Who Or What Is Good?

We are used to hearing the word

Good

as part of a morning, afternoon or evening greeting,

in Hebrew:

Boker tov = בּוֹקֶר טוֹב. = Good morning

 Erev tov = ערב טוב = Good evening 

Layla tov = לילה טוב = Good night

or even as an exclamation:

‘good heavens’ or ‘goodness me!’

We may also be familiar with the term:

mazel tov – מזל טוב‎,

An Israeli expression of:

congratulations and best wishes.

There are numerous references to where the word

good

is used and it depends on which translation of the Bible we read.

The KJV has the word good appearing about 809 times. In Romans Paul used the expression good news 12 times.

Another familiar scripture is Ps. 133:1:

Behold how good and how pleasing

Hinneh mah tovumah na’im: הִנֵּה מַה טוֹב וּמַה נָּעִים:

For brothers (people) to dwell/sit together in unity.

But what does good mean when it is used according to scripture?

The word for good in Hebrew is tob or tov

Strong’s Hebrew: 2895. טוֹב (tob) –

to be pleasing or good

טוב good tov/tob, ṭôb, tobe.

Recall that in Hebrew either b and v can be used in a word as they are the same letter, and it can be spelled either with or without a

vav – טוֹב  or  טב

From Strongs H2895; good (as an adjective) in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masculine and the feminine, the singular and the plural (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also as an adverb (well): – beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, X fair (word), (be in) favor, fine, glad, good (deed, -lier, liest, -ly, -ness, -s), graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh (best), loving, merry, X most, pleasant, + pleaseth, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well ([-favored]).

In scripture, the first time we read of anything being called

good

is in Genesis/B’resheet

verse 4 God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good

31 And God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good. And the evening and morning were the sixth day.

What does good- tov mean?

In the first chapter of Genesis YHWH calls His handiwork good – tov. He is describing what He sees after completing various acts of creation.

The word tov in Day 3 of creation shows us what tov is.

As Hebrew often uses

descriptions of things as relating to their purpose;

so the word tov

could be translated with the word

functional.

When our Heavenly Father, the Creator, looked at His accomplishments, He did not simply see that it was good, He saw that it was functional, and would do what He had designed it to do; similar to a piece of machinery that is both finely tuned and well lubricated so it can operate for its’ intended function and purpose.

Another well known use of the word good

is in reference to one of the trees in the garden.

In contrast to the word for good/tob/tov is the Hebrew word ra. These two words, tov and ra are used for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

While ra is often translated as evil

it may be better translated as dysfunctional.

In the first part of 1 Kings 3:9, in the account of the 2 mothers and the surviving baby; we see what tov looks like in action.

When Solomon says “Shall You then give to Your servant an understanding heart to rule Your people, to discern between good [tov] and evil?

The words frequently translated as

an understanding mind

are לֵב שֹׁמֵ

it is pronounced: lev shomea,

and literally translated

in Biblical Hebrew לֵב שֹׁמֵע

is

‘a hearing heart’.

The purpose for our Heavenly Father giving Solomon

a hearing heart

is so he can govern Gods’ people and have

the ability to discern between good /tov and evil/ra.

There is further use of the word good in Genesis 1:11–12

And Elohim said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the plant that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth.” And it came to be so. And the earth brought forth grass, the plant that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good [tov].”

These two verses, reveal a wonderful explanation of how things in His earth are to unfold by calling forth the seeds He has implanted; His creation does so with the seeds of future life/chaim within them, and He sees this process as tov. 

The plants and trees must have seeds inside them because, at the perfect time, those same plants and trees will release their seeds into the earth; continuing the cycle of creating and producing life/chaim. 

As part of our Heavenly Fathers creation, it is our turn to bring forth the seeds of His life/chaim, that are planted within us. These seeds are designed to intercede for, and to encourage and teach others, etc. We are to plant seeds of life/chaim into others lives…

It could be true to say that people who struggle to find meaning and fulfillment in life, are not bringing forth what has been planted inside of them; and which our Father intended for them to bring forth.

It is up to each individual to choose..

Do we have a hearing heart like Solomon, and will we choose to walk with God in obedience allowing Him to bring forth more seeds from His life/chaim that are already planted inside of us?

Could we then say that anything that produces life and contains the potential for more life within it, would be what our Heavenly Father calls good?

As previously noted the Hebrew word tov does not simply mean ‘pleasant’ or ‘pleasurable’. It means:

capable of,

presently engaged in the process of,

and destined for,

completely fulfilling the Divine purpose for which it was created. 

The difference between how our modern society uses the word good and how our Father uses the word good seems to be extreme; as it’s not uncommon to hear good being used to describe a new fashion trend, movie or restaurant.

Scripture is considerably more selective when it comes to applying the word good – tov to something.

Two scriptures we are familiar with are:

John 10:11 and 10:27.

I am the good shepherd.

The good shepherd gives His life for HIS sheep.

Messiah Jesus/Yeshua calls Himself a good shepherd.

There are a few words in Greek and about 4 words in Aramaic that are rendered as good.

Aramaic words are: hana = pleasurable, beautiful, fine, excellent. 

and taqan = honest, blameless, high moral character.

These would be possibly be the best match for the Greek word kalos,

that is used in John 10 11.

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives his life for his sheep.”
Good: Greek:  kalos

Kalos kagathos or kalokagathos 

Ancient Greek : καλὸς κἀγαθός [kalòs kaːɡatʰós],

of which kalokagathia (καλοκαγαθία)

is the derived noun, is a phrase used by classical Greek writers to describe:

an ideal of gentlemanly personal conduct,

especially in a military context.

Parts of Speech. kal-os’. Adjective.

Definition. beautiful, handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious, useful, suitable, commendable, admirable. beautiful to look at, shapely, 

Strong’s Greek: 2573. καλῶς (kalós) — well – 

kalós: well Original Word: καλῶς

Part of Speech: Adverb

Transliteration: kalós 

Phonetic Spelling: (kal-oce’)

Definition: well Usage: well, nobly, honorably, rightly.

Strong’s Greek: 2570. καλός (kalos) — beautiful, good

Original Word: καλός, ή, όν

Part of Speech: Adjective

Transliteration: kalos

Phonetic Spelling: (kal-os’)

Definition: beautiful, good Usage: beautiful, as an outward sign of the inward good, noble

It is interesting to note that the Aramaic New Testament uses the word:

TAWA (perfect harmony) instead.

Jesus/Yeshua spoke these words in Aramaic and John heard them in Aramaic and perhaps translated them into Greek if he did not write them down in Aramaic first.

So why was the Greek word Kalos chosen?

Looking at all the Greek words that could be rendered as good, none really expressed the basic idea of tawa which is similar to the Hebrew word tov.

The Greek writer would have chosen the best possible Greek word for tawa and yet that still falls short of the full meaning.

Why?

Because the Aramaic word TAWA is: rooted in a relationship!

Aramaic: tawa’ – A relationship with someone or something that is perfectly harmonious and in sync.

In all the Greek words, there doesn’t seem to be any that would express that of a relationship, which is the idea of tawa’ being similar to the Hebrew word tov. All of them point to a persons’ character, courage or appearance.

Messiah called Himself the good shepherd, and surely the whole idea of Him describing Himself as a shepherd conveys the idea of a relationship, and in contrast, doesn’t speak of His appearance, moral character or courage.

So maybe in light of this, the word good is possibly not the best one to use?

A good shepherd can be defined by, understanding the ancient culture and what a shepherds’ responsibility was.

In Messiahs’ day there were two types of shepherds;

there were the hired shepherds

and the self-employed shepherds who owned their own sheep. 

A shepherd was a highly respected occupation in the ancient Eastern culture; and for mothers to see their sons become shepherds was something they desired.

A man would be forced to hire a stranger to watch his sheep if he had no sons and this was not the best option because being a shepherd was a very dangerous job.  A shepherd had to protect a flock of not so smart animals from attacks by wolves, robbers, bad weather and any number of other threats; yet, if a man’s personal livelihood, his wife, children and his future was threatened, he would take the risk. Recall Davids’ experiences protecting the sheep in his charge.

There were plenty of courageous, honorable hired shepherds, but they did not have a relationship with their sheep, their relationship was with the promised wages. As shepherding was much more of a common occupation, if a shepherd was dismissed from the job, he would simply move to another area of the country.

Messiah Jesus is not only our Good Shepherd, He is far far more. And we can say for certain that He is not the shepherd who is looking for the wages and Who would abandon His sheep the first time one wanders off, or has to face hungry predators. We should further remember that, He is also a role model for those in Pastoral and Christian leadership positions. 

It is sad to say that these days, there are fewer pastors who would go into a drug house and pick up one of the young people from his church assembly and take him home. Not many pastors would get up in the middle of the night during a storm and drive to the home of someone who urgently needed prayer. Just how many pastors would take a cut in their wages during a recession, so congregation members would not be burdened? How many work and don’t use ‘the church’ as their financial source? 
It makes one wonder just how many pastors and church leaders are truly tawa’ shepherds (good shepherds) and not hired shepherds who will abandon the sheep at the first sign of trouble or leave them to go for the offer of a bigger church and higher wages?

“I am the good shepherd;

the good shepherd gives his life for his sheep.”

John 10:11:

Maybe we really need to define good?

A most important scripture that helps us define good is in

Luke 18:18-19 and Mark 10:18

where Jesus Himself said that only God is good.

None is good except One, God. 

No one is good except God alone.  Jesus answered,

“Why do you call me good? Only God is good [No one is good except One—God;”

Tov = good in Matthew 19:16,17 Why do you call me good there is none good but god?

Greek – kalos  = beautiful, fine, excellent, blameless, high moral character.

Aramaic –TAWA = a relationship with someone or something, that is perfectly harmonious and in sync!

So in saying Only God is good could be read as:

Only God is in perfect harmony, relationship and frequency with ALL of His creation.

Why do you call Me good? ONLY God is TAWA

GOOD (SHEPHERD) – TAWA’  tet vav alef

  alef             vav            tet

Next a closer look at the word Tov/tob

and the letters that make up the word for

good: tet vav bet

in

Strongs 2896 1186.

The letter

ט

T- tet

And in the pictographs.

ט – tet is a picture of:

a basket or tote, used to contain or

surround something food or belongings.

 

It means:

twist, basket, snake, surround, store, contain,

mud, clay, below, womb.

The letter sound of “T” and a word picture of a snake, serpent, surrounding something, coiling or a curving line;

a snake surrounds and is inside, no deception – it is the same outside and inside.

Tet – The ‘Seal’ or Mark of the ‘Master’.. His claim of ‘ownership’ and promise of completion.. to be restored to Him forever.. Jesus Messiah/Yeshua HaMashiach, (The Word; come in the flesh) He is The Seal, The Confirmation… We must be ‘IN’ Mashiach/In Christ – ‘access by compliance’ – Hazon/Revelation 22:14.

The pictograph for the letter

vet/bet ב is

It is the Hebrew word for house – bayit/beit/bet

and means:

house inside, household

or family also used as the words in and into.

It is a picture of a tent or house, or floor-plan of a tent.

The Hebrews lived in goat hair tents, which were divided into two halves, male and female sections, and divided by a wall.

Bet – House – The Container;

Body – Habitation of The Power of His Ruach/Spirit.

 טב

The 2 letters combined can mean: surround the house.

The house is surrounded by: grace, beauty, love, health and prosperity, something that is functional.

If written with a waw/vav

טוב

T W/V B also meaning:

GOOD – something that functions properly.

Translated in KJV. 591 times as:

good, better, well, goodness, goodly, best, merry, fair, prosperity, precious, fine, wealth, beautiful, fairer, favor glad.

Strongs # 2896, 2898. The word and meanings have many of the attributes of shalom/peace.

The extra letter

vav  ו – 

Meaning: Add, And, Secure, Hook, Join, Nail, Pierce.

The tent was supported by ropes attached to pegs driven into the ground. These pegs were made of a branched piece of hardwood. No English word is derived from this letter but the picture is similar to the hand of a man waving.

Sound: w, ow, uw

Picture of a peg: VAV

Ancient Name: Waw

The Instrument to bind or binding together –

One doing the work of:

weaving-knitting together (as in a womb- two become ‘one’)… fastening together…

think Jesus Messiah/HaMashiach Yeshua! 

This could read – What surrounds and is inside.

This word good/tov is used many times and it apparently means exactly the same in Aramaic – tova, as it does in Hebrew. 

We could conclude that Good is:

to be in harmony with something or someone.

When God created the fish of the sea, He saw it was good or in harmony with Him.  He created man and woman and saw they were good together or together were in harmony with Him. 

In scripture we are told that if a man finds a wife he finds a good thing.  We should not think of any woman, especially a wife as a ‘thing’. Wouldn’t it be preferable to translate it as: a man who finds a wife finds someone who brings him into harmony with his Heavenly Father? 

In the Semitic root of the Hebrew the word is tov has the idea of being in harmony or in tune.  We could read it as:

our Heavenly Father created the birds of the air and saw that they were in tune with or in harmony with Him.

All of His creation is in harmony with Him.

The plethora of colors, intricate details and designs show the un-paralleled beauty of all He has made and in the complexity and infinite variety of His creative thoughts even in a tiny insect. 

His love is evident in the nurturing care that His creations have for their young. 

Sometimes Romans 8:28 is just something we quote, not because we really believe it, but because we don’t know what else to say in a situation and sometimes, it can be really be irritating in the sense that many times a situation does not work out for good or what we perceive as good!

Isn’t what Paul is saying really that, every event and every circumstance in our life is meant to bring us into harmony with our Heavenly Father?

Only God is good and we can be certain when we are in right relationship with Him, and we are in perfect harmony and synchronized with His will and plan and purpose for our lives; the God that is only good, will fulfill His promises according to His Word, surrounding the house/body we live in with all of His Goodness!

Shalom shalom mishpachah/family

and cheverim/friends!

It’s all about Life and Relationship,

NOT Religion.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

NOT SURE?

YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.

Faith vs. Commonsense

Faith has been the subject of countless teachings

yet how is it understood compared to what we term commonsense??

 

Commonsense in Hebrew is

Shchl yshr  – שכל ישר;

commonsense reasoning – הגיון בריא;

Faith in Hebrew is

אמונה  emunah

Strong’s #530

Transliteration: amanah

Phonetic Spelling: am-aw-naw’

The Hebrew word 

emunah  אמונה,

pronounced: eh-moo-nah

is understood in English to mean: faith or belief.

But it is often also translated as: faithfulness.

Faith/Emoonah in Hebrew is a word of action.

It’s not just an abstract belief that something is true.

It is how we live our lives because of that truth.

Emoonah, is the expression of our faith/trust.

Strong’s Hebrew: 548. אֲמָנָה (amanah) — faith, support

Faith needs to be tempered with patience and wisdom.

Both are acquired through knowing the Father and His Word, and by learning to listen to His spirit leading and guiding us to the correct action; and along the path inline with His will, plan, and purpose for us.

Sometimes our enthusiasm can misdirect His leading when we do not wait for Him, our knee jerk reactions reflect our ‘I can fix it..’ mentality, as we try to control a situation according to how we think it should be resolved.

We simply get in Gods’ way, thinking we know best and our flesh rises up fueled by emotions; and we try to force a solution minus our Fathers input tempered by wisdom. This commonsense kicks in, in opposition to the patient faith, whose hope is entirely in our Fathers’ ability to bring about the best outcome according to His thoughts and ways.

Our heart is right… motivated out of love and concern, yet it’s still rooted in carnal thinking and demonstrates a mistaken reliance on reason as the basis for truth.

The mind reasons and thinks, and if not renewed by the washing of the water of His word; it still reasons according to the unregenerate mind. The spirit does not reason, it simply submits, hears and obeys. Commonsense and faith are as different from one another as the natural life is from the spiritual; and as impulsiveness is from obedient inspiration.

The renewed mind connects to the Father and His realm based on faith/trust and spiritual discerning by His spiritual gifts within. Nothing Messiah ever said or did was commonsense

but it was revelation sense and complete ..

whereas, commonsense falls short because it is fleshly and relies almost always on human standards without His Spirit …

Faith however, must be tested and tried before it becomes real in our lives.

So that no matter what happens, the transforming power of Gods’ providence, transforms and blends perfect faith with reality. Faith always works in a personal way because our Fathers’ purpose is to see that His perfect faith is made real in His children. For every detail of commonsense in life, there is a truth God has revealed; by which we can prove in our practical experience what we believe God to be. Faith is a tremendously active principle that always puts Messiah first. We must come to the place where we are truly tired of trying to fix our own problems and those of others, in our own way and timeline…. it’s called impatience! and it will hinder our faith and Him moving on our behalf.

The life of faith says… Lord you have said it, your word declares it, and your spirit in me confirms it, to me it seems irrational but I’m going to step out boldly trusting your Word.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

It’s always a fight to turn intellectual faith into our own personal possession. Our Heavenly Father both allows and brings us into circumstances in order to give us experience and to stretch our faith; because the very nature of faith is to make the object of our faith very real to us. We will always be qualified on our position and declaration, and on what we say and teach. Talking the talk means we must walk the walk, we are called to come up higher and be constantly seeing our life from His perspective because His ways are not ours.

Until we truly know Messiah Jesus/Yeshua, our Heavenly Father is merely a concept and we can’t have unshakable faith in Him. But once we hear Jesus/Yeshua in John 14:9 say: He who has seen me has seen the father; we immediately have something that is real and our faith in His ability to do… is limitless. Faith is the entire person in the right relationship with God, through the power of the Spirit of Messiah.

The one thing we must not only remember, but be totally in agreement with is 1 Corinthians 6:19..

For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

This is not just a faith-filled scripture to quote now and again when we think it fits… It is a serious statement of the reality of a true believers position both spiritually and physically. We cannot say we are His and belong to Him and then live like it’s not true. There is no compromise when we are truly His very own. We cannot be divided, for then we are split in our faithfulness and our walk. If our walk and life are casual, then we will eventually become a casualty. He looks for whole-heartedness not followers by convenience, when it suits us or when we have a crisis.

For a person who is intimately aware of and shares in the fellowship of His sufferings, we should wake up to the fact that there is no such thing as a private life, nor is there a place in this world where we can run and hide. Even when many times that seems like a good idea!

Our so called, private life, is separated because our Father gives us freewill choices daily, making it a highway for the world on the one hand and for Himself on the other.

Choose this day and choose life.

We are exposed to the same elements of life as non believers; and we come to realize that no one can stand/survive that onslaught of ungodliness, unless we are identified with Messiah. The sanctification He offers us is not for ourselves alone. Things happen to us that seem to have nothing to do with us even when we are called into an intimate relationship with Himself. We must allow Him have His way with us, being willing and ready to stand still and see His deliverance, His salvation in our lives and situations.

All of us will stand before a Red/reed sea at some point in our journey, with seemingly no possible way forward.

BUT GOD…

will open a way where there seems to be no way in the natural. Our moment of faith and trust in His ability to perform a miracle, is when we stop and take our hands off the situation. If we refuse and still try to fix it in our own strength and way, we will be of no value to Him in His redemptive work; but instead be a hindrance and a stumbling block and rob Him of the glory, as people see human solutions and not divine intervention. People then look to people and not to God. He wants first to get us grounded on strong reality and truth, and He will continue to work until our selfish motives and our caring for ourselves as individuals, has been brought into submission; to His way of being and doing for the purpose of His redemption.

This can and so often does mean having our hearts broken and we ask why is this necessary?

Brokenhearted Definition & Meaning:

overcome by grief or despair. 

Luke 4:18-21 (KJV) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the 

Messiah said about His Father,

“He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted” Luke 4:18 NKJV.

Jesus/Yeshua said that He came to “heal” the brokenhearted!

The word “heal” is the Greek word aphiesi, which means:

to set free

or

to loosen from the detrimental effects of a shattered life.

There are so many broken things that ONLY Messiah can heal!

The answer is another question,

why shouldn’t we experience a broken heart?

Could it be that it’s through these human experiences that our Father can open up the door to His Son, and the one relationship that will never lead to heartbreak?

In our humanity we falter and often wince and then collapse at the first stab of pain, and sitting down at the entrance of our Fathers’ purposed door, we slide into a slow demise dying through self pity and depression. Sadly all the sympathy heaped on us from so called Christians who are living carnal lives, just accelerates our downward spiraling journey to that deathbed.

But God will not be a part of that sympathy, He comes and takes hold of us with the nail pierced hands of His Messiah and lifts us up, calling us higher to rise and shine, to look up and not down for He has made us the head and not the tail.. Deut. 28:13

We are above and not beneath, our victory in Him is certain and we must know He always has the best for us and the hope for a glorious future. If our Father who loves us with an everlasting love, can accomplish His purposes in this life through circumstances that cause a broken heart/heartbreak then… why not … shouldn’t we be thanking Him for breaking ours?

Romans 8:28  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[ a] have been called according to his purpose. 

Not our purpose …His. We are Not our own we are bought with a price .. a price beyond our ability ever to repay… Family, friends, whatever the circumstances you find yourself in at this moment… stand still

and see Him

make the Way for you!

 Exodus 14:13-14 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. 

The Lord said

“stand still.”

We must repeat in faith what God has spoken in His word.

That is

stand still,

Stand Still,

STAND STILL,

and see the salvation of the Lord.

 

Be still and wait patiently for Him. Ps. 37:7.

This is what the Lord says—he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters. Isa. 43:16.

16 Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; KJV.

I am the LORD, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. I am the one who cut a path through the mighty ocean.

People sometimes think their situations and circumstances determine the quality of their lives; and because of this mindset, they pour all their energy in an effort to try and control them. Many feel happy only when things are going well and according to their plans; and feel sad and frustrated when things don not turn out as they wanted them to. Very rarely is this connection between feelings and circumstances ever questioned.

However it is possible to be content in any situation..all we have to do is put more energy and effort into trusting our Heavenly Father and have faith in His ability to bring all things in alignment to His plans and purposes.

We must try not to allow our physical circumstances be the dictator of our feelings and ultimate sense of well being. Instead, let His great and exceeding precious promises be the connection to His joy and in turn His strength within. Nothing can separate us from His love… Romans 8:38,39.

Shalom aleikhem/Peace be with you

friends/chaverim and family/mishpachah!

Shavua Tov – Have a blessed week,

you are greatly loved and prayed for daily.

Please don’t leave here without assurance of your salvation

Not sure ..you can be…

Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer,

Savior, Lord, and soon returning King

and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are very precious in His sight.

SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.

Are There Treasures In Darkness?

Isaiah 45:3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

The treasures of darkness?… 

This is a curious phrase in verse 3.

The previous verse says

2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: KJV

NASB: ‘I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.

These verses are a promise from our Heavenly Father that He will

make the WAY before us straight and smooth

by removing any obstacles that would hinder our progress

or, stop us moving forward by barring our path.

This implies, level the hilly places; as pioneers do.

I will go before thee — To remove all obstructions, and prepare the way for thee. 

Some other translations:

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And I shall give you treasures that are in darkness and hidden, buried things, that you may know that I AM LORD JEHOVAH, for I, The God of Israel, have called you by your name

Young’s Literal Translation
And have given to thee treasures of darkness, Even treasures of secret places, So that thou knowest that I, Jehovah, Who am calling on thy name — am the God of Israel.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, And hidden riches of secret places, That thou mayest know that I am the LORD, Who call thee by thy name, even the God of Israel.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I will give thee hidden treasures, and the concealed riches of secret places: that thou mayest know that I am the Lord who call thee by thy name, the God of Israel. 

The verse always makes the reader wonder…

Why would our Heavenly Father even want to give us something from darkness?

Doesn’t the scripture tell us He is Light?  

King James Bible
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And this is The Good News that we have heard from him and we evangelize to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness at all in him.

Berean Literal Bible
And this is the message that we have heard from Him and we preach to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

Young’s Literal Translation
And this is the message that we have heard from Him, and announce to you, that God is light, and darkness in Him is not at all;

Most believers would say they

do not want anything

from the dark side. 

What is this passage is really saying?

Chshk – darkness

chet sheen/shin kaf

חֹ֔שֶׁךְ

kaf 20 sheen 300 chet 8

opposite of light, absence of light.

First used in Gen. 1:2

chet: fence, a chamber.

sheen/shin: teeth, destroy.

kaf: arm, open hand.

Of Darkness

חֹ֔שֶׁךְ 2822 [e]
ḥō·šeḵ,   cho shech

The Treasures

214 [e]
’ō·wṣ·rō·wṯ    otz rot

אוֹצְר֣וֹת

4301 [e]
ū·maṭ·mu·nê   u mat nu nei

and hidden riches

וּמַטְמֻנֵ֖י

of secret places

4565 [e]
mis·tā·rîm   mis ta rim

מִסְתָּרִ֑ים

Isaiah 45:3 
HEB: לְךָ֙ אוֹצְר֣וֹת חֹ֔שֶׁךְ וּמַטְמֻנֵ֖י מִסְתָּרִ֑ים

KJV: thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches

חֹ֖שֶׁךְ hosek chosek

Isaiah 45:3 
HEB: אוֹצְר֣וֹת חֹ֔שֶׁךְ וּמַטְמֻנֵ֖י מִסְתָּרִ֑ים לְמַ֣עַן
NAS: of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places,
KJV: of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places,

וּמַטְמֻנֵ֖י – treasures – umatmune

Isaiah 45:3: “And I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places that you will know that I, the Lord, who called you by your name am the God of Israel.”

Isaiah 45: 2 tells us that God is going to open and make the trail for us as we journey in our calling and His plan for our lives.

In verse 3 He then tells us how He is going to equip us.  

He is going to give us the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places. 

Do we ever stop to think about it, what are the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places.

 

If we want to understand what our Father is saying to us, there are four Hebrew words we should look at; and by examining the Hebrew terms from which they originate, and the form in which they are rendered, we may get a picture or concept that is easier for us to understand.

The first two are orsaroth –  choshek 

(treasures of darkness).  

אוֹצְר֣וֹת 214 orsaroth

ר֣ צְ א

חֹ֔שֶׁךְ

choshek Strongs# 2822.

The word 

treasure (orsaroth) 

comes from the root word:

  ’asar 

ר֣ צְ א

This word has the idea of:

a storehouse, or treasures that are laid up but not lost.  

As the first thing that comes to our mind in western culture is something of monetary value, such as diamonds, jewelry, gold coins etc., in this context,  treasure would be a misleading word to use here. 

This treasure referred to in this verse is: 

a treasure of knowledge.  

 

Which we are encouraged in Proverbs to

get knowledge get understanding

which means:

learn how to wisely apply the knowledge you have been given!

King James Bible Proverbs 4:5
Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

King James Bible Proverbs 23:23
Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

The Hebrew word asar is spelled:

Aleph, Sade and Resh

ר֣ צְ א

and the combination of these letters tells us that this is:

knowledge pertaining to/of God’s love and power. 

The word for

darkness in Hebrew

is (choshek) chosheke

also expresses the idea of:

being obscure or hidden.

Seems like a contradiction?

 saying orsaroth is:

a treasure that is not lost.

However is Isaiah drawing a picture for us here? 

We must consider when this word was given which was during the reign of Josiah.

And because of the sinfulness of the people, at this time

the Torah, was hidden, BUT it was not lost!

During Josiahs’ reign the Torah was discovered buried deep in the royal archives. 

Is it possible that the treasures of darkness here refers to:

the deep mysteries of God stored away in His Word?

It is not hidden anymore than a library book is hidden on a bookshelf or library, or an item in our basements, attics or storage units; they’re there for us to access anytime we want. We may have to spend some time searching for it, trying to remember which box it’s in. It is the same with scripture, the more we study it the easier it is to find the treasures of knowledge within.

The next two words are:

matemenu misetarim 

hidden riches of secret places.  

Misetarim ם מִסְתָּרִ֑י  

(secret places) comes from the root word 

sathar 

which is the word for 

hidden, concealed or secret. 

 

Matemenu  מַטְמֻנֵ֖י

comes from the root word 

tamak /taman

נֵ֖ מַ טְ  

which has the preposition 

from in front of it

and is used to express 

hidden, concealed or protected treasures of knowledge. 

We could express this as: 

hidden riches of knowledge from concealed or protected places. 

In other words, 

taman /tamak knowledge

is not as easy to get to as 

 asar or treasure. 

To get

treasure – asar 

all we have to do is simply 

search for it.  

To get 

tamak – knowledge

we will need something more.   

Further trust…

A picture to help us to understand this may be for example: there are some legal documents that are referred to as being public record and are available for anyone to read. There are other records and documents deemed as classified and an individual needs a certain amount of security or level of clearance to access them.  

In order to obtain that security clearance a person will have to prove both a genuine need for these documents and the integrity required to be entrusted with the knowledge they contain.  This trust must be earned through faithfulness and correct handling.

Knowledge of our Heavenly Father is open to everyone, such as knowledge of His love, His plan of salvation, etc. 

And then there is knowledge which according to scripture is hidden (hidden riches of secret places). 

For access to this knowledge we will need…

the cleansing work of the blood of Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach, the power of His Holy Spirit and a personal relationship with the author; the One who has placed knowledge where it can only be found by those truly seeking the heart of the Father.

It appears that there are two levels of knowledge and many people are content with that which is easily accessible.  Few seem willing to earn the trust of our Heavenly Father, to seek His heart and receive the security clearance into the hidden riches of secret places.

Surely our desire to know His heart will open the way to His deep hidden secrets?

Treasure – Atsar or asar

Alef   א ox strength first

ר֣ צְ

צְ tsadik fishhook hook

Tzsar – trouble

Tsar is the hooked man

ר֣ resh reysh head person

To store gather accumulate

Tzsr – to press into someone or something

So we may conclude that in preparing the path ahead of where we are to walk, and as long as we are walking with Him in obedient relationship, He has removed every hindering thing that we may encounter.

Furthermore, as our trust and faith in His complete provision for our lives causes our relationship with our Heavenly Father to become deeper and more intimate; we earn His trust in us and as we continue to seek His heart the hidden riches of secret places are revealed.

We are led to the deep mysteries of God stored away in His Word.

They are hidden concealed BUT not lost.

Jesus/Yeshua said He had come to reveal things hidden from the foundation of the world in.

Matthew 13:35

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Amplified Bible
This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS [unknown and unattainable] THAT HAVE BEEN HIDDEN [from mankind] SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.”

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
So that the thing that was spoken by the Prophet would be fulfilled which says, “I shall open my mouth in parables and I shall declare things hidden from before the foundation of the world.”

Berean Literal Bible
so that it might be fulfilled that having been spoken by the prophet, saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.”

King James Bible
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Matthew 13:35
So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

Berean Standard Bible
I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,

King James Bible
I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:

Amplified Bible
I will open my mouth in a parable [to instruct using examples]; I will utter dark and puzzling sayings of old [that contain important truth]

Young’s Literal Translation
I open with a simile my mouth, I bring forth hidden things of old,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
For behold, I shall open my mouth in proverbs and I shall speak in parables of a former time.

Lamsa Bible
I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter proverbs of old.

Jesus/Yeshua said quoting from Psalm 78:2

So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.” 

Jesus/Yeshua says in Luke 8:10

“And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables.”  

Matt 13:11 & Mark 4:11

Many times as Yeshua/Jesus spoke, His disciples didn’t understand what He meant. 

Why was this so?  Wasn’t Yeshua/Jesus “God manifest in the flesh?” 

Surely the words that Messiah spoke are the very scriptures we have today, so why didn’t they understand them? One would think that if God personally spoke it would be easy to understand what He meant?

Some of the people listening to Jesus/Yeshua misunderstood what He said because it was not given to them to understand.  Even though they had natural ears which could hear, the spiritual ears of their hardened hearts could not receive what Messiah said. Our Father says,

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Corinthians 2:14

Messiah states that it was given to His disciples/talmidim to understand while it was not given to others. It seems that, in order for even those disciples /talmidim who were closest to Him to comprehend His words, it had to be revealed to them.  In their case, Jesus/Yeshua revealed the truth to them personally.

And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

10He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’ 

11 “Now [the meaning of] the parable is this: The seed is the word of God [concerning eternal salvation].

Mark 4:9Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.

11He replied, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside everything is expressed in parables,

Like the disciples, It is also possible for us to hear the words of Jesus/Yeshua but not understand them. Unless it isgiven unto us to know the mystery of the kingdom of God” we cannot understand what He says.  

We rely upon His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth and the only way we can truly hear that truth, is through revelation given to our spirits, because everything that originates in the mind of our Heavenly Father is a mystery to our flesh. 

 Truthfully, we are supposed to live by His spirit, not by our flesh, and the study of the scriptures should be to search to see if these things are true. 

Why?

that thou mayest know that I am the Lord who call thee by thy name, the God of Israel. 

The conclusion is that Our Father Himself says

this is the reason for the previous verses…

that we may know He is the lord who calls us by our name He is the God of Israel

Calling us by name is the intimacy of a relationship on first name basis. Where two people are on first name terms and trust one another to confide things not shared with casual acquaintances.

The God of all creation through Yeshua/Jesus by the power of His Spirit of Holiness is now dwelling within us as His children and trusted disciples/talmidim. We have available to us the secrets of His kingdom, hidden from the foundation of the world.

Are we truly taking advantage of what He has opened to us?

It’s there for the asking… These are the real

treasures of darkness,

hidden only to be revealed to those it has been given to understand…

What treasures are we seeking?

Is it worldly success, wealth, comfort, natural resources, leisure, pleasure, or are we, the deep calling unto deep, desiring the true wealth of the treasure of the kingdom of the heavens.

Are we seeking spiritual gifts of supernatural and eternal value and endurance? The treasures that moth and rust can never destroy and nothing can take from us?

There is a darkness that is bad….

for more information

click link below

https://www.minimannamoments.com/no-treats-here-its-all-tricks/

but this darkness is not bad

or evil or to be feared;

it is simply a cover waiting to be lifted

by hungry hearts seeking to know our Father more intimately.

The more we come to know Him, the stronger and deeper the relationship becomes, the more He will give us by…

opening the treasures of darkness to us and

revealing the riches stored, hidden in secret places,

so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel,

who calls you by name.

Will we answer His call today?

Do we want to dig deeper

and

grow stronger

with our foundation on the ROCK

so when the storms of this life blow hard

we will not be moved or shaken?

Please don’t leave here without assurance of your salvation

and a deep inner knowing

that your life is firmly founded on none other than

the Rock of Ages..

Ps 62:2

He only is my rock and my salvation; 

he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.

Not sure ..you can be…

Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer,

Savior, Lord, and soon returning King

and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are very precious in His sight.

SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.

Walk With Me & Is God Inhabiting Holiness Or Praises?

First a P.S. for those who read last weeks post

Shade of Shaddai.

We looked at the name for

All sufficient – El Shaddai

spelled in Hebrew with the letters:

Alef, lamed, shin, daleth, yod.

In Exodus 17:1 

God asks Abraham to walk before Him.

Genesis 17:1-2, “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.”

The word before means “in front of, or in the presences of” (Webster’s 1828). God was calling Abraham to a personal relationship with Himself. He wanted Abraham to live in His very presence. 

In Hebrew/Jewish literature the Rabbis and Sages teach that this verse should read

Walk WITH Me.

This is interesting because we are to understand that only after the fullness of 99 years, Abraham was finally invited to Walk WITH YHVH/Yahoveh/God as we are informed in Genesis that Enoch did also.

And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. Amplified Bible And [in reverent fear and obedience] Enoch walked with God; and he was not [found among men], because God took him. Genesis 5:24

Was Abraham able to do this because He understood that YHVH/God was El Shaddai, the Almighty or all sufficient God/YHVH? The rabbis and sages further say that 90 is the number of humility and 9 is the number of completion. So this infers that when Abraham was 99, he became complete (9) in humility (90) and recognized that YHVH/Yahoveh/God was truly El Shaddai – all sufficient, only then he could walk WITH Yahoveh/ YHVH/ God.

Humility is defined as: not for one moment trusting in self, in the arm of the flesh or in all securities we have built up; but having complete and total trust in our Heavenly Father God/El Shaddai, to be all sufficient for us.

אל שדי (el shaddai) the almighty

Genesis 17:1 
HEB: אֲנִי־ אֵ֣ל שַׁדַּ֔י הִתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ לְפָנַ֖י
NAS: to him, I am God Almighty; Walk
KJV: and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God;

And when Abram was ninety nine years old and the LORD appeared to Abram, and he said to him, I am El Shaddai, walk before me, and be perfect
Genesis 17:1

7706 Shadday: Almighty

Original Word: שַׁדַּי
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: Shadday
Phonetic Spelling: shad-dah’-ee

ALMIGHTY: Shaddai.

Masculine noun. (Strong’s 7706).

Root: שַׁדַּי

Sounds like: sha’dah-eye.

שדי

Click link below if you missed last weeks post:

https://www.minimannamoments.com/shade-of-shaddai/

El Shaddai – ale shad-dah’-ee

yds lA

אל שׁדי

The ‘Aleph’

and ‘Lamed’

form the root word

‘El’ which means God or strong controller.

The ‘Shin,’ ‘Dalet,’ and ‘Yud’ form another root. 

In the previous post we looked at the meaning of the word

אל  el,

as found in אל שדי (el shaddai),

and the word שדי (shaddai).

Most Bible translations translate this word as Almighty.

Many times a translator will not, or is reluctant to, translate a Hebrew word literally;

Why?

Because the literal meaning would not make sense to the Western mind and in some cases could or would actually offend them.

This is the case with the word שדי (shaddai).

The use of the word “Almighty” by the translator is their attempt at translating the text in a manner that will both make sense to the Western reader as well as to retain some of the meaning of the original Hebrew word.

Let’s take another look at this word.

The parent root for this word is שד (shad).

The original pictograph for this word is:

The (sh) is a picture of the two front teeth

and has the meaning of:

“sharp,” “press” (as from chewing)

as well as “two.”

Shin: His Heartbeat apparent in the fervent ardency and the intense, fiery, consuming, passionate power of His essence; A picture of His desire which is evident in; the works of His hand – the brought forth One – the author and finisher. 

The picture is the two front teeth.

The whiteness of the teeth shine.

Picture: Teeth

Associations: Shine

Sound: sh

Ancient Name: Shin

Modern Name: Shin

Modern Form: ש

Meaning: Sharp, Press, Eat, Two.

The (d) is a picture of a tent door

with a meaning of

hang” or “dangle” as:

the door is hung or dangles down from the top of the tent.

Dalet – Door, passageway –

Process of entering-in; according to the Instructions, through the ‘Promised’ Instructor!

Move, hang, entrance, open, path or way.

The entrance of the Hebrew’s tent was covered by a curtain suspended from a horizontal pole.

The picture of this letter represents the “door” of the tent.

Picture: Door

Associations: Door

Sound: d

Ancient Name: Dal

Modern Name: Dalet

Modern Form: ד

Meaning: Move, Hang, Entrance

The combined meanings of the

shin and dalet

could be two danglers.

The goat was a very common animal within the herds of the Hebrews. It produces milk within the udder and is extracted by the goat kid by squeezing and sucking on the two teats dangling below the udder.

The function of these teats is to provide all the necessary nourishment for the kids, as they would die without it.

The Hebrew word שדי (shaddai)

also has the meaning of a teat.

Just as the goat provides nourishment to its kids through the milk, God nourishes His children through His milk and provides all the necessities of life.

This imagery can be seen in the following passage:

“And I will come down to snatch them [Israel] from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and wide land to a land flowing with milk and honey.” Exodus 3:8

The word שדי (teat) is often coupled with the word

אל (mighty, strong)

creating the phrase

אל שדי (el shaddai)

and literally meaning

the “mighty teat,”

hence we can see the translator’s reluctance to literally translate this phrase and instead using the more acceptable “God Almighty.”

It has also been termed as the Almighty breasty One.

The idea of God being characterized as having breasts/teats does not sit well in our Western culture. We are familiar with identifying with God as a father, but not as a mother.

The Hebrew word for

mother is אם (em)

or

in the ancient pictographic script.

The ox head

meaning strength

combined with the picture for water 

forms the word meaning: strong water.

Animal’s hides were placed in a pot of boiling water.

As the hide boiled, a thick sticky substance formed at the surface of the water and was removed and used as glue, a binding liquid or “strong water.” The mother of the family is the “one who binds the family together.

Our Heavenly Father God can be seen as the

glue” that holds the whole universe together;

which is more than a figurative statement however it is also quite scientific. We know that all matter is made up of atoms, each atom consists of protons which have a positive charge and electrons which have a negative charge. The protons are packed together in the nucleus, which is the center of the atom, while the electrons orbit/surround the nucleus. Since each proton has a positive charge, each proton should repel the others causing the protons to fly apart, but for some unknown reason, they do not. This phenomenon is called nucleic bonding. Our Heavenly Father God literally binds the entire universe together. WOW!

In Genesis 1:27 we are told “male and female he created them.”

This passage states that man was created as male and female and also that man was created in the image of God. God has the characteristics of both male and female and these characteristics were put into His creation, male characteristics in men and the feminine characteristics were placed in women. When a man and a woman come together, they unite these characteristics as one, now a perfect ‘representation’ of God. As Genesis 2:24 states and they shall become one flesh.

(In His image and likeness.)

God promised the nation of Israel that he would bring them into a “land flowing with milk and honey.”

God as the אל שדי (el shaddai), the mighty teat, will supply His children with His life sustaining milk.

A brief note highlighting some of the problems with Biblical translations.

There are many aspects that comprise a translation which are both unknown and unseen to the reader. Many people assume that the English translations of the Bible are all equal representations of the original text in which it was first written down. Due to the huge difference between both the ancient Hebrews language and culture compared to our own, an exact translation into our English language is impossible. The job of any translator is extremely difficult as they attempt to bridge the gap between both languages and cultures.

Because the Hebrew text can be translated various ways, sometimes the translator’s personal beliefs have an influence how the text is translated; then it becomes more of a interpretation of the original text based on the individuals own theology and doctrine.

Whoever reads this translation has no choice but to believe the translators understanding of the text and it then also becomes the readers’ foundation.

For this reason, readers will often compare translations, but are usually limited to Christian translations. And many do not have the resources or education to do the research themselves and just simply accept what is presented in the version they have available.

A wise recommendation for any student of His Word is to include a “Hebrew/Jewish” translation when comparing texts, as this will give a different and more authentic perspective. Of course it will be biased toward the Hebraic/Jewish faith, but then Christian translations are biased toward the Christian faith too; so being able to compare the two translations can certainly help to understand the different viewpoint each one contains. We miss so many hidden gems and pearls when we confine ourselves to just one translation…Hopefully these posts help to illuminate and explain some of the more obscure scriptures which because of language ambiguities can seem to be contradictions.

The aim and heart of these posts are not to offend any readers, nor to take the place of personal study and research. No one understands it all and we are all learning along the Way. Our relationship with our Heavenly Father is the most important aspect, drawing closer to Him through His Word and so; having even a small glimpse into Hebrew language/culture, albeit clumsy, hopefully reminds us how little we really know and then only with the help of His Spirit. As always be encouraged to study for yourself and forgive any errors in the text, the writer simply wants you to fall in love with His Word.

Here is one that we can ponder on..

Is God Inhabiting Holiness or Praises?

In Psalm 22:3 it is written:

and thou art holy sitting …the praise of Israel.

Youngs Literal Translation.

In KJV it reads

3But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

 

In other translations it reads as

enthroned

 

The word inhabit in Hebrew Strongs# 3427

is

יָשַׁב

YASHAV or Yashab

Phonetic Spelling: yaw-shab’

(recall the letters for v and b are interchangeable.)

Yashav means many things related to dwelling,

so, it could be sitting,

as used in Youngs translation,

or it could be

remaining, staying,

set in one place an abode or establishing.

Again, depending on the context where the word is used and is most applicable to what the original writer was trying to convey.

Here is a question.

Are our bodies the temple/sanctuary of God

or

are they the Yashav/yashab of God?

Many translations insert the word Temple

yet sanctuary is more appropriate.

Ephesians 2:21

Why?

Because the inner, holiest part of the temple complex was the place where YHVH/Gods’ shekinah presence dwelt.

hieros; a sacred place, i.e.

The entire precincts

(whereas naos denotes the central sanctuary itself) of the Temple (at Jerusalem or elsewhere) — temple.2411. hieron

3485 naós (from naiō, “to dwell”) Phonetic Spelling: (nah-os’)
Definition: a temple, a shrine,

that part of the temple where God himself resides.– properly, a sanctuary (divine dwelling-place);

a temple (sacred abode), the place of divine manifestation. 3485(naós) refers to the sanctuary (the Jewish Temple proper), i.e. with just its two inner compartments (rooms).

As His Spirit of Holiness is now imparted into our innermost being, then it would seem more likely that the holiest place would be just that, in our innermost being – the sanctuary of our hearts.

Something to think about…

Returning to yashav/yashab,

And some more questions..

Are we hoping Gods’ presence will somehow come

… when we praise Him?

Is it that we somehow think/believe we can entice Him to join us by praising Him?

Doesn’t this signify that He is not yet in the midst of us or that He is not indwelling each of us by His Spirit? Yet 

Does He inhabit the praises of His people

or

does He inhabit His Holiness?

Or maybe it could read literally from the Hebrew as:

He the praise of His people?

A serious and more revealing question is:

what is the praise of our congregations?

What are we as a body of believers lifting up?

Is it the leadership, the building?

The number of those attending, is it the denomination and it doctrines and beliefs?

Then we must ask… what is the individuals focus in praise?

Is it our family, job, career, house car etc etc?…

because what we praise

and give our allegiance to and focus on is what our priority is.

All we have to do is listen to conversations all around us, because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. What’s in there in abundance will come out of our mouths in conversation.

The Lord is Holy and we are to let no unholy thing come out of our mouth.

1Peter 1:15 be holy in all manner of communication.

Kadesh – holy means:

to be separate and sacred.

The One we are to be in intimate communication with, is Our Heavenly Father and in that intimate relationship, we are drawn to Him Who, Jesus/Yeshua and His Spirit of Holiness always point us to;

and when He dwells within us,

He becomes our praise.

The word for praise here is

HALAL which means: to SHINE.

When we say Hallelujah, we are saying:

God SHINE in us let the world see You not us.

God already inhabits His people so

He obviously inhabits the praises that come forth from them.

God is our praise and He dwells in us, there’s no treasure anywhere that can even come close to who He is;

2Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Our treasure is that holy spirit within our “earthen vessels”. Earthen vessels are jars or containers made of clay. Jar of clay or earthen vessel is a figurative description of the human body as formed of clay (Gen. 2:7; 3:17)

and it should cause us to be continually praising Him, which in turn will give no room to be praising anything else.

As Yeshua/Jesus said, if people are forbidden to shout praises the The very stones will cry out..

Let it be our aim to

walk with Him

and to let the

el shaddai who

(yashab) inhabits us

as His sanctuary here on earth;

inspire the praises that issue forth from our lips

by His indwelling Spirit of Holiness.

He is then inhabiting the Holiness of our praises!

Here I bow – live common gathering.

Shalom

friends and family!

Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week,

you are greatly loved and prayed for daily.

Please don’t leave here without assurance of your salvation

Not sure ..you can be…

Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer,

Savior, Lord, and soon returning King

and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are very precious in His sight.

SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.