Chapter 6
Chapter 6
GOD'S CHARACTER REVEALED
''That men may know that thou, whose name alone isJEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth''—Psalm 83:18.
Among all the names of God, perhaps the most comprehensive is the name Jehovah. Cruden describes this name as the unutterable name of God. The word Jehovah means the Self-Existing One, the **I AM."
It is generally used as a direct revelation of who God is.
In several places an explanatory word is added, revealing one of His special characteristics. It is to these that I particularly want to call attention. They are as follows:
Jehovah-jireh—The Lord will see, or the Lord will provide.
Jehovah-nissi—The Lord our Banner.
Jehovah-shalom—The Lord our Peace.
Jehovah-tsidkenu—The Lord our Righteousness.
Jehovah-shammah—The Lord is there.
These names were discovered by God's people in times of need; that is, the characteristics the
names describe were discovered. The names were the natural expression of these characteristics.
The Lord Will Provide When Abraham was about to sacrifice his son and saw no way of escape, the Lord provided a lamb for the sacrifice and delivered Isaac. Abraham made the grand discovery that it was one of the characteristics of Jehovah to see and provide for the needs of His people. Therefore, he called Him
Jehovah-jireh—the Lord will see, or the Lord will provide.
The parallels to this in the New Testament are numerous. Our Lord urges us to not worry about anything, because God cares for us. ''Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matthew 6:32).
If the Lord sees and knows our need, it will be only natural for Him to provide for it. Being our Father, He could not do anything else. As soon as a good mother sees that her child needs anything, she immediately sets about supplying that need.
She does not even wait for the child to ask. The sight of the need is a request in itself. Being a good mother, she could not do otherwise.
When God says to us, *'I see your need," He in reality says also, ''I am your Provider." He cannot see and fail to provide.
**Why do I not have everything I want then?" you may ask. Only because God sees that what you want is not really the thing you need, but probably
exactly the opposite. In order to give us what we need, the Lord is often obliged to keep from us what we want.
Your heavenly Father knows what things you need. You do not know.
If all your wants were gratified, it might be that all your needs would be left unsupplied.
It should satisfy us that God is indeed Jehovah-jireh—the Lord who will see and provide.
A great many Christians today have never made Abraham's discovery. They do not know that the Lord is Jehovah-jireh. They are trusting Him to save their souls in the future, but they never dream He wants to carry their cares for them now.
They are like a man with a heavy load on his back who was given a lift by a friend. He thankfully climbed into the vehicle, but still kept his burden on his back, bowed down under the weight of it.
*'Why do you not put your burden down on the bottom of the carriage?" asked his friend.
'*Oh," replied the man, **it is a great deal to ask you to carry me, and I could not ask you to carry my burden also."
You wonder how anyone could be so silly, and yet are you not doing the same? Are you trusting the Lord to take care of you, but still carrying your burdens on your own shoulders? Who is the silliest—that man or you?
The Banner Of The Lord Jehovah-nissi 'The Lord my Banner." This discovery was made by Moses when Amalek came to fight with Israel in Rephidim. The Lord gave the Israelites a glorious victory. Moses realized that the Lord was fighting for them, and he built an altar to Jehovah-nissi, 'The Lord my Banner."
The Bible is full of this name. *The Lord is a man of war" (Exodus 15:3); *The Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you" (Joshua 24:10); 'The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace" (Exodus 14: 14); "Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's"
(2 Chronicles 20:15); "God Himself is with us for our captain"
(2 Chronicles 13:12).
Nothing is more abundantly expressed in the Bible than this: the Lord will fight for us, ifwe will let Him. He knows that we have no strength or might against our spiritual enemies. Like a tender mother when her helpless children are attacked by an enemy. He fights for us. All He asks of us is to be still and let Him do it. This is the only sort of spiritual conflict that is ever successful.
We are very slow to learn this however. When temptations come, instead of handing the battle over to the Lord, we summon all our forces to fight them ourselves. We believe that the Lord is somewhere near, and if the worst comes, He will step
in to help us; but for the most part, we feel that we must do all the fighting.
Our method of fighting consists of a series of repentings and making resolutions and promises.
We go through some weary struggles for victory.
Then failing again, we start over with repentance and resolutions and promises and renewed struggles. Each time we tell ourselves that now at last we certainly will have the victory. And each time we fail even worse than before. This may go on for weeks, months, or even years, and no real or permanent deliverance ever comes.
The Good Fight You may ask, **Are we not to do any fighting ourselves?" Of course we are to fight, but not in this fashion. We are to fight the good fight of faith, as Paul exhorted Timothy. (See 1 Timothy 6:12.) The fight of faith is not a fight of eiBFort or of struggle, but it is a fight of trusting.
It is the kind of fight that Hezekiah fought when he and his army marched out to meet their enemy. They sang songs of victory as they went, and they found that their enemy was dead. Our part in this fight is to hand the battle over to the Lord and to trust Him for the victory.
We are to put on His armor, not our own. Paul tells us what it is in Ephesians 6:14-17.
It is the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace.
It is the helmet of salvation and the sword
of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Above all, he says we are to take the shield of faith with which we shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. There is nothing here about promises or resolutions; nothing about hours and days of agonizing struggles and bitter remorse.
* 'Above all things taking the shield of faith."
Faith is the one essential thing; without it, all else is useless. It means that we must not only hand the battle over to the Lord, but we must leave it with Him in absolute faith that He will conquer.
It is here where the fight comes in.
It seems so unsafe to sit still and do nothing but trust the Lord.
The temptation to take the battle back into our own hands is often tremendous.
To keep hands oflF in spiritual matters is as hard for us as it is for the drowning man to keep hands oj0f the one who is trying to rescue him. We all know how impossible it is to rescue a drowning man who tries to help his rescuer.
It is equally impossible for the Lord to fight our battles for us when we insist upon trying to fight them ourselves.
It is not that He will not, but He cannot.
Our interference hinders His working.
Spiritual forces cannot work while earthly forces are active.
Our Lord tells us that without Him we can do nothing. We have read and repeated His words hundreds of times, but does anyone believe they are actually true?
If we were to drag out into the light our secret thoughts on the subject, would we find them to be
something like this:
**When Christ said those words, He meant to say that we cannot of ourselves do much, or at any rate no great things. But nothing? No, that is impossible. We are not babies, and we are certainly meant to use all the strength we have in fighting our enemies. When our own strength gives out, we can then call upon the Lord to help us."
In spite of all our failures, we cannot help thinking that, if only we would try harder and be more persistent, we would be equal to any encounter.
But we overlook the fact that our natural powers are of no use in spiritual regions or with spiritual enemies.
Just as our skill in walking on the earth would not help us if we had to fly in the air, so our natural powers are of no use in spiritual warfare. If we try to depend on them, they are a real hindrance, just as trying to walk would hinder us if we sought to float or to fly. t Spiritual Wrestling And Unbelief We can easily see, therefore, that the result of trusting in ourselves when dealing with our spiritual enemies will inevitably be very serious. It not only causes failure, but in the end it causes rebellion. A great deal of what is called spiritual conflict might better be named spiritual rebellion.
God told us to cease from our own eflforts and to hand our battles over to Him. Then we bluntly
refuse to obey Him. True, we do fight; however, it is not a fight of faith, but a fight of unbelief.
Our spiritual wrestling, of which we are often so proud, is really a wrestling not for God, but against Him. We allow ourselves to indulge in doubts and fears; consequently, we are plunged into darkness, turmoil, and wrestlings of spirit. We call this spiritual conflict and look upon ourselves as an interesting and peculiar case. The word that explains our peculiar case is the word unbelief.
The simple remedy is to be found in the word faith, **But," you may ask, **what about wrestling Jacob?" (See Genesis 32:24-25.) *'Did he not gain his victory by wrestling?" On the contrary, he gained his victory by being made so weak that he could not wrestle any longer. It was not Jacob who wrestled with the angel, but the angel who wrestled with Jacob. Jacob was the one to be overcome.
When the angel found that Jacob's resistance was so great that he could not prevail against him, the angel was obliged to lame him, by putting his thigh out of joint; and then the victory was won.
As soon as Jacob was too weak to resist any longer, he prevailed with God. He gained power when he lost it. He conquered when he could no longer fight.
Jacob's experience is like ours. The Lord wrestles with us in order to bring us to a place of entire dependence on Himself. We resist as long as we have any strength. At last He is forced to bring us
to a place of helplessness, where we are obliged to yield. Then we conquer by this very yielding.
Our victory is always the victory of weakness.
Paul knew this victory when he said, **And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Who would ask for a more magnificent victory than this! This victory will be ours, if we take the Lord to be our Banner and commit all our battles to Him.
The Lord Our Peace The name of Jehovah-shalom, or "The Lord our Peace," was discovered by Gideon. The Lord had called him to a work that he felt utterly unfit to attempt.
**Oh, my Lord," he had said, **wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least of my father's house. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou Shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
. .And the Lord said unto him.
Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die"
(Judges 6:15-16, 23).
Then Gideon believed the Lord. Although the battle had not yet been fought and no victories had
been won, with the eye of faith, he saw peace already secured. He built an altar to the Lord and called it Jehovah-shalom, which means *The Lord our Peace."
Of all the needs of the human heart, none is greater than the need of peace; and none is more abundantly promised in the gospel. *Teace I leave with you," says our Lord, *'my peace I give unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" 0ohn l4:27). And again He says, * These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
Our idea of peace is that it must be outw^ard before it can be inward. That is, all enemies must be driven away, and then all troubles will cease.
But the Lord's idea was of an interior peace that could exist in the midst of turmoil and could be triumphant over it. The foundation of this sort of peace is found in the fact, not that we have overcome the world or that we ever can, but that Christ has overcome it.
Only the conqueror can proclaim peace. The people whose battles he has fought can do nothing but enter into it. They can neither make nor unmake it. But if they choose, they can refuse to believe in it and fail to let it reign in their hearts.
You may be afraid to believe that Christ has made peace for you; so you live on in a weary state
of warfare. Nevertheless, He has done it, and all your continued warfare is worse than useless.
The Bible tells us that Christ is our peace; therefore, whether I feel as if I have peace or not, peace is mine in Christ.
I must take possession of it by faith. Faith is simply to believe and assert the thing that God says.
If He says there is peace, faith agrees and enters into the enjoyment of it.
If He has proclaimed peace in the Bible, I must proclaim it in my own heart, whatever the circumstances are. *The kingdom of God is.
. .righteousness, and peace, and joy, in the Holy Ghost" (Romans 14:17). The soul that has not taken possession of peace has not yet fully entered into this Kingdom.
We can always enter into peace by a simple obedience to Philippians 4:6-7. **Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
The steps here are very plain, and they are only two.
First, give up all anxiety, and second, hand over your cares to God. Then stand steadfastly here, and peace must come.
It simply must, for there is no room for anything else.
The Lord Our Righteousness The name Jehovah-tsidkenu, **The Lord our Righteousness," was revealed by the Lord through
the prophet Jeremiah when he was announcing the coming of Christ.
''Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jeremiah 23:5-6).
Most of the struggles and conflicts of our Christian life come from our fights with sin and our eff'orts to pursue righteousness. How great are our failures! As long as we try to conquer sin or obtain righteousness by our own efforts, we are bound to fail. But if we discover that the Lord is our righteousness, we have gotten hold of the secret of victory.
In the Lord Jesus Christ we have a fuller revelation of this wonderful name of God. The apostle
Paul, the ambassador for Christ, declares that God made Christ **to be sin for us who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). ''But of him are ye in Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Very few Christians understand what this means.
We repeat the words as belonging to our religious vocabulary; and in a vague sort of way, we think of them as being somehow a part of the salvation of
Christ. But we have very little concrete idea of their practical use.
This name of God, the Lord our Righteousness, has tremendously practical use. We are not to try to have a stock of righteousness laid up in ourselves from which to draw a supply when needed.
Rather, we are to draw continual fresh supjplies from the righteousness that is laid up for us in Christ.
If we need righteousness of any sort, such as patience, humility, or love, it is useless for us to look within, hoping to find a supply there. We never will find it. We must simply take it by faith, as a possession that is stored up for us in Christ, who is our righteousness.
The results are triumphant.
I have seen sweetness and gentleness poured like a flood of sunshine into dark and bitter spirits.
It happened when the hand of faith reached out to grasp them as a present possession, stored up for all who are in Christ.
I have seen sharp tongues made tender, anxious hearts made calm, and fretful spirits made quiet by faith in the righteousness that is ours in Christ.
Paul, after proving to us in the third chapter of Romans the absolute impossibility of obtaining righteousness through the law (that is, by our own eflforts) goes on to say, ''But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ
unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no diflference" (Romans 3:21-22).
It is faith and faith only that can appropriate this righteousness that is ours in Christ. We appropriate by faith the forgiveness that is ours in Christ.
So we must also appropriate by faith the patience that is ours in Him or the gentleness, meekness, long-sujBfering, or any other virtue we may need.
Our own eflForts will not achieve righteousness for us, any more than they will obtain forgiveness.
And yet how many Christians try! Paul describes them when he says, 'Tor I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth'' (Romans 10:2-4).
I pray that all such zealous souls discover this wonderful name of God, the Lord our Righteousness! If only they would give up seeking to establish their own righteousness, and would submit themselves to the righteousness of God.
Isaiah tells us, **A11 our righteousness are as filthy rags"
(Isaiah 64:6). Paul prays that he may be found in Christ, ''not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith" (Philippians 3:9).
Do we comprehend the meaning of this prayer?
Are we prepared to join in it with our whole hearts? If so, our struggle after righteousness will be over. Jehovah-tsidkenu will supply all our needs.
The Lord Is There The name Jehovah-shammah, or *The Lord is There," was revealed to the prophet Ezekiel. He was shown by a vision what was to be the future home of the children of Israel. He described the land and the city of Jerusalem and ended his description by saying, **And the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there" (Ezekiel
48:35).
This name includes all the others. Wherever the Lord is, everything must go well for His children.
Where the good mother is, all goes well, according to her ability, for her children. How much more God cares for us. His presence is enough.
All through the Old Testament, the Lord's universal answer to all the fears and anxieties of the children of Israel was the simple words,
**I will be with thee." He did not need to say anything more.
His presence was to them a perfect guarantee that all their needs would be supplied; and the moment they were assured of it, they were no longer afraid to face the fiercest foe.
You may say, **If the Lord would only say the same thing to me, I would not be afraid either."
Well, He has said it in unmistakable terms. When the angel of the Lord announced to Joseph the
coming birth of Christ, he said, **They shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matthew 2:23). This short sentence reveals to us the grandest fact the world can ever know—that God, the Almighty God, the Creator of heaven and earth, is not a far-oflf God, dwelling in a heaven of unapproachable glory. He has come down in Christ to dwell with us right here in this world, in the midst of our poor, ignorant, helpless lives. He is as close to us as we are to ourselves. If we believe in Christ at all, we must believe His name is **God with us." Both of these names, Jehovah-shammah and Emmanuel, mean the same thing. They mean that God is present everywhere in His universe, surrounding and sustaining everything, and holding all of us in His safe and blessed care. They mean that we can find no place in all
His universe of which it cannot be said, *The Lord is there."
The psalmist says, **Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me" (Psalm 139:710).
We cannot drift from the love and care of an ever-present God. Christians who think He has forsaken them and who cry out for His presence are crying out in ignorance of the fact that He is
always and everywhere present with them.
In truth, they cannot get out of His presence, even if they try. Oh, if only they knew this wonderful and satisfying name of God!
**Speak to Him, thou, for He hears; and spirit with spirit may meet; Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet."
Abundance Of Grace Let us sum up the teaching of these five names of God. What is it they say to us?
Jehovah-jireh— **I am He who sees your need, and therefore I provide for it."
Jehovah-nissi— **I am your Captain and your Banner, and I am He who will fight your battles for you."
Jehovah-shalom— **I am your peace.
I have made peace for you, and My peace I give to you."
Jehovah-tsidkenu— *'I am your righteousness. In Me you will find all you need of wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption."
Jehovah-shammah— **I am with you.
I am your ever-present, all-encompassing God and Savior.
I will never leave you or forsake you. Wherever you go, there I am, and My hand will hold you."
All this is true, whether we know it and recognize it or not. We may have gone through our lives starved, weary, and wretched. But all the time we have been starving in the midst of plenty. The fullness of God's salvation has awaited our faith
and an abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness have awaited our receiving.
I pray that Christians would see that these allembracing names of God leave no comer of their need unsupplied. Then would they be able to testify with the prophet Isaiah to all around them, **Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall we draw water out of the wells of salvation" (Isaiah 12:2-3).