How Well Do We Know Ruach HaKodesh – Spirit of Holiness?
The Scripture in Romans 8 tells us that if we are led by the Spirit of God, then we are Sons/Daughters of God.
13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14Forall whoare ledby the Spiritof Godaresonsof God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”…
We know Who our Heavenly Father is and Who Yeshua/Jesus is and we should be able to recognize Holy Spirit; so its important that we understand Who He is and in light of Messiah’s words:
But I am telling you the truth: it is better for you that I go away, because if I do not go, the Helper will not come to you. But if I do go away, then I will send him to you John 16:7
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. John 16:13
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever John 14:16
In the present day, we have entered a season that require believers to not only know Who Holy Spirit is; but we will have to depend on His presence in a way that we have never had to before. It will be essential to survival and critical to enduring to the end; so it is of extreme importance that we learn to operate and live by, in, and with the Spirit of the Living God. This cannot be emphasized enough and we are not to underestimate the wiles of the devil, his tricks and deceptions; but we must be able to discern and hear our Heavenly Fathers voice/kol clearly and without confusion, so we must walk according to:
How can we recognize Holy Spirit Ruach HaKodesh : רוח הקודש?
This post will examine some ways Holy Spirit manifests and reveals Himself to us.
The term Spirit of God, is His Spirit of Holiness or Holy Spirit. It is how the Father and Yeshua/Jesus can abide within each believer, within our human spirit that becomes born again from above when we repent of our sins are forgiven. When we are washed in the blood of the Lamb of God accepting Yeshua/jesus as Messiah Savior and Redeemer.
No one filled with His Spirit should have any fear.1John 4:7 God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.God is Love…There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 1John 4:18.
Holy Spirit
In Hebrew: רוח הקודש, ruach ha-kodesh
refers to the divine force, quality, and influence of God over His Creation, His universe and over His creatures, in the context of scripture.
Eternal Spirit – Ruach Olam –
ROO-akh oh-LAHM Heb. 9:14.
Holy Spirit – Ruach Ha-Kodesh –
ROO-akh hak- KOH -desh
the Holy Ghost
Luke 3:16; 11:13; Eph. 1:13; 4:
Ruach Hakodesh – Divine Inspiration.
Ruach, pronounced roo-akh,
is the Hebrew word for
spirit, breath, or wind.
When spoken, the word engages one’s
breath and lungs.
What is the meaning of the Hebrew word Ruach?
The first mention of Ruach in scripture is in the very 1st chapter.
Genesis 1:2
And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit (Ruach) of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
The Bible translates the word Ruach into all of the previously noted English words. This means that when we are reading, we may not always realize that in Hebrew, these verses shared something very important.
Ruach is described as a wind
e.g., inNumbers 11:31 and Exodus 10:13,
but also as spirit
inJudges 6:34, 1 Samuel 16:14 and 1 Kings 18:12.
in Job 12:10
it’s translated as: breath.
Ruach HaKodesh also known as
the Wind of the Separation,
and is identified as:
the power of the Most High.
In Ruach Hakodesh and the Ruach Elohim the meaning that we should pay closest attention to is spirit. because Ruach HaKodesh, in the Old Testament, is the Hebrew word for the Holy Spirit?
For example, in Psalm 51:11when David prayed
“Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take your Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) from me.”
Similarly, Ruach Elohim means the Spirit of God. In many references in the Old Testament, the Ruach Elohim comes upon an individual and allows him/her to speak for the Lord.
InGenesis 41:38, Pharaoh said of Moses,
“Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Ruach Elohim?”
Ruach Elohim Meaning:
The Ruach Elohim was present when the Temple of the Lord was built. The Lord filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, along with the ability, craftsmanship and skill to execute the creative designs. The Lord inspired all the artistry, according to what He had in mind for His holy Temple.Exodus 31:3, Exodus 35:31
“The Spirit of the Lord even came upon Balaam when he attempted to curse the people of Israel. Instead, he blessed them.” Numbers 24:2
Are Ruach Elohim and Ruach HaKodesh/ Holy Spirit, One and the Same?
In the Old Testament, we see that
the Ruach Elohim, or the Ruach HaKodesh,
quickens,
fills,
comes upon
and comforts.
Which we know Holy Spirit also does in the New Testament.
Eph. 2:2 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience
He quickens us, that means: enlightens and enlivens the inner man or woman and as a result, we are aware of a difference, a change in our soul; and we feel strengthened, being filled with peace and joy. 1Cor. 15:45.
Quicken – חיני
means: to make alive; to vivify; to revive or resuscitate, as from death or an inanimate state.
Psalms 119:25: My soul cleaveth unto the dust,
quicken thou me according to thy Word.
The Hebrew word for quicken is
chani
from the root word: chi
which is: life.
David is literally asking for life from the Word of God, however the word according to is not found in the Hebrew. That’s been used from the Hebrew letter Kap in front of the word davar
which are words from the heart
or in this case
the heart of God. A more appropriate way would be rendered:
like Your Word.
Recall Messiah said: “I am the Word of life.” here it seems to be not only a picture of Messiah but also a prophetic reference to His coming.
The ruach is our helper & comforts us in our need.
Like a flashlight shining in the darkness, the Spirit of God lights our path. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Ps.119:105
Perhaps His light shines on pride, vanity or being overly concerned with the matters of this world. The Ruach shines a light on all our issues and speaks to our need with gentle correction.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises/corrects every son whom he receives. Heb.12:6
The Ruach (Spirit) enlightens our minds to enable to us know, see, grasp and apply the will and purposes of God.
The Ruach reminds us of Messiahs’ words and, leads us to truth in the epistles and shows us the things to come in Revelation.
He is our comforter, our counselor and our helper
When Holy Spirit leads us there is no confusion. We are not to be led by people or their opinions. Our need for confirmation will be answered by His Spirit.
If we need wisdom we can draw from Him within.
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5
We should never move into a new situation until we are at peace within because peace is the umpire of our heart and it will be there in our own soul. Holy Spirit harmonizes all action.
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 Col 3:15.
If we sense discord or turbulence know that there is a spiritual battle already on the scene! Let it be a warning signal, we should look for the root of it and do not blindly forge ahead.
How much do we truly know of His Spirit?
We are probably more familiar with New Testament references, however there are many in the Old Testament. One we may know well is when David pleaded in Psalm 51 in anguish as a result of his trespasses against the Lord. Verse 1 reminds us of some of what King David had done:
To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
David was finally forced to admit his guilt when confronted by the prophet Nathan and then from his heart, he composed Psalm 51 including this in verses 11 and 12:
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
The word spirit here is Ruach and the word holy is Kodesh. This is most often simply stated as Ruach HaKodesh or the Holy Spirit.
Why was David afraid of losing Ruach HaKodesh?
Why was this relationship so important and valuable to David?
Was he aware of Who Ruach HaKodesh was?
The word Ruach which is usually translated as
spirit, wind, or breath
and is spelled with the Hebrew letters
Reysh
Vav
Chet.
Reysh
is the picture of the head
and means:
the master, the leader, or the prince.
Vav
is the picture of the iron nail or the wooden hook
and means: to fasten or to secure two things that are separated from one another.
Chet
is the picture of the fence
and means:
to separate, to protect, or to cut off, and can be a sanctuary.
Ancient Hebrew Pictographs
In these Hebrew pictographs we see that in the word Ruach
there is a leader who will make a connection to a fence or boundaries that are intended to protect and provide sanctuary.
What are the boundaries and what are they protecting?
HaKodesh is actually 2 words,
Ha is the equivalent of the,
and Kodeshmeans:
apartness, holiness, sacredness, or separateness.
HaKodesh is spelled with the Hebrew letters
Hey Qof Dalet Sheen.
The picture/pictographs are:
Ha Hey
is the picture of the man with uplifted arms
and means: to behold, to pay attention to what follows, to reveal, or the Holy Spirit as the revealer.
Kodesh
Ko Qof
is the picture of the back of the head
and means: the least, the last, or behind.
De Dalet
is the picture of the door
and means: a doorway, a place of decision, a place where change can take place, or an entrance to life or death.
ShSheen is the picture of teeth
and means:
to press, to consume, or to destroy, and is the one letter God uses to identify Himself.
The picture meaning is that: Someone unworthy, the last, the least, is being brought through a doorway to a place where God will reveal Himself. Going through this doorway will set this unworthy person apart from those not entering this special place before The Lord. He is going to be given access that obviously he isn’t able to reach by his own merit. The leader can enter because He Himself is Kodesh.
Putting the 2 pictographic messages together, we could say that: the Ruach HaKodesh title is given to the leader who intends to join us and to remove boundaries which will allow the least of us to be set apart, and invited to pass through a doorway; (Yeshua/Jesus) into a place where the Father will reveal Himself to us.
This leader from the pictographs, works to show us the boundaries and as already noted, appears for the first time in Genesis 1:2 :
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved/hovered/fluttered upon the face of the waters.
This leader, the Spirit of God, Who is literally, the wind of God, or the breath of God was integral in the act of creation. In the ancient world soul and spirit are both frequently named as wind or breath and it’s very clear that this Spirit was indeed our Heavenly Father God the Creator.
Again as already noted earlier, John 14:26 scripture reveals another role of this leader:
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Here Ruach HaKodesh is called the Comforter, which is the word used for the advocate who goes before the judge on behalf of someone to plead his case. We are told in this verse that this leader, who comes from the Father at the request of Jesus, will teach us all things. Surely this will include the boundaries established by the Father those intended to protect us, revealed in the pictographs.
In Romans 8:1, Paul tells us that Ruach HaKodesh is the advocate of all those who follow Messiah:
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
This is no doubt why David was so concerned to keep his relationship with Ruach HaKodesh, because not only will there be no blame, but again as already noted in verse 11 Paul adds:
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
This leader, Ruach HaKodesh, has wants to demonstrate His power in our lives, not only to guide and teach us how to walk after Yeshua Ha Mashiach/ Jesus Christ, but to also one day by His power raise us from the dead to dwell for eternity with the Heavenly Father. We can be certain that His Ruach knows everything about us, and He will always provide guidance and comfort when we need it.
There are many symbols of Holy Spirit including
wind, fire, water, oil,
and probably the one we are most familiar with, is that of a dove.
From the Genesis account of creation
Genesis 1:2 :
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved/hovered/fluttered upon the face of the waters.
the Spirit of God moved/hovered/fluttered as a dove.
Then later, Noahs confirmation of the floodwaters receding by the dove, as a messenger from heaven, bringing an olive leaf to him. Followed much later by the account of Messiahs water immersion in
Luke 3:22 which tells us that Holy Spirit descended like a dove upon Messiah.
In the Old Testament, the dove was used to search for habitable land and a symbol of peace. Today doves still hold their peaceful picture, and also signify cleanliness and purity.
Dove – in Hebrew is Yonah
יונה yod hei nun vav
In the Peshitta, Aramaic Bible, the word for
dove in Aramaic is
yona
which means:
a messenger of peace and faith from heaven.
It’s the same word for Jonah.
The Hebrew letter Nun
in the word yona (dove)
suggests
the breaking down of barriers between heaven and earth.
Was the immersion of Yeshua/Jesusgiving another confirmation that our Heavenly Father has broken down the barriers between heaven and earth? And furthermore, the acceptance of Jesus/Yeshua as personal Savior means that when we finish our journey, He will be able to open that portal to heaven so we can pass through into His Presence.
Doves bond very quickly with humans and will fly to them and rest on their shoulder. Interestingly, if a person ever speaks harshly to one, they will turn their backs. They seem to be very easily offended, similar to the Spirit of our Heavenly Father.
Matthew 3:16: “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him”
As soon as Yeshua/Jesus was immersed, He went up out of the water.
There is no question that the heavens opening and the Spirit of Goddescending like a dove was a sign of confirmation to John the Baptist that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, but could it have been a sign to other Jews who were taught in Oral Tradition; that a dove would descend from an open portal to heaven and place a crown on the head of the Messiah?
The dove is associated with God’s blessing and His pleasure and expresses the Holy Spirit’s gentleness, innocence, purity, and patience Matthew 10:16; Psalm 68:13.
The Holy Spirit, coming as a dove, is gentle and a symbol of peace. What the dove did is important as well—the dove came and rested on Messiah Matt. 3:16. His Holy Spirit wants to come and rest upon us coming to each of us personally.
The other beautiful image that comes form the dove is in it structure. One is, they are pure white which is symbolic of holiness and purity, clean; and like our sins washed white as snow, as the robe of righteousness is also white, and white as the brightness of His coming. A dove has 9 primary and 9 secondary wing feathers on each side, and if we look at the references to
the fruit of the spirit and
the gifts or workings of the spirit
we can count them on either wing.
What is more significant is that,
wings must be balanced for even flight,
so there must be a balance of both in the believers life for us to follow Him. We are to be consistently walking and living by the Spirit with all His attributes in correct balance, for a healthy, mature halakh/walk.
These 9 spiritual gifts of Holy Spirit were given to believers as they were needed for the fulfillment of their mission and to use in the service of others.
The number 9 has one special meaning for believers, it’s a symbol of miracles. We have the promise that after every dark period in our lives there is a new day, an opportunity for us to repent of our sins and change our ways; and It is this… the promise of eternal life upon fulfilling our spiritual missions on earth.
Another beautiful attributes of doves is that they pair up, staying together for life, they are faithful and trustworthy.
The dove’s 9 main feathers on each of the two wings are used to lift and propel it forward. They also have 5 main tail feathers that act as a rudder to guide them in flight.
What do the scriptures say?
How is His Spirit described?
We can read in the Word about the Father, and we can read about the Son who came and walked among us. But Jesus/Yeshua tells us that when the Spirit comes, He will not speak of Himself; that “whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come” John 16:13.
The workings of the Holy Spirit are invisible, glorious, and gentle, and within them, He never tells us about Himself. He comes to glorify Messiah Jesus and helps us to see and to better understand Messiah. Helping us to respond more obediently, and to love Him with a deeper heart of commitment.
The symbols of Holy Spirit are essential for us to gain understanding of what He’s like, both objectively in revealing truth, but also in the way that He comes to work in our lives; the invisible influencing the visible. Just as the Holy Spirit manifested for a moment in a dove and lighted upon Jesus, He wants to penetrate you and me with the glory of the invisible God that becomes visible in us. He wants to flood His life into ours that we might then overflow with His life to others.
The five main stern or tail feathers provide a perfect picture of the fivefold offices or positions gifts of the Church. They are the Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Teacher, and Evangelist. These five gifts are not to do all the ministry, they are to equip the saints for the work of ministry. That is, they are to build up the body of Messiah, which is to be balanced in fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit, until we all attain the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God; mature persons attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature.
Eph. 4:13-15
The dove is unique from other birds in that instead of its wings pointing downward toward its tail, they curl upward toward its head. This represents that the Holy Spirit does not speak of Himself but points believers to Messiah Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest, and the Head of the Ecclesia.
The tail also helps a bird balance when perched on a branch, and while the bird soars, it can spread its tail feathers behind it to create additional lift and stability. Likewise, the five positional gifts are to direct and correct the church so that we stay focuaed on the mission the Holy Spirit has given to us. Ensuring we do not get ahead or behind, nor enter into the left or right ditch as we walk the narrow road of His perfect will.
Spiritual Gifts:
1Cor. 12 :8 To one is given in and through the [Holy] Spirit [the power to speak] a message of wisdom,
and to another [the power to express] a word of knowledge and understanding according to the same [Holy] Spirit;
9 To another [[b]wonder-working] faith by the same [Holy] Spirit,
to another the extraordinary powers of healing by the one Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles,
to another prophetic insight ([c]the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose);
to another the ability to discern and distinguish between [the utterances of true] spirits [and false ones],
to another various kinds of [unknown] tongues,
to another the ability to interpret [such] tongues.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: 9 fruit.
9 is the number of in scripture
The number 9 meaning in scripture represents more than just a numerical value, it holds spiritual meaning and is linked to many significant events.
Messiah Jesus died at the 9th hour, which is also the hour of prayer.
Matthew 27:46 recounts the death of Messiah, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Human babies take 9 months to develop in the mothers womb. 9 represents the number of generations from Adam to Noah, and then, from Noah to Abraham. What makes the number 9 so special it’s the most mentioned in scripture?
Sometimes, when 9 is mentioned it led to destruction and sicknesses, other times it prophesied of a new journey or a new life, the coming birth of a child; so it could both be in negative or positive contexts.
9 represents completeness or finality and even with its’ connection to Messiah’s death, it wasn’t thought of as something negative; because HIs death opened up the door, the gates of salvation for us. The number 9 is the number of judgments and It symbolizes patience, harmony, development, and creation. Sometimes, the number 9 is described as the perfect number and is considered sacred to the Egyptians and Greeks.
It was the same time of day that Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, received a vision to reach out to Peter the Apostle. These biblical events associated with the number 9 led to it being thought of as a sacred and spiritual number; and it was also used to represent holiness and was associated with the Holy Spirit, Divine completeness.
Part 2 will cover other symbols of Holy Spirit, meanwhile we should remember that..
שָׁלוֹםעֲלֵיכֶם, Shalom aleikhem
chaverim and mishpachah!
Peace to friends and family.
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.
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.
Not sure ..you can be…
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.
Many times what we read in scripture is telling us of both types of seeing, and both types of hearing.
So with this in mind,
what exactly did Sarai hear?
Let the reader decide.
In Genesis 18:10
we read about Abram and Sarai
and the visit of the 3 ‘men’.
When sitting, about mid-day, in the grove of Mamre, in front of his tent, Abram אַבְרָם looked up and unexpectedly saw three men standing at some distance from him (עליו above him, looking down upon him as he sat), viz., Jehovah (Genesis 18:13) and two angels (Genesis 19:1); all three in human form.
Perceiving at once that one of them was the Lord (אדני, i.e., God), he prostrated himself reverentially before them, and entreated them not to pass him by, but to suffer him to entertain them as his guests:
“Let a little water be fetched, and wash your feet, and recline yourselves (השּׁען( sevle to recline, leaning upon the arm) under the tree.”
Comfort your hearts:” literally: “strengthen the heart,“
For therefore (sc., to give me an opportunity to entertain you hospitably) have ye come over to your servant:”
כּן על כּי does not stand for כּי כּן על (Ges. thes. p. 682),
but means “because for this purpose” (vid., Ewald, 353).
During the meal, at which Abraham stood, and waited upon them as the host, they asked for Sarai, for whom the visit was chiefly intended.
On being told that she was in the tent, where she could hear all that passed under the tree in front of the tent. The one whom Abram addressed as Adonai (my Lord), and who is called Jehovah in Genesis 18:13, said,
“I will return to thee (חיּה כּעת) at this time, when it lives again”
(חיּה, reviviscens, without the article, Gesinius. 111, 2b), i.e.,
at this time next year; “and, behold, Sarai, thy wife, will (then) have a son.”
Sarai heard this at the door of the tent; “and it was behind Him” (Jehovah), so that she could not be seen by Him as she stood at the door. But as the fulfillment of this promise seemed impossible to her, on account of Abraham’s extreme age, and the fact that her own womb had lost the ability of conception; she laughed within herself, thinking that she was not observed. But in order that she might know that the promise was made by the omniscient and omnipotent Heavenly Father, He reproved her for laughing, saying;
“Is anything too wonderful (i.e., impossible) for Jehovah? at the time appointed I will return unto thee,”
and when her natural understanding led her to deny it, He convicted her of her heart attitude.
Abraham had also laughed at this promise, but he was not reprimanded..
Genesis 17:17
Why?
His laughing was the joy-filled outburst of astonishment and wonder; on the contrary Sarai’s was the result of doubt and unbelief, which had to be exposed by reproof, and, as the result showed, it really was by the fact that she conceived and gave birth to a son, one whom she could only have conceived in faith. Hebrews 11:11.
As the angel was speaking of the son that Sarai was to have she had positioned herself at the tent door to hear the conversation.
Several references and versions cited below.
Aramaic Bible in Plain English And he said to him, “Returning, I shall return to you at this time when she is living, and Sara your wife shall have a son”, and Sara heard at the door of the tent and it was behind him.
Literal Standard Version and He says, “Returning I return to you, about the time of life, and behold, to Sarah your wife a son.” And Sarah is listening at the opening of the tent, which is behind him;
Amplified Bible He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.
King James Bible And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
Both Abram and Sarai’s names were changed:
In verse 10: According to the time of life.
In Hebrew it reads: according to the living time.
It is clear from Genesis 18:14, and 2Kings 4:16-17, that these words mean some fixed period of time, but the exact rendering has differences of opinions among scholars.
When the season revives means: next spring, is entirely separate from Middle East thinking, and one rendering of it: at the living time is a poetic but meaningless one.
I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life.
Literally, at the time reviving;i.e.when the year shall have been renewed, in the next year, or rather spring(vide Ewald, ‘Hebrews Synt.,’ § 337; Rosenmüller, Drusius, Keil, Kalisch, Lange, Ainsworth, ‘Speaker’s Commentary’); although other interpretations of the phrase have been suggested, as, e.g., “according to the time of that which is born,” i.e.at the end of nine months(Willet, Calvin, Bush, Murphy).
The more correct rendering is probablya year hence, as when the year is over it dies, and a new year lives in its place. Hebrraic/Jewish tradition is strongly in favor of this view, translating it as: according to this time next year, and interestingly adding that the season was the Passover/Peasch. The only other possible rendering is in course of time.
Which was behind him.
The LXX. has a preferable reading,
and she was behind it.
What is the LXX?
The Septuagint (pronounced sep-TOO-uh-jint) is a Greek translation of the Jewish/Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament. It was completed sometime between 300 to 200 BC. With the rise of Alexander the Great (336 to 323 B.C.), the Greek language became the common language. Hebrew fell out of use among the Jews, so to read the scriptures in a relevant language, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the son of Alexander the Great’s Macedonian-Greek general Ptolemy I Soter, commissioned the translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek. Seventy scholars (Some sources say 72) undertook this feat, which resulted in the Septuagint translation. The word Septuagint is abbreviated and known as the LXX, which is the Roman numeral for 70. The Septuagint (LXX) was the version of the Bible used by the authors of the New Testament. Therefore, the authors sometimes quote the Septuagint rather than the Masoretic (Hebrew) text.
The door, in the physical natural realm, was an opening made by looping back the curtain, which would effectually conceal Sarai.
Verse 10. – And HE said
(the Principal Guest, as above, Who, by the very nature and terms of His announcement, identifies Himself with God/Jehoveh. If it were not Jehoveh/YHVH, and all the 3 were His angels, they would have told Abram not to bow in worship to them.)
And, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. i.e. at the time specified. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
In the tent door which was behind him,
i.e. at the back of the One that spoke with him;
this is added here to show that He knew her laughter and inner attitude of unbelief and denial,
not by the sight of His eyes, but
by His all-seeing knowledge!
and Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him; or, “and it was behind him”; that is,
the tent door was at the back of the person speaking;
Sarai, hearing her name mentioned, got to the tent door to listen to what else might be said; and the place where she was, was behind the speaker, who stood between her and Abram, with whom he was conversing; Abram was before Him, and Sarai behind Him, so that He could not see her when she laughed, and yet He knew she did.
Then the LORD said,
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb – Qal – Consecutive imperfect – third person masculine singular Strong’s 559: To utter, say
“I will surely
שׁ֣וֹב (šō·wḇ)
Verb – Qal – Infinitive absolute Strong’s 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again
return
אָשׁ֤וּב (’ā·šūḇ)
Verb – Qal – Imperfect – first person common singular Strong’s 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again
to you
אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ (’ê·le·ḵā)
Preposition | second person masculine singular Strong’s 413: Near, with, among, to
at this time next year,
כָּעֵ֣ת (kā·‘êṯ)
Preposition-k, Article | Noun – common singular construct Strong’s 6256: Time, now, when
and your wife
אִשְׁתֶּ֑ךָ (’iš·te·ḵā)
Noun – feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular Strong’s 802: Woman, wife, female
Sarah
לְשָׂרָ֣ה (lə·śā·rāh)
Preposition-l | Noun – proper – feminine singular Strong’s 8283: Sarah — ‘princess’, a wife of Abraham
will have a son!”
בֵ֖ן (ḇên)
Noun – masculine singular Strong’s 1121: A son
Now Sarah
וְשָׂרָ֥ה (wə·śā·rāh)
Conjunctive waw | Noun – proper – feminine singular Strong’s 8283: Sarah — ‘princess’, a wife of Abraham
was behind him,
אַחֲרָֽיו׃ (’a·ḥă·rāw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular Strong’s 310: The hind or following part
listening
שֹׁמַ֛עַת (šō·ma·‘aṯ)
Verb – Qal – Participle – feminine singular Strong’s 8085: To hear intelligently
at the entrance
פֶּ֥תַח (pe·ṯaḥ)
Noun – masculine singular construct Strong’s 6607: An opening, door, entrance way
to the tent.
הָאֹ֖הֶל (hā·’ō·hel)
Article | Noun – masculine singular Strong’s 168: A tent
In one Hebrew/Jewish commentary,
in the original text there is no preposition,
IN, written before the words
the tent door
So the translation would read:
Sarai HEARD the opening of the tent,
or
Heard the tent open
In Hebrew:sham’ah patach ha’ahal
Spelled with the letters:
Shin mem ayin taw pei taw cheth hei aleph hei lamed
And Sarai heard it (in) the tent door which was behind him.
The Hebrew for tent is AHAL
a word that means: dwelling place
and isn’t the normal word used for dwelling place.
It’s spelled aleph hei lamed; and used to indicate that this is:
a special dwelling place where one may receive special revelation from Adonai.
The Hebrew scholars suggest that:
what Sarai heard was not the opening of the tent flap,
but that she heard the shekinah,
the Glory of the presence of Adonai,
the opening of the divine realm of the spirit;
or we might say
heard The Fathers voice- kol/qol speaking.
However it suggests something further, like that of
an opening into heaven – a door – a portal.
This is not a new or strange concept, as we are familiar with the events at Yeshua/Jesus’ immersion. Here both He and John saw the heavens open and heard the voice of the Father; as they saw His shekinah descend upon Messiah bodily, like or, as a dove gently settling /landing. Those with spiritual ears to hear heard the voice/kol. Yet some said it thundered when the Fathers voice was heard. This was a very special moment when Father, Son and their Spirit of Holiness were present all at the same time; the Transfiguration of Messiah on the Mount was another.
In Mark 1:10 He saw heaven torn open:
The word translated here as torn openfrom the Greek verb: schizo; is a dramatic word that appears only in Mark’s account, hinting at the beginning B’resheet – Genesis– when the heavens and the earth were created from nothing by the Word of God; where again Father, Son and Spirit of Holiness were recorded as being together.
Likewise, the image of HolySpirit descending and a Voice speaking from heaven suggests the creation account.
Another occasion which we are familiar with is Acts 2:2 .
There came a sound from heaven…
The text translated literally from the Greek reads as: suddenly there came a sound from heaven as being borne along by a violent wind.
The word SOUND in Greek is echos.
Another easily recognizable word from our own language! It basically means: a sound or noise, possibly a roaring noise like the wind blowing violently, howling as in a very severe storm..
In Aramaic the word that is used here for
SOUND is QALA which means a VOICE.
Giving or creating a picture or image of:
the heavens opening and a voice coming out through this opening like a doorway or portal, a connecting point between realms.
There are multiple examples throughout the Bible of spiritual eyes and ears being opened so that the invisible becomes visible. This is the faith we are to have, that even when we don’t see it we are to believe and know it is still there.Our reminder is in Hebrews 11:1; Faith is the substance of things hoped for…. Recall Elisha and the chariots in 2kings 6:17.
For שָׂרָי Saray Sarai, it was a message she found hard to accept even though she had walked with YHVH/God for 90 years, seen many miracles and known His presence.
It is said that a Divine Cloud “was attached” to the tent of Sarai and maybe this was the moment it came and remained?
In Exodus 33:7 we read of the Glory cloud at the entrance to Moses tent:
7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp.8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent.9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses.
In Luke 1 there is another example of what seems impossible in human terms: Zacharias a man who faithfully served Adonai, he and his wife had prayed for a child for years. Then Gabriel appeared to him while he was alone in the temple. Zacharias was afraid and didn’t believe the message that their prayers were to be answered and was struck dumb for his unbelief. It seemed impossible for both Sarai and Zacharias when they were told something was about to happen, even though it was a long awaited desire that was to be fulfilled; it was one that for them that seemed impossible..
Why?
because they were focused on this natural realm with natural understanding of what they could physically see. They did not allow their minds to go beyond this natural earthly realm/ dimension, so it seemed impossible to them.
For with God nothing is impossible.
Genesis 18:14.
Jesus/Yeshua said it in Matthew 19:26
And looking upon them Jesus said to them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
With God nothing is impossible and this is where that well known quote comes from. They both could only have shown, or have revealed to them, what was reflected in their own minds. We ourselves are often a barrier to things our Heavenly Father’s Spirit is trying to reveal to us, and unless we allow our minds to move beyond this physical world/realm; we cannot be shown the true wonders that He can perform and neither can He reveal to us the greater works that we are to do! John 14:12. Those that He plans to accomplish in and through us. We must begin to believe our Heavenly Father for what to us seems to be the impossible in the natural. Begin to believe for the supernatural, the impossible, because we serve the supernatural God of gods Lord of lords and King of kings. We limit Him by our mindset, our thinking and our view of what we see as reality.
This is why we like Paul, Ephesians 1:8, must request that the eyes of our understanding be enlightened, opened to see….. and as Messiah challenges us to have our ears opened to hear what the spirit is saying to the churches/ecclesia..Revelation 2:29.
We must position ourselves like Sarai, to see and hear heaven opened to us.
Ephesians 4:1. This means we must walk in a manner worthy of the calling, of being the vessel that is infilled with His Shekinah Glory…
Would the Spirit of Holiness settle gently on us today?
Have we prepared a home worthy for Him to dwell in?
If Sarai did
Yarah,
hear a heavenly portal open, and if she saw into the realm of the spirit and experienced the Shekinah Glory… maybe she did perceive that with Jehoveh/YHVH/God
nothing is impossible!
Our faith, trust and belief in the impossible becoming reality, needs to develop, increase and mature; because the days that lie ahead are going to test the very foundation of all that we say we believe! We MUST be firmly rooted and grounded in His Word and in our unshakeable relationship with our Heavenly Father, Messiah and their Spirit of Holiness.
Phil.3:10, Know Him and the power of His resurrection as our truth, as our personal reality.
We MUST be certain that nothing, absolutely nothing will cause us to waver or stumble; whatever we hear or see in this natural realm.
שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם,
Shalom aleikhem
chaverim and mishpachah!
Peace to friends and family.
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.
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.
Not sure ..you can be…
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.
Some spell the Hebrew word for voice with a Q and also with a K qol /kol Or qol {kole}; from an unused root meaning to call aloud; a voice or sound — + aloud, bleating, crackling, cry (+ out), fame, lightness, lowing, noise, + hold peace, (pro-)claim, proclamation, + sing, sound, + spark, thunder(-ing), voice, + yell.
Kol
qol
qol: sound, voice
Strongs # 6963
Original Word: קוֹל Part of Speech: Noun Masculine Transliteration:qol Phonetic Spelling: (kole) Definition:sound, voice
Genesis 3:8 HEB: וַֽיִּשְׁמְע֞וּ אֶת־ ק֨וֹל יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהִ֛ים NAS: They heard the sound of the LORD God KJV: And they heard the voice of the LORD INT: heard the sound of the LORD God
And we all know that our Heavenly Father speaks to us but many are unsure that they are actually hearing His voice, or if it’s just our own thoughts.
Is there any way we can know for certain?
There are numerous scriptures about thevoiceof God and the more we read in the scriptures
and the longer we walk in obedience with Him
the clearer His voice will become.
The key is by the walk of obedience,
which will always give greater clarity; because the more we are obedient, the more His Spirit of Holiness can fill us and enhance and empower our walk.
To those who are obedient….
In the Book of Acts, Simon Peter said that the Holy Spirit is only given to those who obey God. He put it this way.
And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him (Acts 5:32 NRSV).
Here His Holy Spirit is clearly linked to obedience.
How does Holy Spirit empower obedience?
Romans 8:14 Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Gal. 5:16 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit .
Gal. 54:25 Having begun by the Spirit…
By being obedient to His Word because we love Him, we can receive His Holy Spirit Who will help and empower us to walk by the Spirit and to clearly hear His Voice; and as we hear, we do, we obey, completing a cycle of life in Messiah. Yeshua/Jesus is the way the truth and the life. John 14:6.
This is not a new concept as it is part of Gods covenant relationship with His people.
The Hebrew prayer known as theshema, begins with the Hebrew word that means
hear and obey.
It is the daily declaration of faith
Shema Yisrael שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל “Hear, O Israel ”
The first verse of theShema, fromDeuteronomy 6, is among the best-known in all of Jewish liturgy; and are the first two words of a section of the Torah that is the centerpiece of the morning and evening prayer services, encapsulating the core Hebrew affirmation and admonition.
Shema
שָׁמַע
shaw-mah’
שָׁמַע shâmaʻ, shaw-mah’; a primitive root; to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.):—× attentively, call (gather) together, × carefully, × certainly, consent, consider, be content, declare, ×diligently, discern, give ear, (cause to, let, make to) hear(-ken, tell), × indeed, listen, make (a) noise, (be) obedient, obey, perceive, (make a) proclaim(-ation), publish, regard, report, shew (forth), (make a) sound, × surely, tell, understand, whosoever (heareth), witness.
The KJV translates Strong’s H8085 in the following manner:
If we do not listen for His voice, we will not hear it.
If we are not paying attention, we will miss His instructions.
If we have no relationship with Him, we will not care what He has to say to us.
If we have no reverent respect towards Him, we will not even think of listening for His voice.
We will be living our life on our own terms and doing only what pleases us, catering to the fleshly desires of a life lived by natural physical standards; with no recognition of spiritual direction or influence. Our relationship to the Father, Jesus/Yeshua and Holy Spirit is one of love, out of which we desire to please Him and do all He has asked of us. It is not one of a reluctant slave, forced to comply with rules and regulations against their will.
So hearing His voice will become clearer as we follow Him and allow the reciprocal love relationship between us to grow deeper. Just as with any human love relationship. We hear the voice of a loved one and recognize it because we know them, and want to answer and do what they ask or need immediately. It is the same for us with our Savior, there should be no question of our instant response to the one who died in our place…
Are we hearing our Fathers Voice ?
Qaval קול
Exodus 19:5: Now therefore if you will obeymy voice indeed and keep my commandments, Then you will be a peculiar treasure unto me above all the people, for all the earth is mine.
Our Heavenly Father loves us, He loves everybody, but reading the above verse it seems that there are those who He not only loves but He treasures.
How can we be included in those He treasures?
We become this treasure IFweobey His voice.. If we really heard our Heavenly Fathersvoice and knew without a shadow of a doubt it was His voice, would we honestly do anything other than obey? A common saying amongst christians is: God told me the other day…
probably we’ve all said it at one time or another?..but
was it really God’s voice we heard, and if it was, would we question our mental health?
Does it depend on what the Voice says as to whether we believe and act upon it? If the Voice told us to go to a persons house and pray for them would we do it or would we reason it away in our minds?
Already noted in Hebrew a word for hearing God’s
voice is qaval
which is
speaking, calling, voice etc.,
but it is also used for
nonverbal communication.
There are three Hebrew letters in
qaval.
קול
The first letter
Qop ל
represents:God speaking through a natural or human instrument like a preacher or teacher.
The second letter
Vav ו
is God speaking through an inward connection, that strong impulse, impression or feelingand
the last letter
Lamed ל
is God speaking through the Word of God, the Bible.
One definition ofqaval is:
as an outward expression of one’s thoughts.
It is closely associated with the word
qalahor
restraining
and qalal – to diminish.
We could say that, as we control our natural human desires and lusts of this flesh and restrain ourselves, by not walking after the flesh but walking after the spirit and crucifying the flesh life according to Galatians, then the voice of God becomes clearer.
To truly live in the presence of God 24/7 we would need to spend each day lessening our personal desires and putting a stop to our physical impulses, then we would really begin to hear our Heavenly Fathers’ qaval.
There are many ways that thevoiceof the Lord can speak to us, e.g:
It can be first through His Word, in a scripture He shows us.
It can be a prompting to our thoughts, a direction, an answer.
Hearing the audible voice of God is not an everyday occurrence but we can hear Him all around us in Scripture, in our thoughts as we walk among His creation. When we choose to humble ourselves, less of us and more of Him; when we restrain our cravings, desires and impulses; then we will hear Hisqavalin more ways than we can imagine.
Voice – Qol
Exodus 19:5: ” Now therefore if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my commandments, then you will be a peculiar treasure until me above all the people, for all the earth is mine.” Voice: Hebrew – qol:
sound, cry, thunder, rumor or report.
In its primitive form – to disclose an idea.
The Fathers voicewas heard at Jesus/Yeshuas immersion and some thought it thundered!
It’s all about how we hear!
those who have ears to hear.
We many times speak of those with ‘selective hearing’, hearing only what we want to; or how we hear it in order to suit our own agenda and motives, twisting truth to fit ourselves. Jesus/Yeshua talks about His sheep knowing His voice in John 10:27. Paul heard the voiceof Messiah Jesus on the road to Damascus and Moses heard Hisvoice many times.
At Messiah’s baptism in John 12:29: When the crowd heard the voice, some heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
The thunder of heaven was the voice of God, and a direct answer to Yeshua/ Jesus’s petition came: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again” (v. 28).
The Father’s voice was heard on two very important occasions in Messiah’s ministry: the baptism and the transfiguration. At each of these events the Father’s voice, was very distinct and unique.Matthew 17:5; Luke 9:35-36.
Is this word voice, referring to an impression, thought or feeling as we might interpret it today? We know that the word for voice is
qol
which is
speaking, calling, voice etc.
The Greek word here in the New Testament is
phone
it’s obvious which English word comes from that one!
All of them give the idea of a noise, tone or sound.
gol is spelledקוֹל
ק Qof which represents God speaking through a natural or human instrument,
ו Vav is a connection between heaven and earth and
ל Lamed represents divine instruction.
In other words this is telling us that this voice of God
can come from:
a natural instrument, e.g. a minister, pastor, preacher, teacher, prophet, friend etc.,
or through a natural event, such as a voice, noise, sound, thunder, proclamation, etc..
This voice is also heard as we spend time alone with our Heavenly Father, this is when we make that connection between heaven and earth.
This voice can be heard while studying His Word.
This is where we receive inspiration and revelation from being taught by His Holy Spirit.
Ultimately the word in Hebrew, qol,
simply carries the idea of a disclosure/revealing.
It can be an impression, thought or feeling which is so powerful, it actually seems like an audible voice.
Qol /voice, by its very nature is a Semitic word and can be very poetic, i.e., when used as a simile or metaphor.
Lastly, Qol /voice, can be just that, an actual, audible voice.
We can be certain of this, that when our Heavenly Father desires to speak to us individually, He’ll do it in a way where we will not be afraid, or think we are losing our sanity; because He is the Creator of His universe, He has countless ways to disclose/reveal His thoughts to us. We should never try to put Him in a box or limit how and where He can speak to us.
He is an infinite spirit being and Qol /voice, expresses this infinity. He created each of us with an internal voice/Qol, building into us a way of hearing His Voice as any child knows and recognizes their parents voice. It may come to us from the physical nature around us e.g. a bird flying to the window and singing each morning, or a deer, a rabbit or squirrel coming into our garden. Any number of experiences speak to us, like a clear night sky, filled with stars,a song or melody, a sunset, a smile from a stranger; these are all things that may activate that inner ability to hear Him.
When you know Him and are intimate with Him, that Qol within you will be tuned into Him and that is the Qol, the voice of our Heavenly Father speaking to us.
In John 10:27 Messiah said “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” so we shouldn’t we expect to hear Him? Especially IF we are following Him?
Maybe someone reading this has heard the audible voice of God. Some people say they have, folks usually hear it during times of great distress, so perhaps it ‘s just an emotional reaction?
When we do hear His voice, it will always bear witness in our spirit, and we know it was the qol or voice of God, just like the voice Isaiah heard in his vision some 2,600 years ago.
Isaiah 6:8: “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here [am] I; send me.”
Other verses that speak of the voice of the Lord is Psalms 29:7 and
there are more than a few interpretations of this Psalm.
A Voice – QOL קול
Psalms 29:7: “The voice of the Lord divided the flames of fire.”
One interpretation is that it is referring to God making a covenant with man. Other commentators say David is making a reference to the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, although this is not likely as David lived long before this event. The most usual one is that, David wrote this Psalm before a thunder storm and the flames of fire represent the lightning, and the voice of God the thunder.
One 19th century Rabbi indicates that the word for voice/qol doesn’t have to be a physical audible voice. It is really anything that communicates a message. A thunder storm conveying a message to the Psalmist would be a qol or voice.
So what was David implying about the nature of God and His relationship with man in this verse?
In ancient times lightning and thunder were said to be the gods/fallen angels, battling against each other. Lightning and thunder cannot be ignored and does remind us of how powerful our Heavenly Father really is. Messiah said Himself that He would return as the lightning is from east to west meaning: there will be no question in anyones mind as to Who it is that is returning.
David was the king of one of the most powerful nations in the world and maybe he envisioned himself as the flames of fire being divided by Gods voice?
In Hebrew
divide is chesev
which also means
to cut, destroy or hew,
Was David imagining that he would flash his lightning and then God responds with His thunder which promptly crushes the pride in him? The word divide is spelled
Cheth – joining with God,
Sade – humility and
Beth – the heart.
This would suggest that God’s voice draws him away from his own splendor, and humbles him before God.
The word for fire is ’esh which has a numerical value of 301. The word for fear and distress is yara’ which also has a numerical value of 301; so fire can also represent fear and distress.
Blazing or flame comes from the word lehev, which in it’s Semitic root comes from the glittering of the sun off a sword. The flames of fire could be a picture of those fears and distresses that constantly wear us down. Maybe David sat watching the thunderstorm and seeing the lightning flash, it caused him to think about how he could be so at peace one moment and then like a flash of lightning, he is reminded of some serious problem or situation that he had to confront? Immediately after that flash of lightning came the noise/thunder, the voice of God cutting or destroying that fearful or distressful situation. Maybe that will help us the next time a thunder storm erupts.
The voice of God could represent an intimate knowledge of God, in that this knowledge of Him and Who He is, overcomes and destroys all our fears and distresses. When David heard the thunder, was he reminded of the closeness, the intimate relationship he had with a powerful God Who could destroy the flash of lightning which represented his fear and distress?
Another perspective of voices is recorded in Exodus 20:18:
And all the people were seeing the thunder voices and the torches and the voice of the shofarand the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance.
This is a very strange description!
How was it possible for the children of Israel to
SEE the thundering voices?
Seeing Voices – Raim Qol
ראים קול
Resh Aleph Yod Mem Qop Vav Lamed
Many of the translations describe this as thunder and lightning.
the words here are
raim eth equloth
and they literally mean:
see the voices.
Because we know that we
can’t see voices
there must be something metaphoric about these words!
interestingly the Jewish sages teach that this is expressing a sensory experience beyond the normal operation of the five senses. They say it is an overflow of experience that activates all the senses merging them together. In this case, a person is actually
seeing a sound.
Your eyes are hearing and your ears are seeing!
Then there was the sound of the shofar and the people
yarah the sound of the shofar.
They saw the sound of the shofar.
Yarah can mean both physical seeing and spiritual seeing. It is how we are to walk the walk. Walk by the spiritual senses our Heavenly Father has imparted to us, and not by the natural senses.
It is possible that here the people were seeing into another realm, another dimension; what is normally invisible became the visible, the supernatural realm was open to them. Just like so many examples in the scriptures: 2Kings 6:17-20 God opened his eyes.
And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around.
Their five senses were merged into one super sense. They did not like it, it terrified them, so much so that in verse 19 they asked Moses to speak to them, they did not want to hear directly from God. Moses told them not to be afraid, yet inverse 21, the people stood at a distance and only Moses entered the cloud.
This idea of the five senses combining into one sense in the supernatural realm could possibly explain other biblical accounts. We should remember that In our Western culture, we have a greek mindset; which means we are a culture based on science and mathematics, and because of this, we only look for one interpretation. In the Middle Eastern Hebrew/Semitic culture, there can be many interpretations and all of them could be correct. That is why it is essential for our Heavenly Fathers Holy Spirit to guide and teach us as we study the Scriptures. If we seek to know the Father with all our hearts, we will find Him and His Holy Spirit will reveal/disclose to us the interpretation He wants us to know.
What caused the children of Israel to be so terrified?
The word qol for voices is plural.
Could the thundering voices have been the sound of everyone’s thoughts, reactions, and feelings?
Did all five senses became just one sense in the shekinah cloud, in the very presence of the Creator of the universe? And was the result of His presence that there were no secrets, nothing was hidden, no more facades, only unhindered truth?
They had just received the ten commandments, which included serious restrictions and guidelines like Thou shalt not commit adultery. Did a man glance at his neighbor’s wife and suddenly everyone knew what he was thinking? Or was another of the commandments Thou shalt not covet revealed as a woman looked at another woman and instantly knows what she is jealous of.
Imagine what would happen if the cloud of our Heavenly Fathers’ Shekinah Glory filled our meetings today? We may initially be eager to enter into His presence…
But what if those that entered the cloud suddenly found their senses becoming one, and everyone suddenly knew everyone else’s thoughts? We may not want to remain there very long either.
We should ask ourselves, if we are sanctified in our thoughts and motives, in that we wouldn’t mind who knew what is in our hearts? If we answer that we would mind, then is our heart really at one and in unity with our Father and Messiah’s heart? If our heart and motives are one with His heart and motives, then we would not be concerned. However, if there’s something unclean hidden in our heart, and the presence of Gods glory was the same as in the Exodus 20:18 cloud where everyone could
see a voice,
we would maybe be rather reluctant and even a little afraid, just as the Israelites were?
Surely this is how it is in God’s presence. Nothing is hidden from Him. The only reason we want to hide, or make excuses, is because of sin, and the shame we feel. The truth is, we have a Savior, a Redeemer, One who forgives our sins and covers our shame with His very own Blood. Hallelujah!
All He looks for is our prayers of repentance, humbly accepting His forgiveness and when we ask for a clean heart and a right spirit…His answer is always yes and amen.
He is always speaking
but…
are we listening?
We hear the kol/voice of God more times than we realize and we must always be like Samuel, and in obedience answer immediately… Yes Father.
שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם,
Shalom aleikhem
chaverim and mishpachah!
Peace to friends and family.
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.
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.
Not sure ..you can be…
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.
who were a group of 37 men who fought with King David?
To answer this question we must journey back to a confrontation recorded in:
1 Samuel 4:6 On hearing the noise of the shout, the Philistines asked, “What is this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?” And when they realized that the ark of the LORD had entered the camp,
I Samuel 4:7: And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp and they said Woe unto us
And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe to us! for there has not been such a thing heretofore.
JPS Tanakh 1917 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said: ‘God is come into the camp.’ And they said: ‘Woe unto us! for there was not such a thing yesterday and the day before.
What the Philistines knew but the Hebrew Israelites didn’t realize was that the Hebrews had with them
joined the ranks of the Israelites and the Philistines recognized when He did and they cried out in terror!
The Philistines were in fact saying that:
They were standing before the Third/Ultimate Warrior.
The use of the feminine pronoun, SHE, gives a picture of a mother fighting to protect her young.
This is a picture of an
ultimate warrior,
one who will fight to the death for someone or something,
and was the same in ancient times as it is today.
This is how the Philistines saw the Hebrew God; as a mother protectively wrapping her young in her arms and glaring at them and threatening that, if you touched her little ones you will have to deal with her, and the Philistines did not want to deal with “Her.”
This account is more than just the Philistines fear of the Israelites Hebrew God; it is about taking the physical ark they could see and touch in the natural to give them victory and not trusting in God and His spiritual power to intervene.
They were relying on
the power of an object,
instead of Who and Whom it represented.
Here it is interesting to note that it was the Philistines who recognized the difference; they said
GOD has come into the camp
not
the ark has come into our camp!!
The fact that the Philistines declared that God had come into the camp is profound because in verse 3, the children of Israel declared that “it”, referring to the ark, would save them.
And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, {c} Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.
(c) Before we fought against men, and now God has come to fight against us.
Israel was defeated before the Philistines.
Why?
Because sin, was in the camp, and it gave their enemies all the advantage they could desire.
The hand of God was there for them but, instead of submitting, they spoke in anger, as if they were not aware of any action they had done to provoke Him.
The foolishness of man perverts his way, and then his heart frets against the Lord, Proverbs 19:3, and finds fault with him.
They supposed that they could compel God to appear and help them, by bringing the ark into the camp.
Those who have gone back into a life of religious doctrine and men’s traditions, sometimes end up loving and preferring all the outward observances, thinking these things will save them.
The Israelites thought that by bringing the Ark, God’s throne, into the camp, it would bring heavens help to them.
Whatever we place our trust in, whether it’s our Heavenly Father or the world and the flesh, this is what is really on the throne of the heart. This is what we have faith in.
The people of Israel said
the ark would save them
and the enemy, the Philistines, their godless, pagan enemies, said
“God” would save Israel!
There are occasions when the people of the world have greater clarity and can see things that we just don’t see.
The Parable of the Unjust Steward in
Luke 16:1–13 is referring to this.
Israel represented a strong and notable faith, one that was feared and respected by the Philistines, yet as events unfolded, it was shown that they may have represented a true faith, but in action, they had no faith at all.
They did not walk the walk, or talk the talk, and were defeated. Their failing was a lack of trust in the Lord which was caused by a lack of knowledge of Who He is, usually as a result of having no intimate relationship with the One they said they represented.
That last phrase: “Woe to us for there has not been such a thing heretofore” is a very strange statement. Most translations will render this phrase in a similar fashion, however, in Hebrew, it says literally:
“Woe to us for she has not come as this yesterday three days.” and it doesn’t seem to make sense.
Possibly what we are reading is a combination of the thoughts and feelings of all the Philistines? There is no single translation to this phrase.
The word yesterday is really an adverb which means before or heretofore.
The word thing is also very interesting.
As already noted, it’s the word
shaleshim
used in extra-Biblical literature for the
third warrior or the ultimate warrior.
The Philistines are saying that
they stand before the ultimate warrior.
The next time we are challenged or confronted by a spiritual Philistine, as they stand there laughing at us, they will see something behind us that we may not really be paying attention to, and they will run in terror because our Heavenly Father is right behind us; just like the mother bear, ready to rip that Philistine to shreds if they try to touch a hair on our heads.
Each translation renders this phrase a little differently but with much the same meaning, this is because its a difficult passage to translate and there aren’t appropriate words in the English language suitable to insert in here.
However it could read:
nothing like this has happened before.
But something like that had happened before… because in the Hebrew it literally says:
“Woe to us for she has not come as this yesterday three days.”
Yesterdayis an adverb and is correctly translated as
Heretofore …this three days.
Ancient Jewish literature provides insight into this phrase, as this is an ancient Semitic expression/ an idiom.
This Semitic idiom has its roots in the picture of picking up a chick/baby bird /equivalent to the first warrior; and then facing the wrath of the male/father bird /equivalent to the second warrior.
It is easy to deal with a baby bird, and the male father bird may show some increased resistance, but is not overwhelming. It is the reaction of the female mother bird that will be the problem, because she will fight to the death to protect her little chick/equivalent to the third warrior.
As already noted as an interesting point, that the Philistines used she, a feminine pronoun, to represent God and maybe the use of the feminine pronoun would be appropriate because this idiomatic expression pictures this ultimate warrior as a mother fighting to protect her young.
As ancient Semitic languages had only two genders, male and female and there was no neuter gender this was not unusual in those times.
However scholars note that in ancient pagan religions, many of these pagan gods and goddesses demanded an end to gender identity and the Priests of goddess religions had to be castrated and therefore rendered gender-neutral and homosexuality was also encouraged. It is clear that the enemy, unclean and fallen spirits were at the root of these pagan religions and were trying to destroy humanity; and there are certainly similarities to the gender-neutral movement we have today, to that of ancient paganism. Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun!
The word thing in this verse, which in Hebrew is the word
shaleshim and really means three days,
also carries the idea of a
third element.
Thing, third day, third warrior, ultimate warrior.
The Philistines are saying is that this is the first time
the third warrior or the ultimate warrior
has appeared or joined the Hebrew armies.
We could look at it in this way:
When Israel faced their enemy the first time, they were nothing more than a mere baby chick /first warrior, and were easily defeated by their attackers.
God later raised up judges who would lead a powerful army /second warrior.
The point to remember is what the Israelites didn’t fully comprehend but what the enemy knew, was that the Hebrews had a Shaleshim,
a Third or Ultimate Warrior
join their army and the Philistines recognized when He did; and this is why they cried out in terror because they knew that the equivalent of a ferocious mother bear had shown up to protect her cubs!
Everyone of us face difficult situations alone, and in the times when we face the enemy and are defeated/first warrior, we run to the local assembly and join forces with other believers/ second warriors, but sometimes the enemy will still attack and defeat us. However, when the appearance of that third warrior, Shaleshim, Who is Jesus/Yeshua, the more than equal of any ferocious mother defending her young, then the enemy flees in terror.
Resist the devil and he will flee.. James 4:7-8 and only when we submit ourselves to our Heavenly Father.
However, our complete and ultimate victory comes when we allow the Shaleshim, the Third Warrior, Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach to join us, that our victory is absolutely assured. The truth is that we can call upon that Third Warrior anytime we need Him. We may not always see the spiritual power behind our Shaleshim, but the enemy certainly does and flees in terror at the very sound of the Name of this Third Warrior.
Messiah Jesus/Yeshua crushed demonic power continually throughout His ministry. Our real enemy is the spirit behind the attack, our fight is not against flesh and blood.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, the rulers, against powers, the authorities, against the rulers of the darkness of this world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12
This is referring to the enemies that confront us in the spiritual realm. This present dark kingdom could be using a co-worker who is always difficult to deal with and causes us to constantly lose our peace and joy and then we react to them in an ungodly way. Another example could be someone reacting rudely to us while driving in traffic simply provoking us to react back at them. The dark kingdom continually uses people, situations and circumstances to attack us in the spiritual realm. It is at these times that Messiah teaches us how to connect and stay joined with Him, and deny ourselves and our fleshly, carnal, old man ways. Even when it’s painful, we are to daily carry our cross, deny those ways,
follow Him, think, speak and do as He would.
When we surrender our will to the Lord’s will within ourselves, He will come in power and demonstration in and through us as the Third Warrior. When He does, then His love flows through us to that unkind co-worker and begins a transformation in them too, because that change begins when we allow Yeshua/Jesus to first change us by the power of His Spirit of Holiness.
Only when our will is surrendered to His will can He use us as His vessel to flow in us, and through us, to affect and influence our circumstances in a powerful way as the Third Warrior.
All that Messiah imparted to His disciples includes entering the ongoing battle against the demonic powers, and in His name we are to set free those in bondage, He is our Deliverer, the Liberating King.
This is the truth that strengthens us to face the attack and enter the battle without fear.
Mark 16:15-20
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.
In ancient warfare,
Goliath was known as
the 3rd Warrior
the best of the best – the elite!
OurHeavenly Father/Yeshua/Jesus is
the 3rd and ultimate warrior.
We can appear to the devil to be easy prey and seemingly powerless at times; but the Lord is NOT powerless and we should remember that when we trust in Him …
Who is it that the adversary sees coming? us?
or the shaleshim we serve??
Remember!
There is nothing wrong with a first warrior attempt to defeat the enemy, nor with that of a second warrior. God expects us to confront our enemies, but our ultimate victory comes when we are joined with the Shaleshim, the Third Warrior, Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach, then victory is really assured.
Also remember the fact that we can call upon that third warrior anytime we need Him; and though we may not see the power behind our Shaleshim, the enemy certainly does and he will flee in terror at the very sound of the Name of the Third Warrior.
Whatever we do, let us do it as unto the third warrior,
the Shaleshim, Messiah, Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha Mashiach.
שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם,
Shalom aleikhem
chaverim and mishpachah!
Peace to friends and family.
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.
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.
Not sure ..you can be…
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.
How Well Do We Know Ruach HaKodesh – Spirit of Holiness?
Vav
Ha Hey 
Qof 
Dalet
Sheen 
is the picture of teeth 
and means: 
in the word yona (dove) 
This week is a postscript to
He is always speaking 
Verb tenses are: 
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