JEHOVAH TSEBAOTH

Jehovah Tsebaoth describes God as the Lord of Hosts or God of battles.  The word Tsebaoth comes from the Hebrew word tsaba and can be used as a verb or a noun.  As a verb it means to wage war or to render service to God. As a noun, tsaba refers to multitudes, hosts, or armies.  It expresses a VAST army made up of different components which are under God’s command.

When we think of an army we picture a large group of men ready to fight.  As a child of God, we are members of the army of the Lord. Another name for an army is host and may refer to angelic hosts (angels), heavenly hosts (stars and planets), or  hosts of animals. Whatever kind of host or army the bible is speaking about, God, Jehovah Tsebaoth, is the Head.

As Head of the army, God protects and defends us.  He fights or battles against those obstacles in our life which attempt to defeat us.  Joel 2:11 describes God’s power, “And the Lord utters His voice before His army, for His host is very great, and [they are] strong and powerful who execute [God’s] word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can endure it?"

Let’s look at some examples of Jehovah Tsebaoth in the bible.

In Joshua 5, God was preparing to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.  As they waited for God’s direction,  He revealed Himself to Joshua.  “ and it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man (God) stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand.  And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, ‘Are You for us or for our adversaries?’  So He said, ‘No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’  Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped Him”  (Joshua 5:13-14). Joshua had come face to face with Jehovah Tsebaoth and knew that God was with them and would lead them to victory.

First Samuel 17 depicts David’s battle with Goliath.  Despite the fact that Goliath was huge and was fully equipped with armour and weapons, David had no fear of him because his trust was in God.  Even as Goliath mocked him, David responded with faith and confidence. “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied”. (1 Samuel 17:45)

Both Joshua and David knew and trusted God as Jehova Tsebaoth, their protector and defender.  Their confidence was not in themselves or in their circumstances. Psalms 24:8 tells us, “Who is the King of glory? The Lord STRONG AND MIGHTY, the Lord MIGHTY IN BATTLE”.   If you are facing a battle in your life, let God fight for you.  No matter what you may be encountering, God is BIGGER.

Father, You are mighty, strong, and powerful.  I thank You that You are fighting for us. Open the eyes of our understanding to this facet of Your character.

KNOWING GOD

God desires for His creation to have an intimate, personal relationship with Him.  In John 17:3 Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true [supreme and sovereign] God, and [in the same manner know] Jesus [as the] Christ whom You have sent.”   

Eternal life is more than living forever.  It is a life that is defined by knowing God and experiencing all Who God is.

God tells us in Jeremiah 9:23-24, “Let not the wise man bask in his wisdom, nor the mighty man in his might, nor the rich man in his riches.  Let them boast in this alone: That they truly know me, and understand that I am the Lord of justice and of righteousness whose love is steadfast”.

There are several commands in God’s Word that revolve around or are contingent upon our knowing God.  

Proverbs 3:5 tells us, “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.”  

Luke 10:27 commands, ”You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

How do we reach a point in our lives where we completely trust and love God?  We must come to know His heart and His attributes. The names of God are a manifestation (evidence, example) of His character and reveal to us Who He is.

Approximately one year ago God instructed me to begin writing a blog describing His many names.   It is my desire to help the readers of these articles, along with myself, discover Who God truly is and become intimately acquainted with Him.

Father, I pray Your Word over each person who reads this.  As we “Move our heart closer and closer to God, He will come even closer to you. (James 4:8)

I thank You for Your  promise and I thank You that You are faithful to Your Word.  Open our hearts to all that You are.

JEHOVAH TSIDKENU

Jehovah Tsidkenu means God our Righteousness.  This name first appears in Jeremiah 23:5-6. At that time, God’s kingdom was full of sin and idolatry and ruled by one wicked king after another.  Jeremiah prophesied the following, “For the time is coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line.  He will be a King (Jesus) who rules with wisdom. He (Jesus) will do what is just and right throughout the land.   And this will be His name:  The Lord Is Our Righteousness. (Jehovah Tsidkenu).”  God was promising the people not only a righteous King (Jesus), but also a way for mankind to obtain righteousness.

When the bible speaks of righteousness, it is describing God’s own perfection in every attribute, every attitude, every behavior, and every word.  

The scriptures portray God as righteous and His words and actions are in accordance with the purity of His nature.  Psalm 119:142,144 tells us there is none who compares to Him: “Your (God’s) righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your (God’s) law is truth.  The righteousness of Your (God’s) testimonies are everlasting.”

God’s laws, as given in the Bible, describe His character and establish the gauge by which He measures human righteousness.  On our own, we can never live up to this standard. Romans 3:11-12 describes mankind, “There is none righteous [none that meets God’s standard], not even one.  There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, no, not one.”

Because God is so loving, and loves each one of us, He created a plan allowing us to become righteous.  Through the work of Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord of Righteousness, Jesus, took our sin, our unrighteousness on Himself.   Our sin (past, present, and future) exchanged for His righteousness and purity. What an exchange! When we become born again, we are now in right standing with God.  We ARE a new creation (1 Corinthians 5:17). God no longer sees our righteousness, which is compared to filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Jesus exchanged those filthy rags for His robe of righteousness. Isaiah 61:10 declares, “I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!  For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation  and draped me in a robe of righteousness.  I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding  or a bride with her jewels.”  

Not only were we made righteous, Jesus also took our sins and destroyed the powers of darkness.  Jehovah Tsidkenu is a name that brings hope to the hopeless, light into darkness, and life in place of death.

Father, we thank You for Your plan of salvation.  We thank You that we are no longer who we were, but are now a new creation.  We run to You, our Strength and our Righteousness.

JEHOVAH MAKKEH Part 2

As we observed earlier, the name, Jehovah Makkeh, means God our smiter, corrector, or instructor.  God uses many methods to teach us: His Word, Holy Spirit, and our life circumstances. When these do not produce a change in us, God may  use discipline as a way of correcting or changing our path. His correction is with love and meant for our eternal benefit, to bring His plan for our life into fulfillment.  First Peter 5:10 tells us, “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [Who imparts His blessing and favor], Who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be]”

God gives us this promise in Hebrews 12:5-6, “And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as His children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when He corrects you.  For the Lord disciplines those He loves,    and He punishes each one He accepts as his child.”  It goes on to say in verses 10-11 : “But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in His holiness.  No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.”

Jesus lovingly reminds us of this in Revelation 3:19, “Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I rebuke and discipline [showing them their faults and instructing them]; so be enthusiastic and repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior—seek God’s will].”   Jehovah Makkeh wants us to set our hearts on His plan, not ours.

I want to emphasize, God’s correction is motivated by His love for us.  When left to our own ways, we are on a path to destruction. His love for mankind is so immense that He allowed His only Son to take our ultimate punishment, which is death, for the sins we have commited.  Jesus took our penalty of death when He died on the cross in our place. He was smitten for our sake. I encourage you to read Isaiah 53 which gives a vivid picture of all Jesus has done for us.

Father, I pray that each person that reads this will surrender completely to You and allow You to change and mold them into who You have created them to be.  We acknowledge that our ways bring destruction and death, but Your ways bring life, peace, and healing.

JEHOVAH MAKKEH

BE PLIABLE IN GOD'S HANDS

The name Jehovah Makkeh means the Lord our Smiter or correcter.  Smite is defined as: to strike with a firm blow. You may be thinking, how can God smite His creation?  God is a holy God and cannot look the other way and allow sin to rule our life. Although God corrects us, we must remember along with His chastisement comes His healing, grace, and mercy.  God’s purpose is to shape and perfect us. His correction is meant for our benefit. We in turn, need to have a desire to change our thinking (repent),  be willing to surrender our life to Him, and submit to His guidance.

Psalms 51:17 says, “My [only] sacrifice [acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; A broken and contrite heart [broken with sorrow for sin, thoroughly repentant] such, O God, You will not despise.”

The psalmist is telling us the sacrifice that God desires is a heart which is broken and willing to surrender to Him.  If we are not willing to submit our will to God, so that He can mold us, our circumstances and/or satan will crush us. John 10:10 explains this, “ A thief (satan) has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I (Jesus) have come to give you everything in abundance,  more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow!”

When we commit our lives to God, He begins to shape and change us into the likeness of His Son, Jesus.  He does through His Word, the guidance of Holy Spirit, and by using circumstances in our lives.

As we go through various situations and trials in our lives, God is training, teaching, strengthening,  and preparing us.

The following scripture describes God’s desire to mold us into who He created us to be.  Jeremiah 18:1-6, “The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,  “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.”  So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel.  But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.  Then the Lord gave me this message: can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.”

God is a loving Father, filled with compassion.  He takes us as we are, loves us unconditionally, and pours His grace (His divine influence) into our hearts, molding us into mighty men or women of God.   Isaiah 64:8 proclaims, “And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.    We are the clay, and you are the potter.  We all are formed by your hand.”

Father, help us to surrender all we are to You and allow You to change our heart. We are the clay and You are the Potter.

 

JEHOVAH MAGEN Part 3

God’s name, Jehovah Magen, means God our shield and protector.  Another facet of God being a shield occurs in the gift of faith which He has given us.  Romans 12:3 tells us God has given each person a measure of faith. Faith is a vital component in our relationship with God.  We are warned of this in Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.”

Ephesians 6:16 describes and gives instructions regarding faith, "above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts (arrows) of the wicked one (satan).”

To better understand the importance of the shield of faith, it is helpful to look at the necessity of a shield to soldiers in biblical times.  It was not an optional piece of equipment and no soldier would go into battle minus his protective shield. Without his shield, he knew there was nothing between him and his opponent, leaving him defenseless. The shield was the size of a door, which would completely cover the soldier. It was made of several layers of thick animal hide, woven together, making it strong as steel. Soldiers would rub oil into their shield every day. If the oil was not applied on a daily basis, the shield would crack and when hit by an arrow, break into pieces, causing it to be useless.  The oil is representative of the Holy Spirit. Without a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit’s power in our daily life, our faith will become hard and brittle, rather than long-lasting and durable.

Before a soldier went to battle, he soaked his shield in water.  This was to ensure the flaming arrows of the enemy would be extinguished when they hit the shield.  The saturating water on the shield is symbolic of God’s Word washing us. (Ephesians 5:26) Just as the soldier saturated his shield with water, we are to keep our faith saturated by the washing of the Word of God.  When we are not filled with God’s Word, satan can plant thoughts or “arrows” of anger, anxiety, unbelief, and worry in our mind. Because these thoughts, or lies, are contrary to God’s Word, they may cause us to be filled with doubt, allowing us to become an easy target.

Let’s take another look at Ephesians 6:16…” above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts (arrows) of the wicked one (satan).”  

  Above all means to position over.  The shield of faith is meant to be out in front, completely covering and protecting us from harm.  

Taking the shield of faith indicates we can pick it up or lay it down.  It is entirely our choice. When we choose not to walk in faith we are vulnerable, exposing ourselves to the enemy’s attacks.  When we choose to walk in faith, we are covered and protected.

During biblical times, arrows were a deadly form of weaponry.  Often they were dipped in tar and set on fire before being released.  The arrow could also be filled with a flammable liquid causing it to explode on impact.  The shield was able to quench all the fiery darts (arrows) of the wicked one, because it was saturated with water which did not allow the arrows to burn.  Today these fiery darts represent attacks from satan, which target our emotions. The saturating water on the shield is symbolic of God’s Word washing us. (Ephesians 5:26)  Just as the soldier saturated his shield with water, we are to keep our faith saturated by the washing of the Word of God.

When our shield of faith is well oiled by the Holy Spirit, out in front covering all, and saturated with the Word of God, it will extinguish every temptation and fire- bearing arrow the enemy tries to send our way.  Our faith positions us to be in line with God and His Word. First Peter 1:5 tells us, “ And through your faith, God is protecting you by His power.”

Father, we praise Your holy name and thank you for the gift of faith You have given each one of us. We thank You that it shields and protects us. I pray we would continue to allow Your Word and the Holy Spirit to wash over and empower us.  

JEHOVAH MAGEN Part 2

Jehovah Magen is the name of God we are currently studying and means our shield of protection.  The revelation that the Creator of the universe is our shield and protector should build our faith and bring us peace and joy.

The bible is a record of historical events which demonstrate to us Who God is.  Let’s explore a couple of these miraculous occurrences.

The first event is about a prostitute named Rahab.  The Israelites were getting ready to cross the Jordan River and take the land which God had promised them.  Joshua sent two men into the city of Jericho to spy out the land. The spies were in danger of being captured, but  Rahab hid the men, and helped them escape. She declared her belief in God, Joshua 2:11: “For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below”, and asked the spies to spare her life.  They agreed and told her to hang a red rope outside her window. This would be a sign to the Israelite soldiers not to harm anyone in this house.  The city of Jericho was destroyed. Everyone in the city was killed except Rahab and her family. (Joshua 6:22) Because she believed in God, knew Who He was, and trusted Him, her life was spared.  Proverbs 30:5 declares, “He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him.”   

The next narration is about a young Israelite named Daniel.  The Israelites were being held captive in Babylon, but Daniel had found favor with the king.  This caused the Babylonian rulers to become jealous and they tricked the king into signing a law stating anyone found praying to another god besides the king, would be thrown into the den of lions.  Even though Daniel was aware of the law, he publicly knelt down on his knees and prayed to God, Jehovah Magen. Because he openly worshiped God, the king was forced to stand by his law, and put Daniel into a den of lions.  The last thing he said to Daniel was, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” (Daniel 6:16) Even though the king was not a worshiper of God, He had an understanding of Who God was. The next morning when the king went to the lions’ den, Daniel said to him, “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me.”  (Daniel 6:22)

God, Jehovah Magen, demonstrated His miraculous power in the lives of both Rahab and Daniel by protecting them from what seemed to be an impossible situation.  Often times in life, like Rahab and Daniel, we face situations that seem hopeless. Proverbs 30:5 declares, “He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him.”  Time has not changed God or His Word. He is still a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him. As we learn to trust God, we will see Him as Jehovah Magen, our shield. Psalm 20:7-8 warns us that those who trust is in things of the world will be defeated, but those who trust in God's name will rise up.

Let’s declare Psalm 18:2 over our lives.  “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;   my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.  He is my shield, the power that saves me,   and my place of safety.”