Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Tonight’s Study, Session 14: Jehovah Shammah – The Lord Is There
Introduction: Strictly speaking, Jehovah Shammah is a name for a city rather than a title of God. But it is so closely associated with God’s presence and power that it has often been equated with a name for God, at least in popular parlance. The name in the New Testament that is most closely associated with it is Immanuel, “God with us,” a name that was given to Jesus. Jehovah Shammah “The Lord is there,” reminds us that we were created both to enjoy and to manifest God’s presence.
The key Scripture verse where the name Jehovah Shammah is found is Ezekiel 48:35.
Scriptural Context Where The Name Jehovah Shammah is Found
“These are the exits of the city. On the north side, measuring four thousand five hundred cubits (the gates of the city shall be named after the tribes of Israel), the three gates northward: one gate for Reuben, one gate for Judah, and one gate for Levi; on the east side, four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates: one gate for Joseph, one gate for Benjamin, and one gate for Dan; on the south side, measuring four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates: one gate for Simeon, one gate for Issachar, and one gate for Zebulun; on the west side, four thousand five hundred cubits with their three gates: one gate for Gad, one gate for Asher, and one gate for Naphtali. All the way around shall be eighteen thousand cubits; and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE.” (Ezekiel 48:30-35)
Significance and Context:
Promise and Hope
The name Jehovah Shammah was given to the restored city in Ezekiel’s vision to offer hope and assurance to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. They were experiencing the consequences of their sins and the promise of a restored city served as a reminder that God was still with them, even in exile.
Understanding The Name
God doesn’t entirely abandon sinful humanity after Adam and Eve are cast out of paradise in Genesis. Instead, God begins to reestablish His relationship with them. He starts by choosing a people for His own. Then He delivers His people from their slavery in Egypt, as Deuteronomy 4:37 says, And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power,
God dwells with His people first in the form of a pillar of cloud and fire, then in the movable tabernacle in the wilderness, and later in the Jerusalem temple. But still God’s people sin. Tragically, the prophet Ezekiel witnesses the glory of God departing from the temple because of their continued unfaithfulness. God is no longer there. Despite God’s absence, the book of Ezekiel ends on a note of tremendous hope, predicting a time of restoration, when “the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE” (Ezekiel 48:35b).
God’s Presence
The name Jehovah Shammah emphasizes God’s presence and His abiding relationship with His people. It assures believers that God is not distant but is actively present in their lives, even in difficult circumstances.
For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews13:5b-6)
Omnipresence
Jehovah Shammah highlights God’s omnipresence, meaning He is everywhere and in all things. This assurance can bring comfort and security in the face of life’s challenges.
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. (Psalms 139:7-10)
The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good. (Proverbs 15:3)
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
(Matthew 28:18–20)
“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— (John 14:15-16)
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19)
Connecting To The Name
The late British pastor Charles H. Spurgeon once said that “whenever it can be said of an assembly, ‘The Lord is there,’ unity will be created and fostered. Show me a church that quarrels, a church that is split up into cliques, a church that is divided with personal ambitions, contrary doctrines, and opposing schemes, and I am sure that the Lord is not there.”
There is a connection between obedience and living in God’s presence. God will never leave nor forsake us, but disobedience disrupts our fellowship with God. Fellowship and an intimate presence of God in one’s life only comes through a continual confession of our sins and a heartfelt desire for true repentance.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Unconfessed sin also hinders our prayers from being answered as well.
If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. (Psalm 66:18)
Bright Hope For The Future!
We need not fear what tomorrow brings and carry an undue burden of worry because of the uncertainty of the future. Our God, Jehovah Shammah is already in our tomorrows. The prophet Jeremiah said this in Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jesus said these words in Matthew 6:25-34,“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Conclusion:
We, as believers in Jesus can have full assurance that our God, Jehovah Shammah has our backs and will be with us every step of our lives because He is the God who is there. A God who is there, and a God who will never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus came to die for the sin of the world to restore a people back to God Himself. God is here for us now because of our faith and trust in Jesus. The Holy Spirit is our reminder that God is here for us. Jehovah Shammah – The Lord Is There is the God who is here for all of us who cry out today, tomorrow, and forever.
Next Week, Session 15: El Chay – Living God