THEOLOGY I, CTI, Yr 1 students, all lessons

Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY I SERIES Foreword To begin to speak of “theology” or the study of “divinity” (which actually means studying the “divine” One, or God Himself) is of a consequence a subject so large that we can only scratch the surface. We have presupposed at this point that you have a pastor and have been taught the basic elements of God’s divine plan. Since you are called into ministry, you should already have a working knowledge of salvation and what happened from the birth, death and subsequent resurrection of Christ. For this reason, we are only including the studies contained in this book as theological topics. In dispensational truths, you will come to a clear understanding of God’s plan for men in every historical age. Just as we raise children and start with very basic commands, as those children grow we add knowledge and discipline in a different fashion. So it is with God. As you study this you will get a clear picture of the Bible and how to read it. It is a must for every serious student of the Bible to understand biblical dispensations. The Names of God are self-declarations by God Himself concerning the innumerable attributes of His character. They are not descriptions of WHAT He does, but rather, sworn oaths of WHO He is. No theological study is complete without an understanding of His Names. It is my prayer that the Holy Spirit will breathe upon you as you study these most important truths of God’s word and that the eyes of your understanding will be enlightened! May the curtain be lifted to reveal to you divine truth that will cause your heart to “burn” within you and to change you into His likeness! In His love, Patricia T. Smith, President Covenant Treasure Institute Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY I SERIES STUDENT WORKBOOK INDEX Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 1, Biblical Dispensations & Covenants 1-3. . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 2, Biblical Dispensations & Covenants 4-7. . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 3, Jehovah-Jireh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 4, Jehovah-Rapha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 5, Jehovah-Nissi & Jehovah-Shammah. . . . . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 6, Jehovah-Shalom & Jehovah-Tsidkenu . . . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 7, The Name of Jesus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Test Review Lesson 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 6 Page 7 Page 15 Page 17 Page 20 Page 21 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 30 Material herein not to be copied or reproduced in any manner without obtaining permission from Covenant Treasure Ministries, P O Box 667, Elgin, TX 78621. Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY I SERIES LESSON 1, DISPENSATION / COVENANTS 1 - 3 By Patricia Smith The study of dispensational truth is at the heart of understanding the Bible and God’s divine plan for man. Failure to understand this will make it difficult for the seeker to “follow on to know the Lord.” To the natural man God will seem inconsistent or contradictory in His actions toward man, according to the time frame the reader is studying. To understand dispensations is to understand the actions of a Father at various stages of raising children He loves dearly. A “dispensation” is a period of time during which man is made acceptable or unacceptable to God based on a specific revelation of the will of God. Most Bible scholars concur that there are seven (7) dispensations. These are: Innocence Conscience Human Government Promise Law Grace Kingdom A common thread runs through all dispensations linking them together into an entire plan for the race of mankind. That common thread is JESUS, who can be found in every dispensation either through promise or in person. Once a dispensation has been established a foundation is laid for the next and traces of them all can be found during any time frame. A “dispensation” is a specified period of time. A “covenant” is a solemn pronouncement between two parties, outlining the conditions of a union created by this contract or covenant. In the Old Testament, the word translated from the Hebrew as “covenant” is “b’yrith” (pronounced “berith”). It literally means to make a pact by cutting, because it was generally made by passing between pieces of flesh of an animal sacrifice. In the New Testament, the word translated from the Greek as “covenant” is “diatheke” (pronounced “dia-thee-kee”). It literally means a “disposition, especially a devisory will”. It is always translated “covenant” or “testament” (as in someone’s “last will and testament.”) In each DISPENSATION God has made a COVENANT that outlines the conditions of His dealings with and expectations of man during that particular dispensation. The 7 Covenants that correspond with the 7 dispensations are: Edenic Adamic Noahic Abrahamic Mosaic (or Covenant of Law) Christ (or New Covenant) Kingdom DISPENSATION OF INNOCENCE / EDENIC COVENANT We begin our study with the “Dispensation of Innocence” (Gen. 1:26 – 3:23). Adam and Eve were blessed by God and given a mandate to: Be fruitful and multiply (populate the earth with a new creation) Subdue the earth Take ownership / dominion over the animal kingdom Till and keep the garden (their home) Abstain from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil The corresponding “Edenic Covenant” (Gen. 2:16) finds God covenanting with Adam, telling him that he may “freely eat” of every tree in the garden. This included the tree of life, so in essence, God was promising, as His part, to grant eternal life to Adam’s race. Adam’s part of this covenant was to: produce children (multiply) subdue the earth rule and care for the animal kingdom tend the garden abstain from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil This dispensation ended when man failed to obey the specific revealed will of God as he understood it and resulted in the entrance of sin and death into the world. In spite of their failure in this first dispensation God gave the promise of a Savior (Gen. 3:15), and His covering of sin by blood (Gen. 3:21) gave the blessed hope that ultimately a solution would be found to reunite man and his Creator and Father. The end of this era ushered man into the next dispensation. . . . . DISPENSATION OF CONSCIENCE / ADAMIC COVENANT Because they now had awakened to an understanding of “good and evil” they were now “conscious” of the fact that their actions could be either one. It was up to them to judge all things as to their content of “good” or “evil” and choose to partake or not partake accordingly. Under the “Dispensation of Conscience” God made further covenant with Adam. This covenant is stated in Genesis when God deals out the new terms to a fallen Adam and Eve, and under this covenant, gives them the hope of a Savior to come to “undo” their failures under the Edenic covenant. (Gen. 3:15) Under this Adamic covenant, in which God promised, as part of His covenant terms, to provide a Savior, men were now held responsible by God to: Do all known good Abstain from all know evil Approach God through sacrifice The result of this second testing of man was crime, violence and sexual perversion (Gen 6:5). This dispensation ended in the judgment of the Flood. DISPENSATION OF HUMAN GOVERNMENT / NOAHIC COVENANT Now we enter the third “Dispensation of Human Government” (Gen. 8:18 – 12:1). After the flood God made a covenant with Noah. God, in His mercy spared Noah and his family because he “found grace” in the eyes of the Lord. This covenant is a universal, perpetual covenant with Noah and all his descendants (including us). (Gen. 9:16) In it, God covenants: never again to “curse the ground” never again to destroy the earth by global flood as long as earth remains, seedtime and harvest cold and heat summer and winter day and night This covenant was not without blood, as God’s promises came over an altar upon which Noah offered burnt offerings of every clean animal and bird. Noah’s part of the covenant (which extends to us because it is a perpetual covenant), was to be responsible for government and human life, being given at this time permission for capital punishment in exchange for the shedding of human blood. Additionally God gives all creatures to man for food. The “fear of man” is extended over the animals, thus providing the “hunt” on level terms. He seals the covenant with the sign of the rainbow. We see traces of the first dispensation here when He repeats His blessing and commandment to be fruitful and multiply. We see the second dispensation as God acknowledges that man has a conscience and the ability to discern justice. In this dispensation man is admonished to: Be fruitful and multiply Take a different dominion over the animal kingdom Hold blood sacred Govern themselves and administer justice for God The responsibility to govern rested upon the whole race, Jew and Gentile alike, until the failure of Israel under their covenant. This brought judgment of Israel’s captivity and the “times of the Gentiles” (See Luke 21:24, Rev. 16:24) when the government of the world passed exclusively into Gentile hands. (Dan. 2:36, Luke 21:24, Acts 15:14-17) It is apparent that sadly both Jew and Gentile have governed for self and not God. The judgment of the confusion of tongues ended the multi-racial testing, the captivities ended the Jewish testing and the Gentile testing will end in the judgment of the tribulation. The failure of this dispensation as a whole was apparent with the judgment of those at the tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9) and occasioned the beginning of the fourth dispensation of promise. It should be noted, that Adam and Eve broke the Edenic Covenant, Cain was the first one to break the Adamic covenant and all of Adam’s race broke the Noahic covenant. Yet God remains true to all His covenant promises. TEST REVIEW Theology I Series, Lesson 1, Dispensations/Covenants 1-3 A dispensation is properly defined as____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A covenant is properly defined as ______________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ How many biblical dispensations with corresponding covenants are there? _____________ What is the “common thread” that runs through all dispensations and covenants? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The first dispensation is that of ________________. The first covenant is the __________ _________________ ________________________________________________covenant. The first dispensation ended when _____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ The second dispensation is that of ________________________. The second covenant is the _________________________________ covenant. In the second dispensation men, under the Adamic Covenant, were held responsible by God to do three things. What are they? 1) _______________________________________________________________________ 2) _______________________________________________________________________ 3) _______________________________________________________________________ What was the result of the second dispensation and the Covenant with Adam? _________________________________________________________________________ After the flood of Noah’s day, men entered another covenant and into the third dispensation of _______________________________________________________________________ The judgment of ___________________________________ ended the multi-racial testing. The judgment of ___________________________________ ended the Jewish testing. The judgment of ___________________________________ will end the Gentile testing. The failure of this dispensation ended with ______________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY I SERIES DISPENSATION OF PROMISE, ABRAHAMIC COVENANT LESSON 2, DISPENSATIONS / COVENANTS 4 - 7 By Patricia Smith Under the “Dispensation of Promise” (Gen 12:1 – Ex. 19:8), which promise was made to Abraham and his seed, faith alone was introduced as the measure of being acceptable to God. Man was responsible to: Believe God Trust God Obey God Fellowship with God The corresponding covenant that God made with Abraham remained in effect and in fact is still in effect today. The dispensation as a period of testing ended when Israel rashly accepted the law (Ex. 19:8). Nearly every culture has a history of blood covenant. Perhaps you can recall as a child, deciding to form an exclusive “club” and no one could belong unless they pricked their finger and joined it to another bloody finger declaring themselves to be “blood brothers.” It seems significant that even children seem to be born with a subconscious knowledge of blood covenant. Biblical blood covenant had several elements. They were: building an altar dividing an animal down the middle into two parts the exchange of outer garments across the altar and sacrificed animal the exchange of defense (sword, spear, dagger, etc.) the cutting of blood in the palm of the right hand the joining of the right hands uplifted walking between the pieces of the sacrificed animal Each of these had tremendous significance. The altar was the place of covenant. The division of the animal down the middle represented that the animal used to be one life. Now it is in two parts, each part dead to itself, thus speaking of the fact that when two people solemnly entered into this covenant, they were no longer living only to and for themselves. Now, there are two involved in this solemn covenant, each dead to his/her own rights. In biblical times, a person’s outer garment was characteristic of WHO they were. Kings wore distinguishing robes of royalty. Fishermen wore a certain fishing overcoat. Beggars wore begging garments. Remember Joseph’s coat of many colors? This distinguished him as his father’s favorite and heir to all. By exchanging your garment across the altar, you were acknowledging that everything you owned and were was to be equally shared by the individual you were cutting covenant with, and vice-versa. All they had automatically became the property of the covenant partner, on an equal basis. The exchange of defensive weapons signified that all defenses, small or great, were at the disposal of each party and were to be used to defend you against your enemies. Your friends then became my friends, and my enemies became your enemies. The joining of bloodied hands meant the actual joining of two lives, as the “life if in the blood.” We see the remnant of this act of covenant in our “handshake” today. There was a time in our society when all a man needed to do to buy property, to borrow money, to make any business deal, was to “shake on it.” This came about because it was originally the ceremony of blood cutting and was considered a solemn covenant that could not be broken. As a sad commentary on today’s society, much more comes into play. We must sign paper after paper, put up collateral after collateral, provide information and more information and still might be turned down by the other covenanting party. This is because men have been found to be covenant breakers more often than not. The walking between the pieces with the joined uplifted right hands, declared that each would now live for the other, and was now considered the final ceremonial ritual that would make the whole ceremony legal and binding. Just as in a marriage, all that has gone before in the ceremony is considered just so much tradition until the promises are made and the final act of the minister declaring them to be husband and wife. Without that pronouncement and the signing of the legal document provided to the state, there is no legal marriage. Thus, the “walking between the pieces” was the culminating act of the covenant and the finalization. Unless this was done, there was considered to be no covenant. After the ceremony was finalized, certain legalities went into effect. They were: Both parties were re-named, each assuming the other’s name in their own Each was given a title, that title being “the friend of…” i.e., if you were previously “John Doe,” and you entered into a covenant with “Fred Smith” you now became John Doe-Smith, The Friend of Smith. You had a right to share the same table always, and symbolized this by sharing a meal, usually consisting of bread and wine. Your offspring (generations) were members of this covenant, even the unborn We see the re-naming in the marriage covenant today. In many other cultures, children share not only their father’s surname, but that of their mother as well. This signifies that the generations of this covenant are perpetual. We tend to see the term “friends” inclusive of just mere acquaintances or those with whom we meet socially from time to time. In biblical days, the term “friend” was a legal title meaning you were in blood covenant with that person, and meant that all of their possessions were equally owned and shared. It meant that if you chose to fight with one of them you met both of them on the battlefield, and conversely you could not befriend one without befriending the other. The sharing of the meal represents the sharing of life. Every shared meal reminded covenant partners that they were indeed one with the other and were sustaining their “one life” by eating from the same loaf of bread and drinking from the same flagon of wine. With all these steps in mind, let us look at Genesis 15. Do you see God pledging to Abram all that He is (as in the removing and passing of a garment) and pledging all His defense (as in a shield) and saying to Abram, “I am thy shield and thy exceedingly great reward.” God then makes promise to him saying that as the stars are in the sky, “so shall thy seed be.” Abram then did a profound thing. He believed God. That simple act of belief in the goodness, the ability, the character and the truthfulness of God, got him chalked up in God’s book as “RIGHTEOUS.” He didn’t have a list of rules or an obstacle course of good works to go through. He just simply “believed in the Lord….and (miracle of all miracles) “he counted it to him as righteousness.” This covenant of righteousness and faith needed to pass through the ceremonial process to become valid. Just as a marriage must be consummated physically to make the covenant valid in a court of law…otherwise, annulment is an immediate option). Abram was instructed to provide animals (5, the number of grace) and “divide them in the midst.” This was only done in solemn blood covenant. Now Abram is getting the general idea that the God of all creation is preparing to actually come down and cut a blood covenant with him and all that implied! Abram must have been euphoric! Time fails us to even begin to amplify what this would mean to him and his family after him. I challenge you to take some time this coming week and simply meditate on what it would mean to actually be a blood covenant partner (as we have outlined) with the God of all, the King of all Kings, the Lord of all Lords, He who is without beginning or ending, who is all powerful, from Whom all things came into being. The One who is the Fountain of all wisdom and knowledge, the Giver of life and health, Author of prosperity, Father of faith, Judge of all the earth…just take it from there. How Abram must have felt! How diligently he must have gone about choosing those animals and preparing them, laying them out correctly, divided in the middle, waiting for the coming of this Mighty God to cut blood with him, a lowly human! How vigorously he defended t hose dead animals as the fowls of the air sought to light on and devour them. Don’t you imagine that he bathed and combed his hair and perfumed his body to the utmost! He was probably torn between just falling on his face and worshipping, lifting his hands and shouting, laughing, crying for joy, and then having to turn aside and fight the enemy vultures. Can’t you see him now, fending off the birds and then lifting his hands in worship? Work a while, praise a while, work a while, worship a while, wondering when God was ever going to show up! Now switch the scene to heaven. Can you see God conferring with His Son and Holy Spirit as they watch Abram? “Son,” I imagine God saying, “Do you see Abram working himself into a frenzy?” Do you think he actually believes that if I intend to cut covenant with him I am not able to take care of his vultures? Looks to me like he thinks HE has to do something about them!” Then He turns to Holy Spirit and says, “It is your job to open the eyes of the understanding of humans, and if we don’t do something about this pretty soon, he’s going to mess this up for all of us! He doesn’t seem to realize that he is not worthy of being in covenant with Me, much less his children after him…that if covenant is cut today, someone is going to have to “stand in” for him…someone who is totally holy and undefiled by sin. So You go down there first and just take him out of the picture. But, oh yes, when you do that, make sure he can see what’s going on…just don’t let him try and participate.” So we find Abram, “as the sun was going down.” Now night is falling and how weary Abram must have been with all his religious exercise and battle-fighting. He is still expectant, but wondering now that night is falling…when is He ever going to come! All of a sudden “a deep sleep fell on Abram, and lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.” Can you just imagine? Here he is, at the point of the greatest event ever known to man…the opportunity of cutting a blood covenant with Almighty God, and WHAM! Out he goes! For those of the Christian persuasion who have a problem with people falling or being “slain” in the Spirit, wondering if such a thing is biblical, consider this state of Abram. He is now flat on his back, helpless and hopeless, can’t even move a muscle, not even a little finger…paralyzed, so it would appear. But wonder of wonders, he is still able to see and perceive everything that is going on around him. Could this be the work of God the Holy Spirit? Now the scripture calls it a “horror” of great darkness. In other words, Abram is horrified! Just when it looked as though he was going to enjoy the greatest privilege ever offered to a mere mortal…just when he had worked so hard, just when it was time to go through the finalization of the covenant ceremony….now he is unable to do HIS PART! He cannot get up to remove his garment, much less pass it across the altar, he cannot rise to unsheathe his dagger and exchange it with God for his defense, he cannot make the promises, he cannot cut his right palm, and THE FINAL BLOW, he cannot join hands and mingle blood and become one with God and walk between those pieces, much less sit down to a covenant meal afterwards. This covenant is going to seal his righteous standing with God. How he must have struggled against this force that kept him pinned to the ground! But now, he sees something in the distance, his eyes strangely clear, he looks closer and what appears to be a furnace on fire, smoking, churning, like a tornado devouring everything in its path is coming closer and closer. In his immoveable state, he perceives the truth of all generations, “our God is a consuming fire.” The same consuming fire that would come down upon Mt. Sinai generations later to his descendants, the awesome power of God the Father descending, coming to cut covenant with a mortal named Abram! Abram struggles within himself, but to no avail. Holy Spirit has him pinned! Abram must be thinking “I’ve got to get up” “I’ve got to do my part!” “I’ve got to….RUN!” (It is centuries later when God descends on Mt. Sinai, the children of Israel who had been so anxious to visit with God, when they saw and heard Him coming, backed up according to Josephus, about 10 miles. They decided that Moses could visit with God and then come and tell them what He said. His Presence was too awesome to bear.) As Abram watches, all at once he sees something else. He sees something separating, coming out from the smoking furnace. It appears to be a “burning lamp.” It is a light that has come out of the furnace bearing that same fire. It moves around steadily until it is in the very path that Abram should be walking. It is approaching the altar where Abram should be going. In a revelation, a lifting of the curtain granted to him by Holy Spirit, he suddenly understands. That “burning lamp” is a part of God Himself who is coming to take my place in this covenant! Doesn’t the Word tell us that “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet” was it not said of Jesus that He was the Word of God? That the Word became flesh and dwelt among us? Did not Jesus Himself say, “I am the light (lamp) of the world?” Centuries later, one Jesus of Nazareth was preaching to the descendants of Abram, and they asked Him, “Are you greater than our father Abraham?” Jesus response was this: “Before Abraham was, I AM” and “your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad.” When did Abraham ever “see” the “day” of Jesus of Nazareth? He saw it when he was flat of his back, hopeless and helpless, unable to move, unable to do “his part.” He watched the Son of God take his place and do “his part” FOR HIM!!! He watched Him separate Himself from the Father, assume Abram’s place, cut blood and go through those pieces and return to the smoking furnace. When it was over, Abram knew, by the same Spirit that had pinned him to the ground that he was in covenant with Almighty God and all that implied. He knew it had been done FOR HIM, and all he could do in response was just believe it, receive it and give thanks. Now the time for the “new name.” God’s name in original Hebrew is unpronounceable to us because Hebrew contains no vowels. When it is uttered by a Hebrew, it simply sounds like an “h” sound to anyone who speaks a language with vowels. So God says, “Abram, we’re going to give you my name. Let’s separate the second “a” and the “m” in your name and add it there. Now you are “Abra-H-am.” And since the blood covenant includes your wife, let’s take Sarai, drop the “i” at the end of her name and add mine. Now she will be “Sara-H.” Now what about God Himself? Why, do you not recall that from that point forward He got a new name? Add to your list of all the names of God this one….THE GOD OF ABRAHAM. And because this covenant included all future unborn generations, He later became the GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, JACOB and finally, THE GOD OF ISRAEL! Now what about this title of “friend?” Abraham has ever since been named, “THE FRIEND OF GOD.” (2 Chron. 20:7) The official covenant meal took place in Egypt over 400 years later and involved Abraham’s descendants, the nation of Israel. It is still observed by them today and also by US! In the New Testament we find this applies to us. One of the promises of the Abrahamic covenant is that in Abraham’s seed, all the families of the earth would be blessed. In Galatians 3, Paul expounds on this, explaining that Abraham’s seed was exactly that, “seed” and not “seeds” and that the “seed” of Abraham that would bless all the earth was Christ. Therefore, he concludes that if you and I are “in Christ,” then are we “Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise!” Abraham’s covenant, miraculous and wonderful as it was, was simply the shadow of our covenant. He walked in that shadow, looking for a city…but we walk in the light of that covenant, looking backwards to Calvary and seeing there the reality of the Son of God Himself, crucified on a tree, come from His Father, returning to His Father, taking our place. It is Father and Son cutting covenant for us and Holy Spirit revealing it to us. There is nothing we can do to earn it, there is absolutely nothing we can do to deserve it or keep it. All we can do is give thanks from a grateful heart. And in the words of the old songwriter, when we arrive at heaven’s gate all we will be able to say is “in my hand, no price I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.” All the amazing promises and benefits of the blood covenant, all the privileges are now ours, not by works that we have done, but by His grace! His mercy has provided us access to the holiest of holies in heaven. All that HE is belongs to us as an equal heir with Christ. Conversely, we are not our own, we belong to Jesus, and all that we are, in every state we are in, we are in Him! God is our defense, our enemies are automatically His and those we befriend are automatically befriended by Him. This should give you great confidence in praying for those you love. If you love them, He has made covenant to love them! He has made us to BE A BLESSI NG upon the earth….not just possess the blessings, but to BE one! We have the potential to bless everyone we meet. What does this being “in covenant” mean to you? Do you believe that He possesses perfect health? It then belongs to you. Do you believe He is prosperous? His prosperity is yours. Does He own all things? Then you own ALL THINGS. Is He sinless and righteous? Then you are sinless and righteous. Consider the magnitude of this covenant. Meditate on it. When you lie down and when you rise up, think on it. Ask the Spirit to show you more of it. You will soon begin to speak and walk in a different way. You will see yourself in a different light. You have been officially given the name of Jesus. Even the connotation “Christian” means “little Christ,” and Christ means “the anointed One.” This is now YOUR NAME. He has taken your name, for He has become the GOD OF Patricia Smith (insert your own name). Think of it! Even more… you now have a title, “the FRIEND OF GOD.” Didn’t Jesus Himself say, “from henceforth I will not call you servants, for the servant knoweth not what his master doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15) We challenge you to seek a deeper understanding. God to the account of the suffering, the mock trial, the crucifixion, the resurrection of Christ and find every aspect of the blood covenant fulfilled. See them exchange garments with Him when they mock Him and put a royal robe on Him? See the exchange of defenses as Peter brings two swords to the garden? See the conditions and promises of the covenant in the last 7 sayings of His on the Cross? See the “horror of great darkness” as it falls in the third hour on the cross? See the smoking furnace meet the burning lamp at the blood sacrifice, the resulting earthquake? See Him become the altar, the sacrifice, the substitutionary walk between the pieces? We must go on to the next covenant, but the shadow of this one perhaps outlines the best of all what truly happened at Calvary and what it means to you as an individual Christian. Meditate on it…it will change you from glory to glory and faith to faith! DISPENSATION OF THE LAW MOSAIC COVENANT The fifth dispensation, Dispensation of the Law,” begins in the book of Exodus chapter 19. God calls Moses to the mountain of Sinai after Israel’s miraculous deliverance from Egyptian bondage and tells him that if the people will “Obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant” they will be a “treasure unto me above all people . . . a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Ex. 19:5, 6) The people then rashly responded: “all that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” (Ex 19:8) Three days later God makes an appearance on Sinai calling Moses up into the cloud and gives him the law, the judgments, the order of worship, the blueprint of the tabernacle, the order of the priesthood and the anointing and empowerment of certain individuals to physically build the tabernacle. This now becomes the covenant administered by Moses, sanctified by blood. When Moses comes down from the mountain, having written all the words of the Lord, he “sent young Israelite men who offered burnt offerings and sanctified peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins and half of the blood he dashed against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people, and they said, ‘all that the Lord has said we will do and we will be obedient.’ And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said, Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words. Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and 70 of the elders of Israel went up the mountainside and they saw the God of Israel (that is, a convincing manifestation of His Presence) and under His feet it was like pavement of bright sapphire stone, like the very heavens in clearness. And upon the nobles of the Israelites He laid not His hand to conceal Himself from them, to rebuke their daring or to harm them) but they saw the manifestation of the Presence of God and ate and drank.” (Ex. 24:5-11)(Amplified Bible) Under the covenant and dispensation of this law, men are now responsible to: Listen to the voice of the Lord Observe and do all His commandments Follow a particular order of worship Approach Him by sacrifice only Provide the needs of the Priesthood This dispensation extends from Mount Sinai to Calvary . . . . from the exodus out of Egypt to the cross of Christ. The history of Israel in the wilderness and in the land is one long record of the violation of the law. Those who would still try to live under the law today, or worst yet, try to somehow mesh law and grace into “another gospel” are destined to the same miserable failures of Israel. They do not realize that the law was a “schoolmaster” to bring us to Christ. That purpose was served and still serves today to show us our need for grace. The failure of this testing resulted in the captivity and removal of Israel from their land (the dispersion) but the dispensation did not end until Christ died. This is why Jesus said, “among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater then he.” (Matt. 11:11 NIV) This is because John died “seeing the promise” but still under the law. DISPENSATION OF GRACE THE NEW COVENANT OF CHRIST Once Jesus died for the “sin of the world” and rose again for our justification, the present Covenant of Grace and the Dispensation of Grace began. In total fulfillment of Abraham’s dispensation of promise men are now responsible under grace to: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ Confess your belief in Him His is the only name in heaven or in earth whereby we can be saved. But, you say, are we not required to do all the New Testament commandments? Loving God, loving our neighbor as ourselves, bearing the fruits of the Spirit, putting away sin, etc? Yes, but unlike any other dispensation, you are now empowered by the Holy Spirit to actually be a new creation, a new species. As this new creation, created in His image and likeness, all these things are natural outworkings of the seed that is in you. They are not obligations that result in your ultimate success or failure in pleasing God. Your righteousness, your justification and your standing in the sight of God is a GIFT that cannot be earned. All we can do is say “thank you” and allow Him to live His life in us! It is a joy that cannot be expressed; it is unspeakable, even unthinkable to our carnal minds. This dispensation is what the prophets and inspired men of old desired to look into; it is the grand purpose of God before the foundation of the world that makes angels fold their wings in awe and wonder (that WE are so blessed). It is no wonder that those who reject such love and mercy will meet the awful fate of eternal judgment. This dispensation is scheduled to end soon. We do not know the day or the hour but the offer of eternal salvation will be withdrawn when the Lord Himself descends with a shout and receives us unto Himself; both the dead who have gone before and we who are alive and remain. As with all preceding dispensations this one will end in judgment; God’s wrath upon the entire earth for those who have rejected His ultimate and freely given gift at the cost of His own blood. The book of Revelation deals explicitly with this judgment; a 7-year period of tribulation such as the world has never seen. This judgment ushers in the 7th and final dispensation. . . . . . . DISPENSATION OF THE FULLNESS OF TIMES (THE KINGDOM DISPENSATION AND STILL THE COVENANT OF CHRIST) This “Kingdom Dispensation” is also called the “fullness of times” (Eph. 1:10) because it gathers unto itself all the times that have gone before Christ: Times of oppression and misrule end by Christ taking His kingdom (Is. 11:3.4) Time of testimony and divine forbearance ends in judgment (Rev. 10:7-15) Times of toil end in rest and reward (II Thess. 1:6,7) Times of suffering end in glory (Rom. 8:17,18) Times of Israel’s blindness and chastisement end in restoration and conversion (Rom. 11:25-27) Time of Gentiles end in the smiting of the image and setting up of the kingdom (Dan. 2:44) Times of creation’s travail ends in deliverance at the manifestation of the sons of God (Rom. 8:19-21) The “bride of Christ” will enjoy the marriage ceremony and feast during the awful judgment on earth and then return to reign with Him for 1,000 years; no doubt teaching those who have survived and been saved out of the great tribulation. These people will still be under the divine mandate to be fruitful and multiply; so their offspring will be as Adam in the beginning. . . untested without the knowledge of evil. This is why at the end of these 1,000 years that Satan will be loosed again for a short season. During this time he will “take his last shot” at turning man away from God to himself. When he makes a final attempt to destroy the bride he will meet his ultimate doom; cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where he “shall be tormented day and night forever and ever”(Rev. 20:7-10). This will end the seven dispensations upon the earth; as we know it. After that, John tells us that he saw “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.”(Rev. 21:1). It remains to be seen what awaits those who are “in Him” throughout eternity. Our finite minds can scarcely grasp what will occur at the end of this age, much less beyond that. Jesus said that if He told us earthly things and we couldn’t comprehend, He would have great difficulty explaining heavenly things to us. As the songwriter penned long ago; “we will understand it better bye and bye.” For the present we rejoice in joy unspeakable and full of glory! TEST REVIEW Theology I Series, Lesson 2, Dispensations/Covenants 4-7 The fourth dispensation is that of ______________________________________________ Abraham was required as the terms of his covenant to do four things. What are they? 1) _______________________________________________________________________ 2) _______________________________________________________________________ 3) _______________________________________________________________________ 4) _______________________________________________________________________ This covenant remains in effect to this present day but as a period of testing ended when? _________________________________________________________________________ The fifth dispensation is that of _______________________________ The dispensation of law was intended to be what? _____________________ to lead men to _________________________________________________________________________ The law, as a dispensation ended when? ________________________________________ We now live under the sixth dispensation, which is ________________________________ This dispensation will end with ________________________________ and be extended by the seventh dispensation of ___________________________________________________ Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY I SERIES NAMES OF GOD, LESSON 3, JEHOVAH-JIREH by Patricia Smith The Bible is a book that imparts revelation or “reveals” God to us. The very first verse (Gen. 1:1) introduces us to the One who created all things. In our English bibles, He is introduced as simply “God,” but, if we could read the original language, we would find Him introduced as “Elohim.” Elohim is a plural noun, which implies that while He is (as abundantly proclaimed throughout scripture, “One God”) He is also a plurality of personality. Later we learn that this plurality is the manifestation of a three fold nature described as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have come to call this the “trinity” of God. This name “Elohim” taken from the Hebrew “El” (sometimes “Elah”) simply means the “strong, eternal One.” Every other name applied to God from this point on in the Bible reveals something further about Him to us. Names in the bible are not as names are today. Now we name our children what seems to be popular and pleasing to the tongue and what goes with our last name, etc. Originally, God intended names to speak about or reveal the true character of the person who bore them. He authors this pattern by telling us everything He intends for us to know of Him in a progressive revelation of “His Name,” culminating in the wonderful name of JESUS, the Name that is “above every name.” So we find that from Gen.1:1 on through the bible, every time He reveals Himself by another name to someone, He is revealing an aspect about Himself that He intends for us to know. These names are not just titles. His names are NOT a description of WHAT He is, or WHAT He does, but a revelation of WHO He is. So we approach this study as an exciting progressive and deepening understanding and friendship with the One who bears these names! In Genesis 14:18 when Abraham meets Melchizedek in the plain, he is introduced to another aspect of Elohim. Melchizedek, “King of Salem” (peace), is spoken of as “priest of the most high God.” In the Hebrew tongue this name, (“most high God”) is El Elyon, meaning literally, “God the Highest!” Melchizedek elaborates on this name by calling Him, “possessor of heaven and earth.” Abraham who has come out of a multi-deity culture, is probably, at this point, unaware that this God, this “Elohim,” who has called him out of Chaldea and blessed him, is indeed the One and ONLY true God. Now he finds out by the introduction given him by Melchizedek, that this God is the “highest” of all gods on the earth and is indeed the ONE who literally owns (possesses) not only earth, but all of heaven as well! This revelation astounds and moves Abraham so deeply that he is immediately moved to give Him (through the medium of El Elyon’s priest Melchizedek), the tithe of all he has! Now He knows God as the “strong, eternal One” who is “highest of all the gods” and who “owns heaven and earth.” Continuing to Chapter 15, we find Abraham now addressing Him as “Lord” (Adonai) “GOD” (Jehovah). “Adonai” is Hebrew for “Master” and is applied in the Old Testament to both God and men. When applied to man, it is used of two relationships, that of “master” and slave or “husband” and wife. Both can apply to God when we call him “Adonai” (Lord). That which we have come to call “Jehovah” (in English) is derived from the Hebrew, which of course has a very different alphabet. The actual characters in the name translate into English as YHWH, (Hebrew having no vowels). For purposes of translation and pronunciation, the English placed vowels between these letters, so that we sometimes call His name, “YAWEH.” The King James translators to further aid translation, changed the Y to a J and placed an E between the J and the H. Then they placed an O after the H and changed the W to a V. Finally they added an A after the V and then the final H, coming up with the name “JEHOVAH.”im as “lord” (Adonai) “GOD” (JKehovah, “Adonai” is Hebrew for “Master” and is applied in the However it is pronounced or translated into any language, it means the same thing, “THE SELF-EXISTENT ONE,” i.e., HE THAT IS WHO HE IS, therefore the ETERNAL, “I AM.” So we find pre-covenant Abraham with this much knowledge of Who he is dealing with. He calls Him “Lord GOD” (Adonai Jehovah) meaning, “My Master, the eternal ONE who is Who He is!” The next time we see Abraham, he has now entered into a blood covenant with Adonai Jehovah. Now at the age of 99, His master, the eternal One, appears to him and reveals something more of Himself. He says, I am the “Almighty God.” (El Shaddai). Now he introduces Himself as something more than Abraham’s master, standing alone in His eternal deity. “Now,” He says, “I am the One you have known, EL (the strong eternal One), but here’s another introduction, “I am SHADDAI” (the all-sufficient). A very basic translation is the “breasted One” as of a mother with plenty of milk to satisfy her offspring’s every need. This name carries with it the connotation of enriching and making fruitful. How appropriate that He chooses this time to reveal this part of His character to Abraham, for it is at this time that He proceeds to promise Abraham that He is going to “multiply thee exceedingly….and thou shalt be a father of many nations.” He then proceeds to change his name from Abram (which means “exalted father”), to Abraham, (which means the “father of a multitude.”) Later in his walk with God, Abraham learns that He is EL OLAM (Everlasting God). In Hebrew, “olam” is used to describe “secret or hidden things” and also combines these secret things with the expression of “an indefinite time or age.” So this word conveys His eternal nature from “everlasting to everlasting” and also indicates the idea of things kept secret for indefinite duration. This implies the doctrine of dispensations or ages. El Olam is, therefore, that name of Deity in which He is the God whose wisdom has divided all time and eternity into the mystery of successive ages. It is not only that He is everlasting, but that He is God over everlasting things. So Abraham now seems to understand (Gen 21:33), that his master is eternal, creator and possessor of all things, is all sufficient in His dealings with His covenant people, capable of working wondrous miracles and has ordered all of time and space in a progressive purpose or divine plan. However, he also recognizes how little he truly does know about Him, and acknowledges by His very name (Olam) that much is kept hidden and secret in Him to be revealed in later ages. Much later in Abraham’s life, after the miraculous conception and birth of his son Isaac, and after Isaac had come to young manhood, we find him seeing yet another facet of the character and personality of his God. Gen. 22 describes the testing of Abraham’s faith. He is required to take his “dream-come-true,” his promised and long since received son and heir, to Mount Moriah and there to offer him as a burnt offering to God. Up to this point, everything Abraham has learned about God is universal. It applies to heaven and earth as well. It applies to angels, living creatures in heaven, the devil and demon spirits. They all know Him as “El,” the strong eternal One. They all know Him as “El Elyon,” the highest God of all. They all know Him as “Adonai” the Master of all. They all know him as “Yahweh”, the One who is Who He is. They all know Him as “El Shaddai” the One who is All-sufficient. They all know Him as “El Olam” the “One to Whom the secret things belong and who has purposed from eternity past to eternity future the unfolding plan of all the ages. But now, God begins adding descriptive, revelatory names to His name of “Yahweh,” compounding that name six times in the old testament. Each time He adds to this name (Yahweh) and reveals it to a man, He is revealing His relationship ONLY to His Covenant men and women on earth and taking them to another level of understanding and knowledge of Him. In Genesis 22, Abraham is about to learn something concerning this God with Whom he is actually in a covenant relationship. When God, seeing Abraham’s faith, spares Isaac, He then provides His own sacrifice, in a grand picture of something far more wonderful to come. He is showing a preview of the time when He will see all our attempts through the ages to meet His perfect standards and all our miserable failures in so doing. He is showing that the day will come when our every need will be met, not by our own self-sacrificing, well meaning religious rigors, but by Himself alone! HE will send the ultimate sacrifice so that we and all of our promises can go free! Abraham receives this great revelation and from this glimpse into God’s character only to His own people, calls His name (as revealed to him), JEHOVAH-JIREH (He Who is Who He is and HE IS “JIREH” (Provider)! Now remember, He is also the “Eternal One” so if He is the Provider of His people then, He is the Provider of His people now, and He is the Provider of His people FOREVER! TEST REVIEW Theology I Series, Names of God, Lesson 3, Jehovah-Jireh 1. What is the very first name of God introduced in the Bible?________________________________ 2. “Elohim” means___________________________________________________________________ 3. True or false: Every name applied to God from the beginning reveals something further about Him to us._____________ 4. His names are not a __________________________of What He is, but a _____________________ of _____________________________________ 5. The name El Elyon means___________________________________________________________ 6. The name Adonai is Hebrew for________________________________ 7. Jehovah is the English way of saying ____________________________ 8. El Shaddai means_________________________________________________________________ 9. El Olam means___________________________________________________________________ 10. True or False: Up to Genesis 22, all the names of God introduced so far are only for Abraham’s use._______________ 11. When God began adding names to His “Jehovah” name (compounding them), He began to reveal His ___________________________ONLY to His__________________________ 12. What is the first compound “Jehovah” name introduced in Gen. 22?_________________________ _______________________________________ 13. What does Jehovah-Jireh mean?_____________________________________________________ Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY I SERIES NAMES OF GOD, LESSON 4, JEHOVAH-RAPHA by Patricia Smith Since His covenant with Abraham included all who were “IN Abraham” when He chose and called Him (all of them as yet UNBORN), all of his descendants stood in line to receive all the benefits of knowing this Jehovah-Jireh. But 430 years later, we find them all in bondage in Egypt, not knowing anything about their royal heritage, not realizing they were in covenant with Him by virtue of their forefather Abraham’s faith! BUT GOD HAD NOT FORGOTTEN! When the secret and hidden purpose of El Olam began to unfold and the time was right, God raised up a deliver (Moses) and through the series of miracles designed to mirror His preeminence on earth, rescued the descendants of Abraham from slavery in Egypt. After their escape through the Red Sea, they came through the wilderness of Shur and went three days without finding water. Finally, when they came to a place called Marah, where they found water, they were sorely disappointed in finding that “they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter.” Then, this God, virtually unknown to them, except for His recent show of delivering power, revealed to them something further about Himself. In so doing, He reveals to us, as well, the very first thing He wants us to know after we experience His deliverance from the world and are introduced to life in covenant with Him. What is this facet of His character that is so elementary to the rest of our walk with Him that He wants us to know and understand it right off…first thing? Watch, as He makes bitter, physically poisonous, sickening, death-containing substance, pure. “And he” (Moses) “cried unto Yahweh and the Yahweh showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He proved them, and said, ‘If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Yahweh thy Elohim (strong eternal One), and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I WILL PUT NONE OF THESE DISEASES UPON THEE, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: FOR I AM the YAHWEH that healeth thee.” (Exodus 15:25, 26) If you could read this in Hebrew, you would see God declaring His own redemptive Name to them, Yahweh-Rapha, or Jehovah-Rapha, (literally: I AM who IAM that heals you.” Let’s look at how some other translators have rendered this name: I am the Lord who heals you (Amplified) I, the Lord, am your healer (New English) I, Jehovah, am healing thee (Youngs) I am Jehovah thy physician (Spurrels) I am the Lord your lifegiver (Basic English) I am the Lord and it is health I bring thee (Knox) I the Lord make you immune to them (American) Need we say, that in the culmination of all things in Christ and the introduction of the New Covenant, the first thing God wants us to know after we are miraculously chosen, called and rescued from the bondage of this world under Satan is that He is still JEHOVAH-RAPHA, the Lord Who heals us! Do we see this pattern when God sent our Redeemer to earth? (for God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself). The very first thing He began to do after His miraculous birth and entry into the ministry of His purpose was to show us His Father, to, as He Himself put it, “declare His Father’s Name!” And which name did He begin declaring? He began to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, open blind eyes, open deaf ears, raise up paralytics, cure diseases and heal “all those that were oppressed of the devil!” THIS IS ELEMENTARY. After you find out by the miracle of salvation that you have become a covenant child of God, the very next thing, according to the pattern of God is, that you should know Him by His name, “I am the Lord that heals you!” TEST REVIEW Theology I Series, Names of God, Lesson 4, Jehovah Rapha 1. True or false: When Israel was delivered from Egypt, they came through a wilderness without finding water until they came to Marah, where they discovered they could not drink this water.______________ 2. When Moses cried to Yahweh concerning the waters, the waters were made___________________ 3. God then revealed the first thing He wanted them to know about Him after their deliverance. That was that His very name was__________________________ which means ______________________ _______________________________________ 4. Below are listed 8 translations of the Bible. Beside each one, write the way that each has translated the name Jehovah-Rapha in Genesis 15:26: King James_____________________________________________________________ Amplified______________________________________________________________ New English____________________________________________________________ Youngs________________________________________________________________ Spurrels________________________________________________________________ Basic English____________________________________________________________ Knox__________________________________________________________________ American_______________________________________________________________ 5. Jesus came to show us His Father. He called this “declaring His Father’s Name.” What was the first thing He wanted to show us about His Father, by declaring (or showing) us Who He was as Jehovah Rapha? _____________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY I SERIES NAMES OF GOD, LESSON 5, JEHOVAH-NISSI & JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH by Patricia Smith The next thing Israel found out about Him, by a revelation of another of His names, was that He was the one who would fight their battles and deliver them. Now they are in the wilderness. They have learned that they are in covenant with Him through their miraculous escape from Egypt. They have learned somewhat of His thoughts and plans for them…not to harm them, but to provide for them (Jehovah-Jireh) in sending manna, quails and water, shelter and clothing (shoes that didn’t even wear out!) Even greater now, they know He loves and heals them (Jehovah-Rapha). Now, a different fact of life rears its’ ugly head. Just when things are going well, the scripture says in Exodus 17, “then came Amalek, and warred against them.” God proves Himself to them that day and reveals to Moses His heart of militant protection toward His people. The battle is won and now He gives Moses to understand Him through another name…JEHOVAH-NISSI (The Yahweh is my banner (flag) i.e., He is the One who goes before them and fights their battles. Incidentally, He has never lost one yet and still another verse goes to that song…He never will! When Satan and all his hordes devise evil against us, when demonic plans are birthed from hell to rob, kill and destroy us, when unholy and ungodly people seek to do us harm….No weapon formed against us can possibly prosper, and no tongue can condemn us! He is still Jehovah-Nissi, and we march under His banner of protection, and who is he that can withstand? It is one thing to know that someone has the ability and the will to deliver you, to heal you, to provide for you, to go to war for you, but what if He is here one day and gone the next? What if He is with you today and on vacation tomorrow? What if you are hungry and Jehovah-Jireh can’t be found? What if you are sick and Jehovah-Rapha has gone off somewhere without you? What if the enemy attacks and Jehovah-Nissi is at the Yankees game? In Exodus 33, Moses is instructed to go take the land of promise. Moses says, “OK Lord, but if thy Presence go not with me carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people having found grace in thy sight: Is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.” (Ex. 33:15, 16) Moses then goes up into the mount where “the LORD” (Yahweh) “descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the LORD (Yahweh-Shammah or Jehovah-Shammah) meaning “The Lord Who is Present.” Now Moses learns something and it is passed on to us, that He is not only a loving, caring, providing, delivering, battle-winning God, but HALLELUJAH, He is ALWAYS WITH US! Does this relate to the words of the “Word” (Jesus) when He said, “Lo, I am with you ALWAYS…” and “I will never leave you or forsake you.” No need to wonder if you will need Him or His miraculous power and love in your life only to find out He isn’t anywhere around. Now WE KNOW that whatever we have need of, HE IS PRESENT. That is His very name! By His own declaration, He is eternally JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH! TEST REVIEW Theology I Series, Names of God, Lesson 5, Jehovah-Nissi, Jehovah-Shammah 1. What does the name Jehovah-Nissi mean?______________________________________________ 2. True or false: Israel found out that Yahweh was One who would go before them and fight for them in the time of battle when Amalek came against them in the wilderness.____________ 3. When Satan attacks God’s people today, we can claim Jehovah-Nissi’s protection by invoking the scripture that says “no_________________________ formed against us shall prosper”. 4. How did Moses say that people would know they had found grace in God’s sight? __________________________________________________________________________________ 5. How did Moses say that people would know they were a “separated” people from all others? __________________________________________________________________________________ 6. When Moses finished his prayer invoking God’s presence with them, the Lord ______________________________ in a cloud and ___________________________with him there, and______________________________ the _________________of the Lord. 7. What name did God declare at that time to Moses, as they stood together on the mount? __________________________________________________________________________________ 8. And what does Yahweh-Shammah (Jehovah-Shammah) mean? __________________________________________________________________________________ Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY I SERIES NAMES OF GOD, LESSON 6, JEHOVAH-SHALOM & JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU by Patricia Smith Judges 6 tells us of Israel’s backsliding, sinful and idolatrous condition, yet in it, we find His merciful introduction to us through Gideon, of yet another facet of His unending character. Even in Israel’s sin, He is there….Jehovah-Shammah. Yet, as is always the case when God’s people are living sinful lives, we don’t want to acknowledge His presence because we are frightened of His judgment. But in His amazing grace and mercy, He revealed a part of His personality and abiding character to Gideon by a declaration of yet another one of His names. He taught us through His Name to Gideon, that in times of great sin, when we get into trouble, when we are fearful, intimidated, bound up with seemingly no way out, afraid to go to bed, afraid to get up, afraid to go out, afraid to stay in…filled with unrest, uncertainty and troubled on every side… He is JEHOVAH-SHALOM (The Lord our Peace). If only we will turn to Him, repent and obey, His peace will flood our souls and He will make us to lie down and not be afraid! What did Jesus say? “My peace I leave with you…not the peace the world gives….” Finally, because of Israel’s continual backsliding, demonstrating their (and our) total inability to walk uprightly before God, keeping His laws, His statutes, His judgments and His commandments, God spoke to them through Jeremiah the prophet. As recorded in Jer. 23:5, 6 God promises that the day will come, “that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. (In Hebrew it reads thus: YAHWEH-TSIDKENU). As the divine plan of salvation unfolds before us in the New Testament, we see Jesus fulfilling this prophecy. The eternal All-Sufficient One…The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1) And now He alone is our Righteousness. When we are weak, when we stumble, when we acknowledge our sinful state before Him, we breathe a sigh of sheer relief, contentment and peace, for we know that we are IN HIM and he is Yahweh-Tsidkenu, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS! TEST REVIEWNames of God, Lesson 6, Jehovah-Shalom, Jehovah-Tsidkenu 1. By what name did God choose to reveal Himself to Gideon?_____________________ 2. Gideon was fearful and uneasy because he was part of a backsliding nation. In your own words, what do you think it meant to him when God revealed Himself to him as the “Lord our Peace? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Jesus said, “My ____________________I leave with you, not the _______________________the world gives.” 4. Jeremiah prophesied of a time to come when Yahweh would raise up a righteous ____________________________________ in whose days people would be saved and dwell safely. 5. In the days of God’s Branch and King, Israel would dwell safely and God’s people would understand and call His name Jehovah____________________________ which means The Lord Our__________________________________. 6. Who was this “Branch” and “King” that Jeremiah prophesied of?___________________________ 7. In your own words, how is He our Righteousness? ______________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Covenant Treasure Institute THEOLOGY I SERIES NAMES OF GOD, LESSON 7, THE NAME OF JESUS by Patricia Smith Previously we have studied only six revelatory compound “Jehovah” names which describe the character of our God. Isn’t seven God’s perfect number? Some would argue that there are many other compound names of Jehovah in the Old Testament….Jehovah-Raah, the Lord my Shepherd (Ps. 23:1) Jehovah, my Light & Salvation (Psalm 27:1), Jehovah my Rock (Psalm 28:1), and many more. But on closer scrutiny, we find these names to be descriptions given to the activities of the Lord by others, but are not properly declarations by God Himself. Only these six instances that we have given are the true names revealed by God Himself to man as those things of His life and character and personality He wants us, as covenant people, to know and understand. Let’s examine Psalm 138:2 which says, “I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy NAME (emphasis mine) “for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: FOR THOU HAST MAGNIFIED THY WORD ABOVE ALL THY NAME.” What could be that “Word” that God chose to “magnify” (or make larger) over and above ALL the revelation of His Name to us up to that point when David wrote this Psalm? I believe we find the answer in the New Testament. John 1:1 says: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word WAS GOD.” Verse 14 says: “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us…” What was the name of this final Word of God, (Greek, logos) all the collective thought of God in a body of human flesh? HIS NAME WAS CALLED JESUS! (which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew name “Joshua”. And what is the meaning of this name? JEHOVAH IS SALVATION! Here is the 7th completion of the unfolding names and personality of God to us! Now let’s go back to Psalm 138 that says that He has magnified His Word ABOVE ALL HIS NAME and let us see what that really means. Jesus Himself said He had come to “declare my Father’s name.” He said, in His great intercessory prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, “And I have declared unto them thy name and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them.” (John 17:26) What does that mean? It means that when He fed the 5,000 (plus women and children) with 5 loaves and 2 fishes, He was declaring His Father’s name, (Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord our Provider). When He went about healing the sick and curing every disease He was declaring His Father’s Name, (Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord our Healer). When He had a battle to fight in the wilderness temptation with Satan and defeated him with His Word, He was declaring His Father’s Name (Jehovah-Nissi, the Lord our banner). When He said, “My peace I leave you, not the peace the world gives, but my peace.” He was declaring His Father’s Name (Jehovah-Shalom, the Lord our Peace). When He said “I will never leave you or forsake you, lo, I am with you always…” He was declaring His Father’s Name (Jehovah-Shammah, the Lord Who is Present). Finally He bore our unrighteousness, our sins, our iniquities, our weaknesses, our faults and our utter failure to please God in Himself. When He received us into Himself in the Garden agony, when He took the insult and execution of men and was nailed to a cross of crucifixion, when God Himself “laid bare His holy arm” and exacted holy justice and judgment on Him for it all, when finally He suffered an eternity in hell and whatever else it took to pay for sin, and cried out “IT IS FINISHED”….When He was buried in a borrowed tomb, and wonder of wonders, when He came out on the third day, Immortal, Incorruptible, Glorified, the Firstborn of many brethren….Finally He had declared His Father’s Name JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU, the Lord our Righteousness! And He is still declaring it with every day that passes in our lives! And now, “wherefore, God also hath highly exalted Him and given Him a Name which is above every name: That at the name of JESUS, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11) Thus the fulfillment of Psalm 138:2…He truly has magnified (made large) His Word (logos) above ALL HIS NAME! So when you breathe the name of Jesus you call upon your Provider, your Healer, your Battle-fighting, victory-getting God. You say “Jesus” and demons tremble because He is the One who is Present with you. You rest your head on your pillow knowing that He is your Peace and you walk confidently knowing that He is all things to you, not because of works that you have done but by His grace, His mercy…HE IS YOUR JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU, YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS! HE IS JESUS, the One who bears the NAME that is ABOVE EVERY NAME and IN HIS NAME, you will be saved, you will speak with new tongues, you will cast out devils, you will lay hands on the sick and they will recover, you will raise the dead, you will finish your course and you will rise to glory! IN HIS WONDERFUL, GLORIOUS, MIGHTY, EVERLASTING NAME! ALL HAIL KING JESUS!!!!! TEST REVIEW Theology I Series, Names of God, Lesson 7, The Name of JESUS 1. Psalm 138:2 tells us that God has_____________________ His ___________________above ___________________ His ___________________. 2. According to John chapter 1, Who is that Word?_________________________ 3. When Jesus fed 5,000 (plus women & children), what name of His Father’s was He declaring? __________________________________________________________________________________ 4. When Jesus healed the sick and cured every manner of disease, what name of His Father’s was He declaring? _________________________________________________________________________ 5. When Jesus fought a battle in the wilderness with Satan and overcame him with His Word, what name of His Father’s was He declaring? __________________________________________________________________________________ 6. When Jesus said, “My peace I leave you,” what name of His Father’s was He declaring? __________________________________________________________________________________ 7. When Jesus said “I will never leave you or forsake you” what name of His Father’s was He declaring? _________________________________________________________________________ 8. When Jesus said, “lo, I am with you always”, what name of His Father’s was He declaring? __________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Finally, when He took sin upon Himself, died and was resurrected, what name of His Father’s was He declaring? _______________________________________________________________________ 10. According to Philippians 2:9-11, God has ___________________exalted Him and given him a ___________________that is above____________________________, that at the name of ___________________, every knee should bow. 1