Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good…Psalm 34:8 

The LORD is Good!! There are some who don’t believe He is good. Likely all of us are tempted to wonder about His goodness when trials and troubles overtake us. Yet, when Moses asked God to see His glory, God declared that He is abundant in goodness. Exodus 34:6 That’s a more-than-enough kind of goodness. 

Let’s see if there is more to be discovered. 

We will begin with LORD. Whenever you see Lord spelled LORD or God spelled GOD it is Yehovah—or Jehovah—the Self-Existent, Eternal God. Yehovah—or Jehovah is the way we pronounce it. This is the Jewish or Hebrew name of God. And, He is revealed in Yeshua—Jesus. It is such a holy name that Jewish people never say it out loud and if they do write it, they spell it like this “G-D.” 

Lord with lower case letters is substituted with Adonai. 

For it too is a revered name for Master.

Let’s break it down. In Strong’s Concordance LORD is #3068 – Yᵊhōvâ  יְהֹוָה

Strong’s Definitions Jehovah = “the existing One” The proper Hebrew name of the one true God. יְהֹוָה Yᵉhôvâh, yeh-ho-vaw’; (the) self-Existent or Eternal God:—Jehovah, the Lord. LORD: The Self-Existent, Eternal God.

It is spelled from right to left with a Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey.

Yod 10 = The outcome or completion of something. Means: Hand, Right Arm, Power, Right hand of God’s power, a Deed Done, To Work, to Cover, Allow, Hollow, Open Hand

Hey  5 = Grace. Means: Revelation – 5 is the number of Torah, Behold, Give Attention, unfold or look upon 

Vav  6 = Man. Means: Nail or Hook, to Secure, Pin together, Connect -Yeshua/Jesus

Hey  5 = Grace. Means: Revelation – 5 is the number of Torah, Behold, Give Attention, unfold or look upon – (if it comes at the end of a word: the meaning is based on the letter before)

LORD: (Hey) Behold or Pay Attention to, (Yod) The Right Hand of God’s power (Hey) Revealed in the (Vav) Nail that Connects and Secures us together with God – Yeshua/Jesus.

Yes, the One who created us and is always with us is the self-existent, eternal God, full of power. He reveals Himself in Yeshua-Jesus. (No other god can say they are self-existent or eternal. They were created by someone else.) 

There is much more that could be said about His name, but this will do for now. 

Now, let’s look at GOOD.  GOOD is Strong’s #2896 – ṭôḇ טוֹב

Strong’s Definitions טוֹב ṭôwb, tobe; good, a good or good thing, pleasant, excellent, kind ethically right.

It is spelled Tet, Vav, Bet. Here are the meanings.

Tet 9 = Judgment. Means: Choice, Basket, Snake, Surround or Twist, entwine, ensnare, entrap, spin, roll together

Vav  6 = Man. Means: Nail or Hook, to Secure, Pin together, Connect -Yeshua

Bet/Vet 2 = Divide or Division Means: House/Family; God’s word, God’s dwelling place (Temple) Son of God, physical tent or body. 

GOOD: God (Tet) Made the Choice to (Vav) Secure us in His Family through Yeshua and bring us into (Bet) His House.

The goodness of God is seen throughout the Bible from those celebrating victories to those in the midst of life-threatening circumstances. God, cannot help but be good. Like love, goodness is part of His DNA.  

When you see destruction and heartache, it isn’t God, it is slew foot and his minions. 

Slew foot is a liar and his entire goal is to separate us from loving God and each other. He comes to destroy the plans of God, but soon finds that the things he seeks to destroy multiplies.

When we put together the name LORD and the word GOOD we can say this:

The LORD is good: Look at the revelation of God’s right hand of power revealed in Yeshua/Jesus who connects and secures us together in God as sons and daughters in His family.   

There is no other house or family like His. There is no other Savior like our LORD.

Holy Spirit led me to this verse in Psalm 34 several weeks ago. As I started digging into it, He told me to break it into three parts. The first part was shared last week. This week’s rendering is what you are reading now. “The LORD is Good.” 

I always tell people, “God is always on time. It may appear that He is late, but He never is.” 

Well, as I sat with the Lord Thursday morning, there was a knock on our door. It was 4:30—not a time for visitors. I opened it to discover our son, Brett and his wife. The time alone told me it was bad news. They came in and told us that our oldest son, Shane, died in the night. He woke in the night having trouble breathing. Shane was 56 years old, a strong Christian, and a wonderful husband, father, son, and brother. 

We are still reeling today. 

I cannot give you a bulleted list as to why our son died. Some would say, “Shane was a good man, why didn’t the LORD step in and keep him alive?” My answer is, I don’t know. What I do know is that God is good. He gives us beauty for ashes and the oil of joy for heaviness. He walks with us through this valley of the shadow of death and we fear no evil because He IS with us. No other god qualifies. No other god loves like our God.  

The Word says, “Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints.” Psalm 116:15

The LORD is with us, our family, and with Shane’s wife and daughter. Shane is experiencing what we all long for—a face-to-face encounter with Jesus. He is without worry or stress and surrounded by many family members and friends celebrating his homecoming. While we mourn, we also rejoice, and will continue to trust in our LORD, Who is good. 

Job said after losing all of his children, his belongings and his health, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” Job 13:15

In Daniel 3:16-18,   Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego refused to bow down and worship the image of the king. 

When the king threatened them with a fiery furnace, they answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

In John 6:66-69, Jesus spoke some difficult words for people to believe and agree with. Many of them decided not to follow Jesus anymore. Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”

But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

If trouble happens in our lives, is there any other we can better follow? There is not. There is no other God like our GOD. 

I will conclude by saying, we as a family have learned that God is faithful through every situation. We have been blessed over and over. And even though we will still experience pain and loss for some time, we declare, “The LORD is good.”  

May God bless you in your times of sorrow and trial. He is with you. He is worthy of your trust.  

Next time we will finish exploring this verse with “Blessed is the man who trusts in Him.”

Shalom ♥