The Name of God

“Unless Jehovah builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” So reads this Latin inscription. The words are based on Psalm 127:1 in the Bible, and they contain a profound truth: Any endeavor that does not have Jehovah’s blessing will ultimately be in vain.

The inscription, dated 1780, is found on a building in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and it is notable because it contains God’s name, Jehovah. (See photo.) In earlier centuries that name was widely used. It was often inscribed on secular buildings, churches, even coins. Missionaries used God’s name when they took the Bible to distant lands, which doubtless accounts for this inscription in Sri Lanka.

How different things are today! Few professed Christians care about God’s name. Some scholars even criticize Jehovah’s Witnesses for emphasizing it. Why? According to some, because its Hebrew pronunciation is not precisely known. But how many know the original Hebrew pronunciation of Jesus’ name? Yet, his name is universally used and respected.

To Jesus, God’s name was vitally important. He taught us to pray: “Let your name be sanctified.” (Matthew 6:9) And just before his death, he said to God: “I have made your name manifest to the men you gave me out of the world.” (John 17:6) True Christians are footstep followers of Jesus. Should they not also ‘make God’s name manifest’? Jehovah’s Witnesses do so, and Jehovah richly blesses their “house.” For them the psalm is true: “Happy is the people whose God is Jehovah!”​—Psalm 144:15.