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.