The outstanding Names in which God revealed Himself to the saints of Old Testament days were The Almighty and Jehovah, and all the blessedness contained therein is available for those who have received the Christian revelation, those who have heard from the Son the Name of Father. When Israel had refused their Messiah in the Person of Jesus: "At that time. Jesus answering said, I praise Thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes" (Matt. 11:25). The great men of Israel with whom there should have been the knowledge of God, were ignorant of God's intervention among men in His Son; but the disciples, whom the great viewed as babes, in receiving Jesus had been brought into living touch with the revelation of God.
Something entirely new had come in the Person of the Son. There were not only the things promised to Israel, but the great divine secrets of the heart of God: and Israel's rejection of Christ but opened the door for the unfolding of these wonderful secrets. There was that which could not be revealed, for "No one knows the Son but the Father." The mystery of the Son in all connected with His divine glory and relationship with the Father, and also in relation to the union in His Person of Godhead and Manhood, must remain beyond the ken of all but the Father. Yet how blessed for us that the Son could add: "Nor does anyone know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom the Son may be pleased to reveal (Him)."
To Abraham and the Patriarchs God was known as the Almighty. In Genesis 17 it is recorded that Jehovah appeared to Abram: "And said to him, I (am) the Almighty God: walk before my face, and be perfect. And I will set my covenant between me and thee" (Gen. 17:1. 2). God undertook to bless Abraham, to make of him a great nation, and to give him and his seed the land of Canaan for an inheritance. For Abraham and his seed all the promises were earthly and material, but in contrast, God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ. Yet it is the same God who blessed Abraham and his seed, who has so richly blessed us.
Abraham had already realised what it was to have the blessing and protection of the Almighty. After returning from the slaughter of the kings, Abraham had refused to enrich himself with the spoils of battle, saying to the King of Sodom: "… that thou mayest not say, I have made Abram rich" (Gen. 14:23). And after: "these things the word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, thy exceeding great reward." Although surrounded by hostile nations, who might have been plotting to attack him after his overthrow of the kings, Abram was to be assured that he had a sure protection in God Himself. Not all the united powers around could harm him when God was his shield: the power of the Almighty was more than a match for all that men could bring against him. Moreover, in refusing the rewards of the world, he had a sure reward in the God who would be his refuge.
Although Jehovah was not the distinctive Name by which God revealed Himself to Abraham, the Patriarch was not ignorant of it. To Moses, God said: "I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as the Almighty God; but by My Name Jehovah I was not made known to them" (Ex. 6:3). This Name belonged to the revelation of God in relation to Israel as a nation, even as the Almighty belonged to the revelation of Himself that God was pleased to give to the Patriarchs.
To the King of Sodom Abraham had said: "I have lifted up my hand to Jehovah" (Gen. 14:22); and to God he had said: "Lord Jehovah, what wilt Thou give me" (Gen. 15:2); so that we need not be surprised that the Patriarch should call the name of the place where God intervened to spare Isaac, "Jehovah-jireh," which means, The Lord will provide (Gen. 22:14).
Jehovah-Jireh. What relief and joy would he Abraham's when God provided the ram, caught in the thicket, to be offered up instead of Isaac his son. And what shall we say as to the wonderful provision that God has made for us in the Person of His Son. What relief and joy have come to our hearts in knowing that God spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. God has provided for our eternal blessing, putting away all our sins, and bringing us near to Himself in richest grace. He has not only provided for our sins, but, as the apostle Paul could write: "But my God shall abundantly supply all your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:19).
Jehovah-Nissi. Moses, who had been on the mountain interceding with God, his hands uplifted, while Israel fought below with Amalek, knew full well that the issue of the battle did not depend on the power of Israel, but on the power of God (Ex. 17:8-16). It was because of this he erected his alter, and called it Jehovah-Nissi, saying: "For the hand is on the throne of Jah." It was the hand of intercession that drew from the throne of God the power that overcame Amalek. Does not this remind us of the present ministry of Christ on high, interceding for His saints, even as we read in Romans 8:34: "It is Christ who has died, but rather has been (also) raised up; who is also at the right hand of God; who also intercedes for us." No accusation can be brought against us, and no foe can prevail against us, when we have such an Intercessor at the very right hand of the throne of divine power.
Jehovah-Shalom. This was the name of the altar that Gideon built after his meeting with the Angel of Jehovah, and after Jehovah had said to him: "Peace be unto thee: fear not; thou shalt not die" (Judges 6:22-24). The name of the alter means "Jehovah (of) peace." How blessedly does this remind us of all that was spoken by the Lord Jesus concerning peace when He was upon the earth, and of all that has been written in the New Testament for us of the peace of God and the God of peace. We can never forget the words of the Risen Son of God when, on the resurrection day, He entered the room where His disciples were gathered in fear, and said to them: "Peace (be) to you" (John 20:19-21). He has brought us into the favoured circle where true peace alone is found, that of which He spoke before going to the cross, when He said to His own: "I leave peace with you; I give my peace to you" (John 14:27).
Jehovah-Tsidkenu. This shall be the Name of Jehovah when Israel is re-gathered, when Christ as the "Righteous Branch" shall reign as King, "and shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land" (Jeremiah 23:5-8). Not only shall the Lord be known by this Name, but Jerusalem, dwelling in safety, under the protection of Christ, and the earthly centres of His Kingdom, shall also be called "The LORD our Righteousness." The favoured city, which has suffered so much down the ages, and over which the Son of God wept, is now redeemed and is worthy to bear the Name of Jehovah for she shall bear His character in righteousness and display His glory. (Jeremiah 33:14-16).
If Israel can speak of Jehovah as their Righteousness in the coming day, can we not speak of Christ as our Righteousness now? In 1 Corinthians 1:30 we read: "But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who has been made to us wisdom from God, and Righteousness, and holiness and redemption." Moreover, Christ has been "made sin for us, that we might become God's Righteousness in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). When God created man, "Male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam" (Gen. 5:1-2). Just as Jerusalem is to bear Jehovah's Name in the day of blessing, so Eve bore Adam's name. So also does the church bear the Name of Christ, even as it is recorded in 1 Corinthians 12:12, "For even as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also (is) the Christ."
Jehovah-Shammah. The favoured city of Jerusalem is to bear another of the Lord's Names in the Millennium, a Name that tells of His presence among His people, for it means "Jehovah is there." In the earlier part of Ezekiel, the prophet in vision sees the glory of Jehovah depart from the House of Jehovah, and from the city (see Ezek. 10:18-19, Ezek. 11:23); but at the close he sees the House according to the divine pattern, and the glory filling the House (Ezek. 43:1-5). Living waters stream from the sanctuary, and even the waters of the Dead Sea are healed. The sacrificial system is re-established to recall all that Christ's death has meant for them, and the tribes are given their inheritance according to the commandment of Jehovah. In the midst of a scene ordered by the Lord Himself He can take His place amongst His people, so that their city, which is His city, can be called "The Lord is there" (Ezek. 48:35).
We do not require to wait the blissful moment of the Lord's coming to know the joys of His presence. That happy moment will bring us to His presence for ever, to share with Him the glory of His Kingdom, and the rest and love of the Father's House. But while still upon earth, the Lord Jesus said to His own: "For where two or three are gathered together unto My Name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). Again, in John 14:18, He said: "I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you." How wonderful is the privilege of being in the presence of the Lord! to be in the favoured spot of which it can be said, "The Lord is there."
There are many other mentions of Jehovah's Name which, while for His earthly people, we can also appropriate for ourselves. All the precious Names of Jehovah found in the Old Testament are poured into the peerless Name of Jesus, Jehovah the Saviour, for the joy and blessing of His people now, and for ever-more.
Father is the Name of the Christian revelation. How often did the Son speak of "My Father," and "The Father" in the course of His public ministry. Jesus did not come to speak about Himself, but to reveal the Father; though the glory of His Person could not be hid. The very opposition of the Jews showed the light of the divine glory through the human veil, and caused the blessed Son of God to confess Who He was. But the mission of the Son was to declare the Name of His Father, whether as the Living Father, the Holy Father or the Righteous Father; a revelation which brought out the eternal Sonship of Jesus as also the relationship which was His with the Father as Man in this world.
At the close of His prayer to the Father, the Son said of His own: "I have made known to them Thy Name, and will make it known; that the love with which Thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them" (John 17:26). How wonderful were the secrets revealed to the disciples concerning the Father, and how blessed for them to know the relationship in which the Son, to whom they were so dear, was ever with the Father. But the Son speaks not only of the revelation He had already made, but of what He would yet make known. This fresh revelation was made in resurrection, and of it we read in chapter 20 of John's Gospel.
In Psalm 22:22 it had been written so long ago: "I will declare Thy Name unto my brethren; " and the context plainly shows that these are the words of the Spirit of Christ in relation to His resurrection, when having exhausted the full force of death's power, He rose in triumph to declare with joy the fruits of His great victory.
How great must have been the joy for the heart of God's Son as He said to Mary Magdalene: "Go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God" (John 20:17). The Son of God in resurrection has brought His own into His own place of relationship with the Father. He had come into Manhood to secure this place for them, but it could not be theirs apart from His death. In His death everything that hindered their being with Him before the Father was removed, and now in resurrection they share His place of relationship and affection.
The apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 6 pointed out the utter incompatibility of the believer and the unbeliever. How could they be yoked together and maintain the holiness due to God's holy Name? The only course for a believer who desired to be faithful to the Lord was to separate from the associations of the world. This, as so many have proved, would bring upon them the reproach and persecution of the world. But the Lord had said: "I will receive you;" and to be received by the Lord would more than compensate for the world's malice and hatred.
Moreover, the Christian walking in separation for the will and pleasure of God would have all the care and affection of God as a Father, and all the blessing and protection of Him who had revealed Himself of old as Jehovah and Almighty. How sweetly are these names of divine revelation brought before us to encourage us to walk apart from the associations of a world that has crucified and still rejects the Son of God. Men may plead that the associations envisaged in this chapter were with the heathen, and indeed it is so; but surely there is also the call to separation from every association, even in Christendom, where there is so much lawlessness, the giving up of the outward forms of Christianity, the absence of divine light, the denial of the cardinal truths affecting the Person of the Son of God, and the progress of evil towards the apostasy.
Thou great and good! Thou just and wise!
Hail! as our Father and our God!
For we are Thine by sacred ties,
Thy sons and daughters — bought with blood.
Then, oh! to us this grace afford,
That far from Thee we ne'er may move;
Our guard — the presence of the Lord;
Our joy — Thy perfect present love.