[Lessons from Israel] Part 3: Hebrews revere G-d so much so they don’t say his name.

Throughout Israel, and Jewish places of worship throughout the world, the name of G-d is never spelled out.  The Jews don’t say the word, but refer to G-d in some other manner, such as “the Name”.  This tradition reflects the reverence that they give to the Almighty.  Jesus did not use the name of G-d during his ministry, but used the title “My Father” when referring to the Divine Being.Jews would not throw away anything written that had the name of G-d on it.  When the temple religious leaders realized in 68 A.D. that the Romans were about to destroy the Second Temple, they quickly buried the holy scrolls in the caves of Qumram so that the name of G-d would not be destroyed. (The buried Dead Sea Scrolls were later discovered and returned to Israel at the same time Israel became a state.)Today, Jewish people will write prayers to the Most High G-d, and stick the prayer requests into the cracks of the western wall.  But these pieces of paper are never destroyed.  They are washed out of the cracks every festival season, collected and buried, never thrown away or burned.This reverent behavior challenged me to consider the depth of my devotion to G-d.  I pray that my “fear of the L- - D” will deepen and my practice of reverential behavior will become more of a daily habit, since I have seen this respect evident in the lives of my Israeli friends.This photo is of a Jewish girl praying against the wailing wall.  Notice the pieces of paper stuck in the wall, all written prayer requests. At the time of the next festival, these will not be destroyed, but hosed off the wall, collected and buried in the ground. In Christ,