RELATED RESOURCES
- Ezekiel Commentaries
- Timeline of Ezekiel: Establish the Historical Context
- Introduction to the Inductive Study of Ezekiel
- God's Plan for Jerusalem: Five Prophetic Mountain Peaks
- Departure of the Glory of Jehovah from Solomon's Temple
- Listen to the great song The Holy City
The Glory of Jehovah
The Burning Bush
Exodus 3:2
(Who is the Angel of the LORD?)
Picture from P M Smith
In the last verse in the great prophecy of Ezekiel we find the last new name of God in the Old Testament a fitting name to bring the Old Testament revelation to a climax...
The city (Jerusalem) shall be 18,000 cubits round about; and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there (Jehovah-Shammah). (Ezekiel 48:35)
JERUSALEM'S
NEW NAMES
Note that the NEW NAME Jehovah-shammah is strictly speaking God's new name for Jerusalem and this new name reflects the identification of the Place with the Person and Permanent Presence of the Prince of Peace, the Messiah (Is 9:6). In short, the city will then take on the same characteristics as the LORD who will dwell within her. God’s presence is made unforgettable in the very name of the new city The Lord is There.
Jehovah-Shammah is but one of several NEW NAMES by which Jerusalem will be known in the future ages (next age = Millennium; then the next age = the New Heaven and New Earth...and New Jerusalem, Re 21:1-note, Re 21:2-note). All of these NEW NAMES symbolize both a moral/ethical reformation and a change from misery to blessing as the result of the fact that at this time the New Covenant promises become completely fulfilled to the believing remnant of Israel.
Here are some of the other new names...
Isa 1:26 Then (When? Is 1:25 has just said He will "remove your alloy" which corresponds to the time of the Great Tribulation when 2/3's of Israel will be "purged" away - cp Ezek 20:38, Zec 13:8, 9, Mal 3:3, Zeph 3:9) I (God) will restore (Ed: Just as Ezek 48:35 gives a prophecy of a future and a hope for Israel) your (addressing the once "faithful city" Is 1:21) judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning; after that (After what? After Messiah returns to establish His Millennial Kingdom) you will be called the city of righteousness, a faithful city.”
Is 60:14 “The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you, and all those who despised you will bow themselves at the soles of your feet; and they will call you the city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 62:2 The nations (Hebrew = "goyim", aka "Gentiles") will see your (He is speaking to Jerusalem) righteousness, and all kings your glory; and you will be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will designate (cp Ezek 48:35). 3 You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; but you will be called, “My delight (Heb =- hepes = idea of inclining towards and so to feel/express great favor towards, cp Mal 3:12) is in her,” and your land, “Married”; for the Lord delights in you, and to Him your land will be married.
Isaiah 62:12 And they will call them, “The holy people, the redeemed of the Lord”; and you will be called, “Sought out, a city not forsaken.”
Jeremiah 3:17 “At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the Lord,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart.
Jeremiah 33:16 ‘In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the Lord is our righteousness.’ (Jehovah tsidkenu)
Zechariah 8:3 “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem (cp Jehovah-shammah). Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’
Ps 46:4 There is a river whose streams (cp the Millennial Jerusalem - Ezek 47:1, Zec 14:8, and the heavenly Jerusalem - Re 22:1, 2) make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High.
Ps 48:1 A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, In the city of our God, His holy mountain.
Ps 48:2 Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion in the far north, The city of the great King.
Ps 48:8 As we have heard, so have we seen In the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God; God will establish her forever. Selah.
Rev 3:12 'He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
Other names of Jerusalem - Salem Salem -Ps. 76:2, Zion - Ps. 76:2, Ariel, i.e., Lion of God - Is. 29:1, The holy city - Is. 52:1, City of the Lord - Is. 60:14, The perfection of beauty - Lam. 2:15, The joy of the whole earth - Lam. 2:15. During the Millennium, Jerusalem, Jehovah-shammah, will become the capital of the world (Jer. 3:17; Ezek. 48:30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35; Joel 3:16, 17; Micah 4:1, 6, 7, 8; Zech. 8:2, 3)
Other passages give further descriptions of the Millennial Jerusalem
Psalm 48:1-10; 87:1-7; 122:1-9; 147:1-20; Isaiah 1:26-27; 4:3-6; 14:32; 33:20-24; 52:1-10; 60:10-14; 62:1-12; 65:18-19; 66:10-14; Jeremiah 3:17; 31:6, 38-40; 33:9-11; Joel 3:17; Micah 4:6-8; Zephaniah 3:14-17; Zechariah 1:14-17; 2:1-5, 10-12; 8:1-8, 20-22; 14:9-11, 20-21.
Earlier in Ezekiel's prophecies Jehovah gave His rebellious people a great promise that He would return (see below for the stepwise departure of God's glory from the Solomonic or First Temple in Jerusalem)...
I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant (Referring to the New Covenant - Ezek 36:26, 27) with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever (This promise parallels and fulfills Ezek 48:35). 27 “My dwelling place (Heb =- miskan = used in Ex 25:8 to describe His dwelling in the temporary Tabernacle, cp Lv 26:11, Ps 26:8) also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people (cp New Covenant promises in Jer 31:33, 32:38, Ezek 11:20, 14:11, 36:28, 37:23, 27, Zec 8:8, He 8:10). 28 “And the nations (Hebrew = "goyim", aka "Gentiles") will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies (Heb = qadas = verb meaning to set apart from profane and ordinary uses, making holy) Israel, when My sanctuary (Heb = miqdas = from the preceding verb qadas - Idea is that which is set apart as sacred as opposed to profane, secular or common) is in their midst (in the middle, at the heart) forever (How long? When does this begin? Begins when Messiah returns at beginning of the Millennium) .” (Eze 37:26, 27, 28)
See also God's Plan For Jerusalem: A Timeline
WHEN WILL
JEHOVAH BE THERE?
The question that arises from Ezekiel 48:35 is WHEN will Ezekiel's prophecy be fulfilled? This topic is discussed more in the supplementary notes, but my thought is that there are in a sense two aspects to the fulfillment of the prophecy Jehovah is There. The first and primary interpretation (based on context = mention of sacrifices in Ezekiel 40-48 [eg, Ezek 40:42, 44:11, 46:24 - I interpret these as "memorial" sacrifices in light of the full and final atonement for sin provided by the blood of Christ], something not mentioned at all in the New Jerusalem in Revelation) is at the end of the Great Tribulation when the Messiah returns as King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 19:11+, Rev 19:16+) to defeat His enemies (as prophesied in Da 2:34, 35, 45+) and to take His throne (fulfills prophecy in Ps 2:6-9) in the Millennial Temple (see diagram) in Jerusalem (Rev 20:6+, cp Mic 4:1, 2, 3+) inaugurating His 1000 year reign of righteousness and peace on earth (cp Ro 14:17+) and fulfilling the covenant promises made to and through Abraham to the believing Jewish remnant.
Then after the 1000 years are over, the present heavens and earth are burned up (2Pe 3:10+), followed by the Great White throne judgment of unbelievers (Re 20:11, 12, 13, 14, 15+), and then...
a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. (Re 21:1,2+)
THE LORD
WAS NOT THERE
Before one can fully appreciate Ezekiel's revelation of the name Jehovah Shammah, it is important to understand why the Lord was NOT there!...
OVERVIEW OF
THE GLORY
1) Overview: As background, we will first give a brief Scriptural review of the Glory of Jehovah, Past, Present and Future (See Overview).
Ezekiel's prophecy (See Outline of Ezekiel). was written in Babylon during the prophet's own exile, with essentially the first half of his prophecy providing a detailed description of the departure of God's glory prior to the final destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the Temple. The last half (see Jensen's note below) of his prophecy was written after he received news of the departure of God's glory, and concluded with a prophetic promise of the return of God's glory to Jerusalem and the Temple.
DEPARTURE OF
THE GLORY
2) Departure: In Ezekiel 8-11, the prophet describes the progressive departure of the Shekinah Glory (of Jehovah) from the Holy of holies, to the steps of Solomon's Temple, to the Eastern Gate, to the Mt of Olives just east of the Temple Mount area in Jerusalem, from which the Glory departed. (The Progressive Departure of the Glory of the LORD).
RETURN OF
THE GLORY
3) Return: Beginning in Ezekiel 43:1, 2, 3, 4, 5 God promises that His glory will return to the city of Jerusalem and as the "capstone" to this great promise for a future and a hope (cp Je 29:11, 12, 13) He gives us this great name Jehovah Shammah! His promise is as good as His Name!
Irving Jensen gives us the background of Ezekiel writing that...
Ezekiel was deported to Babylon in 597 BC (Ed: this was the second invasion, the first taking place in 605BC during which Daniel was taken into exile, and the third and final sacking was in 586BC) along with King Jehoiachin and hosts of citizens (10,000), when Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem the second time (2Ki 24:10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16). Ezekiel was not called to prophesy until after he had been in Babylonia for about five years...The idolatry which Ezekiel saw as Judah's blight before he left Jerusalem was the same condition he faced in the settlements of Jewish exiles in Babylonia. The judgment of captivity did not stir the first contingents of exiles to repentance. In fact, they found it very hard to believe, as Ezekiel was prophesying, that Jerusalem would actually be destroyed by the Babylonians. They were loath to believe that Jehovah had given world dominion to Babylon. Hence, it was necessary for Ezekiel in Babylon - and Jeremiah in Jerusalem - to show the people how unfounded were any expectations of immediate deliverance.
Jensen then divides the book of Ezekiel into (1) Ezekiel 1-32 = Jehovah is Not There and 2) Ezekiel 33-48 = Jehovah is There, explaining that...
There is a turning point in the book...at Eze 24:2, Ezekiel is informed by God that the king of Babylon has begun the siege against Jerusalem. At Eze 33:21, the actual turning point, Ezekiel learns from a messenger that the city has fallen. Up to Eze 24:2, Ezekiel's message is mainly "The city shall be destroyed." After Eze 33:21, Ezekiel looks to the next prophetic peak, and prophesies, "The city shall be restored." It is at Ezekiel 24 that the prophet learns that when Jerusalem falls, his tongue will be loosed to speak a new message of hope (Eze 33:22); and people, sobered by the reality of Jerusalem's destruction, will begin to give him a hearing. (Jensen's Survey of the Old Testament)
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OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL |
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PROPHECY OF JUDGMENT |
PROPHECY OF RESTORATION |
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FATE |
FOES |
FUTURE |
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593-588 BC |
587-586BC |
586-571BC |
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7 YEARS |
15 YEARS |
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Chapter 1-3: |
Chapter 4 -24 Judgments Against Judah (see explanatory note) |
Chapter 25-32 Judgments Against the Gloating Nations |
Chapter 33-39 Restoration of Israel to the LORD |
Chapter 40-48 Visions of the Temple |
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Explanatory Note: Although Ezekiel is in Babylon, far away from Jerusalem, in chapter 24 (specifically Ezekiel 24:2) God informs him that the final siege of Jerusalem has begun and this event marks the termination of the prophecies of judgment for Judah (because the judgment has now begun!). In the second section of the book, Ezekiel 25-32, Ezekiel is given prophecies by God which are directed against Judah's foes. The third and final section marked by the red line corresponds to the prophet receiving news that Jerusalem and the Temple have finally fallen (586BC) {"The city has been taken" (Ezekiel 33:21)}. This introduces the remainder of Ezekiel's prophecy which is one of restoration and hope and which culminates in the glorious revelation of the Name Jehovah-shammah (Ezekiel 48:35). |
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| See also the Timeline of Ezekiel — in the context of other OT Events | ||||
| PAST GLORY |
PRESENT — GLORY | FUTURE — GLORY | ||
| Note: Click above on "Past", "Present" or "Future" Glory for additional related Scriptures | ||||
| THE GLORY OF... The Lord Was There And Then He Was Not There |
THE GLORY OF... The Lord is Here In a New Way in Believers |
THE GLORY OF... The Lord Will Be There Forever and Ever. Amen |
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What does David teach about the glory of God? Ps 19:1, 2, 3, 4 David teaches that the glory of the LORD has been present since the beginning of time as seen in His creation (Note). Paul echoes David writing that..
In contrast to God's glory seen in Creation, the glory summarized in this table refers to specific manifestations of His glory, past, present and future. How did God choose to manifest Himself to His people Israel after redeeming them from slavery in Egypt? Ex 13:21 Moses describes the Shekinah Glory (see notes)...
The Shekinah glory cloud signified Jehovah's presence, provision (light), protection (in the darkness) and "piloting" (guidance) Ex 14:19, 20 How did the Shekinah glory protect Israel from the pursuing Egyptians? Who is associated with the glory?
The Angel of God is associated with the Shekinah pillar of cloud and fire. The pillar was designed for the comfort of Israel and the consternation of her enemies (Nu 14:13,14)
Moses while not mentioning the pillar of cloud and fire, alludes to Israel moving at God's command, implying the movement of the pillar (cp Ex 40:36, 37)...
Throughout the Exodus the Shekinah glory cloud and fire were a sign or manifestation of the presence, provision and power of Jehovah... Ex 3:2 The Burning Bush Ex 16:10 Giving of Manna Ex 19:18 Giving of Law at Sinai Ex 40:34, 35, 36, 37, 38 In the Tabernacle Ex 24:16, 17 Shekinah glory of Jehovah rested on Mt Sinai like a consuming fire (Heb 12:28, 29+) Israel though witnessing this fearful, awesome scene that symbolized the holiness of the living God, and yet proceeded to make a lifeless golden calf to worship! 1Ki 8:27 What reality did Solomon acknowledge regarding God's presence and the Temple (which replaced the Tabernacle)? Will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain Thee, how much less this house which I have built! (1Ki 8:27) The temple symbolized the fact that God was there for his people, and yet Solomon recognized that a building could not contain the awesome glory of God Ezekiel 9-11 How does Ezekiel describe the stepwise departure of the Shekinah Glory from His Temple? (click STEPS for diagrammatic depiction of departure of glory) STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 THEN FOR 400 YEARS John 1:1, 14+ Did the glory of God ever return during the New Testament times? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word became flesh, and dwelt (tabernacled or "templed") among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (Jn 1:1, 14+, Mt 1:23+ fulfillment of Is 7:14+, cp Col 1:19-20+) Jesus referred to Himself as the "temple" of God in Jn 2:19, 20+ and this enraged His enemies (Mt 26:61). The glory of the only begotten Son of God was manifest for 33 years at His first advent (see explanation) Luke 2:46+ More specifically did the glory return to the Temple of God? Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.
Jesus (full of glory - Jn 1:14+, cp Lk 2:9, 32+) entered the Temple even as a child (cp Lk 2:49+!) Lk 9:28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35+ How does Luke (as well as Matthew and Mark) describe the glory of Jesus on the mountain? And some eight days after these sayings, it came about that He took along Peter and John and James, and went up to the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming...they saw His glory (Lk 9:28, 29, 32+, cp Mt 16:28, 17:1, 2, 3, 4, Mk 9:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) At His Transfiguration Jesus unveiled His glory to a greater degree than the disciples had ever beheld before (they had beheld His glory to some degree - eg, Jn 2:11+). What a foretaste of the glory to be revealed when He returns (Mt 24:30, Lk 9:26+, Lk 21:27+, Lk 24:26+) and Jerusalem is called Jehovah-shammah. Luke 19:45+ Jesus was in the Temple casting out money changers And thus for a brief moment in time the glory of God in the form of the Glorious One Christ Jesus, returned to the Temple in Jerusalem - but this was but a foretaste of the permanent presence of His glory as prophesied in Ezekiel 48:35 "Jehovah-shammah". |
Mt 5:16+ How is God's glory revealed in this present evil age (Ga 1:4+)? We find the answer in Jesus' declaration to... Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works (cp Jn 15:5, 8) and glorify your Father Who is in heaven. (Mt 5:16+) 1Co 6:19, 20+ What should motivate believers to seek to manifest the glory of the Father? Paul gives two reasons which should motivate our desire to use our bodies as living sacrifices (Ro 12:1+) to glorify God...
Note: In 1Co 3:16 the "temple" refers to the church, because the church is composed of of believers. Upshot? God is Here in individual believers and in His church. But If We Are The Body (play and ponder this song)... But if we are the body 1 Cor 10:31 How much of our daily life is to be lived out in such a way that it brings glory to our Father? Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all (Greek word = no exceptions) to the glory of God. Ps 115:1+ When our good deeds (see study) bring glory to our Father, what should be our declaration? Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Thy name give glory because of Thy lovingkindness (mercy) (Lam 3:22, 23, cf the Father's "great mercy" in 1 Pe 1:3+), because of Thy truth (cp the inestimable value of His truth in Jas 1:18+, Jn 17:17, 1Pe 2:2+). Jn 17:22 What is the basis for this incredible privilege that the glory of God can supernaturally be manifest through believers? Before Jesus departed, He prayed for His disciples (a prayer applicable to believers of all ages) to receive the glory He had received... And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them (cp 2Co 3:18+, Jas 1:25+) that they may be one, just as We are one. What significance does the name Jehovah-shammah hold for Christians in this present age? In one sense Jehovah-shammah is a reality in that God is always (eternally) omnipresent - He is and has always been "There". (cp Ps 139:7, 8, 9, 10+) And He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us (never ever in the original Greek!) (Heb 13:5b+). And yet the new name Jehovah-shammah unveils an even greater revelation of God in the future! (see the next column) What did Asaph who came close to stumbling (Ps 73:2+) discover once he entered the sanctuary of God (Ps 73:17+)? Asaph came to desire NOTHING but God, the One Who was the strength of His heart and Whose nearness was his greatest good. The future revelation of Jehovah-shammah will be the consummation of this good. Hallelujah! Maranatha! Our Lord Come! (1Co 16:22NLT) Lk 10:41, 42+ Can you, like Asaph and like Mary, truly declare... "The nearness of God is my good"? If not, then ponder Jesus' words to Martha... "ONLY ONE THING Make a conscious decision of your will (enabled by Php 2:13NLT+) to chose the good part (Ps 84:10NIV+, Ps 84:11+). Cease striving. Be still. (Lk 10:40+, Ps 46:10KJV-note-play the hymn), sit at His feet and the nearness of Jehovah-shammah will be your good (Lk 10:39). Luke 17:21+ How does Jehovah-shammah relate to the Kingdom of God? Jesus declared that the Kingdom of God is within your midst (Lk 17:21+). For believers, the Kingdom (and King = Jesus) is already spiritually present (Ep 1:14+ = the earnest payment = Spirit of Christ) within each of us - (1Co 6:19+, Col 1:27+, Col 3:4+, Gal 2:20+). And so in a spiritual sense in present day believers Jehovah-shammah is anywhere and everywhere we might find ourselves (cp Mt 28:20b), whether we are rejoicing or whether we feel like the stormy trials are about to "drown" us (Isa 41:10,13, Isa 43:1, 2 = spoken to Israel but applicable to all believers) (Beloved He is here, He is there, He is everywhere - so can I ask you... Can you sing I Praise You In The Storm?) And yet the best is yet to come for believers and is consummated in the promise of Jehovah-shammah's personal presence - This is the believer's blessed hope (cp Titus 2:13+), the One for Whom we eagerly watch the eastern skies (Remember beloved that what you are looking for determines what you are living for! cp Col 3:1+, Col 3:2+, 1Th 1:10+. And this Biblical hope is God's absolute assurance that He will do good to us in the future (not a "hope so"). 1 Jn 3:2, 3+ How should the sure hope of the appearing of Jehovah-shammah effect a believer's daily walk? Our sure foundation today is the hope of the appearing of Jehovah-shammah tomorrow and this great truth serves to anchor our souls (He 6:19, 20+) and to motivate us to live pure and holy lives (1Jn 3:2, 3+) 2 Cor 6:16, 17, 18 What are the promises Paul describes and how they relate to Jehovah-shammah? How do they relate to our daily walk? God promises to dwell in us, walk among us, be our God and our Father and us His people, His sons and daughters. But truth always demands a response. And these incredible truths should give us a godly (reverential) fear which motivates us to cleanse ourselves (within and without ~ "our hearts and our hands") progressively becoming more holy and thus more like Christ (2Co 7:1+)
Zep 3:17 Although this was written to Israel and will ultimately be fulfilled when Ezek 48:35 is fulfilled, it is applicable in principle to all believers in this present age. Let the fact that The Lord is Here in our midst stimulate and motivate us to live for the great day when The Lord is There forever and ever, amen...
The LORD your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior (Mighty to Save [see song below] = Zep 3:17NIV+). He will exult over you with joy. He will be quiet in His love. He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. PLAY... |
Ezekiel 11:13+ Would Jehovah return to Jerusalem? Even Ezekiel was afraid God might bring a complete end to Israel crying out...
Ezekiel 11:16, 17, 18, 19, 20 Jehovah made an unconditional covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and cannot break His covenant. In light of this truth, how did God explain to Ezekiel that He would fulfill His promises to the remnant of Israel?
Haggai 2:9 What does Haggai prophesy regarding the future Millennial Temple in Jerusalem? The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former (Solomon's Temple),’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the LORD of hosts (Jehovah Sabaoth). Why will the latter glory be more glorious? At the end of the Seventieth Week of Daniel the King of kings returns (Rev 19:11,16+) to defeat His enemies and take His throne in the Millennial Temple in Jerusalem (Rev 20:6+, cp Mic 4:1, 2,3+) Ezekiel 48:35 How does Ezekiel's prophecy explain the greater glory of Jerusalem and the Temple in the Millennium? Jehovah Shammah - Rev 3:21, 22-note What is the incredible promise to believers in that day when the LORD is There forever? 'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.' (cp His promise to His disciples Mt 19:28 [Lk 22:29, 30], and all others who have followed Jesus Mt 19:29, 30, 2Ti 2:12+, Rev 5:10+, 1Co 6:2, 3!!!) Isaiah 4:5+ What will the city named "The LORD is There" be like during this time? Then (When? When Christ returns - cp "Branch" = Messiah in Isa 4:2, 3, 4+) the Lord will create (something only God can do!) over the whole area of Mount Zion (synonymous with Jerusalem = "The LORD is There") and over her assemblies a cloud (cp Ex 13:21, 22, 19:9, 33:10, 1Ki 8:10, 11) by day, even smoke (Ex 19:18), and the brightness (Eze 1:4, 13, 27, 28) of a flaming fire (Ex 3:2) by night; for over all the (Shekinah) glory will be a canopy (Hebrew = protective canopy; Lxx = conveys sense of to shelter, watch over, provide security - cp Re 7:15-note). Isaiah 35:1,2,3,4+ What will be the effect on the hearts of believers when they behold the glory of the LORD, Jehovah-shammah? The wilderness and the desert will be glad, and the Arabah will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus it will blossom profusely and rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it. The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. Encourage the exhausted (those who are discouraged, lacking hope) and strengthen the feeble (those who feel paralyzed). Say to those with anxious heart, "Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance (Rev 19:11,16+). The recompense of God will come, but He will save (Heb = yasha - rescue, deliver, cp Yeshua; Lxx = sozo]) you (the believing Jewish remnant). (Zec 12:10-14+, Zech 13:8,9+, Ro 11:26, 27+) The return of the Glory of the LORD will instill courage, strength and boldness for the believing Jewish remnant and all believers during the Millennium because He has Returned (Second Coming) and will never again depart. Indeed, The LORD is There. Zech 1:16, 17 What is God's promise in Zechariah? Therefore thus says the Lord, “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” (cp Ezek 48:35) declares the Lord of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem. Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort (Heb = naham = show pity) Zion and again choose Jerusalem.” (cp Zec 2:10) And during the Millennium, the land of Israel will be restored to its former glory and all will see the glory of Jehovah as Messiah reigns in Jerusalem, THE LORD IS THERE ><>><>><> ISRAEL & JERUSALEM
THE LORD IS THERE Is 40:10, 11 "Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young." THE LORD IS THERE May we never lose the wonder and hope of the promise of His presence with us forever in His coming kingdom! The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ and He will reign for ever and ever (Rev 11:15+) Thy kingdom come! (Mt 6:10+) Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Rev 22:20+) What a glorious day it will be! |
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Glory (כָּבוֹד,03519) (kabod from root kabad = to be heavy or weighty) conveys the central meaning of weight in most OT occurrences and most of the applications carry this figurative sense (cp "heavy with sin"). This sense gives rise to the idea of a "weighty" person in society or one who is honorable, impressive, worthy of respect.
Kabod is translated in NAS as bosom(1), glorious(8), glory(147), honor(33), honorable(1), honored(1), riches(1), soul(2), splendid(1), splendor(2), wealth(3)
Mounce summarizes kabod
200x glory, honor, splendor, wealth; while related words can be positive or negative in context, this word is almost exclusively positive in the OT; “the Glory” a title for God focuses on his splendor and high status; “my glory” means “myself” (Ge 49:8);
The basic meaning of kābôd is “glory” or “honor.” Such honor or glory can be associated with dignity, wealth, or high position. It involves respect or reverence from others; sometimes it refers to an object as being worthy of respect.
God has crowned humanity with “honor” or “dignity” (Ps 8:5), which entails rule over God’s creation (see Ps 8:6–8). Commonly the dignity denoted by kābôd is exhibited in external splendor, such as wealth (Ge 31:1; Hab 2:9). Other examples include the priests, whose garments signify the position of “honor” that they occupy (Ex 28:2, 40), and the honor exhibited in military success (Ps 21:5). kābôd also carries a more theological sense when used in connection with God’s high position over his creation (Ps 57:5, 11; 108:5, 113:4; 138:5). In this way kābôd can denote the heavenly honor that awaits the faithful (Ps 73:24) or the place of God’s presence.
kābôd is frequently connected with the ideas of respect or reverence. It can be applied to individuals (e.g., David, 1 Chr. 17:18) as well as to people in general (Prov 20:3). However, it is especially applied to God in the OT. Often kābôd denotes the result of an action. In this sense verbs like “tell” and “sing” can describe modes of ascribing respect or reverence to God, usually in public worship. The common expression in the psalms, “the glory of God,” should be understood in this way (Ps 29:2; 66:2; 79:9; 96:8).
kābôd is also associated with an object of respect. Only two or three times the object involves humanity, as when God’s people exchange their honor for false gods (Jer 2:11; Ps 106:20). More common is the technical use of kābôd for God’s visible presence. The normal use of the expression “the glory of the LORD” is a technical designation for the Lord’s manifest presence with his people. The term first appears in Exod 16:7, where the manifest glory of God accompanies Israel during the wilderness period. Although the last reference in the Pentateuch is Deut 5:24, the technical sense of God’s presence is not limited to that time: God’s presence is to continue through sacrificial worship (Exod 29:43; 40:34; Lev 9:6; 1 Ki. 8:11; Ps 63:2). In 1 Sam. 4:21–22, the loss of the ark of God to the Philistines signified that God’s “glory” or presence departed from Israel.
In reference to God, the kābôd or “the glory of the LORD” refers to the reality of his presence as the supreme ruler of his people manifested in power, splendor, and holiness (Isa 3:8). This is consistent with Exod 24:17, where the appearance of the “glory of the LORD” was like a consuming fire; this explains why Moses could not enter the tent in 40:34. Hence, this is called the “glory of the LORD” because it reveals his person and dignity. The proper response to such revelation is to give him “honor” or “glory.” In this way, the “glory of the LORD” is essentially a name for God (Isa 11:10; 24:23; 35:2; 60:1–2; Zech 2:5).
In the last days a full manifestation of kābôd was expected in order to bring salvation to Israel (Isa 60:1–2; Ezek 39:21–22) and to convert the nations (Zech 2:5–11). (Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words- William D. Mounce)
Strong's brief definition of kabod
1) glory, honour, glorious, abundance
1a) abundance, riches
1b) honour, splendour, glory
1c) honour, dignity
1d) honour, reputation
1e) honour, reverence, glory
1f) glory
OT glory is a technical term for God’s manifest presence (first used in Ex 16:7), often connected with the pillar of cloud and fire (Ex 16:10) as well as with the Ark of the Covenant. God's kabod is described as a consuming fire (Ex 24:17, He 12:29-note). Because glory also involves honor or position of power, the glory of Jehovah reveals His person and dignity, and the proper response to such a glorious revelation is to give God glory or honor (cp Ex 33:18, Ps 115:1).
The phrase "Glory of the LORD" is found in 34 verses in the OT (NAS).
Someone has expressed it this way...
God's glory is essentially the profound, glowing, visible, confluent expression of the attributes of Deity which bears witness to a still more profound and incomprehensible reality of essence. In His character and essence, He is "Spirit," and thus invisible to man (Jn 4:24), but He has made Himself known to man through revelation by His many names (including Jehovah-shammah) and titles, by His attributes, by His written Word, and finally by His living Word, Jesus Christ, full of glory and truth (Jn 1:14).
The Septuagint (Lxx) translates kabod with doxa, which in simple terms means that which gives a proper opinion of some one or some thing. And so God's glory gives us a proper opinion of Who He is, providing a glimpse into His beauty, brilliance, effulgence, and radiance.
Kabod - 189 times in the OT (words derived from kabod occur another 187x)-
Gen. 31:1; 45:13; 49:6; Ex 16:7, 10; 24:16f; 28:2, 40; 29:43; 33:18, 22; 40:34f; Lev. 9:6, 23; Num. 14:10, 21f; 16:19, 42; 20:6; 24:11; Deut. 5:24; Jos. 7:19; 1 Sam. 2:8; 4:21f; 6:5; 1 Ki. 3:13; 8:11; 1 Chr. 16:24, 28f; 17:18; 29:12, 28; 2 Chr. 1:11f; 5:14; 7:1ff; 17:5; 18:1; 26:18; 32:27, 33; Neh. 9:5; Est. 1:4; 5:11; Job 19:9; 29:20; Ps. 3:3; 4:2; 7:5; 8:5; 16:9; 19:1; 21:5; 24:7ff; 26:8; 29:1ff, 9; 30:12; 49:16f; 57:5, 8, 11; 62:7; 63:2; 66:2; 72:19; 73:24; 79:9; 84:11; 85:9; 96:3, 7f; 97:6; 102:15f; 104:31; 106:20; 108:1, 5; 112:9; 113:4; 115:1; 138:5; 145:5, 11f; 149:5; Prov. 3:16, 35; 8:18; 11:16; 15:33; 18:12; 20:3; 21:21; 22:4; 25:2, 27; 26:1, 8; 29:23; Eccl. 6:2; 10:1; Isa. 3:8; 4:2, 5; 5:13; 6:3; 8:7; 10:3, 16, 18; 11:10; 14:18; 16:14; 17:3f; 21:16; 22:18, 23f; 24:23; 35:2; 40:5; 42:8, 12; 43:7; 48:11; 58:8; 59:19; 60:1f, 13; 61:6; 62:2; 66:11f, 18f; Jer. 2:11; 13:16; 14:21; 17:12; 48:18; Ezek. 1:28; 3:12, 23; 8:4; 9:3; 10:4, 18f; 11:22f; 31:18; 39:21; 43:2, 4f; 44:4; Dan. 11:39; Hos. 4:7; 9:11; 10:5; Mic. 1:15; Nah. 2:9; Hab. 2:14, 16; Hag. 2:3, 7, 9; Zech. 2:5, 8; Mal. 1:6; 2:2
Summary from Vine...
kabod “honor; glory; great quantity; multitude; wealth; reputation [majesty]; splendor.
Kabod refers to the great physical weight or “quantity” of a thing. Nah. 2:9 "a great quantity of every kind of desirable object.”....The word does not mean simply “heavy,” but a heavy or imposing quantity of things.
Kabod often refers to both “wealth” and significant and positive “reputation” (in a concrete sense). (Ge 31:1). The second emphasis appears in Ge. 45:13 Here this word includes a report of his position and the assurance that if the family came to Egypt, Joseph would be able to provide for them.
Trees, forests, and wooded hills have an imposing quality, a richness or “splendor.” God will punish the king of Assyria by destroying most of the trees in his forests, “and shall consume the glory of his forest, … and the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them” (Isa. 10:18-19). In Ps. 85:9 the idea of richness or abundance predominates: This idea is repeated in Ps. 85:12:
Kabod can also have an abstract emphasis of “glory,” imposing presence or position. Phinehas’ wife named their son Ichabod, “saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband” (they, the high priests, had died; 1Sa 4:21).
In Isa. 17:3 kabod represents the more concrete idea of a fullness of things including fortified cities, sovereignty (self-rule), and people. Among such qualities is “honor,” or respect and position.
In Isa. 5:13 this idea of “honor” is represented by kabod:
When used in the sense of “honor” or “importance” (cf. Ge 45:13) there are two nuances of the word. First, kabod can emphasize the position of an individual within the sphere in which he lives (Pr. 11:16). This “honor” can be lost through wrong actions or attitudes (Pr. 26:1, 8) and evidenced in proper actions (Pr. 20:3; 25:2). This emphasis then is on a relationship between personalities. Second, there is a suggestion of nobility in many uses of the word, such as “honor” that belongs to a royal family (1 Kings 3:13). Thus, kabod can be used of the social distinction and position of respect enjoyed by nobility.
When applied to God, the word represents a quality corresponding to Him and by which He is recognized. Joshua commanded Achan to give glory to God, to recognize His importance, worth, and significance (Josh. 7:19). In this and similar instances “giving honor” refers to doing something; what Achan was to do was to tell the truth. In other passages giving honor to God is a cultic recognition and confession of God as God (Ps. 29:1). Some have suggested that such passages celebrate the sovereignty of God over nature wherein the celebrant sees His “glory” and confesses it in worship. In other places the word is said to point to God’s sovereignty over history and specifically to a future manifestation of that “glory” (Isa. 40:5). Still other passages relate the manifestation of divine “glory” to past demonstrations of His sovereignty over history and peoples (Ex. 16:7; 24:16). (Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words)
Here is a summary of Kabod from Swanson...
1. glory, splendor (Jos 7:19);
2. honor, respect, i.e., the attribution of high status to a person (Ge 45:13; Pr 11:16);
3. wealth, i.e., what is valued and abundant (Ge 31:1; Na 2:9);
4. manifestation of power, formally, glory (Ex 16:7; Nu 14:22);
5. glorious presence, formally, glory (Ex 29:43; 1Sa 4:21);
6. reward, i.e., giving of a gift (Nu 24:11);
7. עֹשֶׁר כָּבֹוד = vast wealth, formally, wealth of riches, i.e., very extensive wealth and possessions (Esther 1:4);
8.person, self, formally, glory, i.e., the self or inner person (Ps 16:9; 30:12; 57:8; 108:1), note: the niv in 16:9 has the “tongue” as the organ of speech,
9. the Glory, i.e., a title for God (Ps 106:20; Jer 2:11; Hos 4:7);
10. ruler, men of high rank, i.e., ones who govern (Isa 5:13);
11. שָׁכַב בְּ־ כָּבֹוד - lie in state, i.e., be in a royal state of entombment (Isa 14:18)
(Previous summary from Swanson, J.: Dictionary of Biblical Languages w- Semantic Domains- Hebrew)
David K Huttar summarizes "glory"...
Human Beings. The glory of human beings is spoken of in reference to a number of external manifestations and conditions, aspects of internal character, and the inherent condition of human nature. As applied to external manifestations and conditions of human beings, glory may refer to position, possessions, strength, or length of life.
Joseph's glory (Genesis 45:13) is his position in Egypt, David's (Psalm 21:5) and Jehoiakim's (Jeremiah 22:18) their royal position in Judah, and Joshua's (Numbers 27:20) his position of authority over the people of God.
In the sense of possessions, Jacob's glory (Genesis 31:1) is his servants and animals (Genesis 30:43). Glory is the wealth of the wicked rich (Psalm 49:17) as well as of the industrious, ideal wife (Proverbs 31:24-25). And the wealth of the nations is the glory of restored Jerusalem (Isaiah 66:11-12).
"The glory of young men is their strength" (Proverbs 20:29), and glory as strength is illustrated in the righteous Job (Job 29:20), the arrogant king of Assyria (Isaiah 8:7), and the long life of the elderly (Proverbs 16:31).
At a somewhat deeper level, glory can be seen in various aspects of human character such as willingness to overlook the faults of others (Proverbs 19:11) or avoiding strife (Proverbs 20:3).
Further, Psalm 8:5 ("You crowned him with glory and honor") may point to an even more essential glory in humans, an inherent glory resulting from their being created in God's image (cf. 1Col 11:7). While humans may not have entirely lost this God-given glory through their fall into sin, their pursuit of folly shows that they do not live up to their glorious calling (Proverbs 26:1). Moreover, this human glory, which can often be viewed as a positive good or at least neutrally, can also get out of hand and become an expression of independence from God (Isaiah 10:12) and pride (Proverbs 25:27).
God. The most significant use of the ideas of glory and majesty is their application to God. In this regard, it is sometimes stated that God's glory is the external manifestation of his being. God's glory is something that appears (Ex 16:10), is revealed (Isa 40:5), or can be seen (Nu 14:22). There is also a more fundamental sense in which God has glory prior to any external manifestation of it. An important passage in this regard is Ex 33:18-23, which shows that, while there are aspects of God's nature that are revealed to Moses (his name, "back"), there are other aspects that are not manifested (his glory, "face"). Thus, God's glory exists prior to and apart from any manifestation of it.
The same teaching is implied in John 17:5, when Christ refers to the glory that he had with the Father before the world was. And in Proverbs 25:2, the glory of God is in concealing, rather than in manifesting. Moreover, the titles of God as the Glorious One (Psalm 3:3) and the Majesty on High (Hebrews 1:3; 8:1) point to the same conclusion, that God's glory is fundamentally independent of external manifestation.
In keeping with this thought, glory is spoken of as attaching to God's kingly rule (Psalm 145:11-12) and his presence (Psalm 96:6), and as being his clothing (Job 40:10; Psalm 93:1; 104:1) and above the heavens (Psalm 8:1; 113:4; 148:13).
Yet it is true that God's glory is also manifest. It is in the thunderstorm (Job 37:22; Psalm 29:4) and more commonly in the events and institutions surrounding the exodus from Egypt. Thus, God's glory is seen in the plagues and other miracles (Numbers 14:22), in the cloudy pillar (Exodus 16:10), in the theophany at Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:17; Deuteronomy 5:24), in the tabernacle (Exodus 29:43; 40:34-35; Numbers 14:10; 16:19,42; 20:6), in the fire initiating the sacrificial system (Leviticus 9:23), and in the ark of the covenant (1 Samuel 4:21-22) and the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 8:11; 2 Chronicles 7:1-3). Its presence is anticipated in the restored Zion (Psalm 102:15-16; Isaiah 60:19; Zechariah 2:5), is actualized at the birth of Christ (Luke 2:9), and will be further accomplished in the heavenly Jerusalem (Revelation 21:11,23).
In addition to referring to the actual glory of God, the words sometimes refer to the recognition of his glory. This is of course true whenever we read of giving glory to God or of glorifying him. We do not add to his glory; we merely recognize and acknowledge it. In a number of passages it is difficult to know whether God's glory refers to his actual glory or to human recognition of it. This is true, for example, when Scripture speaks of the earth being full of the glory of the Lord (Isaiah 6:3). (Glory in Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology)
Related Resources:
- Glory: In depth study in ISBE
- What is the glory of God?
- What is a glory cloud? Is a glory cloud biblical?
- What does it mean that God is the King of glory?
- What is the Shekinah glory?
- What does it mean that Christ in us is the hope of glory?
- What does it mean that the heavens declare the glory of God?
Here are all the uses of Kabod...
Genesis 31:1 Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, "Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this wealth."
Genesis 45:13 "Now you must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and all that you have seen; and you must hurry and bring my father down here."
Genesis 49:6 "Let my soul not enter into their council; Let not my glory be united with their assembly; Because in their anger they slew men, And in their self-will they lamed oxen.
Exodus 16:7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, for He hears your grumblings against the LORD; and what are we, that you grumble against us?"
10 It came about as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
Exodus 24:16 The glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.
17 And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountain top.
Exodus 28:2 "You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
40 "For Aaron's sons you shall make tunics; you shall also make sashes for them, and you shall make caps for them, for glory and for beauty.
Exodus 29:43 "I will meet there with the sons of Israel, and it shall be consecrated by My glory.
Exodus 33:18 Then Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!"
22 and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.
Exodus 40:34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Leviticus 9:6 Moses said, "This is the thing which the LORD has commanded you to do, that the glory of the LORD may appear to you."
23 Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.
Numbers 14:10 But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.
21 but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD.
22 "Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice,
Numbers 16:19 Thus Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation.
42 It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared.
Numbers 20:6 Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to them;
Numbers 24:11 "Therefore, flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the LORD has held you back from honor."
Deuteronomy 5:24 "You said, 'Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives.
Joshua 7:19 Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, I implore you, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me."
1 Samuel 2:8 "He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, And He set the world on them.
1 Samuel 4:21 And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel," because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
22 She said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken."
1 Samuel 6:5 "So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will ease His hand from you, your gods, and your land.
1 Kings 3:13 "I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days.
1 Kings 8:11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.
1 Chronicles 16:24 Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him; Worship the LORD in holy array.
1 Chronicles 17:18 "What more can David still say to You concerning the honor bestowed on Your servant? For You know Your servant.
1 Chronicles 29:12 "Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.
28 Then he died in a ripe old age, full of days, riches and honor; and his son Solomon reigned in his place.
2 Chronicles 1:11 God said to Solomon, "Because you had this in mind, and did not ask for riches, wealth or honor, or the life of those who hate you, nor have you even asked for long life, but you have asked for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may rule My people over whom I have made you king,
12 wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings who were before you has possessed nor those who will come after you."
2 Chronicles 5:14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.
2 Chronicles 7:1 Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the house.
2 The priests could not enter into the house of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD'S house.
3 All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the LORD upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the LORD, saying, "Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting."
2 Chronicles 17:5 So the LORD established the kingdom in his control, and all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor.
2 Chronicles 18:1 Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor; and he allied himself by marriage with Ahab.
2 Chronicles 26:18 They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the LORD God."
2 Chronicles 32:27 Now Hezekiah had immense riches and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuable articles,
33 So Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper section of the tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. And his son Manasseh became king in his place.
Nehemiah 9:5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah, said, "Arise, bless the LORD your God forever and ever! O may Your glorious name be blessed And exalted above all blessing and praise!
Esther 1:4 And he displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his great majesty for many days, 180 days.
Esther 5:11 Then Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, and the number of his sons, and every instance where the king had magnified him and how he had promoted him above the princes and servants of the king.
Job 19:9 "He has stripped my honor from me And removed the crown from my head.
Job 29:20 'My glory is ever new with me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.'
KABOD IN THE PSALMS
Psalm 3:3 But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
Psalm 4:2 O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah.
Psalm 7:5 Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; And let him trample my life down to the ground And lay my glory in the dust. Selah.
Psalm 8:5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty!
Psalm 16:9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely.
Psalm 19:1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
Psalm 21:5 His glory is great through Your salvation, Splendor and majesty You place upon him.
Psalm 24:7 Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in!
8 Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift them up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in!
10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah.
Psalm 26:8 O LORD, I love the habitation of Your house And the place where Your glory dwells.
Psalm 29:1 A Psalm of David. Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in holy array.
3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters.
9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, "Glory!"
Psalm 30:12 That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
Psalm 49:16 Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, When the glory of his house is increased;
17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away; His glory will not descend after him.
Psalm 57:5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth.
8 Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.
11 Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth.
Psalm 62:7 On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.
Psalm 63:2 Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.
Psalm 66:2 Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious.
Psalm 72:19 And blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.
Psalm 73:24 With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory.
Psalm 79:9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; And deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name's sake.
Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Psalm 85:9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land.
Psalm 96:3 Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name; Bring an offering and come into His courts.
Psalm 97:6 The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples have seen His glory.
Psalm 102:15 So the nations will fear the name of the LORD And all the kings of the earth Your glory.
16 For the LORD has built up Zion; He has appeared in His glory.
Psalm 104:31 Let the glory of the LORD endure forever; Let the LORD be glad in His works;
Psalm 106:20 Thus they exchanged their glory For the image of an ox that eats grass.
Psalm 108:1 A Song, a Psalm of David. My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, And Your glory above all the earth.
Psalm 112:9 He has given freely to the poor, His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted in honor.
Psalm 113:4 The LORD is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens.
Psalm 115:1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, But to Your name give glory Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.
Psalm 138:5 And they will sing of the ways of the LORD, For great is the glory of the LORD.
Psalm 145:5 On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power;
12 To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.
Psalm 149:5 Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing for joy on their beds.
Proverbs 3:16 Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor.
35 The wise will inherit honor, But fools display dishonor.
Proverbs 8:18 "Riches and honor are with me, Enduring wealth and righteousness.
Proverbs 11:16 A gracious woman attains honor, And ruthless men attain riches.
Proverbs 15:33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.
Proverbs 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, But humility goes before honor.
Proverbs 20:3 Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, But any fool will quarrel.
Proverbs 21:21 He who pursues righteousness and loyalty Finds life, righteousness and honor.
Proverbs 22:4 The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches, honor and life.
Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
27 It is not good to eat much honey, Nor is it glory to search out one's own glory.
Proverbs 26:1 Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a fool.
8 Like one who binds a stone in a sling, So is he who gives honor to a fool.
Proverbs 29:23 A man's pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.
Ecclesiastes 6:2 a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires; yet God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction.
Ecclesiastes 10:1 Dead flies make a perfumer's oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor.
KABOD IN THE ISAIAH
Isaiah 3:8 For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen, Because their speech and their actions are against the LORD, To rebel against His glorious presence.
Isaiah 4:2 In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel.
5 then the LORD will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy.
Isaiah 5:13 Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst.
Isaiah 6:3 And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory."
Isaiah 8:7 "Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates, Even the king of Assyria and all his glory; And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks.
Isaiah 10:3 Now what will you do in the day of punishment, And in the devastation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your wealth?
16 Therefore the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors; And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.
18 And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body, And it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
Isaiah 11:10 Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.
Isaiah 14:18 "All the kings of the nations lie in glory, Each in his own tomb.
Isaiah 16:14 But now the LORD speaks, saying, "Within three years, as a hired man would count them, the glory of Moab will be degraded along with all his great population, and his remnant will be very small and impotent."
Isaiah 17:3 "The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, And sovereignty from Damascus And the remnant of Aram; They will be like the glory of the sons of Israel," Declares the LORD of hosts.
4 Now in that day the glory of Jacob will fade, And the fatness of his flesh will become lean.
Isaiah 21:16 For thus the Lord said to me, "In a year, as a hired man would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will terminate;
Isaiah 22:18 And roll you tightly like a ball, To be cast into a vast country; There you will die And there your splendid chariots will be, You shame of your master's house.'
23 "I will drive him like a peg in a firm place, And he will become a throne of glory to his father's house.
24 "So they will hang on him all the glory of his father's house, offspring and issue, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars.
Isaiah 24:23 Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, For the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, And His glory will be before His elders.
Isaiah 35:2 It will blossom profusely And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, The majesty of our God.
Isaiah 40:5 Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Isaiah 42:8 "I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.
12 Let them give glory to the LORD And declare His praise in the coastlands.
Isaiah 43:7 Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made."
Isaiah 48:11 "For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.
Isaiah 58:8 "Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Isaiah 59:19 So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the LORD drives.
Isaiah 60:1 "Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
2 "For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you.
13 "The glory of Lebanon will come to you, The juniper, the box tree and the cypress together, To beautify the place of My sanctuary; And I shall make the place of My feet glorious.
Isaiah 61:6 But you will be called the priests of the LORD; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, And in their riches you will boast.
Isaiah 62:2 The nations will see your righteousness, And all kings your glory; And you will be called by a new name Which the mouth of the LORD will designate.
Isaiah 66:11 That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts, That you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom."
12 For thus says the LORD, "Behold, I extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; And you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees.
18 "For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory.
19 "I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Rosh, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations.
Jeremiah 2:11 "Has a nation changed gods When they were not gods? But My people have changed their glory For that which does not profit.
Jeremiah 13:16 Give glory to the LORD your God, Before He brings darkness And before your feet stumble On the dusky mountains, And while you are hoping for light He makes it into deep darkness, And turns it into gloom.
Jeremiah 14:21 Do not despise us, for Your own name's sake; Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory; Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us.
Jeremiah 17:12 A glorious throne on high from the beginning Is the place of our sanctuary.
Jeremiah 48:18 "Come down from your glory And sit on the parched ground, O daughter dwelling in Dibon, For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you, He has ruined your strongholds.
KABOD IN THE EZEKIEL
Ezekiel 1:28 As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.
Ezekiel 3:12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me, "Blessed be the glory of the LORD in His place."
23 So I got up and went out to the plain; and behold, the glory of the LORD was standing there, like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face.
Ezekiel 8:4 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance which I saw in the plain.
Ezekiel 9:3 Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen at whose loins was the writing case.
Ezekiel 10:4 Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub to the threshold of the temple, and the temple was filled with the cloud and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD.
18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.
19 When the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the LORD'S house, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.
Ezekiel 11:22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.
23 The glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is east of the city.
Ezekiel 31:18 "To which among the trees of Eden are you thus equal in glory and greatness? Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth beneath; you will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who were slain by the sword. So is Pharaoh and all his hordes!"' declares the Lord GOD."
Ezekiel 39:21 "And I will set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them.
Ezekiel 43:2 and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.
4 And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate facing toward the east.
5 And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.
Ezekiel 44:4 Then He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD, and I fell on my face.
Daniel 11:39 "He will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to those who acknowledge him and will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.
Hosea 4:7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame.
Hosea 9:11 As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird-- No birth, no pregnancy and no conception!
Hosea 10:5 The inhabitants of Samaria will fear For the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn for it, And its idolatrous priests will cry out over it, Over its glory, since it has departed from it.
Micah 1:15 Moreover, I will bring on you The one who takes possession, O inhabitant of Mareshah. The glory of Israel will enter Adullam.
Nahum 2:9 Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! For there is no limit to the treasure-- Wealth from every kind of desirable object.
Habakkuk 2:14 "For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.
16 "You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor. Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the LORD'S right hand will come around to you, And utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
Haggai 2:3 'Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?
7 'I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD of hosts.
9 'The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,' says the LORD of hosts, 'and in this place I will give peace,' declares the LORD of hosts."
Zechariah 2:5 'For I,' declares the LORD, 'will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.'"
8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, "After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.
Malachi 1:6 "'A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?' says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, 'How have we despised Your name?'
Malachi 2:2 "If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name," says the LORD of hosts, "then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart.
GREEK WORD = DOXA
The corresponding Greek word for kabod is doxa.
Doxa (1391) speaks of a manifestation of God's true nature, presence, or likeness. He is glorified when He is allowed to be seen as He really is. To be where God is will be glory. To be what God intended will be glory. To do what God purposed will be glory. The basic idea in the word doxa is that of manifestation. The glory of God is the manifestation of His Being, His character and His acts. The glory of God is what He is essentially. Glory, therefore, is the true apprehension of God or things. The glory of God must mean His unchanging essence.
THE GLORY OF GOD
RETURNS BRIEFLY TO THE TEMPLE...
THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST
And after the last OT prophet Malachi had spoken a prophecy of the "Rising Son" (Mal 4:2, cp Lk 1:78, 79, cp "sun" as a metaphor of God - Ps 84:11-note), God remained silent for some 400 years between the Old and New Testaments. And then for a brief time, the Glory of God appeared to Israel and even in the Temple, but this time the Glory was in the form of a Man, the God-Man Christ Jesus...
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word became flesh (His Incarnation), and dwelt (tabernacled) among us, and we beheld (Gk = theaomai [Eng - theatrical] = they looked closely at His glory, as a spectator does a spectacle!) His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1, 14, cp Jn 1:18, 14:9)
John records that at the miracle of the wedding of Cana...
This beginning [#1] of His signs (cp Jn 20:30,31 - cp the other six signs = [#2] Jn 4:49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54; [#3] Jn 5:5, 6, 7, 8, 9; [#4] Jn 6:5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14; [#5] Jn 6:16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21; [#6] Jn 9:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; 11:41, 42, 43, 44) Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested (phaneroo [word study] = Jesus gave an external manifestation to senses, one which was open to all = in the miracle He made visible that which has been hidden) His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. (John 2:11)
Comment: The signs Jesus performed were in a sense the revealing of His glory.
And yet the full manifestation of Jesus' glory was veiled for most of His incarnation (cp His Transfiguration - Mt 17:2, Mk 9:2, 2Pe 1:18-note = a preview of Jesus' future exaltation and the coming Millennial Kingdom when Jehovah Shammah is "there"). Paul writing the saints at Philippi exhorted them to...
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Php 2:5, 6, 7-note, Php 2:8, 9, 10, 11-note)
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THE STEPWISE DEPARTURE |
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CONTEXT -- Ezekiel's description of the progressive departure of the Glory in Ezekiel 8-11 is recorded 14 months after Ezekiel is called to be God's prophet to the Exiles in Babylon, he is carried in vision to Jerusalem where we can trace the step-by-step departure of the Glory of the LORD. In Ezekiel 8:3-4 the prophet records that the Spirit...
Ezekiel 8 describes a series of four "abominations" involving God's Holy Temple, but as described in Eze 8:4 the Glory of the LORD is still present, presumably in the Holy of holies although that is not specifically stated. Ezekiel 9:3 records that
There is an almost identical description in Ezekiel 10:4 which records
Ezekiel 10:18-19 records that
After addressing Ezekiel's fear's that all the remnant would be brought to a complete end with the prophetic promises of future restoration physically and spiritually Ezekiel 11:22-23 records that
The Scripture then falls silent but the clear implication is that the glory of the LORD has departed from His dwelling place among man. |
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TIMELINE OF THE |
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| Comment: Christ will return (Rev 19:11,12, 13, 14, 15, 16-note) at the end of Seventieth Week of Daniel, a seven year period commonly known as "The Tribulation" with the last 3.5 years known specifically as the Great Tribulation (Mt 24:21) or the time of Jacob's Distress (Jer 30:7). The name Jacob is synonymous with Israel. In the last 3.5 years the Antichrist (Da 9:27-note) will bring distress (persecution) on Israel such as has never occurred (not even the Holocaust!) (cp Mt 24:21, 22). At His return the King of kings will utterly demolish the Antichrist ("the beast") and all who oppose Him (Re 19:19, 20, 21-note) and then establish His 1000 year Messianic Kingdom on earth (Millennium-pt 2 = steps leading up to the Messianic Kingdom) (Millennium-pt 3 = multiple OT Scriptures describing conditions during this time). During this 1000 year reign, Jerusalem will be established as the chief city of the world (Is 2:2, 3, 4), for the LORD, the Righteous One reigns there (Jer 23:5, 6, Is 9:6, 7, 32:1). At that time Ezekiel's prophecy will be fulfilled, for then Jehovah-shammah, The LORD is There (Ezek 48:35) and He will reign forever and ever. Amen. | ||||||||||||
In the last verse in Ezekiel we read...
The city shall be 18,000 cubits round about; and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there. (Ezekiel 48:35)
Ezekiel 43 gives to the believing remnant of Israel and to all saints of all ages His mercy filled promise and sure hope that the glory of Jehovah will return...
1 Then he led me (Ezekiel) to the gate, the gate facing toward the east (cp Ezek 10:18, 19, 11:1, 22, 23 - glory departed from the Eastern Gate to the mount east of the city, Mt of Olives, cp Acts 1:9, 10, 11); 2 and behold, the glory of the God of Israel (Ezek 1:28, 3:23 - the glory of the Lord in this context is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself) was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters (Ezek 1:24, cp Re 1:15); and the earth (Note: Not just the city but the earth! This event fulfills the repeated OT prophecy that one day in the future the entire will be filled with the glory of the LORD, the "Shekinah" = Nu 14:21 Ps 72:19 Isa 6:3, Isa 11:9, Hab 2:14) shone with His GLORY (Ezek 10:4). 3 And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw (The visions to which Ezekiel refers are those of Ezekiel 1 and Ezekiel 10), like the vision which I saw when He came to destroy the city (Ezek 1:26, 27, 28, 8:4, 9:1, 2, 3, 10:18, 19, 11:22, 23). And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the river Chebar (Ezek 1:3); and I fell on my face (Ezekiel frequently found himself in awe of the manifestation of God = Ezek 3:23, 9:8, 11:13, 44:4). 4 And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate facing toward the east. (The reversal of Ezek 10:18, cp Mt 24:1 where Jesus departed the Temple prior to His crucifixion) 5 And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court (Ezek 3:12, 13, 14, 8:3, 11:24, 37:1, 40:2); and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. (cf same description when Tabernacle completed - Ex 40:34,35 and when Temple completed - 1Ki 8:10, 11, 12)
6 Then I heard one speaking to me from the house, while a man was standing beside me. 7 And He said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of My throne (Ezek 1:26, 10:1, cp Is 6:1, Jer 3:17 - "Jerusalem" = "The Throne of God") and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell (Hebrew = Shakan = to settle down from which is derived the rabbinic word Shekinah = “that which dwells”) among the sons of Israel forever. (cp The name "The LORD is There" = Jehovah Shammah) And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their harlotry and by the corpses of their kings when they die, 8 by setting their threshold by My threshold, and their door post beside My door post, with only the wall between Me and them. And they have defiled My holy name by their abominations which they have committed. So I have consumed them in My anger.
9 "Now let them put away their harlotry and the corpses of their kings far from Me; and I will dwell (shakan) among them forever.
10 "As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the plan. 11 "And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the house, its structure, its exits, its entrances, all its designs, all its statutes, and all its laws. And write it in their sight, so that they may observe its whole design and all its statutes, and do them. 12 "This is the law of the house: its entire area on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
The post-exilic (after Judah's 70 year exile to Babylon) prophet Zechariah echoes Ezekiel's prophecy of Ezek 48:35...
Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion (Mt Zion is the site of Jerusalem); for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst," declares the LORD (Jehovah) . "And many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day (cp Zec 14:16, Is 2:3, What day? Messiah's Second Coming and establishment of His Millennial Kingdom) and will become My people. Then (When? "in that day") I will dwell (shakan) in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And the LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem (cp Ezek 48:35 Jerusalem named = "The LORD is There"). Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused from His holy habitation." (Zech 2:10, 11, 12, 13)
The psalmist alludes to the forever presence of Jehovah writing...
Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks, at the mountain which God has desired for His abode (= Mt Zion = Jerusalem)? Surely, the LORD (Jehovah) will dwell (Heb = shakan = to settle down derived from Rabbinic word Shekinah ["that which dwells"]) there forever (cp Ezek 48:35). (Ps 68:16)
Jehovah Shammah will be the new name of Jerusalem (cp names in (Je 3:17; 33:16) symbolizing the permanence of the Lord's presence (cp Is 7:14). Jehovah would never depart from Israel again and would never send them into exile again. The believing remnant of Israel (and all Gentile believers) would enjoy unbroken fellowship with God, even as Adam and Eve had in the Garden of Eden (cp Ge 3:8).
Some feel that Ezekiel's designation of the city as Jehovah-shammah refers to the heavenly Jerusalem rather than the Millennial Jerusalem (See also discussion by Nathan Stone below).
The Evangelical Commentary writes...
Ezekiel concludes his prophecy by identifying the name of this twelve-gate city. It is “the Lord is there.” “Jerusalem” is conspicuous by its absence. What gives the city any kind of sanctity is not tradition, but the presence of the Lord. His glory is not confined to the temple. It spills into the whole land. In Ezekiel’s city and John’s city (Rev. 21:12ff.) the climax is the same: God’s dwelling is with men. (Elwell, W. A. Evangelical Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House).
Constable explains that...
The circumference of the city proper would be 18,000 cubits, less than six miles. And its name from the day of its establishment would be “The LORD is there” (Heb. Yahweh shammah). The new name would indicate a new character, as always in Scripture, namely, that the Lord would forever reside among His people (cf. Isa. 7:14). He would never again depart from them or send them out of His land. He would forever dwell among them, and they would forever enjoy the unbroken fellowship with God that He intended since the creation of the world.
The Book of Ezekiel ends with a description of a New Jerusalem like the Book of Revelation, though the New Jerusalem of Ezekiel is millennial and the New Jerusalem at the end of Revelation is eternal (Re 3:12, Re 21:2).
Twenty-two years and 48 chapters earlier Ezekiel began his book with a vision of a storm picturing the destruction of Old Jerusalem and, later (Ezekiel 10-11), God’s departure from it. He ended it with another vision of the establishment of New Jerusalem and God’s permanent residence in it. The glory of the Lord is the unifying feature that ties the book together and runs through it from beginning to end.
Word in Life Study Bible...
The name of this ideal city is “The Lord Is There.” This is a fitting climax, not only to the Book of Ezekiel, but to John’s Revelation and to the Bible itself. It shows that a reversal has occurred during the course of history. Whereas Ezekiel had seen the Lord withdrawing from His temple because of the people’s wickedness (Ezek 10:18), now He has returned to a new temple to live among His people forever. Likewise, whereas fellowship with God was cut off through the sin in Eden (Ge 3:22, 23, 24), it is made permanent in the New Jerusalem (Re 21:3). This is a strong hope we can look forward to with great anticipation. Right now, we may sometimes feel distant from God, perhaps alone and confused and wondering whether He even knows who we are. The assurance of Scripture is that someday we will no longer wonder where God is; we will be with Him—forever! (Word in Life Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson)
John Wesley on the LORD is there...
The Lord Who as His name alone is Jehovah, so is the only true God, faithful to His promise, rich in mercy, glorious in majesty, righteous in His judgments, wise and holy in His government, whose presence makes us happy, whose withdrawing from us leaves us to misery. This God will by His favour and presence, bring the confluence of all good to persons, families, and cities; this God will be there to dwell, govern, defend, prosper, and crown. Such is to be the case of earthly Jerusalem, such shall be for ever the case of the heavenly Jerusalem. Such is the case of every true believer, who may, wherever he is, in his way of duty, still write Jehovah-Shammah, My God is here. And ’tis best to be where He is ’till He bring us within the gates of the glorious city, where inconceivable light and love from the immediate presence of God, give every one an eternal demonstration that God is here: to Him be glory for ever. (Wesley's Notes)
Warren Wiersbe...
The important thing about the land is not the river or the borders but the glorious presence of God. The new name for the city of Jerusalem will be Jehovah-Shammah—“the Lord is there!” The Lord had departed from Jerusalem because of the sins of the people, but He will return to dwell with them and bless them. When you are discouraged about the way things are going on earth, lift your eyes to heaven by pondering Revelation 21:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Just think of it: we shall live forever where the Lord is! Are you looking by faith for that future city (He 11:13, 14, 15, 16)? (Wiersbe, W: With the Word: Chapter-by-Chapter Bible Handbook. Nelson or Logos)
William MacDonald...
This name reminds us of what was always in the heart of God: He loves His creatures so much that He always planned to have them close to Himself. He is ever searching, asking, “Where are you?” (Ge 3:8), calling to repentance and faith (cp 2Pe 3:9-note). As Son of God He even came down to earth to die for us. His wish will be fulfilled: man will be close to His heart. We can engage in and participate in His search for the lost even now, while living close to His heart here on earth. This is God’s desire for us.
We close our commentary on Ezekiel with a summary by the Hebrew Christian OT scholar, Charles L. Feinberg:
This incomparable prophecy began with a vision of the glory of God and concludes with a description of the glory of the Lord in the glorified city of Jerusalem. Ezekiel concluded, as John in the Revelation, with God dwelling with man in holiness and glory. Beyond this there is no greater goal of history and God’s dealings with man. (MacDonald, W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson or Logos)
Adam Clarke...has some interesting concluding thoughts on Jehovah Shammah and upon the book of Ezekiel in general...
This is an allusion to the Shechinah, or symbol of the Divine Presence, which was in the first, but most certainly was not in the second temple; but Ezekiel tells us that the Divine Presence should be in the city of which he speaks; and should be there so fully and so powerfully, that it should give name to the city itself; and that the very name, Jehovah shammah, should remind all men of the supereminently glorious Being who had condescended to make this city his habitation...
In conclusion, I think it necessary to state, that there are but few of the prophets of the Old Testament who have left a more valuable treasure to the Church of God than Ezekiel. It is true, he is in several places obscure; but there is a great proportion of the work that is in the highest degree edifying; and several portions that for the depth of the salvation predicted, and the accuracy and minuteness of the description, have nothing equal to them in the Old Testament Scriptures. On such portions, I have felt it my duty to be very particular, that I might be able to point out spiritual beauties and excellencies in this book which are beyond all praise; while I passed slightly over prophecies and symbols which I did not fully understand; but have left to time, by the fulfilment of the events, to prove to successive generations with what heavenly wisdom this much neglected prophet has spoken. And I take this opportunity to recommend this book to the serious perusal of every pious man; and while he wonders at the extent of the wisdom by which Ezekiel has fathomed the depth of so many Divine mysteries, let him give God the glory for this additional testimony to the unsearchable riches of Christ, and that plenary salvation which he has purchased for, and freely offers to, the vilest of the vile, and to the whole of the descendants of Adam. (Clarke's Commentary: Ezekiel).
Charles Dyer interprets Ezekiel 48:35 as referring to the Millennium...
As the Prophet Ezekiel had stated repeatedly, God will return to dwell with His people. No longer worshiping lifeless idols and engaged in detestable practices, Israel will enjoy the Lord’s holy presence in the Millennium. (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., et al: The Bible Knowledge Commentary. 1985. Victor or Logos)
Scofield observes that this great OT prophecy by Ezekiel...
Ezekiel begins and ends with God. Between the great vision of God in Ezekiel 1:27, 28 and these closing words, "THE LORD IS THERE," is the unsparing record of man's failure and sin (Ed: Specifically Israel in context but surely a picture of all those born into Adam's sin - Ro 5:12-note), judged by God. But His judgment works to His glory, and the book ends with the one thing that makes heaven what it is, the Presence of the LORD. Joel 3:21; Zech 2:10; Re 21:3; 22:3
The Jerome Bible Commentary...
The projected city of Yahweh šāmmāh combines God’s absolute transcendence with his eternal dwelling among his people.
New Living Translation Study Bible...
To cap off the whole vision, the city was given a new name, The Lord Is There (Hebrew Yahweh Shammah). Although the Lord had once departed from Jerusalem and ordered its destruction because of its gross idolatry and bloodshed, the new city was so much a part of the new order of things that it could receive that name. This also implied that the bloody city condemned in earlier chapters had now been replaced by a holy city, fit for God to dwell in among representatives of all twelve of Israel’s tribes (cp. Isa 4:2-6; Zech 14:20-21). Thus the prophecy of 37:26-27 finally reached its conclusion and its fulfillment, as God established his sanctuary in the midst of his people forever, just as he promised. (New Living Translation Study Bible. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc)
The Preacher's Commentary Series...
The name of the city, given in the very last verse of the book (v. 35), is not Jerusalem, or Zion, but Yahweh Shammah, Hebrew for “The Lord is there.” To a considerable degree, this is the object of the entire vision. What God causes Ezekiel to see is a place where God is present. If He is there, all those accepted by Him into His presence will experience order, equity, continuing life, absence of the power of sin, and abundance of a sort not imaginable by usual standards. His presence is life itself, except, of course, to the wicked who oppose Him. To them, His presence is death. But this part of the vision is not addressing the question of how the presence of God can mean alternately life or death depending on who is in that presence. It envisions a time and a place where and when the division for or against the Lord has already occurred (chs. 38, 39, etc.). The ultimate city and the eschatological Promised Land are for those who love the Lord and are His forever. He will be there, and they will finally be with Him, as they had faith they would be. (Stuart, D., & Ogilvie, L. J. The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 20: Ezekiel. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc)
The Open Bible...
he most sublime feature of the city is that THE LORD IS THERE. This is Ezekiel’s passion throughout the book. God’s people shall live so that God can dwell among them, sanctifying them with His presence. (The Open Bible: New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Midrash Rabbah, Lamentations I, 16, § 51.
… BECAUSE THE COMFORTER IS FAR FROM ME, EVEN HE THAT SHOULD REFRESH MY SOUL. What is the name of King Messiah? R. Abba b. Kahana said: His name is … ‘It is good for a province when its name is identical with that of its king,’ as it is written, And the name of the city from that day shall be the Lord is there (Ezek. XLVIII, 35).
Midrash on Psalms, Book One, Psalm 21, 2.
… God will call the king Messiah after His own name, for it is said of the king Messiah This is his name whereby he shall be called: The Lord our Righteousness (Jer. 23:6). Jerusalem also shall be called after the Lord’s name, for it is said of Jerusalem The name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord. That shall be her name (Ezek. 48:35). (from Huckel, T. The Rabbinic Messiah. Philadelphia: Hananeel House)
The Reformation Study Bible...
From the beginning of the Old Testament God had revealed His intention to be with His people. He walked and spoke with them in the Garden of Eden and dwelled in sanctuaries built in their midst. The promise of a child named Immanuel pointed to a day when God would be “with us” (Is. 7:14). The New Testament ends in much the same way as the Book of Ezekiel ends. John too describes the city of God, and a time when God will live with human beings (Rev. 21:3); he ends with the prayer, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20). (Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B. K., & Silva, M. Reformation Study Bible : Nashville: T. Nelson)
Warren Wiersbe in his comments on Psalm 23 observes that....
“The Lord” is Jehovah God, the covenant making God of Israel. The compound names of Jehovah in the Old Testament reflect the contents of this psalm.
“I shall not want”—Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will provide” (Ge. 22:14)
“still waters”- Jehovah-Shalom, “the Lord our peace” (Jdg. 6:24)
“restores my soul”—Jehovah-Rophe, “the Lord who heals” (Ex. 15:26)
“paths of righteousness”—Jehovah-Tsidkenu, “the Lord our righteousness” (Jer. 33:16)
“you are with me”—Jehovah-Shammah, “the Lord is there” (Ezek. 48:35)
“presence of my enemies”—“Jehovah-Nissi, “the Lord our banner” (Ex. 17:15)
“anoint my head”—Jehovah-M’Kaddesh, “the Lord who sanctifies” (Lev. 20:8)
(Wiersbe, W. W. Be Worshipful. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Cook Communications Ministries)
Matthew Henry...
The Lord is there; for faithful is He that has said, and He will be as good as His word, Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world (Mt 28:20b). The Lord is there in His church, to rule and govern it, to protect and defend it, and graciously to accept and own his sincere worshippers, and to be nigh unto them in all that they call upon him for. This should engage us to keep close to the communion of saints, for the Lord is there; and then whither shall we go to better ourselves? Nay, it is true of every good Christian; he dwells in God, and God in him; whatever soul has in it a living principle of grace, it may be truly said, The Lord is There. That the glory and happiness of heaven should consist chiefly in this, that the Lord is there. St. John’s representation of that blessed state does indeed far exceed this in many respects. That is all gold, and pearls, and precious stones; it is much larger than this, and much brighter, for it needs not the light of the sun. But, in making the presence of God the principal matter of its bliss, they both agree. There the happiness of the glorified saints is made to be that God himself shall be with them (Re 21:3), that he who sits on the throne shall dwell among them, Re 7:15. And here it is made to crown the bliss of this holy city that the Lord is there. Let us therefore give all diligence to make sure to ourselves a place in that city, that we may be for ever with the Lord.
W A Criswell favors Jehovah Shammah as a reference to the New Heaven and New Earth when we will also have a New Jerusalem ()...
Ezekiel closes his great book by giving us the name of the New Jerusalem. One of the refrains in John’s vision states that “the Lord is there” in the city. When the city descended from heaven, John heard a voice saying, “the tabernacle of God is with men” (Rev. 21:3). He is there as the temple (Rev. 21:22), as the light (Rev. 21:23; 22:5), and as the King on His throne (Rev. 22:3). Ezekiel had seen God depart from the temple and the city of the earthly Jerusalem, but he closes with the assurance that in the New Jerusalem, “THE LORD IS THERE”!
Fredenburg writes that Jehovah-shammah may be...
a word play on the name “Jerusalem,” this city is named “Yahweh Shammah.” The former capital, the “City of Peace” is now replaced with “Yahweh is There.” Not only had Yahweh abandoned the Solomonic temple, He had abandoned the city of Jerusalem, too (cf. Ezek 9:5, 6, 7, 8; 11:23; 33:21). But, in keeping His promises to Jerusalem (Ezek 16:53, 55), Yahweh reconstructs and renames the city with an even greater name, His own. Its importance now lies in the fact that here both Yahweh and all His people dwell together in perfect harmony, symbolized by the symmetry of the city’s walls and gates.
The last words of the prophet and of the book stand as an open invitation to those in exile. The house is built. The table is set. The rooms are assigned. The land is secure. And Yahweh is there … waiting … watching … wooing … wanting his people to come home.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.… So they began to celebrate” (Luke 15:20, 24).
(Fredenburg, B. Ezekiel. The College Press NIV commentary. Joplin, Mo.: College Press Pub. Co) (Bolding added)
Knowles writes that...
The name of the city will be ‘the Lord is there’. In Hebrew this is ‘Yahweh Shammah’ — words which sound like ‘Jerusalem’ (Ed: The Hebrew Yahweh-Shammah, could be a wordplay on Yerushalayim, the Hebrew pronunciation of Jerusalem, "City of Peace"). Ezekiel has not mentioned Jerusalem until now. It is the final glory of the holy city that God is present in her.
So Ezekiel concludes his book. For twenty-five years, Ezekiel has served as prophet and priest-in-exile to the people of Israel in Babylon.
He began with a vision of the Lord’s chariot — throne, which revealed the God of Israel as supremely glorious and everywhere active.
He saw the Lord withdraw from the temple and predicted the fall and destruction of Jerusalem.
He promised the exiles that God would make a new covenant with His people, to give them a new heart and dwell with them for ever.
He received a vision of the future, with a new temple, priesthood, land and city, all reflecting and expressing God’s perfect holiness.
In the dark days of exile, Ezekiel is realistic about God’s judgment and certain of a future restoration for Israel. His awareness and portrayal of the glory of God is unsurpassed in the Old Testament. His prophecies and visions hold high the hope that God will one day bring all things to completion and make all things new. (Knowles, A. The Bible Guide. page 342. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg. 2001) (Bolding added)
Jon Courson comments...
The people to whom Ezekiel prophesied were captives in a foreign land. They had heard reports that their country had been obliterated, that the temple had been destroyed. But suddenly they hear a message from God, telling them not only that the temple would be rebuilt, that the Levites would be in place, that the priests would be in attendance, that all twelve tribes would be reunited and given a portion of the land—but, above all, that the city would be named Jehovah-Shammah, or “the Lord is there.”
Maybe, like the Jews in Ezekiel’s day, you feel displaced or forgotten, out of touch and out of hope. If you don’t know the Lord, leave the captivity of sin behind and turn to Him, for He is as near as your confession of faith in Him (Romans 10:8, 9, 10).
And if you do know Him, take heart, for all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for instruction in righteousness—including Ezekiel 48 (2Ti 3:16). Through this otherwise-obscure passage, the Lord would say to you, “Fear not. I haven’t left you nor forsaken you. In fact, I have something planned and all measured out for you. The kingdom is right around the corner—and the best part about it is that I will be there.” (Courson, J. (2006). Jon Courson's Application Commentary : Volume two : Psalms-Malachi. p 694. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson)
Charles Dyer commenting on Jeremiah's prediction of a rebuilt Jerusalem (Jer 31:38, 39, 40) notes that...
God described two characteristics of this new city. First, it will be holy to the Lord (cf. Zech. 14:20, 21). The city and its inhabitants will be set apart to God who will dwell in her midst (Ezek. 48:35). Second, the city will no more be uprooted or demolished. The ravages of war will not be experienced in this new city. These verses were not fulfilled after the Babylonian Captivity ended. Since the postexilic period provides clear evidence that holiness was not a primary characteristic of the people in Jerusalem and Judah (cf. Mal. 1:6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14), so the city was destroyed again in a.d. 70 by the Romans. These promises (Jer. 31:31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40) await their future fulfillment during the Millennium. (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., et al: The Bible Knowledge Commentary. 1985. Victor or Logos)
C H Spurgeon...
If the Lord is with us through life, we need not fear for our dying confidence, for when we come to die, we will find that “The LORD is there” (Ezek. 48:35). Where the billows are most tempestuous and the water is most chill, we will feel the bottom and know that it is good; our feet will stand upon the Rock of Ages when time is passing away. Beloved, from the first of a Christian’s life to the last, the only reason why he does not perish is because “the LORD is there.” When the God of everlasting love will change and leave His elect to perish, then may the church of God be destroyed, but not until then because it is written, Jehovah, “The LORD is there.” (Spurgeon, C. H. Daily Help)
Arnold Fruchtenbaum...
Jerusalem’s name will be changed to Jehovah Shammah, which means Jehovah is there (v. 35b). Since the Messianic God-Man will personally reign from this particular city, the city will not only fulfill its name of Jerusalem (the city of peace), but also Jehovah Shammah (Jehovah is there). For this same reason the city will also be called Jehovah our Righteousness, according to Jeremiah 33:16. (Fruchtenbaum, A. G. The Footsteps of the Messiah : A study of the sequence of prophetic events Rev. ed. p 467. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries)
John MacArthur...
The city is called YHWH Shammah, “The Lord is There.” The departed glory of God (Ezek 8:1, 2, 3, 4, 5ff through Ezek 11:22, 23, 24, 25) has returned (Ezek 44:1,2), and His dwelling, the temple, is in the very center of the district given over to the Lord. With this final note, all of the unconditional promises which God had made to Israel in the Abrahamic Covenant (Ge 12:1, 2, 3, 4); the Levitic Covenant (Nu 25:10, 11, 12, 13); the Davidic Covenant (2Sa 7:12, 13, 14, 15, 16); and the New Covenant (Jer 31:31, 32, 33,34, 35, 36) have been fulfilled. So this final verse provides the consummation of Israel’s history—the returned presence of God! (MacArthur, J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word or Logos)
A R Faussett has an interesting comment on Rev 21:12 writing that...
Ezek 48:30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, has a similar description, which implies that the millennial Jerusalem shall have its exact antitype in the heavenly Jerusalem which shall descend on the finally regenerated earth. (A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments)
Warren Wiersbe describes Ezekiel's vision of the new temple...
In examining all the information Ezekiel recorded for us, we must be careful not to lose the major messages among these important details. There is a sense in which the messages of the entire book are wrapped up in one way or another in chapters 40 to 48. The spiritual lessons are as meaningful to us today as they were to Israel in Ezekiel’s day, or as they will be to the Jewish people in Messiah’s day.
Separation from sin. Ezekiel was a priest as well as a prophet, and it was the responsibility of the priests to teach the people the difference between the holy and the unholy and the clean and the unclean (Lv 10:10, 11; Ezek 44:23). Israel drifted into sin because they began to erase these differences and became like the pagan nations around them. The temple in Jerusalem, with its special courts and holy chambers, reminded the people that God put a difference between the holy and the profane. For people to “call evil, good, and good, evil, [and] put darkness for light, and light for darkness” (Is 5:20) is to violate the basic principle of holy living. (See Ezek 40:5; 42:14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20; 43:7)
Worship. The temple was a place of worship, but the heart of the worshiper was far more important that his or her gifts. The Jews in the Southern Kingdom of Judah had defiled the holy temple of God and dared to worship Jehovah along with the idols of the nations around them! God’s people don’t decide how they are going to worship the Lord; they simple obey what He has told them in His Word.
Fulfillment. One of the purposes of the Millennial Kingdom is that God might fulfill His promises to His people, promises He couldn’t fulfill because of their rebellion and unbelief. In His grace and mercy, God gave Israel a wonderful land, a perfect law, and a glorious Lord. They defiled the land by their terrible crimes; they disobeyed the law by adopting pagan practices; and they defied their Lord and tempted Him by resisting His calls to repentance. But during the kingdom, Israel will trust the Lord, obey His Word, worship in His temple as they should, and bring delight to the Lord who will rule from David’s throne.
But there’s a further fulfillment, for the Kingdom Age (Ed: Millennium) will “wrap up” all the previous ages in God’s revelation of Himself and His purposes. The land will be like the Garden of Eden (Ezek 36:35), complete with a river of life and trees of life. The promises made to Abraham will be fulfilled and his descendants will possess and enjoy their land. The Law of Moses will be obeyed from the heart (cp Ezek 11:19, 18:31, 36:26), and the Lord will be worshiped and glorified. The Messiah that Israel rejected at His first coming will be received and honored and will reign over them (Ezek 43:6, 7). God will fulfill every kingdom promise found in the pages of the prophets!
God’s glory and God’s name. If the Book of Ezekiel teaches us anything, it teaches us that we must honor God’s name and magnify His glory. The glory of God departed from Israel because they defiled the temple. The glory of God returned to the new temple because it was holy and a place where God could dwell. “They shall know that I am the Lord” is a statement found at least sixty times in Ezekiel’s book. While God’s glory doesn’t dwell in our church buildings, God can be glorified or disgraced by what we do in those buildings we have dedicated to Him. As His people, we must be reverent and honor His name.
(Ed: "Know that I am the LORD" - Ezek 6:7, 10, 13, 14; 7:4, 27; 11:10, 12; 12:15, 16, 20; 13:9, 14, 21, 23; 14:8; 15:7; 16:62; 17:24; 20:12, 20, 26, 38, 42, 44; 22:16; 23:49; 24:24, 27; 25:5, 7, 11, 17; 26:6; 28:22, 23, 24, 26; 29:6, 9, 16, 21; 30:8, 19, 25, 26; 32:15; 33:29; 34:27; 35:4, 9, 15; 36:11, 23, 38; 37:6, 13, 28; 38:23; 39:6, 7, 22, 28)
The sovereign rule of God. The first vision God gave Ezekiel was that of His glorious throne, moving quickly here and there so that His angelic creatures could accomplish His purposes in the world. Today, the church of Jesus Christ is left in this world not just to pray “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” (Mt 6:10) but to help accomplish that will in the power of the Holy Spirit. God is still on the throne and Jesus Christ has “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). Need we ask for more? (Be Reverent Warren W. Wiersbe)
F B Meyer in Our Daily Homily...
THE LORD IS THERE. Ezek. 48:35 -- EZEKIEL has in view an ideal city; whether in any material form it is to be realized, we must wait to see (Ed: Answer - It will materialize!). But this shall be its prominent characteristic, that God will be there. A great voice will be heard out of heaven, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people; and God Himself shall be with them and be their God."
There is comfort in this for the sorrowful; because where God is, there cannot be sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. God shall wipe away all tears from off all faces. No cypress-trees line the streets of that city; no dirge intrudes upon the glad ascription of praise; no sob or groan is possible.
There is comfort for far dissevered friends; for where God is, the centre and goal and home, all His children meet. Back from distant lands and spheres they come; home from the school where they have been taught; back from the voyage; back from the military camp; back from the tour of exploration. The gates stand open to admit to His heart; and that heart is the rendezvous of those who have come out of every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people--never again to be parted.
There is comfort for the doubting and perplexed. Here, night often reigns over the heart of Thomas and the mind of Mary. Truly devoted souls grope by candle-light, and sometimes they walk in darkness and have no light, learning to walk by faith. But there all mysteries will be unravelled, all problems solved, every question answered; there will be no night, no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God shall lighten it, and the Lamb shall be the lamp thereof.
In his sermon on Jehovah Shammah (Click here for the complete Sermon on The God Who is There - Jehovah Shammah - scroll down page), Pastor Brian Bill reminds us that...
In the Garden of Eden we read that everything was perfect because the Creator (Elohim) wanted Adam and Eve to live in a place of beauty and comfort as seen in Genesis 1:9:
“And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.”
As beautiful as the creation was, the real joy was that “God himself walked in the garden in the cool of the day…” (Genesis 3:8).
God’s presence was to be their greatest pleasure. But because Adam and Eve chose to disobey, the entire human race was plunged into darkness and death. Thankfully, God continued to reveal Himself and make His presence known. Genesis 5:22 tells us that Enoch “walked with God 300 years.”
We’ve learned in this series that El Shaddai also talked with Abraham. He allowed Jacob to wrestle with Him to teach him the truth that God is always present. Moses, who doubted God’s presence, had an encounter with the Almighty at the burning bush, and later declared in Exodus 33:15:
If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”
Moses wasn’t going to mobilize unless God moved with him. Yahweh demonstrated His powerful presence to the Israelites while they were in the desert of despair by using two symbols. By day, a cloud led them, and by night a pillar of fire pronounced His presence. God was personally and powerfully present with His people at all times and in all places. Let’s repeat this phrase again: “God is there, He is here, He is everywhere.”
On top of that, the Israelites had a portable tabernacle that symbolized the fact that God was with them. This tabernacle replaced the tent of meeting that Moses set up (Ex 33:7, 8, 9, 10, 11). The tabernacle was to be constructed with specific details, that I won’t go into right now, but suffice it to say that according to Exodus 25:8, this was to be the “dwelling place for God.” This helped the Israelites know that God was present with them.
Now let’s fast forward to the time of King David and look at Psalm 139:7-10:
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
This passage establishes one of the Almighty’s attributes referred to as the Omnipresence of God. Simply stated, this means that God is always wherever He needs to be to do whatever needs to be done. He’s everywhere present at the same time. He is there, He is here, and He is everywhere.
King David was eager to build a permanent place for God but was not allowed to. Instead, his son Solomon had the privilege of constructing a place for God’s name to dwell. Using enormous resources, this project took over 7 years to complete. The temple symbolized the fact that God was there for his people, and yet Solomon recognized that a building could not contain the awesome glory of God in 1 Kings 8:27:
But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!
Unfortunately, even though they now had the Temple, and the assurance of God’s presence, the people compromised spiritually, and fell away from the Almighty. In one sense, they were more preoccupied with the place than with the presence of God Himself. God then brought numerous prophets on the scene to bring them back, but they were often met with resistance. Finally, because of their disobedience, God mobilized the Babylonians to come and attack Jerusalem, and 400 years after it was constructed, the Temple was destroyed, and the people were deported to what is modern-day Iraq...
...We have some promises about the presence of God. Claim these as your own as you call out to Jehovah Shammah in prayer.
Habakkuk 2:4: “Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD, and work. For I am with you, declares the LORD Almighty.”
Hebrews 13:5: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.
Matthew 28:20: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
I’d like to close by making ten statements that I’d like you to respond to by saying, “God is there, He is here, He is everywhere.”
When you feel alone…
“God is there, He is here, He is everywhere.”
When your boyfriend or girlfriend breaks up with you…
“God is there, He is here, He is everywhere.”
When you get bad news from the doctor…
“God is there, He is here, He is everywhere.”
When your child makes bad decisions…
“God is there, He is here, He is everywhere.”
When you wonder why you hurt so bad…
“God is there, He is here, He is everywhere.”
When you feel like hurting yourself…
“God is there, He is here, He is everywhere.”
When you’re tempted to do something wrong…
“God is there, He is here, He is everywhere.”
When you make a mistake…
“God is there, He is here, He is everywhere.”
When you can’t pay your bills…
"God is there, He is here, He is everywhere.”
When you’re afraid about the future…
“God is there, He is here, He is everywhere.”
From Names of God — by Nathan Stone
Nathan Stone summarizes the various names of God and then expounds on the name Jehovah Shammah, The LORD is there...
Jehovah reveals Himself in the power and majesty and glory of His person and as meeting every need of that man whom He had made in His image and for His glory. His name Elohim revealed Him not only as Creator and Ruler, but as covenanting to preserve His Creation. The name Jehovah revealed Him in special relationship to man. For since that name indicates absolute self-existence, and therefore One who is infinite and eternal, it could be revealed only to creatures who could apprehend and appreciate the infinite and eternal. And since the name Jehovah sets God forth in His moral and spiritual attributes, the special relationship between Him and the crowning work of His Creation, the man made in His image, was a moral and spiritual one. That moral and spiritual relationship was broken by man's disobedience and sin and fall. After that, the names of God compounded with Jehovah reveal Him as providing redemption for fallen, sinful man, and depicting every aspect of that great transaction of redemption by which man is fully restored to God-healing, victory, peace, sanctification, justification, preservation, care, and guidance.
Jehovah-shammah is the promise and pledge of the completion of that purpose in man's final rest and glory, for man's end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. For, as Paul says,
"Whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified" (Ro 8:30-note),
a past tense, but speaking the language of eternity.
THE OCCASION OF THE NAME - The name Jehovah-shammah is found in the last verse of the Book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel began his prophecies at a time when the nation Israel was at the lowest ebb of its history, spiritually and nationally. The sun of its strength and glory had long set, and the night was fast closing in. Every one of his prophecies was uttered in captivity where he had been taken several years before the destruction of Jerusalem. The last great vision and prophecy was uttered in the twenty-fifth year of the captivity and fourteen years after Jerusalem had fallen, the Temple destroyed, and only a poor, miserable remnant left in the land. Israel's spirit was broken, and Ephraim's crown of pride was laid low in the dust. It appears they had been delivered from bondage in Egypt only to go into bondage in Babylon. By the rivers of Babylon, the psalmist tells us, they sat and wept, as they remembered Zion. Song had departed from them. They hung their harps upon the willows. 'How shall we sing Jehovah's song in a strange land?" they answered their captors when they demanded of them one of the songs of Zion. In the land of their humiliation and sorrow they had time to reflect upon their follies and to realize the pleasantness of their heritage now laid waste and the beauty of Jehovah's sanctuary now destroyed. Then they vow:
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy" (Ps 137:5, 6-note).
Perhaps with the passing of the years, or with the easing of the conditions of captivity, enthusiasm for Zion was beginning to wane. At any rate, the Ezekiel who twenty-five years before had prophesied to the early captives in Babylon the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, now brings this prophecy of hope and consolation which predicts the restoration of land and people in a measure far beyond anything they had ever experienced in the past, or could have imagined. The pledge of all this is the name Jehovah-shammah. Jehovah is there.
The Jehovah who had departed from the old Temple, desecrated by the abominations of His people (Ezekiel 10:18, 19; 11:22, 23, 24) and destroyed by His judgments, now returns by the same way into a new and glorious city and Temple, purged of all the old abominations and oppressions, and characterized by righteousness, justice, and holiness. The glory of Jehovah would fill this new place, and His presence would dwell and abide there forever (Ezekiel 43:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). Ezekiel heard a voice saying
to him: Son of man, this is the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever." (Ezek 43:7)
All this vision Ezekiel was commanded to take back from Jerusalem, where he had been taken in spirit, to the captives in Babylon, for their heartening and hope.
THE MEANING OF THE NAME - The uniqueness and glory of Israel's religion as contrasted with the religions of the surrounding nations had always been the presence of a holy God dwelling in their midst. The condition of His continued presence among them was to be their faithfulness to a covenant by which they promised to be a holy people to this holy God (Ex 19:8, 24:3, 7, but compare how quickly they "forgot" God and rebelled in their heart - Ex 32:1, 2, 3, 4, 5). This again was in striking contrast to the surrounding nations whose worship was as cruel and licentious as their gods.
Jehovah had promised His presence among His people from the beginning. Whatever the outward symbols or manifestation, the Presence was real and felt,
"Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared," He said to Moses (Exodus 23:20). (Ed: See explanation of OT term Angel of the LORD)
In Ex 23:23, this angel is "my Angel." He is the Angel of Jehovah who appeared to Moses at the burning bush (Ex 3:2), and who announces Himself to Moses as the
"I am that I am" = Jehovah Himself (Ex 3:14, 15). (Ed: Jehovah = Jesus)
In answer to Moses' plea to continue with His people in spite of their great sin and provocation, Jehovah says:
"My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." (Ex 33:14)
And Moses continues:
"If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us?" (Ex 33:14, 15, 16).
Moses reminds the children of Israel as they are about to enter the land,
because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out with his presence" (Dt 4:37ASV).
And in a wonderful passage of Scripture, Isaiah remarks:
"In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them: in His love and pity He redeemed them; and He bare them and carried them all the days of old" (Isa 63:9).
In a beautiful psalm, which tells of David's desire and purpose to build a house for Jehovah to dwell in, we read:
Arise, O Jehovah, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength . . . . For Jehovah hath chosen Zion; he bath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest forever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it" (Ps 132:8, 13, 14-note).
Both tabernacle and Temple were the place of His abode and His visible manifestation in Israel (Ex 13:21, 22, cp Ex 25:21, 22). The New Testament makes it quite clear that these Old Testament edifices were figures of the true (He 8:5, 6-note), the pattern of things in the heavens (He 9:8, 9-note, He 9:23, 24-note). Everything about them was highly typical of God's presence and glory (Ed: See Study of Biblical types). Of their free and willing gifts the children of Israel erected these costly and beautiful buildings. As soon as the tabernacle in the wilderness was completed and dedicated, we are told that the glory of Jehovah filled it, and the cloud of Jehovah was upon the tabernacle by day, and there was fire therein by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys (Ex 40:34, 35, 36, 37, 38).
David desires to build a "house" for Jehovah to dwell in because all these centuries since they had first entered the land Jehovah had
"walked in a tent and in a tabernacle" (2Sa 7:5, 6, 7).
And when that magnificent Temple was built by his son Solomon on the very site of Mt Moriah, where Jehovah had revealed Himself to Abraham as Jehovah Jireh, a great and dramatic scene ensued. At the end of Solomon's great prayer of dedication, the fire, fitting symbol of Jehovah's presence and power, came down from heaven, consumed the sacrifices on the altar,
'and the glory of Jehovah filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of Jehovah, because the glory of Jehovah had filled Jehovah's house" (2Chr 7:1, 2, 3).
The fullness of Jehovah's presence was the hope and end of all prophetic expectation. After the glorious prophecy of Messiah's universal reign in the eleventh chapter, Isaiah pens a beautiful psalm of praise in Isaiah 12:6 which ends with the words:
"Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." (Isa 12:6)
Also speaking of a future fulfillment, Jeremiah says:
"At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord" (Jer3:17).
"Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God," says the psalmist of Zion (Psalm 87:3-note).
Of the city trodden under foot and despised, Isaiah says:
"They shall call thee The City of Jehovah, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel" (Is 60:14).
In Psalm 46, that great psalm of confidence, Jehovah is represented as "the indwelling Helper." Here mention is made of
"the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her . . . . The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge." (Ps 46:4-note, Ps 46:7-note)
Whereas all about in the earth is turmoil and tumult, war and ruin, there is safety, security, tranquility, in the city of Jehovah's constant presence.
But to return to Ezekiel's vision and prophecy, was the fullest meaning of the name Jehovah-shammah to be realized in any earthly habitation?
"Will God," asks King Solomon on the very occasion of the dedication of the Temple,
"will God in very deed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I has build!" (1Ki 8:27).
The orthodox Jewish interpretation of this vision (Ezek 48:35) has always been a strictly literal one. Its fulfillment is to be realized in an earthly Jerusalem, a temple rebuilt and the sacrificial system restored. Then Messiah is to come and reign as the Son of David with Jerusalem as His throne (cp Jer 23:5, 33:15, Isa 11:1, 2, 3, 4) and the spiritual and political center of the earth (cp Zech 14:8, 9, 10, 11, 20, 21). So Jehovah-shammah is realized.
Jehovah-Shammah:
Three Interpretations
Some Christian interpreters have also supported the view of a strictly literal interpretation and as having no other significance.
Others have interpreted the vision only in a typical, spiritual sense, as having no literal fulfillment whatever in an earthly Jerusalem and a restored, national Israel.
There are still others who combine the two interpretations and declare that the vision has both a literal fulfillment and a wider, spiritual and final fulfillment. Israel will indeed be restored to their land and resume their worship. Messiah, the Prince, will indeed appear for their salvation and the setting up of His kingdom when every knee shall bow before Him and every tongue confess Him as Lord.
But there is an even fuller, a final application to be made of this prophecy, that of a new heaven and new earth (Re 21:1-note, cp "New Jerusalem" Re 21:2-note) wherein dwells righteousness (cp 2Pe 3:13-note), a home eternal in the heavens.
For it is quite obvious that even though Ezekiel was bidden to carry this vision back to Babylon for the hope and encouragement of the captives there, it had a much larger significance than could ever have been realized by their return. And as a matter of fact, nothing in the program of this vision was adopted by them when they did return.
THE FULFILLMENT OF THE NAME - It has been seen that the fulfillment of this name was limited in the Old Testament both in its manifestation and scope. Every manifestation of God's presence in the midst of His people, though real, could only be but a shadow of a glorious reality to come. As to its scope, it was limited to the nation Israel.
In the New Testament dispensation it has a wider scope in that it is more spiritual than symbolic, and more personal rather than national. For now it has been fulfilled ideally in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ (cp Col 2:17-note).
As Man and representing the human race
"the whole fullness of God was pleased to dwell in him" (Colossians 1:19-note).
He was the effulgence of God's glory and the very image of His substance (Hebrews 1:3-note).
"The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us," says John, "and we beheld his glory" (John 1:14).
Thus He became "God with us," the Immanuel of Isaiah 7:14, the Child, the Son, the mighty God, the everlasting Father of Isaiah 9:6. The One who in the Old Testament came in occasional, mysterious appearance as the Angel of Jehovah, the Angel of His Presence, the Angel of the Covenant (cp Mal 3:1, Jdg 2:1), the Angel in whom is Jehovah's name, became in Christ both the Presence itself and the Temple in whom the Presence resided so that in Him and of Him it could be said Jehovah-shammah, Jehovah is there.
This Presence is now in believers as living temples of God.
Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you" (1Co 3:16).
"What agreement hath a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (2Co 6:16).
Like Israel of old, the Church as a whole, as the Body of Christ, is also called the habitation of God. Of the true Church it can be said, "Jehovah is there." Speaking of the Gentiles, Paul calls them no more strangers but fellow citizens together with believing Jews, with the saints, and of the household of God, built on the same foundations of apostles, prophets, and Christ the chief cornerstone. He describes it as a building fitly framed, growing into a holy temple in the Lord, a habitation of God in the Spirit (Eph 2:19, 20, 21, 22-note)...
It will certainly have a larger fulfillment yet for Israel in a millennial kingdom. Of a restored Israel and Palestine, where every man shall dwell safely under his own vine and fig tree, when the mountains of the house of Jehovah shall be established (Micah 4:1, 2, 3, 4,5, 6), and Messiah, The Branch, the beautiful and glorious Branch of Jehovah, shall build the temple, and bear the glory and rule as prince and priest upon His throne, with counsels of peace (Zech 6:12,13), there can be no doubt unless the plainest prophecies are so spiritualized as to rob them of all sense and understanding, and destroy the meaning and integrity of prophecy.
But, as already indicated, the name Jehovah-shammah has a final and eternal fulfillment. This was intimated by the Lord Jesus in His parting discourses to His disciples. He spoke about the many mansions in His Father's house from which He would return to take His disciples to Himself that they should be with Him there (John 14:2, 3).
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory (John 17:24).
The ideal of life even in the Old Testament was never conceived of as being fully realized on earth.
"As for me," says the psalmist, "I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake with thy likeness" (Psalm 17:15-note).
"My flesh shall rest in hope," for "in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:9, 11-note).
And the New Testament declares that our "citizenship is in heaven" (Philippians 3:20-note).
The ideal and future life was often pictured under the figure of a city. Even the psalmist must have had in mind something of what Ezekiel saw in his vision, something more than the earthly Zion he knew, when he wrote:
"There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High" (Psalm 46:4-note).
The great cities of the world are built on the banks of broad, deep streams, but Jerusalem had no river. It is an ideal, a heavenly Jerusalem in which this saying finds its final and fullest realization. Abraham looked for a city which had foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:10-note). He saw the final fulfillment of the promise "afar off." He desired a better country than any earthly Canaan could be, that is, a heavenly country, as his true home, for he confessed himself a stranger and pilgrim on the earth (Hebrews 11:13, 14, 15, 16-note).
The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us:
Ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven" (Hebrews 12:22, 23, ASV-note).
And of that city the Book of Revelation says that there was no temple there. There was no further need of any outward symbol of Jehovah's presence,
for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb are the temple thereof (Revelation 21:22-note).
The ideal and eternal character of this city of God, the place of His full and glorious presence, finds its most sublime expression in Revelation 21 and 22.
"I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell [or tabernacle] with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God" (Re 21:1-note, Re 21:2-note , Re 21:3-note)
In that beautiful city, foursquare with its precious stones, its crystal river, its delectable fruits, and tree of life with its leaves for the healing of the nations, all will be light, and love, and holiness, and worship, and joy, and safety. There shall be no more curse, no adversary, no defilement, no sorrow, for every wicked doer shall be cut off from that city of the Lord or Jehovah. Then will be realized the full and final rest of the redeemed, the Sabbath rest of creation restored. The glory of Jehovah will be fully manifested in the Lamb that was slain. He will be seen and known in the full meaning and beauty of all the names by which He had revealed Himself to man's imperfect apprehension. And we shall join in saying
To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever. (Re 5:13-note).
Added luster sparkles from this jewel of a divine name when we look at it in its setting. It also proves that with a new experience there was a discovery of a new name of God. "The name of the city from that day shall be, Jehovah Shammah, meaning Jehovah is there"—a significant and most fitting name with which to climax the Old Testament revelation of God (Ezekiel 48:35). Ezekiel, the priest in a prophet's mantle, had a somewhat strange vision—a land without inhabitants, a city without citizens, a temple without priests, a ritual without worshipers. In his God-given visions Ezekiel saw the glory of God, and recorded its departure from the Temple because of Israel's idolatry and iniquity. He likewise saw judgment upon Jerusalem, and the setting up of the Prince, the second David, as the channel of Israel's future blessing—the judgments upon Gog and Magog—the setting up of an ideal city with the restoration of the Temple within it. The name of this ideal commonwealth or kingdom is to be Jehovah-Shammah—"The LORD is there"—so called because of the manifest presence and power of Jehovah therein.
Here, then, in this consoling title, the last of Jehovah's titles, in the order of their Old Testament occurrence, and the consummation of His progressive self-revelation in same, He designates Himself as the Dweller from beyond space in the millennial city of Jerusalem. In the past, Tabernacle and temple alike were His dwelling places, but in the future a wider sphere is to be His. During the millennium there will be the Temple and the City. In the New Jerusalem, however, there is no Temple, but the LORD Himself, as Jehovah-Shammah.
We praise Thee, O Jehovah!
Thou wilt for Israel care!
Jehovah-Shammah, the precious thought!
Henceforth The LORD is there.
Of old, the uniqueness and glory of Israel's faith as contrasted with the religious beliefs of surrounding idol-worshiping nations, was the presence of a holy God dwelling in the midst and the assurance of the continuation of divine Presence as they remained faithful to the covenant to be a holy people obeying a holy God. From the time of Moses, God's promised Presence was real and felt. The people were brought out of the bondage of Egypt "with His presence" (Deuteronomy 4:37 RV). But the people sinned and sinned, and the consciousness of divine Presence was lost and the people became as "a city forsaken." When they repented of their gross idolatry, because of His love and pity, "the angel of his presence" redeemed them (Isaiah 63:9).
When Jehovah chose Zion for His habitation He said, "Here will I dwell: for I have desired it" (Psalm 132:8, 13, 14). But there is a wider significance or fuller meaning of the expressive name—Jehovah-Shammah. While He made the Tabernacle, Temple, and city of old His abode, giving to Israel visible manifestations of His Presence, all that is implied by this name was not exhausted in any earthly habitation. "The heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded" (1 Kings 8:27). Apart, then, from the historical content of the name Ezekiel called the city, what are some of the ways by which we can apply it? Dr. John Macbeth, writing on the larger meaning of this name, asks—
"Where is that Presence to be found, and under what circumstances may men find it and cultivate it? It may come to men in some ambushed hour, when least expected; it may be encountered in some bleak spot far removed from temple or shrine; it may be mediated through our friendship, looking at us with human eyes and touching us with human hands, creating for us the experience of the name Jehovah-Shammah, The LORD is there.'"
Jacob had the experience of finding God where he least expected to. Forced to flee from home because of his trickery, the patriarch came to Luz, a wild and inhospitable region of sand, stones and desolation. Tired out after a long day's flight, he slept on a stone as a pillow, and while he slept, he had a vision of angels journeying between heaven and earth. Waking up in astonishment, he exclaimed, "Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I knew it not." Believing that he was alone and unknown, the revelation came to him of One whose dwelling place is all space, and who was at hand, even in the desert, to share his loneliness.
While the woman at the well did not seek the solitariness of the unusual place like Jacob, she yet sought out the solitariness of the unusual hour—the sixth hour, about twelve noon, the quietest time of the day. This was not the usual time for women to resort to the wells to draw water, and the unusualness of the hour is seen in that only one woman was at Samaria's well. This unnamed woman because of her shady past, had reproach to hide, and thus evaded company. But that sixth hour was "her ambushed hour, for all unexpectedly she met the Son of man and in that hour she drew water out of the wells of sal-vation. She found her Jehovah-Shammah to whose presence no place is inaccessible, no time is inconvenient."
It is impossible to list all the experiences of those who discovered God in the most unlikely places and under the most unlikely experiences. A traditional saying of Jesus reads, "Raise the stone, and there thou shalt find Me, cleave the wood and there am I." What a blessed omnipresent God is our God! To Moses He said, "Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever" (Exodus 19:9). As for David he tells us that Jehovah made darkness His secret place (Psalm 18:11), and that darkness cannot hide anyone or anything from Him who created the darkness and waits to give us the treasures of darkness (Psalm 139:12; Isaiah 45:3). What an assuring truth for our hearts this is! As we pass through the dark, mysterious hours of life, our Jehovah-Shammah to whom the darkness and the light are alike is our companion, "The LORD is there."
The psalmist wondered where he could flee to from the divine Presence. If he ascended up to heaven, or made his bed in the place of the dead, Jehovah would be found there, or if he took the wings of the morning to dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, it would only be to know that He had gone before him, and would be on hand to greet him when he arrived (Psalm 139). Jonah came to know that when he fled from the presence of the Lord to the sea in which, in a most unlikely place, the belly of a great fish, he cried unto Jehovah and He heard and answered the runaway, frightened prophet in what he called, "the belly of hell." Jonah learned that Jehovah-Shammah cannot be limited to any fixed locality, but that His presence fills the whole of His creation. No matter where we may go by choice or compulsion, we can never journey to any place He cannot reach. The atheist may affirm, God is nowhere! The believer can take the same phrase and by separating the last word declare his faith in Jehovah-Shammah—"God is nowhere."
The continuous experience of those saints whose lives are full, either of constant movement or of a fixed abode, is that of the sense of the guiding and guarding Presence of Jehovah. Brother Lawrence amid the menial tasks of the monastery kitchen could practice, The presence of God." David Livingstone, the famous missionary-explorer took as his motto the promise of Jesus, "Lo, I am with you alway even unto the end of the world." And, as he was wont to say, "That's the word of a perfect gentleman, and that's the end of it." When utterly worn out, he struggled out of his hard, crude bed one night in Africa, to pray his last prayer, and was found early the next day with his head resting upon his clasped hands, his Jehovah-Shammah was at hand to carry His honored servant to Glory.
Mary Slessor, the Dundee jute worker who became the "Uncrowned Queen of Calabar" once said, "If I have ever done anything it is because He always went in front. When Daniel found himself in the furnace of Babylonian torture, he discovered that there is always One more than the visible number, for he saw "a form like unto the Son of man." A fiery oven could not exclude Him who made the elements. When John Bunyan found himself in Bedford prison for his faithful witness, he confessed that his Saviour came into his cell and that every stone shone like jasper. In Communist lands, like China, from which all missionaries were expelled, and Bibles banned, and all forms of Christianity stamped out, the one thing those who cruelly enforce their atheistic philosophy cannot do is to exclude God from entering their land. Even in godless China, now a mighty giant among the nations, "The LORD is there" in those persecuted saints who dare to maintain traffic with heaven.
Coming to ourselves what a blessed life would be ours if we could but realize that the presence and smile of Jehovah-Shammah is upon all our doings? Not knowing what may await us as the day commences in home or business how prepared we are for the expected, or unexpected, if we remember "Jehovah is there": that He is ahead of us to bless, guide, and undertake. The same applies as we set out to worship with the saints in the sanctuary. How ready we are to meet Him as we say to our heart, "He is there waiting to meet with us."
Dear Lord! we come, for Thou art here;
Enrich each memory!
Thy faithful promise brings Thee near,
And gathers us to Thee.
Further, what strength we have for the trials of life as we remember that as we pass through the rivers and walk in the fire we have His promise, "I will be with thee" (Isaiah 43:2). Has not Jehovah promised to be in the midst of His own, even amid all the turbulent forces that may surround them? He is there, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46). Then there is the added declaration, "He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5). Do you know that this is the only portion of Scripture you can read backwards and it means the same—"Thee forsake, nor thee leave never will I"? What a gracious Jehovah-Shammah He is!
When ultimately we come to pass "through the valley of the shadow of death," we need fear no evil for "Jehovah is there." Had not the psalmist the assurance that his Jehovah-Shammah would be there waiting to translate him from the dusty lanes of earth to the golden streets above? "I will be with thee... I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah for ever" (Psalm 23). What may lie before us in eternity we do not know in detail for now we know only in part, but sufficient for us is that the name of the Holy City is, and eternally shall be "The LORD is there"; that as the Lamb is in the midst of the throne He will be our Shepherd guiding us unto the waters of life and drying all our tears (Revelation 7:15-17). Perfect life and communion will be ours uninterrupted by the sins and limitations of our present earthly life because of the presence of our Jehovah-Shammah. Then will be realized to the full the precious word of Zephaniah, "Jehovah is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any more" (3:15 ASV).
The mystery and marvel of the Incarnation was the erection of Jesus Himself as a "tabernacle" among men (John 1:14), through whom was the manifestation of the Shekinah-cloud of the divine Presence. Men "beheld His glory," and thus, over Him who came as Jehovah manifest in flesh, can be written the superscription—Jehovah-Shammah for His person was the shrine of God. His name was called "Immanuel" meaning, God with us. His death and ultimate ascension did not remove Him from us, but only resulted in His coming nearer to His own for through the coming of the Holy Spirit a spiritual union was established between those regenerated by the Spirit and the Saviour whose full efficacy they can now experience. Thus, over every true redeemed heart can be inscribed the inspiring title—"The LORD is there."
While among His disciples, Christ often revealed Himself as the One, always at hand in the hour of crisis or need. Caught in a wild and vicious storm, the disciples faced great peril out on the raging sea, but across the angry waves there came that Presence, those fear-stricken men thought to be some kind of ghost or apparition. But when the unrecognized object spoke and said, "Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid." the response was immediate—"It is Jehovah!" By walking over the troubled sea and calming it He confirmed Himself as Jehovah-Shammah in the flesh. Likewise those heavy-hearted travelers on the Emmaus road who were sad beyond comfort because they believed that the body of the Master they loved and saw crucified was still reposing in Joseph's new tomb. A Stranger, however, accosted them, and they found His presence and conversation so consoling that when they came to their village, they invited Him in to share the evening meal, and seeing His nail-pierced hands, that night the village was changed for them to Jehovah-Shammah, "The LORD is there."
Returning to Ezekiel's description of the Temple within the City, can we not think of the true Church of God as His sanctum or shrine in any city or nation? Paul declared that the redeemed as a body form "the temple of God," and that every individual believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). The apostle further describes the Church as "a habitation of God"—"a house of God"—"the building, growing unto an holy temple in the Lord." The question is, Does the glory of Jehovah fill Jehovah's house, and are we members of that house uttering His glory? (Psalm 29:9, margin). Jehovah-Shammah, "The LORD is there," is a privilege and a blessing to be realized by each separate believer in his own spiritual experience. A church from which the Lord is absent—if such a congregation can be called a church— is spiritually dead, in spite of its ceremonial splendor. A disciple whose heart is not the Lord's throne—if such a person can be called a disciple—is one who cannot say of his life, The LORD is there." May each of us be found living for God in such a Christ-exalting way that those around will be forced to say, "Surely God is in that life!" May ours be the ever-expanding vision and experience of Him as our personal Jehovah-Shammah!
Jehovah-shammah, the Lord is there,
All in the city this stamp will bear;
What glorious times, with nought to alloy,
When Jehovah-shammah alone will give joy.
When ancient Jews met, or came to part, their salutation would be, just as we are in the habit of saying, "God bless you," or "God bless!"—
The blessing of Jehovah be upon you; We bless you in the name of Jehovah" (Psalm 129:8 ASV).
As He remains the same faithful, unchangeable, everlasting Jehovah, let us trust Him wholly and come to the end of the road confessing "Hitherto hath Jehovah led us." May grace be ours to appropriate all the glorious truths the combined Jehovah names suggest!
If our experience is to meet poverty, in any form, may our trust be in Jehovah-Jireh, "The LORD provides."
If we are called upon to bear sickness or disease, let us put ourselves in the care of the Great Physician—Jehovah-Rophi, "The LORD who heals."
In our battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil, it is essential to keep our eye on Jehovah-Nissi, "The LORD our Banner."
If Satan tempts us to dishonor God by sins of omission or commission, then let us remember our Jehovah MʾKaddesh, The LORD who sanctifies."
If trouble overtakes us, and the tendency to agitation of heart and mind appears, let us whisper Jehovah-Shalom, The LORD my Peace."
If we are privileged to gather with the saints, let it not be to meet man, but God who is Jehovah-Tsebahoth, The LORD of Hosts."
If tempted to wander from the "green pastures" of the Word, may we quickly retrace our steps to Jehovah-Rohi, The LORD my Shepherd."
If it be in private communion or public service may we be found with our eyes on Jehovah-Heleyon, "The LORD Most High."
If tempted to depend on our own righteousness forgetting that we are complete in Christ, may we see Him anew as Jehovah-Tsidkeenu, "The LORD our Righteousness."
If persecuted, ill-treated, let us not recompense evil for evil, but leave our reputation with our Jehovah-Gmolah, "The LORD our Recompense."
If unconfessed sin is upon our conscience, let us seek immediate cleansing for it lest we meet Jehovah-Makkeh, "The LORD who smites."
If our sphere is at home or abroad, wherever we are and whatever we do, may we remember Jehovah-Shammah, "The LORD is there."
As we seek to live, walk, worship and serve in unbroken fellowship with our Great Jehovah, peace, joy, comfort, and blessing will be ours. He is the immuta-ble One, "Who is, and was, and is to come."
Jehovah! His counsel it standeth eternal,
The thoughts of His are ever the same;
Oh! blesséd the people whose God is Jehovah!
The people He doth for His heritage claim. (Herbert Lockyer)
Yahweh-Is-There
And the name of the city from that time on will be: “Yahweh-is-there.” —Ezekiel 48:35
Here’s another riddle for you. Imagine you are in a room, and everyone else leaves. How many people are there in the room?
The way you answer that question says a lot about you. Most people would say one. Atheists would also say one (unless they are first-year philosophy students, in which case they might say none). Agnostics would say one. Lots of religious people would as well: Buddhists, for instance, or many Muslims, who do not believe that Allah is very imminent. New Agers might believe there was something else there, but they wouldn’t describe it as a person. So all of these people, when, for example, driving a car or staying in a hotel on a business trip, would feel they were completely alone.
When Ezekiel starts prophesying, the Jews are the same. They know they worship a transcendent God—that is, a God who is enthroned above all, untouchably huge and sovereign and other than them—but they also know he lives in a very specific place. They would tell you: “Man used to walk with God, but in the garden of Eden we lost this privilege, and God now lives in a box, a four-foot-by-two-foot-by-two-foot box. That box (the ark of the covenant) used to be kept in a tent (the tabernacle), and it is now in a building (the Temple). And worst of all, we are stuck in exile in Babylon, and the Temple is in Jerusalem, hundreds of miles away from us, so we can’t worship him or be near him. God is still transcendent, but he isn’t very imminent. He isn’t very there.”
God knows that this is the way they see things, so he sends them a prophet. And although the book of Ezekiel can be difficult to read in places, two things come through very clearly. First, God is still very much transcendent, as we will see in another reflection. But second, God is imminent, he is there, he is with his people where they are. Ezekiel 1 starts with a revelation of God, not in the Temple, but by a Babylonian canal, which would have seemed to be a very strange idea to a Jew in exile. In chapter 10, there is a quite shocking vision of the glory of Yahweh leaving the Temple altogether, and standing by the east gate, facing Babylon. Ezekiel is saying to the exiles that God is not bound by a geographic location, but that he is wherever they are. They are not alone.
A few years later, the Temple is destroyed altogether by the Babylonians, and Ezekiel ends his book by prophesying about a new temple. People get very excited about what the details of this vision might mean, but don’t get worried about that—it is basically using apocalyptic language to describe the new temple: the people of God. (Incidentally, this is something that the New Testament writers pick up on and develop). The book finishes in the most dramatic way possible, like a soap opera ending with a cliff-hanger, with the revelation of God’s final compound name: Yahweh-shammah, or “Yahweh-is-there.”
The odds are that, of all the compound names of Yahweh we have looked at, this would have been the most astonishing to the Jews. Not only was Yahweh saying he was not bound to stay in the Temple, but he also was saying that he would be wherever his people were, even if that was in pagan, sick, evil Babylon. His very name, Yahweh-is-there, meant that he would never abandon them, that they could never be alone, and that they could always worship him. No matter how far they strayed or how sinful they had been, God’s faithfulness to his own name meant that he would always be there.
I am writing this reflection in the middle of nowhere, high in the French mountains. I am on my own in the house, and I had to walk the last bit of my journey here, because my car couldn’t make it uphill through the thick snow. There is a hill less than a mile away that I cannot even see because of the snow and the clouds, and there is a fair possibility I may get trapped here. Physically, I am as isolated as you can be; even the people whom I can reach from here don’t speak my language. But as a result of who my God is, I am not alone. Far from it. Yahweh is here.
And if you are a disciple of Jesus, no matter what your situation is, he is where you are too.
So back to our riddle: What’s the smallest number of people—or perhaps I should say persons—who can ever be in a room where you are? Four. The Father who gave up his only Son for you, the Son who is praying for you, the Spirit who was hovering over the face of the deep when the world was created and now lives in you, and you. Sometimes circumstances may be really tough, and it may not feel like that. But it is still true. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, he is Yahweh-is-there. (Andrew Wilson)
F B Meyer- Ezekiel 48:35 The Lord is there.
Ezekiel has in view an ideal city; whether in any material form it is to be realized, we must wait to see. But this shall be its prominent characteristic, that God will be there. A great voice will be heard out of heaven, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people; and God Himself shall be with them and be their God.”
There is comfort in this for the sorrowful; because where God is, there cannot be sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. God shall wipe away all tears from off all faces. No cypress-trees line the streets of that city; no dirge intrudes upon the glad ascription of praise; no sob or groan is possible.
There is comfort for far-dissevered friends; for where God is, the center and goal and home, all his children meet. Back from distant lands and spheres they come; home from the school where they have been taught; back from the voyage; back from the military camp; back from the tour of exploration. The gates stand open to admit to his heart; and that heart is the rendezvous of those who have come out of every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people-never again to be parted.
There is comfort for the doubting and perplexed. Here, night often reigns over the heart of Thomas and the mind of Mary. Truly devoted souls grope by candle-light, and sometimes they walk in darkness and have no light, learning to walk by faith. But there all mysteries will be unraveled, all problems solved, every question answered; there will be no night, no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God shall lighten it, and the Lamb shall be the lamp thereof.
G Campbell Morgan - Life Applications
The Lord is there.—Ezek. 48.35
That is the final word of this great prophet of hope, Jehovah-Shammah. It is one of the great Jehovah titles and interpretations, and here Ezekiel employs it as giving the name of the city of God. There, in exile from Jerusalem, that city dear to his heart, in the possession of aliens, its walls broken down, the Temple destroyed, its glory dead, this man had received visions of God. These visions had interpreted for him the corruption of his people, and the infinite depth of the grace of God. He had seen Jehovah leave His people, and their consequent reprobation and desolation. He had argued for the righteousness of that reprobation. But he had seen more. He had been brought to understand that through reprobation, God was working for restoration. He had seen the processes of that restoration, and the glory of it, in the re-established and ennobled order. In his last message he had described the new division of the land among the tribes of Jehovah, each territory running from east to west; and the whole, including all the land promised to the fathers. At the centre of everything was the Sanctuary, surrounded by the territory of Prince, Priests, Levites, and The City. The City with its twelve gates is the final vision. The prophet beheld it, and its complete glory being seen, he named it "Jehovah is there." The name tells of complete satisfaction; that of God, and that of man. God is seen at rest among His people, His original purpose realized. Man is seen at rest in God, his true destiny reached. To John in Patmos, also came the vision of the city of God, and the final glory of it was the same: "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His peoples; and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God."
Ezekiel 48:35
Jehovah-Shammah
As birds their infant brood protect,
And spread their wings to shelter them,
Thus saith the Lord to His elect,
“So will I guard Jerusalem.”
And what then is Jerusalem,
This darling object of His care?
Where is its worth in God’s esteem?
Who built it? who inhabits there?
Jehovah founded it in blood,
The blood of His incarnate Son;
There dwell the saints, once foes to God,
The sinners whom He calls His own.
There, though beseiged on every side
Yet much beloved, and guarded well,
From age to age they have defied
The utmost force of earth and hell.
Let earth repent, and hell despair,
This city has a sure defence;
Her name is call’d, “The Lord is there,”
And who has power to drive Him thence?
Olney Hymns, by William Cowper, from Cowper’s Poems, Sheldon & Company, New York
Jehovah-Shammah - Robert Neighbour
"It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be (Jehovah-Shammah) The Lord is there" (Ezek. 48:35).
Ezekiel has given a picture of the rebuilding of the Temple, and of the glory of restored Jerusalem. All of this prophecy awaits our Lord's return. The very last word of his Book records the most blessed of all the facts concerning the thousand years which follow — The Lord is there.
The Word of God plainly emphasizes the fact that Jesus Christ is to dwell in the midst of His people.
Read Zephaniah 3:14-17. "Sing, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. * * The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee. * * The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love; He will joy over you with singing."
Jesus Christ came once, and bore the crown of thorns, He will come again and bear the crown of glory; once He was despised and rejected of men, He will yet be admired in all who believe. Jesus Christ was crucified the King of the Jews; when He comes again, He will be King of kings and Lord of lords.
Jehovah-Shammah is the title of Christ which anticipates His return.
"Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
Does its successive journeys run;
His Kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax, and wane no more."
When Jehovah-Shammah is realized, then satan will be bound; the earth will be released from its curse; longevity will be restored to man, Israel will be placed back in their own land; and, the world will laugh out with joy and gladness.
When Jehovah-Shammah is realized, Christ will sit upon the throne of His glory, and with Him will sit the twelve disciples judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
When Jehovah-Shammah is realized, the Church having been raptured, and having returned with their Lord, shall reign with Christ a thousand years.
When Absalom, who had raised an insurrection against David, was dead in battle; then the people said: "Why say ye not a word about the bringing back of the king?" Satan has held the world in insurrection against God; soon his power will be broken, and he himself will be cast into the pit of the abyss; so, why may we not say a word about the bringing back of the King?
Then when the King comes back, Jehovah-Shammah will be the name our Lord shall bear
The God Who Meets Our Needs
Loneliness: Jehovah Shammah
When the psalmist says, “Thou art with me” (Ps. 23:4), he is affirming the presence of Jehovah Shammah, “The LORD Is There.”
One of our greatest gifts, along with salvation, is the presence of God in our lives. God promised Moses His presence when He charged Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt: “Certainly I will be with thee” (Exod. 3:12). When Jesus gave His disciples the Great Commission, He promised, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20).
The name Jehovah Shammah is found in Ezekiel 48:35. At the end of his prophecy, Ezekiel described the eternal city and said that even in heaven, “The LORD is there” (Jehovah Shammah).
When the Shepherd who is with us comforts us with His rod and His staff (see Ps. 23:4), He is protecting us from the enemy. The shepherd used the rod as a club to beat off wild animals. His staff was a crook that assisted sheep in trouble. With it the shepherd could lift a sheep from the water or from a pit. Technically, the word for “comfort” means “to lead.” Jehovah Shammah will lead or guide His sheep by using His rod against attackers or His crook to rescue us from trouble. (Elmer Towns - My Father's Names)
The Tower of Divine Presence by John MacDuff
From his book - COMMUNION MEMORIES and the chapter entitled The Great Resolve
A Third Tower is JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH. "The Lord is there,"—The Tower of the Divine Presence.
It is a blessed thing for the believer to bear constantly about with him the realized sense of the Divine nearness, and it is his peculiar privilege and prerogative to do so. God, indeed, is everywhere. The world, the universe has written on its every portal JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH—"The Lord is there."
It is gleaming in starry letters on the nightly skies. It is carved in deep hieroglyphics on earth's lowest strata. It is inscribed on the brow of its loftiest mountains. It is written in mosaic on the floor of the sounding sea. Among the forest glades—the cathedral aisles of tangled wood—where neither hammer nor axe nor tool of iron has built a Temple, God is there. Amid the waste of desert sands; on the mossy bank; on the lonely shore, God is there. In the summer calm; the raging storm; the smiling harvest, God is there. Like one of those giant mountains whose base is furrowed with lakes and valleys, and its top pierces the clouds; so is the Ever near—the Omnipresent One. Heaven is His throne, and the earth is His footstool. From among its lowliest insect tribes, up to the myriad ranks of Angel and Archangel—JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH—the Lord is there.
He is the living God also in Providence—alike in great things and in small. When we hear of kingdoms convulsed; nations reeling and trembling, The Lord is there.
"Shall there be evil," says the prophet, "in a city, and the Lord has not done it?" (Amos 3:6).
When we hear of death darkening the humblest dwelling; when we see the tiniest bud of earth's affection falling, as we think, prematurely to the ground, "The Lord is there,"
"Who knows not in all these things that the hand of the Lord has wrought this?" (Job 12:9).
Yes, it is delightful and comforting surely, with the eye of faith, to see Jehovah thus riding in the chariot of Providence, reining in (if I may so express it) at His sovereign Will its fiery coursers—the mighty wheels, like those in Ezekiel's vision—rather their complex movements, wheel within wheel—revolving and evolving nothing but good—He guiding and supervising all; appointing every sorrow that is endured, and every tear that is shed!
There is yet a nobler and pre-eminent sense in which His covenant people can flee into this Strong Tower; and walking in the name of their God can say—"The Lord Almighty is with us—the God of Jacob is our Refuge," (Ps 46:7-note, Ps 46:11-note)—
"Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ" (1John 1:3).
Oh! how it would hallow all life's duties, and take the sting from many of its sorrows, and fortify against its temptations, if we could ever regard ourselves as God's fortresses—our souls bearing the superscription on their living gates—"The Lord is there." Where the term we now speak of is used, Micah is gazing with prophetic inspiration on the future city of Jerusalem, and the Sanctuary which was yet to crown the heights of Zion. He tells us that although there will be the absence of the glory of the First Temple—no visible Shekinah—no visible cloud—yet that the presence of the invisible God will be diffused like an odor of sacred incense around; and the name of it shall be JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH.
Dear friends, today's watch-word, circulating from guest to guest at the Holy Table, was "Surely the Lord is in this place! This is none other than the House of God, and this is the gate of Heaven." (Ge 28:16) Let us seek to perpetuate the blessings of a Communion-Sabbath by the holy resolve—"If Your Presence go not with us, carry us not hence." (Ex 33:15) "You, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by Your name." (Je 14:9)
Though all the peoples walk Each in the name of his god, as for us,
We will walk In the name of the LORD our God
forever and ever.
(Micah 4:5)
C H Spurgeon
February 17 — Evening
"The Lord was there." Ezekiel 35:10
Edom's princes saw the whole country left desolate, and counted upon its easy conquest; but there was one great difficulty in their way—quite unknown to them, "The Lord was there"; and in His presence lay the special security of the chosen land. Whatever may be the machinations and devices of the enemies of God's people, there is still the same effectual barrier to thwart their design. The saints are God's heritage, and He is in the midst of them, and will protect His own.
What comfort this assurance yields us in our troubles and spiritual conflicts! We are constantly opposed—and yet perpetually preserved! How often Satan shoots his arrows against our faith—but our faith defies the power of hell's fiery darts; they are not only turned aside—but they are quenched upon its shield, for "the Lord is there." Our good works are the subjects of Satan's attacks. A saint never yet had a virtue or a grace which was not the target for hellish bullets: whether it was hope bright and sparkling, or love warm and fervent, or patience all-enduring, or zeal flaming like coals of fire—the old enemy of everything that is good has tried to destroy it. The only reason why anything virtuous or lovely survives in us is this, "the Lord is there."
If the Lord be with us through life, we need not fear for our dying confidence; for when we come to die, we shall find that "the Lord is there"; where the billows are most tempestuous, and the water is most chill, we shall feel the bottom, and know that it is good—our feet shall stand upon the Rock of Ages when time is passing away.
Beloved, from the first of a Christian's life to the last—the only reason why he does not perish is because "the Lord is there." When the God of everlasting love shall change and leave His elect to perish, then may the Church of God be destroyed; but not until then, because it is written, Jehovah-Shammah, "The Lord is there."
"The name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there [or in the Hebrew Jehovah-shammah]."—Ezekiel 48:35.
These words may be used as a test as well as a text. They may serve for examination as well as consolation, and at the beginning of a year they may fulfill this useful double purpose. In any case, they are full of marrow and fatness to those whose spiritual taste is purified. It is esteemed by the prophet to be the highest blessing that could come upon a city that its name should be, “JEHOVAH SHAMMAH, The Lord is there.” Even Jerusalem, in its best estate, would have this for its crowning blessing: nothing could exceed this. Do we reckon the presence of the Lord to be the greatest of blessings? If in any gathering, even of the humblest people, the Lord God is known to be present in a peculiarly gracious manner, should we make a point of being there? Very much depends upon our answer to these queries.
Doubtless many would be greatly pleased if there were no God at all; for in their hearts they say, “No God.” God is not to them a father, a friend, a trust, a treasure. If they were to speak from their hearts, and could hope for a satisfactory answer, they would ask, “Whither can I flee from His presence?” If a spot could be found wherein there would be no God, what a fine building speculation might be made there! Millions would emigrate to “No God's land,” and would feel at ease as soon as they trod its godless shore. There they could do just as they liked, without fear of future reckoning. Now, friend, if you would fain escape from the presence of God, your state is clearly revealed by that fact. There can be no heaven for you; for heaven is where the Lord's presence is fullness of joy. If you could be happy to be far off from God, I must tell you what your fate will be. You are now going away from God in your heart and desire, and at last the great Judge of all will say to you, “Depart, ye cursed”; and you will then be driven from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power.
I know that there is a company who can truly say that they feel happy only when they are conscious that God is with them. The place where they meet with the Lord is very dear and precious to them because of His unveilings. The memory of holy convocations is sweet because the Lord was among them. They would not care to go where God is not. If there were a place forsaken of God, however exciting and full of merriment men might think it, they would not be found among its guests. Where we cannot enjoy God's company we will not go. Our motto is: “With God, anywhere. Without God, nowhere.” In Him we live, and move, and have our being; and, therefore, it would be death to us to be apart from God. Without God we should be without hope. Ah, my dear friend! Whatever your difficulties, and trials, and sorrows, all is well with you if God is your delight, and His presence your joy. But, however high your temporal enjoyments may rise, it is all wrong with you if you can rest away from the God of grace. The child must be in a sad state of heart when he does not care to have his father's approving smile. Things must be terribly wrong with any creature when it can be content to walk contrary to its Creator. Nothing but the corruption of the heart could permit any man to be at ease away from God.
Will you permit these thoughts to saturate you for a little space? I have spoken them with the desire that each one of us may ask himself, “Is the presence of God my delight?” If so, I am His, and He will be with me. On the contrary, Is the presence of God a matter of indifference, or even of dread? Then my condition is one of guilt, disease, and danger. May the Lord, of His infinite mercy, set me right!
This much may stand as a preface; but it must not be treated as most prefaces are, namely, left unread, or glanced over and forgotten. I pray you, carry it with you all along.
I. Now kindly notice that, according to our text,
The Presence of God Is the Glory of the Most Glorious Place.
The prophet Ezekiel has been telling us many remarkable things which I shall not attempt to explain to you; and my chief reason for not doing so is the fact that I do not understand them. If I could open up every dark saying, it is not just now the time to go into an explanation of all the sublime mysteries which were seen by the eagle eye of Ezekiel, for I seek present, practical edification; and this we can gain in an easier way. It is clear from the text, that when God shall bless His ancient people, and restore them to their land, and the temple shall be rebuilt, and all the glory of the latter days shall arrive, this will still be the peculiar glory of it all, that “the Lord is there.” The prophet works up a climax, and closes his book of prophecy with these glorious words, “the Lord is there.”
What a glorious state this world was in at the very first, in the age of Paradise, for the Lord was there! Our glorious Creator, having taken the first days of the week to make the world, and fit it up for man, did not bring forward His dear child until the house was built and furnished, and supplied for his use and happiness. He did not put him in the garden to dress it till the roses were blooming and the fruits were ripe. When the table was furnished He introduced the guest by saying, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” The Lord put man not in an unreclaimed plot of soil where he must hunger till he could produce a harvest; but into an Eden of delights where he was at home with creatures of every sort to attend him. He had not to water dry lands, nor need he thirst himself, for four rivers flowed through his royal domain, rippling over sands of gold. I might say much of that fair garden of innocence and bliss, but the best thing I could say would be the Lord was there. ‘The Lord God walked in the garden in the cool of the day,” and communed with man; and man, being innocent, held high converse with his condescending Maker. The topstone of the bliss of Paradise was this all-comprehending privilege—“the Lord is there.”
Alas! that has vanished. Withered are the bowers of Eden; the trail of the serpent is over all landscapes, however fair. Yet days of mercy came, and God's saints in divers places found choice spots where they could converse with heaven. In the first days our gracious God spoke with His chosen ones in their daily walk, as Enoch; or under the oak, as Abraham; or by the brook, as Jacob; or before the bush, as Moses; or near the city wall, as Joshua. Wherever it might be, the place became to them the gate of heaven, for the Lord was there. Amid a torrent of sin and sorrow, you may cross the stream of time upon the stepping-stones of the places marked “JEHOVAH SHAMMAH.” The Lord's delights were with the sons of men, and to them nothing brought such bliss as to find that still the Lord would be mindful of man and visit him.
In the days when God had called out unto Himself a chosen nation, He revealed Himself at Sinai, when the mountain was altogether on a smoke, and even Moses said, “I do exceedingly fear and quake.” Well might he feel a holy awe, for the Lord was there. I will not dwell upon the glory of the tabernacle that was pitched in the wilderness with its costly furniture and its instructive rites, for after all, the glory of the tabernacle was that the Lord was there. A bright light shone between the wings of the cherubim, and so the Psalmist in after days spoke unto the Lord saying, “Thou that dwellest between the cherubims shine forth.” Above the sacred tent was the pillar of fire by night and the pillar of cloud by day—an emblem of the constant presence of God, for all through the wilderness His glorious marchings were in the center of the armies of His Israel The desert sand glowed with the blaze of the present Deity. No spot on earth was so like to heaven's high courts as that wilderness wherein there was no way, wherein the Lord Himself led His people like a flock. Holy was Horeb, for the Lord was there.
Then were the days of Israel's espousals, for the Most High tabernacled among her tribes, and made them “a people near unto Him.”
In Canaan itself the days of sorrow came when the nation went after other gods, and the Lord became a stranger in the land. When He returned, and delivered His people by the judges, then the nations knew that Israel could not be trampled on, for the Lord was there. This was the glory of David's reign. Then the Lord made bare His arm, and the enemies of His chosen were driven like snow from the bleak sides of Salmon when the rough blast carries it away. This was the shout of the joyful people, “The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our refuge.” Never were the hills of Judah more fruitful, nor the vales of Sharon more peaceful, nor the homes of Israel more restful, nor the sons of Zion more valiant, than when to the harp of David the song was raised, “They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. This is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the Lord shall dwell in it forever.”
You remember how, in after ages, when Solomon was crowned and his reign of peace had been inaugurated, he built for God a temple adorned with gold and precious stones, and all manner of cunning work of the artificer; but it was not that glittering roof, it was not those massive pillars of brass in the forefront, it was not the hecatombs of bullocks whose blood was poured forth at the altar which were the glory of the temple of Mount Zion. Beautiful for situation, it was the joy of the whole earth; but its glory lay in this—“God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.” The excellence of the temple was seen when, on the opening day, the Lord revealed Himself, and “the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.” Little remains for man to do when in very deed the Lord dwells in the midst of His saints. Apart from priests and ceremonies, that place is sacred wherein the Lord Most High has His abode. Say of any place “Jehovah-shammah, the Lord is there,” and be it tent or temple, you have spoken glorious things of it.
I almost tremble while I remind you of the truest temple of God—the body of our Lord. The nearest approach of Godhead to our manhood was when there was found, wrapped in swaddling bands and lying in a manger, that child who was born, that Son who was given, whose name was called “Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” As for thee, O Bethlehem, favored above all the towns of earth, out of thee He came, who is Immanuel, God with us! Verily thy name is Jehovah-shammah. All along, through thirty years and more of holy labor, ending in a shameful death, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. In the gloom of Gethsemane, among those somber olives, when Jesus bowed, and in His prayer sweat, as it were, great drops of blood falling to the ground, He was “seen of angels” as the Son of God bearing human sin. Speak of Gethsemane, and we tell you God was there. Before Herod, and Pilate, and Caiaphas, and on the cross—the Lord was there. Though in a sense there was the hiding of God, and Jesus cried, “Why hast thou forsaken me?” Yet in the deepest sense Jehovah was there, bruising the great sacrifice. The thick darkness made a veil for the Lord of glory, and behind it He that made all things bowed His head and said, “It is finished.” God was in Christ Jesus on the cross, and we, beholding Him, feel that we have seen the Father. O Calvary, we say of thee, “The Lord is there.”
Here I might fitly close, for we can mount no higher; but yet we could not afford to leave out those other dwellings of the Invisible Spirit, who still by His presence makes holy places even in this unholy world. We have to remind you that God is the glory of the most glorious living thing that has been on the face of the earth since our Lord was here. And what is that? I answer, Jesus is gone; the prophets are gone; and we have no temple, no human priest, no material holy of holies.
Jesus, where'er thy people meet, There they behold thy mercy-seat: Where'er they seek thee, thou art found, And every place is hallowed ground.
And yet there is a special place where God dwells among men, and that is in His church. He has but one—one church, chosen by eternal election, redeemed by precious blood, called out by the Holy Spirit, and quickened into newness of life—this as a whole is the dwelling-place of the covenant God. Because God is in this church, therefore the gates of hell shall not prevail against her. “The Lord is there” might be said of the church in all ages. I have seen the crypts and underground chapels of the catacombs, and it made one feel that they were glorious places, when we remembered that the Lord God was there, by His Spirit, with His suffering people. When holy hymn and psalm and solemn prayer went up from the very bowels of the earth, from men who were hunted to the death by their foes—the Lord was there. In those dreary excavations, unvisited by sunlight and wholesome air, God was as He was not in the palaces of kings, and is not in the cathedrals of priests. In this land of ours, when a few people met together, here and there, to hear the gospel and to worship, they made cottages, caves, and hollows in the woods, to be “holiness unto the Lord.” Ay, and when crowds met beneath your gospel oaks, or gathered together by the hillside to listen to the pure word of grace, the Lord was there, and souls were saved and sanctified. When the Puritans solemnly conversed together of the things of God, and held their little conventicles for fear of their adversaries—God was there. On Scotland's bleak moors and mosses, when the covenanters gathered in the darkness and the storm, for fear of Claverhouse and his dragoons—God was there. Those who wrote in those days tell us that they never knew such season in days of peace as they enjoyed among the hills, amid the heather, or by the brook-side; for Jehovah Shammah, the Lord was there.
And so onward, to this very day, wheresoever the chosen of God lift up holy hands and worship Him, whether it be in cathedral or in barn, beneath the blue sky or beneath a thatched roof, anywhere and everywhere when the heart is right, and the soul adores the living Lord, this is the special glory of the place, that “Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there.”
Flying forward, as with a dove's wing, to the future that is drawing near, we reflect on the truth that there is to be a millennial age—a time of glory, and peace, and joy, and truth, and righteousness. But what is to be the glory of it? Why this, “Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there!” The Lord Jesus Christ will come and begin His personal reign on earth among His ancients. In like manner as He went up into heaven, and the disciples saw Him, so will He descend a second time to be seen here among men; and His glorious presence shall fashion the golden age, the thousand years of peace. Then shall the nations shout, “The Lord is come.” What hallelujahs will then rise to heaven! Welcome, welcome, son of God! How will all His faithful ones rejoice with joy unspeakable and sing and sing again; for now the day of their reward has come, and they shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father! In all the glory of the latter days everything is wrapped up in this one word, “the Lord is there.”
Oh, come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer Our spirits by thine advent here; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death's dark shadows put to flight! Rejoice, Rejoice! Immanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!
Up yonder, whither many of our beloved ones have already gone; up yonder, within that gate of pearl where eye cannot as yet see. What is it that makes heaven, with all its supreme delights? Not harps of angels, nor blaze of seraphim; but this one fact, “the Lord is there.” What must it be to be with God? O soul that loves Him, what will your fullness of pleasure be when you shall dwell with Him for whom your soul is hungering and thirsting! What joy to be “forever with the Lord”! This perfect bliss may be ours this very day. We little know how near we are to our glorification with our Lord. The veil is very thin that parts the sanctified from the glorified.
One gentle sigh, the soul awakes: We scarce can say “He's gone,” Before the ransomed spirit takes Its mansion near the throne.
The joy and glory of those divine mansions is that “the Lord is there.” Heaven's loftiest peak shines forever in this clear light—The Lord God and the Lamb are the light thereof: “the Lord is there.”
Enough of this. I have proved my point, that the glory of the most glorious place is that “the Lord is there.”
II. Suffer me for a few minutes to speak to you upon another point:
The Presence of God Is the Best Privilege of His Church.
It is her glory that “the Lord is there.” Note this, and mark it well. Brethren, we as a church have grown to great numbers, and we are not deficient either in gifts or in graces, or in work for our Lord; but let me solemnly remind you always that our chief, our only strength, must always lie in this—“the Lord is there.” If the Lord should depart from us, as He has gone from churches which are now apostate, what an abyss opens before us! If He should take His Holy Spirit from us, even as the glory departed from the temple at Jerusalem, then our ruin would become a thing to mention with dread, a case to be quoted for a warning to future generations. O Lord, our God, take not thy flight! Abide with us, we pray thee! Our only hope lies in thy making the place of thy feet glorious among us.
If the Lord be among us, the consequences will be, first, the conservation of true doctrine. The true God is not with a lie; He will not give His countenance to falsehood. Those who preach other than according to His Word, abide not under His blessing but are in great danger of His curse. If any man speak another gospel (which is not another, but there be some that trouble us), God is not with him, and any transient prosperity which he may enjoy will be blown away as the chaff. God is with those who speak the truth faithfully, hold it devoutly, believe it firmly, and live upon it as their daily bread. May it always be said of this church, “the Lord is there,” and therefore they are sound in the faith, reverent toward Holy Scripture, and zealous for the honor of Christ! Trust-deeds and confessions of faith are useful in their way, even as laws are useful to society; but as laws cannot secure obedience to themselves, so articles of belief cannot create faith or secure honesty; and to men without conscience, they are not worth the paper they are written upon. No subscription to articles can keep out the unscrupulous. Wolves leap into the fold however carefully you watch the door. The fact is, the most of people say, “Yes, that doctrine is in the creed, and is not to be denied; but you need not preach it. Put it on the shelf as an ornament, and let us hear no more about it.” Truth must be written on the heart as well as in the book. If the Lord be among His people, they will cling to the eternal verities and love the doctrine of the cross, not by force of law, but because divine truth is the life of their souls.
Where God is present, the preservation of purity will be found. The church is nothing if it is not holy. It is worse—it is a den of thieves. Setting the seal of its pestilent example upon evil living, it becomes the servant of Satan and the destroyer of souls. Who is to keep the church pure? None but God Himself. If the Lord is there, holiness will abound, and fruits of the Spirit will be seen on all sides; but if the Lord be once withdrawn, then flesh and blood will rule, and bring forth corruption after its own manner; and the church will become a synagogue of formalists. Pray, my brethren, continually, that the Lord may dwell in our Zion, to maintain us in all holy obedience and purity of life.
Where God is, there is the constant renewal of vitality. A dead church is a reeking Golgotha, a breeding-place of evils, a home of devils. The tombs may be newly whitewashed, but they are nonetheless open sepulchers, haunts of unclean spirits. A church all alive is a little heaven, the resort of angels, the temple of the Holy Spirit. In some of our churches everybody seems to be a little colder than everybody else. The members are holy icicles. A general frost has paralyzed everybody; and though some are colder than others, yet all are below zero. There are no flowing rills of refreshment, but everything is bound hard and fast with the frost of indifference. Oh, that the Lord would send forth His wind and melt the glaciers! Oh, that the Spirit of God would chase winter out of every heart and every church! No human power can keep a church from the frostbite which numbs and kills. Except the Lord be there, growth, life, warmth—are all impossible. Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence and give Him no rest, but cry day and night to Him, “O Lord, abide with us. Go forth with our armies. Make us to be the living children of the living God”!
When the Lord is there, next, there is continuing power. With God there is power in the ministry, power in prayer, power in all holy work. We may do a vast deal of work, and yet nothing may come of it; and, on the other hand, we may only be able to do comparatively little, and yet great results may flow therefrom for results depend not on the quantity of the machinery but on the presence of the Lord.
Do you not all know persons who are not peculiarly gifted and yet are eminently useful? You do not remark anything about them that is specially noticeable, and yet their whole career enlists attention by its power. Their words tell for there is character behind them. A consistent life gives force to a plain testimony. It is not so much what is said as who says it. But that is not all; God Himself is at the back of the man who is living for Him. He causes him to speak in His name so that none of his words fall to the ground. Is it not said of the godly, “His leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper”? This is so with every church where the Lord abides. His presence makes it a power with its children and adherents, a power with the neighborhood, and a power with the age. Its example, its testimony, its effort tells. God uses it, and therefore it answers its end. The power is with God; but the church is the instrument by which that power exercises itself. He uses a living people for the display of living power, and He gives to them both life and power, more and more abundantly. As we desire power with which to labor for God, we must pray that the God of power will remain in our midst.
Furthermore, whenever it can be said of an assembly, “the Lord is there,” unity will be created and fostered. Show me a church that quarrels, a church that is split up into cliques, a church that is divided with personal ambitions, contrary doctrines, and opposing schemes, and I am sure that the Lord is not there. Where there are envyings, jealousies, suspicions, backbitings, and dislikes, I know that the Holy Dove, Who hates confusion, has taken His flight. God is love, and He will only dwell where love reigns. He is the God of peace and will not endure strife. The children of God should be knit together. It would indeed be a shameful sight should children of His family fallout, and chide, and fight. Saints who dwell with God love each other “with a pure heart, fervently.” Some professors act as if they hated each other: I may not say, “with a pure heart,” but I will say, “fervently.” Where God is present the church is edified in love and grows up, like a building fitly framed together, to be a holy temple in the Lord. Oh, for more of this unity!
Where the Lord is there is sure to be happiness. What meetings we have when the Lord is here! It is a prayer meeting; but when you have said that, you have not fully described it, for it is far more. It was an unusual meeting for prayer, for, God being there, every prayer was spoken into His ear, and all the desires and petitions of the saints were prompted by His Holy Spirit. Why, the very room was lit up with the glory of the Lord; and whether we were in heaven or not we could hardly tell. What happy times we have in preaching the Word of the Lord when God's own presence is realized! His paths drop fatness. What joyous seasons we have frequently enjoyed at the communion table! The provision is but bread and wine; but when, by faith, we perceive the real and spiritual presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the breaking of the bread we eat His flesh, and in the fruit of the vine we drink His blood. When we have gathered in the Lord's presence we have sung—
No beams of cedar or of fir Can with thy courts on earth compare; And here we wait, until thy love Raise us to nobler seats above.
At the Master's table I have often been so blest that I would not have exchanged places with Gabriel. The Lord was there: what more could I desire? Joy, delight, rapture, ecstasy—what word shall I use?—all these have waited around the table of fellowship as musicians at a king's banquet. If God be there, our heaven is there.
III. I shall now close by noticing, in the third place, that since this presence of God is the glory of the most glorious place, and the choice privilege of the most privileged, it is our exceeding joy:
The Presence of the Lord Is Our Delight in Every Place.
We will think of our own dear homes. What a delightful family we belong to if it can be said of our house, “Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there”! Has it a thatched roof and a stone floor? What matters? The father of the family lives near to God, and his wife rejoices to be his fellow-helper in prayer while the children grow up to honest toil and honorable service. Assuredly that cottage home is dear to God and becomes a place where angels come and go. Because God is there, every window looks toward the Celestial City. It is a comfort that we need not go across the road to morning prayer or step out every evening to worship, for we are priests ourselves and have a family altar at home whereon the incense burns both morning and night. We talk not of Morning Prayer and vespers, but we glory that “the Lord is there” when we bow the knee as a household. What is more delightful than to gather round the family hearth, to hear the Scriptures read, and listen to the senior as he talks to the younger ones of what God has done for him and what the Lord is waiting to give to all who trust Him? Free from all formality, family prayer makes a house a temple, a family a church, and every day a holy day. Truly, I may say of families of this kind, wherever they dwell, that it is “none other but the house of God, and it is the very gate of heaven”; for “the Lord is there.” Friend, is God in your house? If it has no family prayer, it has no roof to it. There is no true joy in domestic life unless the Lord be there. All else is fiction; God alone is true delight. I charge you, if your homes are not such that God could come to them, set your houses in order and say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Will you dare to dwell where God could not lodge with you? May all men say of your home, “The Lord is there”!
Here is a Christian who lives alone, apart altogether from family life. All his dear ones are dead or far away. In his lone chamber, when he bows his knee in secret prayer, or whenever he takes his walk abroad to meditate, if he be indeed a true lover of the Lord Jesus, “the Lord is there.” Wherever the believer's lot is cast, if he lives in fellowship with Christ, he may say of his quiet room, or of the garden-walk, or even of the stable or the loft, “Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there.” Many a humble garret is a right royal residence! for “the Lord is there.” Better Paul's inner dungeon at Philippi with his feet fast in the stocks and the presence of the Lord, than the grandest apartments of Caesar's palace and an unknown God. The Lord is very gracious to His lonely ones. They can say, “And yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.” Put you in a hospital or in a workhouse, what matters it, if Jehovah is at your side to cheer you?
Some of us can bear witness that we have had the nearest approaches of God to our souls in times of intolerable pain and even in seasons of intense depression of spirit as to earthly things. “I was brought low, and the Lord helped me,” said David; and we can say the same. The Lord has said, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee”; as much as to say, “If I am not with thee anywhere else, I will be with thee then.” In the furnace one like unto the Son of God was seen. If Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego never had that glorious fourth person in their company before, they had Him when they were cast into the midst of the glowing coals. Jehovah-shammah makes a seven-times-heated furnace a pleasant arbor. We may say of the refining fire, and of the threshing-floor, and of the oil-press, God has been there. In the time of trouble He has been a very present help. One might almost say, “Send me back to my prison again,” as one did say who lost God's presence after he had gained his liberty. One might well cry, “Ah! let me have back my pain if I may again overflow with the joy of the Lord's presence.”
Dear friends, I thank God that you and I know what it is to enjoy the presence of God in a great many different ways. When two or three of the people of God meet together, and talk to one another about the things of God, the Lord is never away. You remember that blessed text, “They that feared the Lord spoke often one to another.” They had holy talks about heavenly things. It was such sweet conversation that the Lord Himself turned eaves-dropper and hearkened and heard. What He heard pleased Him so well that He there and then made a note of it; yea, and wrote it down, and ordered that “a book of remembrance” should be preserved “for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.” Was not this sure evidence of His most gracious presence? John Bunyan knew that God was there when he went about tinkering and came to Bedford, and there were three godly women sitting in the sun at work; and as they worked they talked so sweetly that the tinker stood and listened and was drawn to better things. By such means he became a believer and a preacher and the writer of the Pilgrim's Progress which has so refreshed us all. The Lord was there, and therefore he dreamed a heavenly dream in Bedford jail. Wherever His people meet, the Lord is graciously near. “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Yes, but when Christian people go forth to work, when you come to your Sunday School, or go out with your bundle of tracts to change them on your district, or when you join a little band and stand in the street corner yonder and lift up your voice in the name of Jesus, you may expect, if you go with prayer and faith, that it shall be written, “Jehovah-shammah, the Lord is there.” It is only a young man standing up in a cottage to speak, and he has not much to say; yet there are penitential tears, and broken hearts; it is so, for God is there. It is only a humble woman speaking to a few persons of her own class, and yet angels are rejoicing over a repenting sinner—yes, because God is there. It is only a little room in one of our back streets, the neighbors called together, and he is talking of Jesus and His love—oh, but if the Lord be there, do not tell me that the missionary is not in the apostolic succession; he need not claim it, he is himself an apostle of God to those poor people. He wants no gorgeous vestment, nor the swell of organ, nor even the thunders of the multitude as they raise the solemn hymn. The few so simple and so poor have God with them, and it is enough. Wherever you are seeking to do good, in prayerful dependence upon the Holy Spirit, it shall be said “the Lord is there.”
And now, from this time forth, beloved, you that fear God and think upon His name, wherever you go, let it be said, “Jehovah-shammah, the Lord is there.” I often feel sorry when the Sabbath is nearly over and so do many of you. I know you wake on Monday morning and take those shutters down again, or go off to that workshop where you suffer so much ridicule, or return to the ordinary grind of daily labor and mix up with so many of the ungodly; and you do it mournfully. Now, pray that you may keep up the Sabbath tone all the week. Make every place, wherever you go, to be the house of God.
A dear brother of ours went to a shop where he worked with four ungodly men, but his Lord went with him. It was not long before we had the privilege of baptizing that friend's master and all his shopmates, for the Lord was there. The other day there came a fresh man to work who could not bear to hear a word upon religion, but our brother was the means of his conversion, and the new man is coming among us, warm with his first love. Our brother makes up his mind that he is not to be conquered by any scoffers, but on the contrary he is determined to conquer them for Christ. He will not yield to the influences of sin, but he resolves, in the name of the Lord, that evil influences shall yield to the power of truth and to the attractions of the cross. Write across your workshop, “The Lord is here.” If you cannot do it literally, do it spiritually, “Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there.”
Do not be found anywhere where you could not say that the Lord was there; but if you are called into the world in the pursuit of your daily vocation, cry unto the Lord, “If thy Spirit go not with me, carry me not up hence.” Determine that you will have the Spirit of God with you, and that, be it in a busy city, or be it in the lonesome country while you are hoeing the turnips or attending to a flock of sheep, of every field, and every street, and every room, it shall be said that God is there. Take Jesus with you when you go; and, when you come home, may His Spirit still be with you! God grant that it may be so! The Holy Spirit can work you to this self-same thing.
What shall I say to those who do not know the Lord, and do not care for Him? O friend, the day will come in which Jesus Christ will say to you, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye workers of iniquity.” Do not let Him say that; but tonight commence an acquaintance with Him. May His Holy Spirit help you to do so! I am sure the Lord Jesus Christ could not say to me, “I never knew you.” It is impossible, because I could reply to Him, “Never knew me, Lord? Why, I have been to Thee with so many burdens, I have run to Thee with so many troubles, that I am sure Thou knowest me as one knows a beggar whom he has relieved many times a day.”
Dost thou ask me who I am? Ah, my Lord! thou know'st my name.
Thou rememberest me, for in my despair I cried to thee, and thou didst relieve me of my burden. Thou knowest me, for in my sorrow my broken heart found no comfort but in Thee. Thou hast known me all these years in which I have had to cry to Thee for something to preach about, and for help while preaching. Thou knowest how I have had to come to Thee and confess my failures, and mourn my shortcomings, and lament my sins, and trust in Thy blood for cleansing.
My Lord cannot say that He does not know me, for He has known my soul in adversity. Blessed be His name, I know Him, and lean all my weight upon Him. They that know Him shall be their glory—“Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there.” With Him shall they dwell, world without end. Amen.