Every so many months a copy of Above Rubies magazine appears in my mailbox. It is a free magazine that encourages women to live more fully in their role as wife and mother. Since they publish when they have enough articles (it is reader written) it is always a surprise when it shows up!
An issue showed up this past week. I am still digesting the main article on Building a Home to Honor The Name of the Lord based on the 8 redemptive names of God found primarily in the old testament. This was a unique perspective applied to home keeping and inspired me to keep building A God honoring home. She points out that the Lord sees and provides, is our healer, our banner, our sanctifier, our peace, our righteousness, our shepherd and He is there.
As I read through her sections on each one, a few things jumped out at me.
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He is our provider (Jehovah-Jireh). Provision comes to those walking in obedience to the Lord, taking Abraham as an example when God provided the lamb to replace Isaac on the alter at the last minute (Gen 22:1-19).
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He is our healer (Jehovah-Rapha). The word Rapha is the word for healer and it means quite literally “to cure, restore, heal and make whole physically, morally and spiritually.” We can not only trust him to heal the physical aspect of our life, but also our spirits. He can bring “sweetness to the bitter experiences we face in life.”
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He is our banner (Jehovah-Nissi). Just as Joshua helped Moses hold up his his staff as a banner to defeat the Amalekites, so our prayers help others hold their banners high in their lives.
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He is our sanctifier (Jehovah-Qadash). He will sanctify our homes if we ask. We need to work to create a home that is set apart for God’s purposes and is clearly different than the world in the way we interact with each other and the things that make up our lives.
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He is our peace (Jehovah-Shalom). Our peace comes from our eyes placed on Him. I love the scripture she quotes:
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He is our righteousness (Jehovah-Tsidkenu). The more we keep our eyes on the Lord the easier it is to build a righteous home, rooting out the evil that sneaks in.
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He is our shepherd (Jehovah-Ra’ah), leading and guiding us as we bravely and tenderly shepherd our children. We must mimic the way he shepherds us as we shepherd our little flock.
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He is there (Jehovah-Shammah). He dwells with us and is just a prayer away.
At the very end of the issue, however, I found this quote. It is credited to an old inscription, but it is something I want to remember.
It seems that keeping those attributes of God in the forefront of our minds will help us maintain the crown, beauty, glory and blessing of our homes.
