Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You. (Jeremiah 32:17 NKJV)
For our Breakthrough Sunday yesterday, we were supposed to have a Bible verse we were “standing on” (in prayer) to help support our prayer focus.
Jeremiah 32:17 was the verse I was resonating with, so I did a bit of research and AI told me this:
In Jeremiah 32:17, the primary Hebrew word translated “God” is actually not the usual word Elohim. Instead, Jeremiah begins with a title:
אֲהָהּ אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה
‘Ahah Adonai YHWH’
Breaking it down:
- אֲהָהּ (‘ahah’) – “Ah!” or “Alas!” (an expression of awe or earnestness)
- אֲדֹנָי (Adonai) – “Lord,” “Master,” or “Sovereign Lord”
- יְהוִה (YHWH) – the covenant name of God, often represented in English as LORD (all caps)
So the phrase “Lord GOD” is literally:
Adonai YHWH
“Sovereign Lord Yahweh.”
Since I don’t know Hebrew (although, I’m hoping that in heaven I will have an instantaneous knowledge of it!!), it was helpful to hear how the original language was translated into the English I do know.
“Sovereign Lord Yahweh.” That’s quite a title. I like it.
But as I went through the verse, I had a question.
Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You. (Jeremiah 32:17 NKJV)
Why does the author list Sovereign Lord Yahweh’s “great power” and “outstretched arm?” Wouldn’t one be enough? Maybe, maybe not. I don’t think the inclusion of both is an accident. Just musing here, but….
POWER – unseen, a force, the energy behind a motion, strength
OUTSTRETCHED ARM – seen, a way to use force, motion changes things, reaches to others (not self)
And GREAT is not slight or wimpy, but expansive.
So, the ENORMOUS unseen FORCE stretches out and uses that strength and power to do things.
Hmmm….
That’s worth some pondering.
Nothing is too hard for God to do?
NOTHING? Nada? Zilch? Zero?
HARD? Unimportant, impossible, challenging?
Nothing is too hard for God to do. Certainly this fit for a Breakthrough Sunday.
Actually, this whole part of the verse reminded me of the scripture song:
My God is so great, so strong and so mighty
There’s nothing my God cannot do.
The mountains are his, the rivers are his,
the stars are his handiwork too.
My God is so great, so strong and so mighty
There’s nothing my God cannot do. (Anonymous)
So, where does all this conversation end?
Back where we started, but in a different translation:
Lord Yahweh, you stretched out your mighty arm and created the heavens and the earth by your awesome power. Nothing is impossible with you! (TPT)
AMEN and AMEN!