Typology – Page 14 – Considering the Bible

Names of God – APOSTLE – 36

2024-01-01

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.

36

APOSTLE

Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,

When I first read Hebrews, many many years ago, I was somewhat shocked to hear of Jesus as an apostle. Men were apostles, He is the the Lord.

But as I read the Word and tried to grasp the message, I found that He loves to identify with His people. He loved to be called the Son of Man, and there are many other names we will come across that at first blush may seem to degrade the crucified One.

That is until I began to understand the humility of the Son of God, the exercise of “coming down” to our level, to be with us in our experience on this rock. He willingly stepped down to be with us, and not only to be with us, but to suffer under us.

For Him to be considered the apostle of our confession, whether you may consider it demeaning or profound, is a statement speaking of His mission of being sent to us. Sent from God the Father. Sent to those who reject Him. Sent through a process that would bind Him to a body for eternity.

He was sent to us, not only carrying a message of redemption, love, forgiveness and righteousness, as His apostles did for Him, but He was not just the message sent to lost sinners, but the subject of the message, the topic of the message, the focus of the message.

Sent to us, leaving behind His glories, and taking up a life of poverty.

As we all may know, an apostle is a “Sent One”, and as such Jesus is the epitomy of One sent, for He “travelled” the farthest, abandoned the greatest position, stepped down the deepest and delivered Himself, and not simply a message of good news for all men.

May His name be praised as our Apostle!

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 – ANOTHER PRIEST – 35

2023-12-29

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. At this point in our study, we will begin with “A God Merciful and Gracious”, the twenty-third Name of God on my list. 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.

35

ANOTHER PRIEST

Heb 7:15-16 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek,
who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.

Our last description, by those rejecting the call of God on their lives spoke of another King, a King that was a rightful king, a different type of King, ruling over not only His own specific Kingdom (sometimes called the church) but also claimed authority over all of creation, over all other kings.

He is “another” King, One who was not of the same nature, form, class, or kind. He is different than what He was being compared to.

The author of Hebrews uses the very same term here, speaking of another priest, a different Priest. Our Priest did not come from the Aaronic physical lineage. No no no. This is not the Priest we have come to know.

Our Priest has been appointed High Priest, not through a blood line, but by shedding blood and being raised from the grave, as stated in Hebrews 5:5.

Hebrews 5:5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”;

No other priest was able to lay claim to this fact, and the path Jesus took to be appointed to this office was by being the sacrifice along with the One bringing the sacrifice. He is different, and as the Book of Hebrews clearly teaches in every comparison of Jesus with the Jewish culture, He is Better!

How much better is this High Priest who lays His life down in order to represent us before the Father, to plead for us before the Father and to provide a new life for us to enter into.

Thankyou for being a different kind of Priest, a High Priest who is not of the same ilk that got us nowhere, but that you have experienced our existence (Heb 4:15), provided an eternal sacrifice (Heb 9:25), and provided us all things necessary for living properly before our God.

Praise your Name in all our doings this day

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 – Abel 3

2023-12-26

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

ABEL

Bloody Death

Genesis 4:8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

Hebrews 12:24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

No where in the Word is the death of Abel described as being bloody, other than a reference to the blood of Abel in Hebrews. To think of Cain killing Abel, with the associated blood on his hands, brings a bit of a clearer picture somewhat to my thinking. And to extrapolate a bit further, as killings that are associated with emotional motivations such as rage or anger, the victim is usually struck multiple times, with the perpetrator somewhat loosing his control. I could imagine quite a large amount of blood was shed in the killing of Abel.

But to speak of the quantity of blood that was shed is not strictly the topic I want to draw your attention to, but that the mention of blood as being an indicator of a type of death.

A rage filled hatred that results in a bloody death.

Abel experienced it – at least for the first strike. Jesus experienced it for forty lashes, and for hours on the cruel cross. Both men shed blood in their death, but Jesus’ blood was shed, not simply as a result of a jealous rage, but to forgive those who commit such crimes.

For those who hung Him on the cross, for Cain, for me, for you. He shed His blood to cover our sins. May we praise His name today.

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 – ANOTHER KING – 34

2023-12-25

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.

34

ANOTHER KING

Act 17:7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”

This description of our God came off the lips of those who refused the gospel.

Paul and Silas were preaching the gospel and setting up churches in cities they came to, turning “the world upside down”. Those against the life of God actually defined the message very accurately, for they described it as a message introducing conflict of authority and upsetting the status quo.

For the message to bring about such a clear definition by those who hated it, speaks volumes to the clarity of Paul and Silas, and of the effect of the message on those who heard it. Jesus claim of Kingship was presented to those Paul and Silas met, and decisions had to be made, commitments were being lived out and allegiances were being transferred.

Two kingdoms were on the scene, and we all know this situation cannot exist. One of the Kingdoms must dominate at the expense of the other.

It is interesting with this thought that Luke uses the greek term ἕτερος héteros, het’-er-os when he describes Jesus as “another” King. This term is also used in Galatians 1:6, describing another gospel. It is used to describe a second “thing” as one not of the same nature, form, class, kind; different.

The gospel the Galatians were turning from was a gospel that was of a different form, a different message, of a different nature.

The Kingship that Paul and Silas were introducing into the Roman empire was of a different kind also. It was not simply a kingdom that was similar to the current Roman empire, driven by political desire and exercising an unsatiable appetite for power, willing and able to kill to maintain it.

The Kingship of Jesus was and is different, for it is a kingdom that is established on service to others and not dominance over others, of giving up rights for the sake of love, and of dying for others instead of killing.

Yes He is another King, and for being so different, we should be most thankful, praise Him for His reign, and seek to follow after Him, being in a Kingdom that is ruled by love and forgiveness.

May His name be praised!

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 – ANOINTED – 33

2023-12-22

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.

33

ANOINTED

Psalm 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,

To be anointed. To be anointed is to have oil smeared or rubbed oil on the person being anointed.

It has many connotations nowadays, but in the Old Testament, to be anointed was to be chosen, to be set apart for a special task or office, even to be given protection.

I understand one of the earlier uses of anointing, in a practical sense, was by the shepherds as they sought to protect their sheep from gnats and lice. By rubbing oil on the sheep, the parasites would not be able to reside on the sheep and therefore be protected by the oil.

Eventually for one to be chosen by God, such as a priest or king, a ceremony would be held, where the one in question would have oil rubbed on them to signify a special call on their life.

Therefore, the Old Testament often refers to kings or priests as anointed one, and with that designation, a separation also was associated with it. A called one, that is an anointed Aaronic priest was not to take on a task associated with a king, and the anointed king was not to take on a task associated with an Aaronic priest. Two independent offices of anointing for men.

Prior to the law, one man appeared on the scene that was both king and Priest. His name was Melchizedek, and so great was this man that even Abraham bowed to Him. Many hundreds of years later, an itinerant preacher showed up on the scene, who was anointed, not with oil, but with the Spirit of God, and was not only the greatest prophet to walk on earth, but was the High Priest of God, and the true King of all. All three offices came together in Jesus Christ, and all three offices were associated with an anointing.

He is the Anointed One, for the Greek term Christ, or Messiah is actually the same term as Anointed.

He was and is the Christ, the Anointed One, who is our Prophet, Priest and King.

It is good to remember that just prior to His death, He experienced an anointing by a no-named woman. An anointing for His death, for another office that our Messiah was to fulfil was that of a sacrifice for lost sinners.

With that last anointing He went to the cross, and as typical of our God, He laid the protection down willingly in order to become the full expression of Prophet, Priest and King for men and women to join, to follow and to adore.

He is the Anointed!

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 – Abel 2

2023-12-19

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

ABEL

A Better Sacrifice

Genesis 4:4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,

Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

Abel offered a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. The sacrifice Abel offered was of a living animal, and not from the harvest of a field. The LORD has regard to the offering Abel provided. Not due to the type of sacrifice, that is, not simply due to it being of an animal, but that is was “by faith”.

Faith is the key element that made Abel’s offering acceptable. As a picture of Christ, Abel’s faith is quite revealing. Faith, and not the sacrifice itself was the key element that elevated Abel in God’s sight. How much more the faith of the Son of God in obeying the will of God, laying down His life, suffering the whipping and scourging, carrying the cross to a hill of shame, and finally hanging exposed for all to see, being associated with criminals and thugs.

God’s message did not get muddled or blurred in Jesus understanding. He knew the message and against all His internal desires, against any self preserving influences He experienced, He refrained from finding an escape route and obeyed the Father. The faith of the Son of God, in performing His work on the cross shines when we consider it in hindsight.

No one during that period of disillusionment and disappointment understood the necessity of the torture and murder of this itinerant preacher, except for One person, and it was His trust in understanding His Father’s voice that carried Him through the cross and out of the grave.

Abel exercised faith in bringing his sacrifice. Jesus exercised faith by becoming the Sacrifice. Jesus great faith was exercised greatly. Consider looking back at the situation. No one understood the plan, and all around Jesus, distractions and deceptions were swirling about. But Jesus heard His Father and He followed through. He followed through, despite all the possible arguments, all the logical reasonings, all the self saving thoughts that He may have had to reject.

He had the great faith.

May we have some faith to follow. And Lord, have mercy on those of us as we stumble, for we love you, but we are but flesh!

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 – ANGEL OF THE LORD – 32

2023-12-18

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. At this point in our study, we will begin with “A God Merciful and Gracious”, the twenty-third Name of God on my list. 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.

32

ANGEL OF THE LORD

Gen. 22:11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, Here I am.”

The Angel of the LORD. This Angel is the first angel that I came across in the Old Testament, that I thought might be special, set apart from the others, different.

Only later did I come to understand that others thought so also, and that most (if not all) Bible scholars consider this reference to be associated with Jesus, in what they call a Theophany, or a Christophany. This is the technical term of describing this appearance as being a visitation from God, and not simply from a servant, a flaming minister sent from God.

The Angel of the Lord shows up in unexpected circumstances, but our verse above is instructive in that He arrived at the point where Abraham was going to slay his own son in obedience to God’s message.

Consider that the Angel of the LORD is a pre-Christian appearance of Jesus, and that He
stopped the slaying of Abraham’s son. No one would arrive to stop the slaying of the Son of Man. Yet the Son of Man stopped the slaying of Abraham’s son.

He is a God who treats us better than we deserve, and that is willing to take our punishment, our trials, our troubles, and any that we must go through, we can be assured He is with us, for He promised that He would be with us to the end of the age.

Praise 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 – ANGEL OF GOD – 30

2023-12-15

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.

30

ANGEL OF GOD

Judges 13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name,

This is the first of four names within our list that includes the term “angel”, with the most popular, or should I say the most familiar being the Angel of the Lord. For this post we will consider the Angel of God.

For the Name of God we are considering today, some may reject this suggestion as referring to Jesus, since it implies He is simply a messenger of God and not God Himself. In my mind, that strikes at the very heart of the Godhead, for the very nature of the Godhead, as we see in the life of Christ, is to serve.

Some also may reject this name for Jesus, yet would accept “the Angel of the LORD” as designating the Son. This distinction seems arbitrary and simply incorrect, for the Angel of God in this passage is described as the Angel of the Lord just three verses earlier. The Angel of God is the Angel of the LORD. The difference in the name is simply that Manoah’s wife described Jesus as the Angel of God to her husband, when recounting the Angel’s visit.

The background to this passage is the birth of Samson, a very special man – a man chosen from birth to be a Nazarite, a man that would save Israel from the hand of the Philistines. I am tempted to discuss Samson, for certain aspects of his life reflect the Son of Man, but I will save that for the Jesus in the Old Testament series.

Jesus, as the Angel of God, took on the appearance of an angel in order to bring specific messages to certain people in the Old Testament. Consider the explosion of information provided for us as the Son of Man delivered His message to the entire world, to all generations, throughout time for all to hear. His designation of Angel of God symbolized a microcosm of what was in store for those of us in the future!

Note also that His appearance was as an angel, yet as we focus on the Old Testament in these Names, we need to remember that He did not take on the appearance of a man when He came to rescue us, to deliver us from ourselves and our sin, but that He took on the likeness of men, and was found in the form of a human.

He appeared as the Angel of God, but He became the Son of Man.

He is truly the Servant of God we do not deserve, that we cannot comprehend, that we thank to little, and that we will forever praise.

Praise the Name 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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Jesus in the Old Testament – Abel 1

2023-12-12

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

ABEL

A Shepherd

Genesis 4:4
and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,

John 10:11
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Abel was a shepherd. Jesus was a carpenter. But in reality, Jesus was a Shepherd, a good Shepherd, not of those four legged wooly critters, but of a more stubborn and cantankerous type of “sheep”.

Yes, both were shepherds, but Jesus was the Shepherd of all Shepherds, and is the One who not only was murdered due to anger and envy, but His mission was to lay His life down. As far as I can imagine, Abel did not have an inkling of the darkness in Cains heart when they went out to the field. Abel never saw it coming!

Jesus came to die. It was His end goal, His target to hit, the will of God for Him. For Abel, his death was a consequence of living a God honoring life, of seeking to do good. He was the first martyr, and his end would be repeated by many others before the good Shepherd would experience the same vitriol of hatred. But for all the martyrs that have come and gone, the good Shepherd has joined in the same suffering, and provided us a salvation from the enemy of our souls, the one who desires to murder our souls!

Similarities between Abel and Jesus exist, and they are awesome to find as we venture through the Old Book, as we consider not only the similarities, but also the differences.

Can you think of any other similarities?

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 – ANGEL OF HIS PRESENCE – 31

2023-12-11

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.

31

ANGEL OF HIS PRESENCE

Isaiah 63:9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

This passage is found in a chapter of Isaiah that recounts the Lord’s Day of Vengeance, and of the Lord’s mercy. After describing the vengeance of the Lord, of God trodding the winepress alone, of trampling them in His wrath, and of their blood staining His garments, Isaiah reminds the audience of the Lord’s mercy, of the steadfast love of the LORD.

This steadfast love of the LORD is described in our verse as a love that took action, joining those who deserved suffering in the suffering. This love of God took part in the affliction. He was afflicted with them in all their affliction.

Does this refer to the cross alone, or to the ever-present pain the Godhead experiences due to our consistent and stubborn rejection of His Kingship over us? This I cannot answer and may not be of any practical significance to us, for if we take anything away form this short consideration, we should realize that our God is a suffering God, and that He is present in our suffering.

But this is not the only activity Isaiah brings to our attention, for God is not simply suffering with us, but that in the suffering, His presence saves them, redeems them, lifts them up and carries them.

He is with us, in our suffering, providing deliverance, redeeming those who are “irredeemable”.

He is good, and He is good all the time. May the Name of the Lord be praised.

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 – ANCIENT OF DAYS – 29

2023-12-08

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.

29

ANCIENT OF DAYS

Daniel 7:9 “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire.

Who is this “Ancient of Days”?

We find our passage in Daniel as he is in the midst of describing his vision of the four beasts, coming up out of the sea. Four beasts, with descriptions given that mix animals with birds, or animals with men. Each of these beasts had characteristics that were frightening, even as you consider the first one, which was given the “mind of a man”. Consider the mind of a man, without the conscience or a soul connection with God. Truly terrifying if true!

Each of the four beasts exhibited aspects that instilled fear, power and dominion over others!

Then Daniels attention is grabbed by some commotion out of his line of sight.
The true reigning monarch shows up.

He, the Ancient of Days, took His seat, His throne, and His appearance was that of purity, of a fiery judgement or cleansing power, with millions at His feet, serving Him. The formerly described beast that was so mighty, was simply killed, and that not of any active judgement from the Ancient of Days, but by His sheer presence, and the record of the books.

He was the Supreme Ruler, the Ultimate King over all, until…

Until the son of man was presented before the Ancient of Days.

At that point, in my understanding, at the point of the Lord’s ascension, the son of man was …

given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

The Ancient of Days, the Father of Glory gave to the Son the Kingdom. A Kingdom that will never end, and that shall not be destroyed. In the end, as Paul tries to explain, (or at least I try to understand), the Kingdom will be brought to the Father.

1 Corinthians 15:24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.

Somehow, in some manner beyond my comprehension, the Kingdom will transfer to the Father, with God becoming all in all.

1 Corinthians 15:28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

All will be subject to the Son and to the Father. Harmony will be reestablished in creation, and we shall be happily and wonderfully subject to the true King.

May the Ancient of Days be honored in our lives 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 – AMEN – 28

2023-12-04

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.

28

AMEN

Rev. 3:14 And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

Our God is named Amen. But other than our using this word at the end of a prayer, do we understand what it means? Prior to doing any further reading, take a second and consider what you think “Amen” means.

Take a look at the Hebrew word translated as amen in the Old Testament – אָמֵן ʼâmên, aw-mane. Ok now take a look at the Greek word translated as amen in the New Testament – ἀμήν, Hebrew אָמֵן.

See any similarity?

You should since the Greek word is the Hebrew word. The similarity is that the Hebrew word is the Greek word, it did not go through a transformation to be included in the Greek vocabulary.

Take a second look at the Greek term – ἀμήν. By replacing the Greek letters with the English equivalent, we get amen. The word refuses to change or to be morphed by the sands off time. And that is somewhat typical of the word meaning itself, for it has a root meaning of firmness, faithfulness.

To be the amen, is to be the faithful one, the one who is firm, unshakable, true and trustworthy.

The Laodiceans were to understand that God’s name, the name of Jesus Christ, is trustworthy, firm, and faithful. The phrase immediately after our Name of God being considered, is reiterates the very same thought.

He is the Faithful, Firm and Trustworthy God, who is the faithful and true witness.

Can we trust Him?

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 – ALTOGETHER DESIRABLE – 27

2023-12-01

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.

27

ALTOGETHER DESIRABLE

Song of Songs 5:16 His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

This passage is found in the Song of Songs, otherwise known as the Song of Solomon. It is an erotic poem between a young woman and a man, likely Solomon. As a literal poem it speaks of the physical love experienced between and man and a woman, and in parts, becomes very explicit.

Yet, as a believer, if we consider the Word to always represent Christ, to picture Him, to foreshadow His person or mission, it is not difficult to see this forgotten book as a wonderful expression of the intimate love God desires with His people.

This should not shock my reader, for Israel was considered the wife of Yahweh, and we are the Bride of Christ. Our lives are but a shadow of the reality, and the relation a man has with his wife includes not only a friendship that surpasses any earthly competitor (or at least it should) but a sharing of our bodies with each other. This is a tremendous blessing from God and only because of the warped society we live in do we shy away from this truth.

After her beloved had attempted to find her, and yet missed meeting with her, she lamented His disappearance. Her heartbreak in not being with Him pored out in a description of His person.

Take a few seconds and consider this love struck ladies description of the only one she wanted.

Song of Songs 5:11-15
His head is the finest gold; his locks are wavy, black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves beside streams of water, bathed in milk, sitting beside a full pool.
His cheeks are like beds of spices, mounds of sweet-smelling herbs. His lips are lilies, dripping liquid myrrh.
His arms are rods of gold, set with jewels. His body is polished ivory, bedecked with sapphires.
His legs are alabaster columns, set on bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars.

After this description of her lover, she speaks the verse we are considering today.

He is altogether desirable.

She found nothing in this man undesirable, and the combination of all his attributes only increased the total effect He has on her. She was awestruck, and as she expresses earlier on, she is sick with love. He consumed her attention so she saw no one else.

Jesus is altogether desirable, if we have eyes to see!

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 – Adam 18

2023-11-28

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

ADAM

His Death Provided Her Salvation

Genesis 3:6
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Hebrews 2:14
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

Adam joined his wife in death, but was not the one to deliver her. In his decision to join her, he sacrificed his life for her, as did Jesus for us.

Although it is hypothetical, consider the ramifications for Eve if Adam had not joined her in this decision. If he had not joined her in death – she would have had no hope of any offspring and therefore no deliverer to rescue her. No – in joining her in death he suffered for his decision. He, as we all are, was impotent to save himself, little lone his wife. Yet even in this act of joining her in death, it reflects the Lord’s heart for His bride, in that He suffered through death to be the Deliverer, the Savior of all.

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 – ALPHA AND OMEGA – 26

2023-11-27

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.

26

ALPHA AND OMEGA

Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Recently we were considering this verse regarding the description of Jesus as the “Almighty, the One who has authority over heaven and earth.

In this description of God, John is speaking of the Lord God’s message, for both of alpha and omega are letters of the Greek alphabet, the beginning and end letters of the Greek alphabet.

When we think of the alphabet, we are considering the very building blocks of all written communication. To reveal that He is the Alpha and Omega is to speak of Him as the foundation of God’s written communication for us.

John speaks of Jesus as the Logos in an earlier writing. Jesus is the Word, the message that we need to hear, the full communication of God to man.

God’s full message in living form!

Matthew 17:4,5
And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” (emphasis mine)

Jesus. Listen to Him.

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 – ALMIGHTY – 25

2023-11-24

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.

25

ALMIGHTY

Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

We have earlier considered the Old Testament reference to “Almighty” in our fifth post in this series, as in Names of God – EL SHADDAI (ALMIGHTY GOD) – 5. The passage we considered was in the early narrative found in Genesis 17, when God spoke to Abraham at 99 years old!

This Greek name bears much of the same message, yet I sense an expansion of the thought.

Let me try to explain.

The term for almighty in the Greek is παντοκράτωρ pantokrátōr, made up of πᾶς pâs, referring to each, all, any or everything and κράτος krátos, referring to dominion, power and strength. Now at first glance, you may ask what is the difference in this description beyond that in the earlier post, when Abraham was spoken to. And granted there may not be much, for I do not want to go beyond what the Word is trying to communicate to us.

Yet when Abraham was spoken to, it was in relation to his own life, his progeny, his offspring. It was in relation to a single individual, a man of faith, following God to the best of His knowledge.

In our current study, this message is given to multitudes of believers, and speaks of national, even global dominion as the One who was crucified has been granted all authority on earth and heaven.

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Although I cannot speak for how Abraham understood the self revelation of God in relation to being almighty, we New Covenant believers have no reason to limit the extent of His control of the universe. As John records, multitudes are now expressing the truth of His reign over all!

Revelation 19:6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

All things are within His sight and as the King, He has control over all things. He decides to allow or to redirect, to permit or to restrict, to let happen or to force change.

He is the Sovereign King and as the King, He is the Almighty. Can we rest in that truth?

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 – Adam 17

2023-11-21

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

ADAM

DEATH IN A GARDEN

Genesis 3:23
therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.

John 19
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

When I speak of death in the garden, I am not referring to the act of dying in a garden, for we know that Jesus did not die in a garden, but on a rugged hill named Calvary, the place of the skull. Not a picture of life and abundance, but of death and suffering.

Yes, John says there was a garden “in the place where He was crucified”. My understanding is that the garden was close by and could be generally considered to be “in the place” where He was crucified. The garden would be His final resting place, until He ruined the plans some had.

For Adam, his rebellion was in a garden, and the judgement of God came down upon Adam in the garden, for the Lord sent him out of the garden to work in a broken world. Jesus entered the broken world, being judged and condemned by sinners, only to enter death willingly through His obedience in a garden. His prayer to the Father in the garden set Him on a path of suffering and death that Adam had once experienced in kind. You see, Adam lost his unending fellowship with God, which is all he had known, and his fall into sin must surely have been horrific!

Jesus in all of eternity past, had never experienced any loss of fellowship with the Father ever. After the garden, Jesus entered into a death march.

Adam in a garden due to rebellion resulted in rejection from a garden into judgement and death.

Jesus in a garden, due to obedience, resulted in a judgement and death on a cross and into a tomb, representing death, in a garden.

The message of this word picture is that a garden was originally a place of life for Adam. Though he lost that life, a new (and better) life has been restored to us by Jesus, for in the garden, Jesus brought life and immortality to all of creation.

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 – ADVOCATE – 24

2023-11-20

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.

24

ADVOCATE

1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

An advocate is an old term we don’t use often in our society, as we commonly think of one who argues in our favor as a defense attorney, a lawyer that we pay to defend us in front of a judge. The lawyer performs his duties being motivated by a paycheck at the end of the week, as one who stands before a condemning judge, physically apart from us, pleading before the judge, seeking to the judge of our innocence, sometimes by revealing a partial truth, or by exposing only some of the facts. Of course, I may be a bit jaded towards lawyers, for I am sure there are some who seek to do right, speak the truth and desire justice to be performed.

Our Advocate in heaven is quite different.

He is the truth, and will not shy away from expressing the “guilt” of our actions, for John notes that “if anyone sins”. Jesus is our advocate, and John reminds us that He is righteous, not us!

He is in relation with us, and not simply seeking a paycheck. He is not motivated by “filthy lucre”, as the old KJV sometimes refers to money.

He is beside us, associating with one of God’s children that has sinned, standing beside me, representing me as the Righteous One before the Father.

No – let’s reread that passage once more – the passage says we have an advocate with the Father. Our advocate in not merely standing in front of the judge, representing his client, but is an advocate with the Father. Am I pressing this too much to think that the personnel relationship Jesus has with the Father, that this relationship also bears weight in our representation before the Father?

Not only has He died for our sins, and out of that tremendous gift of grace towards us, have the right to defend us before a judge, but on top of that advantage, Our Advocate is with the Father.

One final thought to consider in this passage is that John does not refer to our Father as a judge in this passage. Our advocate is with His Father.

Truly, I am sure that as we consider the descriptions of the Lord, we will find more than we expect, as we slow down and consider the ramifications of the passages we sometimes gloss over.

Our Advocate is much more that a legal representative before a judge due to our sin.

So much more!

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 – A GOD MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS – 23

2023-11-17

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. At this point in our study, we will begin with “A God Merciful and Gracious”, the twenty-third Name of God on my list. 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.

23

A GOD MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS

Psalm 86:15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

What a good way to start out with on our third phase in the Names of God series. Merciful and Gracious. As I new believer in the church, I was told that grace is getting what you don’t deserve, and mercy is not getting what I deserve.

Does that make sense?

Yet, this merciful term has a bit more to it that just not getting what we deserve, as if that didn’t provide enough to be blessed by. This word “merciful” also includes the concept of compassion and somewhat surprised me when I think of merciful. Remember, merciful, in my mind, speaks of the refrain of some action or judgement upon a person that deserves it. To add the idea of compassion brings to mind the motivation behind the my concept of mercy.

When I consider the mercy of God, I commonly think only of the actions of the Lord (or better said, the refraining of rightful actions) and not His motivation in refraining from a judgement. Yet our God is a compassionate God, a God whose heart is that of a Father, seeking the best for His children, teaching, guiding, warning and loving His children.

The second term only strengthens this thought, for the psalmist reminds us of the graciousness of our God, a descriptor that blows up for us in the New Covenant. But for God to be understood as gracious is definitely not only a New Testament descriptor, for there are multitudinous passages referring to our God as gracious in the Old Covenant.

Moses, the law giver, did not understand God to be a harsh, dictatorial God, but when Moses met God, after he destroyed the first two tablets of the law, God began His self revelation to Moses, with the very same description we are considering today

Exodus 34:6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

Moses, out of anger in seeing the Israelites sinning, through down the tablets of the law, a picture of us all “breaking the law”. And God reveals Himself as a God merciful and gracious.

Our God is a most surprising God and His name is to be praised

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 – Adam 16

2023-11-14

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

ADAM

HIS DOMINION

Genesis 1
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Matthew 28:
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

In Adam’s creation, God granted him dominion over all created beings, even over “all the earth”. Did Adam do anything to deserve this tremendous act of benevolence? Dang, the only thing he did was to “become”, if you know what I mean. He was completely passive in his own creation, and all of creation previous to his own. He came into this creation with nothing but the love of God shining down on him, and the beauty of creation encircling him.

Within this condition, God provided Adam the kingdom of the earth, for that is what dominion is speaking of, that is Adam was granted the right to rule over the entire creation. This appointment of ruling was granted out of absolutely nothing Adam did. Please understand my point for it may seem I am laboring to make it.

I assume by now you understand though Adam and Jesus were both granted dominion, Jesus far excels the example of Adam, for He did not have a perfect creation to rule over as Adam, but took a broken world, and suffered to redeem it, and out of a sinless life and vicarious death for our sake, was granted all dominion (authority) in heaven and earth.

A picture they say is worth a thousand words, but the picture of the “dominion of Adam” over earth barely scratches the extent of Jesus’ kingdom. And to return to the thought of deserving the kingdom, as we said with Adam, he did nothing to deserve the dominion over God’s creation. Jesus did everything to deserve the dominion He has been granted. And why? Because He is worthy!

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 – EL QANNA (JEALOUS GOD) – 22

2023-11-13

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.

Our next set of names (#4 through #22) are considered His compound names, which typically uses His primary name and attaches a specific descriptor to it. These are the names that originally got me chasing this topic, and now it has developed into a much bigger study than the original intent, but I digress, for I have already mentioned this!

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 was a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

22

EL QANNA (JEALOUS GOD)

Exodus 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

Whenever the concept of jealousy comes up in relation to the LORD, I fear we bring to mind the image of a drunken, insecure man wearing a “wife beater” shirt, ready to blow up at the hint of any disappointment or challenge in a relationship. Granted, this is how much of our experiential jealousy works itself out in our world (minus the shirt thing!) but as I found out in a previous study series (A Jealous God), for our God to be jealous is everything we should ever want.

He is jealous for our sake, not out of an insecurity of his worth, for He is certainly worthy, He is jealous for our sake, not out an emotional dependency He has, for prior to our creation, He was in full harmony within the Godhead. No, this jealousy, if I understand the Word properly, is a burden the Lord has taken upon Himself for our sakes, and not some knee jerk emotional reaction to the actions of others.

In our verse above, the context is the giving of the Ten Commandments, and the name He provides us is in relation the His people worshipping idols. Throughout the history of the Old Testament, for a father to allow idols usually plays out in the son worshipping the idol.

An example may help.

The patience of the Lord in the Old Testament regarding His people’s continual attraction to idols seems outrageous, for even King Manasseh – the king who typifies the idol worshipping king of Israel in my mind, was granted forgiveness, and restoration.

2 Chronicles 33:10-13
The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. Therefore the LORD brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

This amazing repentance of Manasseh and personal restoration from idolatry by God for the king did not stop the degradation of the nation into captivity, for the children of the nation were on a course of self destruction, with each generation hardening against our Jealous God. Eventually, the beneficial aspect of God’s jealousy (that is, the actions of the Lord, intended for the for the people’s sake) became extremely harsh, for the nation who was granted this love continually spurned it.

Even in the Babylonian captivity, our jealous God continued to show His commitment to His people, using the captivity, not as a final judgement on the nation, but as a learning period for His people as a nation. He exercised the discipline the sons required in order for the restoration of the nation, knowing that the very nation would include those who would condemn the Messiah.

Yet out of this horrific exercise of hardened sinners, the jealousy of God was fully manifested, in that even in the rebellion of men, the grace of God provided for our benefit the gift of eternal life, the privilege of the Spirit of God, and the comfort of the Father’s love for the church.

He is good, and out of His jealousy for us, He has provided all good things!

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 – JEHOVAH-RAAH (THE LORD MY SHEPHERD) – 21

2023-11-10

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.

Our next set of names (#4 through #22) are considered His compound names, which typically uses His primary name and attaches a specific descriptor to it. These are the names that originally got me chasing this topic, and now it has developed into a much bigger study than the original intent, but I digress, for I have already mentioned this!

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 was a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

21

JEHOVAH-RAAH (THE LORD MY SHEPHERD)

Psalm 23:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Out of all the Bible, this has to be one of the most recognizable names of our God. The LORD my Shepherd. We know it was revealed to us through David the shepherd king, yet He has always been a shepherd to His people. The idea of a shepherd began with the tending of sheep, of providing for these beasts of the fields. The first martyr was a shepherd, providing a glimpse in the Great Shepherd’s fate.

Genesis 4:2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.

The term is sometimes translated as pasturing a flock, that is to take the flock to a place of sustenance, refreshment or safety. Many other men were famous shepherds. Abraham, Isaac and Israel, along with Moses, Amos and the shepherds near Bethlehem.

To be a shepherd meant to be alone, in the fields, amongst the wild beasts, in the cold of night, or under a blistering sun at high noon. To be a shepherd meant to forsake your will for the sake of some “dumb” animals, animals that were in constant danger, unknowing of any threat and requiring constant care. To be a shepherd meant to have animals as your closest friends, to identify with them, to plan for their survival, to seek their good, to search for the lost one, and to teach the wandering one difficult lessons.

Yes – The LORD is my shepherd, for He has acted like a true Shepherd, in that he has been all alone on the cross, fighting the wild beasts that want my soul, forsaking His will for the Father’s will, in order to seek and save a poor dolt like me. He is a constantly caring God, who seeks to be a friend, has identified with us, seeks our good, and teaches us difficult lessons.

I am thankful for the LORD my Shepherd.

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 – Adam 15

2023-11-07

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

ADAM

IN HIS IMAGE

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Luke 3:38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Both Jesus and Adam were in His image.

Of course Adam’s creation was all encompassing. Everything about Adam at his creation was in the image of God.

At the visit with Mary by the Spirit, Jesus earthly body was also created, and with that creation, the image of God had taken a physical form. Adam kept the image untarnished for a matter of hours, maybe a day. Jesus is the image of God, in all His glory, and has retained that image spotlessly from the very beginning.

Definitely Adam was a refection of the Lord, though the duration was fleeting. But He is the eternal image of God, and knowing that makes all the difference!

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 – JEHOVAH TSIDKENU (THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS) – 20

2023-11-06

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.

Our next set of names (#4 through #22) are considered His compound names, which typically uses His primary name and attaches a specific descriptor to it. These are the names that originally got me chasing this topic, and now it has developed into a much bigger study than the original intent, but I digress, for I have already mentioned this!

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 was a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

20

JEHOVAH TSIDKENU (THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS)

Jeremiah 23:6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’

How New Testamental can a prophet get?

Notice that Jeremiah is not defining the LORD as righteous, though God is. No no no. The name we are looking at today is The Lord our Righteousness. God Himself is our righteousness, and none other. So what is Jeremiah telling us in this name.

When I think of righteousness, I sometimes fall into the thinking of sinlessness. Is that a correct understanding? Possibly. Could there be more to righteousness than just sinlessness? I am not sure but would like to offer my understanding, that hopefully will honor the LORD, in that He is our Righteousness.

In the English language, to be righteous is to act in accord with divine or moral law. It has implications of being virtuous, true, good and decent. All of these characteristics are gained by “keeping the rules”. And that is the rub! What rules? You see, the rules define righteousness acts. If the rules stated I need to skip instead of walk, walking would be considered sinful. (And girls would naturally be more righteous than boys – lol)

Therefore, if there are two sets of “rules” existing in a culture or society, there will be two sets of righteousness, both in conflict with one another. Does that make sense?

Let’s consider this concept another way. Some examples of two righteous ways of life are exhibited in the times of the Messiah. One righteousness was performed via the law of God, or at least the law of God as interpreted by centuries of men analyzing, arguing and reinterpreting someone’s interpretation. The folks that had mastered this righteousness were called the Pharisees.

The other righteousness was exhibited perfectly by a lone preacher that was connected with His Father, with eyes that read the Word with light, understood the heart of God, saw that up was down, light was dark and right was wrong. He persistently understood the Old Testament in ways that shocked the experts, and from that understanding lived a life of sacrifice, not of religion, of denial, not of reputation, of service, not of self.

And these two righteousness clashed. One took the path of violence and envy, the other the path of peace of love.

The LORD our Righteousness speaks of our rejecting one righteousness, and a daily clinging to another righteousness, that is the LORD (a person, not a set of rules) as our righteousness. He is the One who is “the rule”, and by His very character defines what righteousness is, and then came to earth to exhibit that righteousness in front of our eyes.

What does this righteousness look like?

Watch a humble preacher teaching life altering words in simple stories, washing his friends feet, teaching the worst of sinners of the love of God, and then bleeding for His enemies.

His name is Jesus and He is the Lord our Righteousness.

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: Typology

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