FELLOW OF GOD

It is Jehovah Himself who speaks. He calls to action the sword of eternal justice - but who is this who can bear the edge of such a blade? Who will come beneath the stern and smiting blow of this instrument of death? We are not kept waiting for an answer, for the bearer of the stroke is identified by God Himself in terms that are unmistakeable. Firstly, the victim is described in respect of His office, ‘my shepherd’. Then Jehovah adds a further definition, more personal, ‘the man that is my fellow’.

Is there, in the whole of the Old Testament, any clearer statement of the two natures of the Messiah than we have in this expression? The person so described is ‘man’. There is no doubt about his human nature but considerations of humanity do not exhaust His person. There is another dimension which, while it implies no division in His person, does state a distinction in His natures. He is distinct in person from the Father and yet His ‘fellow’, while being at the same time ‘man’. What does this imply? There is a mystery, an intimacy, an equality here which invites our humble contemplation, demands utmost reverence and commands adoring worship.

Interestingly, the Hebrew word which is translated ‘fellow’ here, occurs elsewhere in the Old Testament only in the book of Leviticus. There it appears eleven times, always with the meaning ‘near neighbour’. It indicates one who lives in close proximity, one who moves in the same circle, one who is united to another by possession of a common nature and privileges. Now we are beginning to discern its higher meaning as employed in the passage before us. It directs us to One who shares the nature of Jehovah. He is not another God, but He is at the same time God, as we are assured in John 1.1. There is not an identity of person, but there is identity of nature and essence.

There is the further thought of closeness and fellowship. This One who bears the sword is the eternal confidante of Jehovah’s counsel. He is the co-partner of Jehovah’s throne and the sharer of every attribute of deity. The marvel of His grace is that such a glorious person not only took part in flesh and blood but also took ‘the blow which justice aimed at me’.