Unpacking Exodus 34:6-8, this guide reveals God’s self-description as relational and responsive. It explores how knowing His character transforms our relationship with Him, inviting readers to encounter a God who surprises and changes everything.

I first read this book in August 2017 while lying in my hammock on the tiniest island (seriously, only 120 acres) on the Saint John River. It was during my final week of traveling to summer camps after what had been the worst summer of my life. I was desperate—not just to believe that God was better than I thought He was, but to know He was wholly different. During my afternoon breaks, I devoured this book, and by the end, I wasn’t just hopeful about God’s relational desire to meet with and know us—I was experiencing it.

Fast forward to 2024. After several years of walking with God and letting Him know me, I didn’t realize how complacent I’d become in my approach. Don’t get me wrong—I still prayed regularly, but my prayers had taken on a pattern of, “Here’s my request, God, but do what You’d like,” or, “I’m asking for this, but, um, Your will be done.” I thought I was growing in contentment—and to a degree, I was. Contentment is important, and God calls us to it. But this book reminded me that I’m not just approaching “God.” I’m approaching a person who deeply desires community with me, someone who can actually be moved by my prayers and relationship with Him.

Somewhere along the way, I’d become so focused on “respecting” God’s will that I forgot prayer can move His heart—yes, even change His mind. If that statement makes you think, Wait, what? That’s not true!—then please, read this book. I pray it encourages you to pray boldly, as it has taught me to do.

This newly republished version even includes a fantastic section at the end outlining contemplation!

Thank you @thomasnelson @netgalley @yatesandyates for the books

Perfect for you if you like:
Characteristics of God
Challenging misconceptions
Books that blend theology with personal stories

Similar to:
Holier than Thou by Jackie Hill Perry
The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer
Jesus Is_____ by Judah Smith

Thanks to NetGalley for an early-release copy of this book. I read God Has a Name previously when it was originally published, but I truly love the new edition that includes the contemplation and addition of spiritual disciplines together with the view of God and His name. Thanks to John Mark for writing an intriguing book that calls us to not only evaluate what the Israelites called God, what he said about Himself, but more importantly, what I can call Him too.

John Mark Comer is one of my all-time favorite authors, podcasters, preachers, and spiritual leaders. He is a Jack of all trades and master of all! (But he is humble, so he won’t tell you that…)

I have thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it for people at ANY level of faith, from the “God-curious” who don’t necessary have a relationship with Him to those far long in their journey and relationship with God.

If you ask a dozen people to tell you about God, you will probably get a dozen different responses. Yet, God has TOLD us clearly in the Old Testament exactly who He is. This book helps to provide clarity and comfort in the character of our loving, compassionate God.

The author has an excellent sense of humor and a sarcasm that make his books like this one a very fun read. Recommended for anyone!

God has a name....and it isn't God. How often do we read the bible and.....and still miss the big points? Honestly? A lot. John Mark Comer has a great gift of bringing the vast information down to a single point, but speaks volumes in the process. Not only does God have a name, He wants a relationship with you. Again, simple yet profoundly missed a lot in today's Christian culture. Comer takes us on a deep dive into Exodus 34:4-7 in a way that invites discussion and doesn't make you feel completely lost with super educated, technical information. Plainspeak. It's why I personally appreciate his style of doing so. This one is worth reading, marinating, and contemplating. Highly recommend!
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

This was a great jumping off point to ask more questions and seek more biblical answers. Easy to read, but could be too blog-post-like for some, the concepts were broken down and easy to digest.

First off, I love everything that John Mark Comer writes. I feel like he approaches really weighty spiritual topics in such a relatable and understandable way that feels so warm and welcoming to people at all points in their spiritual journey.

God Has a Name by John Mark Comer

The second edition of God Has a Name was released on 10/15/24.

Article Snapshot:
Book Review Rating: 6/10
This Book Is:
- An exposition of Exodus 34:6-7.
- About God's name (Yahweh) and his character.
- Written in a short, simple, and informal style.
This Book Is Not:
- Novel or innovative.
- Much different than the first edition.
My Takeaways:
- God is Relational:
My top takeaway is that God is personal. He desires a relationship with each of us. He wants to rule creation in partnership with us. My philosophical and scientific nature and background has made me more comfortable with Aristotle's God than the God of the Bible. That is, God as the first cause, the unmoved mover and known by his immutable attributes. I can keep this type of God in my head, but Yahweh wants my heart.

God Has a Name by John Mark Comer

My Evaluation - God Has a Name by John Mark Comer:
John Mark Comer's writing style is very informal and simple. There are many one-word sentences and one sentence paragraphs. The style reminds me of Rob Bell. This may make his work more accessible for certain audiences, but it isn't my favorite. Some may find his way of wording things bordering on irreverent at time.

It is hard to find anything significant to disagree with in the content of the book. My main critique is that there was nothing innovative or novel. If you are already familiar with these concepts, this book may not be worth your time. If these concepts are new for you, then this may be a great book to start with.

- LORD in the Bible stands for God's personal name Yahweh.
- Yahweh created other gods (Elohim) that have a real impact in the world.
- Evil is a result of free will. Free will is necessary for a loving relationship.
- God is both loving and just.

The Second Edition:
The second edition includes an extra appendix on contemplative practices. We become what we think about, so we should spend more time thinking about God. This is a practice that God can use to transform us.

- Look at God, looking at you, in love
- Yield to God's love
- Rest in God's love

John Mark Comer provides three practices to try:
- Meditation
- Lectio Divina
- Imaginative Prayer

Book Summary - God Has a Name by John Mark Comer
A.W. Tozer said that what comes to our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Many of us have an inaccurate view of God. Our picture of God is determined more by culture, history, or wishful thinking. The goal of God Has a Name is to change how we think about God based on how God has revealed himself in the Bible.

When God describes himself, he starts with his name. Then he talks about what we call character. He's compassionate and gracious; slow to anger; he's abounding in love and faithfulness.
God Has a Name by John Mark Comer page 29

Exodus 34:6-7 is what God says about himself to Moses on top of Mt. Sinai. This is the passage most quoted and alluded to by other passages in all of Scripture. Each chapter in the book discusses one line from this passage. First, John Mark Comer discusses the original Hebrew. Second, he looks at stories in Scripture that quote this passage. Third, he looks at how Jesus fits in with the line. Last, he ends with a discussion about what that line means for us today.

"The LORD [Yahweh], The LORD [Yahweh], the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation." Exodus 34:6-7

God's Name is Yahweh:
God revealed his name (Yahweh) to Moses from the burning bush. Out of reverence for his name, it became habit to avoid saying or writing God's name. This is why most Bible's translate Yahweh as LORD. Lord can be misinterpreted as more of a title than a personal name. A name in ancient near eastern culture carried more weight than names do for us today. A name was key part of identity. Yahweh means "I am who I am" (ehyeh-asher-ehyeh in Hebrew). This communicates that a key part of God's identity is his consistency and stability. In Jesus, Yahweh becomes a human being. Following Jesus means declaring that Jesus is Lord.

Realizing that God has a personal name has implications for us today. God wants to have a relationship with each of us. He responds to us and wishes to partner with us to rule in his kingdom. We should relate to God as a friend, not as a formula.

God's name is repeated twice to emphasize the importance. The reason that God needed to reveal his name was to distinguish himself from all the other gods. God created humans as well as other spiritual beings, called Elohim. The Bible claims that Yahweh is the one true creator God and made everything that exists. This means that Yahweh created other gods. These other gods are in a whole different category, but still very real. There are numerous stories in the Old Testament that describe these lesser gods and their influence over geographical areas and people groups. When Jesus arrived, one of the focuses of his ministry was performing exorcisms. The Bible provides a monotheistic worldview in contrast to the polytheism or universalism of other worldviews.

God is Compassionate and Gracious:
When God begins to describe his character, he starts with the most important aspects of compassionate and gracious. The Hebrew word for compassionate is rahum. The root of the word means "female womb". This evokes the type of emotion/feeling that is unique to a parent for a child. The Hebrew word for gracious is hanun, which is more of an action word than a feeling word. God takes action based on his mercy, not what we have done. Jesus lived out this aspect of God's character in his merciful approach to healing and loving his enemies. This is an example for us who follow Jesus. We are compassionate because God is compassionate. We are gracious because God is gracious.

God is Slow to Anger:
The Hebrew for "slow to anger" is erek apayim, which means "long of nostril". God does not have a quick temper, like many of the other gods. He repeatedly gives his people many chances to repent. He does eventually get angry. God gets angry at evil. There are times when the appropriate, mature and just response to evil is anger. God's wrath can be active or passive and can be present or future. God's present wrath tends to be passive, letting evil suffer the natural consequences, while God's future wrath is more active. There is an ultimate judgment coming. Jesus was slow to anger but did get angry, especially at the religious leaders who were steering people away from God.

God is Abounding in Love and Faithfulness

The Hebrew word for love here is hesed. This means steadfast love, unfailing love, or covenant loyalty. The Hebrew word for faithfulness is emet. This is similar to "amen" and "truth or trustworthy". God's love is trustworthy. The story of the Bible is God enacting his plan to redeem his people through Abraham to Israel to Jesus. We have hope for the future because of God's character. It isn't hope that nothing bad happens, but that God is stronger than everything and will be faithful.

God Does Not Leave the Guilty Unpunished:
The last part of the passage about punishing children for the sins of their parents makes us uncomfortable today. John Mark Comer gives four things to think about how to interpret these verses. First, the comparison between God's love to a thousand generations compared to his punishment to the third and fourth communicates how much greater is God's love than his wrath.

Second, some people don't want forgiveness and continue to choose to rebel. God's punishment is not retributive, but about healing and renewal for his world. God will put an end to evil once and for all. For those who have seen true evil, there is comfort in God's justice.

Third, often parents' sin has consequences for their children. This is easy to see with divorce, abuse, etc. There are ripple effects that impact those closest.

Fourth, there are times where the same sinful patterns resurface in subsequent generations. God will continue to punish sin in each generation until it is gone.

The reconciliation of God's love and justice in the death of Jesus is the fullest expression of God's character.

My Top Takeaways - God Has a Name by John Mark Comer:
God is Relational:
There are many good reminders in the book, but my top takeaway is that God is personal. He desires a relationship with each of us. He wants to rule creation in partnership with us. My philosophical and scientific nature and background has made me more comfortable with Aristotle's God than the God of the Bible. That is, God as the first cause, the unmoved mover and known by his immutable attributes. I can keep this type of God in my head, but Yahweh wants my heart.

Conclusion:
At Faithful Intellect, our goal with book reviews is to explore the ideas and implications of the author and also share the top takeaways and critiques that shape our thinking. We hope that you will benefit from these insights even if you aren’t able to read the book yourself.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another great JMC book! He is one of my top five favorite authors and I appreciate how detailed he was in plumbing the depths of God's name and how that draws us into a deeper love of him.

God Has A Name is my first book by John Mark Comer and it definitely will not be the last. I loved it from the beginning to end.

Even though I’ve read Exodus 34:4-7 many times, this book gave me a completely new and enriched understanding of these verses. To have the Hebrew translation alongside words added layers of meaning I hadn’t known before. He is an exceptional writer and teacher who explains the subject in such great detail.

There were so many impactful takeaways, “We become like what we worship” and “How we think about God will inevitably shape our destiny in life.”. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God.

I thoroughly enjoy Comer's writing and appreciate his desire to encourage Christians to grow in the depth of their longing for and relationship with the triune God. Who is a very personal God and longs for relationship with us.

As with all of his writings there are some excellent takeaways. My favourite in this book is the Epilogue where he shares the importance of contemplation: 'we become what we behold'. It's a proven brain function that the more we contemplate and focus on something, our brain will mold towards that thing, person or concept.

The book has an interesting premise, based around the one verse on Exodus 34:6-7 and the importance of knowing Yahweh which in many versions of the Bible is simply translated as 'Lord'. I understand it, but like other reviewers question its emphasis when we have the 4 Gospels that show us who God is, in the form of the person of Jesus. The book feels like a series of sermons based around this one verse which isn't a bad thing to do because this verse has a lot to unpack.

In essence, I think Comer gives us a book that encourages us to dive deeper with God and provides some tips on how to do such, I just found it a little strange the way he went about it.

Would I recommend it? I think Comer's written better ones that assist believers in their spiritual formation journey, 'Practicing the Way' being the first that comes to mind.

I do feel fortunate having received an early ebook copy from Thomas Nelson via Net Galley. This has had no influence on my review as I've ordered my own copy of that I expect to arrive in Australia sometime in January.

John mark comer has done it again! this is an excellent extension and revision of the previous edition.

Without a doubt, if John Mark Comer writes it, I'm going to read it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone due to how much truth is epaks on the character of God and just how important knowing the name of God really is. When we understand who God is, we can begin to understand who we are, so this book is extraordinarily profound.

I really wanted to like this book, but I had a hard time following along. It did help me a little bit understanding that what we think about ourselves and others influences the way we look at God.

With thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love JMC’s books. I finish them quickly because they are so easy to read and understand, but I love going to back to reread (sometimes several times) slowly because they are so deep and powerful.

God Has a Name was one of the foundational books for me in how I thought about God and some deep theological thinking when it originally released in 2017. John Mark has returned to this book with some cosmetic updates, and a brand new ending to not end simply with an inspiration to go and be like God in His true character, but to contemplate--to gaze at God as He gazes back at us in love.

God Has a Name is a deep, thoughtful, searching read for followers of Jesus. It challenges the thought of God's character and His very nature in ways the church has hardly turned to nor addressed. I've yet to find a writing of such depth on this topic. Read slowly and with an open heart and mind, and let the nature of God's revelation transform you as you sit with Him.

God Has a Name is a deeper look into who God is. John Mark Comer does an excellent job of keeping the tone light-hearted, even while dealing with heavy topics. relating to Christianity. I enjoyed the content of this book, but I did not enjoy the structure in which it was written. It read less like a book and almost more like an email or blog post. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with the format of the e-arc on my kindle, but it was frustrating enough to impact my opinion of this book.

Three things I loved about God Has a Name by John Mark Comer:

1. I LEARNED so much about God and His word!
2. Even though it was deep, the text was relatable and easy to understand.
3. It lingers: one of the best signs of a good book is whether it stays with me after I've read it. This book does! I'm glad I can go back and reread the highlighted sections to continue absorbing what I learned!

While I read this on my own, this book would be great to read with a small group of friends who want to learn about the Bible.
It changed the way I understand key verses and I am so grateful!

There's a reason that John Mark Comer's books are so popular. He perfectly blends an approachable writing style, a nonjudgemental tone, commitment to Biblical truth, and willingness to follow Jesus even when it's difficult.

'God Has a Name' centers around the description of Yahweh's character in Exodus 34:6-8. If you have any questions about who God really is, or want to be able to answer this question when nonbelievers ask you, then I recommend that you read this book!

Special thanks to the Publisher, Nelson Books, and Net Galley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

John Mark Comer is easily my favourite Christian author so I may be biased when I say how good this book is!

It is not my favorite as his as it is much more theological-focused than my favourites (The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry being one). Still, I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about God and His nature.

I have always appreciated John Mark Comer's writing style. It is organized and to the point while still beautifully written. Despite it being very scriptural and theological, he provides practical advice on implementing what you learn in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Nelson Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley & Thomas Nelson books for the advance reader copy.

I always enjoy books by John Mark Comer and this one did not disappoint. I read the original edition of this book a couple of years ago. The second time around with this expanded edition was just as enjoyable.

God Has a Name takes you step by step through the scripture Exodus 34:6-7 in order to describe exactly who God is. I most enjoyed Mr. Comer’s breakdown of the meaning of Hebrew in this scripture as well as the breakdown/interpretation of the last-and sort of scary-line in verse 7.

And if you at times wonder how a God who is Love can exist while there is also so much chaos, violence and evil in the world, then this book is for you.

This new and updated edition contains a chapter on contemplation that is not to be missed. Mr. Comer gives a simple explanation of what exactly this centuries old practice is as well as explaining how to start a contemplative practice.

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about God and His defining characteristics.