Knowing God by His Names: Jehovah-Shammah (The LORD Who Is There)

The Book of Ezekiel is considered one of the two "mystery books" of the Old Testament. It is full of visions and prophesies which look to the future of Israel. When Ezekiel wrote his prophesies that future seemed in serious doubt.

Ezekiel was living in exile in a foreign land with the rest of the Hebrews. The empire of Babylon had swept in like a mighty flood and taken every captive every town and village. Those who were not killed outright were marched off to Babylon to populate and farm the land. They have been there for twenty-five years when Ezekiel writes.

In chapter thirty-seven Ezekiel has his vision of the Valley of Dry Bones which, as he watches, soon begin to come together. The vision is a metaphor which represents the re-gathering and restoration of the nation. Then follows Israel's defeat of the Gentile powers, Gog and Magog (38,39). Finally a great restored temple is pictured. Ezekiel speaks of its holy services and the river of life running from it. In chapter forty eight he pictures the people of Israel living in their places around the city. In his final vision of a new temple and a new Jerusalem Ezekiel catches a glimpse of who his God is: He is Jehovah-Shammah: "The Lord is there."

Now skip ahead with me six hundred years. The time is early March. The celebration of Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread is quickly approaching. As he had done since he was twelve years old, Jesus, now accompanied by his disciples, makes his way to Jerusalem in order to celebrate the Passover. As he arrives at the Temple he sees a sight that sickens him. He has seen it before. The Court of the Gentiles has been turned into a stockyard. There is the stench and filth created by thousands of upon thousands of sheep and goats, bulls and turtle doves. The din of bleating and bellowing animals, the raised voices of merchants hawking their wares, and the money changers clamoring for the pilgrim's business is so loud it is almost deafening.

Jesus is appalled at the scene. Price-gouging, deception, exploitation, graft and greed were the order of the day. To make matters worse, Annas, the Jewish High Priest not only permitted the outrage, but encouraged it because he got a "cut" from each vendor. Kickbacks are obviously nothing new to the business world.

Jesus sees His Father's house turned into a harbor of thieves and a place of merchandising. The scene before him is obviously not what God intended for His temple. God had instructed His people to build the temple for one reason and one reason only. That purpose is found in Solomon's prayer of dedication of the very first temple: "That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there in one else" (I Kings 8:60)

In Ezekiel's words the City and temple were Jehovah-Shammah — a place where "God was." Jesus responds to the outrage by driving all of the animals and merchants and money changers out of the temple. What does this reveal about our God?

The God "Who Is There" has come into the world, and "Is Here!"

I. GOD ESTABLISHED A TEMPLE AMONG MEN SO MEN COULD FIND HIM

1. the temple was a place where men could come to meet God

a. looking for God? — go to Jerusalem

b. all the nations around Israel worship their own deities

1) there might be some cross-over, but for the most part the god’s of Egypt were not the gods of the Babylonians, and the gods of the Philistines were not the gods of the Hittites

c. but Jehovah had made it clear to the Jews that he was not merely their God, but he was the One True God that everyone ought to worship

ILLUS. This is seen in a very visual way in the Temples built by the Jews in Jerusalem. They had a worship area just for non-Jews called, appropriately enough, the Court of the Gentiles.

2. six-hundred and fifty years before Christ, hear the Prophet Micah proclaim ...

“Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Micah 4:2, NIV)

A. GOD HAS ALWAYS DESIRED A PRESENCE AMONG HIS PEOPLE

1. He walked with Adam & Eve in the garden in the cool of the day

2. He appeared as an angel to the Old Testament Patriarchs — Abraham, Issac, Jacob

3. He met with Job through the whirlwind

4. He met Moses at a burning bush

5. He visited Sammuel, and David and Solomon and the prophets through dreams and visions

6. He journeyed with the Hebrews as a pillar of smoke and fire

7. God has always desired fellowship with His people

“I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.” (Leviticus 26:12, NIV)

B. GOD’S TEMPLE BECAME THE LORD’S DWELLING PLACE AMONG MEN

1. the Temple which Solomon built was a magnificent structure

a. I Kings chapter 10 tells us that 34 tons of gold were used in Solomon’s Temple, and Biblical scholars estimate that would have constituted about half the known gold supply of the ancient world

b. that comes out to $1.5 billion at today’s price of $1,866 per ounce!

2. Scriptures tell us that at the dedication of the Temple built by Solomon, God's holy presence filled the Temple and that the priests had to leave

“And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.” (1 Kings 8:10–11, ESV)

3. the Temple was a place where one could ...

a. meet God ... offer sacrifice ... and find forgiveness

“But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.” (Psalm 5:7, ESV)

4. our God delights living in the presence of His people

a. He is the Lord who is There

b. this idea of a God who wants to fellowship and inhabit lives of His people is absolutely alien to ancient of myths and other gods

ILLUS. Greek myths hardly conceived of men as important to the gods. One of their stories tells of one of the gods, Prometheus, who befriended mankind by teaching them civilization and the arts and by taking his chariot to the sun where he lighted a torch and brought fire down to man as a gift. The father god, Jupiter, was angry about this and had Prometheus chained to a rock on Mount Caucasus where a vulture devoured his liver which was renewed as fast as it was devoured. The agony inflicted on this god was endless because he had befriended man.

5. the Temple represented God's presence among His people

a. but the Jewish Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 and never rebuilt

b. where can man go to meet God if He doesn't have a Temple?

c. if God is not "there" where is He?

6. God still desires a dwelling place among men

... God Established a Temple among Men So Men Could Find Him

II. GOD ESTABLISHES A TEMPLE WITHIN MEN WHO HAVE FOUND HIM

1. God's plan has always been to have a Temple among men

“And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. 13 It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” ’ 14 And the crown shall be in the temple of the LORD as a reminder to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. 15 “And those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the LORD. And you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.”” (Zechariah 6:12–15, ESV)

a. this OT prophecy was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon those disciples gathered in the upper room

1) the disciples scattered into the streets preaching the gospel of salvation in Christ

b. on that day thousands of people from every corner of the Mediterranean world discovered that God is Jehovah-Shammah: The Lord Who is there

1) these people of every nationality and ethnic group are the "they that were afar off" of Zecariah's prophecy

2. the church was born that day

a. those 3,000 new believer's became the foundation of God's new Temple

b. that Temple continues to be built today

1) every man or woman, boy or girl who confesses "Jesus as Lord" becomes a stone in the Temple of our Lord

2) listen to the words of the Apostle Paul as he speaks of this Temple within men

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19–22, ESV)

A. BELIEVERS ARE THE TEMPLE OF THE LIVING GOD

1. in the days of Solomon, God inhabited His Temple through what is called the Shekinah Glory

a. shekinah literally means the dwelling of God and is a reference to the physical manifestation of His presence in the pillar of smoke that guided the Israelites through their desert wanderings

2. since the Day of Pentecost, God has chosen to live in the lives of those who call upon the name of Christ

a. we are living Temples of a Holy God

“What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16, ESV)

b. where is God?

1) He is "here"

2) Jesus told his disciples that the Kingdom of God is within you

“And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20–21, KJV)

3. what is the point of this evening’s message? God is near. You do not need to go far to find Him. Authur W. Pink in his book "The Attributes of God" writes: "To countless thousands, even among those professing to be Christians, the God of the Scriptures is quite unknown."

Who is your God? Is He Elohim — Powerful, Sovereign Creator? Is He Adonai — Lord and Master? Is He El Shaddai — All-mighty God? Is He Jehovah-Tsedkidnu — The Lord your righteousness? Is He Jehovah-Rohi — the Lord your shepherd? Is He Jehovah-M'Kaddesh — the Lord you peace? Is He Jehovah-Jireh — the Lord your provider?

He is all those, but He is more: He is Jehovah-Shammah - the Lord who is there!

ILLUS. Just When I Need Him Most

Just when I need Him, He is my all

Answering when upon Him I call;

Tenderly watching lest I should fall,

Just when I need Him most.

Just when I need Him most, Just when I need Him most;

Jesus is near to comfort and cheer, Just when I need Him most.

To you who are not Christians let me ask you a question, "How bad to you want this God who is there in your life.” You cannot be saved by accident.

ILLUS. There is an ancient tale from India about a young man who was seeking God. He went to a wise old sage for help. "How can I find God?" he asked the old man. The old man took him to a nearby river. Out they waded into the deep water. Soon the water was up just under their chins. Suddenly the old man seized the young man by the neck and pushed him under the water. He held the young man down until the young man was flailing the water in desperation. Another minute and he may well have drowned. Up out of the water the two of them came. The young man was coughing water from his lungs and still gasping for air. Reaching the bank he asked the man indignantly, "What did that have to do with my finding God?" The old man asked him quietly, "While you were under the water, what did you want more than anything else?" The young man thought for a minute and then answered, "I wanted air. I wanted air more than anything else?" The old man replied, "When you want God as much as you wanted air, you will find him."

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