Jeremiah 23:18, “…Who among them has stood in the council of YHWH to see and to hear His word…?”
Ultimately, the ‘council of YHWH’—the place where His Wisdom and Word are declared with definitive finality—is Resurrection-illumined Calvary.
Here is where all of the Lord’s councils and Wisdom find full and perfect expression….here is where every word that comes out of YHWH’s mouth has its source and finds its telos….here—in the crucified flesh of the risen Son—is where every command is fulfilled, where every threat of punishment is carried out, where the judgment of the world is achieved, where every promise is secured…*every* word of YHWH, *every* council of YHWH, *every* intent of YHWH’s heart is here grounded, proclaimed, displayed, secured, and achieved.
And so….if we would be those who stand in the council of YHWH so as to see and hear and pay attention to and listen to His (enfleshed and final) word, then let us be those who stand with the Beloved Disciple at the foot of the cross of the crucified Lord who is alive forevermore. …or (which is the same thing) let us be those who worship with all creation around the Altar-Throne of the slain-and-living Lamb who is eternally the image and glory and perfect exposition of the invisible God…..THIS is to stand in His council and hear His word—to feast by faith on the flesh and blood of the Son and so to abide in Him as a branch, He Himself by His word and Spirit abiding in us as the Vine—this is to stand in YHWH’s council…
And it is from this place alone that the prophet of the Lord understands and knows the words of the Lord which he is then to proclaim to the people of the Lord for their life (v.22). Yes, there is no other vantage point from which to receive and know and be fitted to proclaim the Lord’s words….there is no other council before which we might stand to know the intents and purposes and character of the Lord. This—the Altar-Throne of the slain and living Son—this is the place of His council where one comes to rightly know and rightly receive the words of YHWH.
In this picture, the four streams of water flowing from Christ’s side represent the four rivers of Eden, which also represent the life-giving word of God. Ultimately, every word of YHWH—all that flows from His council—flows from the crucified Jesus Christ as He is known in the resurrection, who is Himself the mind and heart and will of God made flesh.
Behind the cross, the veil of the visible heavens—represented in veil of the temple—is torn from top to bottom, revealing the heavenly throne room…However, from the viewpoint of the image, the crucified Jesus is seated on the throne and flanked by the angelic councilors of YHWH, visually alluding to the fact that—to the eyes of faith—the cross *is* the throne of the King of Glory (Is.6:1-7) and the council of YHWH’s heavenly wisdom is manifest in the ‘foolishness’ of Calvary (1 Cor.1:18-25; Col.2:3).
Beneath this scene stands the Beloved Disciple—representing all disciples—standing in the council of YHWH and so able to speak His word with faithfulness to His people (cf, John 19:35). Finally, over all is a blood-red banner declaring ‘The Word of the Lord,’ since the Word definitively made flesh on Calvary is, in Himself, the totality and completion of every divine word.
