, the father will embrace his son, will look out for his best interest and will also chastise
his son. This image is a common theme in many rabbinic parables.
The Father we are addressing is in heaven. He is not on earth. What or where is heaven? The Bible tells us
of several heavens: the atmospheric heavens in which the birds fly; the starry heavens in which the stars and
planets orbit; and the third heaven, a spiritual location in which our Heavenly Father dwells (Isaiah 63:15-16,
2 Cor 2:1). Physically, that may be a lot nearer than some imagine.
Hallowed be Thy Name
―Hallowed be Thy name" might be more easily understood if translated "May Your name be sanctified‖. This
seems to parallel Ezek 38:23, which reads: ―So I will show...my Holiness‖. This forms the background of
many Hebrew prayers. The meaning of the word "sanctify" is often clarified by its antonym, "profane‖. We
can again look at Ezekiel, who writes: ―And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the
nations, and which ye have profaned in the midst of them‖. (Ezek 36:23) The name of the Lord can either be
sanctified or profaned by the conduct of His people. One may sanctify YHWH's name by living a holy life!
The word ―hallowed‖ means 'set apart for holy use'. YHWH's Name is sacred. He is the Holy One,
HaKadosh. He wants His children to be holy and 'set apart for holy use', to hallow His name in their thoughts,
words and deeds. YHWH wants His family to be holy like He is holy. A fashionable individual or a popular
hero is not the best objective for any believer, especially if it means sacrificing godly behaviour. We must be
people who hallow YHWH's Name by being holy. What we should aim for is: Hallowed be thy name in our
lives.
Thy kingdom come
―Thy kingdom come" - the kingdom of Heaven, is it a future monarch? Or heaven? We do not read in the
Gospels about the kingdom that "comes‖. In Hebrew, one talks of the "coming" of a kingdom. The Kaddish
expresses the thought as, MAY HE CAUSE HIS KINGDOM TO REIGN. Therefore, our passage may be
rendered, MAY YOU CONTINUE ESTABLISHING YOUR KINGDOM. You see, El Shaddai has a kingdom
now and He reigns now. The kingdom is being continually established in the hearts of men. A person who
accepts the Father's authority in his life has entered the reign of YHWH. This statement is the call to
evangelism. El Elyon is establishing His kingdom in the hearts of men and believers are sharing the Gospel
with mankind to affect the work of YHWH.
But the literal world is also in turmoil. There is chaos on every side and everything worthwhile seems to be
fading away. No earthly government is able to stem humanity's slide into disaster. The world is suffering from
a terminal disease called 'sin‘; and sin is on the increase. The only ray of hope on the horizon is the coming
Kingdom of YHWH. Fully aware of this fact, the Saviour tells us to look forward to the Kingdom and to pray
for the Kingdom of Elohim to come.