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.

Is Joy Happiness?

Is Joy the same as what we call Happiness?

This is a timely word as we are quickly coming to the autumn/fall Appointed Times of the Lord which include the pouring with joy at the sukkot; and then the time of the season of rejoicing in the Torah which follows sukkot although not a Biblical feast.

Sim•cha- JOY is connected to the name of an important Holiday – Sim•chat To•rah the Rejoicing of the Torah. This holiday is celebrated on She•mi•ni A•tze•ret, which is the first day following the seventh day of Sukkot /Feast of Booths, Feast of Tabernacles. Even though She•mi•ni A•tze•ret is celebrated a day after Su•kkot, it is a separate Biblical holiday.

 “Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord; on the eighth day shall be a holy gathering to you; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord; it is a solemn assembly; and you shall do no labor in it”

Leviticus 23:36

Sim•chat To•rah is celebrated on the same day, and the custom was started by the sages during the exile in Babylonia. The holiday commemorates the completion of reading 52 portions of the Torah; each portion is read each week of the year all over the world and because it was first introduced by Ezra the Scribe this custom is considered biblical.

Another holiday related to

Joy/sim•cha is

Sim•chat Beit Ha•sho•e•va.

It is an ancient Jewish custom related to the commandment of Pouring (casting) Water

that was established at the Temple on

Sukkot (Feast of Booths, Feast of Tabernacles)

after bringing the water of the Gihon Spring

to the Temple.

The first time in 100 references to joy  in the New Testament is coupled with the birth of Jesus/Yeshua:

“When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy”

Matthew 2:10

Joy is often associated with the list in Galatians of the fruit of our Heavenly Fathers indwelling Spirit of Holiness but is it the same thing as we call happiness? Modern meanings have changed over time and we need to take another look at this one in the list as we often skim over the word thinking we know what it means and where it comes from.

שמחה

GLADNESS – SIMCHAH שמחה 

Sine/shin Mem Cheth Hei

Strong’s Hebrew: 8057. שִׂמְחָה (simchah) 

joy, gladness, mirth, exceedingly, gladness, joyfulness, mirth, pleasure, rejoicing.

From sameach; blithesomeness or glee, religious or festival.

ימטשאַה. Simcha

is a Hebrew word with several meanings.

Literally, the word simcha means:

gladness, or joy.

It comes from the root word sameyach,

which means glad or happy.

More Hebrew words for joy 

noun שִׂמְחָה happiness, gladness, gaiety, felicity, exhilaration

noun חֶדוָה delight, gladness, exultation

noun שָׂשׂוֹן delight, rejoicing, merriment, mirth

chedvah: joy.

Original Word: חֶדְוָה.

Transliteration: chedvah.

Phonetic Spelling: khed-vaw’

In Hebrew there are several words for joy, each with different shades of meaning. 

Simcha’ (ch is a soft gutteral, between h and the ch of ‘Bach’) means happiness in the most full sense.

עֲלָזָה

joy

בְּדִיחוּת

joy, facetiousness, fun

צָהֳלָה

rejoicing, hilarity, exultation, merriment, joy, roar

גִיל

age, clapper, delight, joy, exultation, gladness

עוֹנֶג

pleasure, delight, joy, enjoyment

שִׂמְחָה

joy, happiness, gaiety, mirth, glee, gladness

דִיצָה

joy, amusement

חֶדוָה

delight, exultation, joy, gladness

גִילָה

exultation, delight, joy, gladness

מָשׂוֹשׂ

joy, gladness

רִנָה

exultation, joy, song, singing

שָׂשׂוֹן

mirth, delight, rejoicing, merriment, joy

עִנוּג

delight, joy, pleasure, enjoyment

עֲלִיזוּת

gaiety, cheerfulness, playfulness, mirth, fun, joy

Most of the words for joy mentioned below are in one of the seven blessings recited at a traditional Hebrew wedding. The guests join in singing it, so those words are familiar to many, especially in Israel. Here is the portion sung, with the words for joy in red:

אשר ברא ששון ושמחה, חתן וכלה, גילהרינהדיצה וחדוָה, אהבה ואחוָה ושלום ורעות”.

Below are those words in transliteration:

Sason, Simcha, Geela, Reena, Deetza, Hhedva

Below are some extended meanings of the Hebrew words:
hana-ah: enjoyment, deriving benefit from something specific.
Simcha: full-blown happiness; it’s also a common Hebrew first name.
Gila/Geela: a wave of happiness that comes and moves through you during a period of time; it’s also a common Hebrew first name. Gila is a stronger sensation of joy but more transient and worldly and is related to gal meaning wave.

Deetza/ditza: is joy related to dancing; Joy in the way of, I was so happy I jumped up & down
Rina/Reena: is a joy related to singing, boisterously joyful, shouting it out, as in, woo-hooo! & Hallelu-yah, it’s also a common name.
Ched-vah/Hhedva: Joy of a strength and radiant quality divine; also a Hebrew name.

Simchah pictures the person surrounded by The Name.

Chedvah is translated delight and pictures the fence around a door or protection for the house.

Sason is symbolic of partaking of life and as there are two s letters, it is double feasting on life.

Ratson is the image of being hooked on the person of life. That person is Yeshua/Jesus the Messiah.

Hebrew has 22 modern letters in the green chart below:

and below in the paleo hebrew alefbet, each one is a picture. 

for more links click below:

https://www.minimannamoments.com/alef-bet-alphabet/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/ancient-pictographic-hebrew-language/

These are all first names for girls that could be translated as Joy:

Rina/Rinna/רינה,

Chedva חדווה/Khedva/Hedva,

Gila/גילה

Aliza/עליזה

 Ditza דיצה

Tagel, Oshra, Oshrit,

Ztahala צהלה Tzahala/ Tsahala.

For boys

Gil גיל,

Sasson ששון Sason

Osher, Yagel. 

 Osher אושר, which means happiness and

Simkha/Simcha שמחה is for both male and female.

Joy or Happiness is a every important commandment to the Hebrew way of thinking, much has been written about why and how to practice Joy; and it’s said that no one can worship the Father when they are unhappy. The reasoning behind this is that a person who is sad is most likely because at that moment they are seeing themselves as the center of their world, and are wanting everything to go their own way. They also believe that a sad person is seen to be complaining against the Father for not agreeing with and answering their wishes.

Happy which is an adjective/a descriptive word, can be translated in the following ways, the first being the most common:

שַׂמֵחַ – sameach means: happy, glad, joyous, joyful, pleased, cheerful

מְאוּשָׁר – me’ushar means: deeply happy, content. it also means certified, endorsed, confirmed, or approved.

נֶעֱלָס – ne’elas = jolly, cheerful, merry

עַלִיז – aliz means: cheerful, merry, jolly, joyful, playful

מָלֵא שִׂמחָה – maleh simcha means: filled with happiness

מַרנִין – marnin means: joyful, gladdening

צוֹהֵל – tsohel means: joyful, exuberant, jubilant, exultant, gleeful

http://biblehub.com/hebrew/1523.htm

http://biblehub.com/hebrew/8057.htm

Gladness– One English dictionary defines joy as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. This definition follows the Greek meaning of chará and hēdonḗ = rejoicing and pleasure.  This is where we get the term Hedonism and is typical of western thinking which follows that of Plato and Aristotle; this is not so typical in Hebrew thought.

The two Greek words used: chairein and chaironton; are both forms of the same Greek word: chairo. It means ‘to rejoice, be glad, full of joy.‘  This word is related to charis which means grace and in its broader meaning, it’s a form of greeting, such as: be well or thrive.

http://biblehub.com/greek/5479.htm

http://biblehub.com/greek/5463.htm

What is the fullness of joy

In Hebrew its soba semachot.

The word semachot comes from the root word semchah which means: joy and serenity. This word is written as a feminine plural, how can you have joy in a plural form? 

in Hebrew the plural form could indicate one of two things or maybe even both of them. In English plural means more than one.  We can have more than one kind of joy in our Heavenly Fathers’ presence.

For example we can experience

the joy of serenity, 

the joy of peace

the joy of our salvation

and the joy of sabbath rest. 

The word soba comes from the same root as Shabbat

which means rest and ceasing from labor/work

and it also has the idea of abundance and fullness.  

In exploring our initial question a little deeper, the Hebrew text of the well known verse in

Nehemiah 8:10

the joy of the Lord is your strength.

may give us further insight into whether Joy is the same as our concept of happiness.

The word joy that is used in Nehemiah is the word 

chadoth which is really the word for pleasure.

The pleasure of God is our strength!?

In this often quoted verse, there is a different Hebrew word, chedvah, also translated as the English joy.

Cheth daleth vav taw  yod hei vav hei

Chadoth YHWH

This is a rare word and it’s only used two times in scripture to denote a direct connection to YHVH  – here in Nehemiah and in 1Chronicles 16:27 

“strength and joy – gladness – are in His Place”.

While simchah is linked with human emotions and actions, chedvah seems to be ONLY in connection with the Father/YHVH Himself.

This makes chedvah even more important because,

if chedvah YHVH is our strength,

then we need to have some understanding of what that really means.

As we are examining if joy is the same as our concept of happiness what exactly is the joy of YHVH?

This leads to other questions … Is this suggesting that the Father Himself experiences joy – and furthermore, that this is the basis of our strength?  When reading this well known scripture we readily assume that our strength comes from the joy our Heavenly Father gives to us;

but, have we ever considered where that joy comes from?

We noted earlier that the word for joy in Nehemiah is chadoth which is really the word for pleasure and that it could read:

The pleasure of God is our strength.

We know that we are all created for a specific purpose in this life and as we walk, we are tested by experiencing and enduring various trials. These provide training that will help to prepare us for the role our Father has chosen for us and enable us to fulfill our calling.

Our faithfulness to the call on our lives

is what brings Joy to our Heavenly Father.

...Read that last sentence one more time!

 

As we are purged of all our impurities, selfish and self centered motives, we become more aware of His approval of and pleasure in us as Messiah/Christ is continually being formed in us. Everything we do, should be as the pattern Yeshua/Jesus showed us by His life. He did everything as unto His Father and in everything gave thanks to Him, both hearing His voice and obeying it and obeying His Fathers will gave both Jesus/Yeshua and His Father pleasure/joy.

This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Matthew 17:5-8

Have pleasure in – joy

The point is to make the distinction between joy and happiness in that it’s not the joy we feel as a fleeting emotion but rather the joy our Heavenly Father takes IN us …. that is our strength, that is the joy of the Lord, the pleasure He felt in Yeshua/Jesus and also does in us; this is our strength! We are to realize that our Father has joy in our faithfulness and that gives us strength to endure. With each and every trial that we go through, if we have the name of our Father and His Son coming from our lips, then His heart will be filled with joy over us and our faithfulness and when we experience that joy that is where we find our strength. This kind of joy is a spiritual force and is not an emotion that quickly fades.

Another interesting use of the Hebrew word in the plural form is that it does not necessarily have to indicate more than one; it could be used to point out the ultimate, the greatest.  We could read this as:
In the presence of God is the fullness and the ultimate or greatest joy. 

Hebrews 12:2 for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

John 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

That My Joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full

What is the joy we hear about often in scriptures such as Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

This Joy should not be confused with happiness and what we understand by the modern words when we speak of it in connection with Messiah. As our carnal thinking leans towards feelings, we look at the list in Galatians and often try to emulate this list with our own strength, but what if these are not carnal or fleshly based at all? They are fruit of the spirit not the flesh!

They are really an outward evidence of His Spirit of Holiness within the believer and are in fact not sourced from us at all but come from within us where the indwelling of His spirit resides. Furthermore, as spirit, are they not by their very nature spiritual forces and comprise the weapons of our warfare which are not carnal but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds? 2 Cor.

This joy Messiah had was the knowing that He was about to endure the price of sin and die physically that we may live and be forgiven.

His joy was of absolute self surrender and self sacrifice to His Father and His Fathers will, plan and purpose. The joy of doing that which His Father sent Him to do…

Who For the joy that was set before Him…endured the cross. Hebrews 12:2;

Ps 40:8…I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.”

Ps. 45:7,8 oil of joy above fellows.

You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.

Also see post 

https://www.minimannamoments.com/what-filled-messiah-with-simchah-chedvah-joy/

Messiah prayed that our joy might continue fulfilling itself until it becomes the same joy as His. When we read it this way, the words continue fulfilling itself, indicate that the joy doesn’t have its origin in us and confirms it’s more of a spiritual force, a force of His Spirit of Holiness/Ruach HaKodesh.

This by its nature of being a weapon against our adversary, because the weapons of our warfare which are not carnal but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds?

Have we allowed Him to impart HIS joy to us yet?

Listed in Galatians is the outward fruit that grows out of the inward obedient walk, together with His Spirit/Ruach so that the attributes of Messiah are evident to others; it seems that it is not the same joy that the Father imparts to us which is the source of our spiritual strength.

We should try to remember that living a full prosperous/abundant life here, is not centered in being completely healthy or that our circumstances are always perfect and how we would like them to be; nor is it in seeing success in the work God has given us to do.  It is in us understanding the Father through relationship and growing in maturity towards oneness with Him in the same manner that Yeshua/Jesus had and experienced and prayed that He wanted that for us also. John 17:22

The first things that will hinder this joy are the subtle issues and irritations caused by focusing too much on the circumstances and events of our lives.

Mark 4:19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Mark records them as the cares of this world because they choke the life of the word sown in us and it becomes unfruitful and before we realize what has happened we are caught up in all the cares. Many don’t realize that in all He has done for us its only the beginning of our walk and He wants for us to come to the place where we joyfully proclaim who Jesus/Yeshua is and become witnesses unto Him.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

By forming and developing a right relationship with our Heavenly Father is where we will find our joy then out of us will flow His living waters.

We are to be the vessel, the fountain, through which He can pour His living water.

The scripture in John 7:37–38,

On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

On the last day.

This was the last day of the seven-day long

Sukkot

Feast of Tabernacles

celebration known as “the Last Great Day”

in Heb. Hoshana Rabbah. 

The Last Great Day immediately follows the Festival of Tabernacles. It can also be seen as the 8th Day of the Feast. It pictures Paradise, New Heavens & New Earth, the conclusion of all things.

John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

We are often so self centered, with our conversations being many times focused on ‘me, I, myself’; and how everything affects us, our needs wants, desires and choices. Then we become complainers, those who murmur, aware of only ourselves and what concerns us; and it can lead us to become prideful and hypocritical; when the scripture tells us our lives are to be hidden with Christ in God.

Col. 3:3. For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God. Amplified.

Those whose lives that have a right relationship with the Father, live a life as natural as breathing wherever they go. More often than not the lives that have been the greatest blessing to us are those people who were totally unaware of having been a blessing.

Joy is not frivolity, nor is it a passing high moment of fun, a good time, entertainment etc. It’s not the outward emotion stirred by events or success …so what is it?

Joy is a deep seated settled knowing in the depth of our soul and spirit from where it originates; it’s not a reaction to an outward event or an emotion from a physical situation. His Ruach HaKodesh/Spirit of Holiness is the source and it is combined with the other attributes He imparts which we are to exhibit as His child, His friend, His disciple and His bond servant. We are to minister as He did and here, recall the scripture that states what gave Him joy.. it was to do His Fathers will.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/what-filled-messiah-with-simchah-chedvah-joy/

Can we say the same?

Have we ever truly experienced this kind of Joy?…

or any of the fruit of His Spirit in a deep spiritual way?

Love for example, and not the emotion? Enduring peace – the true shalom, not just in a quiet moment, but in the midst of chaos and traumatic events?

All of these may have been experienced in moments and yet not in the enduring qualities that we are called to not only exhibit, but walk and live in day by day.

It was that force of spiritual joy not a fleeting emotion spoken of in Hebrews 12:2 for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

This is what enabled Him to endure and because it was before Him by HIs Father, He willingly went toward it. It was not a giddy, ecstatic burst of emotional feelings. His face was set like flint Luke 9:51 says, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face like flint to go to Jerusalem.”

He was determined and undeterred He looked beyond the natural to the victory beyond. To do that we must also see with the eyes of faith beyond our present circumstances and ignore feelings that constantly change and our unsteady emotions which will present a false picture..

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1

We are to walk after the spirit and not after the flesh. We must ignore the carnal mans demands… THEN all things will work together for good…we must remember to read the whole context of the verse because there are always conditions that accompany each promise.

Restore to us the joy of our salvation Ps.51:12

Joy is a gift given to us and

2 Timothy 1:6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hand

This is reminding us to stir up the gifts within us..

HOW?

we can do that by thinking on these things..

Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

whatsoever is of good report… JOY is connected to the gospel message of forgiveness and salvation.

Another thing we are to remember is the attitude of being like a little child… not childish, but childlike, and this really is a necessity because simplicity is the secret if we are to see things clearly.

As believers, we often do not think clearly in the middle of a situation, then after time has passed and we reflect on what happened and what we could have – would have – should have said or done… Really if we are honest with ourselves, we ought to see clearly without any difficulty.

We cannot think our way through spiritual confusion to make things clear, we must simply obey His Word and ways. If it is just a matter of an intellectual decision then we can think things out logically; but in matters of the spirit, we will only further our confusion by our own thoughts and ‘what ifs’ ..and wander around in circles. Obedience to the Father is the answer and when He is putting His pressure on a matter we must bring all our questions and discussion  to this place by… casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

2 Cor. 10:5.

Then all will become clear for that situation and our reasonings will follow afterwards because reasoning is not how we see spiritually. We are to see like children see, because when we try to be wise we see nothing!

Matt. 11:25 At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

Is it not true that even the tiny things we allow to sneak past the filter of His Spirit of Holiness is uncontrolled by His influence and then we act from our carnal fleshly thinking and then comes the spiritual confusion, obedience is the only solution to confusion. As soon as we are obedient the peace/shalom of the Father fills our heart and mind and that place of peace is the umpire, the agent of our Godly decisions and choices.

Colossians 3:15 in the Amplified says, “And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state]

As soon as we choose to obey, we have discernment and it can be somewhat embarrassing because we know that the reason for our confusion lies in our mind set and thought patterns. However, when we yield our natural mind to His Spirit and are devoted to Him and His Ways, our submission to His will becomes the very power that enables us to perceive the way forward. Then our whole life remains unconfused and simple…as a childs’ life is. They rely on the loving parent to take care of the problems faced in life and we are to simply apply His joy to all that we do. We are encouraged to remember as we run our race, we too, have joy set before us;

Christ in us the hope of glory. Col. 1:27

and if we have been good and faithful children/servants we will one day enter in to the joy of our Lord.

Matt 25:21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

We often don’t consider joy as a weapon but it really is because it dispels the darkness that tries to creep up over us..

Based on Psalm 16:11 the Rabbis believe that Joy is a true sign of the presence of God, “…in Your presence is fullness of joy…”

Ps 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence [is] fulness of joy; at thy right hand [there are] pleasures for evermore.

 The word fullness is soba 

which is a word used to describe:

a feast where you eat so much that you cannot eat another bit! 

That is the fullness of joy that David receives from the presence of the Father. 

 joy is simchah which is:

a joy and love that we feel when we hug those we dearly love….  

in that hug, in that moment, the world fades away as we experience that knowing that we too are loved and it is a moment when we want that joy to last forever. That is exactly what our Heavenly Father promises when He holds us close at the same time saying:

at thy right hand [there are] pleasures for evermore.

The right hand has always been: the symbol of strength and power and for most people is their dominant hand, so when our Father takes us in His right hand He is saying:

He will never let go and as He holds us we will have

pleasures/ na’iym forever.

The word pleasures

translated from na’iym has a meaning of:

singing and sweet sounding music.

When our Heavenly Father takes us in His arms and lovingly embraces us and we return that love, He intends for the pleasure, singing and music of that moment to go on forever.

Another reference to Joy is in

Psalm 43 :4  God My Exceeding Joy. 

El Simchah Giyl.

The two Hebrew words 

simchah and giyl 

can both be translated as joy…

this name of God is almost like saying 

God my joyful joy.

we could say a double portion of joy! 

There are many Hebrew words and phrases that express joy because their language is rooted in a culture rich in joy filled festivals and celebrations of life/chaim.

The most common Hebrew word for happiness is simcha.  According to Ecc. 2:26, it’s considered a gift to mankind

and Torah states,

vehayita ach sameach,

you should have nothing but joy.

Deut. 16:15.

In the Bible the noun simcha is mentioned 94x and is derived from verb samach, which is in the text 154x. It is rooted in the Akkadian word shamahu meaning: sprout or flourish.

A dictionary definition states:Happiness is that feeling that comes over you when you know life is good and you can’t help but smile. It’s the opposite of sadness. When people are successful; or safe; or lucky, they feel happiness. The ‘pursuit of happiness’ is something this country (USA) is based on, and different people feel happiness for different reasons.”

It’s clear according to this definition that happiness depends on life’s circumstances and on what happens. If things are good, people are happy but with no success, it can result in sadness.

On the other hand,

Joy,

in the sense of true biblical understanding, does NOT depend on outside circumstances; it depends only on our Heavenly Father because He is the source of joy.

While happiness is more an outward show,

joy is more internal.

Happiness is usually temporary or fleeting;

Joy is a permanent state of being.

The source of one is the flesh.

The other is the spirit.

According to Isaiah 12:3 Joy is associated with a deeper well. 

Following are some references where some of the many Hebrew words for Joy are noted:

After returning from captivity in Babylon, the children of Israel kept the Passover with joy:

And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the LORD made them joyful…Ezra 6:22.

With joy  in Hebrew in verse 22 is:

b’simcha   בשמחה   b’sim-KHA. 

Simcha שמחה sim-KHA

as already noted is the most common word for

joy in the Tanakh.

This joy is always connected with the God of Israel

and is known as 

simcha b’shamayim

שמחה בשמים

sim-KHA b’sha-MYEEM,

or joy of heaven.

Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous;

and shout for joy, rinna רנה, ree-NAH,

all you upright in heart

Ps. 32:11.

Jeremiah 15:16, Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me

the joy,  l’sasson  לששון, l’sah-SOHN 

and rejoicing,  l’simchat  לשמחת, l’sim-KHAT, 

of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.

May the Word of God become an ever-increasing joy of our heart as we prepare for the return of the Living Word, Jesus/Yeshua.

 

The Brit Hadashah/re-New-ed Covenant, emphasizes that believers in Messiah Jesus/Yeshua are in a race.

Paul spoke a lot about his life in Messiah being a race and his goal was to finish it with joy.

But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy… Acts 20:24.

In Heb. 12:1-2. Recalling that WE were the joy set before Jesus/Yeshua….. may HE be the joy set before us.

In Psalm 30:5: the word is mourning, not morning!

weeping may endure for a night,

but joy, rinnah, comes in the mourning.

The joy that our Heavenly Father gives us is supernatural and not dependent on any situations in our lives. It’s the joy/strength to endure and overcome.

As prophesied in Isaiah 61:1-3

Yeshua/Jesus’ mission included, …to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness… 

What is this oil of joy?

Oil, in the Holy Scriptures, is symbolic of the Ruach HaKodesh, His Spirit of Holiness and His Joy flows from His Spirit.

And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 13:52.

For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Rom. 14:17

 Paul commended the believers for their good example to other followers of the Way, Joy, in the midst of affliction.

And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy in the Holy Spirit. I Thess. 1:6.

Habakkuk points out the choice that we must make: Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy, gil, GEEL, in the God of my salvation. Hab. 3:17-18.

When Jesus/Yeshua was about to leave this earth He reassured them:

Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

John. 16:22.

As previously noted in Galatians 5:22-23, the second fruit of the Spirit is joy, ‘sim•cha.’ Together with its synonym, sa•son, it is used in scripture over 400 times. (The English word ‘sassy’ comes from sa•son.)

Together simcha and sason form an expression quoted during most every Israeli wedding it comes from Jeremiah 33:11 who repeats it three more times in: 7:34, 16:9 and 25:10.

It is a beautiful imagery also for believers, of the coming wedding at the marriage supper of the Lamb. As of now, we are His betrothed, promised to Him as in an extended engagement; and married in all but consummation until He returns, to take His Bride/the body of believers in Jesus/Yeshua as Messiah to the prepared place in His Fathers House! 

Surely this expression will be heard…

‘kol sa•son ve•kol sim•cha, kol cha•tan ve•kol ka•la’.

The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.

We may conclude that Joy is not a fleeting emotion of happiness. It is an unshakeable spiritual force of His JOY. The pleasure of God is our strength when our Heavenly Father has joy in our faithfulness and that gives us strength to endure each and every trial that we go through as we look to Him the author and finisher of our faith.

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.

A Farmer, A Remnant & Nothing New Under The Sun.

Solomon made a statement in

Ecclesiates 1:4-11

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

There is nothing in the world that has not already happened, been seen, or been created; things exist now as they always have..

A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.

The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it rises.

The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.

All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.

All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.

What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.

Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already
in the ages before us.

There is no remembrance of former things,
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things yet to be among those who come after.

The Scriptures are filled with our Heavenly Fathers patterns and the more we read, the more they will become apparent to us. There are His patterns and Ways and those of humans too. We are all familiar with the quote attributed to George Santayana 1863-1952.

Many say that the Old Testament is not relevant today or even necessary for New Testament believers however there is so much we miss, ignore and dismiss as irrelevant. Sadly then these statements become a reality in our own generation when we ignore, deny and dismiss the signs and signals from the Lord.

We are reminded through Amos 3:7 surely the Lord will tell His prophets..

In both Amos 2:12 and Isaiah 5:1-7; He warns His children His people, Israel, yelling them that He does not act without speaking beforehand of His plans. This is our Fathers’ pattern,

the warning always precedes His actions.

As His plans unfold and when the warning to repent/turn around, falls on deaf ears and stubborn hearts and those committing spiritual adultery with foreign gods and idols then; events unfold according to His warning.

The people silenced the prophets and in Amos 2:12 rejected his message because they did not want to hear it or change their lifestyle. Yeshua/Jesus told those in His day that the sign of the prophet Jonah was all that wicked and adulterous generation would get! Jonahs sign was primarily to warn the people of Nineveh to repent which they did, however the same choice was given through both John the Baptist and Yeshua/Jesus and is still the same message and choice today… Is history repeating itself again in these days in which we are living?

Amos was a farmer, a shepherd and also looked after sycamore fig trees in Tekoa, which was situated a little south of Bethlehem in Judea. Amos was a contemporary of Isaiah, Micah and Hosea in 750B.C. approx.. 3 years before the Assyrians first invasion of Northern Israel.

The warning in Amos 3:7 was of the coming captivity which took the invading Assyrians 28 years to conquer the whole of Israel.

Before 740 Israel was at the height of its prosperity and had successfully reclaimed all the land previously lost going back to the days of David and Solomon. However the divide between rich and poor was wider than ever the landowners were rich and the workers poor. Many were producing crops for export rather than to feed their own families because much of what was grown was sold as export goods. Amos was well aware of the peoples sufferings and when God gave him a vision, he took the message to the rich and powerful landowners, warning them of the coming natural disasters and subsequent foreign invasion and conquest by other nations.

God gave Amos a vision of an earthquake and because it happened 2 years after his warning, it gave his words some credibility; this resulted in some people becoming his disciples who also spread his message. This sadly had little effect on the nation, as at that time, the Assyrians had retreated for a season and everything appeared fine because financial prosperity and the economy were booming. Only a few had ‘ears to hear’ and believed the message of the prophets; these people became ‘the remnant’, the ones to whom God gave a song which was recorded in Isaiah 5:1-7.

The message the prophets faithfully preached was a 3 fold one.

The 1st part was against the religious leaders of the day, who became richer at the expense of the poor who just became poorer.

The 2nd was concerning the lack of justice towards those who were doing the right thing by trying to help the innocent and poor, and those who were unable to help themselves. These people who were trying to help, were beaten, tortured and imprisoned because they were a threat to the rich and powerful.

The third part of the message pointed at the religious rituals and traditions that were only trying to win favor with God, trying to get something from Him for personal gain; instead of seeking the Fathers’ heart for Who He is.

The text in

2:13 is a reference to farming and agriculture.

13 Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.

He was saying that the rejection of His message to both His obedient and dedicated servants and to Himself, was like a cart pressed down because it was full of sheaves.

A word for

sheaves

in hebrew is

‘amar

which has a double meaning.

It refers to:

the grain stalks tied together

and it is also used to describe:

those who are selfseeking or manipulative!

Strong’s Hebrew: 6014

עמר (amar) – merchandise, sheaves

to bind sheaves a. (Piel) to gather

2. to manipulate, deal tyrannically with a.

(Hithpael) to treat as a slave

amar: sheaves

Original Word: עָמַר
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: amar
Phonetic Spelling: (aw-mar’)
Definition: to bind sheaves

Strong’s Hebrew: 6014. עָמַר (amar) — sheaves 

A primitive root; properly, apparently to heap;

figuratively, to chastise (as if piling blows);

specifically (as denominative from omer) to gather grain — bind sheaves, make merchandise of

In the Hebrew language one of the words for:

pressed

is ma’aq

מָעַךְ

4600 maak: to press, squeeze

Original Wordמָעַךְ
Part of SpeechVerb
Transliteration: maak
Phonetic Spelling: maw-ak’
Definitionto press, squeeze, bruised, stuck, be pressed 

A primitive root; to press, i.e.

To pierce, – bruised, stuck, be pressed.

Seems the word is spelled: maak, maaq and maac..

but all infer an action that hurts and is painful.

Ma’ac Meaning in Bible – Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon 

Definition: to reject, despise, refuse 

(Qal) to reject, refuse ; to despise

(Niphal) to be rejected (Niphal) to flow, run 

this could suggest the idea of being burdened with pain. It would seem that God was saying that: having His prophets message rejected by those who were self seeking had burdened His heart down with pain. This may sound too human a trait and yet we read of Yeshua/Jesus weeping over Jerusalem/Yerushalayim. He wept because they were missing their day of visitation and rejecting His message; and in turn, rejecting both Him and His Father and He knew the suffering which was coming in their future.

Later we read of Messiah telling the women to weep for themselves and not for Him.

36 Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation. 37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, 

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,

Matthew 23:36,37 Luke 13:34

Aramaic Bible in Plain English Luke 23:28
And Yeshua turned to them, and he said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

Is not history repeating itself yet again???

There are many bringing the word of the Lord today with a message similar to Amos and the Old and New Testament prophets, calling  us to return to the Lord/teshuvah; and forsake all the idols and things that we have put first place in our lives, other than our Heavenly Father. It is a serious message with eternal consequences and yet sometimes it lacks the one thing revealed in the word ma’aq.

Amos 2:13 reveals that he knew the heart of God and he was in fact preaching a message, that of our heavenly Father whose heart was broken by His childrens’ behavior; rather than the anger and wrath and inevitable doom. He was a little different from the other prophets as he spoke of behalf of those that were suffering, but also he knew of the true heart of his God, the heart of a loving Father towards His children.

We should ask ourselves the question: why are we speaking out against the sin and iniquities we see in our respective nations? Is it from fear of a losing a comfortable personal lifestyle? Are we silent through cowardice, not wanting to ‘rock the boat’ by drawing attention to ourselves?

Or are we vocal because we have a deeper understanding of the Heart of our loving Heavenly Father; revealing that His heart is breaking and burdened in grief? …Is this not what Yeshua/Jesus experienced too in His flesh, and should it not send us to our knees in intercession? Maybe we too need to experience some of the same ma’aq that Amos did?

Yes we are to

Fear, (reverently respect), God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man, Eccl. 12:13.

and we are also to remember that no matter how exciting life may seem to be “under the sun in the world,” ultimately, it has no value without a personal relationship with Our Heavenly Father through His Messiah Jesus/Yeshua HaMashiach.

And as we have seen in previous posts, eternal life is:

to know Him and the power of His resurrection in our personal lives.

Let’s heed the words of

a farmer

as we are more and more becoming

a remnant

and there really is

nothing new under the sun.

It’s time to know our Fathers’ heart.

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.

What Does A Pruning Hook Have To Do With Worship?

O come, let us

WORSHIP

and

BOW DOWN:

let us

KNEEL

before the Lord our maker.

Psalm 95:6.

All of us have heard the word

WORSHIP,

but do we really know what it means? 

Have we ever wondered what our Heavenly Father considers to be true worship?

This is where a look at the Hebrew word will give us some beautiful insights and illuminate our understanding of something we thought we knew.

There are only

3 words in Hebrew

for the concept of

worship.

One is atsab

which is used one time for

worship

and conveys the meaning of:

sorrow

Strongs# 6087 עָצַב   aw-tsab’. Verb.

Definition. to hurt, pain, grieve, displease, vex, wrest. 

In the grammar tense called Qal it means: to hurt, pain. 

In the Niphal Tense: to be in pain, be pained, be grieved.

Another word is noted in Strongs #5647

abad  עָבַד 

which means: service, to work, serve, performs acts of worship and is sometimes used for worshipper.

The main Hebrew word for

worship

is

shachah

which simply means:

to bow down

Strong’s Hebrew: 7812. שָׁחָה  shachah

Transliteration: shachah

Phonetic Spelling: shaw-khaw’

Definition: to bow down

a primitive root; to depress,

i.e. prostrate

(especially reflexive, in homage to royalty or God)

:–bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat),

humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence,

make to stoop, worship. depress,

bow down or to fall down flat or prostrate.

It is a picture of humility before the Lord

and it’s the word used in Ex. 34:14

For thou shalt worship no other god for the Lord whose name is Jealous is a jealous God.

and in

Genesis 24:52: heard their words, he worshiped the LORD, 

bowing himself to the earth.

שָׁחָה

Transliteration: saha

Pronunciation: shaw-khaw’

to bow down

(Qal) to bow down

(Hiphil) to depress (fig)

(Hithpael) to bow down,

prostrate oneself before,

superior in homage,

before God in worship,

before false gods,

before angel.

It can infer:

paying homage either to God, to someone,

or to something else.

This action is that of giving of ourself and our devotion to; as well as depending upon the one to whom we bow.

It’s interesting that in most times of what we term the praise and worship portions of our services and meetings, we stand with arms raised and outstretched which is the opposite of the meaning we just read of shachah.

Worship is a very important word for believers and yet our understanding of what it truly is may have passed us by. We seem to be doing what seems to be ok and what tradition has taught us. In different church settings it means different things. In high church its recitation of liturgy (often in Latin); and in an order of service which is exactly the same every week. Some lift hands and sing hymns or choruses and all denominations have their own format of service.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with hymns and choruses, standing sitting, and raising hands; all are outward response of inner expressions of love and thankfulness towards our Heavenly Father.

However how many of us truly understand the intimate nature of worship as revealed in the Hebrew word shachah?

Which as we just read, means:

to bow down or to prostrate ourself before God.

In essence it has nothing to do with music or with uplifted hands; in fact it has really nothing to do with praise and thanksgiving as these are just physical actions of worship. It does however have everything to do with the inner person of the heart and of our deep attitude of love, submission and realization of the holiness of the One we are giving our worship to.

Some people tend to think that worship only takes place with music. To be honest, shouldn’t everything that takes place during a ‘church service’ be in a heart attitude of worship? We have come a long way because music was never really a part of the ‘church’ until about 200 years ago as it was considered sinful, as being the devil’s playground. Sadly, sometimes the ‘churches’ music program is more akin to entertainment than it is to worship, being mainly used to heighten emotions and feelings. This music can sometimes take the place of true humility in the total giving of self in reverent respect before our Holy Creator Father.

When music was finally accepted in the church it had to be the singing of Scripture and nothing else. Songs that had the words invented by man were believed to not be honoring to God. This is not meaning any negative thoughts or condemning worship music.

David was a musician and said:

“It is good to sing praises unto our God.”

There are numerous scriptures referring to musical instruments; however, we must be wise and carefully guard against bringing the things of the world into the church and labelling it worship or calling it holy.

In Psalms 147:1  the word shacah /worship is not in this verse, it only speaks of praising God.  Many of our church services have praise and worship, because we realize that they are different.

The word used for praise in Psalms 147:1 is halal which is to make one shine, or to celebrate.   When you celebrate, everyone is supposed to get happy.  

The Ancient Hebrew Word Picture for Praise

Praise (הָלַל Halal) יְהוָֹה YHVH, All you nations!  Extol Him, All you peoples!  For great is His Loving devotion toward us, and the Faithfulness of יְהוָֹה *YHVH endures forever.  HalleluYah!

Psalm 117:1, 2

The 3-letter Hebrew verb root הָלַל Halal is translated into English as, to Praise and to Shine. 

It is comprised from the sub-root הָלַ Hal,

a word picture of

Hey – a man with his arms up,

and Lamad – a Shepherd’s Staff.

When a word, or letter, is doubled in Hebrew it accentuates its’ meaning. 

הָלַ-ל Hal-lal doubles the ל Lamad,

making it a picture of the:

Ultimate Staff, of Staffs, Authority of Authorities,

King of kings, or the Lord of lords.

הָלַל Halal reveals the Word Picture of Praise:

Hey הָ = Arms Raised, to Behold, Reveal, Look, Window, Breath

Lamed לַ = Staff, Authority, Control, Rule, Prod, Direct Toward, Tongue…

Lamed לַ = Staff, Authority, Control, Rule, Prod, Direct Toward, Tongue…

Beholdthe Authority – of Authority?

It could be interpreted as:

To Praise is to Behold the Ultimate, Spiritual Authority of all Authorities; יְהוָֹה YHVH; He is, He Was, He Shall Be.

Applying it to this verse:

“It is good to sing praises unto our God.”

The word good is the Hebrew word tov 

which means: to be in harmony.  

The word 

sing is zamar 

which means:

to cut, or prune, or divide, as with rhythmical numbers.

This is not just singing, but includes dancing as well. 

David says: 

to celebrate, honor God, or make Him shine, with rhythms that are in harmony with God both in singing and dancing. 

 to sing praises
זַמְּרָ֣ה (zam·mə·rāh)
Strong’s 2167: Play, to make music, celebrate in song and music

HalleluYah! How good it is to sing praises (זָמַר zamar) to our God, for Praise (תְּהִלָּה Tehillah) is pleasant and lovely …Exalt (שָׁבַח Shabach) יְהוָֹה YHVH, O Jerusalem; Praise (הָלַל Halal) your God, (Elohim) O Tzion! …He has done this for no other nation; they do not know His Judgments. HalleluYah! Psalm 147:1, 12

Worship as we have noted in Hebrew is

shachah which the lexicon says is:

to fall prostrate.

“Then Ezra Blessed יְהוָֹה YHVH the Great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then they Bowed Low (קָדַד qadad) and Worshipped (שָׁחָה Shachach) to יְהוָֹה YHVH with their Faces to the Ground.“ Nehemiah 8:6

Bow down is Kara’

and

kneel is Barack.

Most worship services do the opposite, stand and wave your hands. Are the three Hebrew words the Psalmist uses giving us the characteristics of worship and not a physical manifestation?

Shachah is a Phoenician word for being surrounded by water, like swimming, by allowing the presence of God to surround us.

Swimming in the presence of God.

Kara’ is a word used for:

bending ones’ head to sip water.

When we sip water our attention is momentarily directed away from everything but the cup of water that our head is bowed to.

Barack rendered here as kneel really is the word for bless or to make someone happy.

Thus worship is surrounding yourself, or swimming in the presence of God focusing your attention totally on Him to make Him happy or bring pleasure to Him.

Kara’ for bowing is spelled

Kap/Kaf which is a vessel, like your heart, waiting to be filled with the next letter Resh which represents His Holy Spirit, Who will reveal the final letter Ayin to us, which is: insight into the heart of God and what brings Him pleasure.

The combination of the letters in shachah expresses:

the most intimate aspect of our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

The word shahcah is spelled with the letters:

shin chet hei

The Masorite text spells it with a shin as pronounced sh.

In the original text there were no vowel points to define the pronunciation so, the shin w could have been an s not a sh sound. If the word was spelled as sachah the word would mean:

to swim or to have an overflow.

Regardless, the sine and shin both represent:

wholeness, completeness and nearness to God.

The next letter is chet and usually means:

an intimate joining of man to God.

Reading the first letter as a sine rather than shin we can see how worship is a picture of swimming. When we swim we are surrounded by water, we can therefore also worship, sachah, while we are alone and reading scripture or while studying His Word with other believers, while we are singing, playing an instrument, or just sitting quietly before the Father.

This is because any time we give Him our full and undivided attention, He can surround us with His presence and love; just as water surrounds us when we are swimming or even taking a long soak in a bath of water.

If we place the 2 letters together shin and chet

they express worship

i.e. the swimming/nearness to God and

intimate joining of man to God.

Then add the final letter of the word shachah which is a letter hei. The letter hei speaks of:

the breath of God, His Spirit of Holiness,

of His presence and of His feminine nature;

This points to the understanding that: worship is any act which joins man with God, into a completeness, surrounded by the presence of His Spirit of Holiness. It can also infer that worship and holiness go hand in hand, it’s a place of sanctity of heart as we give of ourselves completely to Him; a true, sincere heart-touching-heart moment.

When we give our heart it makes us vulnerable and we give away the power for someone to break our heart. He gives His heart to us and so the responsibility then falls on us, to not abuse or be careless with heart God has entrusted to us in this relationship. Exodus 34:14, tells us that He is a jealous God and we must not give our heart to another once we have given it and committed ourselves to Him.

What does a pruning hook have to do with worship ???

Psalms 118:14: “The Lord is my strength and song and is become my salvation.”

Some readers may remember the chorus..

You are the words and the music, you are the song that I sing. You are the melody, you are the harmony, praising you makes my heart sing. You are the mighty God, you are the Lord of Lords, you are the King of all Kings; now I return to you, the song that You gave to me, You are the song that I sing.

He is our song of victory and there are just some songs that stir our hearts in a special way however old they are! He is our song what a picture!

Here again we discover a hidden gem in the language..

there are many words for song in Hebrew but the word used for song in Ps 118:14 is zamar.

There is a fascinating history to this word, because

zamar means: a pruning hook. 

Its seems the meaning of this word gradually evolved to mean a song because the pruning hook is shaped like a scythe. 

A curved blade was mounted on a pole and used to cut away the dead wood and branches of a tree. Pruning tools for the garden and agriculture have changed little over the generations they still have a curved blade attached to a pole.

This pruning hook became a weapon called a maul Persian soldiers used to unseat enemy soldiers from their horses. Knights in the middle ages used a similar weapon called a maul for the same purpose. If a person unseated a knight from his horse it was said that you had mauled him. Hence our modern use of the same word when someone or something is mauled often by being attacked and meaning being wounded in the process e.g. mauled by a bear or lion.

How is this connected to a song?

These days not many farmers use a scythe to cut their harvest however back when this was the manner used, a farmer who was skilled in using a pruning hook, would swing it back and forth in a very smooth continuous action, and it would make a rhythmic whistling, noise.

There is an audio track at the links below for the sound described above:

https://www.pond5.com/sound-effects/item/8881502-scythe

https://www.pond5.com/sound-effects/item/8628845-scythe-used

A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing.

 The scythe is more than a simple curved blade. It is a tool perfect for maintaining land, body and mind. When you mow, you exercise almost every muscle of your body The action distributes muscle activity from the legs through the torso and finally into the arms and shoulders to guide the blade along the intended path

As the object of pruning is to

cut away the bad and leave the good,

this word was used to express:

a song of triumph, victory and salvation from one’s foes.

The lord is my strength and SONG and is become my salvation a SONG of victory

a song of victory. זמר

It is a song declaring that:

the Lord has mauled us and has removed all the bad things from our lives and left only that which is good and brings us to victory!

So to our initial question…

what does a pruning hook have to do with worship?

If true worship comes from within – from the heart, it will

purify our motives.

Psalms 86:11

Teach me thy way Unite my heart — יחד לבבי yached lebabi, join all the purposes, resolutions, and affections of my heart together, to fear and to glorify thy name.

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, Hebrews 12:14

When we enter into worship

and draw closer and closer to the

heart of our Heavenly Father, He purifies us…

He prunes away all those

personal agendas and selfish motives.

Worship begins internally

it can’t be forced..

we can live in a state of worship,

which by definition is:

the constant action of voluntarily observance

of a person, place, or thing.

Worship is not something instantaneous, it’s more of a process and according to scripture, it involves the whole body.. bowing the knee and falling prostrate before Him in complete surrender.

The Hebrew writings of the sages teach that it is like a king going to war and for the battle, he dresses just like every other soldier. The object of war in those days was similar to the board game of chess and the object was to strategically capture the other army’s king and this ended the battle. The king was surrounded by his best warriors protecting him and the enemy had to break through the protective barrier in order to reach and capture the king. So too, our sins, afflictions and cares of this world surround us and come between us and our Heavenly Father; and we must take the time to identify and repent of the things that are causing that barrier and then the break through comes and we can reach out to Him. When we begin to worship we usually do not ‘feel anything’ and yet something is happening and the more we worship and praise our Father, the more we begin to break through that barrier separating us from God.

Maybe we should begin our times of praise and worship by preparing ourselves to worship

beginning with an inward action

rather than an outward one?

A time of preparation meaning: a time of personal reflection, confession and repentance of our sins and shortcomings and then calling upon our Heavenly Father to make us pure… so we can enter into His presence in true worship/shachah.

The word zamar is spelled: Zayin, Mem, Resh.   

The letter Zayin looks like a sword and means: a sword or weapon. 

The Hebrew teachers used to say that:

the Zayin cuts away all that is really unimportant to us and leaves only that which is important. 

If we follow that thought then this

song is a song of

what is most important to us

David says his song is God,

it is God that is the most important thing in his life and the Zayin cuts away or prunes away all that is unimportant so that he can see what is important which is God.

He understands that his love for God will grow and as we know from scripture, it’s the fruit of the spirit that will grow and like a fruit tree that has been pruned of the worthless branches that steal the nourishment away from the growing fruit,

zamar,

that song of pruning

will prune away all that is worthless,

that which robs the fruit of the spirit of its nourishment.

The more we

sing the song of the pruning

the stronger our love for God and the more developed the fruits of the spirit will be.

So what is this song?

A song that sings of that which is of the most importance to us?  

This song is sung with the next letter in the word which is the letter  Mem.

The Mem represents water

and also the revealed knowledge of God. 

When we swim in the sea or a lake, the water completely surrounds us.  When we sing this song, it is a

song that surrounds us with the revealed knowledge of God.  

Like water it will surround us with His presence and then we are truly in worship the meaning is: to be swimming in His presence. It’s not the usual battle or victory song; it’s a song that speaks of Our Heavenly Father and His love and when we sing this song we become surrounded by His presence as He reveals Himself to us. We begin to shachah –  to worship or swim in His presence.

The last letter in this word for song is the letter Resh.  The letter Resh is the convicting power of His Holy Spirit, and speaks of the One who reveals to us those things in our lives that need to be cut away or pruned so that we can see what is important. The Resh speaks to us of repentance, the turning away from our sins or those thing that keep us from seeing what it really important to us which is our Heavenly Father.

When we prepare ourselves for worship we sing this song or this zamar and when we are, it surrounds us with His knowledge.  When He is all we see, we throw off all that keeps us from Him through repentance and the Zayin cuts it out of us, prunes us and leaves only our love for God.

As all Hebrew letters are also numbers, the numerical value of the word zamar, the song of pruning reveals a little more.

The letter Zayin has a value of 7, the Mem of 40 and the Resh is 200.  Add up the total value of the word zamar is 247. There is another word in the Hebrew language that has the same value of 247 and it is the Hebrew word mazaqaq.  The sages teach that if 2 Hebrew words have the same numerical value, the Spirit of God may show you a relationship between these two words that will be of significant spiritual value.

Mazaqaq means: to refine.

When we enter praise and worship by singing and/or listening to a zamar or song of pruning, first our Heavenly Father begins a refining process in us; cutting away all those things that separate us from Him and as we come closer into His presence, we are left only with Him.

And suddenly looking round about,

they saw no one any more,

save Jesus only

with themselves. 

Mark 9:8

This is what a pruning hook has to do with

worship/shachah

so let’s be willing to have

all the pruning necessary

then we can humbly

SHACHAH/worship Him

in spirit and truth. 

Shalom shalom mishpachah/family

and cheverim/friends!

You are loved and appreciated and prayed for daily.

… and…

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.