We're beginning today to consider another name of God.....Jehovah-Shammah, which means the LORD is there. We find this name in Ezekiel 48:35, the last verse of Ezekiel's prophecy, in a passage which is a reference to Jerusalem, the city which our Lord Jesus Christ will inhabit when he returns to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Ezekiel prophesied during a time of captivity for the Hebrew people. And it was during this time of captivity, when they perhaps were feeling alone, discouraged, abandoned, forgotten, that the Lord revealed this name to them, and in doing so, revealed another truth about Himself.
Let's think about that. Remember that in the culture in which the Bible was written, a name revealed something about the character of the person named. So, in this case, when God reveals His name as Jehovah-Shammah, He is giving assurance, encouragement, to His people that he would be there! He was giving them a future and a hope, to borrow a phrase from Jeremiah. Is there perhaps some level on which you can relate? We are living in difficult, uncertain days. We could easily become discouraged and feel hopeless if we only considered the immediate circumstances, if we only looked at today. When we lose sight of our hope in Christ, it is easy to live in discouragement, to be apathetic about life. How can we keep our vision of the future? How do we hold on to our hope? Let's look at some Scripture today to see if we can find some answers.
Carefully read these passages. Think about the instructions given. Then consider how, in a practical way, you can put these instructions in to practice, how you are going to live according to the truth of the passage.
- Colossians 3:1-2
- Philippians 3:7-8
- 2 Corinthians 4:11, 16-18
- Psalm 73:25-28
- Titus 2:11-13
"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 3:20)
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