Hebrew – It Is Finished

Tammuz

Every month in Biblical times had a different meaning and purpose… it was a new prophetic season.

keep eyes on prize Jews in Biblical times had a special celebration at the beginning of every month, it was a time to put God first and seek direction for the new month. It was called Rosh Chodesh (Head of the Month). They came together to praise God, to give their first fruit offerings and to hear what God was saying for the month….to gain direction for the month ahead. They were only able to hear Him by listening to the prophets…..we, however, hear Him face to face. He abides in us and speaks directly to us.

Tammuz is the 4th month of the Hebrew Biblical calendar and the 10th month of the Jewish civil calendar. By looking at these Hebrew months in the Bible, we learn to think like God thinks. Romans 15:4 says For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. Tammuz is a month that teaches us to worship and stay faithful. Each month was associated with a tribe and Tammuz was associated with the tribe of Reuben. By looking at Reuben we learn this month to wait on God and to choose to trust Him.

Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob and Leah, and as such he was born into a position of great privilege.

In Genesis 49:3,4 Jacob prophesies over Reuben that “he is my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power.” This was Reuben’s position… firstborn son of Jacob. He was destined to inherit the double portion. He was to be the leader of the tribe as well as the priest of the family. But like his Uncle Esau, Reuben lightly esteemed his birthright…. he acted so disgracefully that he forfeited his birthright – Gen 35:22.

This incident changed the course of his life. The double portion was taken away and given to Joseph. His leadership as a tribe was taken away and given to Judah. His priesthood as a tribe was taken away and given to the tribe of Levi. When Jacob blessed the other sons he pronounced a curse on Reuben – telling him he would not excel.

Why did Reuben do this? As we look at Reuben’s family life, we see that their family had been through a traumatic period…..

They had fled from Laban who had chased them down and would have killed Jacob if God had not intervened.
Escaping Laban then they faced a confrontation with Esau who also tried to kill Jacob
Entering Canaan their sister Dinah was raped at Shechem and two of her brothers massacred all the men of the city in retaliation. Canaanites were outraged.
Fleeing Shechem, Rebekah’s nurse Deborah died and was buried at “The Oak of Weeping” Then Rachel went into labor and died giving birth to Benjamin.
Still, they journeyed on until they came to the tower of Eder where they finally stopped.

So the whole family had gone through a time of tremendous upheaval, violence, and loss. They had to just keep moving through all of it. Not until they stopped at the tower of Eder could they even begin to process what they had just gone through!

That’s when Reuben went in and found solace with Bilhah. He wasn’t even thinking about the Blessing that lay ahead in his future…. he wasn’t thinking about all he could lose because of this choice. He simply wanted comfort and he wanted it NOW!

He was desperate for comfort and security and sought them outside of God.

The biblical tower of Eder was built near Hebron as a watchtower that shepherds watched their flocks from. Eder became a symbol of God’s watchfulness over His people. It was a place of refuge. That’s where Reuben went to Bilhah. It was here that he should’ve sought refuge in God. Allowing Abba Father to refresh his soul… a soul that had been through a series of traumatic events. Doing that would have restored his vision and helped him walk out his prophetic destiny.

But instead, he sought out Bilhah. Bilhah means terror or trouble. It also means worn out…. something so worn out that it serves no purpose. Another possible definition means foolish. These definitions sum up for us what Reuben was experiencing when he slept with Bilhah. His action was foolish…Ps 14:1 – a fool says there is no God… a better translation is a fool says in his heart “no God!”. Reuben by yielding to sin was saying no to God… no to His promises, no to His destiny for Reuben, no to trusting God to see him through this terrible time in his life. He was so worn out in life that he ended up losing sight of his purpose in God.

Reuben’s name means “behold a son”. Behold means to see…. see a son! It’s important in this season that we begin to see ourselves as “sons”. Sonship is our destiny that was marked out for us in love by God (Eph 1:5). Having correct vision… seeing ourselves as God sees us, in a position of sonship… will keep us from forfeiting our spiritual inheritance.

God wants to awaken us to the revelation of “Sonship” in our lives in this season.

Psalms 2:7-8 tells us that we are to declare/decree our position as sons. Gal 4:1-7 tells us that it is time to claim our inheritance as sons because we are no longer slaves. And Romans 8:14-17 tells us that as sons & daughters we are endowed with authority in His kingdom. This is a time to displace, to cast off an “orphan spirit” and embrace the spirit of sonship that is ours, with all of the rights, privileges, and responsibilities (John 5:19).

Because of Reuben’s lack of vision, his birthright was forfeit. The wonderful inheritance… the prophetic destiny… God intended for him was lost. Reuben took his eyes off the prize (Phil 3:14). When you lose sight of the goal you are always in danger of not fulfilling your destiny. Wrong vision will cost you your inheritance. The sad thing is his descendants followed in his footsteps… the tribe of Reuben also lost their inheritance.

Next time we’ll look at how Reuben’s descendants followed in his footsteps……

~ Robin

No Hebrew word for obey

I was reading an article by Rabbi Daniel Lapin, and he said that there is no Hebrew word for “obey.” I always just assumed the actual word ‘obey’ was in the Hebrew Bible….it’s translated in our English Bibles, and it’s definitely in most sermons that are preached. I did some further research, and sure enough, there is no word in Hebrew for our English word ‘obey.’ The word translated obey in our Bibles is the Hebrew word “shema.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against obedience, and I’m definitely not advocating for disobedience. I am one of those people that obedience just comes naturally to. I was an extremely obedient kid… to the point of losing a cat once… but that’s another story for another blog! I also like rules…truthfully I LOVE following rules and setting them. In fact, my kids and husband call me the rule maker! I’m sure they mean it as a term of endearment… right??

Just as there is no Hebrew word meaning “obey,” there also is no English word for shema. While this Hebrew verb translates as “hear” it means much more than just hearing or listening. The King James Bible chose the verb ‘to hearken’ rather than hear. But now, nobody hearkens anymore so the English translators of the Bible didn’t know what to do with this verb. So they translated it as ‘obey’.

keys bible

But “obey” poses a problem…before we obey we usually go through a 3 part process.

We hear what God says
we evaluate the command based on our understanding
we make a choice to obey based on our evaluation.

That’s a Greek mindset to understand first then obey. But God doesn’t give us instructions in order that we might understand Him! He gives His instructions to us that we might live life well… Proverbs 10:17 “Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life.”

There are 613 commandments in the Old Testament and 1050 commandments in the New Testament. With so many “commandments” you would naturally assume that obedience is what God is requiring. But He’s not looking for obedience from us the way we understand obedience.

Webster’s Dictionary defines obey as to do what someone tells you to do or what a rule, law, etc., says you must do. Some synonyms are to submit, to keep, to comply, to be governed by, bow to, do one’s bidding, do what is expected, do as told, to take orders. Lots of English synonyms for a word that’s not even in the Hebrew language.

IF NOT OBEDIENCE — WHAT IS GOD LOOKING FOR?

So, what does God require from us? He’s looking for shema levot….for hearing hearts. A hearing heart is a heart that is intent on… or committed to… doing whatever God commands… whatever He asks from us. And most importantly a hearing heart is rooted in love (Deut 11:1; John 14:15; 1 John 5:3).

The first time “shema” appears in Scripture is in Genesis 3:8. “And they heard (shema) the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

Adam and Eve had just sinned and eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This scripture shows us God’s response to them in spite of their sin… in spite of them not following their hearing hearts and doing what God required of them. God came walking through His garden in the cool of the day.

The word walk is halak; it has the idea of moving or going as opposed to just sitting there. The term “cool of the day” wasn’t just added as a poetic phrase, the word cool is the word ruach which is the word for spirit.

Immediately following their disobedience they “heard”(shema) the Spirit of the Lord in the Garden ready to walk with them… eager to enjoy fellowshipping Spirit to spirit with them. They heard His Spirit come into the garden desiring to be with them like always.

To hear (shema) is hearing with understanding, attention, and with a response. Response to what? To come to Him and walk with His Spirit as usual. Allowing the wind of His Spirit to blow over them and make things right.

Our translations then tell us that God said “where are you?” Actually, in the Hebrew it is a Semitic idiomatic expression meaning “he is nowhere.” God wasn’t asking a question; He wasn’t asking where Adam was. He was crying out “Adam is nowhere in My heart.”

This is not a picture of an angry God who is looking for Adam so that he can punish his “disobedience”… this first look at sin for us is a picture of a caring Father so sad that His son left His heart.

Today let’s have hearing hearts, let’s respond to Him, walk with His Spirit, committed to doing whatever He asks. Today let’s be hearers and doers.

~Robin

Goodness and Grace

chesed love Yesterday we looked at the word good. We studied 1 Chronicles 16:34 O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good… ” and learned that good is not an adjective describing God but it is who He is (see yesterdays post entitled “Goodness“). Good and God are the same thing… they are a single idea. He is good! And He can’t be anything but good to you!

Good and God are the same thing… they are a single idea. He is Good! And therefore He can’t be anything but Good to you!

The rest of that scripture says “for His mercy (lovingkindness) endures forever”. The word mercy is not an accurate translation. Translators use words like kindness, lovingkindness, mercy, loyalty, steadfast love, and graciousness because there really isn’t a proper English word that encapsulates the meaning of this word. Perhaps loyal love is close.

The Hebrew language has a word for this loyal love that is richer and deeper than anything in English—it is chesed (KHEH-sed). It is a covenant word that goes beyond the requirements of mere duty and obligation…..it is a love that WILL NOT let me go! It is from the root word chacad, which is to be good or kind…..”to bow down.” It is a picture of God coming down to where we are (in the person of Jesus) and providing us the Way of Salvation! It truly is covenant love…. an immovable, unshakable, unchanging loyalty to His covenant with us.

We also quoted Ps 23:6 yesterday “Surely goodness and loving kindness (chesed) will follow me all the days of my life…. goodness, and chesed (God’s loyalty to His covenant) will follow me ALL the days of my life. The word”surely” is set as a seal upon it… it’s guaranteed… a done deal! It doesn’t depend on what I do or don’t do… I can add nothing of myself to it. I am sealed with His goodness and chesed!

Psalm 107:1 is the same verse as 1 Chronicles 16:34 (above) and the same word chesed is used. Psalm 136 is another identical Scripture….again the word used is chesed although our English uses the translation mercy. I like Psalm 136 in the Complete Jewish Bible translation (you can go to bible gateway.com to read it)…. this translation always translates chesed as grace, and not just in this Psalm only.

One of the earliest usages of chesed is by Abraham’s servant, Eliezer, when he was sent to find a wife for Isaac. He realized that his success was because of the Father’s chesed (translated “kindness” in Genesis 24:12). It was because of God’s covenant loyalty to his master Abraham.

Moses used this term to show why God delivered Israel from captivity in Egypt…. because of covenant loyalty (chesed). “You in Your mercy (chesed) have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation” (Exodus 15:13).In Ex 34:5-8 after God gives Moses the Tablets, He descended in a cloud and stood before him proclaiming who He is… verse 6 translates

In Ex 34:5-8 after God gives Moses the Tablets, He descended in a cloud and stood before him proclaiming who He is… verse 6 translates chesed as abounding in goodness! He abounds in covenant loyalty towards us.

We see a similar statement in John 1:17 “grace (charis) and truth (reality) came through Jesus Christ.” Jesus is the manifestation and the reality of grace and truth… of chesed (covenant loyalty). Thus we see the connection between the Hebrew word chesed (translated here as “goodness”) and the Greek charis, meaning “grace.”

Ps 117 says Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his loving kindness (chesed) toward us, and the faithfulness (truth) of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!…..The CJB translation says in verse 2… For his grace has overcome us, and Adonai’s truth continues forever.

Grace and truth! Jesus came full of grace and truth….this had always been His character and by extension the character of His Father.

Chesed is covenant word …. it is the Old Testament equivalent of the New Testament word charis which is “grace.” Sometimes we view the Old Testament (Judaism) as a religion of laws and the New Testament (Christianity) as a religion of grace. God extended his grace in both Testaments… both Covenants. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He revealed his grace to the fullest in the New Testament coming of Jesus …John 1:16-17 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace…….grace and truth came through Jesus Christ…. but His grace is also displayed throughout Old Testament Scriptures

Chesed is definitely a word that begs for a deeper study than we can give to this one blog post. Now that I know it is the equivalent of New Testament grace, it will change how I read scriptures and it will definitely cause me to do a deeper study of it. I hope it sparked you to do a deeper study as well.

Hosea 6:6 says that God desires chesed (covenant loyalty) not sacrifice, and He desires the knowledge of Him (yada – intimate knowing as in a husband and wife) not burnt offerings.

That reminds me of Paul’s words in Phil 3:10 that I may know (ginosko in Greek – the equivalent of the Hebrew word yada) Him and the power of His resurrection. By going deeper, drawing nearer to Him… knowing Him more intimately… only then can I fully understand chesed.

God’s grace is a given that is always being given! There is nothing you can do to earn or merit His grace. It is given because of chesed… His covenant loyalty toward us…. HIS LOVE THAT WILL NOT LET US GO!

~ Robin

Adar – 5776 (2016)

Genesis 24:1 says that Abraham was blessed “in all things”.. that means he was blessed in EVERY AREA of his life. Galatians 3:13-14 says that Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law and blessed us with the same blessing he promised to Abraham…. God wants you to walk in the Blessing… for it to be as full and complete (in all things) in your life as it was in Abraham’s. We walk in this blessing by having a Hebrew mindset. When you learn to think like God, you begin to prosper and walk in the blessing. Studying the Hebrew months is one way we can begin to have a Hebrew mindset and think like God. In April 2014, I began thinking about what the months of the year on our calendar mean to me.

In April 2014, I began thinking about what the months of the year on our calendar mean to me. No coincidence since April is a month associated with the tribe of Issachar, who was the tribe anointed to understand times and seasons as well as what to do in those times. To me, the months on our regular calendar reflect my life… birthdays, anniversaries, deaths, losses, and of course since we farm, our harvest seasons… some of these things are good and worth celebrating…. and some are sad remembrances. This

This Gregorian calendar connects you to the earth realm. It is great for tracking our life events but to know God’s schedule of events it’s good to understand His calendar…. the Hebrew calendar. His calendar is full of hope and causes us to reach for those higher things.. it causes us to be God focused… to be Kingdom minded. Although some months on the Jewish calendar are designated as sad months, not full of hope at all! But as you study them further, you begin to see God’s original plan for them and prophetically begin calling forth His redemptive plans for each month. Adar is one of those REALLY good months… in fact so good, that the Jews designated it as the only double month on Leap Years (or pregnant years as it’s called in Hebrew)… those specific years (which is this year) we get Adar I and Adar II.

Adar I starts today Feb 10th and goes through March 10th. And then we begin Adar II on March 11th – April 8th. The name Adar means “exalted“, “praised“, “power“, and “strength” According to the rabbis, when Adar enters, joy and happiness enter with it. It is the final month of winter and also the final month of the year (on the Hebrew feast calendar)… an end to a season. It is a month of celebration as we celebrate Purim (March 23rd this year). It’s a month of divine reversals, of curses overturned. This is a time for evil decrees set against you to be broken.

This month walk in the revelation that IN CHRIST there has been a divine reversal… all curses have been overturned and evil decrees that were once set against you have ALREADY been broken.

Naphtali is the tribe associated with this month. The prophecies spoken over Naphtali are in Gen 49:21 “Naphtali is a free running doe, he speaks delightful words” and Deut 33:23 “Naphtali is abounding with the favor of the LORD and is full of his blessing;”.

This month choose to walk in the joy that is yours in Christ…. in celebration … experiencing His divine turnarounds in our lives. Walk in the freedom that Christ purchased for you, speaking “delightful words”… His words.. thereby enjoying the fullness of His abundant favor and full blessing.

We’re not trying to get these things but realizing that they are already ours IN CHRIST.

~ Robin