Devotional Rewind: 7 Hebrew Words

I should add at the beginning here that my computer closed out randomly in the middle of the week and I lost a couple days of this devotional. I did my best to recreate them but if you're reading this and wondering what's up with days 5 & 6, well, there's your answer.

I should also add that if you noticed the pictures with Bible verses I had posted over the last week, they were from this devotional. So if you liked them there's a whole bunch more where that came from!

7 Hebrew Words – Day 1
(Isaiah 54:10)

There is a different kind of love that God has for us than we normally think of when we think of love. In Hebrew this love is “Hesed”. In Greek this would be “Agape”. This is the kind of love we need to attempt to learn. This is the kind of love that we should be emulating.

For the mountains may depart, and the hills may sway, but m faithfulness shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not sway,” says Yahweh, who has compassion on you,
-Isaiah 54:10

7 Hebrew Words – Day 2
(James 2:17)

Ok, this is the kind of topic that’s gonna get me in trouble. But… this is the stuff that this whole blog was based on. The Hebrew word in today’s devotional is “Enumah”, which means “Faith”. But the Hebrew concept of faith is different than the Greek concept of faith. In western world we’ve grown up with a mindset based very much on the Greek way of thought. The Greek philosophical mindset revolves around intellectualism and faith is more a thought exercise than it is anything else. But the Hebrew concept of faith (enumah) is an action. The word literally means “to take firm action.” Think of it this way: Because I believe, I do. Faith is provable. If you have faith, others can see it. If you are living with only the Greek concept of faith, what you have is belief. We are to have faith. And not in the George Michaels kinda way…

Thus also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
-James 2:17

7 Hebrew Words – Day 3
(2 Corinthians 13:5)

Today’s Hebrew word is the word Tefillah (Prayer). The Hebrew word for prayer actually means to “self evaluate.” How often do we think of prayer in this way? Aren’t we usually guilt of thinking of prayer as that thing we do when we want to ask God for something? Sure, that’s something prayer can be used for but prayer is meant to reflect on the Word of God and make sure that what we’re doing is lining up with what God asks us to do. Prayer is a personal thing, not just your chance to ask for that new car.

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are unqualified?
-2 Corinthians 13:5

7 Hebrew Words – Day 4
(Genesis 2:7)

The Hebrew word for “breath” is the word “Ruach”, which is also the same word that is used throughout the “Old Testament” for the word “spirit”. In the mind of the ancient Hebrew (you know, the culture that came up with the entire Bible that we read) breath and spirit were the same thing. The Spirit is such an integral part of our body that it is the very breath we take. How much are we stifling who we are if we’re denying our very breath?

When Yahweh Elohim formed man of dust from the ground, and He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
-Genesis 2:7 (LEB)

7 Hebrew Words – Day 5
(John 14.27)

The Hebrew word for “peace” is “Shalom”. The cool thing that I got out of this day’s devotional is that the Hebrew for “Jerusalem” (Yerushalayim) actually means “You shall see the peace of God”. Jerusalem doesn’t invoke images of peace at this point but there will one day be a NEW Jerusalem where we will all see the peace of God. Shalom shalom!

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you – not as the world gives, I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
-John 14:27 (LEB)

7 Hebrew Words – Day 6
(Psalm 19:1)

We’re supposed to love Yahweh our Elohim with all of our soul. The Hebrew word for “soul” is “Nephesh”. The cool thought that came from this day’s devotions was that in Psalm 19:1 we read how the heavens DECLARE the glory of God. Without any words, the glory of the Creator goes out to all of the universe. If we’re supposed to live our life in a way that shows that we love the LORD our God with all of our hearts and all of our souls, it should look just like the heavens. Let our lives declare the glory of God!

The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of His hands.
Psalm 19:1 (LEB)

7 Hebrew Words – Day 7
(John 6:19)

The Hebrew word for sea is “mayim”, which comes from the root word “Mah”. Mah is the Hebrew word for “Chaos”. So when you think about Jesus sending the disciples out onto the Sea of Galilea knowing that it was going to storm, He was, to them, sending them out into Chaos. What kind of chaos is going on in your life that you’re facing? I bet the disciples thought that it was too much and they all were going to die. I bet the disciples thought that it was more than they can handle and, if Jesus was going to save them, He should’ve done it hours before He did. But, He saved them, and He did it before any of them died. And because He did it on His time and not theirs, they learned great things about their Messiah. Be sure to trust in God’s timing. He’s got this.

Then when they had rowed twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were afraid.
-John 6:19

Habakkuk's Journey: Day 4

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

Habakkuk’s Journey: Day 4
(Habakkuk 2, Matthew 25:24-26)

Be Vigilant
It’s important that, as we wait for the God to answer our prayers, we don’t just sit there and wait. Habakkuk not only waited on God but he also continued to be that watchman on the wall. This was his duty and he didn’t stop doing his job just because he was waiting on God’s answer. He continued on in faith, knowing that the answer would come.

Be Patient
One of the things that is hard for us to understand (or even want to acknowledge) is that patience is extremely important. Oftentimes we view being patient as sitting around and doing nothing. We’re waiting for something to happen while doing nothing. And, if you’re looking at things with our natural eyes, this is exactly what it looks like. But, if God were to open our eyes to the supernatural all around us (like He did for Elisha’s servant – 2 Kings 6) we would see that while we’re being patient and doing nothing, God is the one who is acting. While we’re busying ourselves with waiting, we’re waiting because our Heavenly Father is moving mountains so that the answer we’re waiting for will be ready in perfection. It kind of puts a new slant on being patient, doesn’t it?

I’ve always viewed being patient as an act of doing nothing. But what great act could we make than letting the Creator of heaven and earth do His thing? This is the most powerful thing that we can ‘do’. Patience is so much more than a virtue, it’s our defining act of submission, faith and power.

Be Empathetic
It is important for us to do our best to try to see the world the way God sees the world. Over the past few days I’ve talked about how we should view sin as affront to God, just as God sees it. We should be outraged by its pervasiveness and not just accept it as a part of culture. But we also should be able to pity the powerful for their greatness which was gained by their sin. Over the short term (and “short” to God can mean something totally different than it means to us) you can gain a lot of prestige and power through sinful practices, and you can revel in that power by wallowing in even more iniquity. But, in the end, you will have your ‘day in court’ with God. Whether your downfall is on this earth or above in heaven, we will all sit in front of the judgment seat of Christ. Pray that your judgment is while you live, and you take the chance to turn from your wicked ways. We all “get ours” so pity those who persecute us and pray for them earnestly.

Be Positive
Don’t get discouraged as you wait for God to answer your prayers. It’s easy for us to give lip service to the adage that God’s ways are better than our ways and His timing is better than our timing, but we need to truly believe it. If we truly trust that this is the case, we can continue our waiting in happiness, knowing that when the answer comes, God will have been moving everything around us to make us ready for the best possible outcome. Continue on with a smile on your face because your Heavenly Father is at work. Don’t move forward in fear and agitation (or, worse yet, fearful to move at all). We have our jobs which we’ve been given, try to have gained as much with what you’ve been given while you wait for your answer (Matthew 25:24-26).

Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring out your wrath and also making them drunk in order to see their nakedness! You will be sated with shame rather than glory. Drink also yourself, and expose yourself! The cup of the right hand of Yahweh will come around upon you and disgrace upon your glory.
-Habakkuk 2:15-16

Where Did We Come From... Where Do We Go...

Genesis 6:1-4, Deuteronomy 32:8-9, John 1:1, 1 Samuel 3:1-21, Matthew 7:21-23

There seems to a bunch of us who have “grown up” in this “fringe” community. For me it seems that all I used to want to look into was Nephilim and aliens. I think that was the conspiracy carrot that God put on a stick in front of me. I kept following that carrot anywhere that it’d go. It led me into deeper study than I had ever known, and I had led church small groups before. And that is what led me understand the thing I had always been looking for, anyway: Jesus. That statement needs some unpacking but before I do that I want to say that I am by no means “perfect”. I still lose my temper for idiotic reasons. I still cuss when I’m in a bad mood, or even sometimes when I’m in a good mood. I still go through the same struggles any other human being goes through. The difference between me now and me 5 years ago is that while I may not be Jesus, I’m hanging out with Him a lot more.

So let’s unpack a little of what I meant when I said that I found Jesus. I have “always” been a Christian and I have had a decent understanding of what Christianity is (or, what it has become). And even though I had read all of the Gospels, and I had read Paul’s letters, and from time to time I would read the Old Testament and be able to connect Joseph to Jesus, or something like that, I don’t necessarily believe that I knew Jesus. Truthfully, I don’t really even know him yet. We all have people who we hang out with, but how many of those people know you? I have a lot of friends but I don’t have a lot of friends who truly know me. And that’s how I want to know Jesus.

So how would somebody get to know you that way? They would have to not just hang out with you all the time, they would have to know your story. They would have to know where you came from and how you got to where you are.

How would you go about doing that for Jesus? Well, we learn in the book of John that Jesus is the Word. There’s a silly Greek tradition that says that “The Word” is a Greek philosophical concept, and that’s what John was talking about.

You know what, let’s stop there for a second. That is a perfect example of what I’m getting at. We are 2,000 years removed from the time of Messiah. And we are 4,000 years removed from Abraham and the birth of the Israelite religion. And we’re 6,000 years removed from the birth of the context of it all. And for the last 2,000 years we have been trying to fit the Hebrew peg into the Greek hole. It’s never going to fit, but we keep pretending that it does. When John wrote down, “In the beginning was the Word,” he wasn’t talking about a mystical Greek concept. John was a Jew and was raised as a Jew, not a Greek. In fact, his name wasn’t even John, it was Yohanan. But I don’t want to make this about using Hebrew names. Jesus was/IS a Jew and you’re not going to KNOW Him if you think of Him as thinking with a Greek mindset.

What John was talking about was the “Word of God”. The very same thing that had been talked about all throughout the Tanakh. The Word is a person, and always has been. But what does this all mean? Before the rabbit trail goes too far, let’s circle back. If you want to know Jesus the way only your best friends in all of the world know you, you have to understand the Jewishness of Him. And you have to understand the references to the Word in the Old Testament. And you have to understand the Hebrew culture, since it was God who had taken them as His own. And, even though I’ve really moved away from a lot of the Genesis 6 stuff (not that I don’t get excited about it anymore, I’ve just expanded my field of study to its logical conclusion… Jesus), you really have to understand “the war of the seed” in order to get the history of where Jesus came from.

So how did it all happen that I moved from one station to the next? Well, the obvious answer is that it was a movement of God. I had always believed in the supernatural. And I had always believed that there were other gods, but none of them were God (there are many elohim, but only one of them is Yahweh). And I had always believed that understanding the Jewish nature of Christianity was important. And so, with that base, it only seems natural to move into all that I’ve talked about.

What’s the point of all of this anyway? What’s the point of me harping on getting to know Jesus the way that only my best friends know me? Well, maybe this is just me but if you know Jesus, that’s when He knows you, too. And, in the end, isn’t that what we’re all really trying to do?

I'll leave you with a teaching from Michael Heiser that gives an explanation of the many names of Jesus throughout the Old Testament. So, when you have 3 1/2 hours, give this a watch...