S7 Episode #19- Jehovah Hoseenu
THE ONE WITH Jes + Jehovah Hoseenu
This week on The Collected Podcast, Jes is sharing Part 13 of our Names of God series! Over the past few years we have been highlighting different names and character attributes of The Lord. Understanding who God is and who we are in Him are vital parts of walking in freedom and remaining rooting in who we are created to be. This week we are learning about Jehovah Hoseenu– The LORD Our Maker. This name highlights the personal relationship between the Creator and His people, and reminds believers that He intimately crafts and sustains every life. He is near to you in every moment, shaping you into the person that He created you to be!
(Check out S6E6: Jehovah Rapha– referenced in this episode)
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SHOW NOTES
It’s part 13 of our Names of God series! We are highlighting different names and character attributes of The Lord. Understanding who God is and who we are in Him are vital parts of walking in freedom and remaining rooting in who we are created to be. This week we are learning about Jehovah Hoseenu– The LORD Our Maker.
This name highlights the personal relationship between the Creator and His people. While the name Elohim speaks of God's cosmic power, Jehovah Hoseenu reminds believers that He intimately crafts and sustains every life. He is not an obtuse God who created you and then sits back on his throne and says “good luck figuring all this out”. He is near to you in every moment– through the good and the bad, the joy, the grief, the pain and the celebration. He is there through it all, shaping you into the person that He created you to be!
The first time that we see this name of God is in Psalm 95:6. Let’s read Psalm 95 together:
1 Come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
3 For the Lord is a great God,
a great King above all gods.
4 He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
and the mightiest mountains.
5 The sea belongs to him, for he made it.
His hands formed the dry land, too.
6 Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
7 for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
the flock under his care.
If only you would listen to his voice today!
8 The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah,
as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
9 For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
even though they saw everything I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with them, and I said,
‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me.
They refuse to do what I tell them.’
11 So in my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”
The first half of Psalm 95 is an invitation to worship The Lord, whereas the second half is a warning of what could happen if we harden our hearts to The Lord. Between these two portions is the heart of the chapter– verse 6: “Oh come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker…”
Everything in this chapter (and in our lives) hinges on who we believe God is and how we chose to respond to that belief. If I truly believe that The Lord is my Maker, that He is a good, kind, loving Father, always protecting, providing, and pursuing me, then the natural cry of my heart should be awe, adoration, and humble gratitude.
In the second half of this chapter, David reminds the people of their history. We will come back to Psalm 95 in a moment, but first we need a quick review of Exodus to get a clear picture of what David is referencing in Psalm 95:8-11.
Background: Exodus 17
At this point in their history, the Israelites had been freed from many years of slavery in Egypt, they had seen God work miracle after miracle in getting them out of the land, then parting the Red Sea, decimating the pursuing Egyptian army, and providing manna and quail for them to eat. Despite all this, the Israelites in Exodus 17 once again found themselves doubting whether God would provide water.
The irony here is that God had repeatedly shown his people that He has complete power and control over water. He turned the Nile River to blood. He parted– and then very strategically unparted– the Red Sea. After leaving the Red Sea, the people headed into the desert of Shur, where they were without water for 3 days. When they finally arrived at the oasis of Marah, the water was bitter and unable to drink, yet God performed another miracle and made the bitter waters sweet and life-giving. This water sustained the people until they reached the oasis of Elim, where Exodus 15:27 says “they found 12 springs and 70 palm trees. They camped there beside the water.” We did a whole lesson on this story in S6E6 when we studied Jehovah Rapha. I’ve linked that episode in our show notes, in case you missed it.
But all this to say, if the Isrealites could be confident in anything, it should have been in God’s ability to use water to meet the needs of His people. Even a lack of water is not too hard of an obstacle for The Most High God!
I want to pause here for a minute and speak to the person out there who is facing a difficult situation and remind you that nothing is too hard for The Lord. Hebrews 13:8 tells us that “The Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever”. So the same God who parted the waters of the Red Sea, healed the waters at Marah, and is about to create water out of nothing at Meribah, is the same God at work in your life. So whether you need something parted, something healed, or something created out of nothing, the Bible shows us time and time again that God can do it!
At the Lord’s Command
Just because you may find yourself in a difficult spot, doesn’t mean that you are not in the center of God’s will. Exodus 17:1 says, “At the Lord’s command, the whole community of Israel left the wilderness of Sin and moved from place to place, eventually they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink.”
“At the Lord’s command”... the people were following God as a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. So, the Lord had led them directly to Rephidim on purpose. The Isrealites should have been saying, “Lord, since you chose to lead us here, you must have a plan to provide for us. You must have gone before us and made a way. You have not led us here to die, so please show us your glory in this dry and weary land. Provide for us again in this place, like we’ve seen you do countless times before.”
Brothers and sisters, may this be the cry of our hearts whenever we find our backs against the wall! Sadly, this was not the Isrealite response in verse 2: “So once more the people complained against Moses. ‘Give us water to drink!’ They demanded.” The people are described in verse 3 as being “tormented by thirst” and they cannot see beyond their immediate desire for relief.
Tormented By Thirst
Those three words– “tormented by thirst” hit me hard. It brought to mind a time when Jon and I were hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains with another couple. Our 5 hour hike turned into 11 hours when we made a wrong turn on a path and accidentally took a very very long way around. We had not packed for an 11 hour hike, so we found ourselves out of water with miles still to go. I remember feeling very much “tormented by thirst” for the last hour or so of the hike. The thought of the extra water bottle awaiting me in the car propelled me forward, every step bringing me closer to the moment when I could finally satiate my thirst. I can only imagine my dismay if we had reached the car only to find that our water was gone.
This is a small and silly example, but I think we have all had moments in life where we are “tormented by thirst”, either in a physical sense, like I experienced on that hike, or in a spiritual sense, when the thing we long for feels out of reach and our soul cries out for the longing to be fulfilled.
What is it that you thirst for? In John 7:37-38, Jesus says, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Any one who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”
He is our Living Water! He is the only one who can truly satisfy the deepest longings of our souls. He gives us His Spirit and through the Spirit we can experience an overflowing abundance of the presence of God.
As believers we have this power living in us! My prayer is that the next time we feel tormented by some sort of worldly thirst, we can immediately lay it at the feet of Christ and ask Him to show us His glory in this dry and weary land.
A Place of Rest
The ancient Isrealites may not have had access to the Holy Spirit in Exodus 17, but they did have direct access to the Most High God, and the Most High God has just led them to a place called Rephidim, which interestingly enough means “place of rest” or “resting place” in Hebrew.
The Isrealites feel so relatable at this moment. So often in my life I have let my own fears and insecurities get in the way of a place of rest that The Lord had led me too. Of course God had a plan to provide for the Isrealites at Rephidim, just like He will always provide for you and me. We must daily choose to release control and rest in His capable and loving hands.
God in His great goodness and mercy, still provided water for the Isrealites. He instructed Moses to strike the rock and water gushed out, allowing all of the people to get their fill and satisfy their thirst. Yet now Rephidim, the place of rest, became known as Massah, meaning test, and Meribah, meaning argue.
Jehovah Hoseenu
Now that we understand a little more of the context of David’s Psalm, let’s look at Psalm 95 with fresh eyes.
“Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today!”
God longs for us to listen to his voice so that He can shape us more and more into who He created us to be.
In All the Divine Names and Titles in the Bible, Herbert Lockyer explains, “Paul reminds us that ‘we are His workmanship.’ It is from the Greek word for ‘workmanship’ that we have our English term poet. Thus, in effect, ‘We are God’s poem.’ The question is, ‘As such, do we read well, and are we expressive of the feelings of His heart?’ How necessary it is to be submissive to Him who is our Maker, that He might shape and fashion us according to the pattern given on the Mount.”
I love this picture! Your life is a beautiful work of poetry to the King of Kings. Even your most broken places can be redeemed and shaped into a stunning stanza for your good and His glory.
Isaiah 64:8 says, “And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.”
Isaiah 45:9 has similar themes, but also hones in on God’s sovereignty as Maker, “What sorrows await those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’” Verse 12 continues with The Lord saying, “I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the stars are at my command.”
In Jeremiah 1:5, the prophet Jeremiah received this message from The Lord, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
This specific message is for Jeremiah, but I think the heart of this message applies to all of humanity– you were formed by a loving God and He has a plan and purpose for your life. You might not be a prophet to the nations, but God wants to shape your life into something beautiful for his glory.
It All Points to Jesus
We’ve spent a lot of time today in the Old Testament, but the redeeming work of Jehovah Hoseenu is made complete in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Like we have seen in each name and story in the Old Testament– they all point to Jesus. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that when we are in Christ, we are a new creation. “The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
Christ is transforming us and making all things new. Even though we cannot always see the full picture on this side of Heaven, we can still rest in His promise that He will finish what He started.
Jesus tells us in John 14, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.”
Thomas had the same thought that I’m sure many of us have struggled with at some point in our lives. He says,“No, we don’t know, Lord, we have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
I imagine that this is a “tormented by thirst” moment for Thomas. He seems anxious, stressed, and trying to control the situation. Perhaps in an attempt to quell his doubts, or secure his own position in this new home Jesus is talking about. Maybe he is longing for the biggest bedroom, with a Jack and Jill bathroom connected to Jesus’ room, and a stunning view of the New Jerusalem.
Jesus told him in verse 6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
Jesus is everything we need. All answers for life, security and purpose are found in Him. He is the giver and sustainer of life. He is near to you in every moment– through the good and the bad, the joy, the grief, the pain and the celebration. He is there through it all, shaping you into the person that He created you to be! He
So how can we allow Jehovah Hoseenu shape us into His likeness, make us new, and mold us into how we are truly created to be? We must worship Him, as Psalm 95 urges us to do, and we must spend time with Him.
In our last episode (S7E18), Zach Windahl laid out a challenge for us this summer. Now I’d like to officially invite you to join me on what I’m calling our Summer Soak Challenge.
SUMMER SOAK CHALLENGE DETAILS
For the months of June and July we commit to:
Listening Prayer for 10 minutes each day
Reading the whole New Testament
We will be posting an optional reading plan for you to follow if you’d like to join us in reading the New Testament in two months. There will be weekly emails sent out with questions and journal prompts for further reflection!
NEXT STEPS
Here are a few action steps to help you dip deeper this week!
If you find yourself in a difficult spot today, take time to quiet your heart before The Lord and pray, “Lord, since you chose to lead us here, you must have a plan to provide for us. You must have gone before us and made a way. You have not led us here to die, so please show us your glory in this dry and weary land. Provide for us again in this place, like we’ve seen you do countless times before.”
Join our Summer Soak Challenge!
Thank you, as always, for listening! Please remember that everything we do is funded by those who benefit from our ministry. Our ministry a 501(c)3, so your contribution is tax-deductible.
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The Collected Podcast is a production of Collected Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping disciples of Jesus discover and live from their true identity in Christ, recognize and walk in their divine purpose within the Kingdom of God, and experience growth in their capacity for mature, healthy relationships.
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The Collected Podcast is produced by Jes French and edited by Jacob Early. Cover art designed by Ben Biondo.