Jesus the Messiah – Page 5 – Considering the Bible

Names of God – FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATERS- 157

2025-03-03

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.

157

FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATERS

Jeremiah 2:13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water

In our last post, we considered Zechariah 13:1, in which God calls the Messiah a fountain, a fountain whose purpose was to supply cleansing for an individual upon repentance. Zechariah made much of the individual responding to the piercing of the Messiah.

He gave us a beautiful picture of the sinner coming to the Lord, realizing the cost Jesus paid to provide a cleansing from sin and responding in repentance, finding the cleansing so desperately needed.

It is coincidental that Zechariah’s verse came before Jeremiah’s in our study, for it seems that it reflects the general order of salvation for all, even for us millennia later. As Zechariah may be describing the initial act of getting right with God, that initial repentance, resulting in justification before a holy God, Jeremiah may be describing the life after the initial cleansing. All of this supposition is simply my thoughts, the thoughts of a fellow that has been taught a certain salvation process.

Could Zechariah’s passage be applied to a believer as he continues on his walk with God, seeking to keep his life clean, resorting to that fountain of cleansing as we follows the Lord (1 John 1:9) Of course. Might Jeremiah’s description of a fountain of living water be the reality of first salvation? Of course!

But consider Jeremiah’s message. His verse is of a people who walked away from their God, they had known God and departed from Him. Jeremiah is crying over their departure, of the apostacy of the people of God. He described their former blessing, that of God as the living water. Jeremiah is emphasizing the nature of the water when he describes it as a fountain, and as living. Both these descriptions speak of movement, of life, of energy.

We have addressed the thought behind God being described as a fountain in our previous post, but Jeremiah goes on to describe this bubbling, spring of water as living. To be described as living has the same general message as a fountain, that is that God is alive, fresh, and full of energy, providing life and renewal, even of revival.

It seems Jeremiah can’t describe God as the source of life enough, he can’t emphasize the life provided from God enough. Movement and energy, life and renewal is his message, and that it can only be found in God.

Yet those who are of the people of God sought to make their own god, a lifeless and death dealing source that could not hold “dead water”, for a cistern holds non-moving dead water. No, the people of God could not even build a working cistern, for their “cistern”, their god they trusted in, was dry as a bone, lifeless and broken.

An illusion of hope for the thirsty soul, a distraction and a trap, for the thirsty soul might never consider an alternative, a much better and lively source of water. That broken cistern may become a weight about that thirsty souls neck, requiring much work to constantly maintain and repair that cistern, the hauling of water to it, the disappointment of it’s inadequacies in providing any hope.

Such is the condition Jeremiah found himself in.

Are you servicing a broken cistern? There is an alternative, and He is full of life, abundant in energy and is not only a cleansing fountain, but the provider of His own life for you.

The apostle John speaks of living water in two discourses of the Lord. The first is with the Samaritan woman, and speaks of life provided by the Son.

John 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

Even greater, John picks up on this concepts chapters later, and describes the one who has believed in Jesus, who has taken the water offered to the Samaritan women, as a source for others, a continual source for others.

John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

Living water doesn’t stay put. He is constantly moving, providing life and energy to the saint and to those who interact with the saint.

Consider the source and type of water you rely on. Is it active, alive and full of energy? Is the water fresh, and life producing? For if your water is stale, bitter and sparse, you may be building a broken cistern. He is waiting for your return. Full of life and ready to cleanse.

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.

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Names of God – FOUNTAIN – 156

2025-02-28

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.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Amos – 01

2025-02-25

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Amos

Burden Bearer

–

Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The topic of Amos as a burden bearer is not found in any particular verse of Amos but is related directly to the person of Amos, specifically the name his father gave him. For you see the name Amos actually has the meaning of “burden”.

In Amos’ call to prophecy, he laid out burdens (judgements) against the nations surrounding Israel. As we read the book of Amos, we find that this burden was not limited to those around his nation. He had to speak to Israel, the northern kingdom.

Amos was required to bear his burden to his very own nation, and this burden of prophecy is a foreshadow of the true Prophet Jesus, who delivered His burden of rebukes to His people. Not only was the responsibility to expose sin a burden for Amos, this burden was amplified many fold for the Messiah, for as He is greater than Amos, so His burden of prophecy is greater, delivered to the faithless and twisted nation of Israel.

Matthew 17:17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.”

Whereas Amos delivered his burden on the people of the northern kingdom, with the eventual dispersement of the ten tribes throughout the nations, the nation of Israel (the southern kingdom) was still standing, and for those who were faithful to God, this provided was an escape from judgement. Amos’ burden was heavy, yet in the midst of this judgement, those who sought refuge could find it in the southern kingdom.

Jesus, as mentioned above, also delivered His burden to the remaining people of God centuries later, and this judgement was final in relation to a physical kingdom. No nation of Israel would remain, no kingdom of God that could be physically found. Nothing to flee to. No country. No land. No nation. No government.

For we as believers know that the kingdom of God is not found, in a place, or through a government, or by any nation, but in a Person. The One who not only carried the burden of prophecy to His people, as Amos had, but also accepted the judgement each of us deserved, dying a tortuous death and breaking away from the tomb, to provide us an escape, a Savior who who continues to bear our burdens.

With His burden of reconciliation for the world completed, He has invited those who seek Him, to join Him in understanding His nature, His character and to become more like Him as they follow.

Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

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.

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Names of God – FOUNDER OF SALVATION – 155

2025-02-24

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.

155

FOUNDER OF SALVATION

Hebrews 2:10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Our previous Name of God, the Founder and Perfector of faith discussed the concept of a Founder. It is the very same word that we found in the previous passage.

It speaks of a leader, One who ventures into the unknown.

Jesus is the great Founder. He is described in our earlier post as the Founder of faith, but in this description, we find that He is the Founder, or leader of our salvation.

I ask my reader – Is there a difference? As you may expect, I consider this name to provide additional insight into the person of Jesus Christ, and hopefully I can communicate this distinction.

The difference, as can be surmised, is what Jesus is being described as “founding” or leading His followers into. In the previous post, the passage described His way of life, the faith He displayed for us to follow after. It is a faith of self denial, of self sacrifice, of full surrender to the Father’s will, even every moment of His life. Challenging to say the least, even at my best times with Him!

For this passage, His leading of His followers is to the goal of salvation, not to a way of life as in our previous verse.

Early in my faith, when salvation was discussed (or thought about), I defaulted to a location or destiny after death. And this is the intent of the passage if I understand it correctly.

Yet as I grow as a believer, I find the path and the goal is tending to melt together, for as I follow the path, I find salvation to actually be hinted at at various times in the way He protects and guides, somehow providing me an opportunity to experience His salvation a bit at a time.

Now don’t consider me some whacked out heretic yet, for I am still looking forward to being absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. There have been periods of time in my life where the Lord saves me in minor (or major) trials or temptations. He has been so kind, patient and gentle with this ol’ man in the past (and present), that looking back, I have understood His saving grace just a wee bit more with each of His “salvations”.

He is good, and as He leads, we are to follow, though at times under much trial and temptation. Hang on to Him for He is the One who Leads us into salvation, even though as He suffered, we may also suffer for Him.

He is good!

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.

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Names of God – FOUNDER AND PERFECTER OF FAITH – 154

2025-02-17

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.

154

FOUNDER AND PERFECTER OF FAITH

Hebrews 12:2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Could we speak of Jesus as the founder of our faith only? Of course. Might we talk of Jesus as the perfecter of our faith only. Surely this is true.

Yet for this name of God, we have both of these descriptors combined together, to bring together a mind picture for our edification.

To be a Founder is to be a leader, one who takes the lead, who ventures out into unknown territory.

Many men have ventured out, and due to the newness of the effort, unknown enemies and unexpected obstacles, adjustments had to be made by the founder/leader, revisions to their plans were reluctantly accepted, and at times the final expected result of the efforts were not realized. Success was not guaranteed for founders/leaders which may speak of why their are so few leaders/founders

Yet Jesus led. He led unexpectantly, into a path that no man ever considered. He took the apparent path of failure, of suffering, of humility and loss. He continued to lead directly into the jaws of death, wavering but never succumbing, asking for alternate wills from His Father, yet humbly accepting the worse news. And He continued to lead into the tomb.

He is the author, the leader, the founder of our faith. And He is the Perfecter, not only in His example of living the faith He preached, but following the Father’s will perfectly, without making adjustments, revisions or excuses to the calling He received.

He ventured out into a dark world, never making an adjustment to His calling, and providing us the high calling of a faith that has been walked perfectly.

He walked the faith from start (as the Founder) to the end (as the Perfecter), and through out it all, no fault was found. Never was the path ever walked, from start to finish, as He walked it even to death of the cross!

Though human, He is beyond mere humanity, as we are so frail and incapable of so much, yet He was tempted, and that without failure, to display the perfect life!

No wonder God elevated Him to be seated at the right hand of the throne of God!

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.

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Names of God – FORERUNNER – 153

2025-02-14

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.

154

FORERUNNER

Hebrews 6:20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

The high priest in the Old Testament, when he entered behind the veil, did so as a representative of the nation of Israel. On the day of Atonement, the high priest was to provide a temporary atonement for his own sin, and the sin of the nation. His entrance into the Holy of Holies required him to remove his sacred outer garments, and enter with only the linen tunic.

Leviticus 16:4 He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on.

He entered the Holy of Holies to represent himself and the nation, to present blood from a bull, and to sprinkle this blood on the mercy seat. Upon completion of this ministry, the High Priest was to exit the Holy of Holies. His ministry was completed for one more year, at least in relation to the atonement (or covering over) of his and the nations sins.

He was not to remain behind the veil, not to make any other claims of his authority behind the veil. He entered behind the veil in the simplest of garments, signifying humility before God. Before the people, he had lavish garments, with gold and jewels and fine colored threads. Not so for before God

Consider Jesus, our Forerunner.

He entered the Holy of Holies completely humbled by the death He experienced, by the suffering and torture of His passion. Yet the author of Hebrews speaks of Him as though He was the tip of a spear, the edge of a knife, the lead spy going into the land. He was the One going ahead, venturing into new territory, doing what no man has ever attempted. As He ventured into the Holy of Holies, He was not merely representing His followers, but He was making claims of ownership for His people.

He wasn’t entering the Holy of Holies as the Old Testament priest, temporarily and with other blood than His own. He offered His own blood, not for His own sins, for He had none, but for the eternal payment for our sins. Nothing temporary about the True High Priest as a Forerunner for His people, and until we enter into glory with Him, He has entered and claimed it for His people.

Jesus has gone as a forerunner into the Father’s presence on our behalf. He is our Forerunner, perfect, sinless, high and lifted up.

May His name be praised amongst His people, His congregation and those who are seeking to be with Him in glory.

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.

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Names of God – FOOLISHNESS OF GOD – 152

2025-02-10

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.

153

FOOLISHNESS OF GOD

1 Corinthians 1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Paul is reaching out to the Corinthians, the wise, rich, independent, strong and sinless Corinthians. A church that had attained, that was above the fray and that was beyond reproach. A group of believers that had come to understood a better way.

Throughout Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he is sarcastic, biting and ruthless in his treatment of each of their many topics of division within their body.

Who to follow, how to relate to others, sexual “freedom” issues, marriage and divorce concerns, spiritual gifts, how to properly worship, who to worship, and the very heart of the gospel was blurry or denied. They even struggled with the resurrection.

So every time I pick up a letter associated with the Corinthians, I think of two churches. The first church almost 2000 years ago, west of Athens in Greece. And another church somewhat more recent!

Given that background, consider Paul’s intent when he speaks of the all knowing, all wise God as associated with foolishness. Paul is sarcastic to an infinite level, or he is relating to his audience in their pride.

He obviously is speaking to them from their standpoint, for they had come to the point in their “spiritual maturity” that the methods God uses in bringing souls into His kingdom, providing them life and love was actually foolishness.

And of course this is true for any who consider God’s kingdom when in another kingdom. Everything to do with Christianity and God’s truth seems so upside down, so inefficient, so backwards and against reason.

Could not the wisdom of man improve God’s methods, of providing greater results and better outcomes for the church? The Corinthians had surely found out the foolishness of God in their spiritual growth. They could do better!

My friend, when I read Corinthians, I read my autobiography, for I am constantly ruminating on how to avoid (or improve – how proud!) the simple truth of the Christ, how He is the answer to all conflicts, sin issues and relationship problems.

For the name of God to be associated with foolishness speaks of my pride. His ways are so far above us that when we step out of the Spirit, we simply revert to the “Corinthian” way of thinking. He is not foolish of course. We are. Yet to communicate to a foolish people, Paul hung this name on our God.

And there is wisdom in that!

1 Corinthians 3:18 ESV – Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.

Are we not to be foolish for God, accepting the “insulting name” from the other kingdom with some honor? To be foolish from the worlds viewpoint is to reject the basic tenants of the world’s order, of it’s expectations and allowances, of how a man centered society works.

If you consider the methods God uses to reach others foolish, consider which camp you lean towards. The Corinthians were joining the wrong camp, listening to the wrong counsellor, and walking away from true wisdom, love, peace and joy.

The “foolishness of God” associated with our God speaks to our fallen, and proud condition. This insult of degrading the wisdom of God to foolishness is common for those outside of the body. Not only is it common, it is the only option for those who are blind. Not so for those who have had their eyes opened!

And yet God is willing to continue putting up with this insult in order for people to truly trust in Him instead of themselves.

He truly is the wisdom of God, even as some of His own people assign foolishness to His ways! Let us humble ourselves and line up with the wisdom of God, accepting God’s ways as best.

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.

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Names of God – FLAGSTAFF – 151

2025-02-07

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.

152

FLAGSTAFF

Isaiah 30:17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill.

Be honest with me. Have you ever considered this passage to direct your thoughts to the God we serve, specifically that the term “Flagstaff” might refer to the Lord Himself?

Granted at first, I assumed not, but as I pondered, I considered that this term is very appropriate for the God we serve. Let me try to explain.

The old KJV translates this Hebrew term as beacon, as do some other popular translations. Some other versions translate it as a flag, or a mast. The message Isaiah is speaking of is that of a lone pole or mast, a beacon that all can see, that is alone, well seen, stable and strong.

What catches my imagination is the concept of being high above all, the mast not only being tall, but also being on top of a mountain. Nothing is above this mast, and as all of the nation of Israel flees from a threat, the nation of Israel will also see a flagstaff, a beacon or a mastpole, a single One that is resolute in the face of threats, setting His face as it were to Jerusalem, determined to hang on a cross for all to see.

Consider Him, who as the threats were poured out, He was resolute, being seen by all. The threats turned out to be real, and yet He persisted!

In His battles, He was left all alone, hanging on a rugged cross, His body broken, and His life snuffed out. The threats were realized by those who spit them out, but so were the promises of God who spoke them centuries earlier, for the singular One became the Risen King three days later.

His cross was on top of mount Calvary. Those in the area could not help but see Him.

Psalm 2:6
As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.

He is currently enthroned on Zion, God’s holy mountain, for all who will open their eyes to see.

He is the Flagstaff, raised for all to see. Will you consider Him, His claims as the Messiah King?

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.

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Names of God – FIRSTBORN OF THE DEAD – 150

2025-02-03

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.

150

FIRSTBORN OF THE DEAD

Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood

Was it not just a few posts back that the Name of God we considered was “Firstborn from the Dead”? (It was – check it out here if you missed it)

If you did read it, you may be thinking to yourself this is a repeat. Let me assure you this is not a repeat.

The previous name considered the Jesus as being raised from the dead, and though it spoke of the resurrection, it was primarily related to His preeminence. That is that He was first and greatest, that His resurrection was and is the ultimate sign of His Kingship and the only recognized ultimate authority presented by God to all of creation.

This name speaks of King Jesus as the Firstborn of the Dead, with the implication that He is the first to be raised from amongst many. The emphasis of His resurrection in this verse is to communicate that the resurrection is associated with those who had passed on, that were in the state of physical death. He is the first to exit from that population with a new body.

Those who were in the population of the dead had hope, for He was pulled from the pit, and they also, as other passages teach, were pulled from the pit also, because of His leading out of the grave.

His resurrection is associated with our resurrection, and our resurrection is utterly impossible without His breaking the chains of death.

John is telling those in Revelation (and us) that the resurrection of the Firstborn is the signal that resurrection is an accomplished fact, that death is not the end, that resurrection is available to the dead, and that others, though not the first, surely followed Him out of the grave.

Speak of the resurrection today. Speak of the Firstborn from the Dead, and of the Dead. Let one person know that Jesus is the One who provided us life and a life completely beyond our understanding.

He is the Firstborn of the Dead. We shall all enter that realm of death some day, with our only hope of being delivered in the person of Jesus, who has gone on before us to lead the way.

He is the Resurrection and the Life!

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.

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Names of God – FIRST FRUITS – 149

2025-01-31

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.

149

FIRST FRUITS

1 Corinthians 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Paul has been arguing convincingly that the resurrection of Christ is a fact, and now he is simply stating this truth. Jesus has been raised from the dead.

Note that Paul describes Jesus by the act of resurrection, and then hangs on the Lord the description of His being firstfruits. Surely he is hearkening back to the Old Testament for his Jewish readers.

Let’s consider the Old Testament background Paul uses when speaking of first fruits. What might Paul want us to understand?

Old Testament Background

To my surprise, this term refers to more than simply an apple or banana. It isn’t restricted to fruits in the way I default to. The first fruits in the Old Testament included grain, olive oil, new wine, sheep wool, herds and flock, and of course fruit as I originally thought. It seems the common theme in this list is that it is the bounty of the people that was considered fruit, fruit of the field, and fruit of the animal. Fruit that the people relied on for sustenance.

Timing

Ok so I understand fruit, yet he refers to the first fruits. What is the significance of first fruits? At the risk of stating the obvious, this reference was related to time, to the earliest produce on the farm.

Consider Deuteronomy 18:4
The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.

As the Lord directed the believer to provide a sacrifice of his first bounty, the farmer would be sacrificing early harvest produced on his farm. An act of faith, since his family may be depending on food from the field.

Quality

But let us continue. To be firstfruits is not simply a timing designation, but a quality designation!

Numbers 18:12 All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to the LORD, I give to you.

So we have the first in time, and the first in quality. How may this may apply to the name of God we are considering.

For the faithful Hebrew who has converted from dead works to the Living God, this spoke of the Messiah in both time and quality. He is the first out of the grave, but as the Hebrew would know, much more fruit would come from the field. Paul implies this strongly by associating Jesus as first fruit of those who have fallen asleep. The harvest would continue from the field of those who had fallen asleep. This implication for the Hebrew must have been a strong encouragement.

But note that it is God that is providing the first fruit, for He is the One offering the Son in His resurrection. Jesus was the first chronologically to be raised from the dead.

Do I hear some speaking of Lazarus, or the little girl Elisha raised, or of the child raised by Jesus between two little towns in Israel? My friends, those who rose prior to Jesus were destined to return to the grave. They would die again, and this is where the idea of quality comes into greater focus.

The first fruits were the best of the early harvest. In this regard, the resurrection of Jesus is the best possible fruit to be offered, for His body will never perish, He will never to die again. He has a non perishable body, immortal, never to visit the grave again.

Timing (again)

By the way, I can’t help but offer one additional truth about the topic of timing relating to first fruits. The Feast of First fruits in the Jewish calendar occurred two days after the Passover. “Coincidentally“, this is the very day of the resurrection.

So many coincidences when it comes to the Lord fulfilling prophecies. I write that with extreme irony, for if you have an interest in prophecies fulfilled in the person of Jesus, I would refer you to a series of 351 blog posts on this site called Old Testament Messianic Prophecies. A download link has been provided for the full list with each post. If you have any trouble downloading it, please contact me. I would be happy to send it to you.

He is truly the First Fruits of those who have fallen asleep, and the truth of this name is so far greater than the shadow we read of in the Old Testament.

May His name be praised in the congregation and in our lives!

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.

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Names of God – FIRST BORN OF ALL CREATION – 148

2025-01-27

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.

148

FIRSTBORN OF ALL CREATION

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Let us remember the ancient meaning of the term “firstborn” as mentioned earlier in our posts. The term rose from a chronological setting in a family to become one to describe priority, preeminence, and authority.

Small snippets of modern culture retain this idea, in that the oldest sibling is to be the one that leads, that is the one who is thought of as more responsible.

In this particular verse, we are not talking of a nuclear family, or a tribe, even of a country, but of all creation, seen and unseen. He is the firstborn of all creation!

As you can read in the verse, Paul taught that Jesus was God, and then introduced the name we are considering. It would seem ridiculous for any to think Paul equated Jesus with God and then “demoted” Him somehow by including Jesus as amongst those created. His position is of firstborn, of the One responsible for and having authority over all creation.

He is the Creator and as Paul teaches a bit later, the sustainer of all creation.

Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

There may be some who would use this passage to teach Jesus is less than God, but the reasoning seems weak, and the context of the passage fights against the idea.

He is the Firstborn of all creation, as as such should be worshipped and not denigrated to a mere part of creation. He took on a created body as part of His mission for our salvation, but that is an expression of His compassion for us, not of His inclusion in the created order.

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.

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Names of God – FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD – 147

2025-01-24

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.

148

FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD

Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

We have discussed the concept of first born in relation to order of birth and the leadership of the position in previous posts, but for this post, I would suggest it is a key truth of the Word for all to grasp.

To be firstborn from the dead speaks of His resurrection, of His priority, and the final proof of His Messiahship, of the extent of the salvation provided, of the thoroughness of God’s plan.

The Lord Himself passed through the realm of the dead, and in His passing through the realm of the dead, was delivered from amongst the dead, received a new body that death could no longer touch, received the scepter of Kingship from the Father, and is the Only Authority recognized by God in all of creation.

Yes there are other authorities as mentioned in Romans 13 and Ephesians 6, but we know them from what the Word teaches, as “sub authorities” even instruments in the outworking of the Kings will.

To be the Firstborn was a privilege and carried responsibilities. To be the Firstborn from the dead brought about true eternal life and all authority was granted to the King, to rule His subjects in the manner He sees fit.

Thankfully, for those who follow Him, we know He is good and He is good all the time!

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.

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Names of God – FIRSTBORN AMONG MANY BROTHERS- 146

2025-01-20

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.

147

FIRSTBORN AMONG MANY BROTHERS

Romans 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

As discussed in our previous post, to be firstborn implied, or emphatically stated a number of truths that were taught in the Old Testament, and can be seen in the Lord Jesus in His fulfillment.

One concept that I did not list, nor did I find called out in the Old Testament, was the relation of the firstborn with siblings. Don’t get me wrong – the firstborn was just that. the first born child of many.

In the New Testament, Paul makes a point of describing the siblings of the firstborn and the destiny of those who follow Him as brothers. Jesus is the Firstborn of course, but the purpose of his existence, at least in this passage, was for the expansion of the family, and the character of those in the family.

The Firstborn among many brothers. As we read through the Word, we come across quantitative words, such as “much”, “more” and “many”, to describe amounts of a topic. To consider “many brothers” a description of a worldwide expansion of the family of faith in the crucified One seems to be an incredible understatement.

An incredible understatement of truth, in my opinion, that seems consistent with the tenor of Scripture, for the Word doesn’t seem to try to communicate to impress, but to inform. Whether the “many” in this verse refers to thousands, as was true in the days of Paul, or the current tens of billions, (considering those who have sent before,) it makes no matter to the message.

He is the Firstborn of Many Brothers, and the end quantity is yet to be fathomed! May His name be praised for His great ability to lead such a massive family!

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.

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Names of God – FIRSTBORN – 145

2025-01-17

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.

145

FIRSTBORN

Hebrews 1:6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

We start another mini series with our Names of God series, focusing in on the term Firstborn.

To be firstborn in ancient Israel was to be of an elevated status. To be firstborn was to be associated with

1. the best of the offspring
2. the strength of the family
3. Israel
4. the object of death
5. the consecrated one
6. the redeemed one
7. the object of rest
8. the celebratory sustenance
9. the double portion offspring

There may be even more associations of the “first born” with special status, privilege or responsibility through the Word, but the previous list is sufficient for the topic.

Kindly notice that the list is providing only a foundation for our understanding of Firstborn, for it makes reference only to the topic in the Old Testament.

Our first reference to this term is found in Luke 2:7

Luke 2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Our Firstborn was born in poverty, fulfilled each of the typologies above, and has become even greater than the Old Testament sought to teach us.

He is the Messiah, the One who is God’s FirstBorn.

In the following posts on looking at the term Firstborn, the Word will provide us detailed and specific ways our understanding of Firstborn will be expanded.

Hope you can join me.

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.

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Names of God – FIRST AND THE LAST – 144

2025-01-13

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.

144

FIRST AND THE LAST

Isaiah 41:4 Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

Is this a statement of chronology? My question speaks of a timeline. Is the name of God in this verse speaking of God’s actions in relation to the generations from the beginning?

There are similar names of God, we have considered, such as Alpha & Omega, that may seem to refer to the same idea as in this verse, but I would suggest for your consideration, the similarities are on the surface only.

Both speak of limits, but as mentioned in Names of God – ALPHA AND OMEGA – 26, the emphasis on Alpha and Omega is regarding His message. It is complete message, and extends the full gamut of necessary information for His creation.

In our verse above, it is not the message that is referred to as much as the person of God with His people. He has performed what was needed, no matter the time frame, ever since the beginning of relating to His generations from of old.

He was with the beginning of the generations, and He states He is with the last generation. The duration of time spoken of is in relation to the people He is working with. But let us not forget, His existence is not dependent on our existence. (As a matter of fact it is quite the opposite!)

He is the eternal One, the Only Being before us and the Only Being after us. Our verse speaks of His constant care for us as a people, from the start through to the end. His faithfulness is a great constant for us, and is a great comfort for His people of every day and time.

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.

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Names of God – FATHER’S SON – 143

2025-01-10

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.

143

FATHER’S SON

2 John 1:3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.

What might this name be telling us. First off, I considered this to be an obvious truth, a statement that simply retells a fact that every one would agree to. A son has a father. Every son has had a father. I first thought it was a description that spoke an obvious truth, and that offered no additional information.

But I fear I am wrong, for to say a Father’s Son does not simply provide a definition of an obvious truth, but implies much more.

To call Jesus Christ the Father’s Son provides the believer much to understand, for a Son’s is defined by the Father’s character. Though the Son is a distinct person in the trinity, to call Jesus the Father’s Son speaks volumes, for the Father’s character is mirrored in the Son.

When you think of God Almighty, do you see Jesus?
When you think of God the Omnipotent One, do you see Jesus?
When you think of God the Eternal One, do you see Jesus?
When you think of God the Creator, do you see Jesus?
When you think of God the King, do you see Jesus?
When you think of God the Holy One, do you see Jesus?

Every description of God the Father may be understood as of the Son, for Jesus is the Father’s Son

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.

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Names of God – FATHER OF GLORY – 142

2025-01-06

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.

142

FATHER OF GLORY

Ephesians 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,

In our Names of God series, we sometimes come across a mini series where a common name for God, such as Father in our current series, is modified with various nouns or adjectives.

Our name this morning is the Father of Glory. Paul refers to our Father as the Father of Glory, as God is the source of glory, that all glory emanates from Him, and that there is no glory apart from God the Father.

But what is glory?

First thing that comes to my mind is bright shining light, a blinding flash that no one can gaze at. Is that the intent of Paul when He calls God the Father of Glory?

Maybe. He speaks God as dwelling in unapproachable light in 1 Timothy

1 Timothy 6:15 ….he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

Yet I want to understand what glory is, especially if it is not a direct synonym for light.

Glory is a translation of the Greek word δόξα dóxa, and principally has the root meaning of opinion, or estimate.

I heard many moon ago a preacher tell me that the original meaning of the word dóxa, was weight. He explained that for a man to be “dóxa” meant he was heavy (fat). Back so long ago, only the rich and powerful were able to gain “weight”, that is to be heavy or fat. The association of weight and authority was established, but of course “dóxa” morphed as words do, coming to speak of authority, and finally settling on reputation, opinion and estimate.

Often when we think of high reputation or opinion we think of a man’s glory, of the reputation he has, of what others consider of his person. His peers may speak highly of him, their estimate of his person may be of honor and praise.

Translate that to the One who is above all others, even above our own imagination or thoughts. Even His acts toward us is beyond our imagination and understanding, how much more He Himself!

There was a time when I couldn’t shake the idea of God being heavy, but after a time I correctly transferred the thought of glory as describing reputation. For God to be glorious though, we should not consider His glory to be relative to any standard other than His own. His glory is magisterial, as the ultimate King on the throne of the entire universe. No-one is to be considered to be equal, no could be.

His glory, or reputation is not to be shared with any other, with any of creation, but only His own person. His glory cannot be estimated, but it can be declared. But let us remember that His glory, in this particular verse, is associated with His Son, and His willingness to provide those who love the Son a spirit of wisdom, and a knowledge of Himself.

May the glory of the Father of glory be declared today.

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.

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Names of God – FATHER OF THE FATHERLESS – 141

2025-01-03

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.

141

FATHER OF THE FATHERLESS

Psalm 68:5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.

When an child is abandoned by a father, he has no leader, no support, no strong voice to listen to, no example to look to. For both the son and the daughter, to be abandoned by a father leaves life long damage, a sense of not belonging, of living without purpose, for a child needs to seek favor, especially of his or her father.

Single parent mothers seek to fill this void, and many make valiant efforts, but a child abandoned by his or her father will never recover fully from this abandonment.

As the verse speaks of widows, the psalmist may be referring to the death of the head of a household. A tragedy in any estimation. Yet the claim of fatherlessness may also imply a chosen abandonment, a decision of the father/husband to leave a family behind. How terrible for the child.

The good news though is that a faithless man in a child’s life may be replaced by a faithful God. As a matter of fact, this weakness, this pain and mental suffering may be used by the Lord to guide them into a relationship with a greater Father, a kinder Father, a loving Father.

As those who read this blog may know, I lost my father to a train accident when I was very young. Bitterness, alienation, a lack of strong guidance and direction resulted in my falling into a deep hole of depression and rebellion. When a young lady directed me to the Father above, I could not resist, for the longing to have someone give guidance, to forgive me of my hatred, anger and sin, to love me despite how broken I was, – it was too much to resist.

He is the Father to the fatherless, and such a good one.

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.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Ahasuerus – 03

2024-12-31

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

AHASUERUS

SAVIOR OF THE JEWS

Esther 8:1 On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her.

Acts 13:23 ESV – Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.

It is an amazing fact, that though God is in the background in the book of Esther, His fingerprints are all over it. To think that a Persian king, with a rebellious wife would save a tiny nation from a powerful and favored statesman by a stiff necked man and his orphaned cousin is a bit ludicrous, but such is the wisdom of God.

At no time in the narrative is it obvious that Ahasuerus was called to provide protection for the Jews, or that the king was destined to become a protector of God’s people. The danger the Jewish nation faced was far greater, more powerful and for most of the book, hidden from those who would be impacted by Haman’s plans.

Though Ahasuerus became a savior for the Jewish nation, the similarity with Jesus somewhat ends there. Yes, the king of Persia saved the nation, but it appears it was due to manipulation by Queen Esther, and her cousin Mordecai, and not a focused intent by the king to do justice!

Nowhere can we find any place in the gospels that Jesus was manipulated, nor did He become a Savior for the Jewish people out of ignorance. He understood of the dangers of the situation the Jewish people were under, and He had a solution that only He could provide.

Ahasuerus eventually hung Haman, the enemy of the Jews, on a stake, a precursor the the cross. Haman, the enemy of the Jews, died for his own sins. Amazingly, the King provided rights to the Jewish people to fend off any resistance from the Persian populace.

Esther 8:11 …the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force ….

The king allowed the Jews to defend themselves against his own people, his own Persian populace!

Jesus eventually hung on a cross as the greatest friend the Jewish people could have hoped for. Though they saw Jesus as an enemy, He died for their sins, and out of this unjust suffering, provided the right to become the sons of God, able to stand against any resistance of the true enemy of their souls.

Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Yes, Jesus is the Savior of the Jews but of course His salvific effects spread far and wide, even to our lives beyond the border of Israel. He is the Savior of the Jews, but He is also the Savior of the world.

John 4:42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Trust Him.

He is the King of Kings, over and above any Persian monarch that may have been manipulated to be a deliverer. He is so much more!

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.

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Names of God – FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST – 140

2024-12-30

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.

140

FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

Romans 15:6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I have five children. I speak specifically to the fathers out there that may read this post.

As you have watched your children grow, become independent, take on challenges and mimic your character (to a point) I ask you to recall your heart experience as your child grew. I have seen my children take on challenges that quite literally scare me, that challenge my trust, that bring fear to my heart, fear that they may not succeed, that they may be hurt, or that I might loose them.

As fathers we have connections with each child that is unique, that no one can enter into other that the two of us. Shared experiences, memories, decisions and outcomes all are specific to my self and my child. No one else can understand the connection, nor should they try.

Some experiences are full of joy, full of triumph, full of surprise. Some are full of pain, and suffering and loss. Each experience is solely mine and my child to own. Each experience, as I remember them, even the difficult times, brings a smile to my face, for I know my children, and their hearts through these experiences.

Translate that to the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I often think of our Father in heaven as somewhat passive, somewhat out of the picture as we read of the Lord Jesus’ experience on this earth, of His frustrations with the disciples, of His patience with the Jewish religious leadership, of His willing submission to those He created, of His prayers in the garden, of His humiliation and suffering, of His being nailed to the cross and His eventual death.

We must remember two things in my mind. The Father was with Him in all these trials. In every decision, the Father was where the buck stopped, He was responsible for the trials Jesus went through to complete our salvation. He and His Son experienced times we are not able to comprehend, we will never understand, and that are solely the Father’s and the Son’s.

I understand I am translating a human experience into the Divine, and with that I admit many of the parallels may be weak, inconsistent or somewhat incorrect. Yet as the Lord Jesus taught us from the simplest of our own experiences in His parables, applying our earthly familiarity to heavenly truths, I offer this thought for my reader to consider.

The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ was with Jesus in each of His trials and victories, and finally as the Son rose from the grave, the Father alone understood the full impact and repercussions of this mighty act.

His smile must have been massive!

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.

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Names of God – FATHER OF SPIRITS – 139

2024-12-27

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.

139

FATHER OF SPIRITS

Hebrews 12:9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?

Our next five names of God will include the term “Father”. It seems appropriate that our first verse refers to earthly fathers as a comparison, and brings to mind my own earthly father.

He was a man I remember faintly, for he was taken from us when I was very young. I do have a few faint memories of him, and of my interactions with him. He was the authority in my home, the father figure that was larger than life, that would work long days to provide for the family. In my mind, he was perfect.

One summer day, when I was home from school, my momma found I had done something wrong and told me to “wait till your father get’s home”.

I spent the rest of that day, holed up in my bedroom, worrying about what my father was going to do to me, how he would deal with me. Hours and hours of waiting, until later that night, when he got home, and as he sat in his lazy boy chair with his feet in the air, he called me to his presence.

I told him of my error, and understood I had done bad. He looked at me and said, “Don’t do it again”.

That was it. I spent what seemed like forever in my mind waiting for the hammer to fall, but when I was in front of him, he showed mercy.

This was a microcosm of what I would later start to understand of the mercy of God.

Did he understand the trial, the self cleansing, the regret I had been through. Highly doubtful – he was probably just tired and dealt with me quickly so he could have a few minutes of rest.

Did he require justice to be enacted to provide forgiveness to me? No – his decision was based most likely on the long day he had and the insignificance of the error in his mind.

My story has many inaccuracies of forgiveness that the Father of Spirits provides, but I tell it to speak of the respect I had for my father. The very mention of his name when it came to correction in the home was enough to make a 6 year old boy quiver in his boots!

He was taken from me shortly after this experience, but my thoughts of my earthly father circle around the idea of respect and of mercy.

The apostle is writing with the very same concern, but to be translated to the Greater Father, the Father of Spirits, the One who is over all of creation. He does not tire, nor consider our actions insignificant. He is ever watching over us as a loving Father.

Should we not be subject to Him? He is worthy, and the benefit of life will be granted to us in our subjection to Him!

He is good, and He is good all the time!

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.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Ahasuerus – 02

2024-12-24

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

AHASUERUS

OBEDIENT WIFE

Esther 2:17 the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

Matthew 21:43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.

As we learned in our previous post, Ahasuerus put away his rebellious wife Vashti. Her rebellion was dealt with swiftly and in front of all the kingdom. Vashti was provided no opportunities to humble herself, ask forgiveness or submit. It was over for her!

The wife of Jehovah was dealt with differently. In the gentle and caring fashion of the Father, Israel was provided many offers to return to their marriage with God.

Hosea 14:1 Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.

Yet she was not to be convinced. Though provided opportunities to repent, she did not.

Ahasuerus would spend months looking for his new wife, a wife that would exhibit humility and honor his name. When he found Esther, she won grace and favor from the King. His love was showered on her and the king found the bride of his hopes.

For Israel, the time came for the Messiah. As he appeared, the last offer of return was given to the nation. Jesus the Son was sent, and though the nation rejected the servants (prophets), surely they would listen to the Son.

Sad to say the nation rejected their Savior, but in the wisdom of God, He provided a way for all those who were of the physical nation to join the spiritual nation of Israel, otherwise known as the church. A church that is powered by the Spirit of God to enable those who follow after the King to be an obedient people, an obedient wife the the King.

1 Peter 2:9 ESV – But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Even in the darkest of times, when it appears all is lost and that any privilege granted by being in the nation was to be ripped away, the Lord Himself provides the opportunity and the power to be the obedient wife.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

Ahasuerus found his obedient wife. Jesus has found His obedient wife.

Let us follow after our blessed Master, submit to His will and seek to obey in every request and command He issues to us.

May His name be lifted up in our lives!

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.

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Names of God – FAITHFULNESS – 138

2024-12-23

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.

138

FAITHFULNESS

Isaiah 11:5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

Back in Names of God – FAITHFUL – 129, we considered Faithful as a name of God and how it relates to His nature.

In this passage the emphasis is on consistency. Of the proven acts of God that indicate the outworking of the nature of God, of His faithful nature.

It is one thing to know someone who is completely faithful in his core being, in his nature, it is another thing to experience the on going and consistent outworking of that nature upon your own experience.

This continual trustworthiness of God in day to day promise keeping is what is being addressed in this passage.

For His faithfulness to be described as the belt of His loins speaks of the items that protects His honor, that upholds the respect due to Him. Both righteousness and faithfulness are compared to as a belt, and therefore there is a strong link with these two characteristics of God’s nature.

He works out His will faithfully, in righteousness. All of His nature is in harmony within His being as He works out His will. He is not in inner turmoil over His decisions, nor does He reconsider His will, outside of His own nature.

As I try to explain my thoughts, I ask my reader to consider how I understand the righteousness of God. I would be remiss to imply that God is merely a robot complying with His nature, for though He is in harmony regarding His will, He is suffering from the fallout. A broken heart, a crucified Son, a rejecting creation, and all the unnecessary self inflicted pain His people experience.

No, but His belt is faithfulness. God is Faithfulness.

God is faithful to the New Covenant and to His Son, His faithfulness overflowing to those who have willingly joined into the covenant.

For He is Faithfulness.

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.

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Names of God – FAITHFUL GOD – 137

2024-12-20

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.

137

FAITHFUL GOD

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

It is appropriate that our last name of God would end with this name. He is our Faithful God.

Moses is speaking to the Israelites, just prior to entering the promised land, and he describes our Faithful God in two way, depending on our actions.

Verse 9 speaks of our Faithful God keeping “covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments”

First off, note the duration of His faithfulness. To a thousand generations! Is Moses speaking of the faithfulness of God extending past the life of the one who loved Him and kept his commandments”? What does that mean? Could I claim this as a promise for my own life? Have I loved God properly and kept His commandments? Sadly no, and if you will be honest with yourself, you may be saying the same. Yet this verse, this promise remains for us to understand. Is there one out there, somewhere, who has loved God and kept His commandments?

Funny you should ask, for there is One who has perfectly loved God, and singlehandedly, in the midst of much resistance, temptation, contradiction and suffering, obeyed God’s commandments perfectly, fully and without hesitation. He chased after the will of God to His own death!

Our Faithful God has kept this promise, for the promise of keeping covenant and steadfast love with the One who loves God, has been realized in the Suffering Messiah. Because of His faithfulness to God’s commandments, He is in the midst of seeing a thousand generations, or in other words all of creation, being brought into a steadfast love and covenant based on the Messiah’s love of God and His faithful keeping of God’s will.

He is our Faithful God, but as mentioned previously, Moses also describes our God’s faithfulness in relation to those who hate Him.

Verse 10 speaks of our Faithful God repaying “to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face”

God’s faithfulness is expressed in retribution, punishment and destruction, in strict faithfulness to each who hates Him. They will be destroyed. They will be repaid to His face! What a horrible truth Moses was teaching the Israelites, but truth cannot be varnished over simply because it is difficult or unpalatable.

Whatever this destruction encompasses, it is not to be sought after. Love the Lord, and enter into the “thousand generations” that are of the Lord’s family. Enjoy the goodness of God and His faithfulness to those who follow after Jesus.

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.

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Category: Jesus the Messiah

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