by Dale Reeves
Story Pastor
This past Sunday at Christ’s Church, we worshiped God together with a song that was new to us. That worship song entitled, “Jehovah,” was released in 2023 by Elevation Worship. If you missed our worship service this past Sunday, you can check it out here.
Some of the lyrics of that song go like this:
“Call the name, Jehovah.
All our praise belongs to him.
Jehovah Nissi fight your battles.
Jehovah Jireh meet your need.
Jehovah Rapha heal your body.
Jehovah Shalom be your peace.
Call the name, Jehovah.
All our praise belongs to him.”
—Elevation Worship, featuring Chris Brown, 2023
A God Who Fights Our Battles
Way back in the eighth century b.c., God sent a prophet named Joel to communicate these words, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:32, NLT). And this promise from God is repeated several times in the New Testament.
When you call on the name of the Lord, which name do you call him? Well, it might depend on what you’re going through at the time. If you are asking God to provide something you need, you might call him “Jehovah Jireh.” If you are fighting a tough battle, you might call him, “Jehovah Nissi,” your battle flag. When I am going through a tough season of life, I call him my “Rock and Refuge,” and my “Strong Tower.” If you need to feel his peace in your life in the midst of a difficult situation, you might call him, “Jehovah Shalom.” If you are petitioning God for some kind of healing, you might call out to “Jehovah Rapha.” If you need to know that God is present in your life and with you as you walk through a trial, you might want to call him, “Jehovah Shammah,” meaning “The Lord who is there.”
Today, I want to zero in on the four names of Jehovah that we sang about in worship last Sunday. First of all, we cry out, Jehovah Nissi.
In the book of Exodus, the very presence of God was with Israel in all their battles. This name for God, Jehovah Nissi, is translated “the Lord is my banner.” The children of Israel were fighting under this flag, it was their standard, it was their battle cry! After the wicked Amalekites attacked the Israelites in the wilderness at Rephidim, Moses’ brother Aaron and a man named Hur (possibly the nephew or brother-in-law of Moses) lifted up Moses’ hands. As long as they were lifting up his arms, the Israelites were winning, and the Bible tells us they held up his hands until sunset. In the book of Exodus we find this account: “After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, ‘Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.’ Moses built an altar there and named it Jehovah-Nissi (which means ‘the Lord is my banner’)” (Exodus, 17:14, 15, NLT).
What battles are you fighting today? Do you need someone to hold your arms up? Or, do you need to lift up someone else’s arms today? Do you need to lift your arms up to God as a baby lifts its arms up to his mother or father, saying “Pick me up, Lord, I need you!”? Jehovah Nissi is our victory cry because Y’shua has already defeated Satan and all our battles, overcoming them by his work on the cross.
A God Who Provides for Us and Heals Us
The compound name Jehovah Jireh combines the covenant name of God with the Hebrew word meaning “to look upon” or “to provide.” In Genesis 22, God demanded of Abraham what was rightfully his—the son provided by divine power alone. Yet instead of justice, God looked down on Abraham with mercy by providing a substitute sacrifice, a lamb, on Mt. Moriah, the site of Jesus’ crucifixion centuries later. “Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means ‘the Lord will provide’)” (Genesis 22:14, NLT).
Indeed, the Lord did provide, and he continues to provide for his followers today, all because of “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, NIV).
After crossing the Red Sea, the children of Israel thought they knew who Jehovah was. He was the God of terror, the God of punishment, the God of plagues, as he demonstrated to the Egyptians. Yet, worshiping a God of wrath has its drawbacks. What if we displease him? What if his anger is turned toward us? In the wilderness, for three days the children of Israel found no water, but then on the third day, they found water at a place called Marah, but it was found to be undrinkable. Directed by God, Moses took a piece of wood, threw it in the water, and it became sweet enough to drink. God promised his people that if they would obey his commands, he would “not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you” (Exodus 15:26, NLT).
The agent that God used for their healing is significant. The word translated “wood” (Hebrew, ets) means “timber” or “tree.” The same word is found in Deuteronomy 21:23, “anyone hanging on a tree is cursed of God” (TLB). The apostle Paul refers to this verse when describing the healing sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. He rescued us from the curse by taking upon himself the curse for our wrongdoings! (See Galatians 3:13.) Because Jesus hung on the tree for us, our God is indeed Jehovah Rapha, the God who can heal us physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
A God Who Gives Us Peace
In some of the most tumultuous times for God’s people, the period of the judges, Jehovah identified himself by a new name—Jehovah Shalom. Although shalom is most often translated as “peace,” there is much behind the meaning of that word. Shalom is the condition of being fully what God desires us to be—safe, well, healthy, and at peace as we obediently walk the path God has cleared for us. During the time of the judge Gideon, the Israelites had done evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years, God allowed them to be subjected to the wicked Midianites. When called into service by the angel of the Lord, Gideon argued that his strength was insufficient. Of course, this was God’s point—even when the weakest person is placed properly in God’s will, he can bring down the strongest of enemies in the most uncertain of times. Finally understanding the truth, Gideon named the place of this revelation, “Jehovah Shalom, the Lord is peace” (Judges 6:24, NLT).
Ultimately, the second person of the Godhead, Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, came to bring us into shalom with God through his atoning sacrifice (see Ephesians 2:14-18). The prophet Jeremiah spoke these words: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3, NIV). No matter what you choose to call him, no matter which of his names most resonates with you, he is waiting for you to call out his name in adoration, faith, and expectation. He is worthy of your praise today!