Days of Praise ~ Yahweh Raah ~ The LORD Our Shepherd

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou doest prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows, Surely goodness and mercy (lovingkindnesss) will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." Psalm 23 

We praise You, our Shepherd because... 

• We don't realize the kind of shape we would be in without you.
• You take excellent care of us. 
• You determine the quality of our lives.
• You lead, feed, protect and guide us into your very best for us.
• Most of all, you desire an intimate relationship with us. 

How we respond to our Shepherd

• More than anything, we want to know you intimately while we are on this path of righteousness leading to eternal life with you!
• We want everyone to know you intimately!
• We trust you to lead us to where you desire for us to be. 
• We will be obedient to follow you.
• We will be aware and thankful of the good things that follow us, such as goodness and mercy, the works you have given us to do, and signs and wonders!

"The LORD Our Shepherd" comprises many of your names!  

Reading through Psalm 23 we see that ~

• The LORD is our Shepherd ~ You are Elohim, Our Creator, Yahweh, the Self Existent God, Adonai, our Master, El Roi, the God Who Sees Us, and Abba, our Father who takes care of us.
• We shall not want ~ You are El Shaddai, the God who is more than enough ~ our supply.
• You make us lie down in green pastures, and lead us beside quiet waters ~ You are Yahweh Jireh, the LORD shall Provide, who makes provision for the pre-vision for our lives.
• You restore our souls ~ You are Yahweh Rapha, the LORD Our Healer.
• You guide us in paths of righteousness for Your name's sake ~ You are Yahweh Tsidkenu, the LORD Our Righteousness.
• Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, for Thou art with us, Thy rod and staff comfort us ~ You are Yahweh Shalom, the LORD our Peace, Yahweh Tsuri our Rock of Refuge, Yahweh Sabaoth, LORD of hosts, God of angelic armies warring on our behalf, and Esh Oklah, A Consuming Fire, and Yahweh Shammah, the LORD is There, You are with us!
• Thou doest prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies ~ You are El Elyon, the Most High God, Yahweh Nissi, the LORD Our Banner, who brings the victory, Yahweh Gmolah, the God of Recompense, El Kanna, Our Jealous God, and Yahweh Makkeh, The LORD Who Smites, who deals with our enemies!
• Thou hast anointed our heads with oil! You are Yahweh Rapha, the LORD Our Healer, Yahweh Mekoddishkem, The Lord Our Sanctifier, who sets us apart for Your purposes.
• Our cups overflow. Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives ~ You are Avi HaRachamim, the Father of Mercies.
• And we shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever ~ You are Yahweh Shammah, the Lord is There, and El Olam, the Eternal God!

Days of Praise ~ Yahweh Shammah ~ The LORD Is There

Foundation Scripture: Ezekiel 48:35  "It was round about eighteen thousand measures; and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there." (Yahweh-Shammah).

We praise you that, from the beginning, you have been telling us through your word that you wanted to be with us forever! 

• You desire to live among your people. 
• You are coming back to get us and we are going with you. 
• You are the way, the truth and the life, and we will be with you where you are. (John 14)
• Your glory will return to a new temple.    
• It can never be destroyed.
• You will protect it.  
• Everyone will know you and walk with you!   
• All will know you made Israel holy when your sanctuary is among them forever. 
• We can fully and excitedly rejoice that, one day, you will live among us, forever!
• The bride and bridegroom will finally be eternally united!

You are always there, watching, listening, encouraging, guiding, teaching, speaking to and loving us.

• Our main goal in life is to daily experience your presence. 
• We can be still, close our eyes and sense your presence.  
• Thank you for making your presence known to us!
• Without it, you know we couldn’t possibly enjoy the God life!
• Even when we can’t see, hear or feel you, you are there.  
• You are with us and have been all along. 

Since we can't actually see you with our eyes, we tend to forget you are there. 

• When we forget you are there, we are more tempted to entertain thoughts of worry, doubt and fear, making it easier to slide back into sin. 
• The more we are aware of your presence, the more compelled we are not to sin, but to please and satisfy you. 
• We desire to be more aware of your Spirit in us.

Since you can be everywhere all at the same time, we couldn't get away from you if we tried. 

• Your Spirit resides within us and you are near! 
• We can enjoy fellowship with you anytime we like, for as long as we desire! 
• You are always with us! 
• You promised you would never leave us or forsake us!

I invited you into my heart when I was five years old. Years later, when I became more serious about my relationship with you, you revealed yourself. When your presence came it was so powerful and magnetic, I couldn’t take it in. It literally took my breath away. Now, all I have to do is think of you, pray, worship, acknowledge you in some way and your presence is tangible! The Day Is Coming….and the most amazing wonder of all time will be the opportunity to "live" with you, walk with you and enjoy being with YOU. FOREVER!

Yahweh Shammah, we praise you that we can be with you now. We want to make the most of our time with you now, as we fully anticipate how glorious being with you forever will be!

"That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life to behold the glory of the LORD and to inquire in his temple!" Psalm 27:4

Days of Praise ~ Yahweh Makkeh ~ The LORD Who Smites

 “I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth.” Ezekiel 7:9

Israel was continuously rebellious, particularly with regard to their blatant idolatry. God’s judgment was inescapable. God smote Israel by allowing Babylon to hold them captive for 70 years. God knew what it would take for Israel to forsake idolatry and return to him.

God also knew…from the beginning...what it would take to reconcile the world to himself...

When Jesus was growing up and studying the scriptures, he read the prophecies about himself. He read about himself in the scriptures. He understood everything that would happen to him, and important things he would accomplish. Though he was a Son, he learned obedience by the things he suffered. (Hebrews 5:8) 40 minus one stripes. He knew what was ahead of him.

Highlights of the prophecies of his crucifixion: Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 50:6, Isaiah 52:13 through chapter 53, Zechariah 12:10-11, Zechariah 13:6-7, and the eight words that Jesus read in Hebrew scripture before he ever spoke them... "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Psalm 22:1 


Remember when God walked through the animal parts as he made covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15? In essence, God was saying that if he didn't keep his part of the covenant, may he wind up like those animals. AND, if Abraham didn't keep his part of the covenant, may the curse be on God. Under the New Covenant, Jesus came to break the curse of the law. Jesus Christ was torn to pieces, just like the animals in the Covenant of Parts in Genesis 15. (Credit to Tim Keller for this insight.)

The high priest, Pilate, the Jews, and the Roman soldiers all smote him. He was spat upon, struck, scourged, and crucified. Because of his  obedience and great love for God his Father, and mankind, he willingly submitted to the will of his Father. He was, for the first time, separated from his Father in Heaven, because he took upon himself the sins of the whole world.

On two occasions, Moses smote the rock, symbolic of Christ. The first time, God told him to strike the rock so that water would come out. The rock was symbolic of Jesus Christ, who would be smitten, and then become living water for us. Moses was disciplined for how he handled the second smiting of the rock. Instead of speaking to the rock, he smote the rock again. Moses had no idea that, symbolically, he was smiting Jesus Christ, again. The rock was only to be struck once, and Jesus Christ was crucified one time. (This is why God punished Moses by telling him he was not allowed into the promised land. However, much later on we do see Moses in the promised land during the transfiguration of Christ!)

"for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ." 1 Corinthians 10:4.

We Praise God for loving the world so much that he sent his only Son to pay the price for our sins, providing a way for us to escape from eternal death, and instead, enjoy eternal life with them. (John 3:16) 

Christ willingly submitted himself to be smitten for our sins so we could share with him in eternity. God was pleased to crush his Son, who was scourged and crucified. His punishment brought us peace. His stripes purchased our salvation and healing.

"But the LORD was pleased to crush him, putting him to grief; if he would render himself as a guilt offering, he will see his offspring, he will prolong his days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in his hand." Isaiah 53:10

"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." Colossians 1:19-20

We praise you for your discipline!

• You discipline us because you love us! 
• You want us to share in your holiness and righteousness.
• You want to restore us to bring us back to fellowship with you. 
• You look for teachable moments with us. 
• You walk with us to see all we do is right, stepping in at any necessary moment to correct us.
• You send your Spirit to convict us to wholeheartedly repent.
• When you discipline us, we are blessed, saved from future trouble. 
• Sometimes our chastening may be severe.
• You don’t want us to lose heart. (Hebrews 12:5-6) 
• We will be earnest and repent. 
• You want us to accept your corrections graciously.
• You want us to discipline our children well.
• You desire for us to have a teachable spirit. 
• You don’t judge us as we deserve.  

We praise Yahweh Makkeh, Our LORD Who Smites!  

Thank your for smiting our enemies. Thank you for smiting your Son so that we could share in eternity with you. Thank you for smiting us…disciplining us, that we may share in  your holiness.