The Divine Names. Pt. 1 Jehovah Nissi

Good Morning to all of our Dear Readers.

We have been blessed with another splendid morning here in northeast Ohio.  Deb and I love this weather, brilliant sunshine, vivid blue skies with some starkly white clouds drifting lazily by and mild temps with low humidity.  It just feels so refreshing physically and spiritually. 

I was thinking about the wide geographical distribution of this Bible study blog and realized that there are significant differences in all of our time zones.  For example, where I live, we follow Eastern Standard Time but Readers on another continent are many hours ahead or behind EST. 

One of the great things about the internet is that it shrinks distance and time while connecting people who would otherwise never meet.

Today, I would like to study another beautiful Divine Name from the Old Testament.  This name involves the patriarch Moses and his successor, Joshua.  It is the name Jehovah Nissi.  We need to dig into the context of what was happening prior to when this Divine Name was used because it will help us understand its importance. 

The context prior to when the name Jehovah Nissi was used.

The divine name Jehovah Nissi is only used once in scripture.  It is found in the book of Exodus.

It is helpful to think about the context of this name.  In Exodus 15, the Hebrews were led by Moses.   Aaron and Miriam led a victory celebration because the LORD had drowned the army of Pharaoh in the Red Sea. 

Near the end of the same chapter, the people had traveled through the wilderness of Shur and arrived at Marah.  Water was readily available and all the people and livestock had a desperate need for it.  However, the waters at Marah were “bitter.” 

The Hebrews began complaining and murmuring against Moses but in reality they were really complaining about the Lord.  The Lord told Moses what to do in order to fix the bad water supply and when he obeyed, the bitter waters were made sweet.

More grumbling but God graciously gave 

them manna from heaven.

Exodus 16:1-3 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. 
And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: 
And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

Exodus 16 shows us the Hebrews once more mired in murmuring and complaining.  They even expressed a longing to return to Egypt so that they could enjoy leeks, onions, garlic, flesh pots and bread.  Apparently, the people had short memories, for they did not recall the extreme oppression of their enslavement. 

They forgot the cruelty of Pharaoh’s taskmasters and the high quota of work that had to be produced each day of each week. They forgot the groaning and bitter cries to God that poured out from the people every day.  They even forgot the great power of Jehovah on display as He rescued them out of slavery.

They wondered if God could feed such a vast number of people in the wilderness.  God patiently answered them by providing manna from heaven and quail for the people to eat.  Still, the Hebrews did not follow the divine directives given from God to Moses.   In spite of being firsthand witnesses to the mighty acts of Jehovah, they had an ingrained unbelief.

Exodus 16:4-7 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. 

And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. 
And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt: 
And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?

The Hebrew word "telûnâh" is translated "murmuring" and it is used 5 times in Exodus 16.  This word means to grumble, complain and voice rebellious expressions of dissatisfaction for what Jehovah has provided.

There is another Hebrew word "lı̂yn" translated "murmur" and it is used twice in this text.  It is a verb that means to howl with grumbling, murmuring and complaining, in this case, against Jehovah's provision.  It is as if the people were obsessed with complaining and looked for reasons to continue their grumbling. 

I find it intriguing that the murmuring is closely connected with being in the wilderness of Sin.  Is that not a strong reminder for us that we live in a cursed, fallen world which is our wilderness of sin?  Therefore, we must guard against murmuring and complaining.

I think that  both of these words are words that all born again believers should seriously think about.  We are so quick to murmur and complain about things in life that we forget ingratitude is offensive to our Gracious God in heaven. 

Manna is a picture of Scripture and of Christ.

I made this table so that you can make a comparison between manna as a picture of inspired scripture and manna as a picture of Jesus Christ.  The list of verse references is not exhaustive but they provide a good starting point for those who wish to dig deeper into this subject matter. 

THE TYPE OR SHADOW OR FIGURE		THE ANTI-TYPE  OR REALITY
CHARACTERISTICS OF:	MANNA	BIBLE	LORD JESUS CHRIST
SUPERNATURAL GIFT HEAVENLY ORIGIN DIVINE PROMISES	EXODUS 16:4 NEHEMIAH 9:20	ISAIAH 9:1-9 ISAIAH 55 ROMANS 1:1-2 2 TIMOTHY 3:16 TITUS 1:1-2	LUKE 1:26-38; 2:8-40 JOHN 1 JOHN 3:10-13 JOHN 6:38-42 ROMANS 15:8 2 CORINTHIANS 1:20
UNASSUMING, PLAIN APPEARANCE	EXODUS 16:14; 31	REVELATION 10:8-10	ISAIAH 53:1-2
CAME DOWN TO WILDERNESS OF SIN MEETING MAN’S NEEDS	EXODUS 16:1	EXODUS 20:22 2 SAMUEL 22:14 NEHEMIAH 9:13 PSALMS 107:20	ISAIAH 61:1-3 MATTHEW 3:16-17 LUKE 4:14-21
IT WAS WHITE IN COLOR = PURITY	EXODUS 16:14; 31	PSALMS 12:6-7; 119:140; PROVERBS 30:5	HEBREWS 9:1-14 1 PETER 1:17-21
IT WAS LIFE SUSTAINING FOOD	EXODUS 16:31	PSALMS 78:22-25; 119:103 PROVERBS 7:1-2 JEREMIAH 29:10 HEBREWS 6:5	PSALMS 34:8 JOHN 4 JOHN 6 ROMANS 10:6-8 PHILIPPIANS 4:19
IT WAS TO BE GATHERED UP DAILY	EXODUS 16:19	DEUTERONOMY 8:3 MATTHEW 4:4	MATTHEW 26:25 MARK 14:49 LUKE 19:47; 22:53 JOHN 6:28-59
IT WAS TO BE SOUGHT EARLY IN MORNING	EXODUS 16:21	PSALMS 5:3; 63:1; 119:147; 143:8 JEREMIAH 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15; 44:4  MATTHEW 6:33 COLOSSIANS 3:1	MATTHEW 21:18; 23 MARK 1:35 LUKE 21:29-38 JOHN 8:1-2 REVELATION 22:16 LAMENTATIONS 3:21-26
IT REQUIRED WORK TO GATHER IT	EXODUS 16:4	2 TIMOTHY 2:15	1 CHRONICLES 16 COLOSSIANS 3:1 HEBREWS 1:6
IT REQUIRED HUMILITY OF STOOPING DOWN TO GATHER IT FROM THE GROUND	EXODUS 16:14	ISAIAH 66:1-2	EPHESIANS 2:5-8 HEBREWS 2:6-10 HEBREWS 10:1-10
IT WAS GATHERED TO BE USED UP COMPLETELY (KEEP, OBEY, APPLY)	EXODUS 16:19	PSALMS 103:18; 105:45; 119:2; 119:4-5 JAMES 1:22	JOHN 14:15-21 JOHN 15
IT WAS MYSTERIOUS OR NOT DISCERNIBLE TO CARNAL MINDS	EXODUS 16:15	PROVERBS 13:31 LUKE 8 1 CORINTHIANS 2:9-14 2 CORINTHIANS 4:4	MATTHEW 13 MARK 4 JOHN 8 :27-43 EPHESIANS 1:9; EPHESIANS 3:3-4; 3:9 5:32; 6:19 COLOSSIANS 1:26-27
SOME DESPISED IT	NUMBERS 11:4-9	NUMBERS 15:31 2 CHRON. 36:16 PSALMS 50:16-17 ISAIAH 6:24 JEREMIAH 36 2 COR. 2:17; 4:2	PSALMS 22:6 ISAIAH 53:3 MARK 6:1-3               1 PETER 2:21-25
IT IS PRESERVED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS	EXODUS 16:35	1 CHRON. 16:15 PSALMS 105:8  PSALMS 119:33 HEBREWS 9:4 REVELATION 2:17	HEBREWS 7:22-27 REVELATION 1
IT WAS SENT TO ISRAEL	EXODUS 16:3-4	ROMANS 9:1-5	MATTHEW 15:22-28

Manna is a very interesting food that Jehovah gave to the Hebrews every morning for 40 years!   Manna is called the bread of heaven in Psalm 78:24.  It presents a beautiful picture of the word of God in all of its particulars as noted in the table above.

Manna is also a very clear picture of Jesus Christ (or a type of Christ if you prefer).  You can follow this from the table above.  We do not have time to develop this thought in this series but you can read John chapter 6.  Jesus plainly said on multiple occasions that He was the Bread of Life that came down from heaven while making the connection to Exodus 16. 

Exodus 16:13-15 And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. 
And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. 
And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.

This lesson gives us some much needed context of events that transpired right before Exodus 17 where the name Jehovah Nissi is found.  Exodus 17 is essentially 2 paragraphs.  The first section details where the Hebrews traveled next and what God did to solve another water issue.  The last paragraph tells us of a fierce battle and this is where we find the wonderful name Jehovah Nissi.

Points to Ponder....

• Our Great God is always at work whether we recognize it or not.

• There is a cycle from God granting great victory following a crisis. 

• The crisis is a test to prove whether the people of God will obey His word or not.

• There seems to be a pattern of murmuring & complaining when the crisis comes instead of calling upon the LORD. 

I pray that all people of God around the world will earnestly seek to avoid murmuring and complaining when we run into difficulties. Jehovah wants us to turn to Him and call upon Him in the hour of need.  Praise God, we can do this because of the work of our high priest, Jesus Christ. 

Bob.

Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.