- Name 33 of 70The God of Heaven
- HebrewElah shemaya (Aramaic) and Elohei ha-shamayim
- In plain wordsThe God whose throne is above the sky and every earthly ruler
- Where to find itNehemiah 1:5, in the palace at Shushan
The God of heaven is the name Nehemiah used when he poured out his heart in a foreign palace. In Hebrew it is Elohei ha-shamayim, "God of the skies," and it means the God who rules from above, over every country and every king. The title runs from Abraham to Jonah, but it shines brightest in Nehemiah, Ezra and Daniel, when God's people lived under empires far bigger than themselves.
Bad news in the Persian palace
Nehemiah was a Jew living far from Jerusalem, in a royal city the Bible calls Shushan the palace
(Nehemiah 1:1). Today the place is known as Susa, in southwest Iran. He worked for Artaxerxes, king of Persia, in the 400s BC, and his job was the king's cupbearer
(Nehemiah 1:11). A cupbearer served the king his wine and made sure no one poisoned it. Only a trusted man got that job.
One day his brother Hanani arrived with visitors from Judah. Nehemiah asked how things were back home. The news was terrible. The Jews who had returned from exile (being forced to live in another land) were struggling and mocked, and the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire
(Nehemiah 1:3). In those days a city without walls was open to any raider who came along.
Nehemiah did not shrug it off. He tells us he sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven
(Nehemiah 1:4). His prayer opened with these words:
And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
Nehemiah 1:5
"Terrible" in old English does not mean bad. It means so great that people tremble with awe. A covenant is a binding promise, and Nehemiah was reminding himself that God keeps His.
A prayer in one breath
Months went by. Then one day Nehemiah carried the wine in, and the king noticed his sad face. Nehemiah had never looked sad in front of the king before, and showing sorrow before a ruler that powerful was risky. He admits he was very sore afraid
(Nehemiah 2:2). He explained that the city of his ancestors lay in ruins. The king asked him straight out what he wanted.
Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
Nehemiah 2:4
That is one of the shortest prayers in the Bible. There was no time to kneel or to say a long speech. Between the king's question and his own answer, Nehemiah sent a silent cry upward. Then he asked to be sent to rebuild Jerusalem. The king said yes and gave him letters for safe travel and for timber from the king's forest (Nehemiah 2:7 to 8).
When enemies laughed at the plan, Nehemiah answered them with the same name: The God of heaven, he will prosper us
(Nehemiah 2:20). The wall was finished, the Bible says, in fifty and two days
(Nehemiah 6:15).
Shamayim: the sky above everything
Elohei is a form of Elohim, the common Hebrew word for God, and here it means "God of." Shamayim is the Hebrew word for sky and heavens. Strong's dictionary, a standard word list for the King James Bible, traces it to an idea of being lofty, or high up. In the Bible the word covers the air where birds fly, the sky where the stars shine, and the place where God Himself is enthroned.
Parts of Daniel and Ezra were written in Aramaic, a sister language of Hebrew that was used across the Persian Empire. There the title becomes Elah shemaya, with the same meaning.
Why did this name matter so much in those years? Israel had lost its king, its land had been conquered and the first temple had been burned. Their neighbors could easily think the God of Israel had been beaten. Saying "the God of heaven" was a bold answer. God's throne was never limited to one hill in Jerusalem. He ruled over Babylon and Persia as well. The title even appears in the decree of Cyrus, king of Persia, in Ezra 1:2, and in the letter of King Artaxerxes in Ezra 7.
Key King James verses with this name
The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.
Genesis 24:7
The name is old. Abraham used it when he sent his trusted servant to find a bride for Isaac. He was sure the God of heaven would go ahead and guide the trip.
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Daniel 2:44
Daniel told the king of Babylon that every empire, including his, would pass away. Only the kingdom of the God of heaven would last.
O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 136:26
This psalm repeats the line for his mercy endureth for ever
in every verse. Its last verse uses this name. The God above everything is also the God whose kindness never runs out.
Living in Shushan
Most believers today live a lot like Nehemiah did. We go to school or work among people who may not share our faith. We answer to teachers, managers, landlords and governments that hold real power over us. Nehemiah shows that you can serve well in that kind of place and still keep your heart turned toward God.
His story also shows how God often starts something new. Nehemiah heard about a problem and it broke his heart. He prayed about it for a long time. Then God put him in a position to be part of the answer. A burden you cannot shake off may be the very thing God wants you to help fix.
Notice, too, that Nehemiah's quick prayer in front of the king did not come out of nowhere. He had spent months fasting and praying before that moment arrived. The short prayer worked because a long habit of prayer stood behind it. If you talk with God in the quiet times, it becomes natural to reach for Him in the loud ones.
- Practice a one-breath prayer this week: before a test, a hard talk or a decision, quietly ask God for help.
- Ask yourself what broken wall troubles you most, in your family, school, church or town.
- When a powerful person makes you afraid, remember there is a throne above theirs.
The God of heaven is name 33 of the 70 in the book. The next name was spoken to a prophet locked in a prison courtyard: the God of all flesh. For a wider view, visit names of God and their meanings or read about praying the names of God.
