The last name of God we looked at was Jehovah-shammah, the LORD is There. As we looked at this name we looked at Ezekiel 8-11 and we saw how the children of Israel had provoked the Lord to jealousy as they committed abominations against Him, even in His temple. We saw how God began to move out of the temple and then we saw Him leave…
The name that we will be looking at today ties into what we learned last week.
The name of God that we will be looking at today is Qanna and it means Jealous.
Watch yourself that you make no covenant
with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going,
or it will become a snare in your midst.
But rather, you are to tear down their altars
and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim—
for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD,
whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—
Exodus 34:12-14
God has never made His desire for exclusivity a secret… He was to be the only God that Israel was to bow before…
Then God spoke all these words, saying,
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.
“You shall not make for yourself an idol,
or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath
or in the water under the earth.
You shall not worship them or serve them;
for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…
Exodus 20:1-5
So in Ezekiel, when we looked at Jehovah-shammah we saw that God, whose name is Qanna, left the temple. His shekina glory lifted from the Holy of Holies and now remained at a distance from Jerusalem. The question I want to ask you now is… did His glory return? Would the covenant keeping God ever show Himself to His people again?
To find the answer to that question let us turn to the Gospels.
In the beginning wasthe Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us,
and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
John 1:1,14
There it is. There’s the answer… YES! Yes, this covenant keeping God would indeed!
Now did His glory ever enter His temple again?
And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision,
His name was then called Jesus,
the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed,
they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
Luke 2:21-22
Well, there you go… another yes!
Yes the glory of God would enter His temple again.
If God, whose name is Qanna, was willing to show His glory to His people again and was willing to enter the temple again… would He also still be jealous… or had His jealousy subsided?
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves,
and the money changers seated at their tables.
And He made a scourge of cords,
and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen;
and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;
and to those who were selling the doves He said, “
Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”
His disciples remembered that it was written,
“ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”
John 2:13-17
The answer once again is Yes!
Yes, God’s name was still Qanna. He was still jealous for His people and He was still jealous for His temple. Now if He was jealous for His people and His temple in the days of Ezekiel and He was jealous for His people and His temple in the days of Christ’s first coming… is He jealous still?
Do not be bound together with unbelievers;
for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness,
or what fellowship has light with darkness?
Or what harmony has Christ with Belial,
or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
For we arethe temple ofthe living God; just as God said,
“I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM;
AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
“Therefore,COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,”
says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN;…
2 Corinthians 6:14-17
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves
from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
2 Corinthians 7:1
I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness;
but indeed you are bearing with me.
For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy;
for I betrothed you to one husband,
so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.
But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness,
your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:1-3
The answer once again is YES! His name is still Qanna.
He is jealous for you and He is jealous for His temple… and you are His temple.
Your body is His temple.
So let me ask you are their tables in your temple that need overturned? Are there carved images and idols that need washed away by the Word? Your God is jealous for you. He desires and demands an exclusive relationship with… there are to be no other gods on the side. No little black book hid in the closet… He wants all of you and He doesn’t plan on sharing you with the world, nor your own flesh. You are to be forsaking all others and clinging only to Him.
The last question is simple,
Are you?
Are you forsaking all others and clinging only to Him?