24th of the 9th month 2016/2017
Shalom all,
Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 18:13 “Be perfect before יהוה your Elohim”
This command to be perfect before יהוה is made very clear to all of Yisra’ĕl and as we consider the context of these words we are able to understand the need to take heed of this command as we do our utmost to be faithful ambassadors of the coming Reign of our Master and Elohim!
In order to grasp the urgency of what is being commanded here let us look at the passage that this verse comes from:
Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 18:9-14 “When you come into the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you, do not learn to do according to the abominations of those gentiles. 10 Let no one be found among you who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practises divination, or a user of magic, or one who interprets omens or a sorcerer, 11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For whoever does these are an abomination to יהוה, and because of these abominations יהוה your Elohim drives them out from before you. 13 Be perfect before יהוה your Elohim, 14 for these nations whom you are possessing do listen to those using magic and to diviners. But as for you, יהוה your Elohim has not appointed such for you.”
This instruction/command to be perfect is clearly emphasised by making it clear that the children of Elohim are not to do the abominable practices that the world does, for this has not been appointed for us! Being perfect before יהוה entails that we make sure that guard to do all he has commanded us to and cling to His Truth that sets us apart and not be swayed by the depravity of lawlessness, no matter how attractive it may be presented as something that is acceptable according to the corrupt standards of the world. When our Master and Elohim prayed to the Father, which is recorded in Yoḥanan/John 17, we see the following:
Yoḥanan/John 17:14-17 “I have given them Your Word, and the world hated them because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world. 15 “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the wicked one. 16 “They are not of the world, as I am not of the world. 17 “Set them apart in Your truth – Your Word is truth.”
It is from these words that we have come to understand the following phrase that is often used by believers:
“We are in the world but not of the world!”
As we can see from these words of our Master and Elohim, the way we guard ourselves from the wicked ways of a sinful world is to be set-apart in the Truth, which we are able to do as we allow the Word of Elohim to be that which sets us apart and equips us to be perfect before Him and not be swayed by the corruption of the flesh through compromised standards of a wicked and corrupt world that is ruled by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, which is not of Elohim!!!
In a message called, ‘BE PERFECT!’ I would to like remind the remnant Bride of Messiah to be diligent in obeying this very clear command, so that all will be dressed in His righteousness and be set-apart in His Truth and be the complete and ready Bride that diligently waits for our soon returning Husband and King!
The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘perfect’ is the adjective תָּמִים tamiym – Strong’s H8549 which means, ‘complete, whole, sound, perfect, without blemish, blameless’, and this word comes from the primitive root verb תָּמַם tamam – Strong’s H8552 which mean, ‘to be complete, to be finished, be at an end’.
The Greek word that is translated here as ‘perfect’ in the LXX (Septuagint – Greek translation of the Tanak – O.T.) is τέλειος teleios – Strong’s G5046 which means, ‘having reached its end, complete, perfect, mature’ and is used in the following verse in regards to the body of Messiah being equipped unto maturity:
Eph’siyim/Ephesians 4:13 “until we all come to the unity of the belief and of the knowledge of the Son of Elohim, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the completeness of Messiah”
This word is also used in:
Ya’aqoḇ/James 1:25 “But he that looked into the perfect Torah, that of freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer that forgets, but a doer of work, this one shall be blessed in his doing of the Torah.”
Looking into the ‘perfect’ Torah and continuing in it – that is to be one who guards to do what is instructed in it – shall be blessed – for it is the Perfect Torah that perfects our set-apartness!
Our Master also tells us very clearly to be perfect:
Mattithyahu/Matthew 5:48 “Therefore, be perfect, as your Father in the heavens is perfect.”
The idea or concept of being perfect is often misunderstood by so many due to a lack of proper understanding in what this word entails and what our Master, Elohim and Saviour demands of us. Many may deem it impossible to be perfect and therefore relegate themselves to finding vain excuses for their compromised lifestyles as they find that the expectation of being perfect is a task too hard to achieve. To think as such simply reveals a level of gross immaturity that refuses to endure the necessary discipline required of a true follower and taught one of Messiah!
This Hebrew word carries with it the more expanded meaning of being mature, whole and complete and emphasises the need to be one who is earnestly seeking to learn the Truth and abide in it and walk according to the Spirit rather than being childish and chasing after the feeble matters of the fleshly attractions that a wicked and corrupt world has to offer as an alternative. What becomes clear as we grow in the knowledge of our Master is that we all have a choice to make, each and every day; and that is to either be set-apart and perfect before Elohim and serve Him in Spirit and Truth or fall away to the ways of the world and run after the things of the flesh that can never satisfy the spirit of a man!
The Hebraic understanding or concept of being perfect before Elohim entails one being fully committed to Elohim with their all, having their heart and mind in the right place, exercising true belief through works of righteousness and not being double-minded and unstable! In other words, to be properly perfect before Elohim means being loyal to Him while living in the midst of an unstable and wicked world that presents many corrupt ‘alternative options’ for people to follow through compromising standards that are abominable before the face of our Mighty Elohim, יהוה of Hosts!
Many may reckon that it is impossible to be perfect in an imperfect world and while they try to present an argument that they deem as a valid one, the fact is that we either obey the Word of Elohim or not and our Elohim calls us to be perfect and that we must be, if we do want to see His face one day and live!
Scripture is full of examples of those who were perfect as well as many who were not and so we must take the lessons that we are able to learn from Scripture and make sure that we grow in our knowledge of our Master and grow in our set-apartness and be perfect before Him.
Being perfect before Elohim means that you will hold fast to Elohim and His Word and guard to do all He has commanded us to, despite what others are doing and despite the wickedness that we are surrounded by day in and day out! To be perfect before Elohim means that we are to walk upright amidst and wicked and crooked generation, guarding righteousness:
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 2:20 “So walk in the way of goodness, and guard the paths of righteousness.”
With this message I want to encourage you all today to be steadfast in set-apartness and hold fast to the Truth, especially when the majority of the world is simply doing whatever is right in their own eyes. As I was digging in to the Word of Elohim and meditating on what being perfect actually entails I was greatly encouraged by the account we have of Yotham, who was a good king who held fast to יהוה despite the wickedness of the rest of the people who did as they pleased! You can read about Yotham in Diḇre haYamim Bět/ 2 Chronicles 27 and I encourage you to do so as we take note that this very short chapter that contains only 9 verses carries such great insight for us into the life of Yotham – a king that many have possibly overlooked in their reading and study of Scripture.
The account of Yotham is also recorded for us in Melaḵim Bět/2 Kings 15:32-38. Who was Yotham, you may ask?
As a brief overview, we are able to see that he was the 11th ruler of Yehuḏah and was the son of Uzziyahu. Uzziyahu did much to rebuild many parts of Yerushalayim and while he sought יהוה, Elohim made him prosper, however when Uzziyahu became strong he became very proud and trespassed against יהוה by entering the Hěḵal (temple) of יהוה in order to burn incense, which he was not permitted to do, and he got leprosy for his disobedient act of profane worship. For the last 10 years of his life his son, Yotham, was sovereign over the land. Yotham ruled for 16 years, with the first 10 of those being a co-regent with his father who had become leprous and remained as such until his death. Yotham’s son, Aḥaz, whose name means ‘he has kept a firm grip’, did not live up to his name and did not do what was right in the eyes of יהוה for he was a wicked king. However, Yotham was a good king who lived amidst a crooked generation and remained steadfast in doing what was right in the eyes of יהוה!
The name יוֹתָם Yotham – Strong’s H3147 means, ‘Yah is perfect’, which comes from the two root words: 1) the Name of יַהְוֶה –Strong’s H3068 – YAHWEH and 2) the adjective תָּם tam – Strong’s H8535 which means, ‘complete, blameless, blameless man, guiltless, perfect, peaceful, upright, undefiled’.
Yotham lived up to his name as he is a great example in Scripture for us to see what a true ambassador of יהוה does.
The Hebrew adjective תָּם tam – Strong’s H8535 can be used to describe one who is morally and ethically pure and the first time we see this root word being used and translated as ‘complete’, is in:
Berěshith/Genesis 25:27 “And the boys grew up. And Ěsaw became a man knowing how to hunt, a man of the field, while Yaʽaqoḇ was a complete man, dwelling in tents.”
It is also used to describe Iyoḇ:
Iyoḇ/Job 1:1 “There was a man in the land of Uts, whose name was Iyoḇ̱. And that man was perfect and straight, and one who feared Elohim and turned aside from evil.”
Iyoḇ was called a ‘perfect man’ by יהוה:
Iyoḇ/Job 1:8 “And יהוה said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Iyoḇ, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and straight man, one who fears Elohim and turns aside from evil?”
Iyoḇ/Job 2:3 “And יהוה said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Iyoḇ, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and straight man, one who fears Elohim and turns aside from evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.”
Of the 13 times that this root word תָּם tam – Strong’s H8535 is used in Scripture, we take note that it us used in the Book of Iyoḇ/Job 7 times! We take note of the sure promise that the perfect are never cast away:
Iyoḇ/Job 8:20 “See, Ěl does not cast away the perfect, neither hold the hand of evil-doers.”
As faithful servants that bear witness to and proclaim the Name of our Master and Elohim we are called to be perfect before Him so that we do not misrepresent Him and His Kingdom and are therefore called to guard the ‘perfect way’!
Tehillah/Psalm 37:37 “Watch the perfect, and observe the straight; for the latter end of each is peace.”
The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘perfect’ is the root word שָׁמַר shamar – Strong’s H8104 which means, ‘keep, watch, present, attend to, pay close attention, guard’ and the basic idea of the root of this word is ‘to exercise great care over’. We are to exercise great care over His perfect Torah!!!
We are also told in Scripture that the perfect will be hated:
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 29:10 “Bloodthirsty men hate the perfect, and seek the life of the straight.”
Men who are ‘bloodthirsty’ are men who want to take the life out of others and here Shelomoh highlights this by showing us how the perfect are hated by the wrong! The Hebrew word translated as ‘hate’ comes from the word שָׂנֵא sane – Strong’s H8130 which means, ‘to hate, detest, turn against’. Hate expresses an emotional attitude toward persons and things which are opposed, detested, despised and with which one wishes to have no contact or relationship. It is therefore the opposite of love.
Tehillah/Psalm 34:21 “Evil does slay the wrong, and those who hate the righteous are guilty.”
Those who are ‘bloodthirsty’ have no regard for a righteous man’s life and therefore have no regard for Elohim and we take note that our Master warned us against those that would hate us!
Yoḥanan/John 15:18-23 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, for that reason the world hates you. 20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they shall persecute you too. If they have guarded My Word, they would guard yours too. 21 “But all this they shall do to you because of My Name, because they do not know Him who sent Me. 22 “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 “He who hates Me hates My Father as well.”
We know that our Master and Elohim, יהושע Messiah, is coming for His ready and ‘perfect’ Bride, and this imagery can be seen on the poetic Song of Songs:
Shir HaShirim/Song of Songs 5:2 “I was sleeping, but my heart was awake – the voice of my beloved! He knocks, “Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one; for my head is drenched with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.”
Shir HaShirim/Song of Songs 6:9 “My dove, my perfect one, is the only one, the only one of her mother, the choice of the one who bore her. The daughters saw, and called her blessed, sovereignesses and concubines, and they praised her.”
We are to be the ready and perfect Bride that has been washed through the perfect Word of our Master, Husband, Redeemer and King, and in his letter to the believers in Ephesos Sha’ul uses this imagery when speaking of the roles of husbands and wives that ought to picture the secret of Messiah and the assembly!
Eph’siyim/Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, as Messiah also did love the assembly and gave Himself for it, 26 in order to set it apart and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, 27 in order to present it to Himself a splendid assembly, not having spot or wrinkle or any of this sort, but that it might be set-apart and blameless.”
It is through the washing if the Word that we are made secure and caused to walk in set-apartness and be perfect and straight before our Elohim! When we consider the washing that takes place through the Word we ought to be reminded of the bronze laver that was used in the Tabernacle, where the priests washed their hands and feet from the water that was taken from the bronze laver before going in to the Set-Apart Place to do the service required! The Bronze laver was made from the mirrors of the women who used to worship at the gate and highlights for us the clear lesson of how we are to look into the mirror of the Word and not forget what we look like but make sure that we get washed in all we do as the Word equips us to be washed, set-apart and secure in our walk and in our works of righteousness!
This imagery is confirmed to us in the ancient pictographic rendering of this root word תָּם tam – Strong’s H8535.
In the ancient pictographic script the adjective תָּם tam – Strong’s H8535 which means, ‘complete, blameless, blameless man, guiltless, perfect, peaceful, upright, undefiled’ look like this:
Taw – ת
The ancient script has this letter as which is pictured as two crossed sticks, and can represent for us ‘seal, covenant, mark or sign’; as this once again points to the complete work of Messiah in the renewal of the Covenant in His Blood that brings the two Houses of Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah together in Him, as One, for He is not only the ‘aleph’, but is also the ‘taw’ – the beginning and the end of all creation!
Mem – מַ:
The ancient script has this letter as and is pictured as ‘water’, and also carries the meaning of ‘chaos’ (from the storms of the sea) and can also picture that which is mighty or massive as well as the unknown. We are also able to understand this letter as representing the nations, for the nations are often likened to the seas in Scripture. This also carries for us the picture of washing, as we understand the function of water being that which cleanses us and sustains us, showing us how we are washed and sustained by the Living Waters of the Word! This letter also can represent any liquid, especially blood!
These two pictographic letters can render for us the following:
SECURED THROUGH WASHING!
Our ability to be perfect before Elohim has been made possible by the Blood of Our Master and Elohim, יהושע Messiah, as His Blood cleanses us from all sin and it is through His Word, which we are to be meditating upon day and night, that we are able to be continually washed and set-apart for service unto our King!
Dawiḏ understood how important the Torah of Elohim was:
Tehillah/Psalm 19:7-11 “The Torah of יהוה is perfect, bringing back the being; the witness of יהוה is trustworthy, making wise the simple; 8 the orders of יהוה are straight, rejoicing the heart; the command of יהוה is clear, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of יהוה is clean, standing forever; the right-rulings of יהוה are true, they are righteous altogether, 10 more desirable than gold, than much fine gold; and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Also, Your servant is warned by them, in guarding them there is great reward.”
In the above psalm the Hebrew word that is translated as ‘perfect’ is תָּמִים tamiym – Strong’s H8549 which means, ‘complete, whole, sound, perfect, without blemish, blameless’, which is also used in:
Tehillah/Psalm 119:1 “Blessed are the perfect in the way, who walk in the Torah of יהוה!”
To walk in the Torah of יהוה is to walk upright and be perfect! Those cast aside the Torah of יהוה and claim that it is no longer valid or of any use are basically refusing to be perfect as commanded, for without the Torah of Elohim how can one learn to walk in the perfect way and become the perfect Bride that He is coming the fetch!!!
As already discussed from Ya’aqoḇ/James 1:25: The one who is diligently looking into the ‘perfect’ Torah and continuing in it – that is to be one who guards to do what is instructed in it – shall be blessed – for it is the Perfect Torah that perfects our set-apartness!
In Diḇre haYamim Bět/ 2 Chronicles 27:2 we are told that Yotham did what was right in the eyes of יהוה while the people around him continued to act corruptly. The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘right’ comes from the word יָשָׁר yashar – Strong’s H3477 which means, ‘right, straight, upright and righteous’ and this comes from the root verb יָשַׁר yashar – Strong’s H3474 which means, ‘to be straight, right, pleasing, be level, upright, just and lawful’. The Book of Yasher, commonly known to us as ‘Jasher’, means the book of the ‘upright/straight’ or the Book of the ‘Righteous’.
We, as children of Elohim are called to walk upright and straight, called to walk and do what is ‘right’ in the eyes of יהוה – called to do what is ‘yashar’ – called to walk in righteousness and that is to walk in His Torah!
Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 12:28 “Guard, and obey all these words which I command you, that it might be well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the eyes of יהוה your Elohim.”
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 14:12 & 16:25 “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death”
Proverbs tells us that there is a way that seems ‘yashar/right to man’ – but that only leads to death – too many want to follow their own way of what they determine as living right according to their own man-made standards yet will sadly only find that any other way other than that of the Torah of Elohim simply leads to destruction!
Broad is the way that leads to destruction and many walk thereon – there are many ways of man – yet narrow is the path to life and few find it – that path is ‘in’ Messiah as we walk according to His instructions – His Torah, which is not a worthless word to us but is our life (Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 32:47)!
The poetic term ‘Yeshurun’, which means ‘upright one’, is used as a symbolic term in Scripture when speaking of all 12 Tribes of Yisra’ĕl that are serving together in unity! יְשֻׁרוּן Yeshurun – Strong’s H3484 comes from the word יָשַׁר yashar – Strong’s H3474.
This is what יהוה has chosen Yisra’ĕl (His called out Bride) for – to be straight and upright and walk in His Torah, shining the Light of His Besorah (Good News) amidst a crooked world.
Yotham is a good example for us on how we too can walk upright and be perfect amidst the chaos and corruption of many wicked and lawless people!
How are you living while the majority are doing whatever they please and are acting corruptly?
Are you being perfect and doing what is right in the eyes of יהוה or do you find yourselves being corrupted through compromising ways that have caused you to become weakened in your need to stand firm and hold fast to the Truth?
How did Yotham keep his set-apartness and perfection unto יהוה? We are told in:
Diḇre haYamim Bět/ 2 Chronicles 27:6 “And Yotham strengthened himself, for he prepared his ways before יהוה his Elohim.”
Yotham strengthened himself!!! The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘and… strengthened himself’ is וַיִּתְחַזֵּק – vaiyitḥazzek which comes from the root word חָזַק ḥazaq – Strong’s H2388 and carries the meaning, ‘to grow firm, fasten upon, strengthen, take hold of’ and can also be understood as having the concept of ‘grasping between your ears’. It is written here in the ‘hithpael’ verb form, which is a reflexive action and in this form it can carry the meaning of, ‘to put forth strength, to use one’s strength, to hold strongly with’. In other words Yotham exercised discipline in being obedient to what is required, which takes a lot of strength when being surrounded by most who are acting corruptly! He was able to strengthen himself and grasp between the ears what needs to be done according to the Word because he had prepared his ways before יהוה!
This is important for us to understand as we take note that if you do not prepare your ways before יהוה then you will be unable to strengthen yourself in the Truth and have no ability to rightly divide the Truth and discern between the set-apart and the profane!
Preparation is key! How do you prepare your way before יהוה? Proper preparation involves a proper meditation and studies of the Word of Elohim, so that one can be confident in walking upright amidst a crooked generation!
The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘prepared’ comes from the root word כּוּן kun – Strong’s H3559 which means, ‘ready, steadfast, established, firm, set up, determined, prepared’, , and it is written in the ‘hiphil active’ tense which can carry the meaning of, ‘to establish, set up, accomplish, so, make firm, provide’. This root word is also used in:
Shemuʼěl Aleph/1 Samuel 7:3 “And Shemuʼěl spoke to all the house of Yisra’ĕl, saying, “If you return to יהוה with all your hearts, then put away the foreign mighty ones and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts for יהוה, and serve Him only, so that He delivers you from the hand of the Philistines.”
These words of Shemuʼěl to Yisra’ĕl back then was very clear, and are still very much alive and clear to us today – the way to ‘prepare’ your hearts for יהוה, in order to serve Him only, is to return to Him with ALL your heart – that means that a prepared heart is a heart that has put away all false and foreign worship practices and any form of idolatry and compromise!
Preparing your ways before יהוה is vital for us to be able to stand firm upon our Master and Elohim, the Rock of our deliverance! So many lack a proper preparation and are therefore unable to boldly stand in the Truth as they do not know or understand the Truth due to a lack of preparation.
Shemuʼěl bět/2 Samuel 5:12 “And Dawiḏ knew that יהוה had established him as sovereign over Yisra’ĕl, and that He had exalted His reign, because of His people Yisra’ĕl.”
Here the root word כּוּן kun is being translated as ‘established’, and what we see here is the bold confidence that Dawiḏ had in recognising who it is that ‘establishes’ him in the reign! It is יהוה who establishes the steadfast and firm in heart, for they are those who have firmly settled in their hearts to follow Him completely, without wavering from a steadfast position of set-apartness in Messiah!
Ezra 7:10 “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Torah of יהוה, and to do it, and to teach laws and right-rulings in Yisra’ĕl.”
The core responsibility of the priests was to have prepared hearts that diligently seek the Torah of יהוה, and so we need to recognise that we all, as a royal priesthood, are to have prepared hearts that are to seek the Torah of יהוה, and not expect someone else to do our own required seeking!
We are to seek His Torah in order to do it, and live accordingly, as well as to teach others His ways and right-rulings, which we are to clearly express as being correctly applied and lived out in our daily lives!
The Greek word that is used in Diḇre haYamim Bět/ 2 Chronicles 27:6 for ‘prepared’ is ἑτοιμάζω hetoimazō – Strong’s G2090 which is a verb that means, ‘to prepare, get ready, make arrangements’, and comes from the root ἕτοιμος hetoimos – Strong’s G2092 which means, ‘prepare, ready, ready at hand, prepared, accomplished’.
Both of these Greek words are used in the parable of the wedding feast that our Master spoke in:
Mattithyahu/Matthew 22:4 “Again he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Say to those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle are slaughtered, and all is ready. Come to the wedding feast.””
These words were from Messiah, who was relating the parable of a sovereign who had prepared a wedding feast for his son, and had sent his servants out to call the invited guests to come, yet they refused, and once again he sent his servants to others who too refused the call to come, but killed his servants. His wrath burned and so he sent out his soldiers who destroyed the murderers, after which the call went out to invite whoever they could find. The wedding hall was filled with guests and those who were not dressed correctly were thrown out! This parable is a clear call for us to make sure that we are ready and prepared in garments of righteousness, lest we find ourselves being thrown out! So many are not ready as they are being consumed by the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth, or are running after the lusts of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, rendering their hearts as being unprepared and far from Elohim!
Kěpha writes to us and tells us to always be ready in:
Kěpha Aleph/1 Peter 3:15-16 “But set apart יהוה Elohim in your hearts, and always be ready to give an answer to everyone asking you a reason concerning the expectation that is in you, with meekness and fear, 16 having a good conscience, so that when they speak against you as doers of evil, those who falsely accuse your good behaviour in Messiah, shall be ashamed.”
Being always ready to give an answer concerning the expectation that is in you can only be done if the proper preparation of one’s ways have and are continually being done. How ready and prepared are you? Are your preparations causing you to strengthen yourself in the Truth, or has a lack of preparation caused you to waver in unbelief as doubts and worries set in and choke out the Truth leaving you unsure of how to stand firm and be perfect amidst a wicked and crooked generation?
Preparing your ways and strengthening one’s self in the Word is a daily task that requires discipline and much endurance! So many give up and become weakened as they lack the strength to remain steadfast in the belief due to a lack of proper preparation and are therefore unable to have endurance to stay the course of set-apartness.
Ya’aqoḇ/James 1:4 “And let endurance have a perfect work, so that you be perfect and complete, lacking in naught.”
Luqas/Luke 21:19 “Possess your lives by your endurance!”
The Greek word used here for ‘endurance’ is ὑπομονή hupomonē – Strong’s G5281 which means, ‘a patient enduring, steadfastness, perseverance, a remaining behind’, and this word comes from the Greek word ὑπομένω hupomenō – Strong’s G5278 which means, ‘to stay behind, to await, endure’, which comes from the two words: 1) ὑπό hupo – Strong’s G5259 which means ‘under, in subjection to’, and 2) μένω menō – Strong’s G3306 and means, ‘to stay, abide, remain, stand’ – which is the word that is used in Yoḥanan/John 15 where we are told to ‘stay in, remain in’ Messiah!
Proper endurance in the Master calls for us to ‘stay in’ Him and ‘be in subjection to’ Him, by guarding His commands!
This call to possess our lives by endurance implies that endurance is certainly needed, especially as we live in a world that is corrupt and wicked and if one does not ‘possess by endurance’ they may just see their lives being stolen away through the influence of sin and compromise.
Yotham possessed his life by his endurance in the Truth by being properly prepared and strengthened in the Torah of Elohim, even while the people continued to act corruptly! How do you possess the life that you have been given in Messiah? How are your daily preparations in the Word? Are you strengthening yourself in the Word on a daily basis and are therefore equipped and enabled in the Truth to stand firm in the Master and endure under the extreme pressures and influences of a corrupt world that are constantly causing many to fall from steadfastness in being perfect before Elohim?
Psalm 119:80 “Let my heart be perfect in Your laws, so that I am not put to shame.”
The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘perfect’ is the adjective תָּמִים tamiym – Strong’s H8549 which means, ‘complete, whole, sound, perfect, without blemish, blameless’
The clear desire of the psalmist is for his heart to be perfect in the laws of Elohim so that he is able to possess his life by endurance and not be ashamed to stand upright and be set-apart and perfect amidst a corrupt people!
BE PERFECT is the command – how are you responding?
In the Hebrew there is another word which we see being translated as ‘perfect’: שָׁלֵם shalĕm – Strong’s H8003– which means ‘pure, complete, safe, at peace, perfect, whole, finished, blameless, full’.
This is used in the Hebrew as an adjective, as in a ‘perfect’ heart:
Melaḵim aleph/1Kings 8:61 “Let your heart therefore be perfect to יהוה our Elohim, to walk in His laws and guard His commands, as at this day.”
Diḇre haYamim Bět/ 2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of יהוה diligently search throughout all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect to Him. You have acted foolishly in this, so from now on you shall have battles.”
Understanding the Hebrew words that are used interchangeably throughout the Scriptures in referring to perfection in serving יהוה, we can understand that the meaning of perfect is, ‘to be upright, totally obedient, to finish what was started and have a constant obedience’.
So how do we keep a perfect heart before יהוה? It starts with being open before יהוה, allowing Him to deal with those imperfections that are in our heart:
Tehillah/Psalms 139: 23-24 “Search me, O Ěl, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; 24 and see if an idolatrous way is in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Dawiḏ was willing for יהוה to search him and try his heart: a perfect heart is a searchable heart, which means we allow יהוה to penetrate and examine deeply into our thoughts and emotions. The false teachings today tell you that as long as your heart doesn’t condemn you then you are ok and the Blood of יהושע has cleansed you, yet they fail to neglect what it says prior to this:
Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 1:6-7 “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and are not doing the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of יהושע Messiah His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
His Blood cleanses us yes, but we are to be walking in the light as He is – we are to be walking in His instructions with a perfect heart inclining to walk in the perfect knowledge of His Loving Word!
A perfect heart is a heart that has the Torah written upon it and submits to the clear Authority of our Master and Elohim!
The command to BE PERFECT has not changed! How perfect are you being? We serve a perfect and set-apart Master and Elohim and are called to be perfect and set-apart. It is time for the True Bride of Messiah to stand and be prefect, which calls for us to be properly prepared in all our ways so that we can be strengthened in the Truth and be perfect before Elohim, enduring as faithful servants of the Most High Elohim, יהוה of Hosts, and being steadfast in not letting acts of corruption having any influence on our lives!
Pilipiyim/Philippians 3:12-15 “Not that I have already received, or already been perfected, but I press on, to lay hold of that for which Messiah יהושע has also laid hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not count myself to have laid hold of it yet, but only this: forgetting what is behind and reaching out for what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of Elohim in Messiah יהושע. 15 As many, then, as are perfect, should have this mind. And if you think differently in any respect, Elohim shall also reveal this to you.”
Let your hands be strengthened in the Truth and let your feet be prepared in the Way as you possess your life by endurance, holding on to the Master in love and be equipped to:
BE PERFECT!
יהוה bless you and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and show you favour; יהוה lift up His face to you and give you Shalom!