BITS and PIECES
A random collection of news and views
compiled by Frank McClelland for the
Toronto Free Presbyterian Church.
262nd Edition – September 28, 2025
JEHOVAH SHAMMAH [Ezekiel 48:35]
11)MAN NEEDS A SANCTUARY
Probably the most difficult and daunting book in the Bible is Ezekiel. It begins with a puzzling description of the glory of God. It is difficult to understand as it speaks of living creatures, wheels within wheels, and their various colours [chap. 1].
Then it shows the sad departure of that glory from Jerusalem. It moves to the threshold of the Temple [9:3 & 10:4] and to the door of the east gate [10:19] then over the cherubims [10:18] to the Mount of Olives [11:23]. Slowly, reluctantly and majestically, the ”Glory of the Lord” left the sanctuary and the city. But the glory will return [Chap. 43].
Despite the gloomy nature of much of Ezekiel, there are many encouraging rays of bright Gospel sunshine. One such is that God promises to be “as a little sanctuary” to His people in whatever country they find themselves in [11:16]. The Lord provides Himself as a happy respite to them on the way to the eternal city.
Abraham looked “for a city” [Heb. 11:10], the Apostle John described it [Revelation 21:1,2] and Ezekiel foretold it. The very last words of Ezekiel’s prophecy are happy ones, JEHOVAH SHAMMAH – the LORD is there [48:35]. He has promised, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” [Hebrews 13:5].
THE NAMES OF GOD
We have been focusing these past few weeks on the Jehovah titles and have had a brief look at eleven of them. Jehovah is the incommunicable name of God and ought never to be used of man. Each of these titles helps us understand God, our relation to Him, and our need of Him.
There are other names for God in the Bible, and these also enlarge our understanding of Him and His attributes. A good study for us is found in Psalm 68 which contains five of these names for divinity.
“JAH” as an abbreviation of JEHOVAH appears in verse 4 where David calls for praise to His name.
The most used name is ELOHIM which means ‘strong and mighty One’ [v1], the ‘first great cause of all’ [Newberry]. It is mostly translated as ‘God’ and is found throughout the Bible, for example, about 164 times in the book of beginnings – Genesis. It appears 25 times in Psalm 68.
EL is a similar name for God and has the meaning of ‘God the mighty One.’ It is found in Psalm 68:19,20,24 & 35.
ADONAI is another name for God and bears the meaning of Lord or Master. It occurs in the Psalm in verses 11,17 & 19. It is also coupled with JEHOVAH in verse 20 to make another Jehovah title.
SHADDAI appears in the Psalm [v14] and means ‘God Almighty.’ It is mostly found in Job where it appears over thirty times. Like JEHOVAH it should never be used of man. A young male quartet I knew thought El Shaddai would be a good name for their group not realizing it is an incommunicable name for God.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
A name is a word used to identify and distinguish a specific person, animal, place or thing from others. In earlier years it was the custom for parents to name their children after themselves. For example, my wife and I are called after our parents.
That is not so much the case nowadays as young people choose a name that they like with little thought of family ancestry. Some religions make much of names. If you meet someone called Singh he is probably a Sikh. And hardly anyone but a Muslim would use the name Muhammad.
An interesting news item recently on the choice of baby names in England revealed ominously that the favourite girl’s name was Olivia while the boy’s name was Muhammad, in Protestant England!
When reading the Bible, do not overlook the names because each one means something. For example, Adam means ‘red earth’ the dust from which he was made. Abraham bears the meaning of ‘father of a great multitude’ [Genesis 17:5]. David means ‘beloved’ and so on.
In the New Testament, Jesus means ‘Saviour’ and Paul means ‘little’. A good Bible concordance, like Youngs, will help you open up the teaching of the Bible names.
