Hebrew

spirit…breath

/ Being Woven / 16 Comments

The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD,
searching all his innermost parts. Proverbs 20:27

The spirit of man…the breath of man…the mind of man…. Those are various interpretations of the Hebrew word for this spirit.

נְשָׁמָה

nĕshamah

blast, breath, inspiration, soul, spirit

God breathed life into man:

...then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. Genesis 2:7

“As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, (3) as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. Job 27:2-4

In verse (3), “breath” and “spirit” are both this same Hebrew word, used in different context. When looking at various versions of the Bible, you will notice that “breath” and “spirit” are interchanged at times. For example:

…for while my spirit is still in me, and the breath from God is in my nostrils,… NET

…as long as my breath is still in me and the breath from God remains in my nostrils,… CSB

Thus says God, the LORD,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
Who gives breath to the people on it
and Spirit to those who walk in it: “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you;… Isaiah 42:5-6a

Now, in verse 5, the word “breath” is the Hebrew word above, but the word “spirit” is defining the Holy Spirit. The word, רוּחַ, ruwach, does carry many of the same definitions yet, more often, means “the Holy Spirit.”

Sometimes, looking up the Hebrew or Greek becomes important in order to gain the full meaning. Even then, it can become even more confusing. The bottom line is that we must be open to the Holy Spirit in order to be taught what God means in His inerrant Word. Oh, that I would have ears to hear, eyes to see…always, Lord, always.

Back to Proverbs 20:27 ~

The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD,
searching all his innermost parts. Proverbs 20:27

God is the Father of lights (James 1:17). He sees us where we are, as we are. He loves us even in our sin. He sees all that cannot be seen by the world. Whether it is a thought or a sin, our past, our hidden secrets…God sees all. The word-picture here is that our own breath or spirit or soul lights the way to those things we think are deeply buried. Our hidden nature is really not hidden to us because we have lived it along our life-long journey. Maybe, as we walk this path, we can keep these things quiet, but they are quietly eating away at us. God sees and knows what we need. He desires repentance. He wants to draw us nearer to Himself… to the One Who absolutely loves us.

As God’s light seeks into our dark corners, He also sees all that is good and tells us He is well pleased. If something is unpleasing to Him, the Holy Spirit taps our conscience in order to bring that something out. He wants us to be a reflection of Himself. How can we when we hold dark issues under the surface? We cannot reflect the image of Christ. We must want to though. That is what He called us to do, to be.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord Who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:24

Father God, I pray that I hide nothing for which my mind can dwell and haunt my spirit-self and even my physical body. I want to live for You, growing in purity and holiness with each step. I know You know all that is hidden in me. I also know that I don’t want to face anything hard, Lord. That is just my nature. BUT…I also want to be cleaned up for You, my Lord. I do not want to live with things that eat away at me, spiritually and/or physically because then I lose the intimacy with You. I am too busy worrying about keeping something hidden or am wondering if I should say something to someone, and the list goes on and on. I want to have it all opened like a book. I want to repent of my sinful, wayward ways. I want to be forgiven. Thank You, God. I am, indeed, forgiven. Praising God with my every breath as it has less and less to deal with. I love You, Abba Father. In the Wonderful Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD! Psalm 150:6

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Turning Back

/ Being Woven / 20 Comments

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“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD.  Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.”  Ezekiel 18:30

שׁוּב

shuwb

to turn back, return to God

restore, repair,  refresh

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Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets long ago.  Acts 3:19-21

μετανοέω

metanoeō

to change one’s mind with intent on obtaining God’s pardon

to change one’s mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins

conduct worthy of a heart changed and abhorring sin

Repent … a word that I have misunderstood from the beginning of my spiritual walk with my LORD. Apologizing over and over again has only brought me back to the same sinfulness over and over again. I am truly sorry for my ways. I am sorry I mess up, but beating myself over the head again and again surely does not make me a better Christian. It becomes a mental as well as a spiritual handicap. I feel stuck and browbeaten. The worst part is that I feel like I am the one doing it to myself. Yet satan is the beater, the tempest, the devil dressed up, the evil one torturing me and accusing me. And I believe him far too often. I fall for his lies.  

Repent … I know I have done many wrongs. I admit them. It is in the turning away from those ways and returning to God that brings me to the pathway He has for me. I want to walk it with Him. My life changes. I live differently than I did before I made the turn. The spiritual upward spiral toward God, a beautiful relationship with Him, abiding in the LORD, is repentance. I turn as a ballerina turns, keeping eyes focused on a point, twirling from point to point. Jesus is my point. I turn to Him, staying focused upon Him for balance, for holding center.

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It is by faith, not anything I do today or any other day, that I am forgiven. Leaning on myself is not the answer. Leaning on the LORD is truly the only answer.

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.  Revelation 3:19-20

By grace…I trust
By hope…I see, I hear.
By faith…I believe.

By love…I desire the One Who forgives me.

Repent … by prayer
Repent … on my knees
Repent … moment by moment
Repent… from my heart
Repent …. with eyes fixed upon Jesus
Repent … live by the Spirit
Repent

 …looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,…    Hebrew 12:2a

LORD, may the Spirit change my heart every moment of every day to be Yours, to follow Your Ways. May I release the reigns from my own grip and trust, with open-handed faith, that You are my Caregiver, my Provider, my Husband, the Lover of my soul. LORD, I pray that as I grow in You, that I understand that I must die to this self and live for You. You are forever gracious. I am forever grateful. I pray in the Name of Jesus, my Focal Point. Amen. 

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Shamayim

/ Being Woven / 14 Comments

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In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  Genesis 1:1

שָׁמַיִם

shamayim

  • heaven, heavens, sky
    • visible heavens, sky
      • as abode of the stars
      • as the visible universe, the sky, atmosphere, etc
    • Heaven: the abode of God, the dwelling place of God

On my last post, My Citizenship is in Heaven, I wrote of the assurance of having my home in Heaven and not here on the earth.  During these times, that promise is such a calming assurance.  Heaven is a beautiful word in Hebrew, shamayim.  A Hebrew word ending in im is plural…sense the vastness of the heavens.  Go outside on a clear night; lie down on the grass.  Look up and see the wide heavens filled with stars and planets aglow far away yet right before your very eyes.  The vast heavens draw us nearer to the God of Creation.

Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.  Deuteronomy 10:14

“There is none like the God of Jeshurun (Israel),
Who rides the heavens to your help,
And through the skies in His majesty.”  Deuteronomy 33:26

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house that I have built!”  1 Kings 8:27

Not only did God create such beauty with such depth, width, height, and length, but, ultimately, God sacrificed His One and Only Son.  He loved us so much that He gave His All.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  John 3:16

I am blessed beyond measure.   

And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  Hebrews 10:10

ONCE AND FOR ALL!   Hallelujah!

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God is mighty.  He is great.  He is above all.

The Mighty One, God the LORD,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.  Psalm 50:1

Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise Him in His mighty heavens!  Psalm 150:1

He is holy.

“Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God.”  Leviticus 20:7

Our Redeemer—the LORD of hosts is His name—
is the Holy One of Israel.  Isaiah 47:4

As a child of God, a child who loves her Father and Creator, I desire to be holy as He is holy.  I am continuously learning to be humble, to bow, to kneel before Him.  I am always learning what this call means…to be holy.  Oh, but the delight that comes to me in this learning to be holy is that I “shall obtain fresh joy” … FRESH JOY!  Oh, is this not a beautiful gift?

The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD,
and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.  Isaiah 29:19

FRESH JOY!!

Only through God’s holiness, His strength, His peace, His love can I live in this world with my eyes focused heavenward…on Eternity.  Ability to hold my tongue from speaking that which is ungodly is a gift of my God for He is holy.  I can speak words of encouragement, and take my thoughts captive, for He is holy.  Forgive me, Father, when I fail.

I am only able to be holy, as He is Holy, when I spend time in His Presence and in His Word.  As I am obedient to Him, He conforms me, molds me into His image.   

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He Who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”  1 Peter 1:14-16

Looking up, I begin to count the stars, knowing every single one is His.  I go barefoot in the sand, feeling zillions of grains between my toes, under my feet, knowing that they are each His as well.  I stand at the ocean’s edge, feeling the waves pulsing or crashing at the shore.  I am overwhelmed at the immensity of all that is God’s.

You are Holy, LORD, and are due my full respect and adoration.  I am so filled with gratitude for Your sacrifice of Your Son for me, for saving me from myself, my sins.  You poured out Your Love for me, for others such as me from time immemorial.  You painted the heavens and the earth so that I would have homes in which to be sheltered now and for Eternity.  Your grace and Your mercy cover me, Abba Father, so that I may know Your Fatherly Love.  In the vastness of You, my Father, I pray.   In the Saving Name of Jesus.  Amen. 

“Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”  Isaiah 12:6

Amen.

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Stars over Sand Beach by Kent Miller (National Park Service/Acadia National Park-Night Sky Festival each year in September) – https://www.nps.gov/acad/learn/news/acadia-night-sky-festival-offers-shuttle-to-the-stars.htm

Sun Rays Through the Clouds Over the Ocean at Beach by Captain Kimo – https://captainkimo.com/hdr-photography-gallery/

Be Glad

/ Being Woven / 31 Comments

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This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24

שָׂמַח

samach

be glad

be cheerful, joyful

rejoice

make merry

be blithe, gleesome

Be glad…a way to praise my Lord

Be glad…putting a genuine smile on my face

Be glad…lifting my hands in glorious honor and praise to the One Who gives me joy in my heart and soul

Be glad…loving wholly the Holy One

Be glad…care about and loving those around me

Be glad…loving the ones we think are unlovable, although they are anything but that

Be glad…adoration

Be glad…in thanksgiving, I give to others with gratitude

Be glad…joyful rejoicing

Be glad…Jesus

Be glad…when I hurt, I find the joy of the Lord is my strength

Be glad…serving the Lord with gladness of heart

Be glad…honoring Jesus in all that I am and all that I do

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Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I will say, rejoice!  Philippians 4:4

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigneth.  1 Chronicles 16:31

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For the LORD will comfort Zion,
He will comfort all her waste places;
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert like the garden of the LORD;
Joy and gladness will be found in it,
Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.  Isaiah 51:3

joy

Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord.  Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10

The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.  Psalm 69:32

Father, I sing praises unto You.  I rejoice in Your Name.  My whole being shivers with joy, gratitude, and gladness.  My heart is Yours, Father, filled with You.  When I am overwhelmed with the Glory of You, I am filled with gratitude and know that no matter what this world looks like through my eyes, You are my Joy and my Strength, my Comfort and my Redeemer.  When my eyes focus upon You, beautiful You, the sadness, the sorrow, the fears, the unknown, the burdens flee away.  You know all.  You care about Your children.  You lift my head in Your hands and tell me I am Your creation…that I am beautiful…that I am all that You created me to be.  I am so thankful, LORD.  Forgive me when I forget, when I compare, when I cry about not being ‘good enough.’ 

I do find joy when I think of You.  I rejoice in my heart when I ponder all You are to me.  Thank You, Father, for giving us gladness…delight…JOY!!!  I pray in Your Son’s Name, His exalted Name.  With thanksgiving in my heart…Amen. 

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Sojourner

/ Being Woven / 29 Comments

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“You shall not oppress a sojourner.  You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.  Exodus 23:9

גָּר

ger

properly, a guest; by implication, a foreigner:—alien, sojourner, stranger

a person living out of his own country

foreign shepherds, nomadic tribes wandering about in the land

I have been a wanderer much of my life.  I was born into a Navy family, Daddy being a Navy doctor and officer.  We changed duty stations about every two to four years, but he died early in life.  By the age of thirteen, I was no longer a traveler via the United States Navy.

But my mother loved to travel.  She packed us onto a train one Christmas to spend the holiday with her family in Chicago.  When we moved away from the Washington, D.C. area after Daddy died, she took about six weeks to go from the nation’s capitol to San Diego, California.  We stopped to visit friends and family and to see just about every sight she could find along the route.  Many Fridays after school, she would tell us kids, “Pack a suitcase because we are going to ….”  (wherever she had decided to go for the weekend) and we did!

Even in college, I was blessed with one whole semester aboard World Campus Afloat (now called Semester at Sea), traveling from port to port – South America, Africa, and Europe.  What an experience, gaining 14 college credit hours!

I became an adult and that wanderlust was still there.  I settled down for wee bits of time, but found new jobs, moved to where I would want to be or transferred and then I would find a teaching job (or something new).  Mom had told me, before college, that I would always be able to find a teaching job if I would go to college to become a teacher.  I did and found her wisdom was almost always true!

I have sojourned hither and yon.  I was a stranger or a guest most everywhere I went, at least for a time.

The LORD watches over the sojourners;
He upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked He brings to ruin.  Psalm 146:9

Then one day, 23+ years ago, I came to know Christ Jesus.  I found that my heart had a home.  My heart belonged to Him and I would travel this earth as a sojourner, a pilgrim, yet had a real Home in Heaven.  I may wander more on this earth, in this life.  As long as I stay close to Jesus, I will not feel as an alien.  I am by His side and know my true Home.

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.   Genesis 12:1

Abram left his home and sojourned in many countries among many peoples.

Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.  From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east.  And there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the Name of the LORD.  Genesis 12:7-8

Abram built altars in remembrance of all that God was doing for him and his descendants, for the covenants He made with Abram, for guidance as God took them from place to place.

“Set up road markers for yourself; make yourself guideposts; consider well the highway, the road by which you went.  Return, O virgin Israel, return to these your cities.” Jeremiah 31:21

What kind of road markers, guideposts am I leaving to remind me of what God has done in my life?

  • my salvation – God blessed me with forgiveness and a new life in Christ.  I built a written altar in my journal along with the date of this momentous event.  I praise God for my salvation.
  • marriage to Kenneth, the husband God gave to me – I have a written altar of this beautiful date, a marriage license as well as the life he and I have built together.  We try to live as an altar unto God.
  • blessed me with parents who loved me; allowed me to care for my mother in her last fifteen years – another written guidepost, one which I have been blessed to share through Being Woven as well; my journal of many days throughout those years filled with the sweet memories of Mama.  The hard times are written there and are important too.
  • sisters who are caring and loving toward me – Thank You, LORD.  – my road mark is the love we share now, along with the memories through words and pictures, road markers in my mind and heart of when we were children together.
  • and many, many more!

Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not Thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.  Psalm 39:12

Father God, Thank You for dwelling with me as I journey through this world.  Each day is new as I listen for Your voice.  Thank You for directing me from one place to the next.  I pray that I am aware of Your nearness, LORD.  Thank You for comforting me, for guiding me, for loving me.  Build my strength each day, Father, so that I may walk in obedience and humbly.  Thank You for Your Presence in my life.  I love You so.  I am a sojourner.  Yes, I was born in the country in which I live, but anywhere on this earth is not my true home.  With You, in Heaven, …my real and only Home.  Thank You LORD.  I pray in the Name of Your Son Jesus.  Amen.

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Peculiar Treasure

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In my younger and middle aged days, I ALWAYS wanted to fit in, not stand out.  I wanted to be wanted.  Have you ever felt this way?  I did things that I should not have done so that I would fit in.  I laughed at dumb jokes so I would not stand out as the odd girl out.  I said things to make myself, seemingly, a part of the crowd.  In reality, I would go home and detest myself for acting those ways because it was NOT who I really was.  I had this shadow following me around for years saying, “But you said….But you did this….But you did that….” and I would be living with these lies for years.

As I have grown older and have grown closer to Christ, I have come to realize that I am unique, different than anyone else on this earth.  I am me!  God created me and I am like no one else.  He wanted one me and now I am thankful to Him for His mercy and grace in forgiving my lies that I have told about myself and believed about myself.  I AM THE ONLY, THE ONE AND ONLY ME!!  : )  I do not have to fit into the world.  Jesus said, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”  John 17:16 

Paul said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Romans 12:2

I am beginning to feel like the woman who wrote, “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple.”  Maybe I shall not wear purple, but I shall dress from the inside-out, allowing God to remind me of just who I am.  I am now in my late sixties and have finally come to accept this beautiful fact and truth that is ME!

Thank You, my Sweet Father.  I am this odd girl out.  I am a peculiar treasure to You.  I am Yours.  I am the only me and I accept this me for she is who I am.  And, LORD, when I forget this truth, please remind me that I am unique because this is how You made me.  I am loved as I am.  I have been given gifts from You that are unique to me.  Forgive me when I forget; forgive me when I try to fit in to this world.  I thank You for loving me, Father.   

Meanings of the word peculiar today:

  • strange, odd, unusual, bizarre, weird, queer, unexpected, unfamiliar, abnormal, atypical, out of the ordinary;
  • exceptional, extraordinary, remarkable; puzzling, mystifying, mysterious, perplexing, baffling;
  • suspicious, eerie, uncanny, unnatural

There are three sets of meanings here.

In God’s Word, there are also three different meanings, ever-so-slightly different yet the same.

Hebrew

סְגֻלָּה

cĕgullah

feminine passive participle of an unused root meaning to shut up; wealth (as closely shut up):—jewel, peculiar (treasure), proper good, special, private property; often used as the people of Israel

Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.  Exodus 19:5-6

For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto Himself, and Israel for His peculiar treasure.  Psalm 135:4

And they shall be Mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.  Malachi 3:17

 

Greek

Two slightly different words:

περιούσιος

periousios

that which is one’s own, belonging to one’s possessions: a people selected by God from the other nations for His own possession

being beyond usual, i.e. special (one’s own):—peculiar

Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.  Titus 2:14

περιποίησις

peripoiēsis

acquisition (the act or the thing); by extension, preservation:—obtain(-ing), peculiar, purchased, possession, saving

Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.  Ephesians 1:14

Whereunto He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  2 Thessalonians 2:14

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light:….  1 Peter 2:9

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May I look inside of me, Father, and see the beautiful heart You have given me.  May I know deep down that Your creation is a treasure to You.  Oh, that I am a jewel to the God of all creation.  Oh, Father, how amazed I am at this gem of wisdom.  I am Your jewel, Your precious treasure.  I am peculiar because I am beyond the usual.  BEYOND THE USUAL!!!  OH, how wonderful that sounds to this child of Yours who has tried to fit in for so much of her life.  I love You, LORD.  You are so beautiful to me.  Thank You for guiding me to this realization.  I feel like sunshine.  I am smiling for this truth is so very special for and to me, LORD.  I feel like a light in this world because I am Yours.  May I sparkle as a real jewel that has been buried in the earth and suddenly brought to daylight.  I know…I KNOW I am Your peculiar treasure.  In gratitude, I pray in the Name of Jesus.  Hallelujah and Amen.  

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Threshing Floor

/ Being Woven / 3 Comments

 

Oxen thresh grain with hooves and men separate kernels from straw.

Oxen thresh grain with hooves and men separate kernels from straw.

גֹּרֶן

goren

from an unused root meaning to smooth; a threshing-floor (as made even); by analogy, any open area:—a barn-, corn-, threshing- floor, a threshing-, void- place before the gates of a city

Freshly harvested grain was thrown into a large pile in the very center of the floor.  It was then hand raked onto the area of the floor where the oxen would walk around and around, breaking the husks away from the actual grain. This area was called the threshing floor.  It was flat and hardened by the passing of oxen over the sheaves, sometimes pulling a sled designed to separate the grain from the husks, the tares (weeds, false grain) from the wheat.  Afterwards, the stalks and grain were thrown up into the air (winnowing) so that the wind would blow the unwanted chaff away, leaving the kernels.

The threshing floors were also important places and were often used as landmarks.  Men and royalty often sat in the gates of a city, often on or near a threshing floor.

And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.  1 King 22:10

The words, threshing floor, is one word in the King James version of the Bible.  In looking up the Hebrew, we find the same word, goren, is for both threshing and for floor.  Thus, translating the Hebrew into English gives us threshingfloor as one word.  Other versions of the Bible separate the two words but translate them individually from the one word, goren.

Joseph, with his kinsmen and Egyptian followers, halted for seven days at the threshing floor of Atad to lament the death of Jacob.

When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he made a mourning for his father seven days.  Genesis 50:10

Travelers might welcome a threshing floor to stop for the night as the hard, level spot would be preferable to surrounding stony fields for tents.

David bought a threshing floor to build an altar to the LORD.

1 Then satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. … 7 And God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel. …  18 Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan (Araunah) the Jebusite.  …  20 Now Ornan was threshing wheat.  He turned and saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. … 24 But King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will buy them for the full price.  I will not take for the Lord what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” 25 So David paid Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the site. 26 And David built there an altar to the Lord and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings and called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering. … 28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there.   1 Chronicles 21:1, 7, 18, 20, 24-26, 28

Have we felt that something is worth more to us when it is bought and paid for by our earnings?  Do we take things for granted when they are given to us for nothing?  Is more value placed upon that which we buy, whether by money, labor, or things traded?

This same piece of property was to be where God’s Temple was to be built by Solomon.

1 Then David said, “Here shall be the house of the Lord God and here the altar of burnt offering for Israel.” …  7 David said to Solomon, “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. 8 But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars.  You shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood before Me on the earth. 9 Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies.  For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 He shall build a house for My name.  He shall be My son, and I will be his Father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.’  11 “Now, my son, the Lord be with you, so that you may succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as He has spoken concerning you.   1 Chronicles 22:1, 7-11

Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.  2 Chronicles 3:1

Mount Moriah is where Abraham sacrificed his son, Isaac, to God.

He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”  Genesis 22:2

Threshing floors were places of judgment:

Rejoice not, O Israel!  Exult not like the peoples; for you have played the whore, forsaking your God.  You have loved a prostitute’s wages on all threshing floors.  Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail them.  Hosea 9:1-2

But they do not know
    the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand His plan,
    that He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.  Micah 4:12

Threshing floors were places of blessings as well.  Sheave offerings were laid there to the Lord.

And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.  And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, My great army which I sent among you.  And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and My people shall never be ashamed.  Joel 2:24-26

Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.  But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.”  And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”  Ruth 3:3-5  So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife.  And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.  Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may His name be renowned in Israel!  Ruth 4:13-14

 

Jesus bought me by His blood.  I am forgiven and paid for by the High Priest with His life.  I am to be winnowed, ridding me of the chaff.


“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”  Matthew 3:12

Have I felt that something is worth more to me when it is bought and paid for by the sacrifice of my LORD?  Is more value placed upon that which has been purchased for me by the sacrifices of Jesus?  Is the gift of forgiveness of the debt I cannot pay and for which I owe such that I am so humbled?

 

LORD Jesus, I thank You for the love You have for me, for redeeming me.  You have blessed me beyond anything I could imagine.  I know that a day will come for my judgment.  I also know of Your forgiveness of this child.  I want to continue to be winnowed for I desire to become more pure for You with each day.  I want the chaff to be blown away, then burned.  I want only the kernels to be left so that I may make You a loaf of bread.  I know You are the Bread of Life, yet I want to give You this gift from my heart.  How can I really thank You, Jesus?  You have done so very much for me.  I am humbled with gratitude.  Thresh me on Your threshing floor, my LORD.  Separate the weeds and husk from the very grain of me.  Winnow me to purity, to wholeness, LORD, for I want to be wholly Yours.  In Your beautiful Name, I pray.  Amen.   

 

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 photo:  https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Threshing+Floor&view=detailv2&&id=B61E2C25A3FFBDB8A45690FA546F75196159FEE3&selectedIndex=0&ccid=8KnCBW33&simid=608033041029598469&thid=OIP.Mf0a9c2056df71810ba09a1a094892188o0&ajaxhist=0

Permission

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please

“Mommy, please let me go to Suzie’s house to spend the night.”

“Daddy, can I have this toy?”

“Mr. Jones, I would like your permission to go on the field trip.”

How often have you heard questions such as these?  How often have you, yourself, asked such questions?  We ask permission throughout life.  We are taught early to ask for permission rather than just assume that the world is ours…at least we are blessed if we have been taught so.

Asking_permission

Many people today do not think that asking permission needs to be done.  Many believe that they can have or take what they believe is rightfully theirs, no matter what that may be.

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.  And this we will do if God permits.  Hebrew 6:1-3

ἐπιτρέπω

epitrepō

to turn over (transfer), i.e. allow:—give leave (liberty, license), let, permit, suffer

And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.  Acts 28:16

He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  Matthew 19:8

To another He said, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”  Luke 9:59

But our God has taught us through His Word that receiving permission to do something, to have something, to say something, is very important.

Jesus prayed:

And He said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.  Luke 11:2

and

He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.  Matthew 26:42

Through our LORD, we learn that asking the Father for permission is the way we are to come to Him.  Our gratefulness and love is in the asking, in the humility, in the respect, and in the love we show to the One to Whom we ask.  A child asking for permission to do something is showing respect to the parents.  A student asking the teacher if they may share something with the class is done out of respect and courtesy to the teacher and to the class.  A caregiver asking her mother if she is ready to allow her to change the bed sheets or a diaper is coming from a place of respect and love.

God’s will is what we should seek, want to seek, for He reigns over all.  This is His world and we are His creations.  To walk in His will, we must seek His will and walk in His way.

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.  Isaiah 30:21

One of the definitions of “allow” is to suffer.  Surely, I do not want to ask permission to suffer?  Yet, times bring hardships and trials.  God knows just what we need to grow in Christian maturity.  Suffering may be a part of what I need.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.  Romans 5:1-5

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Father, guide me, correct me in all that I am, in all that I do.  I desire to be obedient to You and to all who have authority over me.  Father, may I walk in faith as You call me in Your Name.  Show me Your way in all things.  Jesus taught and still teaches today.  He shows, by example, the ways You called Him and now You call me.  Thank You, LORD.  May I walk in the way I should go.  In the Name of Christ, my Savior, I pray.  Amen.  

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Scrabble “Please:” http://www.photos-public-domain.com/2012/04/03/please/

“Asking Permission” graphic:  http://lebarronpark.yisd.net/MediaGallery/tabid/1135/AlbumID/2447-143/Default.aspx

Hebrews 4:16 graphic:  http://www.amazingfacts.org/news-and-features/scripture-pictures/image/e/11359/t/hebrews-416

 

 

Everything About God Says Strong

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psalm93_5

Last time, I wrote of God’s justice.  It will rule one day.  His day.

Your statutes, LORD, stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days.  Psalm 93:5 NIV

קֹדֶשׁ

qodesh

sacredness, holiness, separateness, apartness, set-apartness

…of God

…of things

…of places

Your decrees are very trustworthy;
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, forevermore.  Psalm 93:5  ESV

Your testimonies are very sure;
Holiness adorns Your house,
O LORD, forever.  NKJV

Your testimonies are fully confirmed;
Holiness befits Your house,
O LORD, forevermore.  NASB

The rules you set down are completely reliable. Holiness aptly adorns your house, O LORD, forever.  NET

The sure justice that is to come stands upon the solid holiness of our God.  He is Who He says He is.  He does what He says He will do.  He is faithful and trustworthy in all and everything.  As I learn to walk in the ways of the LORD, I feel that surety in my steps because He orders them.  Everything about God is just, truthful, strong, perfect.


“The Rock, His work is perfect,
for all His ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and upright is He.”  Deuteronomy 32:4

 צוּר

tsuwr

rock, sharp edge, stone

Mighty One, Refuge, Protection for Israel

strength

He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity: just and right is he.  WEB

He is the Rock, His work is perfect;
For all His ways are justice,
A God of truth and without injustice;
Righteous and upright is He.  NKJV

A rock is solid and strong.  God is our Rock.  He is our Stronghold.  He is stable.  He is upright and authoritative.  That pillar above is strong and stable.  It holds up so much.

And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.  The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.  Exodus 13:21-22

עַמּוּד

`ammuwd

column, pillar, upright, platform

God, a pillar of strength.  The pillars of cloud and fire held God.  How much stronger can anything be?

Father God, You are my LORD.  You are my Rock.  You are strong and mighty.  You have brought me from the depths of darkness and have loved me into Your Light, continuing to love me into the beauty of Your Light.  Your Son is my Savior, the Light.  I am most grateful and filled with respect for He is my Salvation.  Thank You, Father, for standing firm in my weakness.  You are my Refuge where I am protected.  I know that Your justice is perfect and will come one day to this world just as I know that Your perfect way keeps me aligned with You when I obey.  Lead me to Your Rock for it is higher than I.  You are my Stronghold.  In the Name of Jesus, I pray.  Amen. 

Hear my cry, O God,

listen to my prayer;

from the end of the earth I call to You

when my heart is faint.

Lead me to the rock

that is higher than I,

for you have been my refuge,

a strong tower against the enemy.  Psalm 61:1-3

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Photo: http://www.heartlight.org/gallery/1209.html

31 Days of God-Woven Moments – October 25

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31 days PNG

And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.  And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.  2 Kings 23:3-4

And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.  2 Kings 23:7

King Josiah took down anything and everything related to idol worship upon making the covenant with the LORD.  He desired to walk in the ways of His God which meant a lot of cleaning, both of the people and their ways.  One aspect of this problem was that the women spent time weaving for an idol (which brings the topic to weaving).

The houses King Josiah broke down were “not solid houses, but tents, called elsewhere [2 Kings 17:30] Succoth-benoth, “the booths of the young women,” who were devoted to the service of Asherah, for which they made embroidered hangings, and in which they gave themselves to unbridled revelry and lust. Or the hangings might be for Asherah itself, as it is a popular superstition in the East to hang pieces of cloth on trees.”  Asherah is…

אֲשֵׁרָה

‘asherah

  1. Ashera(h) = “groves (for idol worship)”

    1. a Babylonian (Astarte)-Canaanite goddess (of fortune and happiness), the supposed consort of Baal, her images

      1. the goddess, goddesses

      2. her images

      3. sacred trees or poles set up near an altar

I know that I have been drawn into places that were not of God.  I know I have allowed satan to lead me along paths where I knew I should not have been.  How easily I was drawn into things that are worldly, calling me into disobedience to God.  In reading this (and in other books of the Bible) I take a moment to discern whether I have done this creative hobby in any kind of disobedience to God.  I believe not.  But I want to discern any wayward ways and then to make sure I am staying firm in my walk with the LORD.  Prayer, honor, respect and reverence for the LORD, time with Him, walking in faith are where I find my obedience and love for the LORD.

Father, I pray for the ability to stay on the path that You direct for me.  I ask Your forgiveness for those places along my lifelong journey where I have strayed.  I know I have when it comes to idol worship when I wandered into uncharted religions that I would call “New Age” today.  I did not know then what I know now.  I am sorry.  I ask to have a tight hold upon me that I would walk close and straight with You.  I thank You for Your love and care for me.  You loved me first.  I am blessed.  I pray in the Name of Jesus.  Amen.

 

To catch up on the previous days of this 31 day challenge, you can find them listed here.