I can still be surprised

Recently I read, "Reading translations are like drinking downstream of the source. You cannot be sure it is pure." I wish I had taken time to write down the authors name so she could have credit.

Picture by Leah Tetzlaff

That phrase sums up why I study Hebrew. Meaning is often lost in translation. I am convinced that translators do their work with the best of intentions, but as the translation ages, readers, even teachers and preachers add their own understanding to the translated passage. I'm sure that happens even with perfect understanding of the original language.

Trust YHVH with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

The surprise this morning is Psalm 23. That simple psalm of trusting the Almighty when life is scary. We teach it to our little ones to give them comfort from the shadows that hide in the closet or under the bed.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. Psalm 23:1

The pictograph message of the Hebrew letters tells me more about "my shepherd" and "shall not want". Shepherd is ra'ah and tells of man who looks to the hand of the Almighty for his needs. But want is chacer which tells the story of being fenced in and dependent on man for my needs. Those who look to the hand of the Almighty are not wanting, Those dependent upon men suffer from want. It is rather like government health care. There are all sorts of benefits promised to citizens but we are wanting what was promised. Benefits and good health remain unattainable. We who look to the Almighty already have... what we desire.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou are with me. Psalm 23:4

This verse might have been an even bigger surprise. The Valley of the Shadow of Death is not a dark hike through the mountains, but a trench that is dug for your dead body, a grave.

All of our lives, all that we do, how we live on this earth, lead to one unavoidable destination. A grave. I honestly thought that this passage was about the difficult times of life. It is actually about our ultimate destination on earth. Death.

Hope is found in the pronoun "Thou" from the Hebrew attah, which speaks of Y'shua-Jesus. The root word of attah is the Aleph-Tav 'ot whom Y'shua-Jesus said was him. (Revelation 1:8, 21:6 and 22:13) We get our English translations down stream of Hebrew. The phrase came to us from Greek so we say that Y'shua is the Alpha and Omega from the Greek alphabet, which has no real meaning (unless we lean on our own understanding instead of acknowledging Him). The 'ot has a hey (the 5th Hebrew letter) as a suffix. Hey pictures insight from heaven. As a suffix it makes the root word fruitful (Some say it feminises the word, assuming that Hebrew is like French or Latin). When a believer goes to the grave, Y'shua-Jesus is with them.

And God raised Him (Y'shua-Jesus) up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it is impossible for Him to be held in its power. Acts 2:24

When life ends and your remains are set in the trench, the grave, Y'shua-Jesus is with you. Since death has no power over Him, it has no power over those who are in Him. But you MUST be born again. If not... you probably know the consequences of death without the Savior. I urge you, look to the Almighty, not men. ...and dwell in the house of the LORD for all eternity Psalm 23:6b

Maranatha,
Mrs. Hagerty, March 23, 2017

Morning Devotions: 1Kings 17:1-16

This week’s feature Psalm is Psalm 23.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Psalm 23:1-3 nasu

  
Today’s reading is 1 Kings 17: 1-16 which you may have found a little strange. But I happen to see it as an illustration of David’s Psalm. 
  
Before 1 Kings 17, no one seems to have heard of Elijah the Tishbite (From Tishbe, a town in Gilead, east of the Jordan River). Everyone knew who Ahab was, the King of Israel, the “tolerant” man who encouraged all kinds of religious expression to many different “gods” (demonic spirits). The state officially supported many priests of these wicked “gods”. But the creator, who loves Israel and righteousness, sent Elijah, not to be tolerant, but to call on his people to choose who they will serve. Why did he do that? Because. He knows the horrible consequences of choosing another god, not just in the life to come (heaven or hell) but also in this life. 
  
Demonic gods love the earth and hate the people living on it. They want to convince us that we are a problem, a parasite. But we know that the Almighty, in love, created the world for us, in. Demonic gods want us to sacrifice (kill) our babies and innocent children, who are the heritage The Almighty has blessed us with. They would have us cheat in our marriage, a bond that the Almighty gave us, lying to us about the joy we could have with another when really it only hurts us and everyone around us. Elijah came to the King of Israel and announced the Almighty’s plan to gain peoples attention. The sun god, who demanded child sacrifice before he would allow rain, was about to be squashed and Elijah was about to become public enemy number one to the Israeli administration because he spoke the truth. 
  
“YHVH is my shepherd….” He is the one who leads us to do his will. He is the one who protects us from the rage of the enemy. Elijah had to speak to Israel, ‘You cannot keep killing babies,’ that is not the way to get rain. The people had believed a gross lie. Popping the bubble of lies seems to make people angry, really they are just a reflection of the rage of the enemy who controls them (Ephesians 6:12). To protect Elijah from this rage, the Almighty brought Elijah to a lush green place beside still water. He provided food for him using birds that are known to be thieves at picnics to do it. 
  
It is stressful to have people get angry with you when you are the messenger of truth. After the soul of Elijah was restored beside those waters, the Almighty led him to another soul that was broken with sorrow. A starving woman who thought she was about to fix a last lunch for her son before watching him die a horrible death of starvation. Have faith! That means, do what the Almighty says to do, then watch the miracle that takes place. 
  
Does your soul need restoration? These are dark times we live in. I challenge you, with all of the tenderness that Elijah must have had for the widow and her son, be faithful to the Word of God. It is the most important thing you can do day by day. Then, watch the miracles take place. Maybe you will be "still waters and green pastors" for other troubled souls.

February 24, 2016
Mrs. Hagerty