Is there Joy in Despair?
Is there
Simchah/ sim-khaw’
שִׂמְחָה
in
yaash/ yaw-ash’ יָאַשׁ ?
ייאוש
Strong’s Hebrew: 2976. יָאַשׁ (yaash) — to despair
yaash: to despair
Original Word: יָאַשׁ
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: yaash
Phonetic Spelling: (yaw-ash’)
Definition: to despair
despair (2), despaired (1), hopeless (3).
More words for despair:
noun יֵאוּשׁ desperation, despondency, dejection
verb לְהִתְיָאֵשׁ give up hope, lose heart, give up
noun מַפַּח נֶפֶשׁ disappointment, disillusionment
verb לֶאֱבוֹד תִקוָה lose hope
verb לִיפּוֹל בְּרוּחוֹ become depressed
Despair in Hebrew English-Hebrew dictionary:
despair verb/noun (transitive, obsolete)
To give up as,
beyond hope or expectation;
to despair of.
While we are noting the days,
(counting from the Omer),
between Pesach/Passover and Shavuot/ Pentecost,
we are in a season of personal preparation
for the continuing outpouring of His Spirit of Holiness,
(remembered along with giving of Torah/covenant at Shavuot/Pentecost).
This spiritual self examination often leads us to recognize the need for us to…
break up the fallow ground in our lives.
Hosea 10:12
“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy;
break up your fallow ground:
for it is time to
SEEK the LORD,
till he come and rain righteousness upon you.”
The ground of our hearts is that which may have become hardened by the challenging events and circumstances in which we find ourselves along the WAY.
Last post we looked at the word
SEEK
and what it means to a talmidim/disciple.
We are to yield ourselves to the softening of the ground of our hearts, so that the seeds of His righteousness and mercy have a properly prepared place
in which to grow and mature.
In both the old testament and the new there are those whose lives are an example for us…
For Ezra had
set his heart
to study the Law of the LORD, to practice it, and to teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.
Ezra &:10 & 2 Timothy 2:21 –
Therefore, if anyone purges himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
We too must decide, to
set our hearts
to study the Word Of God,
to humble ourselves
and to become
His properly prepared vessels.
Mark 4 gives the details of the different conditions of the ground into which seeds fall and the results from those with the unfavorable and unprepared conditions.
Only the good prepared ground bore fruit unto harvest.
There were those who also experienced
despair and hopelessness –
yaash/ yaw-ash’ יָאַשׁ
in their callings….
Jeremiah 18:12
HEB: וְאָמְר֖וּ נוֹאָ֑שׁ כִּֽי־ אַחֲרֵ֤י
NAS: But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going
KJV: And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk
INT: will say hopeless for after
Ecclesiastes 2:20
HEB: וְסַבּ֥וֹתִֽי אֲנִ֖י לְיַאֵ֣שׁ אֶת־ לִבִּ֑י
NAS: Therefore I completely despaired of all
KJV: my heart to despair of all the labour
INT: about I despaired my heart of
Isaiah 57:10
HEB: לֹ֥א אָמַ֖רְתְּ נוֹאָ֑שׁ חַיַּ֤ת יָדֵךְ֙
NAS: [Yet] you did not say, It is hopeless.’ You found
KJV: [yet] saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found
INT: did not say hope renewed strength
More Hebrew words for
Simchah/JOY are:
noun שִׂמְחָה happiness, gladness, gaiety, felicity, exhilaration
noun חֶדוָה delight, gladness, exultation noun שָׂשׂוֹן delight, rejoicing, merriment, mirth
noun גִיל age, gladness, delight, glee, exultation
noun גִילָה gladness, exultation, delight
noun דִיצָה amusement
noun רִנָה singing, song, exultation
Joy – שִׂמְתָה, שָׂשׂן
Strong’s Hebrew: 8057. שִׂמְחָה (simchah) — joy, gladness, mirth
Definition: joy, gladness, mirth
Word Origin from samach
Translation: delight (1), exceeding joy (1), extremely* (1), festival (1), gladness (34), happiness (1), joy (38), mirth (1), pleasure (6), rejoice (1), rejoiced (1), rejoicing (6).
also
Strong’s Hebrew: 2304. חֶדְוָה (chedvah) — joy
INT: are before Strength and joy his place.
Nehemiah 8:10 HEB: תֵּ֣עָצֵ֔בוּ כִּֽי־ חֶדְוַ֥ת יְהוָ֖ה הִ֥יא
NAS: Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD
KJV: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD
INT: be grieved for the joy of the LORD he.
Gladness– One English dictionary defines joy as:
a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
This definition follows the Greek
chará and hēdonḗ (rejoicing and pleasure);
which is typical of the Western mindset which follows that of Plato and Aristotle. However, it is not so typical in the Hebrew.
The passage from Isaiah uses the Hebrew term
śimḥâ
(in the NASB it is translated “gladness”).
The same root is also translated
rejoice
in this passage.
We find that the Hebrew term involves
the whole person,
not simply cognitive or emotional elements.
One scholar comments:
“The root ś-m-ḥ denotes
being glad or joyful with the whole disposition
as indicated by its association with the heart…
Ex. 4:14; Ps 19:8 [H 9]; 104:15; 105:3,
the soul…. Ps. 86:4;
and with the lighting up of the eyes. Prov. 15:30.”
Since its context is located in everyday life, śimḥâ (joy) can be experienced with a cheerful word, with wine, with a wise son, in feasts, at weddings, in prosperity, in the company of friends, and in God’s Torah.
But the Lord and His salvation are cited most frequently as:
the reason for joy.
2 Chr 20:27; Ps 5:11 [H 12]; 9:2 [H 3]; 16:9; 32:11; 40:16 [H 17]; 63:11 [H 12]; 64:10 [H 11]; 86:4; 90:15; 92:4 [H 5]).
Indeed the
joy/
ḥedwâ,
of the Lord is a man’s strength
Neh. 8:10.
Hebrew often depicts inanimate objects with human emotion, e.g., the heavens rejoice, the hills shall sing and the trees of the field hills shall clap their hands. Is.55:12
These are also expressions of joy.
In Hebrew thought, joy is
the manifestation of divine purpose fulfilled,
and since everything in creation has purpose, whenever any part of the creation acts according to its design, that part expresses and experiences śimḥâ/joy.
This has an important meaning and also consequences for us. There are times when our emotions seem far from joyful, because the earth is filled with sorrow, struggles and guilt. At times it seems that evil, that which is out of harmony with the Father, is increasing and overwhelming that which is good. Without making this seem a less serious situation, śimḥâ/joy reminds us that, any part of creation which is fulfilling its’ designed purpose, is an expression of joy/śimḥâ.
When our lives feel as if they are disconnected from His divine order of things, the simple things evident all around us in our Fathers’ creation, should remind us that
joy/śimḥâ
is built into it. This is evident by the many and varied blossoms of the flowers and trees and the singing of the birds, who do not worry about how to provide for themselves!
Joy is not only a connective force, as Nehemiah states that His joy is our strength but it is also creative and has intentional consequences to life itself; and most of all, it has a divine origin and purpose.
8057 simchah
simchah: joy, gladness, mirth
Original Word: שִׂמְחָה
Transliteration: simchah
Phonetic Spelling: (sim-khaw’)
in
Deuteronomy 28:47
HEB: יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בְּשִׂמְחָ֖ה וּבְט֣וּב לֵבָ֑ב
NAS: your God with joy and a glad
KJV: thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness
INT: the LORD your God joy glad heart
2304 chedvah in
Nehemiah 8:10
HEB: תֵּ֣עָצֵ֔בוּ כִּֽי־ חֶדְוַ֥ת יְהוָ֖ה הִ֥יא
NAS: Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD
KJV: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD
INT: do not be grieved for the joy of the LORD he
1 Chronicles 16:27
HEB: לְפָנָ֔יו עֹ֥ז וְחֶדְוָ֖ה בִּמְקֹמֽוֹ׃
NAS: Him, Strength and joy are in His place.
KJV: strength and gladness [are] in his place.
INT: are before Strength and joy his place
Rev. 1:17. John fell at His feet as dead.
Even though John knew His Messiah intimately, and this is the same John who spoke of himself as the disciple Yeshua/Jesus loved…
John 13:23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to.
…and one of the 3 closest to Him. Yet when He appeared to him in an unfamiliar way, the only thing he could do was to fall prostrate at His feet like a dead man.
Rev. 22:8-9 1:17-18 .I fell at his feet as though dead.
John recognizes the Lordship of Messiah/Christ as he falls prostrate before His feet.
John knew Him, yet was overwhelmed at the majesty manifested before him; the revealed glory produced the reverential fear and respect of the almightiness of the presence of the King of the universe. This will indeed cause both despair and delight in that before Him we are hopeless – nothing, compared to His Being and yet the joy of realizing that if we are ever to be raised up, it can and must only be, by the power of His Almighty hand.
John says He laid His hand upon me and lifted me up…
the touch of God restores us and redeems us.
This touch of His right hand of righteousness
is the Messiah Himself.
This touch is not in chastisement, correction, or withholding but as the touch of the right hand of the Father,
Jesus/Yeshua Himself.
His touch brings true shalom/peace and all its fullness.
Beyond our natural understanding and
Deuteronomy 33:27 reminds us that
The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, ”Destroy them!’
The knowledge that underneath us are
the everlasting arms of
strength and comfort, protection and provision.
He says, fear not! and in all His ascended Glory, the tenderness of a father to His child is revealed to one who truly knows Him.
We should also remember Romans 7:18 (KJV 1900)
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Nothing good dwells in our flesh.
And we feel despair as Paul did and said,
Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
Rom 7:24,25.
Then joy comes as we delight ourselves in the Lord and fall prostrate before Him. When He reveals Himself to us and the knowledge that to be raised up in His resurrection life it is by His hand alone, and not of ourselves. Understanding that our part is total submission to His will, plan and purpose for us, yielding our hearts in joyful surrender to our Savior, Lord and King.
He is not able to do anything for us until we recognize the limits of our humanity and allow Him to do the impossible.
You must be logged in to post a comment.