Jehovah-Shammah, God Who Is There Series

In the beginning God made the universe, the heavenly reality, and the planet Earth. God was there, and it was so good.

God made the human race, Adam and Eve, the first humans. God dwelled with them. In the garden of Eden, God was there. And it was good, so good beyond words. Beyond what we could imagine.

Then Adam and Eve sinned against God, and all of the Earth and the universe became broken, and death entered the world. And God was no longer entirely present. He was not there. And everything suffered as a result.

Sin became the great barrier between God and man. And God was not there.

Yet God called a nation, from one man named Abraham, to become Israel, a nation where God would dwell. God dwelled in the tent of meeting with Moses, on the way to the promised land. And it was good. And when Solomon built the temple, God dwelled in the temple, and it was good.

Yet Israel still rebelled against God, and followed after other gods. Thus the nation went into slavery in Babylon, and the north to slavery in Assyria. Yet God was there, with them in slavery, and so there was still hope.

During the captivity in Babylon, during the 25th year of it, a prophet named Ezekiel served in the remnants of Jerusalem, a city that had been completely destroyed by Babylon, and the temple itself had been destroyed. The walls of the city had been destroyed, and the all important intellectuals and leaders had been taken to Babylon, leaving only the most poor and destitute people to remain. Ezekiel prophesied that one day the Jews would return to Israel, to Jerusalem, and they would rebuild the city, rebuild the walls, and the temple, and in that place, which is described in detail in Ezekiel, it would be a place where Jehovah-shammah.

Jehovah Shammah, our last name of God in our names of God series, Jehovah Shammah means, “The Lord is there.”

But there was something more indicated in the prophesy of Ezekiel. He was saying that Israel would return from Babylon, yes. But it also pointed to the earthly reign of a messiah, who would rule over the entire Earth from the city of Jerusalem, a millennial reign of 1,000 years. And even in the prophesy, it talks of a new heavens and new earth, where humanity and God would dwell together forever in peace.

Jehovah-shammah, God is there, that is the perfect way to end the names of God in the Old Testament.

“…the names of God compounded with Jehovah reveal Him as providing redemption for fallen, sinful man, and depicting every aspect of that great transaction of redemption by which man is fully restored to God – healing, victory, peace, sanctification, justification, preservation, care, and guidance.” -Nathan Stone, Names of God

Jehovah jireh, our provider

Jehovah-rophe our healer

Jehovah-nissi our banner

Jehovah-M’Kaddesh our sanctification

Jehovah-shalom our peace

Jehovah-tsidkenu our righteousness

Jehovah-rohi our shepherd

Jehovah-shammah is present to us

Then, there was another beginning, in the beginning, was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God, He was in the beginning with God, through Him all things were made, in Him was life and that life brought light to all mankind.

A son of man came, named Jesus of Nazareth, and God was there in human form, and it was very good.

Jesus the messiah lived a life of perfection, healing the sick and hurting, teaching in parables, discipling his disciples, and then offering up his life freely on a cross, pouring out his blood, and dying, to be a blood sacrifice to pay off your debt of sins, pain in full.

Jesus died, and then rose from the grave 3 days later, to demonstrate to us that after we die if we believe in Him he will raise us to eternal life.

Jesus is alive right now in heaven, and will return again to rule and reign on the Earth for 1,000 years, from the city of Jerusalem, theologians call this the millennial reign of Christ. This millennial reign fulfills the prophets which spoke of a time when the messiah would rule and reign and put everything under his control.

Yet it would all begin with the church spreading across the face of the Earth, and the church would be the body of Christ. And in the body of a single believer, you or me, God’s presence would dwell, and God was there, and it was so good.

God’s temple had been the garden of Eden. Then man fell.

God’s temple became the tent of meeting with Moses.

God’s temple became the temple built by Solomon where God dwelled.

God’s temple was then Jesus Christ the God-man come to Earth.