Jehovah Shammah – the Lord Is There

We come, at last, to the final title of Jehovah considered in this series of articles, and to one that is both specific to a point in time and yet indicative of a grand truth that runs throughout scripture. In some ways, the formation of this title is the most exceptional of those that we have been considering. The word transliterated shammah comes from a relatively common one in the Old Testament, an adverb simply indicating a specific place, ‘there’.¹ So, it is intriguing that Ezekiel’s prophecy ends with the words, ‘the Lord is there’ – in many ways such an everyday word, put to a glorious use! The title indicates the Lord’s presence, for what else could it mean but that He will be present there? And this is the glimpse of the larger truth that the title hints at, for our God has always desired to be ‘there’ with His people. As we look at how this truth has been seen in the past and in the present, we also look forward to the future when Ezekiel’s words will have their glorious fulfilment, and even beyond.

In the past

In many ways, it begins in the Garden of Eden, for when ‘the Lord God [was] walking in the garden in the cool of the day’, Gen. 3. 8, He really was there. There clearly had been communion between the Lord God and Adam in however long it was between the sixth day and the entry of sin. Of course, the context of the passage is after the fall, and soon the man and the woman would be banished from the presence of the Lord, eastward from Eden, and the way barred for their return, v. 24. A disruption to the fellowship had taken place, and so they could no longer be where the Lord was. Sinful humans could not be there with a holy God. Thus, the scene is set for the arc of redemptive history. It is little surprise that the title brings us to Exodus chapter 25, and to the tabernacle, ‘a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them’, v. 8. The first item He describes is ‘the ark’, v. 16, and after giving the instructions for its construction, vv. 10-21, the Lord says, ‘there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims . . . of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel’, v. 22. This would be a place of meeting, a place of communication and of command, not now on Sinai, but rather in the tabernacle, in the centre of the camp. These words are directed to Moses; however, by the time we come to chapter 29, the Lord now reiterates, ‘I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God’, Exod. 29. 45. Here is the promise of His dwelling among the people as a whole, but, in the following verse, He also states that it was His purpose, ‘I am the Lord their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them’, v. 46, emphasis added. This was one of God’s designs in redeeming the children of Israel. Furthermore, Exodus ends with the cloud coming and covering the tabernacle and the glory of the Lord filling the tabernacle, 40. 34, and the book of Leviticus opens with the phrase ‘And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake to him out of the tabernacle’, Lev. 1. 1, for He was there now. Jehovah Shammah was dwelling among His people.

Time would go on and, eventually, under Solomon, the tabernacle was replaced by the temple. The word spoken by Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 12 verse 5, ‘you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses . . . to put His name for His dwelling place’ NKJV, would find its fulfilment here. For at the dedication of the temple in 1 Kings chapter 8, after ‘the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord’, v. 11 NKJV, Solomon would speak of the Lord’s communication to his father. To David, the Lord said that until then He had ‘chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that My name might be there’, v. 16 NKJV, but that ‘your son . . . shall build the temple for My name’, v. 19 NKJV. On that day, to Solomon’s wonder, v. 27, the God whose ‘dwelling place’ is in heaven, v. 30, also came to dwell in the temple among His people.

However, failure came in. It was a long decline, but by the time of the prophet Ezekiel, recorded in chapter 10 of his prophecy, he sees a vision of Jerusalem and the ‘glory of the Lord’ departing from the temple. The slow departure of the glory from the temple is indicative of both the patience of the Lord, and His seeming reluctance to depart, v. 4, 18, 19.² But depart the glory does, for first Israel and then Judah had abandoned their God, and so He would no longer be with them there.

Through all of this, the Lord was still at work, of course. For Christ came, Emmanuel,³ and ‘dwelt among’ His people, John 1. 14; it could be said that it was Jehovah Shammah coming and tabernacling there. Even more, He had come to remedy the problem begun back in Eden – so to the cross

He went, and by His work there secured ‘a new and living way’, to allow us to ‘draw near’, Heb. 10. 20, 22. When He died, and the veil of the temple was torn from the top to the bottom, amongst other things it showed that God was not within the Holy of Holies. It would not be on the ground of the physical temple that God would dwell with His people – instead, the risen Lord would send the Holy Spirit, who would come and dwell in, and with, the people of God.

In the present

This brings us to the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 18 and His declaration of being present among His people as they are gathered together to His name, ‘there am I in the midst of them’, v. 20. Remarkable that He makes this statement on earth, but already foreshadowing today when He is glorified in heaven, and yet present with His people on earth. While the passage, vv. 15-20, initially deals with the subject of offence and forgiveness between brothers, it is this context that leads to the Lord’s second recorded mention of ‘the church’, v. 17.⁴ After dealing with the specifics of the issue of when a ‘brother shall trespass’, v. 15, against another, the Lord outlines the authority upon which the local church operates in these matters, vv. 18, 19. For this reason it is fitting that He now reveals, ‘I am there in the midst of them’, NKJV, for His presence means there is authority there. The Lord dwells among His people, gathered unto His name – He is Jehovah Shammah, even in the present dispensation.

What an amazing privilege for us, yet I wonder if this truth means as much to us today as it did to former generations who stepped away from denominational structures that have no basis in the word of God, and sought to be guided by the scriptures alone in relation to church practice? This is searching, as Fred Cundick wrote, for local assemblies might not be ‘sufficiently stamped with the realization that “The Lord is there”’.⁵ If we are convinced that the Lord dwells among us in a unique way as we are gathered unto His name, we must realize that it is both a tremendous privilege and a huge responsibility.

In the future

So, when we come to Ezekiel chapter 48 verse 35 at the end of his prophecy, it is the culmination of God’s desire to be there with His people throughout history. Chapters 1 to 32 of the book are very much focused on prophecies concerning different nations; first concerning Judah and then against surrounding nations. From chapter 33 onwards, the focus is very much on the future renewal and rescue of Israel; and from chapters 40 to 48 the focus is on the temple that will be built, its service, the land, and the city. As we have seen, chapter 10 records the glory of the Lord departing from the temple. However, in chapter 43 verse 5, Ezekiel sees, ‘the glory of the Lord’ fill the temple again. Then, the Lord will declare, ‘this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever’, v. 7 NKJV. By the time we come to the final chapter, there is a description of the gates of the city, Ezek. 48. 30-35, the millennial city of Jerusalem – and it is the city which, in the final verse of the whole book, is given the name of ‘the Lord is there’, Jehovah Shammah. While strictly speaking the city bears the name, it is the name of the Lord which is attached to the city, so thus it is an indication of the person of God Himself. How wonderful that the final view of that city is describing its gates, the ways of access to Jehovah Shammah.

Of course, the millennium will only be the culmination of this grand truth in time, for eternity will be grander still. Revelation chapter 21 takes us to a scene in the new heavens and new earth, when the city is described as having ‘no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it’, Rev. 21. 22. No temple will be needed, for God will be there – and we will be there. There are no human thoughts that can fully capture what it will be like – but our minds and our hearts stretch towards it, for that is home. So, we press on, knowing that what is ahead is all glory in the presence of the God who is there.