Jehovah Shammah
In the last chapter of the prophetic book of Ezekiel, we find that the Lord divided the land of Israel as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. The gates of the city were named after all the twelve tribes of Israel. On all the four sides i.e. north, east, south and west, one gate each measuring 4500 cubits was given to every three tribes. All the gates were distributed equitably among all the twelve tribes without any favor towards any particular tribe. All the way around shall be 18,000 cubits (i.e. 4500 cubits for each gate for every three tribes); and the name of the city from that day shall be “THE LORD IS THERE” i.e. JEHOVAH SHAMMAH in Hebrew.The Lord could have shown favors to some particular tribe while allotting the gates. The gates of a city are very important for the city. A city without gates cannot exist. Its people have to go out of the city for communicating with the outside world. If people owning the land in the city do not own the gates, their land will not be any importance to them because they are supposed to go freely out of the city and to come back.
Similarly, the Holy Spirit has placed all the members of the body of Christ in their proper places. But we do not discover the positions assigned to us in His body. All the members of His body are equally important and there is no element of favoritism with God in distributing His gifts and talents amongst them.
You may think that some particular evangelist used by God in Television ministry, etc. has been favored by God. In the land of Israel, the Lord did distribute the gates in an equitable manner amongst all the twelve tribes. The Name of the city from that day i.e. from the day on which the distribution was made in an equitable manner shall be called “THE LORD IS THERE”.
When God sent the Holy Spirit to the world and anointed the body of Christ with His Spirit on the day of Pentecost, He also distributed His gifts and talents amongst all His people. Today nobody can have any excuse and say, “I do not have any talent”. If you have only one talent, in the sight of God, that lone talent is equivalent to two or more of His talents given to another person. From the day of Pentecost, the body of Christ has been known as “JEHOVAH SHAMMAH”. “THE LORD IS THERE”. He has taken abode in the heart of every disciple of Christ. JEHOVAH SHAMMAH is with us and in us, reminding us of His distribution of the spiritual gifts and talents among us. Every person, on his becoming a child of God through the Blood of Jesus Christ, and being anointed with His Spirit, has one or more of the spiritual gifts and one or more the talents endowed on him/her. He/she has to simply discover the talent or the gift already given to him/her by the Holy Spirit. Of course, he/she also can seek more of His spiritual gifts (I Cor.14: 1).
All the members of His body can appropriate the Name of the city “THE LORD IS THERE” for them. Are you in the furnace of afflictions for a long time? THE LORD IS THERE to bring you out of this furnace. Do you find that your ministry is not powerful enough for delivering people from the bondages of sin and sicknesses? THE LORD IS THERE to deliver them from their bondages through your hands.
- Job Anbalagan