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.
| 199 |
| GOD THE LORD |
| Joshua 22:22 “The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith against the LORD, do not spare us today |
| A little context for this verse may be helpful. Moses has passed, and Joshua is in charge, bringing the Israelites into the promised land. In an earlier decision between Moses and the Ruebenites, the Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh, these tribes were able to claim the land to the east of the Jordan as thier portion of the promised land, but were to assist in the domination of the land for the other tribes. At the completion of the battles and the possession of the land of Canaan by the Israelites, Joshua allowed them to return to thier portion across the river. This separation from the main nation by a geographical marker, such as a river, brought about a concern related to national and religious unity of this new country. It also provided an opportunity to build an altar, a really big altar. Joshua 22:10 And when they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size. Right away, it appears this nation is splintering, breaking apart in the most fundamental way, for this altar would develop it’s own commitments, thinking, devotions and divisions. Yes divisions, for the remaining tribes saw this and gathered together to make war against them. Joshua 22:12 And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them. Did I mentioned the breach of faith that the remining tribes considered this altar to represent? Yes this was a dangerous situation between brothers, bring to remembrance the days of Peor. Idolatry was rebuked harshly by the Lord in those days, and many had died! AS we venture through this passage, we find this altar was not an altar of burnt offering or of sacrifice, but an altar of witness. Remember this river concern I mentioned earlier? The 2 1/2 tribes on the east of the river understood that the river separated them from the rest and they didn’t want this to occur. They sought a way to minimize the impact of the river, and with this desire to maintain unity, they built an altar of witness. In the midst of this retelling of their times, the 2 1/2 tribes set up an altar and gave verbal ascent to the God they wanted to continue following. In this plea before their brothers, they called on the name of God the Lord twice, in order to maintain unity amongst their brothers, in spite of geographical distances and obstacles, seeking to reduce divisions amongst the next generation. Should we not consider those across “the river” those who, along with us, claim the name of God the Lord? Geographical barriers or obstacles are not meant to provide an opportunity for division, but the chance to reinforce our unity in the Living God, that is God the Lord. |
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!
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