JEHOVAH--LORD

JEHOVAH - LORD

Exo 6:2 And God spoke unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:
Exo 6:3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.

It would seem to me that God is so great that it would be impossible for Him to reveal ALL of his attributes to mankind at one time. Man could not comprehend ALL of God at once. So, for over 400 years, He did not reveal a very important part of His Nature to mankind.

We do not read of the Lord having any great difficulty in getting Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to understand Him as Almighty God (El Shaddai, Nourisher). But when the time came for Him to reveal Himself as JEHOVAH THE LORD, there were problems right away.

For you see, the JEHOVAH-LORD nature of God is the part of Him that is like a ROCK, or a FORTRESS. It is UNRELENTING, UNMOVING, UNCHANGING. It is SOLID and DEMANDING. It is the part of God that humanity tends to flee from, avoid, and not acknowledge in their lives. We naturally dislike being told what to do by someone else. Our natural tendency is to disobey and rebel when a command is given to us.

Isa 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
Isa 1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

God revealed this side of His Nature to us through the LAW OF MOSES, and it was not an easy undertaking for Him. Many times, in the books of Exodus and Leviticus, He would reiterate the fact that, "I AM THE LORD." It would seem that it was a very important lesson for them (and us) to learn.
To be sure, the BEST WAY for us to learn about what pleases or displeases God is to study and know the LAW OF MOSES. The TEN COMMANDMENTS are ABSOLUTES. They DO NOT BEND, NOR ARE THEY ERODED BY TIME OR ELEMENTS.

NOR DO DISPENSATIONS AFFECT THEM. They are the same today as they were when the finger of God etched them into stone over 3500 years ago.

THE GOD WHO WROTE THEM IS THE SAME. HE CHANGES NOT.

The MAIN DIFFERENCE TODAY is in OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THEM.

Before the death of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary, retribution was swift and harsh for any infraction of the Law.

Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set
before you LIFE AND DEATH,
BLESSING AND CURSING: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Deu 30:20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Since that Sacrificial Death, retribution is DEFERRED until all means of drawing mankind to repentance have been exhausted. If repentance is forthcoming from our hearts, retribution is cancelled entirely, because God is NOW showing us his El Elyon nature-- forgiveness, mercy, grace, another chance.

BUT WOE BE TO THE FOLKS WHO REFUSE TO REPENT. As Bert Brisbane told us 65 years ago, "They'll be in hell before their feet get cold."

David seemed to have had first-hand knowledge of all three of the
main revelatory names of God. In Psalm 91 we read: Psa 91:1 He
that dwelleth in the secret place of the MOST HIGH (EL ELYON) shall abide
under the shadow of the ALMIGHTY (EL SHADDAI).
Psa 91:2 I will say of the LORD (JEHOVAH), He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Folks who study the "laws" of the human mind (Psychologists?) tell us repeatedly that mankind does better in development if we have guidelines for conduct that are clearly defined and rigidly enforced (JEHOVAH). It is called "good parenting" by some who seem to know what they are talking about. They also tell us that ample provision of the necessary supplies for life is very essential (El Shaddai), and that everyone will need forgiveness and another chance several times in their life (El Elyon).

JEHOVAH was a REFUGE and a FORTRESS for David. He can also be that for us, if we have learned to OBEY His Commands. And, right here, we must tell you that NOT ONE of us is able to FULLY SATISFY God with the BEST ODEDIENCE we can muster.

We must, each of us, depend upon the "safety net" provided by EL ELYON for the many times when this robe of flesh that we wear makes us falter. Without the ongoing forgiveness of Jesus, we are all hopelessly undone.

Jeremiah wrote: Lam 3:22 It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not
consumed, because his compassions fail not.
Lam 3:23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Learning about, and looking at the absolute holiness and perfection of JEHOVAH and the LAW which He gave us will serve to drive us humbly to His Feet in repentance for our inability to satisfy the demands of Holiness.

Being THANKFUL to God for the degree of victory to which we have attained is one thing. It humbles us to know what the Spirit of God can do in a human life. And we are constantly aware of how much more "ground there is to plow" in our quest for Holiness.

To be PROUD of our accomplishments is quite another thing, and has an odor that is offensive to God. Pride is the essence of COMPARISON to those around us.

Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

A correct understanding will preclude any tendency to be proud of whatever degree of righteous living we may have attained to. We will readily admit with Paul that: Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Paul also gave us a recipe for gaining victory over the "no good" flesh. Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye THROUGH THE SPIRIT do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.