THE PLACE WHERE GOD SETS HIS NAME

N. J. Henry

2 Chronicles 3: 1, 2; Ezekiel 43: 1–12; Deuteronomy 12: 2–5; 16: 2–6; Matthew 18: 19, 20; Revelation 3: 12

It is on my heart to speak of the place where Jehovah sets His name, and it lays hold of me as to the sobriety of that matter, not only His readiness to attach His name to something, but He establishes where He is going to set it. Even an unregenerate man would not want his name to be linked with certain places of defilement in the world; how much rather the holiness of God, because He is jealous as to His name. That is one thing about God, He is jealous as to His name. How He must feel as to everything presently! An exercised person would feel what is attached to the name of Christ. To link Christ to iniquity is blasphemy; that is how serious it is in the mind and heart of God that such a blessed Man, who furnished so much to His heart, that His name should be linked publicly with iniquity. I think, dear brethren, we should feel that matter soberly.

In 2 Chronicles, while His name was placed in chapter 6: 18–20 after the establishment of the house, the basis of the house was in chapter 3, the burnt-offering. If you go to the end of 2 Samuel, which this verse refers to, David had sinned. He says, “I have sinned”, 2 Samuel 24: 10. There is only one sin-offering and that is Christ; there cannot be another.

David recognises this. Our approach to God must be through the sin-offering, but when it comes to David offering he offers up the burnt-offering; that is the basis of God’s approach to man. There is nothing more precious than Christ in His total committal to the will of God, even unto death. The basis for God to establish anything in this scene is Christ as the burnt-offering; He gave Him total pleasure, whole pleasure to the heart of God in that sacrifice. It shows the maturity of David. David had failings and those are recorded. He was maturing under the hand of God, and he comes to that point, having numbered the people, and he says, I have sinned, then he offers up to God a burnt-offering and a peace-offering. He knew his God, and in that way it became a basis for Solomon’s temple, the house; that is a very fundamental thought that it was in the place where he was answered by God.

Later God puts His name there; He is ready to identify Himself with Solomon’s temple. Now there are two thoughts here, and I know you will say one is Solomon’s temple and the other is Ezekiel’s. Solomon’s temple represents, in principle, Pentecost. It is not built on the basis of recovery, it is built on what you might say was pristine. When you come to Ezekiel the building of the temple was after failure, and if you read through Ezekiel you will notice the difference between the two houses. In Solomon’s, the porch was of a very large magnificent sort and while attached, it appears out-with the house; but when you come to Ezekiel, the time of recovery, the porch is not a magnificent sort and not outside the house. It appears as if it is governed by the wall. If you look at Ezekiel 40 you will find that the porch is within, so that while as our brother rightly said last night that we must be more evangelical, we cannot make the porch more than it is. In times of recovery the porch is restricted by the

wall, and one thing about the gate eastwards, as we read here in Ezekiel 43, is that it allows God in. That is the point in the gate towards the east; God comes back, in principle. He sees the glory going out earlier in the book, and then it is coming back and it is coming in at the gate towards the east. After God is there, then the river goes out from the same place. That is the remarkable thing. In times of failure and breakdown we have to be governed by the light that is attached to the name of God. You cannot do as you wish, you cannot act as if it were still Pentecost. We have to do the work of an evangelist; that was said to Timothy, do what we can but we are governed by the porch. In principle that is the moral teaching of Ezekiel’s temple. I know it anticipates the future but the principle of it is that it allows God in, and the river goes out for healing. What healing will be needed in a future day. What healing is needed among the people of God now through the river going out from the house.

Now in Ezekiel 43, God returns after the measuring of every detail of His intended dwelling.

His glory came into the house. God’s name and His dwelling are close together. Those in James 2: 7 blaspheme the excellent name and that marks the day that we are in. Then the first beast in Revelation 13 blasphemes the name of God and the tabernacle of God, and those who have their part in the tabernacle in heaven. It shows that the attack is against the name of God; therefore we should cherish where God has placed His name. Think of these touching references, “the place of my throne” and “the place of the soles of my feet”. How sensitive are God’s movements in the house, the movements of God, “the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever; and the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name”. What a time that will be. Should there not be an answer amongst those who are overcoming in the day we are in? Should we not be feeling the matter of the defilement of the name of God publicly? We should feel the matter and see that we have no part in it by our actions.

It says further, “they set their threshold by my threshold”. That is what they did. “Their post by my post, and there was only a wall between me and them”. How close, you see, is the attack. Reference was made to the enemy’s hand being on the throne of Jah. How close the attack has been. Judas was in the inner circle. Christ felt that, how close the enemy had come.

“Moreover, behold, the hand of him that delivers me up is with me on the table”, Luke 22: 21. How close the attack had come, just a wall between Me and them. Think of God feeling that, how things had got to such a low state in Israel, that was so privileged by its place according to the thoughts of God, now finding that they had desecrated the things of God, and there was little between what was of God and what was corrupt among them.

In the first part of Deuteronomy 12 it says, “and ye shall destroy the names of them out of that place”. There are certain things that should not be named amongst us, certain things that we should have a judgment of. In Corinthians Paul says there are lords many and gods many.

It surrounds us, beloved brethren, awful systems of religion and, in a large way; the name of Christ is attached to them by man. It is the oldest thing because religion started as we know with Cain. So it says here, “ye shall destroy the names of them out of that place. Ye shall not do so unto Jehovah your God; but unto the place which Jehovah your God will choose out of all your tribes to set his name there”. What a privilege, the name of God among His people, ready to identify Himself with them. That was what He was saying here through Moses.

In Deuteronomy 16 we come to what he says about celebrating the passover and he says, “thou shalt sacrifice the passover to Jehovah thy God ... in the place which Jehovah will

choose to cause his name to dwell there”. I wonder if that question rises in the heart of any person here. I am not speaking about the ecclesiastical position, I am speaking about moral conditions, for you might get many saying the same thing. We know sorrowfully how many companies there are that have flowed out of what we call the period of the recovery of the truth, and they all claim to be holding the same things, but it says, “in the place which Jehovah will choose to cause his name to dwell there”. That must not be ecclesiastical ground but moral ground, that is, the name of God cannot be attached to anything except the rights of God in the minutest detail. You could find that in your own history, that God applies His rights to the smallest detail of your life. We are faced with it every day. Possibly not a day passes when there is not something that comes up that, in your own heart, you say there is an attempt to assail the rights of God in your own soul because you are surrounded by it.

There is no regard for anybody bar the first man in the world in which you and I live. That is why the second Man is out of heaven; they had to have another order of man who came in who would cause persons to follow, through divine work, in the way out of the world.

Remember the world in which you and I move has room only for the first man, no other. Here it speaks about the passover. You say, Well, that is the Old Testament. When Paul writes to the Corinthians he speaks about “our passover, Christ” (1 Corinthians 5: 7), and he speaks about the feast being celebrated with sincerity and truth. Now, beloved brethren, I think all our hearts will say we need more of sincerity and truth. Our passover has been sacrificed—Christ—He is our passover. Corinth needed that. We must have conditions for God and we have to look at scripture to find these conditions. So we have to maintain the passover with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Unleavened bread will not inflate you, it will not bring anything in that is going to stimulate the first

order at all. I think the unleavened bread is something that works in you and it is to effect something; one effect will be to bring us into sincerity and truth.

So it says here, “Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover in one of thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee; but at the place that Jehovah thy God will choose”. Oh, you might say, I have a choice. Any taste, any conscience, you will find a company to meet it. That is true; there is every taste catered for. The god of this world has provided a whole system of places to go. I could find company quite easily, if I get down in my soul, to suit that low state and yet still apparently be acceptable to men. But what will be acceptable to God? It says, “Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover in one of thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee; but at the place that Jehovah thy God will choose, to cause his name to dwell in”. It is a favour, beloved brethren, a privilege to uphold the rights of God that are attached to His name.

When you come to Matthew 18 it says, “where two or three are gathered together unto my name”, that is the name of the Lord, “there am I in the midst of them”. It is “unto my name”.

You cannot go anywhere you choose. I cannot offer options, I would be unfaithful to Christ to say you can go wherever you want; it is “unto my name”. Not only the renown of that name, but all that name embraces. That is the One we have referred to already. He would rather suffer than sacrifice the rights of God. He died for the rights of God; that is what Christ did. He would not allow any compromise to what God required. He would rather go out in the place of ridicule. That was His committal to His God. That was the extent of it, “even unto death, and that the death of the cross”, Philippians 2: 8. That must be embraced in the name, the name of the Lord Jesus. Does that not ring in your heart? When I hear brothers speaking about it I feel warm inside. It is in the power of the Holy Spirit to say “Lord Jesus”.

It comes from the heart and it affects the company when somebody says that. I would encourage younger people, to say it more. So it says, “where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them”. How confirming, that where His name is set, based on right principles, His presence is known. Wherever the Lord is that is where we should be. Now that helps you to get past place or group. You say, well there is a bigger company there and only a few here. It says two or three. This is not written during the time of breakdown, it is where there are two or three, such persons, that is assembly persons.

Wherever the Lord is that is where you and I should be, because we are gathered to the name of the Lord and that is where we find our place, that is where His name is.

Now finally I just want to touch on Revelation 3, because while we had it in the earlier meeting, I was thinking of God placing His name and the place where He sets His name. It is not as we have had in other chapters related to Israel, but it is on individuals, overcomers. I think that is very blessed. The Lord says, “I will write upon him the name of my God”. Think of the feelings of the Lord Jesus that He could write upon persons as the place of the name.

The Lord would not attach that name to anything other than holy places, “the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem”. Two great objects to the love of Christ are His God, and the new Jerusalem, the assembly. I think that is why they are put together. He says, “I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven, from my God, and my new name”. What a confirmation to the overcomer.

In Revelation 22 the name is written on the forehead of His servants—that might be for testimony. Here it is the overcomer who has the name of God written on him; it is not just on the forehead, it is on the person. God confirms their committal. It is characteristic overcoming, and it is said to the overcomer in Philadelphia, Why in Philadelphia? Maybe everyone there was an overcomer. It says, “he shall go no more at all out; and I will write upon him the name of my God”. What a final sign of approval of God. Can you think of anything finer, that after all the suffering through faithfulness to Christ, the name of His God is written on the person? I think that is beautiful, I cannot think of anything greater because it is not taken off the overcomer.

As we saw in Ezekiel God had to come back again. What they had done in their unfaithfulness caused the glory to depart, but then it came back as we saw in the prophet.

Here it is on the individual. I think that is a blessed promise. Beloved brethren, there is a lot being gone through at the present time, a lot on the spirits of the brethren, but let us go on in faithfulness in recognition of the name of God, that it might truly be the delight of Christ to write upon us “the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven, from my God, and my new name”. How wonderful to end with so great a blessing attached to the name.

Address at Ormond Beach/Bunnell
18 December 2004