Typology – Page 9 – Considering the Bible

Names of God – ETERNAL GOD – 117

2024-10-11

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.

117

ETERNAL GOD

Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.’

Moses spends all of Deuteronomy 33 defining the blessing of God for each tribe of Israel, much like Israel did in Genesis 49 prior to his passing.

His conclusion to this list of blessings is a summary statement of Moses as he closes this section of the Word. He is addressing all of Israel, and not any individual tribe, stating the eternal God is their dwelling place.

Hold up now – God has just delivered this rag tag family of slaves out from Egypt, creating a nation at Sinai, with divine laws and ordinances, defining a religious order, and finally delivering them east of the Jordan, on the cusp on receiving the promised land. He has delivered them to a place they can call their own, a place to dwell, and then Moses speaks of the Eternal God as their dwelling place.

Note that Moses was directing the attention of the tribes to the Eternal God instead of the land, drawing their minds and hearts to the person of God, and not for just a fleeting glance, but directing them to consider God as the Eternal God.

Sure God provided the tiny nation a land to settle in, but Moses wanted to direct them to the true “place” to live. Moses, in describing God as Eternal, does not refer to a place that can be defined by borders, or by size of fields and cities, but by the Eternal God, the God who is defined in relation to time.

As a matter of fact, this term “Eternal” is not the common Hebrew word which I assumed Moses would use. This word is “qedem”, not “olam”, and it speaks of antiquity, of being of an ancient time, from the beginning. Moses, if I understand his message, is directing those entering the land to consider God as the One who has always been, Who has always existed, emphasizing the past existence of God, He who is the uncaused cause, the source of all life, independent from Creation and ruling over all. He speaks of God as the One who has existed from the beginning.

Moses knew God’s people get distracted easily with the gifts of God, and he wanted to direct their attention to the source of all life, not the resources to survive, or to even to prosper.

Do we not also get distracted, confused with shiny trinkets and dreams of grandeur? We need to find out place of dwelling in the Eternal God, and not simply be satisfied with earthly gifts from the Eternal God.

For He alone is the Eternal 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 – Abraham – 12

2024-10-08

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

ABRAHAM

WARRIOR / REDEEMER

Genesis 14:14-16
When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus.
Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.

Titus 2:14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Abram, when he began his pilgrimage to a land God promised him, a nephew tagged along, a nephew by the name of Lot. He tended to be the lesser man, with Abram being the leader, and Lot having an eye for the lesser things in life.

Nevertheless, when four kings met in the valley of Siddim to have it out with five other kings, the battle engulfed Lot and his family. They were taken away along with the spoils of war from their homes and fields.

Abram and his immediate family were beyond the scope of the battle field, and nothing was of any concern until he heard of Lot’s predicament. This would not stand, for Abram was a man who was committed to those who went on pilgrimage with him, and he convinced his allies in the area to a pursuit of his families captors.

In the end, he brought back all the possessions, family kinsmen, the women and the remaining people. A stunning victory.

Jesus, as our redeemer, also entered into a battle with our captor, and in His battle, gave his own life that we might be freed.

Abram was a warrior redeemer for those who loved him.

Jesus was a warrior redeemer for those who hated Him.

He is a much more stellar warrior redeemer, who should be worshipped and loved more every day.

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 – ETERNAL SPIRIT – 116

2024-10-07

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.

116

ETERNAL SPIRIT

Hebrews 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

In our last post on the Names of God, we considered “Eternal Life”. This post will address another name of God involving the term eternal. With that, it may be good to consider what eternal actually means.

It generally has the meaning of everlasting, or of forever. I did a bit of a deep dive (for me) and posted my findings previously on this blog. If you are interested and are willing to consider some of my thinking, check out A Study of Eternal / Everlasting.

Nevertheless, it is the Spirit that is eternal in this verse and our previous passage spoke of the Son as Eternal Life. I am sure you will not be surprised by our next post, and who is described as eternal in that passage.

But I speak without thinking. For the passage before us speaks of the reliance of the Lord upon His equal, the Spirit of God, to be enabled to offer Himself to God.

Jesus had spent entire His life depending on the Father through the Spirit, and when His greatest challenge came, He continued to trust, He continued to rely on the Spirit of God in His death.

What trust! What strength the Spirit supplied, in the midst of such injustice, hatred, suffering, confusion and shame.

He is the Eternal Spirit!

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 – ETERNAL LIFE – 115

2024-10-04

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.

115

ETERNAL LIFE

1 John 1:2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us–

Eternal life is not principally a possession we gain or a condition we enter as we initially trust Christ, but eternal life is the very essence of the Christ.

He is eternal life, and to be found in Him is to be a partaker of eternal life. John tells us that Jesus is eternal life and that eternal life was shown to us while Jesus walked this earth.

I have thought for may years that eternal life speaks of duration of life, and this surely has merit, yet as I walk with Him as feebly as I do, I find that eternal life is a quality of life.

If the concept of our spirit existing forever is true, then eternal life is of no added benefit if the quality of life is not a major consideration. Of course, eternal life speaks of no beginning and no end, and there are some who may claim that humans also had a pre existence, and will exist forever, but I find little evidence of this teaching in the Word.

What I do find evidence of in the Word is the quality of our Savior, the stellar character of His person, the gracious acceptance of those who are against Him, the willingness to bow down to us, bow down ever so far, to meet us in our sorry condition.

As believers, let us consider Who the true eternal life is, that the person of the Christ is eternal life embodied in flesh, the One who gave His life up to manifest eternal life to those who had nothing to give.

He is Eternal 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 – EQUAL WITH GOD – 114

2024-09-30

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.

114

EQUAL WITH GOD

John 5:18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

In John 5:17, Jesus claims for the first time, that God is His own Father. He simply states “My Father is working…

No self respecting Israeli would be audacious enough to claim the eternal and all powerful Creator of all to be His own Father. This was clearly blasphemy in the minds of the learned religious class of Israel, for they had come to a conclusion very early on that Jesus could not be the Messiah.

Of course, if they had no bias against this Rabbi, they may have considered all the prophecies He had fulfilled without His being able to control the circumstances. Prophecies of his birth, of His youth, of His family circumstances and lineage, His miracle working, His unassailable logic in teaching.

God provided ample evidence of His person, and when Jesus simply stated what should have been obvious to unbiased ears, those who had closed their ears and eyes to facts, opened their hearts and mouths to the option of death.

When the Jews stated that He made Himself equal to God, the term equal can be considered in both the quantitative or qualitative sense.

Quantitative as in a math equation, or that two objects have the same number of components, or are equal in weight or number.

Qualitative, as in the quality of two items. This meaning may be closer to the intent, for to be qualitatively equal to God the Father is to claim for Himself all the characteristics of the Most Blessed.

This claim was completely beyond the Jews comprehension, for they were poisoned with a bias, and made assumptions that were completely unfounded. This dangerous attitude was based in a darkened heart that would not recognize the true God, for they imagined Him as a warrior, and not the servant, as One who would kill, and not save, as One who would separate and not join together.

How far off they were from the Living One!

Bias and assumptions about Jesus can kill you. Please – for your own sake – do not make uniformed decisions about who Jesus is, or listen to gossip about Him, or watch His followers make mistakes, or ignore the One who provided proofs.

Read the record that provides the witness of His person. Read it with an open mind, and ask for insight. Might I suggest taking the gospel of John and as you read, ask hard questions about what the gospel is trying to communicate. Take your time reading it, looking for the message you need to hear.

But don’t simply reject Him because of a bias, or an assumption. For He is equal with God.

Read the Scriptures and believe!

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 – ENTHRONED ON THE PRAISES OF ISRAEL – 113

2024-09-27

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.

113

ENTHRONED ON THE PRAISES OF ISRAEL

Psalm 22:3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

Psalm 22 is the psalm of the Most Righteous One suffering the greatest injustice possible, and the thoughts and prayers of this One as He endured the path to death.

In all of the pain and suffering, pleas were made to be heard. Prayers were lifted up but unanswered. No one was paying attention, and no one was out there. It seemed that the only response was abandonment, and for the Messiah, this was a fact.

David, when writing this psalm did not, in truth, experience the loneliness the Messiah went through on the cross. God was quiet for David, but for the Messiah, God had turned His back. He was truly alone, more alone than any who had walked the earth.

Yet, no slander was flung onto God, no attack on God’s ways, no character assassination, no hatefulness or scorn thrown on God’s person. None of the common, base reactions to suffering were exercised in the Messiah’s thoughts. In all the raging thoughts racing through His heart and mind while His body is screaming out in pain and agony, not one thought of anger or hatred to the Father was expressed.

In all the quiet, the Messiah knew two things that centered Him, that was foundational for Him.

God is holy.
God is Enthroned on the Praises of Israel.

He is King – enthroned of all, yet as the nation praised Him, He became evident for all to see, He became “visible” to all around in the praises of His people.

How can a man suffering think this way? How can a man that is unjustly treated refer to praise to God in the middle of persecution?

It comes down to a truth. God is holy, and He is King. Whether circumstances appear to support this or not, the fact remains, and the One who experienced everything that screamed “God has abandoned Me”, could not be moved from this fact.

God is holy and God is King.

He is Enthroned on the Praises of Israel, bar the circumstances!

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 – Abraham – 11

2024-09-24

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

ABRAHAM

TESTING

Genesis 22:2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

Hebrews 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.

Abraham’s greatest test is recorded for us in Genesis 22, in the offering up of his son on an altar in obedience to God’s command. This is truly an amazing passage, exhibiting a faith in God that was being stretched to a breaking point.

It was Abraham’s greatest test, but not his only test, for God had been working in Abraham constantly, challenging him in multiple ways. As a matter of fact, the number of tests Abraham lived through is quite illuminating, and more numerous than I assumed.

Abraham left Ur and Haran for an unknown destination at God’s direction
Abraham directed a peaceful separation from Lot and settled at the oaks of Mamre.
Abraham rescued Lot from the five kings. Abraham tithed after the battle for Lot to a mysterious king/priest Melchizedek. He also rejected any provision the king of Sodom offered.
Abraham trusted God’s promise that he would have a son.
Abraham received the promised land by faith, though the fulfillment would not come for many generations.
Abraham circumcised every male in his family.
Abraham welcomed strangers, (angels).
Abraham prayed for Sodom
Abraham admitted to wrongdoing (in front of the king of Egypt) and took the actions needed to set things right.
Abraham negotiated a treaty with Abimelech concerning a well.
Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac.

Abraham was tested through out his walk with God, and we know this is true of the many tests the Lord Jesus faced, (though many of the tests Jesus experienced came from evil men). Nevertheless this life trait of being tested speaks of the similarity between these two individuals in the Word.

Hebrews 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.

Jesus was tested and passed each test, though the passing of the tests often caused loneliness, misunderstanding and finally great pain, to the point of death!

Abraham’s hopes (Isaac) was set to die in Genesis 22. Jesus life was snuffed out, through an excruciating death. Similar, but not exactly the same, for the Lord took the testing to it’s ultimate conclusion, and came out if it victorious.

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 – ENLARGER OF MY HEART – 112

2024-09-23

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.

112

ENLARGER OF MY HEART

Psalm 119:32 I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!

In our last post we considered the description of God as the enlarger of Gad, specifically in the geographical opportunities provided that tribe centuries ago.

In this post, we see a personal plea to God for enlarging of the psalmist’s heart. To enlarge is to widen, to expand, and the psalmist speaks of his need to be more than he is.

Consider that the heart is the seat of our emotional life, and as such, for our heart to be enlarged would speak of a expanded commitment in God, a larger swath of our lives to be under God, willing to let Him have His way.

This enlarging of heart is a great thought, a high ideal, a noble goal, but what does it look like when a saint’s heart is enlarged? I would suggest that one possible evidence is the possession of wisdom and knowledge, and I would refer my reader to the following passage.

1 Kings 4:29.

And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore,

God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, or in other words, God enlarged Solomon’s capacity and possession of wisdom and understanding. This wisdom and understanding would be evident in a believers life daily, for this is the hallmark of a wise one, continually exercising truth and grace in his life in practical ways.

For God to enlarge our heart will include (but not be restricted to) a growing outworking of practical wisdom in our lives for ourselves and for others. This wisdom will be borne from our widening commitment to God, our trust in His will and our desire to do His pleasure.

And in all that we plead – God – be the One who enlarges our heart!

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 – ENLARGER OF GAD – 111

2024-09-20

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.

111

ENLARGER OF GAD

Deuteronomy 33:20 And of Gad he said, “Blessed be he who enlarges Gad! Gad crouches like a lion; he tears off arm and scalp.

Gad was the seventh son of Jacob and Leah, and as the tribe of Gad was led to the promised land by Moses, they became one of the tribes that settled on the east side of the Jordan, the other being Rueben and half the tribe of Manasseh.

This choice by the tribe of Gad was commended by Moses, for there was no restriction for expansion on the east side of the Jordan. Each of the other tribes of Israel would end up with land allocations between a sea and the Jordan river, providing little if any opportunity for geographical expansion.

This choice of land allocation by Gad is a result of God’s blessing on Gad, on God providing opportunity to Gad in their location to settle. This tribe would also provide valiant soldiers for the later King David in his battles, and their expertise in fighting may be the result of having an open border to the east, always needing to be defended.

God provided Gad the blessing of opportunity, but with opportunities came along responsibilities to guard the land, possibly expand it, and provide skills for the greater good of the entire nation.

It is like that for us today also. Consider the opportunities God has provided you, the associated responsibilities and the skill sets developed for the greater good.

God enlarges Gad, and He seeks to enlarge us in our opportunities, responsibilities, privileges, and blessings to others.

Blessed is the One who enlarges!

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 – Abraham – 10

2024-09-17

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

ABRAHAM

NEW NAME

Genesis 17:5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.

Revelation 3:12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

Abram wasn’t looking for a new name, and when the Lord changed it on him, the name change signified something incredible, unbelievable. The name God gave him represented the promise he had just been given by God.

Of course, at the time of the name change, Abram had no children by Sarai, and his only offspring was a young man named Ishmael. Sarai was barren and as a last resort, Sarai struck a bargain with (nagged?) Abraham to lay with Hagar her maid. She must have really wanted a child in the worst way!

Thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael to Abram, God appeared to Abram to cut a covenant with him. A covenant with the promise of a multitude of nations to come from his loins. He had one child at this time, a child of a servant not of his wife. And his wife, who would provide a child without dispute, was barren. Old and barren. Quite the promise!

God had the audacity to promise that nations would come from Sarai. Why not Ishmael? In Genesis 17:15-16, God made it clear that Sarai (not Hagar) would produce the nations, that kings would come from her. And Abraham, before any children from Sarai would appear on the scene, would go by the name of Abraham – Father of multitudes, Father of nations!

Talk about wearing your faith! Abraham was now to be known as a father of many, but in experience the father of none, at least by Sarai! (Might Abram hear some mockery when the neighbors are told of the name change?)

Jesus also has a new name, one that we do not know yet. He promises that as we overcome, He will make us a pillar in the temple of God. As a pillar, He will write on us His own new name! Too many mysteries are beyond me in this description of the Lord’s doings, but we do see that a new name is provided to those who have greater things promised in the future, as in Abrams case. How that applies to the Lord Jesus is beyond me.

Yet He will have a new name, and we may find out some day, for the name is written on the pillars (overcomers) of the church for all to see!

He does everything for us, even giving us His new name.

Praise Him for His loving mercy!

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 – DWELLING PLACE OF GOD – 110

2024-09-16

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.

110

DWELLING PLACE

Deuteronomy 33:27
The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.’

God is described as a place for us to dwell in. To dwell – what may I ask does my reader consider when the term “dwell” occurs in a passage? To find permanence in? To live in, and to be familiar with?

To be described as a dwelling place is to be likened to a habitation or even a refuge, implying a place of safety from danger. The term is sometimes used of an animals den or lair, a place that provides protection from an enemy, a place of permanence for the animal to resort to. Many times, this description implies a place of refuge from danger, and in this passage also, it is in the context of finding protection. It is not simply a place of familiarity and comfort, though a secondary message for the believing one to find encouragement in. The primary message is that of God providing safety for the saint from an enemy.

The fact that He is described as a possession of the saint – He didn’t say “a” dwelling place, but “your” dwelling place – should be a constant encouragement and comfort for the saint.

Remember, the Eternal God is your dwelling place. The eternal 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 – DREAD WARRIOR – 109

2024-09-13

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.

109

DREAD WARRIOR

Jeremiah 20:11 But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.

Out of all the names of God I have considered, this one name has caused me a bit of reluctance to consider.

Why you ask?

To be honest I really don’t know. I look forward to considering the character of our God in these short posts, but to consider God as a dread warrior initially shook me.

I say that as an encouragement to my readers that even if the Word seems to say hard things, things we may not want to look at, it is to our benefit to understand to the best of our ability the truth of His message to us for His sake. We are not to simply try to protect ourselves from a predisposed assumption of what the verse may be saying.

With that said, let us consider this passage and try to understand it’s message for us.

A bit of background for this verse will give us some context.

Jeremiah was called a prophet by God in the midst of a nation that was in the final throws of a death sentence. Judgement was coming onto Israel, and Jeremiah had been preaching this message. Pashur, a leading priest of the nation had struck Jeremiah and thrown him in stocks for this message. Upon his release, Jeremiah declared judgement on Pashur, very specific judgements that would have definitely set a bullseye on his back. Pashur would not allow this to stand and Jeremiah knew what was coming.

In this condition, Jeremiah resolves to quit his prophetic work, stating that he will not make mention of God, nor speak anymore in His name. (Jeremiah 20:9). His inner struggle was great, and he admits that the Word of God was more powerful than his own self interests. God was at war with His prophet!

In this context, we have this statement

But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior.

My initial thoughts were that God was a dread warrior against Jeremiah’s persecutors, and the immediate portion of the verse after this phrase lends itself to this understanding.

But as I consider this passage, I wonder. The previous portion describes God’s effective battle in Jeremiah’s heart, and verse 12 speaks of the Lord’s testing of the righteous.

May Jeremiah be realizing that because God won the victory over his will, that he now understands the God of Israel as a fierce, mighty and awesome God that will accomplish His will, in the righteous first and then the unrighteous? God will win in the righteous one’s heart as with Jeremiah. God will also win (in some manner) with those who fight against God. If those who are against God will not willingly accept the will of God, they to will come to understand that God is a fierce warrior, a dread fear inducing warrior. He is not a negotiating God.

It is to the benefit of all to understand that God is a dread warrior, that He is a warrior for our benefit, though it is often a painful process. May we see Him as the Dread Warrior for our souls, for our lives, for our good, and for His glory.

I am glad I faced this verse, this name of God, and this fear I had. He is a Dread Warrior, fighting for us, and not against us.

May His name be honored 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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Jesus in the Old Testament – Abraham – 09

2024-09-10

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

ABRAHAM

SACRIFICER

Genesis 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

Hebrews 10:12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,

We are looking at the character of Abraham is relation the sacrificing for God. There are multiple passages where Abraham made sacrifice but I have chosen the greatest sacrifice he sought to provide His God for our text to review this time.

Abraham was willing to sacrifice his Son, and we often, rightly so, consider Abraham to be a type for God the Father. There is some room to consider Abraham to be a type of Jesus in this passage also, for as we consider Hebrews 10:12, notice that Jesus Himself offered a single sacrifice. He was acting as the One making the sacrifice, very similar to Abraham.

Upon this offering on the altar, He not only made the sacrifice, He was the sacrifice. This is too much for me to comprehend, and yet the Word speaks of this dual activity by the Master.

So not only was He the sacrifice, He was the Sacrificer, and proved to be the Greater than Abraham even in Abraham’s greatest sacrifice!

He is beyond comprehension, when considered in light of the Word’s testimony of His life and death, His love and grace to us, and His commitment to the Will of God!

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 – DOOR OF THE SHEEP – 108

2024-09-09

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.

108

DOOR OF THE SHEEP

John 10:7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

In our last post, we spoke of a general message presented when the term “door” is mentioned. We looked at the fact that a door represents an opening to an area or place that would otherwise be restricted.

The same is true with this descriptor of God, and without repeating myself, I would like to consider the aspect of the sheep in this description of our God.

But before that, note that Jesus is very restrictive here in His self Description. No other way into the sheepfold other than Him. He is the Door. But He is the Door for the sheep.

He had just finished explaining His identity of being the Good Shepherd, and repeats the general teaching, modifying it to represent himself as the door of the sheep. His earlier teaching spoke of the sheep having entered and leaving the sheepfold (vs 3) so this passage isn’t necessarily speaking of a salvation experience, but of maintaining a relationship with God through Jesus. The Sheep follow Jesus, they know His name, and they enter their safe environment through His person.

He is the Good Shepherd leading the sheep and the Access/Door through which the sheep enter into the sheepfold, a safe environment for the sheep.

The Lord peppers throughout His message the dangers of strangers, thieves and robbers attacking the sheep. His Self description typifies His saving nature for His people.

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 – DOOR OF FAITH – 107

2024-09-06

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.

107

DOOR OF FAITH

Acts 14:27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

Our next two names or descriptions of God speak of a door. Although obvious, it may be good to consider what a door is.

A door is an opening. An opening to a specific area or place that cannot be entered without use of this door. A door implies walls (or restrictions of some type) everywhere else, walls that restrict one from entering an area or place. A door can also be temporarily closed to restrict from entry into an area or place.

The Jewish church was gathering, and hearing reports of the missionaries journeys and adventures, and the news was huge! God has provided a door to the Gentiles.

Gentiles were becoming believers! No mention of the Gentiles becoming Jews though, for the message was that they were not being circumcised, or that they were building synagogues, or that there was a need for teachers of the Torah.

No – the message was as simple as it was radical. They were entering into the family of disciples, the family of God through a door of faith!

God was not providing them any other way into the family other than through the Door of Faith. No other way than through faith in the Risen Son of God. No other door is mentioned of. The only door was the door of faith, and this door of faith, is the crucified and risen Savior.

He is the Only Way, the Only Door!

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 – Abraham – 08

2024-09-03

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

ABRAHAM

UNIVERSAL BLESSINGS

Genesis 12:2-3 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Galatians 3:14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Abraham was a channel of blessing to the nation of Israel, in that he was the father of the nation, and was the friend of God, establishing a relationship that the nation of Israel has depended on most of their existence.

He became a divider of the nations, in that any who blessed Abraham would be blessed, and any who cursed Abraham would be cursed. Two groups of nations, based on the reception they had to Abraham.

Yet as we read this passage, it is important to notice that the blessing is personal, not necessarily national. Some may think, as I used to, that if a nation acted favorably to the nation of Israel, those of the physical family of Abraham, it would have the blessing of God. This may be true, but I am not sure this verse specifically states that.

It is a personal promise of a person blessing Abraham, or cursing Abraham. Sure, Abraham will become a great nation, but it is the singular person that this promise refers to. This positive attitude towards Abraham opens up a “blank check” type of promise from God of an undefined general blessing. Reread the verses and consider!

Is it not even truer for the Lord Jesus. One person’s attitude toward the Lord Jesus opens up untold blessings, greater than we can imagine, and as Galatians states, this blessing that was through Abraham can be found in Christ Jesus.

Abraham was a conduit for blessing from God, but once Jesus Christ the Lord lived and died for us, even resurrecting three days later, the conduit of Abraham for blessing from God was no longer needed, for all blessings may only be found in the Messiah.

Consider 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 – DIVINE BEING – 106

2024-09-02

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.

106

DIVINE BEING

Acts 17:29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

Paul is addressing the men of Athens, having arrived there directly from Berea, an area where Paul was challenged with every teaching he provided by his audience checking the Word, to see if his teaching aligned with their authorities.

Arriving in Athens, his audience is not of the Jewish flavor, but of the Athenian philosophy bent, an audience that was not steeped in Jewish law but in human reasoning and philosophy. He doesn’t have a foundation of Old Testament understanding in the audience to teach from, so he uses what connection he can find with these men, and builds his message from there. There is wisdom in this approach for our use!

He speaks of his travels within the city, and refers to idols that have been constructed, especially an idol to the unknown god, and he latches onto this to begin his teaching. Note that he does not condemn these people for idolatry. Something to remember as we share the gospel with those in our world!

Foundational logic, the language of the philosopher, was being used for the sake of communicating to the audience, speaking of the creator God as necessary for their worldview, and then their own philosophy to leverage the audiences thoughts to a personal God.

“In him we live and move and have our being” is likely a portion of a poem by the Cretan poet Epimenides, and “For we are indeed his offspring.” is taken from a poet by the name of Aratus. Both of these authorities would have been well known to the audience and made a connection for them with Paul’s thoughts.

Logically speaking, if these poets message, generally accepted by the audience, the outcome would be there is a God out there that is not created as an idol is, but is a being. There would be similarities to human beings, but this God would of course be divine. as an extension of this argument, based on their very own accepted teaching, a greater being than us has to be present, has to exist.

Paul uses “divine” to introduce this God to the audience, for he is trying to build a logical connection for the audience of a personal God that exists. For the Greek philosopher, to refer to a divine being is similar to our cultural understanding of the same. Generally a very nebulous descriptor other than being greater than us.

Paul does not let the audience think “generally” about this god for long, for immediately, after laying a foundation of connection for the Greek audience of a living God, he introduces judgement on their ignorance (not idolatry) and a call to repent. And the basis of this judgment and call to repentance is a Man who has risen from the dead.

Paul presents a lot of specific doctrine to the audience after establishing the existence of the Divine Being!

The Divine Being is a patient God, overlooking ignorance, a God who expects repentance upon information provided, a God who is righteous, a God who will judge the world properly, a God that supplies facts, for He has not only appointed a specific Man to perform the judgement, but has provided a series of eye witness historical occurrences backing up the claim of the resurrection of this Judge. He has given assurance of the Judge’s identity by the resurrection!

Upon the resurrection news, the audience split. A Divine Being who raises a man from the dead was unheard of, and this teaching cannot be the result of simple logic or reasoning. To go from a Divine Being to a Judge (Jesus Christ) raised from the dead requires repentance and FAITH, not simply logical reasoning only. Some in the audience were not ready to explore this line of reasoning!

But the true Divine Being has raised Jesus from the dead. The audiences response is like that of today. Open to hearing more, or mockery.

Are you open to hearing 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 – DISTINGUISHED AMONG TEN THOUSAND – 105

2024-08-30

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.

105

DISTINGUISHED AMONG TEN THOUSAND

Song of Songs 5:10 [She] My beloved is radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand.

To be honest with you, I find the Song of Solomon rich in descriptive names for the Lord, much richer than I first imagined, and I am thankful for this study that I have the privilege to consider the names and descriptions of our God from the Word.

This particular name speaks of a quantity, and as you may remember, I leaned to a woodenly literal interpretation of the Word for many years, having been influenced by a modern interpretation of eschatology.

Nevertheless, this passage would have brought to mind a group of men, specifically 10,000, of which her beloved would be the fairest, would be distinguished within that group. How foolish to force my technical mindset on this poetic expression of wonder.

Her lover is the most distinguished of all. The note of ten thousand was essentially the same as someone in our our society speaking of trillions, or even a googol (ten duotrigintillion). Sorry – I slipped into my tech head again!

This poor farm girl was elevating her lover to the highest honor. You see, to be distinguished is to be raised above others, to be eminent, celebrated or well known based on past achievements. This poor farm girl, that had caught Solomons eye, must have thought of the king as out of this world.

As the church, we have a King that is so much more than simply an earthly ruler, but who truly is out of this world, has been given all authority, who is resurrected, never to die again, and that truly is raised above all contenders for the title of distinguished!

He is DISTINGUISHED AMONG (more than) TEN DUOTRIGINTILLION!

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 – DISCLOSURER OF THE PURPOSE OF OUR HEARTS – 104

2024-08-26

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.

104

DISCLOSURER OF THE PURPOSE OF OUR HEARTS

1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

What a wonderfully scary blessing we find in this verse. Scary? Yes if you read it the way I expect Paul to write it!

You know ..”each one will receive his condemnation from God” You know – He will disclose the purposes of our heart! How could He not condemn us!

No no no – the text says commendation, which granted, it does sounds like the word I expected, but has such a different message associated with it.

This verse, though describing hidden things being revealed and purposes of the heart being disclosed, does not go to the naturally expected message of judgement and condemnation, but is a grace filled promise of commendation from the very One who will reveal hidden things, even the purposes of our hearts!

And yet we know that He currently knows the things hidden in darkness, and He currently knows the purposes of our hearts! So what is Paul trying to teach us and the Corinthians?

Only that this revealing of our hidden things, and the revealing of our hearts purposes to us will only increase our love for Him, our understanding of the depth of our position before Him, of our stability before Him, of understanding His deep commitment of grace to us.

He truly is One who is beyond our understanding! How can He be so full of grace and yet continue to exhibit acts of constant grace, grace upon grace!

May His name be praised, and lifted up!

He commends those who do not deserve to know Him and yet He finds opportunity to commend 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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Names of God – DEW TO ISRAEL – 103

2024-08-23

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.

103

DEW TO ISRAEL

Hosea 14:5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;

The prophet Hosea had a tough calling, not only in speaking truth to power, but his own personal life was laden with sorrow, humiliation and heartbreak.

Of course each heartbreak that Hosea experienced represented the heartbreak God suffered as his wife lived a life of adultery, turning to idols instead of the true God.

With this background of pain and disappointment being experienced by Hosea, and more so by God, we come to a passage in Hosea that speaks of the dew to Israel. Some translations refer to this wetness as a night mist, and it is that moisture that resides on the ground after a cool night, with the humidity falling out of the air and settling gently on the ground, the grass and the leaves of the foliage.

Yes, the dew can be explained by the hydrological cycle, but to experience it is another matter. My wife and I have a small home north of us where we go to escape, and the grass is longer, wilder, and (in my opinion) greener than anywhere else I know. In the early mornings, after a scorching hot day before, the night mist settles, and as the sun comes up, glistens on the droplets. It is a sight for the tired and weary, showing the beauty of God’s creation.

God is describing Himself as a dew for Israel, even though they have broken His heart, disobeyed His will and acted the adulterous wife. His dew is refreshing, cooling, beautiful and undeserved.

Yet that is the God we serve.

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 – DESTROYING TEMPEST – 102

2024-08-19

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.

102

DESTROYING TEMPEST

Isaiah 28:2 Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong; like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters, he casts down to the earth with his hand.

We have had a few storms in our city this year, mostly associated with hurricanes and derocho wind storms. Yes – derocho wind storms, which are very similar to hurricane storms, but create destruction in relatively straight swaths. Yes, even in the last few weeks, we have experienced tornados, not more than a few miles away.

To see the destruction invisible wind can produce is shocking, every time I see it. I should be use to it by now, for we have lived near the coast of Texas for decades now.

Nevertheless, the Lord has one who is a tempest, a storm, a hurricane, a derocho, a tornado, that is inevitably on a path of destruction.

In the passage above, Isaiah speaks of the immediate situation the people of God will experience with the Babylonians coming down from the north, an army that will completely strip the land of life and destroy any memory of a peaceful society.

Hundreds of years later, the Lord sent another Destroying Tempest to the land of Israel, and this Destroying Tempest spoke radical messages and performed miraculous acts, destroying the current society, tearing down the temple, decimating the priesthood and annihilating the sacrificial system the society was built on.

The Messiah brought light and truth to the nation, to a nation that was set in stone, rigid in religion and unrelenting in it’s man made dogma. Within a generation, our Savior, as a Destroying Tempest removed the old system, and built a new body, a body of believers that spread amongst all of God’s creation, bringing light and love to all.

Almost like the bright skies after a destroying storm, the church is meant to be the blessing God desires for His people.

May we be the blessing after the storm. For we do not have the wisdom and positive intent or wisdom to create good out of destruction, for only the Lord God has that ability.

Let us be content with being a blessing to those we meet along the way!

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 – DESPISED BY THE PEOPLE – 101

2024-08-16

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.

101

DESPISED BY THE PEOPLE

Psalm 22:6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

Our previous name of God was from Isaiah 53, describing our God as being despised and rejected. With this name, we get definition of who it is that is despising the Lord.

Notice that the verse speaks of mankind scorning the Master, and that the people despised Him.

Now, the question I have for you is this. Is the psalmist describing two different groups in this verse? In other words, are “mankind” and “people” synonymous?

Could we read this passage interchanging these terms and be faithful to the text?

This question arises in my mind as I understand that poetry in the Old Testament did not depend on rhyming words, as typical of simple poetry in the English language.

You know what I mean with the child’s poem I heard way too often.

Roses are red,
Violets are blue;
you look like a monkey,
and you smell like one too.

For the ancient Hebrew prophets, they often “rhymed” in thoughts instead of sounds.

A good example is found in Psalm 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

The psalmist is saying the same thing, only using two ways of describing the same truth.

If this form of poetry applies to the verse we are considering today, then I would agree that “people” and “mankind” are describing the same group that despise the Lord. The only reason I am hesitant to sign off on that, is the use of the term “people”, and the common association of this term with “God’s people”.

No matter, for in the end, the cross shows us that we all have despised Him. Whether we were of a chosen class of humans or not, we are guilty of this attitude of despising the Creator and Sustainer.

We are not deserving of any mercy, as we have despised the One who deserves so much! And yet He extends His hand to us, ever faithful in His care for us.

Truly His 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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Come join us at Considering the Bible

Names of God – DESPISED AND REJECTED – 100

2024-08-12

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.

100

DESPISED AND REJECTED

Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

To think that the Lord, the God of Glory would be despised and rejected makes no sense!

Let’s think of Isaiah’s situation.

As religious Jews during the time of Isaiah (and for religious folks today), it would be common to generally voice an opinion of seeking the Lord. Would they not have confessed they wanted the knowledge of the Lord, that they only trusted God and none else. The Old Testament prophets reveal to us, they drew near with their mouth, honored God with their lips, but in reality, their (our) hearts are far from God.

In a perfect world (which will come) our hearts will be completely sanctified and in that condition, the times of God being despised and rejected will be a fading memory, for He will wipe away all our tears.

He was despised. He was rejected. He entered this foreign world on a mission of love, never having experienced this hatred, but knowing full well our despising, rejecting hearts would eventually kill Him.

To be despised. To be looked down upon. To have disdain towards. To be revulsed of. To loathe. And why was this attitude expressed towards One full of grace and truth? A result of some inner judgement by the “righteous” upon their only hope.

To be rejected. Not simply to be ignored, but to be considered an outcast, a pariah, one who was worthy only of getting rid of, considered trash and waste.

How could we be so blind?

And yet He holds His hands out to us.

The Despised and Rejected 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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Names of God – DESIRE OF THE RIGHTEOUS – 99

2024-08-09

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.

99

DESIRE OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Proverbs 11:23 The desire of the righteous ends only in good, the expectation of the wicked in wrath.

Right off the top, when we read this passage, we see a stark contrast between the righteous and the wicked.

Additionally, I assumed that the term “expectation” would have negative associations throughout the Old Testament. This is not a correct understanding. I couldn’t replace expectation in this verse with dread, or fear, as I assumed by my cursory reading.

The term תִּקְוָה tiqvâh, translated as expectation is often translated as hope, of things hoped for, even a ground of hope. What is surprising is that this term is used in the story of Rahab, and refers to the scarlet cord (tiqvâh) that she was to tie to the window, indicating her home and hope of deliverance. See Joshua 2:18 and Joshua 2:21

This is so very surprising to me. I fully expected the “expectation” of the wicked to be associated with doom and gloom, with wrath and destruction. So what is going on with this verse, and how does this relate to our topic of God’s Name?

Is this term used out of it’s natural, or normal manner? Possibly. It is beyond me to be certain, but one option that intrigues me is that the verse does not refer to who the wrath is inflicted upon. Might it be, that the expectation of the wicked, the hope of the wicked is that wrath falls on someone else? Is that what this verse may be teaching?

Am I twisting the passage’s meaning? Hopefully not, but let us put the first phrase, containing the “desire of the righteous” to the same interpretation. Might the desire of the righteous seek for good to fall on someone else?

Surely as believers, we are taught the the Lord seeks the best for mankind, seeking their salvation, security, and safety. His nature is to love, to protect, to call together and to comfort.

The Desire of the Righteous – His name is also Jesus Christ, and He seeks the best for all, especially those who seek 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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Thank you for your response. ✨

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Category: Typology

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