Titles of God: Jehovah-Shammah

TITLES OF GOD: JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH
DR. JIM DIXON
EZEKIEL 48:35
SEPTEMBER 24, 1989

For 25 years, the prophet Ezekiel lived in exile in Babylon. For 25 years, he contemplated the tragedy of the Holy City. The city of Jerusalem was altogether devoid of the presence of God. God was not there. The people of Israel were in exile in Babylon because of their sin. And God had withdrawn his presence from the Holy City and the prophet wept. But one day, by the waters of Babylon, Ezekiel was raptured in vision and he was carried into the land of Israel and put down on Mount Zion. And there he received a vision of a future city, a vision of a millennial Jerusalem. And he was promised that this city would be called “Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord is there.”

And you see, for the Jew, this represented their hope, their hope, that one day God himself would dwell with them and they would be surrounded and indwelt by the very presence of God. The Bible says, “The presence of God is the fullness of joy.”

Now I’m sure you would agree it would be a great tragedy if God’s presence were only a future hope. It would be a great tragedy if God’s presence were only a promise for a time future. The Bible does indeed speak of a millennial Jerusalem and a heavenly one. But the Bible also tells us that God offers his presence now and today. And so, this morning as we examine this title, Jehovah-Shammah, I have two teachings. And the first teaching is this, for the non-Christian, for those who do not believe, this title is an invitation. Jehovah-Shammah is an invitation to receive the indwelling presence of God.

The Apostle Paul, 1,950 years ago, left the continent of Asia and he was led by the Holy Spirit onto the European continent. Do you recall that he found his way to the city of Athens, the cultural center of the ancient world? There he went up on the hill of the Acropolis and he saw the majestic Parthenon, which still stands today. And he saw the temple of Athena and he saw the temple of Zeus and he saw innumerable altars erected in honor of innumerable deities. And he saw one, he saw one altar with this inscription: “To an unknown god.” The Apostle Paul then began to converse and debate with some of the philosophers and people who were there in that Greek city. And he was seized, and he was taken before the Areopagus. The Areopagus was the ruling council of the city of Athens. It sometimes met on Mars Hill. In fact, the word “Areopagus” literally means “Hill of Ares” or “Hill of Mars.” And sometimes this council met in the Stoa Basillia, the royal porch in the Agora.

We don’t really know where the Apostle Paul was taken, whether it was to Mars Hill or whether it was to the Stoa Basillia, but we do know, we know that he stood in the presence in the midst of the Areopagus. And there he said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious because as I passed along observing the objects of your worship, I saw one altar with this inscription, ‘To an unknown God.’ What, therefore, you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the universe and everything in it being Lord of heaven and earth does not live in shrines built by men, nor is he served by human hands as though he had need of anything. Since he gives to all men life and breath and everything, for he made from one man all the nations of man to dwell upon the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and boundaries of their habitation that they might seek God, that they might feel after him and hope that they would find him for He is not far. He is not far from any one of us. For in him we live, and we move, and we have our being. As even your own poets have said, we are indeed his offspring. Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to suppose that the deity is like gold or silver or stone, mere representations of the art and imagination of men. The times of ignorance, God’s overlooked, but now, now he demands all men everywhere to repent. And he has established a day upon which he will judge the world in righteousness through one man. And of this, he is given evidence to all men by raising that man from the dead.”

The Bible tells us that when Paul said these words, there were two groups of philosophers present. In Acts chapter 17, we are told that when Paul said those words, there were the epicurean and there were, there were the stoics present. The epicureans were hedonists, and they believed that God was distant, that God existed, but his presence was distant, that God had nothing to do with the world of men and women. God didn’t want to have anything to do with this world. And he was separate from the world, utterly separate. For the stoic, they were rational, and they believed that God was everywhere, and God was in everything, and God was in everyone. And they believed that there was a little bit of presence in every single human being.

You see, when the Apostle Paul spoke, he refuted both of these philosophies. He said to the epicurean, “God is not distant, God is not far.” He said, “From each and every one of us in Him, we live and move and have our being. God longs for us to know him. God wants us to seek him and feel after him that we might find him. He is not utterly distance, he’s nearby.” And to the stoics, the Apostle Paul said, “God does not indwell every person. God’s presence does not inhabit every human life. We must repent. Only if we repent and believe in the risen Christ, then and only then, does God’s presence indwell a human life.”

You know, the Lord has given an invitation through the gospel. The words that the Apostle Paul said 1,950 years ago are the same words that God would say to each and every one of us today. The gospel does not change. It was the same yesterday as it is today. And the gospel is “you must repent, you must repent, and you must believe in Jesus Christ. And then and only then does the divine presence come and inhabit your soul, your heart, and your spirit.”

In John chapter 14, Jesus said to his disciples, as they were gathered in the Upper Room the night before he went to Calvary’s cross, he said, “I will not leave you desolate.” The word there is the Greek word “orphanos” from which we get the word “orphan.” Christ is saying, “I’m not going to leave you alone. I will not abandon you, but I will come to you.” And the disciples didn’t understand, and they said, “Lord, how is it that you will come to us?” And Christ said that “He and the Father would come to all who loved them, come to all who loved them and make their home.” He said, “in them.” The disciples didn’t understand. And Jesus went on to speak of the indwelling power and presence of the Holy Spirit, the comforter.

You see, this is the gospel. The very moment you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are not alone. The very moment you believe in Christ as Lord and Savior, you become a temple of the living God, Jehovah-Shammah. And he comes in and he lives, and he dwells in you.

Now, there are many philosophies in this world. One of those philosophies prevalent today is the New Age movement. The New Age movement is monistic and it’s pantheistic and it believes all is one. And God is all. It believes God is in everything and that God’s presence inhabits everyone. And the New Age movement tells you, “you don’t need to repent, and you don’t need to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And you don’t need to receive the indwelling presence of Christ because you already have God in you.” And the New Age movement says, “If you want to find God, all you got to do is get alone, go in a closet, introspectively meditate, and you’ll begin to experience God realization and you’ll discover the God who is within you.” But this isn’t really new. It is very similar to the belief of the stoics who lived 2,000 years ago. And of course, it’s consistent today with eastern religious thoughts. It’s really grounded in Hinduism. And God wants you to know if you believe that, if you believe that his presence is in every human being, you are deceived. You are tragically deceived because his presence only indwells those who believe in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. And he invites you. He invites you to come and open the door that he might enter your heart.

Billy Graham was born in 1918 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Today, a towering IBM building stands on the spot where Billy was born. Thoughtfully, IBM has placed a plaque commemorating the birth of the famous evangelist. Billy Graham graduated from Wheaton College, 1940. He was ordained to the gospel ministry and he began to evangelize for Youth for Christ. And he evangelized in England and here in America. And this evangelism led him to evangelistic rallies in the Los Angeles area in 1949, tent meetings. And these tent meetings ultimately led him to launch his evangelistic crusade. And he has had crusades all over the world. I’m sure many of you have attended a Billy Graham crusade. At least you’ve seen such a crusade on TV.

I went to my first Billy Graham crusade in Los Angeles in the early 1960s in the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. At that time, the coliseum held 105,000 people. I’ll never forget that stadium was packed. It was packed. And they had 25,000 chairs, extra chairs set up down on the field and they were packed. And there were 20,000 people outside of the L.A. Coliseum who were listening on speakers. The divine presence, Jehovah-Shammah, filled that place because his presence attends the gospel as his invitation is given. The media were amazed. They marveled as the people came, people wanting the presence of God. And there came that moment when Billy Graham gave the invitation. He gave the invitation and the people came out of their chairs. By the thousands, they came to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and his indwelling presence within that they might be temples of the living God.

In this church, we too give invitation. We don’t normally give altar calls. We give what people call “pew calls.” We give people an opportunity to accept Christ right where they sit in the pew. But, of course, when an invitation is given, you’re not really coming down to receive the altar and you’re not remaining in your seat to receive the pew. You’re receiving Jesus Christ. And that’s what it’s all about. And we invite you today, we invite you today, to receive the indwelling presence of God, Jehovah-Shammah, through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Well, this title has a second meaning, a final meaning. And this title has a special meaning for Christians. For non-Christians, it’s an invitation to receive the presence of God. But for Christians, for you who believe, this title is not an invitation, but a promise. It’s a promise where God says to those of you who believe, “I’ll never leave you, I’ll never forsake you. I am with you always even to the end of all time.” A promise of his presence.

You see, in Israel, in biblical times, the Jews longed for the presence of God and the presence of God was with them. But the problem was, from time to time, the presence of God would leave. The Jews referred to the presence of God as the “shekinah”, sometimes pronounced “she-kyna.” And the presence of God, the “shekinah,” was there in the pillar of fire and in the glory cloud that led the people of Israel in their wilderness wandering. And the presence of God was there in various theophanies through the burning bush, through which God spoke, and through the angel of the Lord called the “angel of God’s presence.” And of course, the presence of God was there in the Ark of the Covenant of the glory cloud in the tabernacle. And then the temple hovered over the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant surrounded by winged cherubim. The presence of the Lord filled the temple.

The problem was, you see, the presence would depart from time to time. The glory cloud and the pillar of fire were only there for a season. The burning bush burned brightly, but it didn’t burn long. And the angel of the Lord called the “angel of God’s presence” came and went like the wind. And even the Ark of the Covenant could be taken, and the Jews would view the presence of God as being removed from them.

I know you’ve all heard of the name Ichabod, and when you think of that name, you think of Ichabod Crane and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. But, you see, Ichabod is a Hebrew name. And in the Bible, in the Old Testament, it was the name given to the grandchild of a high priest of Israel who was born on the day when the Philistine stole the ark of the covenant. And they call that child Ichabod because it means “the glory of the Lord has departed.” And you see, that was the problem in Israel. The presence of God would depart. And of course, ultimately, the ark of the covenant disappeared forever. And even if you view the presence of God as continuing in some sense in the temple, ultimately the temple was destroyed. And today the dome of the rock stands where once the temple was.

But as Christians, as believers in Jesus Christ, the Bible says, we have become temples. Temples, in which, in whom, God dwells by His Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. And he has come into this temple of our soul and he will not leave, he will not depart. The glory will never leave us. He says, “I’m with you always. I’ll never leave you or forsake you.” He promised.

Well, the first two weeks in October, Barb and I are going to Turkey. I don’t know much about Turkey and my encyclopedia at home, it says that the favorite sport in Turkey is “grease wrestling.” You have to worry about a country where the favorite sport is grease wrestling. We’re going to be going to ancient biblical ruins, the ruins of the Seven Churches of Asia, the churches of Revelation. We’re going to be going to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. We’re going to be going to Colossae, to Hierapolis, and Troas. We look forward to this. But you know, as you travel, always when Barb and I travel, there’s a mixture of excitement and a little bit of just kind of ill at ease because you’re going places you’ve never been before. But what comforts us, what comforts us, is the knowledge that God goes with us. He’s there, but he’s also in here. And he actually goes with us everywhere we go, Jehovah-Shammah. And if you believe that, you see, you have a peace and a comfort the world can’t touch, and the world doesn’t understand.

I’m sure that many of you have heard of the girl who, the little girl who came out at the top of the stairs in the midst of a thunderstorm with much lightning. She called down to her mom and she said, “Mom, I’m afraid, can I come down there and be with you?” And her mom said, “Dear, you don’t have to come down here to be with me. You can stay up there. God is with you. Go back to bed.” And this happened two or three times. And, and the mom would always say, “God is with you. Go back to bed.” Finally, the little girl came out to the top of the stairs and said, “Mom, I’m coming downstairs. You come up here and stay with God.” Well, I think we all understand that little girl. We all understand that little girl because sometimes we don’t feel God’s presence. Isn’t that right? I mean, sometimes you don’t feel the presence of God, Jehovah-Shammah. You don’t feel like he’s there though. But you see, God wants us to understand this title is not a feeling, it’s a promise. Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord is there, given to all Christians, whether you feel his presence or not. He is no less there. He promises.

I have sometimes when I’m preaching and I really feel the presence of God. And that’s wonderful. It happens all too seldom. Times when I just feel anointed and it’s like God is speaking, I’m listening. See, I have other times when I’m laboring, and I don’t always feel his presence. But I have to remind myself that his presence is not a feeling, his presence is a promise.

And he said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” And I know and believe he’s always working because he is Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord is there.

Well, of course, sometimes when we are in hard times in life, we have a hard time feeling his presence when we’re in the midst of the fire. Barb and I came to Colorado in 1973 from California, and I went to work at Faith Presbyterian Church in Aurora, Colorado. In 1974, I began the singles ministry there at Faith Church. And we called the singles group, the “grad group.” A lot of the kids had graduated from college. Truth was, some had not gone to college and some were still in college. There was one person in the grad group whose name was Tom. And Tom was my friend. He was a lot younger than me, but he was my friend. I knew Tom’s family. I respected, very much, his mom and dad. And I respected Tom because Tom had a deep love for Jesus Christ. He had a maturity; I would say beyond his years. He had a great sense of humor. He loved to laugh. People liked Tom, but girls particularly liked Tom.

In 1974, Tom began to date a girl whose name was Jan. And as they began to date, they began to love each other, fell in love. In 1975, Tom told me that secretly he and Jan had become engaged. One morning in 1975, on a Monday morning, I received a phone call early and, I was told that Jan had been in a horrible accident. She turned onto Parker Road in Aurora, turned east, into the blinding sun, had a head-on collision. She was in serious condition at Colorado General and would I tell Tom and I did tell Tom, and I didn’t know what to say. I drove down to Colorado General Hospital. I have got to tell you, I don’t like hospitals a whole lot. I remember going up to the critical care unit where Jan was, and I can’t explain this. I mean, I really can’t explain this, but when I stood and looked at Jan and she had life support equipment, machines, and tubes, when I looked at her, I knew. I knew her soul and spirit had already left that body. Just an empty shell. But the doctors were still trying. They kept Jan on life support for seven days. And I was there with Tom. And I can’t describe for you just the daily agony that Tom was going through. And people would come from Faith Church, men and women down to the little chapel, and they’d sing together and pray together. They’d sing songs like “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” But Tom didn’t feel God’s faithfulness. El Shaddai didn’t seem very powerful. Jehovah-Shammah didn’t seem very present. The seventh day, the doctors pronounced Jan dead. We had a memorial service. And the next few days Tom just hung out at our home with Barb and I. In the evenings, he’d be there and, you know, we’d have the TV on, but Tom really wouldn’t be watching it. We had a lot of things to read there and Tom didn’t want to read. And we had a lot of food. I like food. Tom didn’t want to eat. And we’d talk with Tom and he really didn’t want to talk, just yes or no. That’s pretty much what Tom said.

I remember Tom said to me, he said, “I don’t feel him, and I know, but I don’t feel the Lord’s presence.” And this is a guy who accepted Christ when he was really young. He said, “I don’t feel God’s presence.”

Last Sunday, Tom came to visit. He lives in another city now. He came with his wife Chris, and their two little boys. And I’ve got to tell you how happy it made me just to see the smile on their faces. And I think Tom can look back now 14 years ago on what happened and has a little different perspective. And he knows that Jan is with the Lord. And he knows that Jan has experienced the very fullness of God’s presence. And she has experienced fullness of joy. And he knows, he knows that God never left him. That God was always with him, Jehovah-Shammah. And he knows that God had actually taken the circumstances of Jan’s death and brought good as people came to accept Christ through Jan’s death. And he knows, he knows that God’s presence and guidance has been upon his life as the Lord has given Tom Chris who he loves more than his own life. And two precious little children.

The Bible says, our Lord Jesus says, “In this world you’ll have tribulation. Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” Perhaps sometimes you wonder why, why do we have to have tribulation? And why do we have to have suffering in this world? Times when we just don’t feel God’s presence? You know, the Bible has something to say about that. And we’ll conclude with this.

The Bible says that lucifer, son of the morning, once held a position of prominence near the throne of God as an angel of light. But something happened, at the dawn of time, perhaps before all-time something happened. Pride began to grow in Lucifer’s heart. He began to question why God was the center of everything. He began to think about upward mobility. “I shall ascend”, he said, “above the stars of God and I will set my throne on high.” And he actually began to compete for glory with the Almighty. And his pride grew into open rebellion. And the Bible says there was some kind of war in heaven and one third of the angels, including Lucifer, were cast down. And today, many people view Lucifer as the ultimate idiot. And we can only have that view because we’ve seen something of the outer darkness to which he was cast. And we’ve seen the impact of sin upon the creation. And we have felt something of the pain that separation from God brings.

Well, God could have vaporized lucifer in a moment in time. He could have snuffed out the rebellion before its inception. He didn’t do that. God let lucifer live and he degenerated into Satan. He came to earth and he found a willing partner in men. You see, this world has bought Satan’s alternative and we’ve seen the effects of that alternative all around us. The sin is not simply a spot, a blemish on the human soul. Sin has literally raped the very creative order from mutant DNA, to catastrophic floods, to babies born with deformity, to cancer, to AIDS.

This world is not what it was meant to be. And sometimes, perhaps oftentimes, we want God to come and change this world and make what is wrong right. And at least do lessen some of the horror that surrounds us. And God does do that. But he doesn’t want us to forget what sin is and what sin has done. He wants sin exposed. He wants sin exposed for what it is. And arbitrary chaotic suffering is part of the picture. Sin isn’t fair.

In a world separated from God, little children bear the brunt of their parents’ alcoholism. And that’s not fair. Murdering drug and crime lords live to enjoy their grandchildren in lavish estates. And that’s not fair. And faithful missionaries are impaled by the very people they come to serve. And that’s not fair.

You see, sin isn’t fair, sin is madness. And God wants us to understand that when we rejected his sovereignty, we rejected order, and chaos is what we have. And the madness touches all of us. And we’re not innocent victims. As sinners, we’ve brought part of this madness. But if you’re a Christian, if you really believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of life in the midst of this world, and sometimes when pain touches you and suffering touches you, and it just isn’t fair, God has a promise for you as a Christian. God says, “Jehovah-Shammah, I’m there. I’ll never leave you. I’ll never forsake you. In the midst of the fire, I’m with you. I’m there.”

And for us as Christians, as he is with us, he also promises that he’ll take what is wrong, as we believe, he’ll take what is wrong and work it for good and he’ll take the pain and he’ll bring some blessing. And he promises that one day when we have fought the good fight and we’ve finished the race, and we’ve kept the faith, we will see his face, face-to-face, in a world of light where there is no darkness at all. Jehovah-Shammah, an invitation for those who do not believe to receive the indwelling presence of God. A promise for those who do believe, “I’ll never leave you or forsake you. The Lord is there.” Let’s pray.