Based on my study of the scriptures, Jesus cannot be YHWH or the God of the Old Testament.
To understand who Jesus is we must first understand God's purpose in His creation to begin with. Simply put God planned within Him to recreate Himself. In Genesis we have the spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters. In Genesis 1:3-25 states that God simply says "Let there be". From the word which was spoken by God everything came to be. The 26th verse says "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:..". But in the following verse he states "So God created man in his own image...". Whether the "us" in Genesis, is refering to Jesus can be debated another time but for now the one that spoke it, created man in "HIS" image after "HIS" likeness. In Exodus 3:15, it states "Thus shalt thow say unto the children of Israel, The YHWH God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name FOREVER, and this is my memorial unto ALL GENERATIONS". Isaiah the 11th chapter talks about a rod out of the stem of Jesse. It states that the spirit of YHWH shall rest upon him which further defines this spirit as "the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of YHWH". 10" which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious". Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; but Isaiah 45:13 says about man: "I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward...". Isaiah 55:11 says "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it". The same God that spoke these words also stated in Isaiah 45:18 that He formed the earth and made it and that He is YHWH and there is NONE ELSE! In John 1 we are told that in the beginning was the word. Later we are told that the word became flesh. In John 1:18 is says that "No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, WHICH IS IN THE BOSOM OF THE FATHER, he hath DECLARED him". It didn" say that the Son saw God but that He DECLARED HIM! The same word that was spoken of in Genesis when YHWH said "let there be" became flesh. Remember, the words HE spoke concerning man will NOT return to HIM void! 32 says "And John bare record, saying, i saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him". This is the same spirit talked about in Isaiah! Now we know that the God of the old testament, YHWH created all things but John further elaborates how everything was created by the use of the word which proceeded out of YHWH. Without such words as "let there be" or simply put, the Word, "was not anything made that was made". Jesus is NOT the creator! He is Not YHWH! More proof can be found in the last book of the bible. In Revelation chapter 4, John describes his vision of a throne set in heaven " and he that sat was to look upon like jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a RAINBOW round about the throne, in sight unto an emerald". In Genesis after the flood God or YHWH sets a bow in the cloud for a token of a covenant betweem him and the earth to forever remind him not to destroy the earth by flood again(9:11-17). So now that it's established that it is YHWH who is sitting on this throne in heaven we read in Rev 4:11 "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to recieve glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. In Acts 3:13 we are told "The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus..." In Hebrews 1:8 it says "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 9 Thou, hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows". We can learn alot from this verse. In the old testament God said He acted ALONE in creating the universe. So now we see the Son is called God. So when did Jesus become the Son of God? Romans 1:4 states that Jesus was "declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, BY THE RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD". When He had risen from the grave in Matthew 28:18 He says "All power is given unto me in heaven and earth". Therefore the Son IS GOD!... But what does that mean? Is he the ALMIGHTY? NO JESUS IS NOT! Paul clears this up in 1Corinthians 15:27:"For he(YHWH) hath put all things under his(Jesus) feet. But when he(YHWH) saith all things are put under him(jesus), it is manifest that HE(YHWH) IS EXCEPTED,which did put all things under him(jesus). Jesus says in John 17:3 "And this is life eternal, that they might know THEE THE ONLY TRUE GOD, and Jesus Christ(the word which proceded from the true God), whom thou has sent". So now we see the Son as God and his God anointing him with oil of gladness above thy fellows. To be God is a position above everything without even having to say it. So to state that the Son is place in a position above thy fellows one can only come to the conclusion that these fellows mentioned WILL ALSO BE GOD(s)! Remember God's whole purpose is to recreate Himself! Not just clones of Himself but each spark of the God-kind unique to his or herself! For most, these statements might be far-fetched but please, all I ask is that you humble yourself and not harden your heart. Let the Bible speak for itself! In Revelation chapter 5 we read how no man was found worthy to take the scroll out of the hand of Him who sat on the throne. v5 tells us that the Lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed to open the book v6" And I beheld, and, lo, in the mdst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and SEVEN EYES, WHICH ARE THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD SENT FORTH INTO ALL THE EARTH. In Zechariah 4:7-10 we read" Who art thou, O great mountain: before ZERUBBABEL thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone therof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. 8 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 9 The hands of zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. 10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of ZERUBBABEL with THOSE SEVEN; THEY ARE THE EYES OF THE LORD WHICH RUN TO AND FRO THROUGH THE WHOLE EARTH. Zerubbabel will be God! Let's use common sense! When a horse has a baby that baby is still a HORSE. when a man has a son he is still MAN and a part of MANKIND! The same with God; We who are worthy will be a part of the God-kind or God(s)! There are many verses I can use to further elaborate on this topic but in a nut shell so to speak, this is what I honestly take on the subject. Again I too am searching for the truth as it relates to God and I won't leave my salvation upto man or man-made doctrines. So if you see error in what I've written please feel free to respond using scripture to show the error of my ways. As always, I will continue to pray that my heart will NOT be hardened towards truth and genuine understanding.