WORD STUDY SUDDEN DEATH AND מקטב ישׁוד DESTRUCTION

Transcription

1 WORD STUDY SUDDEN DEATH AND מקטב ישׁוד DESTRUCTION Psalms 91:6: [Nor] for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday. On top of everything else, we do not have to fear the destruction that wasteth at noonday. I am not sure what that it is but it sounds bad and I am glad we don t need to be afraid of it. Different translation translates this in many and various ways. One translations says disasters that strikes at midday, another says destruction that lays waste at noon, the pestilence that ravages at noon, the calamity that destroys at noon, the disease that comes at noon, epidemics that strike at noon or the spirit that devastates at noontime. It seems every modern translation has its own idea as to what we are not to fear at noon. My question is what makes noon so special? Also, some translations say this is a disease other

2 say it is destruction that comes at noon. The word for destruction or disease that is used in the Hebrew is a rare Hebrew word qatab. It is used for both destruction and pestilence. In extra Biblical literature it is used to express the idea of dying very suddenly, and for heat stroke. Sudden death was not uncommon in ancient times. Heat stroke would bring on sudden death, drinking toxic water could bring on sudden death. Attack by wild animals or bandits would bring sudden death. Interesting that the word shud is also used with qatab. That word also means destruction and ruin. So the verse is talking about sudden death and ruin or destruction. When we hear the phrase sudden death and destruction we think of a natural disaster that destroys property and lives. I really believe that this passage is referring to natural disasters. You really don t see a storm coming at night as you do at noon. The sky gets really black when a storm comes. At night the sky is already black. We have all sensed the ominous feeling when right at midday the sky becomes black, street lights turn on automobiles turn the headlights on in midday and you know a big storm is coming. This series I am doing on Psalm 91 was prompted because of all the hype on the internet regarding the culminating events that the doomsayers are predicting for the month of September. I have met people, Christians, who are terrified over what might happen this month. I can t help but believe that Psalms 91 was written for such an occasion as this. People are preparing, hording supplies even getting weapons. It s a free country do what you want, but how many of these Christians are preparing themselves spiritually? If there is any message in Psalms 91 it is this, with the threat of qatab and shud, sudden death and destruction the only sure way to be safe is to be in the center of God s will.

3 This is just not for September, however, sudden death and destruction is always on our minds, the news media makes sure we know that. A shooter enters a school or movie theater and it is all over national news instantly. The odds are many thousand to one that your school or movie theater will have a shooter enter, but in the back of your mind, you are always thinking, maybe. I had a student who was an Army Airborne Ranger. He told how in jump school his instructor assured the members of his class that the parachute always opens properly 99.9% of the time. Yet, when my student stood at the door of the plane for his first jump he said he could not help but wonder: Am I that 1/10 of one percent? The Apostle Paul did not live a life of fear, yet if anyone had anything to fear it was Paul. The old boy had a price on his head, he was arrested, shipwrecked, tortured, bitten by poisonous snakes and when he sat in the prison at his lowest point the Lord came to him and said: Get ready Paul, it s going to get worse. Yet this is the old boy who said: For me to live is Christ to die is to gain. Philippians 1:21. He describe his fearlessness in Romans 8:35-39: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of

4 God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Apostle Paul feared only one thing, begin separated from the Love of God in Christ Jesus His Lord and he was convinced that nothing no qatab or shud would separate him from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Tomorrow is September 23 a red letter day for the conspiracy theorist. I know one thing for certain that will happen tomorrow, all the websites, You Tube videos and books predicting major qatab and shud will become obsolete after tomorrow. By the end of the month some bestselling books will see a sudden drop in sales. All these doomsayers who have made millions of dollars in speaking engagements and books sales will be driving their candy apple red Porsche s into their gated mansions saying: How about that, I was wrong. If anything else should actually happen, then I am just hanging my hat with the Apostle Paul in saying that I fear only one thing, that is being separated from the Love of God in Christ Jesus and not qatab (sudden death) or shud (destruction) will separate me from that, in fact it will only bring me closer to the Love of God in Christ Jesus. So I say, bring it on and I will be as disappointed as the doomsayers if nothing happens, only for different reasons.

5 WORD STUDY SUDDEN DEATH AND מקטב ישׁוד DESTRUCTION Psalms 91:6: [Nor] for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday. On top of everything else, we do not have to fear the destruction that wasteth at noonday. I am not sure what that it is but it sounds bad and I am glad we don t need to be afraid of it. Different translation translates this in many and various ways. One translations says disasters that strikes at midday, another says destruction that lays waste at noon, the pestilence that ravages at noon, the calamity that

6 destroys at noon, the disease that comes at noon, epidemics that strike at noon or the spirit that devastates at noontime. It seems every modern translation has its own idea as to what we are not to fear at noon. My question is what makes noon so special? Also, some translations say this is a disease other say it is destruction that comes at noon. The word for destruction or disease that is used in the Hebrew is a rare Hebrew word qatab. It is used for both destruction and pestilence. In extra Biblical literature it is used to express the idea of dying very suddenly, and for heat stroke. Sudden death was not uncommon in ancient times. Heat stroke would bring on sudden death, drinking toxic water could bring on sudden death. Attack by wild animals or bandits would bring sudden death. Interesting that the word shud is also used with qatab. That word also means destruction and ruin. So the verse is talking about sudden death and ruin or destruction. When we hear the phrase sudden death and destruction we think of a natural disaster that destroys property and lives. I really believe that this passage is referring to natural disasters. You really don t see a storm coming at night as you do at noon. The sky gets really black when a storm comes. At night the sky is already black. We have all sensed the ominous feeling when right at midday the sky becomes black, street lights turn on automobiles turn the headlights on in midday and you know a big storm is coming. This series I am doing on Psalm 91 was prompted because of all the hype on the internet regarding the culminating events that the doomsayers are predicting for the month of September. I have met people, Christians, who are terrified over what might happen this month. I can t help but believe that Psalms 91 was

7 written for such an occasion as this. People are preparing, hording supplies even getting weapons. It s a free country do what you want, but how many of these Christians are preparing themselves spiritually? If there is any message in Psalms 91 it is this, with the threat of qatab and shud, sudden death and destruction the only sure way to be safe is to be in the center of God s will. This is just not for September, however, sudden death and destruction is always on our minds, the news media makes sure we know that. A shooter enters a school or movie theater and it is all over national news instantly. The odds are many thousand to one that your school or movie theater will have a shooter enter, but in the back of your mind, you are always thinking, maybe. I had a student who was an Army Airborne Ranger. He told how in jump school his instructor assured the members of his class that the parachute always opens properly 99.9% of the time. Yet, when my student stood at the door of the plane for his first jump he said he could not help but wonder: Am I that 1/10 of one percent? The Apostle Paul did not live a life of fear, yet if anyone had anything to fear it was Paul. The old boy had a price on his head, he was arrested, shipwrecked, tortured, bitten by poisonous snakes and when he sat in the prison at his lowest point the Lord came to him and said: Get ready Paul, it s going to get worse. Yet this is the old boy who said: For me to live is Christ to die is to gain. Philippians 1:21. He describe his fearlessness in Romans 8:35-39: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril,

8 or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Apostle Paul feared only one thing, begin separated from the Love of God in Christ Jesus His Lord and he was convinced that nothing no qatab or shud would separate him from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Tomorrow is September 23 a red letter day for the conspiracy theorist. I know one thing for certain that will happen tomorrow, all the websites, You Tube videos and books predicting major qatab and shud will become obsolete after tomorrow. By the end of the month some bestselling books will see a sudden drop in sales. All these doomsayers who have made millions of dollars in speaking engagements and books sales will be driving their candy apple red Porsche s into their gated mansions saying: How about that, I was wrong. If anything else should actually happen, then I am just hanging my hat with the Apostle Paul in saying that I fear only one thing, that is being separated from the Love of God in Christ Jesus and not qatab (sudden death) or shud (destruction) will separate me from that, in fact it will only bring me closer to the Love of God in Christ Jesus. So I say, bring it on and I will be as disappointed as the doomsayers if nothing happens, only for different reasons.

9 WORD STUDY LIGHT NOOHRA אור (HEBREW) (ARAMAIC) OR נהר Daniel 2:22: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. This morning I was reading in the Book of James and found myself cross referencing the term Father of Lights found in James 1:17 to the Book of Daniel. What I found interesting in Daniel 2:22 is that the word for light is the Aramaic word noohra. Daniel chapters 2-8 were written in a Chaldean form of Aramaic. There are basically three words in Aramaic for light. One is qal which is a small flickering light. Another

10 word is lampa d which is a light coming from the sun or other natural sources like candle light. The third word is the common word for light and has multiple meanings. This is the word noohra which is used for the light of God. This is the light that Jesus declared himself to be when He spoke the word in the Old Galilean form of Aramaic. The Greek is not so specific, then again neither is the English. When Jesus said He was the light of the world in the Gospel of John the Greek word used was phos which is a reference to both natural light and spiritual light, just as we have only one word in English which is light. The Hebrew word for light is or which is spelled differently than the Aramaic word which is spelled Nun, Hei, and Resh. The Hebrew word is spelled Aleph, Vav, Resh. The Hebrew word for light expresses a connection between the natural and the supernatural or more specifically a connection of God to man through the Holy Spirit. The Aramaic word has the Hebrew word or embedded in it but is also expresses more of the wisdom and knowledge of God. Here is what is interesting in Daniel 2:22. The Aramaic word light is repeated two times. Repetition of words is not practiced in our Western languages as it is considered redundant. Yet, it is a very common practice in the Semitic languages. This is done for various reasons. Sometimes to show emphasis, sometimes to express a poetic thought, sometimes just for clarification. However, just because a word is repeated, that does not mean the second time the word is used that it means the same thing. In Classical Hebrew there are only 7,500 words compared to a million in Modern Hebrew. Hence, a word must go a long ways in Classical Hebrew and one word can have multiple meanings. Many translators just ignore the redundant use of a word, others simply assume

11 it means an emphasis and will render the English word more emphatically. Rarely will they consider the repetition of the word as an expression of a secondary meaning. Considering the importance of the Aramaic word noohra in this passage, I believe the writer specially chose the repetition to encompass its double meaning as a connection between man and God and the use of the word to express wisdom. Indeed the first form of the word noohra is spelled as nihra and then is repeated as noohra. The use of the first form uses a Yod between the Hei and the Resh showing the wisdom of God and the second form uses a Vav between the Hei and the Resh showing the connection of God to man. In other words Daniel was expressing exactly how he wanted to hear from God. He could have been given a word by a prophet, prophetic event, or an angel. This was too important so Daniel wanted to hear it directly from God. The sages teach that our dreams are a connection to the wisdom of God. Jewish literature is filled with stories of rabbis writing out a dream question. They would write out a question and place it under their mattress or pillow and that night God would give them the answer in a dream. It is believed by the sages that when you dream your physical body and mind are inactive which allows your spirit the total freedom to interact with God. During your waken state your interaction with God is hindered by the natural body and mind and creates a barrier between your spirit and God. It is your spirit that communicates with God and not your mind or body. Thus one third of your life is spent with the body and mind at rest so your spirit is free to commune with God. It is during this time your mind and God s mind are so interactive that you

12 would not be able to bear all the revelation you receive so God puts this information in the form of symbolism and if it is too much for you to bear He may not even allow you to remember your dream. Based upon the teachings of the ancient sages it would appear that nirhra noohra really means that Daniel was requesting God to give him an answer in a dream where it is not clouded in symbolism or forgotten but is a clear encounter with his spirit and the mind of God. God answered that prayer because we know in Daniel 2:22 that he received his answer from God in a night vision. The Aramaic word used here for vision is chazah which means a revelation through a vision or an appearance. Joined with the adjective layal (night) many sages believe this was a waking dream. The Talmud teaches that the last dream you have when you are waking up and are half awake and half asleep is considered a prophetic dream. Hence the phrase, and the light dwelleth with him would suggest in the Aramaic that in this waking dream he made a connection with God and in that connection he knew what was in the heart of God. I considered this because so many of my word studies have their origin from my waking dreams. For instance this morning as I was half awake and half asleep I saw the words James 1:17 and actually heard the word spoken in my waking dream. Up to now I always figured that when I dreamed about a Hebrew word or a Scripture verse I must have read it somewhere and planned to study it out and my subconscious was just reminding me to study it out. Then again, maybe, just maybe it was a nirhra noohra and God was instructing me to search it out. Oh well, either way I certainly have nothing to lose by making a

13 study of a verse or word that appears in a waking dream? No? {Word Study} Pass Through WORD STUDY Pass Through Exodus 12:23: For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. Pass Through: Hebrew Avar: (Ancient teaching) A light passing through something and leaving a shadow or darkness behind it. I wondered if the Israelites knew when God passed over their home. What was that experience like. Was it a light that passed by? Did they sit in terror, hoping upon hope they put the blood on the door post right? Did the father begin wondering if he used a proper lamb? Maybe there was a blemish on the lamb? Was there a great sigh of relief when God passed by and nothing happened? Is it possible for God to pass by and for nothing to happen? Does God pass over today, perhaps every day in our lives? Exodus 12:23 tells us that the Lord will pass through (Heb. Avar) the Egyptians, but He will pass over (Heb. Pesach to leap over) the Hebrews who have the blood on the door post. He will Avar (pass through) to smite the Egyptians. Yet, in the same breath he says he will not allow the destroyer to come into the houses of the Hebrews. So who is doing the destroying here? Is it God or another being, called a

14 destroyer? The word for smite is Nagaph is an unusual word. It could mean to smite with plague or disease, but it also means to stumble. Since it is clearly shown that it is a destroyer who will doing the dirty work, we would have to go with the word usage of stumble rather than smite. Thus, as the Lord passes through the Egyptians, He stumbles. In other words He is seeking to protect us from the destroyer but when He passes in judgment, sin causes him to stumble in His attempt to protect us. Jewish literature teaches that the word avar (pass through) is a picture of a light moving towards something and leaving a shadow behind. The Ayin represents spiritual insight, the Beth represents the heart and the Resh represents judgment. In other words, Jewish literature teaches that the light of God passed through (avar) the Egyptians, inspecting and judging their hearts. Thus when God avar those without the blood on the door, they averted the light and hid in their sin such that the destroyer was permitted to have his evil way with them. Yet when he came to the doors with the blood he passed over or pesach. The word is spelled Pei speak, Samek protection, and Hei God s presence. In other words when He pesached or passed over the door with the blood he turned to the destroyer and spoke (pe): No, this house is protected (samek) by My Presence (he). Whether they had sin or not, the blood on the door post allowed God to leap over and perform no Ayin or spiritual insight on the sin. The blood made them exempt from the consequences of their sin. The destroyer or enemy cannot do his dirty work until God judges sin. Once He does and finds sin, He stumbles or must turn away leaving a shadow or darkness and turn us over to the destroyer, the enemy, who is chomping at the bit just waiting for his chance to do his dirty work. Only through the blood of Jesus and nothing else, not years

15 of study in the Word, ministry, or good deeds, but only the blood of Jesus will cover our sins so that he will turn to the destroyer who wants to have his way with us and He will say pesach No, this one is protected by my presence. Devotional Jeremiah 2:2 Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar and Nevim Arith Hayomin: Jeremiah 2:2: Go and cry into the ears of Jerusalem and saying, Thus said the Lord, I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in land that was not sown. After consulting George, my Greek teaching friend, my study partner and I were studying John 1:1 in the Greek and throwing rocks at the Jehovah Witnesses who translate the verse as: The Word was a god. As we pondered the grammatical reasons why this verse should be rendered: The Word was God I suddenly had an epiphany. I suddenly realized the importance of why John put the predicative nominative before the nominative (bet that really impressed you). I mean I knew this, you know this, we all know this, but do we really KNOW it. If the later manuscripts are correct and the Jehovah Witnesses are right and this is really saying the Word was a god, then what you have is God the Father sitting up on His throne drinking his Mogen David wine while Jesus is being whipped and tortured and thinking: OOO! I bet that really smarts. But what John is saying is that the very essence and being of Jesus was God. That means that every whip lash was felt by God the Father. When the nails were driven into the hands of Jesus, God the Father felt that same pain exactly as Jesus

16 felt it. When Jesus fell under the weight of the cross, the God who can juggle the earth and other planets like a circus troubadour fell under the weight of the cross. God loved us so much, He wanted to feel what we feel when we suffer. He wanted to know what it as like to cry out in pain as we do. He wanted to walk our road. With that I look upon Jeremiah 2:2 with new respect. God s love is pictured as a rejected lover remembering his beloved and her love during her espousal. The word in the Hebrew for espousal comes from the root word kalah which means a bride. He is remembering what it was like when Israel had practically nothing wandering in the wilderness and how Israel loved God loving her new husband during this time. Now that Israel has grown comfortable, rich, and no longer living on manna every day or needing that daily miracle, their love has grown cold and yet God remembers that time, He remembers and longs for that love again. The thing we miss is in that word remember. What is God saying when He says that he remembers? The word in the Hebrew is zacar. It is spelled Zayin, Kap, Resh. I kind of wish I were in my office with my Daleth and Looking Glass so I could step behind and see what Zayin, Kap and Resh are up to. But soft, I hear someone calling my name. I am on the top floor of an assistant living building with my 99 year old client who is asleep, so he is not calling my name. It is coming from the porch and when I step out on the porch I meet Resh (which means top or head as in top floor). I meet Resh on the porch who is looking out over the town of Lombard. I know the Lilac Park is off to the South and the Lilacs are now in bloom. But it is dark out and I can not see the park. I try to remember what it looked like when my study partner and I visited the park the other day with the crazy idea of going to the park to study. As I tried to remember suddenly Zayin and Kap appear in formation with Resh to spell the word remembrance. Yes, I told Zacar, I am trying to remember

17 what the Lilacs, Tulips and other flowers were like but I can t picture them. Sadly, I stepped from the porch into the living room of my client, only it wasn t his living room. I was in some sort of park, but certain not the Lilac Park in Lombard. This park was filled with weeds covered with thorns and thorn bushes. There were no colors, no beautiful flowers. As I walked through these thorns, I knew I had passed through the Looking Glass, I was in Hebrew Esoteric Land and I called out to Zayin, Kap, and Resh: Help me, these thorns, the shadows, the darkness it is so depressing. Suddenly, Zayin appeared. Zayin looks a little like a sword and one of it s meanings is a sword. Zayin suddenly started slashing away at the thorns and thorn bushes clearing a path and allowing sunlight to come in. I looked at my hand and there is Kap resting in my palm. Actually Kap means palm as in the palm of the hand. Kap also means heart. I looked up and I saw Resh. Resh is shaped like a path that makes a sharp left turn. Resh is directing me to walk in a path where I can not see the end. However, Zayin immediately makes the turn and cuts away at the thorns. As I follow the path directed by Resh and made clean by Zayin, I suddenly come upon a beautiful Lilac Bush. Kap whispers to me: It s ok, take the Lilac into the palm of your hand. As I did, I placed it over the Kap which also represents my heart. Suddenly when I pressed the Lilac into my heart, I found myself back on my client s porch and it was sunny out and I could see off in the distance Lombard s Lilac Park. Only now I could remember it s beauty. Kap said: You see it now because you have embraced into your heart. Zayin and Resh had to make the way for you to find the source for your remembrance. As I stood on the porch with Zacar snuggled up to me I heard Zayin say; You know I have another meaning, it is a binding with God. Kap then said: I too have another meaning, I represent God s heart. Then Resh said: Remember too, that I represent the Holy Spirit. Then Zacar said: When you think of

18 God remembering you, think on our deeper meaning to remembrance which is: God binding you to His heart through the power of the Holy Spirit. Devotional Job 12:22 Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar and Nevim Arith Hayomim: Job 12:22: He discovereth deep things out of the darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. My study partner has a friend who related a dream to us. In this dream she found she was in the ocean and was sinking down to the bottom. Jesus came and took her hand and led her down to the bottom of the ocean. On the way down a shark came along and Jesus put up his other hand and the shark turned away. Then an eel appeared and again Jesus held his hand and the eel turned away. Finally they reached the bottom and a light appeared revealing a treasure chest filled with pearls and gold. She indicated that God gave her Job 12:22 in relation to this dream. I believe that dream really illustrates Job 12:22. First thing I question is why does God have to discover something. Doesn t He already know everything? The word, discover could come from one of two roots. It is either Gimel Lamed Lamed galal which means to discover or the root word could be Gimel Lamed Hei which I believe fit s the context much better as this means to reveal something that is held secret. The words deep things is amak which also means that which is unsearchable. Thus God is revealing secret things which are unsearchable. The word darkness is chasak. Now the

19 Masoretes put the dot over the shin on the right side. However, if we put the dot over the left side, this very same word with the same consonants could mean that which is restrained. What I have now for this verse is: God is revealing secret things which are unsearchable and which He has restrained. In the last part of the verse we have and bringeth out to light, the shadow of death. The word shadow of death is considered by translators to be a compound word. You have sal from the root word shalal and mot for the word death. Keep in mind that in the original text there were no separation between letters to nor were there any verse separation. In other words the phrase in English The cat ran home if written like the original text in Hebrew would appear like this thctrnhm Without vowels and word separation is appears almost impossible to read this. That is where the difficulty in translating Hebrew lies. The Masoretes introduced a separation in letters to form the words and a separation to form verses and chapters. In the original script, the whole Torah is like one very long word, in fact the sages teach that the Torah is one word. My point is this. In the compound word, Shadow of death that last letter, the Taw, could easily be the first letter to the first word in the next verse. That would put the verb in the next verse in a future tense He will make great rather than He is making great. To put the Taw in the next verse would make better sense than to leave it out. Now if we take that Taw and put it in the next word we are left with just one word rather than two. Instead of Shadow of death we would have His secrets. The word for light has a preposition and article attached and thus we would render the last part of this verse as: He brings his secrets to the light. The light does not go to His secrets, he brings them to the light. If we abide in the light, he will bring his secrets and mysteries to us like a waiter bringing

20 your dinner in a restaurant. I would render this verse to read: He reveals his secrets which are unsearchable from that which he has restrained and will bring to the light His secrets. The secrets and mysteries of God can not be found by searching for them because he has put them in restraint. However, if we abide in His light we will bring them to us and reveal them to us. To learn the secrets of God we must abide in His light or for me that means to abide in His heart. My study partner mentioned that God gave her this verse to describe meditation. That would make sense. Meditation is just sitting at God s table in the light and letting God serve you with a meal of His secrets and mysteries.