Carolyn E. Jacobs

This week, we reach the halfway point in the Names of God series. Until now, we’ve focused on the names of the First Person of the Trinity. Next week, we’ll move into the New Testament and focus on the Son. This week, we honor the Father. As we cross from the Old Testament to the New Testament, from study of the Father to study of the Son, it’s a good time to get some things nailed down. First, theologians from St. Augustine to Chuck Missler attest that,  “In the Old Testament the New is concealed, in the New the Old is revealed.” As you study the relationship of Father and Son in the New Testament, I think you’ll…

Yahweh Shammah, The Lord is There, is this week’s name. Technically, it’s not one of the names of God. It’s the name of Jerusalem during the Millennium, the 1,000 year reign of Jesus on Earth. Oh, it’s going to be glorious! But the good news is, we don’t have to wait for the Millennium to be with Jesus. The Lord is here. Jesus came and lived among us 2,000 years ago. But then he went away. Immerse yourself in the familiar story. Jesus is in the Upper Room, celebrating an early Passover with his disciples. It was not uncommon for rabbis to celebrate early with family and friends, knowing they…

What a great name we have this week. We see Yahweh Shammah, The Lord is There, in Ezekiel. To set the stage: Ezekiel was taken to Babylon along with the other captives deported from Jerusalem to Babylon in 597 BC. He was 25 years old – the age when Levitical priests could begin serving in the Temple. How disappointed he must have been. He’d waited to serve in the temple his whole life only to lose the opportunity forever. But, oh, what an adventure awaited him. Five years later, in his thirtieth year when he would have been ordained, God called him to prophesy. Don’t you love that? It’s as…

This week’s name is El Elyon, the God Most High. It has so much significance. We discussed how King Nebuchadnezzar came to acknowledge him as El Elyon, the Most High, one true god raised above all the false ones. But what else can we learn? Elyon provides shelter. The name makes me think of standing on the highest mountain, sheltered in his arms. I can observe the chaos below, but I’m completely protected from it. That’s how I feel in today’s crazy world. One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty. – Psalm 91:1 Speaking of mountains, mountain can symbolize God’s administration. Consider Nebuchadnezzar’s vision…

What’s the featured image, you ask? And what does it have to do with the God Most High? Why, it’s the Ishtar Gate, of course, built by King Nebuchadnezzar who acknowledged El Elyon. Do I expect you to believe King Nebuchadnezzar drove a beat-up Cadillac? No. The site of ancient Babylon has been turned into a tourist destination, complete with a rebuilt Ishtar Gate. But what does the Ishtar Gate have to do with this week’s name, El Elyon? First, a little background. El Elyon means The God Most High. It’s easy to skim over it in your daily Bible reading and keep on going, but pause a moment. What…