The Big Bang
In Exodus Chapter 6 verse 3 God’s name in Hebrew is Shakai. God has many names in scripture but for this name Jewish sages have an interesting interpretation, they saw it as an acronym for the words “מי שאמר לעולמו די” or “He who said to His world, enough”. What does this mean? Who knows? These words are written long before theories of modern cosmology, but perhaps they evoke things that scientists say. The universe did need reigning in or we wouldn’t be here today. There was a cataclysmic explosion when something came from nothing. This is when time and space came into existence. There was nothing before. All there was after the explosion were subatomic particles. Eventually they cooled so that visible light becomes apparent. Then the force of gravity force subatomic particles coalesce, to draw near to each other. The first simplest atom formed is hydrogen. A simple electron orbiting around single proton. Burning clouds of hydrogen are formed into stars. Eventually at the end of a stars life the star explodes and you get a supernova. Carbon, gold, zinc, copper, the building blocks of planets emerge. Typically explosions are not ordered things. We wouldn’t have the universe if it was not finely tuned. There is just right rate of expansion, if it was 10 percent faster or 10 pent slower there would be no universe. The actual margin 1 part in ten followed by 54 zeros. If all the leaves in the all the trees in North America that is s about 1 part in ten followed by 24 zeros. All the atoms in the known universe 1 part in ten followed by 81 zeros. But you also have to get gravity, electromagnetism, nuclear weak force and nuclear strong force ratios to be just right. Along time ago when Exodus was written God’s name was known as ‘enough’. If God is indeed involved, would it not be more elegant for the Master of the Universe to ‘reign in’ the universe by setting the initial consonants precisely so that things unfold as they must, from the beginning? In doing so, God is essentially acting as a limiting force on what otherwise would be chaotic – hence, the ‘modern’ take on the Sages’ expression: “The one who said to his world: enough!” Perhaps the name of God in Exodus will deepen in meaning as the ages pass. Invite someone to take a closer look at Christ and his church.
