2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
It is always fun for me to write about what Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there, does for mankind in the way of protection, provision, demonstration of His love, and other positive things. We all know He has to teach, guide, and sometimes punish His children as any parent does. But today, He leads me to talk about the pleasant things He does. DT 32 is the Song of Moses, which he recited to the people as they listened. There is a term used for Israel (and I believe that it applies now to all believers) which is “The Apple of His Eye.” Cursillo, the wonderful spiritual retreat program that Peter and I are active in, has a wonderful song about this. There are two Scriptures where it is found. DT 32: 10, “In a desert land He found them in a barren and howling waste. He shielded them and cared for them; He guarded them as the apple of His eye.” David picked up on this probably from the oral record of Moses’ ministry and spoke of it in PS 17: 8-9, “Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings from the wicked who assail me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.” Imagine, we are the apple of God’s eye! How blessed we are!
At the time of Zechariah’s ministry, the Jews were returning from captivity in Babylon with a huge task before them. They had to rebuild Jerusalem, the Temple, and reform the priesthood, which had been corrupt. God, Who has always loved His children, wanted to encourage them. ZECH 2: 10-13, “The Lord said, ‘Sing for joy, people of Jerusalem! I am coming to live among you!’ At that time many nations will come to the Lord and become His people. He will live among you, and you will know that He has sent me to you. Once again Judah will be the special possession of the Lord in His sacred land, and Jerusalem will be the city He loves most of all. Be silent, everyone, in the presence of the Lord, for He is coming from His holy dwelling place.” This is clearly a prophecy for our future, not just theirs in 520 BC. Impatient humans can’t conceive of God’s time. The only hint we have about it is from a few Scriptures. Jews are told to pray continuously beginning at the zero hour, which is the same as 6 AM. That is how we know that since Christ was crucified at the ninth hour, it was 3 PM. There is a prayer for each hour of the Jewish day. The other hint is in 2 PET 3: 8-9, “But do not forget one thing, my dear friends! There is no difference in the Lord’s sight between one day and a thousand years; to Him the two are the same. The Lord is not slow to do what He has promised, as some think. Instead, He is patient with you, because He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.”
Perhaps the most important thing that our Jehovah Shammah has ever done for us is that which is predicted in JER 31: 31-34 and was carried out with His Son’s death on the cross. “The Lord says, ‘The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and the people of Judah. It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Although I was like a husband to them, they did not keep that covenant. The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put My law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. None of them will have to teach his fellow countryman to know the Lord, because all will know Me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the Lord, have spoken.’” I never get tired of citing this passage, because of how much it means to all of us. The obvious blessing is the new covenant itself. But there is another way that Jehovah Shammah is present in it. He describes Himself as “like a husband to them.” Assuming that our marriages are happy, the one person who loves us the most and does the most for us is our spouse. I’m grateful to God for every day with mine, because he is such a Godly person. If we take this relationship one step further, that’s the loving kindness that our Abba offers us. He can’t do that unless He is present in our lives. It was only through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son on the cross, that we could experience eternal forgiveness for our sins. Even the love of one’s spouse can’t match that!
Malachi, whose name in Hebrew means “messenger of Jehovah,” was a contemporary of Nehemiah and wrote his book at the time of Nehemiah’s visit to Babylon in 433 BC. His main concern was to call the priesthood to reform from their then-corrupt ways, to renew their covenant with the Lord. Jehovah Shammah inspired Malachi to offer major encouragement to the people in MAL 3: 1, “The Lord Almighty answers, ‘I will send my messenger to prepare the way for Me. Then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to His Temple. The messenger you long to see will come and proclaim My covenant.” We know from LK 7: 27 who that messenger is. “For John [the Baptist] is the one of whom the Scriptures says: ‘God said, I will send My messenger ahead of You to open the way for You.’” We must never allow the challenges to our faith to cause us to forget how much love is coming our way directly from Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there.
PRAYER: O Lord, You love us so much that You consider us the “apple of your eye.” We are so blessed by that and all the other ways that You show us Your love. You deal with us as our Parent, but do so with even more tenderness, concern, and care than our spouses show us. We have been brought into families, congregations, organizations like Cursillo, and into the Body of Christ by Your hand. It is Your will that we should never feel alone or abandoned. You give us opportunities to serve You while at the same time advancing our own sanctification. Before You sent Your Son to be incarnate, You promised mankind a Messiah who would bring them eternal forgiveness and salvation. Then, You made good on that promise and even sent Him to suffer and die for us to make it possible. In the face of our imperfections, You stand by, direct the Holy Spirit to work within us, and demonstrate Your compassion, love, and patience as You watch us strive to mature spiritually and come closer to You. When we complain about our suffering, You encourage us to endure in faith and give us the hope of Christ’s return and our resurrection. For what more can we ask? We acknowledge Your love and express ours for You, Dearest Jehovah Shammah. We stand ready to trust and obey You. We praise, adore, worship, and thank You. You have our loyalty, honor and glory. In Christ’s name, amen.
More wonderful reminders of the Lord’s goodness toward us are the subject of tomorrow’s message. We are truly surrounded by the warm glow of Jehovah Shammah’s love. He surrounds us with angels who watch over us. He gifts us with the Holy Spirit Who explains His word and makes it possible for us to understand it. He awaits our prayers along with the Son, Who intercedes for us. That is more love than my inadequate words can describe, and it is all there for us every day of our lives. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn