My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
| 156 |
| Fountain |
| Zechariah 13:1 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. |
| Can you imagine what the Old Testament saint thought when this passage was read? I know the picture in my mind is of some ornate sculpture that spouts water in the air, or of a large pool of water with some type of moving water being shot in the air. If this is the picture that forms in your mind, take the eraser out and wipe it clean, for this is not the picture Zechariah is trying to communicate to his listeners. To speak of a fountain in the Old Testament referred to a spring of water, a bubbling brook or simply a well of fresh water. Nothing that is flamboyant, or necessarily appealing to the eyes, other than the hope of life that is represented by seeing the moving water. This verse follows after (or may be considered part of) Zechariah’s great prophecy of “Him whom they pierced”. Zechariah 12:10-14 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land shall mourn, each family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. I added this long passage for our reading to remind my reader that the image of pouring, or of releasing a spirit of grace feeds directly into our image of a fountain in the next very next chapter. One other truth that I surely skipped over in my previous readings of this passage is the individuality of the mourning for each as they look on the One them they have pierced. Notice the repeated reference to “by itself” or “by themselves” Individual mourning is the message, and this action is the precursor the the fountain of cleansing God provides. Even greater is the truth that the mourning is a result of God pouring our this “spirit of grace and pleas of mercy” in order that this mourning may occur. Reread verse 10 above. The spirit of grace was needed in order to or “so that” they shall mourn at the sight of Him whom they pierced. Zechariah speaks of God providing the spirit of grace to individuals, enabling them to mourn the death of Him whom they pierced. This leads to a fountain opened for cleansing. Such a rich description of the crucifixion, of a time when those who looked to the Messiah, gazing upon the One who hung on a torturous cross, dying in front of all. He was pierced, bleeding out His life, and Zechariah speaks of it as a cleansing fountain. Again, this picture of a fountain that I started this post with is so offensive to the truth of this vision that Zechariah is trying to communicate. The Fountain is a cleansing fountain, with the living water actually the blood of God flowing from His body. His cleansing blood flowed due to the beatings, the whippings and the excruciating death His judges exacted upon Him. John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. John 19:37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.” The Fountain was opened for us, never to be closed. He is the Fountain which provides the cleansing, a cleansing of those who mourned of His death, a cleansing from sin and uncleanness. Next time I think or read this verse, my thoughts will not turn to some garish sculptured fountain, but steered to the cross, to a Man who is all alone, tortured, bleeding out and dying, in order to provide for my cleansing. May our thoughts be centered on His love for us, and lead us to a more holy and cleansed life to honor Him who bled for us. |
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Your message has been sent
Come join us at Considering the Bible
Considering the Bible 