Strength in His NameНамуна

QEREN YESA, HORN OF MY SALVATION

For critters big and small, the animal kingdom is a dangerous place. That’s why most of its inhabitants are pretty well-armed. Claws, teeth, poison, stingers, and even smell are go-to weapons for defense. Among the most heavily armed animals are the hoofed variety, many of which are equipped with fearsome and deadly head ornaments. The strength of such animals as rams, bulls, and oxen IS in their horns, protrusions used to fight off predators, compete within their own species, and defend their young. Horns even serve as a deterrent to would-be challengers. It is no wonder that the horn quickly became a symbol of strength and especially victory in early civilizations around the globe.

God Himself used this symbol when He encouraged Israel during one of her weakest times. God’s people in both the northern and southern kingdoms had violated their covenant with God. Micah, God’s prophet to the people, warned that God would allow both to be conquered by enemies as discipline. But God also had a message of hope. Through Micah, He told Jerusalem that in the last days yet to come, they would be strengthened.

“In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will assemble the lame
And gather the outcasts,
Even those whom I have afflicted.

…There you will be rescued;
There the Lord will redeem you
From the hand of your enemies.

…For your horn I will make iron
And your hoofs I will make bronze,
That you may pulverize many peoples,
That you may devote to the Lord their unjust gain
And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth. (Micah 4:6, 10, 13)

It was this powerful saving nature of God’s love toward His people that caused them to declare that the Lord was actually the true Horn. David, in His great compilation song of God’s protective names, declares,

“’I love You, O LORD, My Strength,

The LORD is My Rock and My Fortress and My Deliverer,

My God, My Rock, in whom I take refuge;

My Shield and the Horn of My Salvation [Qeren Yesa], My Stronghold.

I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,

And I am saved from my enemies.” (Psalm 18:1-3)

As the HORN OF SALVATION, God is victorious and leads His people in triumph – and not just earthly conquests. Speaking through David’s pen, God promised, “I will cause the horn of David to spring forth; I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon himself his crown shall shine.” (Psalm 132:17)

Jesus is that very “horn of David.” At the birth of John the Baptist, his father Zechariah, “filled with the Holy Spirit” prophesied about Mary’s soon-to-be-born Son, saying:

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,

And has raised up a Horn of Salvation for us

In the house of David His servant—

…To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,

Might serve Him without fear” (Luke 1:68-69, 74)

Jesus isn’t just a horn, the strength of God for us today. Jesus is Qeren Yesa, our Horn of Salvation, the promised one in the line of David who brings ultimate victory over sin and death.

What a beautiful crescendo to our discovery of the Strong names of God –each one finding fulfillment in Jesus and each one revealed by God so that His people of all ages would understand that his strength is unmatched, His love is sure and He will fight for us… if only we will do as David and call upon the name of the Lord who is worthy to be praised.

SO WE CALL ON HIS NAME

Oh God, I know well that the kingdom of this world is a dangerous place. People plot and scheme and Satan prowls and accuses. My defenses are no match for my well-armed enemies. But they are no match for you. You dominate not just the predators that plot and plan on earth, but you are victorious over the spiritual enemies in the heavenly realms. You are the Horn of My Salvation that rescues me from the hand of all my enemies. When I am tempted to look at the claws and teeth bared in the world, remind me that You are greater and that the victory has already been won by Jesus, the Horn of My Salvation, My Shield, My Fortress, and My Stronghold, My Deliverer, My Strength, and My Rock. In His name, I pray.

REFLECT

Because God revealed this, how will you trust Him to be your strength?

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