Hollowed by your name

Well, it's been a wonderful Sabbath so far, a church service, so let's continue. I'm ready, if you're ready. The title of our message today is, Hallowed Be Your Name. Hallowed be your name. And if you have your Bibles, let's open them up to those words, which are found in Luke chapter 11. If you'd like to be turning there now, we'll begin in verse 1.

That's Luke 11 in verse 1. Again, this is where we find those words and the instructions by Jesus Christ on the very important topic of prayer. And if things go well, this will be the beginning of a short sermon series in the weeks to come on the model prayer here. And we're going to begin this study by reading the beginning of the interaction, which ushers in to what we refer to as the model prayer here, given to us by Jesus Christ. Luke 11. Let's begin beginning in verse 1. Here's the moment. Now, it came to pass, Luke records, as he, Jesus, was praying in a certain place when he ceased that one of his disciples came to him and said, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. Let's stop there. That was the request. Lord, teach us to pray.

You know, and I don't know if this individual here perhaps was speaking on behalf of the group in asking this question. It reminded me of being in school when I read about this first part. I just wasn't a big speaker in school. I didn't like to hear my voice in the classroom, you know, aloud. And so I always had questions, but I didn't want to ask it. And so it was just such a wonderful thing when a question arose in my heart and there was no way I was going to ask it. But then someone else ends up asking it and I was so thankful for those moments. Perhaps that's what's happening here. Perhaps the disciples had had conversation before and this one disciple spoke up for the others. So they were all in need of instruction, perhaps. And the response by Jesus here is that he gives them a form of words for his disciples to use in prayer.

Now we notice immediately that the way in which Jesus encourages them to open prayer, establishing this personal relationship with God, God as our Father. And we won't dwell on it too much, but just in passing, this is an indication of that intimacy. We, as God's spiritual children, called to faith through his Son, invited to have this relationship called into a family, a divine call. And God has given us the Spirit testifying to us that we are now the children of God. I don't want to dwell on that. It's not our purpose today any further this afternoon, but we don't want to miss that because that's important. Without that beginning, without that understanding, then perhaps everything in the model prayer might just come forth as kind of an external use of words, perhaps. But it's anything other than that. This is an incredible depth that is contained in these words in this model that Jesus Christ gives us, and none more deep, perhaps, than this whole notion of, hallowed be your name. And that's given to us by Jesus in verse 2. So he said to them, when you pray, say, our Father in heaven hallowed be your name. That begins the instruction here. That begins the model framework. It establishes the framework here. Father, holy be your name. Be your name. Reverence, reverence to your name, Jesus responds with this instruction. Father, I want to acknowledge that your name is set apart. Your name, Father, is to be revered here. Hallowed be your name.

And it is that that acknowledgement is essential to this prayer. Why? Well, you know, we can say that God's name essentially stands for himself, right? When we think of God's name, we are to think of God. In other words, we can't think of God's name separate from his essence or his attributes or his character. And it's by means of the disclosure of the name of God that we're made aware of who he is, who he is. And so today we're going to endeavor to go through some of the names given to us in the Bible, some of God's names, and allow it to help us understand who he is, allow the disclosure of his names to reveal more of his essence and his attributes, again, his character. And ultimately, we will see, hopefully by the end of the study, that we know him better by his name, by his name. Now, on a physical plane, we can relate to this. We know how important it is, how important names are to us in this physical realm. Any of you who are mothers and fathers know how important names are, especially when you're welcoming in a son or a daughter. Back in Jennifer Nye's time, there was these books. I know some of you know this. It wasn't online, but they had this small book of child names. It was always small. It was always like pocket, but it was always very, very thick, usually in alphabetical order in that way. And we would spend an amazing amount of time going through just these hundreds and hundreds of names in this book of names there. I'm sure you can recall that and all the various discussions. You know, what do you think about this name? Well, no, that's no good. That's the name of my aunt, and she was a mess, you know, whatever. What about this name? No, that's no good. That was the name of our neighbor, and he was a total weirdo, you know. We can't name him that.

So as it goes, you know, you end up at the hospital. You haven't decided, and in a panic, you end up naming your child by the attending nurse's name, typically, you know.

But it's important. It's important. We understand why it's important, because names say something. They're significant. And the name of God, the proper name of God, is no exception.

And when you begin to look into the Bible and the name of God, what you find is that it is translated into the English in our Bible as Lord. Lord. And not Lord capital L, lowercase O, R, D. What you find when you begin to look into Scripture is that Lord has the four capitals with it.

We're going to look at that in a moment. L, O, R, D. The proper name of God translated into our English as Lord. And it's really just simply expressive of the Hebrew name that also includes four letters. And those letters in Hebrew are YHWH. Many of us are familiar with that. So when you see the proper name of God translated in Scripture as Lord, all in capitals, well then you know that that's coming from the Hebrew YHWH.

Now, try for a moment to pronounce YHWH just on its own. You might be able to do it with maybe some difficulty, but it's really difficult to do, right? And so what we know is that to help us with that pronunciation over the centuries, theologians have added vowels.

They've added typically an A and an E. And when an A or an E is added to YHWH, then you hear the typical pronunciation YHWH. But it's simply they're adding those vowels. And we know that there were no vowels in the original Hebrew, of course. Perhaps it's, if you know that, perhaps it's helpful to have those vowels just to be able to pronounce it in some cohesive way in that way. But essentially, though, it's important to note that the correct pronunciation of YHWH really cannot be determined, because we are adding those vowels there. But helpfully, in Scripture, especially early on in Scripture, we're given some explanation, some more information with regards to God's proper name.

And there was particularly one encounter, one conversation, which was recorded for us in the Old Testament, which helps us glean some more understanding of the essence of God's name. And it's found in a remarkable and well-known encounter between God and Moses. Many of you are ahead of me. It's found in Exodus chapter 3. So I invite you to turn there now, and let's see this as we're beginning our study here. And I'm going to be digging in just to establish some foundation of the proper name of God. As we, a little bit later, we'll dig into more of the descriptors and characteristics of God's name as it's revealed to us.

But here in Exodus chapter 3, beginning in verse 1, we do have this recording of a meeting between God and Moses and a burning bush, of course, that infamous encounter. And here in this passage we will see the capital L-O-R-D.

And that's how God is introduced here. And we know, as mentioned, that's from the Hebrew YHWH. But we're also going to see in this encounter some more incredible revelation that goes along with that proper name YHWH or Yahweh, if we add the vowels. So we're going to go through this. We're going to go through verses 1 through 14. I'm going to add a little commentary as we go along to help us.

But here it is. God now interacts with Moses by the means of his voice coming through the burning bush here. Exodus 3, let's begin in verse 1. Here it is. Now, Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he, Moses, led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Verse 2, And the angel of the Lord, so that's all capital YHWH, so Yahweh, if we add the vowels. So the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. So this is how he's introduced YHWH to Moses. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.

Then Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn. Verse 4, So when the Lord, YHWH there, when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses, and he, Moses, said, here I am. And then he, the Lord, said, Do not draw near this place, take your sandals off your feet for the place where you stand is holy ground.

Moreover, he said, I am the God. Let's stop there for a moment. I am the God. The word God here is Elohihi. It means mighty one. So he says, I am the mighty one. We know the plural of Elohihi is Elohim. Of course, Elohim, the mighty ones, is used in the creation accounts of Genesis 1. In the beginning, Elohim, the mighty ones, created the heavens and the earth. Plural. We know God the Father created all things through Jesus Christ.

Right there at Creation Week. So here he says, I am the God, Elohihi there, of your Father, the God Elohih of Abraham, the God Elohih of Isaac. So he says, I am the mighty one of Isaac, the God, the mighty one of Jacob. And Moses hid his face and was afraid to look upon God. And the Lord, Y-H-W-H, or Yahweh, if we add those vowels, and the Lord said, I have surely seen the people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from the land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and Hittites and the Amorites and the Parazites and the Habbites and the Jebusites there.

Let's move down in the conversation here to verse 13. If you allow your eyes to go down to verse 13, because it is here, we're going to begin to be given some more information with regards to Y-H-W-H and the essence or the fullness of God's name. So verse 13, Then Moses said to God, Elohim, so that's actually plural there, so Moses said to God, plural, Elohim, indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, the God, Elohim, the mighty one of your fathers, has sent me to you.

And they say to me, well, what is his name? What shall I say to them? Verse 14, And God, Elohim, said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, Thus ye shall say to the children of Israel, I am has sent me to you.

Moreover, God, Elohim, said to Moses, Thus ye shall say to the children of Israel, the Lord God, Elohim, of your fathers, the God, Elohim of Abraham, the God, Elohim of Isaac, and of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.

So let's stop there. So it's quite a passage, and you can see that he introduces himself as translated in our English, Lord, L-O-R-D, capitals, Y-H-W-H, Yahweh. And then you have this interaction where he also refers to himself in the singular or the plural mighty one or mighty ones, as he's telling Moses about this mission.

And Moses understandably says, well, when I get there and they ask me, who sends you? What is his name? What should I tell them? And he says, if I go and say the God, Elohim of your fathers, has sent me to you, and they say, tell me his name, what should I say?

And let's just stop there for a moment. This is interesting. So again, when I go to them and say the Elohim, the mighty one of your fathers, has sent me to you, and they say, tell me his name, what should I tell them? So this tells us that what is going to flow next is going to introduce us to a deeper dimension of God's name here. So there's going to be something more immense. There's going to be more of a grandeur in the response to this. So again, he's already introduced the passage with YHWH, the proper name of God. He's referred to God as the mighty one or the mighty ones. But that doesn't quite capture what Moses is looking for. And so the answer to that question, who shall I say sent me? The answer is you tell them I am has sent me to you. In other words, I want you to use the verb to be. To be. I am. Say to them, I am who I am.

And you are to say to them, I am has sent me to you. To be.

Kind of an interesting, bewildering statement here. I am has sent me to you. You know, what does he mean by this? By using this phrase?

Well, I think it is just, if you can try to put it into words, this is the most hallowed way, the most hallowed name here. God is saying, I am. In other words, I am self-existent. I am self-sufficient. I am sovereign. I am. I don't depend on anyone. And all depends on me. He's saying. Who else can say this in all of creation? You know. You know. I am. I am self-existent. I am self-fulfilled. I am in need of no one and nothing. I am sovereign. In other words, I am and all others are not, you see. It's putting all the other lower g-gods in their place. That's what's happening here. And then, I don't have to remind many of you, you fast forward to New Testament times and Jesus is now standing on the stage of human history and proclaiming himself in this phrase when they asked him, he said, Jesus Christ said, before Abraham was, I am. We won't turn there, but for your notes, that's John 858. John 858. So, in the New Testament, you have Jesus Christ proclaiming himself as the I am and they knew exactly what he was talking about and therefore that ushered in his crucifixion. They were a full force from that point on. This is blasphemy, they said, because Jesus Christ was revealing himself as the I am way back there in this encounter with Moses. Amazing, amazing. So, here in Exodus 3, we have seen, again, that God is introduced as our English translation, Lord YHWH there. In the conversation, we have the referred to as the mighty one or mighty ones, and referring to both God the Father and Jesus Christ here. It's an amazing passage, one of the most amazing passages in all the Bible. What's being revealed here. Let me give you a quote from our UCG booklet. I think it kind of puts it into perspective here. Our UCG booklet that's titled Jesus Christ the Real Story. This is a quote from that booklet. Quote, The name I am is related to the personal name for God in the Old Testament. I am in the related YHWH are the names of God that infer absolute, timeless self-existence. Although impossible to translate accurately and directly into English, YHWH conveys meanings of the eternal one, or the one who's always existed, or the one who was, is, and always will be. Continuing here from the UCG commentary. Quote, Putting all this and many more biblical accounts together, it is clear that the Word who became Jesus Christ the man was the YHWH men knew in the Old Testament. Unquote. That's pretty good. I don't think I could summarize it any better. So hopefully that is helping us kind of understand the proper name of God the Father Jesus Christ. We see Jesus Christ was that one in that encounter with Moses. Although during that encounter there's the mighty one referred Elohim, as well as the mighty ones there, which would include God the Father and Jesus, the one who would become Jesus Christ.

And again, as was mentioned in our commentary, there's just really no way to properly interpret it into the English there. There's such a grandeur to it. So that then leads us to the next logical question. Well then, what name should we use over the years that question comes up to me from time to time? And the answer is not too difficult, just simply because Christ sets the example for us. Okay, let me quote you again. This is from again from our UCG commentary here. Jesus Christ, the real story. Listen to how the booklet puts it, quote, with regards to, you know, what names are as proper to use in referring to God the Father or Jesus Christ. Quote, Christ set the example for us. He used the name for God commonly understood by his audience. This was Jesus's example. And in fact, God inspired all the writers of the Bible to do the same as Jesus did, using the words for God that their readers would understand. So, in reference to God's name, the original scripture text of the Bible contains not only Hebrew and Greek, but also Aramaic and Chaldean.

For example, when Jesus Christ called out to his father, he did so in Aramaic just before his death. He spoke the Aramaic word for God, not the Hebrew. So, that's unquote there from our UCG booklet there. So, following this example, we use the name of God, God the Father, the Son, Jesus Christ, as translated for us in the Bible in our own language today. Hopefully, that's helpful there. But by reading that passage there in Exodus, we understand that, again, the grandeur of it all. Because many then of the descriptors that are added to God's name, YHWH, then further give us further more understanding of God's character, his essence, the wonderful attributes of his as we go through it. And so, when we think of the model prayer, hallowed be thy name, we're kind of getting a sense of the reverence that we are to bring to God in prayer. And in the time we have left, I want to go through Scripture and give you just some more essence of the character and attributes of God. And what you find in Scripture is God is referred to as YHWH and then some special, wonderful, unique quality of God. So, that's what we're going to see in the time we have left, just to help us let Scripture reveal more of God through his name, the different names that are used for him. Now, we could have picked quite a bit for the purpose of this study. I chose five to go through fairly quickly here. Let's go through five of God's names. Each will be prefaced with YHWH and then have a descriptor with it.

You may pick five different ones. I picked these five. Number one, I chose hallowed be to your name Yahweh Jairah. So YHWH Jairah. That's J-I-R-E-H. YHWH Jairah, meaning the God who provides. The God who provides. Do you know of an example where YHWH Jairah is used? Well, one very familiar place is found in Genesis chapter 22 verses 9 through 14. Let's turn there if you would, where God reveals himself as the God who provides in the interaction of the story of Abraham and Isaac and the near sacrifice of Isaac. Very familiar story. We read this often at Passover time. Look at this moment as God reveals himself as the one who provides, the God who provides. Genesis 22 beginning in verse 9. Then they, that's Abraham and Isaac, came to the place which God had told him. Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order, and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand, took his knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord, YHWH, called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. So he said, Here I am. And he, the Lord, said, Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, Elohim, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham went down, took the ram, offered it up, as a burnt offering, instead of his son. Verse 14, And Abraham called the name of the place, Yahweh Jairah, the Lord will provide. As it is said this day, in the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided. Let's stop there. So YHWH, Jairah, J-I-R-E-H, the Lord, the God who provides. So this is one of the descriptors of God, using God's proper name, which we know is reveal Jesus Christ, and this wonderful part of his character as one who provides, one who provides here. It can also take on the notion of the one who perceives as well. So not only provides, but also perceives. Jairah can also mean perceives. Even the one who experiences, it's a very awesome descriptor of God here. At this moment, Abraham's offering Isaac up here, and he reveals himself as the God who provides. Dramatic illustration here, and a preview of our salvation, the provision of Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross for us. God so loved the world he gave, he provided his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Yahweh Jairah, the provider.

Do you know him? Do you know this part of his character as a provider to you? I hope you do. So when you think about hallowing God's name, perhaps you could start your prayer and think about, whoa, what are all the ways that God has provided for me? I'm going to give myself in prayer this day or this week to this part of his character. By doing so, you're hallowing, you're honoring, you're reverevering that part of him, that part of his character. Help me to know you as my provider. It's a good prayer. All right, second name to consider. We're going to go through these fairly fast here. Second name to consider. Hallowed be your name. Yahweh Raffa. Y-H-W-H Raffa. That's spelled R-A-P-H-A. R-A-P-H-A. Does anyone know what that stands for? It is the God who heals. So in Scripture, that's part of God's character that's given to us, is he is the God who heals. This is on full display in Exodus 15 verse 26. If you'd like to turn there. Exodus 15 verse 26. We see Scripture reveals God, Yahweh Raffa. Raffa here, the one who heals, the Lord who heals. This name, Raffa, appears for the first time here. God had just delivered the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery after three days in the wilderness. They're unable to find water. They're desperate. And here they are in this moment. Exodus 15. Let's begin in verse 25, and we'll lead into verse 26 here. Here it is. There he, there he, God, made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there he tested them and said, if you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, give ear to his commandments and keep his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am Yahweh Raffa, the Lord who heals you. Let's stop there. So God had just, again, just delivered the Israelites out of a slavery, brings them through the miraculous Red Sea on dry land.

They make this large caravan to the wilderness here, unable to find water. If you read the story in the context, they came to a bitter river that was unfit to drink, and they came to Moses, their leader. They demanded water. Moses turned to God, who told him to throw a branch of a particular tree into that bitter river. He does so, and it makes the water sweet. It's a wonderful story to read later. And so God then declares to them in that moment, YHWH, Raffa, the Lord God who heals, He healed that water for them and made it drinkable. Amazing.

Raffa can also mean to mend or to restore. The Lord who restores or the Lord who fixes broken things. It's pretty, pretty powerful there. This is a part of His character. And of course, Jesus Christ later came, and He bore our infirmities. He healed us of our sickness, physically, ultimately, spiritually. He's our Lord Raffa, you know. They're amazing. By His stripes, we were healed.

Jesus spent His time on earth healing and restoring and mending people physically and spiritually. This is a part of His character here that Scripture reveals to us. I hope you can pray then as you're thinking about Halloween, God's name. Let me know you better as my healer. That could be a great prayer there.

That's YHWH, Raffa. All right, next third aspect revealed to us again, we could have picked many more, but maybe a third to consider is YHWH, Nissi. YHWH, Nissi. N-I-S-S-I. N-I-S-S-I. Do you know this part of God's character? He is YHWH, Nissi. What do you think that means? Well, YHWH, Nissi means the Lord is my banner. The Lord is my banner. And we see this in Exodus 17, verse 15. We see this part of God's character, banner, in Exodus 17, verse 15. The Hebrew word Nissi, which is banner or flag. You might think about, well, how would that... how can we honor Hallo? God's part of that character. Well, let's read this here.

Breaking into the story here in Exodus 17, verses 14 through 16, Moses is prompted to build an altar, and he will call it YHWH, Nissi here. Exodus 17, beginning in verse 14, the Lord said to Moses, Write this for a memorial in your book, and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar and called its name, the Lord is my banner. Yahweh, Nissi. For he said, Because the Lord has sworn the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. So let's stop there.

The Lord is my banner. So he built this altar to that there. And if you do a study of this name, it can, the word Nissi can also mean refuge. The Lord is my refuge.

It has this notion to be lifted up like a banner or a flag, if you will. The Lord is my exaltation.

Yahweh, Nissi here. The Lord is my banner. And if you pick up the story here of the Israelites, shortly after they left bondage in Egypt, they were traveling in the land of Canaan under the leadership of Moses. They camped. They were attacked by the Amalekites. And Moses put Joshua in charge of leading the Israelite forces. And Moses said to Joshua, I'm going to go stand on the top of that mountain with a rod of God in my hand. And many of us know this story. That was their battle plan. Moses was going to go up on the mountain and hold up this rod. That was the battle plan. And so Moses, along with other leaders, Aaron and her, who stood nearby as Moses was holding the rod of God in his hand. And as the story goes, as Moses' arms got weak and as the rod began to lower, the enemy began to prevail. And so as he began to get tired and drop his hand, the Amalekites would come and begin to make gains again. And so Aaron and her stood next to Moses and held up his hand with him. And so in the end, God gave Israel victory over the enemies.

And at the close of that battle, Moses built this altar called the Lord is My Banner. Yahweh Nisei here. And Moses, by doing so, was recognizing that God was the source of the victory. The miracle working rod was a banner. A banner flying over the army, identifying God's people there, raised the rod up as a sign of God's saving protection.

Just as Jesus Christ was raised up on the stake for us, He did that for us and overcame Satan. Jesus is our banner of salvation and victory.

And just as banners and flags fly today to identify nations and groups, God's banner identifies His people and who belong to Him today. So when we pray, hallowed be thy name, this is a part of God's character, YHWH Nisei. Yahweh Nisei, the Lord is My Banner.

Hallowed be that part of God's character. I love that. I love that part of His character. Fourth, number four.

This is one that's very familiar to consider. And again, you could have come up with others.

The fourth we want to consider is YHWH Shalom. It's a very familiar one to us. Yahweh Shalom. It means, of course, the Lord is peace. The Lord is peace. Yahweh Shalom. And we find this scripture on full display in Judges 6, verse 24.

If you want to turn there, the book of Judges, chapter 6, verse 24, breaking in here, the children of Israel were settling in to the Promised Land. The surrounding peoples were attacking Israel the Midianites. It was beginning to have them be filled with fear and distress and uncertainty. They were hiding in the caves. And God comes to them in the midst of their tormentors, and he approaches who? He approaches Gideon, of course, and speaks with Gideon. And Gideon was afraid. Gideon needed to know this part of God's character, Yahweh Shalom, peace. Let's pick up here. Judges 6, verse 23 and 24. Judges 6, verses 23 and 24. Then the Lord said to him, Peace be with you. He's saying this to Gideon. Do not fear. You shall not die. So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it Yahweh Shalom. The Lord is peace. And to this day, it's still Afra and the Abi Zareid there. I should have done that fanatically in my notes there.

Yahweh Shalom. Let's stop there. So at this time, they had no peace in their hearts. And they needed relief from their troubles. An army that there's no way they could have victory over. So Gideon's story reminds us, no matter how difficult life gets, we can call upon this part of God's nature and his character here. The Midianites were so numerous in power there. But when Gideon placed himself in God's hands, he was placing himself in that moment securely into the arms of Yahweh Shalom. YHWH Shalom. The Lord, the God of peace.

That part of his character there. So this is the peace, of course, that we need today. So when you're thinking about addressing God and reverencing his name and the parts of his character, perhaps grab onto this part of his character, the Shalom. That part of the beautiful character of God. The peace of God. The peace of God. May God give you more of this part of his character. We need his peace.

I hope you seek it, that part of his character. Well, finally, the fifth one we'll review today to consider. Number five is YHWH Shema.

Yahweh Shema. Shema. That's spelled S-H-A-M-M-A-H. S-H-A-M-M-A-H. This will be the last one we consider.

Shema, Yahweh Shema, appears as a name of a city. Did you know that? It's found in Ezekiel 48, verse 35. If you want to turn there with me. Yahweh Shema. God reveals this part of his character. Ezekiel 48, verse 35. And he reveals it as a name of a city. I thought I would finish with this one. I think it's pretty impactful. The city that will see that the prophet Ezekiel is shown in a vision. This is the name of the city that's shown to Ezekiel in a vision. And I hope that from this day forward it's part of our vision of a future city to come. Yahweh Shema. Ezekiel 48, verse 35. We're going to break into the description here of a future sanctuary in this city. Ezekiel 48, verse 35. The prophet Ezekiel is describing the temple here, and he says, verse 35. All the way around shall be 18,000 cubics, and the name of the city from that day shall be the Lord is there. Let's stop there. Yahweh Shema. The Lord is there. That's what this city shall be called. Y-H-W-H, Shema. The Lord is there. So Ezekiel receives this vision of a city of God, and this is at a time when the Jews had been in captivity in Babylon for some 25 years. Jerusalem and the temple were in ruins. But God has promised here that he would be there. Hang on, I will be there. The people will be restored, he is saying. The city, the sanctuary, will be rebuilt.

I will be there, he says. So in the closing chapters of Ezekiel, the prophet describes the vision that God gave him of a restoration of land, a city, the temple, and he's describing the plans and the measurements of that restored city. And the final words again there of Ezekiel's book here is the name of this city, and from that day forward it shall be called. The Lord is there. Shema. Shema. Special meaning. This would have been so special to the the exiles, the Jewish exiles.

They had been feeling forsaken in Babylon. They had been feeling cut off because of their sin and their failure, but now God is declaring to them this name, and he's declaring, I haven't left you. I'm here for you. I will be there. Hold on to this vision. This was the promise to the exiles of a future restored city, you see. A promise. A promise that we look forward to. Yahweh Shema. God is there and will be there. And this is the glorious city that will come to us one day. The city in which God will be there with us.

We may feel forsaken alone from time, but he is Yahweh Shema. God is there. He's still with us.

Before Jesus returned to be at the right hand of the Father, you remember he promised his disciples on that faithful moment. He said, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. And the promise is for us today.

God is there. And he wants us to be there.

Well, with that we will conclude. I hope this has been a brief but effective study of the different aspects of God. We're reminded of his beautiful characteristics. Yahweh Jairah, the God who provides. Yahweh Raffa, the God who heals. Yahweh Nisei, the God is our banner. Yahweh Shalom. The Lord is our peace. And finally, Yahweh Shema, he is our God who will always be there for us. So when you pray, say these words, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.