11^th of the 12^th month 2020/2021.

Shalom all,

Tehillah/Psalm 111:2 “Great are the works of יהוה, searched for by all who delight in them.”

Tehillah/Psalm 111 is a great psalm of praise for our Master יהוה, and has, in its 10 verses, the 22 letters of the Hebrew Alphabet, written in bold before each statement of boasting praise!

Previously, I did a message that looked at each of these statements that are contained in this ‘alphabetic song of praise for יהוה’, looking at the ‘Aleph to Taw’ of praise for יהוה.

While we are not going to take a look at this Tehillah/Psalm 111 in this message, I have chosen to open with this verse, in order to highlight something that is very important for us to take time to consider and assess ourselves with.

In this powerful declaration of the great works of יהוה, the psalmist makes it clear that these great works are searched for by all who delight in them!

This searching implies an intense seeking, which would not necessarily take place if the one who was seeking did not delight in that which he was seeking! .

In a message called, ‘MY DELIGHT!’ I want us to take a closer look at the meaning of what it is to delight in something and make something a delight, along with what that entails..

What is ‘delight’?

This English word is defined in various ways by many different dictionaries and carries the basic meaning of, ‘having a strong feeling of joy’ or, ‘something that gives you great pleasure and satisfaction’.

‘A’ delight is a source of joy; and ‘to delight’ is to take pleasure in something!

To give delight to is to affect with great pleasure or please highly.

As a noun it is used to express a high degree of satisfaction or something that gives one great pleasure.

As a verb it expresses the concept of taking great pleasure in something and the giving of keen enjoyment. In other words what one delights in can be clearly seen in the pleasure and enjoyment that one shows!.

What do you take pleasure in?

What is your delight?

The psalmist here, expresses how the one who delights and takes pleasure in the works of יהוה search them out.

The one who delights in the works of יהוה takes great effort and time to seek out and know the great works that our Master and Elohim has done, and it is done so with great pleasure and joy!

The works of יהוה have been given to us through His Word and has been wonderfully revealed to us through the life, death and resurrection of our Master and Elohim, יהושע Messiah!.

In speaking of those who overcome the beast and his mark, we see in;

Ḥazon/Revelation 15:3 “And they sing the song of Mosheh the servant of Elohim, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvellous are Your works, יהוה Ěl Shaddai! Righteous and true are Your ways, O Sovereign of the set-apart ones!”

Those who delight in the works of יהוה are also those who joyfully praise יהוה! .

Once again, I ask you, ‘what do you take pleasure in and what is your delight?’

What are you searching for?

Before looking at the Hebrew word that is translated as ‘delight’, I just want to highlight what it means to be properly seeking יהוה and His Word that we, as His treasured possession, ought to be delighting ourselves in, through a diligent seeking..

Tehillah/Psalm 111 declares that the works of יהוה are great and are Searched for by all who delight in them.

The Hebrew word that begins this phrase, searched for by all who delight in them, is – דְּרוּשִׁים derushiym, which is written in the plural, derived from the root word דָּרַשׁ darash – Strong’s H1875 which means, ‘to resort to, seek out, ask, avenge, consult, investigate, search carefully, make inquiry, question’. .

This word דָּרַשׁ darash – Strong’s H1875 carries more than simply just taking a quick peek, but rather, it emphasises the need to be digging deep, in seeking out carefully and with great diligence, through consultation, and asking.

A proper delighting in יהוה and His works, entails a proper seeking to be done!

Mattithyahu/Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the reign of Elohim, and His righteousness, and all these matters shall be added to you.”

When we are told to ‘seek’ first the Kingdom, we must recognise that this is not an instruction that gives the notion that you look just take a quick look at it and now that you have seen it you can go on your merry way, NO! .

To seek His Kingdom requires hard work and discipline each and every day.

We need to ‘seek’ Him and this implies an inquiry after knowledge, advice, and insight into any situation or circumstance we find ourselves in, and this kind of seeking highlights a pure form of praise unto יהוה..

A word that is derived from the root word דָּרַשׁ darash is מִדְרָשׁ miḏrash – Strong’s H4097 means, ‘a study, record, writings or story, commentary’.

This word, מִדְרָשׁ miḏrash – Strong’s H4097, speaks of the ability to search out something and often refers to that which is written to teach, and later became known as a Hebrew word relating to the in-depth study of the word, often done together.

The point is that we are to be a people who are earnestly growing in wisdom and understanding of the Scriptures so we can remember what we look like when we look intently into the mirror of His Word!.

Seeking Him, while He is to be found, implies that there will be a time when the window, or door, of being able to find Him will be closed, as it was when He closed the door of the ark after Noaḥ and his family entered in and was saved from the flood!.

We cannot sit around saying, “Oh I’ll get to it sometime soon!” That may be too late and that kind of response indicates that there is no true delight in the Word of יהוה.

All too often, most people are simply seeking their own ways and desires and are trying to accomplish their goals before attending to the need of making יהוה and His Word a priority in their lives, which reveals what they actually are delighting in.

יהושע tells us not to worry about tomorrow, not to worry about what we will eat, what we will drink or what we will wear, for that is what the pagans run after.

We are to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to us as well!

Hunger and thirst for righteousness and we will be filled!!!

In seeking out the great works of יהוה, our praise for Him will be greatly ignited with the kind of zeal that true set-apart servants are to have!

When one’s ability to give the proper praise unto יהוה is lacking or is being weakened by trying circumstances, then it may be a clear sign that a proper seeking of Him has been lacking or has been non-existent!.

Dawiḏ says in:

Tehillah/Psalm 63:1 “O Elohim, You are my Ěl; I earnestly seek You; My being has thirsted for You; My flesh has longed for You In a dry and thirsty land without water.”

Dawiḏ starts off by declaring who is Elohim, and who was His Elohim, and he then declares that He earnestly seeks יהוה!

I earnestly seek You!

Can you honestly declare this? Do you earnestly seek יהוה?

Bearing in mind that Dawiḏ was in one of the toughest times of his life – and he was earnestly seeking יהוה!

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘earnestly seek’ is שָׁחַר shaḥar – Strong’s H7836 which means ‘to long for, diligently seek, strongly desire something with a focus on a relationship with that which you seek’ and is an intensive verb which denotes that is requires exceeding effort and from this we get the noun of the word which means, ‘at dawn, early, daybreak’.

Therefore, it is safe to say that what Dawiḏ was actually declaring here was, “I rise early to diligently seek you”.

The LXX (Septuagint) translates this as ‘I rise early for you’.

What we have here, is the picture of ‘seeking early’ as having the connotation of great diligence – “I am seeking you really diligently” – and this is not done with half-hearted measures!!!

And… this he would do ‘early’, while it was still dark, at the breaking of dawn!!!

How many of you can say that?

Most of the time, the majority of people cannot even get out of bed early on a good day!

What about when you are in a tight spot, when things are all messed up and your circumstances look dismal – getting up early to seek יהוה is, for most, not even a consideration!

Dawiḏ woke up early to praise יהוה:

Tehillah/Psalm 108:1-2 “O Elohim, my heart is steadfast; I sing and give praise – even my esteem. 2 Awake, harp and lyre! I awake the dawn.”

A steadfast heart is not slow is seeking and praising יהוה! 

A true delight in יהוה and His works as given through His Word, is accompanied by a proper seeking of Him!.

This word דָּרַשׁ darash – Strong’s H1875 is a verb that expresses an action of a careful attention and due diligence that is required in order to gain the knowledge sought after.

In the ancient pictographic script, the Hebrew word דָּרַשׁ darash – Strong’s H1875 which means, ‘to resort to, seek out, ask, avenge, consult, investigate, search carefully, make inquiry, question’, looks like this:

.

Dalet – דָּ:

In the ancient script this letter is pictured as , which is a ‘tent door’. It can also have the meaning of a back-and-forth movement, as one goes back and forth through a tent door and so speaks of an access point. It can also carry the meaning of ‘dangle’ or hanging as the tent door would hang from the roof pole of the tent. It speaks a great deal in terms of understanding the door of the tent of appointment as the only means of access.

We also recognise that יהושע Messiah is The Door, and whoever enters through Him, shall be saved, and shall go in and shall go out and find pasture. The commands are also commanded to be put on our doorposts as a continual reminder that we are to guard His commands, as we go out and come in, submitting under the authority of The Door, through which we have been given access to being built up as a spiritual House for Elohim..

Resh – רַ:

The ancient script has this letter pictured as , which is ‘the head of a man’ and carries the meaning of ‘top, beginning, first, chief’, as in being the top of the body or the head of a tribe and the one who rules; and also speaks of possession or inheritance that is decided by the chief. Our true life of praise unto יהוה, our Head, begins when we fear Him, for He is the beginning of our strength, and true separated praise entails a true fear of the One who is Chief over us!.

Shin – שׁ:

This is the letter ‘shin’ which in the ancient script is pictured as, , which is ‘two front teeth’ and carries the meaning of ‘sharp or press, chew or devour’; which is what the teeth do, and also speaks of the sharpened word that comes forth from the mouth as the teeth ‘chew’ or ‘meditate’ on the Truth, making what comes forth pure and sharp! It also carries the understanding of consuming or destroying – as teeth do to food..

Looking at these pictographic letters that make up the root word דָּרַשׁ darash – Strong’s H1875 we can, in terms of the command to seek יהוה and His strength, recognise that we are to come to The Door of the Head and ‘eat’ the Word, so to speak!.

AT THE DOOR OF THE HEAD IS THE WORD!.

When we gather together as commanded, on the Sabbaths and Appointed Times of Elohim then we are able to come and delight ourselves in Him as we meditate on His Word and Submit to our Head, which is Messiah, guarding to do all He has commanded us to, knowing that our coming in and going out shall be in peace!

Those who are not coming to The Head at The Door of Appointment are not truly seeking The Word!

Those who neglect to guard the Sabbaths and Feasts of יהוה are not seeking Him as they should and therefore have not properly heard the command to seek.

Hearing they hear but do not understand and are unable to properly praise YAH!.

The ancient script has this letter ד (Dalet) pictured as a ‘tent door’, as already discussed above, and when we consider that יהושע Messiah is The Door, then we further see how vitally important it is for us to be continually looking at Him, and in doing so, praising Him as we diligently serve Him in spirit and truth, by diligently and joyfully guarding to do all His commands.

This we are able to do, as we look continually into the perfect Torah of Freedom and not forget what we look like, because our delight is in Him!

We are told that we should seek and in doing so, we are given the promise that we shall find, and we are told to knock, with eth assurance that it will be opened for us..

In our proper seeking and knocking, there is a proper searching of the Great works of יהוה, as we guard our duty of coming to the Door of His Appointed Times, which include His weekly Sabbaths, which opens up for us a very satisfying discovery of His great works!

Yoḥanan/John 10:9 “I am the door. Whoever enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and shall go out and find pasture.”

Tehillah/Psalm 100:4 “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His Name.”.

Now let’s take a closer look at what it means to ‘delight’ in our Master and His Word!

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘delight’ in Tehillah/Psalm 111:2 is חֵפֶץ ḥephets – Strong’s H2656 which means, ‘delight, pleasure, desire, longing, purpose’, and comes from the root verb חָפֵץ ḥaphets – Strong’s H2654 and means, ‘to delight in, desire, take pleasure in’.

The root word חֵפֶץ ḥephets – Strong’s H2656 is also used in:

Tehillah/Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man who shall not walk in the counsel of the wrong, and shall not stand in the path of sinners, and shall not sit in the seat of scoffers, 2 but his delight is in the Torah of יהוה, and he meditates in His Torah day and night.”

The blessed man’s delight is in the Torah of יהוה, and we are able to clearly see that the one whose delight is in the Torah, does not walk, in wrong counsels, nor does he stand in sinful paths or sit in scoffing seats!

The one who delights in the Torah of יהוה, meditates in it day and night because it is his pleasure, that he does with exceeding joy and satisfaction!

Those who are of the world and walk, in fleshly ways, take no delight in meditating on the Torah, as they have no interest in it whatsoever and to do so would seem boring, dull and too much hard work to do. .

What you delight yourself in will never become boring or feel like it is too hard to do, even though it may take much effort, time and much energy.

Tehillah/Psalm 119:35 “Make me walk in the path of Your commands, for I have delighted in it.”

In this verse, the psalmist cries out with urgency a great plea for יהוה to make him walk in the commands of יהוה that he has greatly delighted in.

The wording that is used in the Hebrew for ‘make me walk’ is written in the ‘hiphil’ tense which expresses the ‘causative action’, and so here the psalmist is asking יהוה to cause him to walk in His commands that he has delighted in.

As we know that this Tehillah/Psalm 119 is the longest of all the Psalms and can even be seen as being the longest chapter in Scripture.

This Psalm is a powerful and well-constructed song of praise for the Torah, commands and instructions of Elohim.

We will be taking a look at a few of the verses contained herein, as we look deeper into that which we ought to delight ourselves in, as the beloved children of the Most–High!.

The root word חֵפֶץ ḥephets – Strong’s H2656 is also used in:

Tehillah/Psalm 112:1 “Praise Yah! Blessed is the man, who fears יהוה, who has greatly delighted in His commands.”

This is another verse that highlights for us the blessing of the one who fears יהוה.

The one who fears יהוה delights greatly in His commands!

Delighting in the commands of Elohim is an identifying mark of one who fears יהוה.

When people have no time for the Word and lack the energy and excitement to search out, study and meditate on the Torah and commands of יהוה, then it is clear that they have no true fear of יהוה and clearly do not delight in Him either..

Tehillah/Psalm 40:8 “I have delighted to do Your pleasure, O my Elohim, and Your Torah is within my heart.”

In this psalm of Dawiḏ, he makes the clear declaration of how he has delighted to do the pleasure of Elohim, and recognises that he is able to do so because the Torah of Elohim is within his heart!

The Torah of יהוה is to be upon our hearts and it is the Torah that causes us to do the pleasure of Elohim!

Pilipiyim/Philippians 2:12-13 “So that, my beloved, as you always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much rather in my absence – work out your own deliverance with fear and trembling, 13 for it is Elohim who is working in you both to desire and to work for His good pleasure.”.

Tehillah/Psalm 147:11 “יהוה takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who wait for His loving-commitment.”

The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘pleasure’ is from the root verb רָצָה ratsah – Strong’s H7521 which means, ‘to be pleased with, accept favourably, delight, approved’, and we see this verb being translated as ‘delighted’ in:

Diḇre haYamim Aleph/1 Chronicles 29:3 “And also, because I delighted in the House of my Elohim, I have treasure of gold and silver; I give for the House of my Elohim even more than all that I have prepared for the Set-apart House:”

These are some of the words that Dawiḏ spoke to all the assembly, when speaking about the great work that lay ahead for Shelomoh, in building the House of יהוה and how it had delighted him greatly to give in great abundance toward the work..

Qoheleth/Ecclesiastes 5:4 “When you make a vow to Elohim, do not delay to pay it, for He takes no pleasure in fools. Pay that which you have vowed.”

While we take note that יהוה takes pleasure in those who fear Him we also recognise that He takes no pleasure in fools.

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 8:11 tells us that wisdom is better than rubies and that all delights are not comparable to her.

Having said that, it becomes abundantly clear that our delight should be in the wisdom of Elohim, lest we be found to be fools that He takes no pleasure in!.

With Dawiḏ having delighted in the House of Elohim, we take note that he could do so, as He delighted in the wisdom of Elohim, through the proper meditating upon His Torah day and night, learning how-to walk-in Elohim and please Him as a wise servant, equipping him to be joyfully generous in preparing for the work of the House!.

When the Torah is a person’s delight then doing what the Word commands is a pleasure to follow.

The Greek word that is used in the LXX (Septuagint – Greek translation of the Tanak) for ‘delighted’ in Diḇre haYamim Aleph/1 Chronicles 29:3 is συνήδομαι sunēdomai – Strong’s G4913 which means, ‘delight, to rejoice together, to rejoice in or feel satisfaction concerning’, and we see this word συνήδομαι sunēdomai – Strong’s G4913 being used in:

Romiyim/Romans 7:22 “For I delight in the Torah of Elohim according to the inward man”.

Our ability to truly delight in the Torah according to the inward man equips us to walk according to the Spirit and take great joy and satisfaction in guarding to do all that our Master has commanded us.

When we delight in His Torah, then doing His Torah is a delight and it is not a heavy burden or something that is too hard, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light!.

The Torah is only hard to those who do not delight in it.

Those who find no satisfaction in studying, meditating and learning the Word, in order to joyfully do it, find it hard and boring, and in doing so render themselves as being fools who lack the necessary oil in their jars and will be shut out from entering into the Reign of our King!

When we delight in the Truth, it is a pleasure to do it, be it the delight in guarding the Sabbaths and Feasts of Elohim or by simply guarding to do all that He commands, including a cheerful giving of tithes and offerings!

When these things become a burden to do, and are not a delight that one has the privilege of doing, then clearly the Torah is not a delight and the fear of Elohim is not present!.

Tehillah/Psalm 43:3-4 “Send forth Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me, let them bring me to Your set-apart mountain and to Your dwelling places. 4 That I might come to the slaughter-place of Elohim, to Ěl, the joy of my delight, and praise You with the lyre, O Elohim, my Elohim.”

Here the Psalmist is asking for the Light and Truth of Elohim to come and lead him to set-apartness for Elohim is the joy of his ‘delight’.

יהושע Messiah, the Word made flesh, is the Light and Truth who leads us and in whom we delight, for He is the joy of our delight!

The Hebrew root word that is used here for ‘delight’ is גִּיל gil – Strong’s H1524 which means, ‘a rejoicing, exultation, joy’, and comes from the root verb גִּיל gil – Strong’s H1523 – ‘rejoice, be glad, be joyful’- ‘to circle around or spin around’, and is used in;

Tehillah/Psalm 9:14 “So that I declare all Your praise in the gates of the daughter of Tsiyon. I rejoice in Your deliverance.”

This is an expressive rejoicing, that can clearly be seen in the physical actions of one’s life! .

As you go about you day – how are you expressing the joy and gladness of Elohim?

Can you honestly declare that Elohim is the joy of your delight?.

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘joy’ in Tehillah/Psalm 43:4 is שִׂמְחָה simḥah – Strong’s H8057 which means, ‘joy, gladness, delight, festival, pleasure’, and comes from the root שָׂמַח samaḥ – Strong’s H8055 and means, ‘to rejoice, be glad, be joyful, delight in and be elated’..

In the ancient pictographic script this word שִׂמְחָה simḥah – Strong’s H8057 looks like this:.

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Shin – שָׂ:

This is the letter ‘shin’ which in the ancient script is pictured as, , which is ‘two front teeth’ and carries the meaning of ‘sharp or press, chew or devour’; which is what the teeth do, and also speaks of the sharpened word that comes forth from the mouth, as the teeth ‘chew’ or ‘meditate’ on the Truth, making what comes forth pure and sharp!

It also carries the understanding of consuming or destroying – as teeth do to food.

This can give us the meaning of WORD or Words..

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!

Ḥet – ח:

The ancient script has this letter as which is a ‘tent wall’, and carries a meaning of ‘SEPARATION’, as a tent wall separates two halves of the tent; or it can also reflect the outside walls that separate the people inside from that which is outside and so can also symbolise protection and security to those inside, while picturing a cutting off of those who are outside. Hence this letter can mean ‘established, secure’ as well as ‘cut off, separated from’. As a tent wall we are also able to recognise the picture of stones being built up to make a complete wall, having been separated from the world and built up in the master!.

Hey – ה:

The ancient script has this letter pictured as , which is ‘a man standing with his arms raised out’. The meaning of the letter is “behold, look, breath, sigh and reveal or revelation”; from the idea of revealing a great sight by pointing it out. It also carries for us the meaning of surrender, as we lift up our hands and submit to יהוה as we lift our hands in praise, declaring His authority under which we humbly submit!.

When looking at this word in its pictographic form, in terms of our command to rejoice, we are able to see why we are able to rejoice as we recognise the following:.

BEHOLD, THE WORD THAT WASHES US HAS SEPARATED US

AND SECURED US AND IS TO BE PRAISED!.

This is a clear reason to serve with gladness, for as long as we allow the Word to wash us and keep us clean, we are able to confidently make our boast in Elohim, whom we give continual thanks and praise to, with much gladness, as we are built up as living stones in the Master; living stones that offer up our lives as a daily living offering with rejoicing praise and obedient thanksgiving!.

When Elohim is the joy of our delight, then it can clearly be seen in our lives, through a confident boasting in His Goodness, reflected in the joy that is expressed in diligently seeking Him and delighting in Him, always!.

What is your delight and what do you delight in?

As we consider the delight we ought to have, as a verb, we can learn much from that which Dawiḏ expresses in what he delighted himself in or what delighted him:

Tehillah/Psalm 94:19 “When anxiety was great within me, Your comforts delighted my being.”

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘comforts’ is תַּנְחוּם tanchum – Strong’s 8575 and comes from the root verb נָחַם naḥam – Strong’s H5162 which means, ‘to comfort, console, to be comforted’, and this root often seems to reflect the idea of ‘breathing deeply’. .

In Yeshayahu/Isaiah 40:1 we see the following term/phrase that is translated as “comfort, comfort, My people…”:

נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ עַמִּי

naḥamu, naḥamu, ami.

The repetition of the word used for ‘comfort’, is for emphasis and this word is from the root word נָחַם naḥam – Strong’s H5162.

The term נַחֲמוּ naḥamu, which is a derivative of נָחַם naḥam, can give the understanding of ‘to cause to breathe again’.

In other words, it is יהוה Himself that would bring the ‘recovery of breath’, and this is His comforting words that are being spoken to His people – and in a sense could render the encouragement of knowing that Elohim Himself is declaring to a people in exile:

“I am bringing you a recovery of breath”.

This recovery of breath that was surely needed is sufficient for His people to get strengthened and prepare the way for His soon return!

We are told at the end of the Tehillim/Psalms, in Tehillah/Psalm 150:6, to let all that has breath praise יהוה.

Only when you truly delight in יהוה and fins the true comfort of seeking Him as one should, can you confidently praise Him with great joy, accompanied by the clear display of pure set-apartness that is pursued with great zeal!.

The Psalmist, in Tehillah/Psalm 94, is expressing the comfort of the recovering breath of Elohim that he delighted in, while dwelling in the midst of a wicked and corrupt people!

When you are filled with great anxiety, what do you delight in?

Do you delight in the comforts of Elohim, that He brings through His word that strengthens your being?.

The Hebrew root verb that is used in Tehillah/Psalm 94:19 for ‘delighted’ is שָׁעַע sha’a – Strong’s H8173 which means, ‘take joy in, delight in, have a feeling or attitude of taking pleasure in, having fondness for an object’.

This verb is written here in the causative or reflexive tense, teaching us that, when in anxiety, he was caused to delight himself in the comforting breath of Elohim!

This verb שָׁעַע sha’a – Strong’s H8173 is also used in:

Tehillah/Psalm 119:16 “I delight myself in Your laws; I do not forget Your word.”

As the psalmist meditated on the orders and ways of Elohim, he expressed how he delighted himself in the laws and took great pleasure in them, having shown a proper attitude toward them! .

We again see this root verb שָׁעַע sha’a – Strong’s H8173 being used in:

Tehillah/Psalm 119:70 “Their heart has become like fat, without feeling; I have delighted in Your Torah.”

While the wrong have fattened hearts of deceit without feeling, the psalmist declares that he takes great pleasure in the Torah of Elohim!

How about you?

Does the Torah give you great pleasure and do you have great fondness and delight for it? Or, has your heart become calloused by the worries of this age and the deceit of wealth that chokes out the Word, rendering one fruitless?.

What is interesting to take note of, is that this root verb שָׁעַע sha’a – Strong’s H8173 can also carry the meaning of, ‘to be smeared over or blinded, to smear the eyes shut’, and is translated as ‘shut’, in:

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 6:10 “Make the heart of this people fat, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and shall turn and be healed.”

What, in essence, is being said here, is that those who have not delighted in יהוה and His Torah, and have shut their eyes to the Truth are given over to their own evil that they have delighted in.

This is a negative use of this word that highlights the danger of not delighting in יהוה and being given over to the delights of a fattened and calloused heart!.

Understanding our need to be delighting ourselves in יהוה, His Torah and the comforting breath of His Word, we recognise that this verb teaches us that our delight in Him must express an intensive and intentional action of seeking Him and continually doing so, lest our eyes become smeared shut by deceit!.

To delight in יהוה, is a continual action of a committed obedience, which is required to be done out of a pure pleasure and joy, as opposed to it being a heavy burden that is too hard to bear!

What one delights in, will not be too hard to do, even if it takes hard work and it costs you! Knowing that delighting in our Master and Elohim is a required action, what we also need to learn, is the things of יהוה that we are to delight ourselves in, and this is where the noun, that is derived from this root verb שָׁעַע sha’a – Strong’s H8173, comes into play! .

The noun that is derived from this verb is שַׁעֲשֻׁעִים sha’ashuiym – Strong’s H8191 which means, ‘delight, pleasant, object of delight’, which is an intensive noun that is written in the plural.

When being written as ‘my delight’ it is written as שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי sha’ashuai.

This noun is used 9 times in the Tanak, 5 of which are used in Tehillah/Psalm 119, in the construct of שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי sha’ashuai which means, ‘MY DELIGHT’.

It is this Hebrew word – שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי sha’ashuai that gripped me and led me to dig deeper into what we are to be delighting ourselves in. .

Let us therefore take a look at these 5 verses and see what the object of the psalmist’s delight was, allowing the mirror of the Word to show us whether our delight is the same too:

Tehillah/Psalm 119:24 “Your witnesses also are my delight, my counsellors.”

Tehillah/Psalm 119:77 “Let Your compassions come to me, that I might live, for Your Torah is my delight.”

Tehillah/Psalm 119:92 “If Your Torah had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.”

Tehillah/Psalm 119:143 “Distress and anguish have found me; Your commands are my delight.”

Tehillah/Psalm 119:174 “I have longed for Your deliverance, O יהוה, and Your Torah is my delight.”.

As we can clearly see from these verses, the object of the psalmist’s delight was the witnesses, Torah and commands of יהוה!

As we stop and ponder on this and see exactly what the psalmist took great pleasure in, we have to question the motives of some who claim to follow the Creator yet delight not in His witnesses, Torah and commands..

The Hebrew root word that is used in verse 24 for ‘witnesses’ is עֵדָה eḏah – Strong’s H5713 which is the feminine of the word for ‘witness’, which is עֵד eyḏ – Strong’s H5707 which means, ‘witness, evidence, testimony’, which comes from the root word עוּד uḏ/ooḏ – Strong’s H5749, which means, ‘to return, go about, repeat, do again, encircle, supports’. .

A word that is derived from this root verb and is used to describe the Ark of the ‘witness’, is the noun עֵדוּת eḏuth – Strong’s H5715 which means, ‘testimony, witness, ordinance, warning’..

In the ancient pictographic text, we see the root word for witness – עֵד eyḏ – Strong’s H5707 – being pictured as follows:

.

Ayin – עָ:

The original pictograph for this letter is: and represents the idea of ‘seeing and watching’, as well as ‘knowledge’ as the eye is the window of knowledge..

Dalet – דֶ:

The ancient script has this letter as and is pictured as a ‘tent door’. It can also have the meaning of ‘a back-and-forth movement’, as one goes back and forth through a tent door, and so speaks of an access point. It can also carry the meaning of ‘dangle’ or hanging as the tent door would hang from the roof pole of the tent. It speaks a great deal in terms of understanding the door of the tent of appointment as the only means of access..

When we consider these two pictographs, which represent the idea of being a witness, we can see the following being declared:.

EYE ON THE DOOR / LOOKING AT THE DOOR!.

When we consider that יהושע Messiah is The Door, then we further see our need to continually be looking at Him, and praising Him as we diligently are serving in spirit and truth, guarding to do all His commands – as we look continually into the perfect Torah of Freedom and not forget what we look like! .

The Word of יהוה shall be a witness against those who are not ‘looking’ at His Word and guarding to do it!

We are to be true witnesses of the Good News and the Reign of our Master that is coming, as we hold fast to and possess the witness of יהושע Messiah, for the witness of יהושע is the spirit of prophecy, which means that we bear witness of all that the Torah and the prophets bear witness of, declaring who our Master, Saviour and Elohim is and keeping our eyes fixed on Him, not turning to the left or to the right as we stay in Him and walk in His Word!.

The Hebrew word that is used in verse 143 for ‘commands’ is מִצְוֹתַ mitsvoth and is the plural of the word מִצְוָה mitzvah – Strong’s H4687 which means, ‘commandment, command, obligation, precept’, which comes from the primitive root צָוָה tsavah – Strong’s H6680 which means, ‘to lay charge (upon), give charge to, command, order, appoint, commission, ordain’.

His מִצְוַת mitzvoth (plural for commands) are those rules which apply to specific situations and are tailored for each unique situation in determining the correct action to be taken in a specific circumstance and so we ‘guard’ those carefully to know how to respond and take action for any given situation we may find ourselves in..

3 times in Tehillah/Psalm 119, the Psalmist clearly expresses the delight he has in the Torah of יהוה, and he says, in verse 92, that if the Torah of יהוה had not been his delight, he would have perished in his affliction! ..

If the Torah of יהוה is not our delight we will perish!!!

Think about this for a moment, as many are sadly making the drunken assumption, under the misguided traditions and false teachings of man, that the Torah of יהוה has been done away with and is no longer applicable..

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘perish’ comes from the root word אָבַד aḇaḏ – Strong’s H6 which means, ‘to perish, destroy, lose, put to death, blot out, do away with, to give up as lost, vanish, be lost or strayed’.

Those who claim this, shall perish in their affliction!

The Hebrew root word for ‘affliction’ is עֳנִי oniy – Strong’s H6040 which means, ‘affliction, great pains, misery’, and comes from the root עָנָה anah – Strong’s H6031, which means, ‘to be bowed down, afflicted, humbled’ and it can also carry the meaning, ‘to be occupied or busy with’.

What do you find yourself ‘being busy with’?

Whatever it is, are you delighting in the Torah that is able to comfort you in every situation?

Tehillah/Psalm 119:50 “This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life.”

In the great praise for the Torah, the psalmist certainly expresses that without the Torah we would have no proper direction and would be on a path to destruction. .

The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘my comfort’ is נֶחָמָתִ֣י neḥamathiy which comes from the root word נֶחָמָה neḥamah which means, ‘comfort, consolation’ and comes from the root word נָחַם naḥam – Strong’s H5162 which means, ‘to comfort, console, to be comforted’, which we have already discussed..

When being surrounded by, or dwelling in, a place of affliction, we have comfort in recognising the fruit of meditating on the Torah day and night, and that, in the working out of our deliverance with fear and trembling, through obedience to the Torah, we are able to set our expectation perfectly upon the favour that is to be brought to us at the revelation of יהושע Messiah, for His Word gives us the comforting recovery of breath, when the choking pressures of afflictions comes against us, …. if we are, in fact, delighting in His Word as we should!.

Instead of making the Torah of יהוה a delight, many are casting it aside and, as a result, become fools, in which יהוה takes no pleasure.

Before we simply label those ‘out there’, that have no regard for the Torah, let us consider for a moment the reality of how some, who are walking in the Torah, are not actually making it their delight, but are simply going through the motions because they know they should!.

יהוה desires obedience and not sacrifice; and what that means, is that He desires a proper obedience that comes from a place of a true delight for Him and His Word. .

When true servants take pleasure in His Torah, then being a daily living sacrifice is a natural occurrence and sacrifice does not need to be ‘manufactured’. .

Are you able to truly say the following, just as the Psalmist declared?

“The witnesses, commands and Torah of יהוה” are:

MY DELIGHT

שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי sha’ashuai.

In Mishlĕ/Proverbs 8, we are told in the parables of Shelomoh, that wisdom is the daily delight of Elohim and His delights are with the sons of men!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 8:30-31 “Then I was beside Him, a master workman, and I was His delight, day by day rejoicing before Him all the time, 31 rejoicing in the world, His earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.”.

We are also told in:

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 5:7 “For the vineyard of יהוה of hosts is the house of Yisra’ĕl, and the man of Yehuḏah is His pleasant plant. He looked for right-ruling, but see, oppression; for righteousness, but see, weeping.”

The ‘man of Yehuḏah’ is his שַׁעֲשֻׁעָ sha’ashua – His delight, which is written in the Hebrew text as שַׁעֲשׁוּעָיו sha’ashuav.

I find this verse to be a prophetic statement of Messiah, who would come in the flesh and be born from the Tribe of Yehuḏah and dwell among His people, in order to restore His vineyard!

Mattithyahu/Matthew 3:16-17 “And having been immersed, יהושע went up immediately from the water, and see, the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of Elohim descending like a dove and coming upon Him, 17 and see, a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I did delight.”.

Do you see this?

יהוה looked at His vineyard – the House of Yisra’ĕl – and there was no right-ruling or righteousness, as there was only oppression and weeping.

In His great wisdom, it delighted Him to come in the form of man, from the tribe of Yehuḏah, and be planted among His vineyard and become the True Vine, to which we are grafted into and become His branches!.

The reason I am sharing these verses with you, is to highlight the power of understanding what it means to have delight in יהוה and the wonderful blessing of recognising His delight that He has for us, as we see this word being used again in:

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 31:20 “Is Ephrayim a precious son to Me, a child of delights? For though I spoke against him, I still remembered him. That is why My affections were deeply moved for him. I have great compassion for him,” declares יהוה.”

יהוה asks the rhetorical question, of whether Ephrayim is a precious son to Him and a child of delights, where the Hebrew word for ‘delights’ is שַׁעֲשֻׁעִים sha’ashuiym – Strong’s H8191.

The answer is clear – yes Ephrayim is a child of delights.

Ephrayim is often used in Scripture as a metaphor for the scattered House of Yisra’ĕl, who He remembers and works deliverance for, because of His delight for His precious delights!.

יהוה delights so much in us that He came in the flesh in order to die for us and be raised so that we can be restored to Him as a pruned vine and no longer a degenerate one!.

MY DELIGHT – שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי – sha’ashuai – … is…!

How do you complete that sentence?

Like the Psalmist, or has your heart been fattened by deceit and you find that your delight is in other things?

As I meditated on this word שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי sha’ashuai – ‘MY DELIGHT’, I realised how urgent the mirror of this Truth must be, to a Bride who is making Herself ready for Her coming King, in whom she delights!

As mentioned already, when you delight in something or someone, and truly take pleasure in them, then nothing is too hard or difficult, despite what it may cost you.

However, when something is not a delight to you then doing it becomes a sacrifice, for which יהוה does not desire. .

Do you take pleasure in יהוה, His witnesses, His commands and His Torah?

For if you do, then doing His word will be an absolute pleasure! .

There is one other word that I want to mention, as it is also translated as ‘delight’, and that is the noun עֹנֶג oneg – Strong’s H6027 which means, ‘daintiness, exquisite delight, luxurious’, and comes from the root verb עָנֹג anog – Strong’s H6026 which means, ‘to be soft, dainty, delicate, take delight’.

Both the noun and verb is used in:.

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 58:13-14 “If you do turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My set-apart day, and shall call the Sabbath ‘a delight,’ the set-apart day of יהוה ‘esteemed,’ and shall esteem it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, 14 then you shall delight yourself in יהוה. And I shall cause you to ride on the heights of the earth, and feed you with the inheritance of Yaʽaqoḇ your father. For the mouth of יהוה has spoken!”

As we consider these various words for ‘delight’ may we earnestly be stirred to delight ourselves in our Master and Elohim, and take pleasure in serving Him in Spirit and Truth, as we see Dawiḏ telling us in:

Tehillah/Psalm 37:4 “And delight yourself in יהוה, and let Him give you the desires of your heart.”.

When you truly take pleasure in יהוה, then the desires of your heart will be perfectly lined up with His desire, which is our set-apartness!

Tas’loniqim Aleph/1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 “For this is the desire of Elohim: your set-apartness! – that you should abstain from whoring, 4 that each one of you should know how to possess his own vessel in set-apartness and respect, 5 not in passion of lust, like the gentiles who do not know Elohim, 6 not to overstep and take advantage of his brother in this matter, because the Master is the revenger of all such, as we indeed said to you before and earnestly warned. 7 For Elohim did not call us to uncleanness, but in set-apartness.”.

I therefore leave you with the mirror of the Word, into which you ought to be looking intently into, and carefully consider these passages that I have mentioned in this message, and ask yourself if your sentence can be finished like the Psalmist’s, when you say:

שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי – sha’ashuai – ‘MY DELIGHT’… is in….

Consider these questions, as you do an earnest assessment of what you are delighting in:

Has guarding the Sabbath been hard for you at times?

Have you been in the habit of forsaking the proper called for assembling together, on the Sabbaths and Feasts of יהוה, as some have?

Have you forgotten to wear tsitsit, as we are commanded to?

Have you neglected to give the proper tithes and offerings as you should?

Have you neglected to pray as you should?

Have you neglected to rejoice always?

Have you neglected to proclaim the Reign of the Master to others? .

I could go on and on with many similar questions that can cut right to the heart, and if the answer to any of these are ‘yes’, then it is a clear sign that your delight has not truly been in יהוה, His witnesses, His commands and His Torah, as it should! .

May this be a reminder to you all, that true servants and ambassadors of the King delight themselves in Him, no matter the cost, for they take great pleasure in pleasing Him..

In recognising this, may you be greatly encouraged to complete the following declaration with a confident boast of praise in our Mighty Master and Elohim, and His perfect Word:.

שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי – sha’ashuai – ‘MY DELIGHT’… is in… .

May you be able to boldly and truthfully declare what the Psalmist declared and take pleasure in meditating, studying and seeking out the Word, as you walk in the Master each and every day, and embrace His great delight, that He takes in His wise servants who are making themselves ready for His soon return!.

MY DELIGHT

שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי sha’ashuai.

יהוה bless you and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and show favour to you; יהוה lift up His face upon you and give you Shalom!.

24^th of the 11^th month 2020/2021.

Shalom all,

Have you ever heard the following words being asked, “where is the love?”

In a time where the true love of many is growing cold, we find that a corrupted perception of what love is, has so many claiming, whenever their disobedience to the Word of Elohim is exposed, that they are not being shown love.

How true can their statements be and can it be one that can honestly be defended, according to the Word of Elohim.

In this message I would like to take a closer look at what Scripture defines as love, both for Elohim and that which is to be shown toward one another.

In doing so, it may become a little clearer to some just how true love was actually being displayed or shown toward them when they may have erroneously accused it as being loveless!.

In a day and age where the Word of Elohim has been twisted by falsehood and has been corrupted by the vain traditions and fleshly theologies and doctrines of man, we tend to see how a false ear tickling poison has promoted a lawless system that sets aside the need to guard the commands of Elohim and any attempt at trying to teach that the Torah of Elohim must be obeyed is seen as being one that is too strict and without love, which leaves those who operate under a ‘lawless grace system’, making the drunken statement of “where is the love?”.

In order to be able to properly answer this, we need to define what love is, according to the Word and not according to twisted interpretations of the Word!!!

Having said that, I would like to take a closer look at some vital passages in Scripture, that clearly spell out for us what love actually is, after which the question of, ‘Where is the love?’, can be directed back toward those who have felt justifiably unloved when being confronted about their disobedience and refusal to walk according to the Torah of Elohim..

So, in a message called, “WHAT IS LOVE? WHERE IS THE LOVE?” I would like us to allow these two questions to be properly explored and understood on the basis of the authority of the Word of Elohim.

We will see from Scripture what love is, answering the first one very clearly, leaving the second question to be asked through the mirror of the Word, giving each one an opportunity to assess their own lives before Elohim and determine if they are walking in love or not..

I did a message a few years back called, “WHAT IS LOVE?”, and looked a little closer at what is typically called the love chapter, Qorintiyim Aleph/1 Corinthians 13, and will be revisiting this message and using it as a base upon which I would like to expand upon in both answering as well as asking the question, “Where is the love?”

To start off with, I would like to jump right in to a clear definition of what “love for Elohim” is:

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 5:3-4 “For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands, and His commands are not heavy, 4 because everyone having been born of Elohim overcomes the world. And this is the overcoming that has overcome the world: our belief.”.

One cannot get any clearer than the words that we have from these two verses above: Very simply put, we are told the following:

LOVE FOR ELOHIM IS THAT WE GUARD HIS COMMANDS;

And in doing so we are overcomers in Messiah, as our belief with the works of obedience to the Torah is clear and evident in our lives – or rather, it should be!!! .

While this is so plain and very simple to understand, we find that so many people cannot grasp this truth, as the twisted lies and traditions of man have tainted the taught understanding of what love is, or rather, what true love for Elohim is!.

Our Master and Elohim, יהושע Messiah, tells us the following, in:

Yoḥanan/John 14:15 “If you love Me, you shall guard My commands.”

Yoḥanan/John 14:21-24 “He who possesses My commands and guards them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I shall love him and manifest Myself to him.” 22 Yehuḏah – not the one from Qerioth – said to Him, “Master, what has come about that You are about to manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 יהושע answered him, “If anyone loves Me, he shall guard My Word. And My Father shall love him, and We shall come to him and make Our stay with him. 24 “He who does not love Me does not guard My Words. And the Word which you hear is not Mine but of the Father Who sent Me.”

Yoḥanan/John 14:15 “If you guard My commands, you shall stay in My love, even as I have guarded My Father’s commands and stay in His love.”.

The reason for me highlighting these three passages from Yoḥanan/John 14 & 15 collectively, is to simply present the plain truth of what our Master is telling us, which is that the one who guards His commands and does them is one who loves Him! He also tells us that we stay in His love when we obey Him! .

Ok, so that then means that when one does not obey Him then they do not stay in His love and do not love Him!

We are again told very clearly in:

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 2:4-6 “The one who says, “I know Him,” and does not guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever guards His Word, truly the love of Elohim has been perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.”.

For some ears, these words being presented like this may sound, or be seen as, harsh and unloving, yet what I am trying to set forth here, is the clear understanding of what the Word defines for us as ‘love for Elohim’, for then we can get the basis for any other love that is, or ought, to be shown toward another, because if the true love for Elohim is not being displayed in one’s life then the ability to love another according to the clear standards of Scripture is not possible, no matter how emotionally driven it may be!.

As one continues reading Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John we are also warned against loving that which is not of Elohim!

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor that which is in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 Because all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world passes away, and the lust of it, but the one doing the desire of Elohim remains forever.”.

Love is clearly an action and what we must understand is that our choice of action determines our true identity, and we who chose wisely, in choosing to love Elohim and obey His commands, shall remain forever, as we see here that the one “doing” the desire of Elohim remains forever, whereas those who choose to love the world and follow after its twisted ways of lawlessness and pride, shall pass away with the present world – and they will not see the renewed heavens and earth!.

In answering the question, “What is love?” I want us to be further strengthened in the clear understanding of what love is, and more importantly what the love for Elohim is, so that we may be found to be faithful stewards and servants of the Most–High, when He comes to take up His lovingly-committed Bride, that has set herself apart and made herself ready, through the proper adoring of His Word, seen in the good and fruitful works of an active obedience to His commands and being led forth by the easy yoke of His Torah!.

When you ask different people what love is, you may get some very different answers.

The majority will most probably tell you that it is a strong affection for another, based on kinship or personal ties.

Some might say that it is an attraction based on sexual desires, or an affection felt by lovers, while others may say that it is an affection based on admiration for another that is stemmed out of common interests or desired goals.

Still others may tell you that it is a warm fuzzy feeling of attachment, enthusiasm or devotion!

All of these answers may certainly be partly correct, especially if one did a dictionary study on what the term ‘love’ is, as seemingly understood by most in the world.

A dictionary may even tell you that love is a concern for another and the devotion that one extends to another, as well as the ability to thrive in passion or the experience of desire – as we often hear many say, ‘I love it!’, when referring to an experience that they desire and enjoy! But, is that all what love is?

In this message, I will be taking a look at what is possibly one of the most popular chapters in Scripture and dig a little deeper into the Greek text in order for us to gain a better understanding on what love is, according to Scripture! .

Please turn with me to Qorintiyim Aleph/1 Corinthians 13 (READ).

When reading this passage, one has to understand the context of this letter that Sha’ul is writing to the believers in Corinth.

Just before this chapter, Sha’ul speaks of the Spiritual gifts and the importance of them being active in the body and how the body is made up together to be in unity, with each part having its unique role; and then he proceeds to explain what true love is; and refers to the truest expression of love as:

“The Most Excellent Way!”.

In Chapter 14 he encourages the true pursuit of love and the seeking of the spiritual gifts; and in the process, warns against any hypocritical outward expression, or show, that was being done before others, in their vain attempts at trying to show others their love for Elohim and each other!

It is no different for us today and in recognising this, we are able to identify how important it is for us to learn from these words of Sha’ul and do our utmost to be found to be walking in the most excellent way!.

Sha’ul had already rebuked this assembly at Corinth for still being fleshly, as envy, strife and bitterness was still very active, as they walked according to the ways of man and not the True Way of Elohim, despite having been taught by him the true way!

Qorintiyim Aleph/1 Corinthians 3:1-3 “And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual ones but as to fleshly, as to babes in Messiah. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food, for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able, 3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is envy, and strife, and divisions among you, are you not fleshly and walking according to man?”

There is a great deal of wisdom that can be learnt from the letters of Sha’ul and this one is no different.

We are able to see how frustrated he was, in seeing how the believers had to be spoken to like little babies, as they were still being very fleshly in their understanding, or lack thereof, of Scripture and their immature dealings with each other.

While he acknowledged, in Chapter 1:7, that ‘in Messiah’ they lacked no gift, their application of these gifts were misguided and therefore their need to understand the true love for Elohim was vital, in utilising the spiritual gifts correctly, in order to be the ready Bride that Messiah is coming for!

In a manner of speaking, Sha’ul was putting before them a true “love test”, which can, and should, be done when assessing our walk in Messiah, in assessing how we relate to each other and whether we are walking in His instructions, with joy and without grumbling, or not..

This chapter 13 describes, what could be called, the love walk, or as Sha’ul calls it: the most excellent way – and in essence, this can and should be a love test for each of us too.

This chapter, being a practical definition of love in the daily routines of life, related to the problems that the believers in Corinth were experiencing, as they were walking in the flesh, as we can see from the words of Sha’ul in this letter to this assembly, where the bad fruit of sinful fleshliness was being produces as opposed to bearing the proper fruits of repentance that leads to set-apartness! .

Let me briefly highlight some of the bad fruit that was being displayed:

Jealousy – Chapter 3:3 “for you are still fleshly. For since there is envy, and strife, and divisions among you, are you not fleshly and walking according to man?”

Bragging – Chapter 4:7 “For who makes you to differ? And what do you have that you did not receive? And if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”

Arrogance – Chapter 4:6 “And these matters, brothers, I have applied in a figure to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you might learn not to think beyond what is written, so that none of you be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.”

Seeking their own good – Chapter 10:24 “Let no one seek his own, but each one that of the other.”

Taking wrong into account – Chapter 6:7 “Already, then, there is a failure with you, that you have lawsuits among you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?”

Rejoicing in unrighteousness – Chapter 5:2 “And you have been puffed up, and did not rather mourn, so that he who has done this deed, be removed from among you!”.

This letter, written to this assembly at Corinth, in many ways, carries great lessons for us today, as we are able to identify many of the same problems that were happening back then, still happening today. It is therefore vital for us to grasp our need to understand, and fully walk in, the true obedient love for Elohim that we, as His Set-Apart and Chosen Bride, are called to walk in!

For it is only then that we will be able to confidently answer the two questions:

“What is love? Where is the love?”.

At Corinth, we had an assembly that was seemingly exceeding in many of the gifts yet were failing in their love.

When understood in the simple terms of Yoḥanan, that the love for Elohim is to obey Him, then we are able to see how so many today may be excelling in many of the spiritual gifts, on a fleshly level, yet their lack of obedience to the Torah and commands of Elohim, renders them loveless, lawless and in danger of being destroyed and not able to enter into the reign of Elohim!

While the world may romanticise love, we are able to see from the words of Sha’ul that his definition of love is not simply a romantic one but is rather defined in one’s actions and choices that are lived out on a daily basis, as opposed to a mere emotional feeling alone!.

Chapter 12 ends with the words: … “I show you a more excellent way!”

The Greek words that are used for ‘more excellent’ are:

1) κατά kata – Strong’s G2596 which is a preposition which carries the meaning, ‘down, against, according to’ and

2) ὑπερβολή huperbolē – Strong’s G5236 which means, ‘far more, exceeding, more excellent, abundance, surpassing, superiority’, which comes from the root word ὑπερβάλλω huperballō – Strong’s G5235 which means, ‘throw over or beyond, run beyond, surpass’; and this word comes from the two words:

1) ὑπέρ huper – Strong’s G5228 which is a primitive preposition that can mean, ‘over, beyond, on behalf of, for the sake of, concerning, exceed, more so, more than’, and

2) βάλλω ballō – Strong’s G906 which means, ‘to throw or cast’..

The reason I am highlighting these various words and their roots, is to highlight the image that Sha’ul is using here, in describing the way of love, for it far surpasses any other way!.

In the first 3 verses of Chapter 13, Sha’ul begins the explanation of the more excellent way in what are seemingly negative statements, yet they clearly express Elohim’s love language!

To put it plainly – Scripture clearly defines love for Elohim as obedience to His commands, and Sha’ul makes it clear that Elohim is more concerned about the attitude of our hearts than our abilities, and is basically saying that you can have amazing abilities and be able to speak many languages, as well as speak in the language of the messengers, yet if the application of an active obedience is not present then you are simply just being a big irritating noise! .

He continues to say that even if you are able to have extensive knowledge of the Word and are able to prophecy yet disregard the loving-commitment to obey the Torah, you have nothing at all!

In other words, you might be able to sound all spiritual, in your speech and assumed knowledge of the Truth, yet if you disregard love for Him by casting aside His Torah and instructions, then you have nothing at all! .

This is a clear rebuke to those who have positioned themselves in places of authority over others, in sounding correct and true, while they teach and promote lawlessness and have cast the Torah of Elohim behind their backs – and the sad reality is that they have no love at all, despite their very soothing ear tickling massages that they give, in order to make people feel satisfied in the fleshliness of emotions that seek to deviate from obedience and be erroneously justified in their continued stand of the working of lawlessness !

Sha’ul then brings it a little closer to home and says that it doesn’t matter if you sell all you have and die for your faith – if you lack true love for Elohim, and disregard His Torah, then you shall profit nothing and your labour will have been in vain! .

So many people today are doing a lot of ‘good deeds’ and are helping the poor, giving their whole lives into serving the church system, yet without Torah obedience they have no profit for their works, due to a lack of obedience!

It is to many that יהושע Messiah will say, “I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!” (Mattithyahu/Matthew 7:23), in His response to those who will claim to have prophesied and done so mighty works in His Name!.

Marqos/Mark 7:6-8 “And He answering, said to them, “Well did Yeshayahu prophesy concerning you hypocrites, as it has been written, ‘This people respect Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 7 And in vain do they worship Me, teaching as teachings the commands of men.’ 8 “Forsaking the command of Elohim, you hold fast the tradition of men.” .

What we see here in Sha’ul’s description and definition of love, is that he begins by making it clear that one cannot assume to love simply by the works of the flesh, when the true walking in the Spirit (which is according to the Torah) is lacking!.

Before we get into this chapter, when understanding what love is, we are able, as I have said earlier, to get various descriptions and viewpoints.

In 1973 John Alan Lee wrote a book called ‘Colours of love’ and in this book he mentioned 6 types of love as defined from the Greek language, and he described the different kinds of love as follows:

1 – Eros. From the Greek word for “erotic or passionate”; a passionate physical and emotional love based on aesthetic enjoyment; stereotype of romantic love and seeks to be satisfied through physical intimacy..

2 – Ludus. From the Latin word meaning “sport or play”, a love that is played as a game or sport; conquest. It fantasises and engages in playful interactions but carries little or no intimacy and no deep intensity. People with ludus love keep their passions in check – avoid trouble and intensity in relationships. They are uncomfortable about commitment. They easily keep secrets from their significant other and are more likely to have affairs. For them it is ‘all part of the game’, or part of the conquest, and will run from partner to partner..

3 – Storge. From the Greek word meaning “friendship”; is an affectionate love that slowly develops from friendship and is based on similarity. There is strong companionship and shared values, yet little intimacy..

4 – Pragma. From the Greek word meaning “practical”; this is love that is driven by the head, not the heart; it is practical and non-emotional. It is a combination of storge and ludus love. .

5 – Mania. From the Greek word meaning “frenzy”; is a highly volatile love; an obsession; primarily fuelled by low self-esteem. This is what could be classed as ‘possessive love’, and is really a combination of eros and ludus love. It is also known as the troubled love.

This love is shaped by jealousy and dependence (often called co-dependency) – it is dependent upon the possessing of another’s love. There is great intensity and little intimacy.

People who express love in this way are often very critical of every move their partner makes, always accusing and assuming things that are not there and is the result of having a past of rejection and neglect..

6 – Agape. From the Greek word meaning “mighty-like or spiritual”; is a selfless altruistic love; a spiritual and true love. The highest form of love – the love of unselfish regard and has a devotion to the welfare of others. This love gives without asking anything in return, whereas all of the above expressions of love have an expectation of a return.

Agape is a sacrificial love – a giving of oneself – and it is the purest form of love that can be expressed in action toward, and in response to, another.

It is an unconditional love for others, in spite of their character flaws and weaknesses, and this is the love that Sha’ul is writing about, as the more excellent way! ἀγάπη agape – Strong’s G26 is used 9 times in these 13 verses of Chapter 13 in Qorintiyim Aleph/1 Corinthians!!!

This both expresses the love that Elohim has for us, and what we ought to have for Him as we faithfully obey His commands, and this is the kind of love that we are to express in our daily lives toward each other, as a body that is being knit together in Messiah!.

Let us now take a closer look at what love is and what it is not, as we look at 15 characteristics that Sha’ul mentions here!

LOVE IS…/LOVE…

1 – PATIENT – the Greek word that is translated here as ‘patient’ is μακροθυμέω makrothumeō – Strong’s G3114 which means, ‘be patient, have patience, not lose heart, to persevere patiently and bravely in enduring trials and troublesome times, be patient in bearing the offences and injuries of others, slow to anger, longsuffering’; and this word comes from two Greek words:

a) μακρός makros – Strong’s G3117 which means, ‘long, far, distant’ and

b) θυμός thumos – Strong’s G2372 which means, ‘passion, angry tempers, fierce, wrath, outbursts of anger’.

We are certainly able to see from this definition how patient יהוה is with mankind!

Kěpha Bět/2 Peter 3:9 “יהוה is not slow in regard to the promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward us, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

We are also able to identify how we too need to be patient until our Master comes, not losing heart, enduring under trials and being slow to become angry!!!

Ya’aqoḇ/James 5:7-8 “So, brothers, be patient until the coming of the Master. See, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You too, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Master has drawn near.”

A Greek antonym for this word is ἀδημονέω adēmoneō – Strong’s G85 which means, ‘to be faint, depressed and almost overwhelmed with sorrow or burden of mind, be in distress, distressed’.

There are many today who are deeply depressed and are greatly overwhelmed by the trials that they face and, in the process, they are unable to express true patient love towards others and toward Elohim, which is revealed in their refusal to walk in the commands of Elohim.

There are also some who claim to walk in the commands of Elohim, yet their lives are riddled with compromise, and clear fruit of set-apartness is lacking, under the burdened pressures of the world that chokes out the Word and causes them to be faint! .

We are to ‘wait on יהוה’, through diligently obeying His Word and walking in His commands, for then He will renew our strength and we will not grow faint amidst the battles of life! We are to faithfully persevere and endure bravely under trials as we stand steadfast is lovingly obeying the commands of Elohim!.

To love is to refrain from outbursts of anger and not letting your anger cause you to sin!

The Greek word μακροθυμέω makrothumeō – Strong’s G3114 is used in the LXX (Septuagint – Greek translation of the Tanak – O.T.) in:

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 19:11 “A man’s discretion makes him patient, and his adorning is to pass over a transgression.”

 The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘discretion’ is the word שֵׂכֶל seḵel – Strong’s H7922 which means, ‘insight, discretion, prudence, wisdom’.

‘Discretion’, according to the Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, carries the meaning, ‘ability to make responsible decisions, the result of separating or distinguishing’, and ‘prudence’ carries the meaning of, ‘the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason, skill and good judgment in the use of resources, caution or circumspection as to danger or risk’.

To be prudent, in the positive sense, is to be marked by wisdom or judiciousness, which is the ability to exercise or be characterized by sound judgment!

This can only be done when you watch over the commands and do not let loving-commitment and truth be forsaken!

The Hebrew phrase that is translated as ‘makes him patient’ is written as:

הֶאֱרִיךְ אַפּוֹ – he’eriyḵ apo.

This is constructed from three root words:

1) אָרַךְ araḵ – Strong’s H748 which means, ‘to be long, continue, delay, endure, prolong’.

2) אַף aph – Strong’s H639 which means, ‘a nostril, nose, face, anger’, and this word is frequently used as a reference to the anger of both men and Elohim; and anger is often expressed in the appearance of the nostrils that dilate in anger. This word comes from the root verb אָנַף anaph – Strong’s H599 which means, ‘to be angry, become angry’. The description of the one who is impatient could literally be described as one who is ‘short of face’ and has a quick temper.

3) הוּא – huw – Strong’s H1931 which is a pronoun that means, ‘he, she, it’, and when joined to the word אַף aph – Strong’s H639 only the letter ‘waw/vav’ is used, known as a ḥolem vav which carries the ‘o’ sound.

The literal rendering here can actually be understood as the delay of one’s anger, in terms of expressing a man’s patience!.

A person’s ability to make responsible decisions as a result of a proper separation and distinction between what is clean and unclean or between what is set-apart and profane will cause them to be patient and not become prematurely angry.

How often have you simply failed the love test when simply looking at this first characteristic of what love is?

How often have you allowed your temper to flare up and burst out in anger towards another, because you were impatient and didn’t get your way?

The More excellent way of love does not do that – even when one is wronged!!!.

2 – KIND – The Greek word for ‘kind’ is χρηστεύομαι chrēsteuomai – Strong’s G5541 which means, ‘be kind, show oneself mild, show kindness’, and comes from the Greek word χρηστός chrēstos – Strong’s G5543 which means, ‘serviceable, good, useful, upright’. This word is used in the LXX (Septuagint – Greek translation of the Tanak – O.T.) in:

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 2:21 “For the straight shall dwell in the earth, and the perfect be left in it”

It is used for the word ‘straight’, which in the Hebrew text is the word יָשָׁר yashar – Strong’s H3477, and means, ‘right, straight, upright and 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.”

I encourage you to go and check out the Torah commentary notes on Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 3-7 for a more deeper understanding of what ‘yasher’ means!.

In this letter to the assembly in Corinth, Sha’ul was making it clear that being kind emphasises the upright expression of love, as seen in being ‘upright, good and functional’, according to the Word of Elohim!.

3 – DOES NOT ENVY – The Greek word for ‘envy’ is ζηλόω zēloō – Strong’s G2206 meaning, ‘to be jealous, envious, desire earnestly’, and comes from the Greek word ζῆλος zēlos – Strong’s G2205 meaning, ‘zeal, jealousy, fury’ which is from the word ζέω zeō – Strong’s G2204 meaning, ‘to be hot, boil, fervent’. The Hebrew equivalent of this word is קָנָא qanah – Strong’s H7065 meaning, ‘to be jealous or zealous, be envious, ardent’, and both the Greek and Hebrew can be expressed as a positive or negative action, but what Sha’ul is referring to here is that true love cannot be expressed in the negative application of this word!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 23:17 “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be in the fear of יהוה all day long”

Ya’aqoḇ/James 3:16 “For where jealousy and self-seeking are, there is confusion and every foul deed.”

Ya’aqoḇ/James 4:2 “You desire, and do not have. You murder, and are jealous, and are unable to obtain. You strive and fight, and you do not possess, because you do not ask.”

Do you often find yourself being envious of another, be it because of what possessions they have, or what gifts and talents, or physical attributes they have?

If you do then, as Ya’aqoḇ says, you will find disorder and every evil practice.

4 – DOES NOT BOAST – The Greek word for ‘boast’ is περπερεύομαι perpereuomai – Strong’s G4068 which means, ‘to boast in oneself, self-display, vanity, excessive display of pride (especially in one’s achievements), brag, to think highly of oneself’.

We are to ‘boast’ in יהוה and in His Set-Apart Name, and not in self which Sha’ul makes clear here.

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus said יהוה, “Let not the wise boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty boast in his might, nor let the rich boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am יהוה, doing kindness, right-ruling, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” declares יהוה.”

The Hebrew word that is translated here for ‘boasts’ is הָלַל halal Strong’s H1984 which means, ‘to shine; to be boastful; to be clear; to make a show; to rave; be foolish; to celebrate; praise, cheer, brag or extol, i.e., extol the greatness or excellence of a person, object or event.’. This is a word that is frequently used for ‘praise’ and more specifically the praise and boasting we are to make in יהוה and not in self!.

When one begins to boast in self, or better yet praise oneself falsely, they are bordering on profaning the Name that is to be boasted in!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 25:14 “He who boasts of his gifts falsely is like clouds and wind without rain.”

The imagery of clouds without rain being likened to the false boasting that one does of his gifts carries the picture of a failure to produce what is expected! Just as rain is expected from clouds and wind so are the fruit of one’s gifts to be expected from the one who claims to have them.

Many people may boast in the assumed gifts that they have yet the fruit of their actions may not necessarily line up with their boasting.

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 20:6 “Most men proclaim each his own kindness, but who finds a trustworthy man?”

In other words, falsely boasting in one’s gifts is actually profanity and brings no true praise to Elohim, just as winds and clouds bring no rain! .

With the imagery of no rain, we take note that without rain there will be a severe drought and famine, and so it is with those who falsely boast in what ‘they’ call the gifts of the Spirit, while they are simply profaning the Name of יהוה through their vain and false traditions of a pagan rooted ‘sun-day’ worship system and the keeping of pagan rooted feasts, while casting the Torah of Elohim behind them!.

Waterless clouds are a picture of false and vain worship and we take note of the words that Yehuḏah wrote in describing those who have gone in the way of Qayin or have given themselves to the delusion of Bilʽam or rebelled like Qoraḥ:

Yehuḏah/Jude 1:12-13 “These are rocky reefs in your love feasts, feasting with you, feeding themselves without fear, waterless clouds borne about by the winds, late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots, 13 wild waves of the sea foaming up their own shame, straying stars for whom blackness of darkness is kept forever.”.

What we have taken note of, in identifying these’ waterless clouds’, is that when some will make their selfish boast of how they have the Spirit and make a loud proclamation of this fact so that all will know, while their lives are riddled with compromise and deception. A true servant does not need to tell anyone that they have the gifts as the gifts will be naturally seen in their actions and obedient doing of the Word. .

Christianity has promoted a selfish religion of boasting in what one claims to have, and that is why much emphasis is often place on the ‘speaking of tongues’.

Sha’ul tells us that the speaking of tongues is for the individual, unless there is one who can interpret so that the body can be edified and encouraged.

Those who boast in their ability to speak in tongues ought to be a warning sign or example of one who may be falsely boasting in his gifts!

Gifts of the spirit are not there to be boasted in but are to be used for the building up of the body, through serving in a proper humility where all boasting and praise is directed to יהוה and not the one who claims to have gifts that they actually do not have but are rather waterless clouds that do not bring forth what is to be expected!.

The Hebrew phrase translated here as ‘his gifts falsely’ is:

בְּמַתַּת־שָׁקֶר – bemattath-shaqer

This comes from the two root words:

1) מַתַּת mattath – Strong’s H4991 which means, ‘gift, gifts, reward’, and comes from the primitive root verb נָתַן nathan – Strong’s H5414 which means, ‘to give, put, set, appointed, delivered, given, placed’, and a derivative of this word is נְתִינִים Nethinim – Strong’s H5411, which is used to describe the ‘temple servants’ or ‘given ones’ who served in the temple and often did menial tasks, yet their lives were given over to service in the temple under the hand of the Lěwites.

2) שֶׁקֶר sheqer – Strong’s H8267 which means, ‘deception, disappointment, falsehood, lies’, and comes from the root verb שָׁקַר shaqar – Strong’s H8266 which means, ‘to do or deal falsely, lie’.

The root word שֶׁקֶר sheqer – Strong’s H8267 is used in Wayyiqra/Leviticus 19:12 in the command to not swear falsely in the Name of יהוה and profane His Name through false speech!

To boast falsely is no different to having a lying tongue, which יהוה hates!

A lying tongue speaks of one who makes promises but does not keep them or one who boasts falsely and does not produce what should be expected!

Have you made promises you did not keep?

Have you said yes for something but meant no, or vice versa?

Have you ever boasted in having gifts and have not actually used these so-called gifts for the building up and service of others?

This is an abomination to יהוה and if one is found to have a lying tongue then they stand the risk of not being a part of the House – for יהוה is cleaning His Bride and He will not allow an abomination in His House!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 12:22 “Lying lips are an abomination to יהוה, but those who deal truly are His delight.”.

Love does not boast!

An antonym for the Greek word περπερεύομαι perpereuomai – Strong’s G4068 is the from the verb ταπεινόω tapeinoō – Strong’s G5013 which means, ‘to make low, be brought low, be humbled’, and we see this verb being used in:

Mattithyahu/Matthew 18:4 “Whoever then humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the reign of the heavens.”

Mattithyahu/Matthew 23:12 “And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”

This verb is also used to describe the pure humility of our Master:

Pilipiyim/Philippians 2:8 “And having been found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, death even of a stake.”

We would do well to follow our Master’s example and walk even as He walked!

Ya’aqoḇ/James 4:10 “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Master, and He shall lift you up.”

We either walk in humility and shall be lifted up by our Master or try to exalt and boast in ourselves and try to be important, which will cause us to be put low and humbled by Elohim!.

5 – NOT PUFFED UP – The Greek word that is translated as ‘puffed up’ comes from the root word φυσιόω phusioō – Strong’s G5448 which means, ‘to inflate, blow up, cause to swell, make proud, arrogant’.

This word is used in the Renewed Writings figuratively, in describing pride and self-conceit. Those who disregard the need to walk upright in the clear Torah of Elohim, are arrogant and proud and inflate themselves to an assumed position or height of safety, yet are simply puffed up in their own drunken arrogance:

Ḥaḇaqquq/Habakkuk 2:4 “See, he whose being is not upright in him is puffed up. But the righteous one lives by his steadfastness.”

The Hebrew word for ‘puffed up’ is עָפַל aphal – Strong’s H6075 and means, ‘to swell, be lifted up, presume, be heedless, be proud’.

The assembly at Corinth were boasting and puffing themselves up in their tolerance of sin, rather than dealing with it!

Qorintiyim Aleph/1 Corinthians 5:1-2 “It is commonly reported that there is whoring among you, and such whoring as is not even named among the gentiles, so as one to have his father’s wife! 2 And you have been puffed up, and did not rather mourn, so that he who has done this deed, be removed from among you!”

They were an older version of the television series called “day of our lives” and were quiet puffed up about it too – this kind of tolerance shows no true love for Elohim!.

6 – DOES NOT BEHAVE INDECENTLY – The Greek word used here for ‘behave indecently’ is ἀσχημονέω aschēmoneō – Strong’s G807 which means, ‘behave unbecomingly, indecent, to behave in an ugly, indecent, unseemly or unbecoming manner; to disgrace oneself, treat with contempt, dishonour’.

The Merriam Webster’s Dictionary described the word ‘unbecoming’ as, ‘not according with the standards appropriate to one’s position or condition of life’..

The Word of Elohim sets for the clear standard of set-apartness, yet there are so many who are behaving indecently as they are not loving according to standards set forth in the Word.

You do not have to look too far today to see how so many people behave in an ugly manner, and we must be on guard against any such behaviour as we seek to love Elohim with all our heart, soul and strength!

This word can also render the meaning of being rude – and this we are to guard against – as we show respect for one another and are not rude toward each other!

Love submits to the proper adherence of the standards that are set forth in the Torah of Elohim and any refusal to submit to walking according to the Torah of Elohim renders one’s behaviour as indecent and loveless!.

7 – DOES NOT SEEK ITS OWN – The Greek word that is translated here as ‘seek’ comes from the root word ζητέω zēteō – Strong’s G2212 which means, ‘seek for, desire, seek in order to find out by thinking, meditating or reasoning, to strive after, demand’ and the Greek word that is translated as ‘own’ comes from the root word ἑαυτοῦ heautou –Strong’s G1438 which means, ‘himself, herself, own estimation’..

What we see from this, is that when we truly walk ‘in love’, and guard to do the commands of Elohim and live set-apart lives unto Him, we are not to be seeking our own ways or desires.

We are not be spending our days meditating on what we ‘wish for’ and spend our time trying to reason out in our minds how we can strive after the things that are not according to the desire of Elohim, but are simply fleshly desires that can often consume our thoughts and time – we are to meditate on and delight in the Torah of Elohim day and night – for then we will be prosperous in our way!

Pilipiyim/Philippians 2:4 “Each one should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Pilipiyim/Philippians 2:21 “For all seek their own interests, not those of Messiah יהושע.”

Qorintiyim Aleph/1 Corinthians 10:24 “Let no one seek his own, but each one that of the other.”.

In the proverbs of Shelomoh we see the following:

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 25:27 “It is not good to eat much honey. Is it esteem to seek one’s own esteem?”

The second part of this parable asks a rhetorical question, for the obvious answer is no! We are to seek the esteem of יהוה.

Yoḥanan/John 5:41-44 “I do not receive esteem from men, 42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of Elohim in you. 43 “I have come in My Father’s Name and you do not receive Me, if another comes in his own name, him you would receive. 44 “How are you able to believe, when you are receiving esteem from one another, and the esteem that is from the only Elohim you do not seek?”

Pilipiyim/Philippians 2:3 “doing none at all through selfishness or self-conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” .

The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘esteem’ is כָּבוֹד kaḇoḏ – Strong’s H3519 which means, ‘honour, esteem, reverence, splendid’, which comes from the root verb כָּבֵד kaḇeḏ – Strong’s H3513 which means, ‘to be heavy, weighty or burdensome, to give high esteem and respect and honour’, and is often translated as ‘praise’ that is to be given to יהוה.

Qorintiyim Bět/2 Corinthians 10:12-18 “For we do not presume to count ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. 13 But we shall not boast beyond measure, but within the measure of the limits Elohim assigned unto us, to reach even to you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we did not reach to you, for we also came to you with the Good News of the Messiah, 15 not boasting beyond measure in the labours of others, but having an expectation, that as your belief grows, we shall be greatly enlarged by you, according to our limits, 16 to bring the Good News in the parts beyond you – not to boast in another’s limits in what has been accomplished. 17 But “He who boasts, let him boast in יהוה.” 18 For not he who commends himself is approved, but he whom the Master commends.”

Sha’ul was basically saying here that they were not seeking their own esteem as the foolish do!

Tehillah/Psalm 29:1 “Ascribe to יהוה, O you sons of the mighty, ascribe to יהוה esteem and strength.”.

Love does not seek one’s own, highlighting that we do not need to seek to be praised or elevated or promoted for what we do, but rather seek every opportunity to esteem and give praise to יהוה..

8 – IS NOT PROVOKED – The Greek word for ‘provoked’ is παροξύνω paroxunō – Strong’s G3947 which means, ‘to sharpen, stimulate, provoke, to incite or rouse to anger’. There are many today who simply just ‘love’ to pick a fight and stir up an argument, in order to try to prove that they are right and that they know better – this of course is not true love – no matter how much they love to do it!

Gossip and slander are very powerful tools in provoking people to anger, which we are to guard against at all costs, for we are to build one another up and not break down!

Many today think that it is just a form of joking around when provoking another in their weakness, and this we must not do!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 26:18-19 “Like a madman who throws sparks, arrows, and death, so is a man who deceived his neighbour, and says, “I was only joking!”.

9 – RECKONS NOT THE EVIL – The Greek word here for ‘reckons’ is λογίζομαι logizomai – Strong’s G3049 which means, ‘an account or reckoning, to consider, take count, think, occupy oneself with calculations’ and the word for ‘evil’ is κακός kakos – Strong’s G2556 which means, ‘evil, wicked, bad things, loathsome, wrong’..

We are not to sit and recount in our mind all the bad and wicked thing that are going on, or have been done to us, for this will only stir up bitterness, fear and resentment and render one unable to bear the true fruit of righteousness expressed in loving-commitment toward Elohim!

What things do you consider and recount in your mind – the good and functional way of Elohim, as given through the Torah, or on the wicked and destructive patterns of a lawless world! .

This also teaches us that when we walk in true love, we do not sit and recount everyone’s wicked past and occupy ourselves with past failings!

Often people relate their past wickedness and laugh and joke at the things they did, when we ought to be ashamed of our past sins, reckoning our lives as having been plucked from the fire, giving esteem and thanks to our Redeemer and King, יהושע Messiah!

Our thoughts and speech must not be riddled with the past reckoning and gloating of a lawless life, but rather be esteeming the good way and walk in it with joy!.

10 – DOES NOT REJOICE OVER THE UNRIGHTEOUSNESS – BUT REJOICES IN THE TRUTH!

The first word translated as ‘rejoice’ here in this statement comes from the Greek word χαίρω chairō – Strong’s G5463 which means, ‘be glad, joyful, thrive, give one’s greeting and approval’.

The Greek word for ‘unrighteousness’ is ἀδικία adikia – Strong’s G93 which means, ‘unrighteousness, iniquity, wrong, deed violating law and justice’ and comes from the word that means to be without justice or penalty. This is a very clear and sobering warning of what love for Elohim is NOT – it does not rejoice over lawlessness!!! .

We also take note of the words we see in:

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 5:17-19 “All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death. 18 We know that everyone having been born of Elohim does not sin, but the one having been born of Elohim guards himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of Elohim, and all the world lies in the wicked one.”

When we guard righteousness, we are guarded against the deception of the lawless one!

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 3:4 “Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”

The Greek word for ‘sin’ is ἁμαρτία hamartia – Strong’s G266 which means, ‘sin, failure, miss the mark, to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honour, to do or go wrong’, and also carries the meaning of, ‘wandering from the law of Elohim, violate the law of Elohim’. .

I am sure some of you know where I am going with this!

The Greek word for ‘lawlessness is ἀνομία anomia – Strong’s G458 meaning, ‘lawlessness or lawless deeds, unrighteousness’ and comes from the word ἄνομος anomos – Strong’s G459 meaning, ‘lawless or without law, transgressors’. .

When shooting an arrow or other object to a target, the distance that one misses is measured with a cord.

The wrong actions of one are also measured against the correct action!

The Torah is, in a manner of speaking, the ‘chord’ or ‘plumb-line’ that we are ‘measured against’; for we would not know what we have missed if there were no measuring line to guide and instruct us!

Sinners are those who walk contrary to the Torah and ‘miss the mark’, so to speak, of the called for set-apartness and obedience to the Torah. .

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 3:4 spells it out very plainly for those who seem to miss the fact that to not walk in the Torah is sin! It is as though Yoḥanan was spelling out this fact very bluntly and straightforward for those who struggle with a Greek mind-set and see no need to walk in the Torah – well right here in the Greek it is clear – If you are lawless (that is to walk contrary to the Torah) then you are indeed sinning!

Sin is lawlessness: ἁμαρτία hamartia is ἀνομία anomia!.

Ok…so… unrighteousness is sin – ἀδικία adikia is ἁμαρτία hamartia – that is pretty clear!

That means that unrighteousness is lawlessness, which is sin..

Love for Elohim does not rejoice in the nullification or the disregard of the Torah of Elohim.

Those who ‘rejoice’ that the ‘law has been done away with’ do not know what love is – and they certainly can never love Elohim!.

The second Greek word that is translated as ‘rejoice’, in declaring that love rejoices in the truth, comes from the root word συγχαίρω sugchairō – Strong’s G4796 which means, ‘rejoice with, rejoice together, share joy, congratulate’. .

It comes from the previous word that we looked at for ‘rejoice’ (χαίρω chairō – Strong’s G5463) but also has the preposition σύν sun – Strong’s G4862 which denotes union, togetherness!

The Greek word that is translated as ‘truth’ comes from the root word ἀλήθεια alētheia – Strong’s G225 which means, ‘truth, truly, according to truth’. .

Our Master יהושע Messiah tells us clearly in Yoḥanan/John 14:6 that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life – and to walk in the Truth is to walk in Him – in Him in whom there is no spot or blemish – to walk in Him is to walk according to the Truth and in the purity of the Truth, as we hear, guard and do His commands – And in this we rejoice together as a Bride that is being built up in the Master!

Mishlĕ/Proverbs 14:9 “Fools scoff at guilt, but among the straight there is delight.”

The foolish who rejoice over lawlessness scoff at their guilt, while with the upright and straight – that is the lovers of Elohim – there is true unity in rejoicing!.

11 – COVERS ALL – The Greek word here for ‘covers’ is στέγω stegō – Strong’s G4722 which means, ‘to cover closely, to bear up under, endure, put up with’.

In other words, as we walk in true love, we are to ‘put up with each other’, which for many may be hard to do at times!!!

This means we are to make a concerted effort at not getting irritated with each other and be able to share openly with each other and have the freedom to speak into each other’s lives without the fear of being rejected or offended!.

12 – BELIEVES ALL – The Greek word here for ‘believes’ is πιστεύω pisteuō – Strong’s G4100 which is a verb that means, ‘to trust, to be committed to, be entrusted with, be persuaded and placed confidence in to do’, and comes from the root noun πίστις pistis – Strong’s G4102 which means, ‘faith, faithfulness, pledge, conviction of the Truth’ which in turn comes from the primary root verb πείθω peithō – Strong’s G3982 which means, ‘to persuade, to put confidence in, to follow, have confidence and rely upon’.

When looking at these root terms it is very clear, even in the Greek mind-set, that ‘to believe’ involves action and a confident response to the one you put your trust in and follow..

13 – EXPECTS ALL – The Greek word for ‘expects’ is ἐλπίζω elpizō – Strong’s G1679 which means, ‘to expect, to hope, to anticipate’, and from a spiritual perspective it can render the understanding of, ‘wait for salvation with joy and full confidence’.

Romiyim/Romans 8:24-25 “For in this expectation we were saved, but expectation that is seen is not expectation, for when anyone sees, does he expect it? 25 And if we expect what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance.”

Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 11:1 “And belief is the substance of what is expected, the proof of what is not seen.”.

True love for Elohim is expressed in the complete trust in him, by guarding to do all His commands with joy in the sure expectation of our deliverance to be made complete when He comes for us, His set-apart Bride! .

This complete expectation in regards to love is understood by staying steadfast in walking in the truth, knowing that the expectation of that which is to come will not disappoint, and therefore we expect ALL His Word to be the Truth and actively choose to believe His Word and guard to do what is commanded, holding firm to the assurance of the sure expectation we have in Messiah!.

Kěpha Aleph/1 Peter 1:13-16 “Therefore, having girded up the loins of your mind, being sober, set your expectation perfectly upon the favour that is to be brought to you at the revelation of יהושע Messiah, 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts in your ignorance, 15 instead, as the One who called you is set-apart, so you also should become set-apart in all behaviour, 16 because it has been written, “Be set-apart, for I am set-apart.””.

Another aspect of love ‘accepting all’, when understood from the perspective of the fact that true love for Elohim is obedience, is that we, as obedient believers, expect all that is written in the Word, as we trust the written Word of Elohim and firmly believe all that has been written and live as such, by walking in obedience to the Torah:

Yoḥanan/John 5:45-47 “Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Mosheh, in whom you have set your expectation. 46 “For if you believed Mosheh, you would have believed Me, since he wrote about Me. 47 “But if you do not believe his writings, how shall you believe My words?””.

Love expects all!

This certainly means that when you walk in the True Love for Elohim you expect all that they Word says to be true and valid for giving you direction and instruction for living set-apart lives. Having said that it is clear then that when you expect all that is written to be valid for instruction and teaching and training in righteousness, then there is a greater urgency in ensuring that no compromise to obedience is entertained in one’s life, for the true effects of disobedience and the result of continued resistance to walking in disobedience is very clear in Scripture – and that is the disobedient shall not see, nor inherit the reign of Elohim – this too we can certainly expect!

You either believe the Word and live accordingly or you do not, as there are no half measures in living according to the kingdom reign of Elohim!.

14 – ENDURES ALL – The Greek word for ‘endures’ is 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’ – this word is the word used in Yoḥanan/John 15 where we are told to ‘stay in, remain in’ Messiah!

As faithful talmidim (disciples) of Messiah, we recognise that while He ascended to the Most Set-Apart Place, where He continually intercedes for us as our High Priest, we who are here, and have ‘remained behind’, need to endure and be steadfast in staying in Him as we walk in subjection to His clear Torah.

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..

As faithful talmidim (disciples) of Messiah, we recognise that while He ascended to the Most Set-Apart Place, where He continually intercedes for us as our High Priest, we need to endure and be steadfast in staying in Him, as we walk in subjection to His clear Torah, bearing the peaceable fruit of righteousness. .

To ‘endure’ means ‘to remain firm under suffering or misfortune without yielding’.

Though it gets difficult we must endure!

A good faithful soldier endures, suffers and shares in others hardships. He does not stay behind and look for an escape and refuse to carry his load. No, he does not give in to the enemies’ attack, no matter how long or hard it may be. .

A true soldier endures, sacrificing all he has for the cause!

We, as faithful soldiers of Messiah must too, endure hardships, sacrificing all for the sake of the Good News of Messiah – for the sake of walking obediently in His Torah – for the sake of His Name!

Mattithyahu/ Matthew 10:22 “And you shall be hated by all for My Name’s sake. But he who shall have endured to the end shall be saved.”

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Many are sadly giving up the fight of faith, for they cannot take it anymore – it seems easier to compromise the truth for a short lived and false comfort, and do not want to stand up for the Truth and fail to endure the hardships.

Mattithyahu/Matthew 24:12-13 “And because of the increase in lawlessness, the love of many shall become cold. 13 “But he who shall have endured to the end shall be saved.”

Lawlessness is simply living without the Torah of Elohim!!!

This verse has struck me this week in a major way and brought great clarity as to understanding why many are so cold, and why so many who say they are friends can be so cold hearted and hate you!

As lawlessness increases…!

In other words, as the refusal to walk in the Torah increases, so will their love grow cold.

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The Greek word for ‘cold’ is ψυχρός psuchros – Strong’s G5593 and is understood as being a metaphor for ‘sluggishness’ and comes from the verb ψύχω psuchō – Strong’s G5594 which means, ‘wax cold’ and is used as a metaphor for waning love.

Without Torah there can be no love, but only a superficial counterfeit emotion that proves false through trials! יהוה is Love – יהוה is our Salvation through the Blood of יהושע – יהושע is the Living Torah – the Torah made flesh. יהושע Messiah is Love.

Therefore, the Torah is, in effect, our Love language that teaches us how we are to live and communicate in this world!!!

Without Torah there is no Love!

As people increase their ignorance and rebellion to the Torah, so will the love they have diminish and grow cold.

But we who endure to the end, walking in the Torah of Elohim, walking in Love, shall be saved!! The fullness of our salvation for which we have been sealed in the Spirit will be completed at His return. May we certainly be found to have endured and held on to His love by walking in His perfect Torah!.

15 – LOVE NEVER ENDS! The Greek word for ‘never’ is οὐδέποτε oudepote – Strong’s G3763 which means, ‘neither at any time, NEVER’, and the Greek word for ‘ends’ is πίπτω piptō – Strong’s G4098 which means, ‘to fall, break down, fail, fallen, be destroyed’.

Wow!

This is very clear – Love never ends – and when we realise that love for Elohim is to do His commands, then we realise that our obedience to His commands will never end and can never be broken down or destroyed through compromise and the false and misled teachings of lawlessness!.

Walking in the most/more excellent way – that is to walk in a true and pure love for Elohim – will cause us to never fail – for it is the sure way – the only way, as we stay steadfast in Messiah!

Love (true joy filled obedience) enables us to endure everything; and it enables us to keep on believing in every circumstance; to keep our confidence in יהוה and to remain patient no matter what happens to us. .

We are to grow up in these things and put away childish attitudes, which are sadly embraced by many grownups!

If we truly desire to show יהוה that we love Him, we have to be more than willing to simply say “I love You יהוה”. .

We must commit ourselves to יהוה’s language of love – the love that pays more attention to heart matters like attitude, compassion and obedience.

As you consider this ‘love chapter’ so to speak, and assess your life in taking this much needed love test – how are you doing?

Do you understand what love is and can honestly answer the question, “What is love?”

Having said that, as you undergo a true assessment of love by looking intently into the mirror of the Word, does your life effectively answer the second question, “Where in the love?”, positively or does the mirror reflect an absence of true love for Elohim and others..

This is a call to the obedience of love – that is – obedience to יהוה. Are there any areas of love where you have been disobedient?

You may have been using your gifts, just like the Corinthians, but without love?

Have you, or are you, holding a grudge, or are you envious, or have you been boastful?

Have you rejoiced in evil and called it light fun?

Perhaps you have not forgiven someone and have kept score on those who have wronged you. Perhaps you have retaliated, whether it be in thought or action and not exercised patience in affliction. .

As you carefully consider what true love for Elohim is… then heed this call to walk in the More Excellent Way as you guard to do all He commands us, with great joy, rejoicing as a body being built up in unity, aměn! Love is a choice and an action – choose to act according to יהוה’s most/more excellent way..

In Ḥazon/Revelation 2-3 we are given the clear words of our Master to the 7 assemblies, of which Ephesos was the first.

This assembly in Ephesos could have basically been described as the careless assembly or the backsliding assembly.

This was an assembly that had fallen from its election as a chosen people by losing their grip on the required love, belief and expectation in the Master that must be clung to continually, no matter the circumstances!.

Ḥazon/Revelation 2:2-6 “I know your works, and your labour, and your endurance, and that you are not able to bear evil ones, and have tried those who say they are emissaries and are not, and have found them false; 3 and you have been bearing up and have endurance, and have laboured for My Name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 “But I hold this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 “So remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the first works, or else I shall come to you speedily and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 “Yet this you have, that you hate the works of the Nikolaites, which I also hate.”.

Sha’ul brought the Besorah to Ephesos and stayed there for 3 years, and later sent Timotiyos to oversee the assembly here.

Yoḥanan, in his later years, moved to Ephesos – and this once very vibrant assembly had lost its first love! Sha’ul’s letter to the Ephesians was written at least 35 years after Sha’ul had established this assembly, which teaches us how quickly true fervent and zealous love can grow cold.

In this message to Ephesos, in Ḥazon/Revelation, a clear rebuke was given to this assembly for the fact that they had grown cold and was commanded to remember from where they had fallen, repent and repeat their first works as they had lost their first love!

What/who is our first love?

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us.”

How did He first love us?

Yoḥanan/John 3:16 “For Elohim so loved the world that He gave His only brought-forth Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish but possess everlasting life.”

In Yoḥanan/John 15 Messiah clearly tells us that we did not choose Him, but He chose us and appointed us to bear fruit!

The only way we can bear the true fruit of righteousness is to be grafted into the true root of righteousness, by the Blood of the Lamb; by the Blood of our Righteous Redeemer and King, יהושע Messiah..

One thing Ephesos had going for them at this stage, was that they hated the works of the Nikolaites.

The word Νικολαΐτης Nikolaitēs – Strong’s G3531 means, ‘destruction of the people’, who were a sect of people that were charged with adhering to the teaching of Bilʽam and causing the people of Elohim to stumble! It is one thing to hate falsehood, yet love for the Truth must not grow cold or lost

The name of the city of Ἔφεσος Ephesos – Strong’s G2181 is of an uncertain origin yet is believed to have the meaning, ‘permitted, permissible’, which I find very interesting as we consider how much was permitted to go on in the assembly!.

Ephesos was considered to be the most important commercial city of Asia Minor, and was the capital of Ionia on the western coast of Asia Minor between Smyrna and Miletus.

The city was surrounded on three sides by mountains and on the west by the Icarian Sea. Ephesos was a very wealthy city. It boasted the temple of Diana, one of the wonders of the ancient world.

Today, Ephesos is an archaeologist’s paradise, but all of its wealth and splendour is gone.

In the message given to the believers in Ephesos they were commended for their works, labour and endurance and that they had not become weary.

These words are remarkable when one considers how challenging it must have been for the early believers to live and minister in Ephesos.

The ruins of this city enable us to better understand the faith of the early believers who lived there and help us discover what gave them the strength to testify of Messiah so diligently in such an unlikely place. .

In the ancient world this was the centre of travel and commerce and was considered as the crown jewel of Asia Minor.

It had a population of nearly 250,000 people and was home to more than twenty pagan temples. Artistic beauty, cultural learning, erotic pagan worship, world trade, criminal activity, and sorcery flourished amidst great wealth.

As residents of one of the most sophisticated cities of the Roman Empire, the Ephesians enjoyed such luxuries as running water, indoor toilets, fountains, gardens surrounded by magnificent columns, colonnaded streets paved with marble, gymnasiums and baths, a library, and a theatre that could seat an estimated twenty-five thousand people. .

At the heart of the city’s life and economy was the worship of Artemis, the ancient fertility goddess.

The temple dedicated to Artemis was 450 feet long, 220 feet wide, had more than 120 columns sixty feet high and was one of the seven wonders of the entire world.

Because it was believed that Artemis was considered to be so powerful and protective of her temple, people from all over the world deposited money there, which in turn was loaned out at a high rate of interest.

Thus, the Ephesians became extremely wealthy and naturally were very protective of the goddess who they believed had made them successful, powerful, and rich.

It took passionate commitment and courage for the early believers to stand up for their beliefs and face some serious persecution amidst this pagan centred culture.

The believers of Ephesos publicly spoke out for יהושע Messiah and lived for Him in a loving way.

They endured great hardships for the Name of יהושע and never became weary of living for Him..

The implications of Sha’ul’s teachings at Ephesos were huge, as the Ephesians realised that if what Sha’ul and other true believers in Messiah shared was indeed the truth, then Artemis and the other pagan deities of Ephesus that were worshipped were worthless and the city’s entire belief system, economy, and lifestyle could collapse.

As a result, Sha’ul and other believers in Ephesos began to face intense opposition.

So much so that unless they bore the ‘mark’ of pagan beliefs by living out those beliefs in daily life, true set-apart believers were viewed as second-class citizens. They were hated and severely persecuted. You can read Ma’asei/Acts 19 in regards to the uprising that was stirred against Sha’ul by the idol makers in Ephesos..

By the time Yoḥanan went to Ephesos the Roman Emperor Domitian had the upper hand in attracting the religious loyalties of the Ephesians.

Demanding that people worship him as a god, Domitian insisted on being called ‘Lord’ and ‘God’ by everyone, including his wife.

The Ephesians built huge structures dedicated to Domitian, including a prominent temple designed to be the world centre of Domitian worship. One of its features was a twenty-seven-foot-tall statue of Domitian.

Anyone approaching the city by sea or by land could see the temple and its statue and know that the Ephesians, as a whole, believed Domitian to be king of the gods.

Along the city streets, altars reminded the people of Domitian’s lordship and their allegiance to him. Once a year, the people had to say publicly in front of the altar, ‘Caesar is Lord’.

Anyone who didn’t recognize Domitian’s lordship was sentenced to be put to death. .

Why I am mentioning some of this history, is to highlight how extremely tough it was for true believers to stay lovingly committed to living set-apart lives and not falling prey to the false pagan worship customs that were being enforced as law.

It took courageous faith and passionate commitment for the early believers to stand up for their beliefs in the face of this ‘mark of the beast’ that they faced each and every day.

Despite serious persecution, which included the denial to conduct business in the markets and obtain water from public fountains, the chosen set-apart ones of Messiah publicly spoke out for יהושע and lived for Him in a loving way.

They endured great hardships for יהושע and never became weary of living for him.

Many may ask then, if they had this much commitment in their work, labour and endurance, why did the Master then say that the one thing He had held against them was that they had lost their first love? .

He was challenging them to look at the way that they had been living and that they were to get back to the fervent love that they had in the beginning.

Many, under prolonged periods of persecution, may hold firm to their works of belief and do their utmost at not compromising the Way of set-apartness, yet their love sometimes grows cold and under the onslaught of persecution they are so busy being consumed with their own lives that they neglect the proper love and commitment that should be shown toward one another.

Yoḥanan/John 13:35 “By this shall all know that you are My taught ones, if you have love for one another.”

In order to live consistently and publicly for יהושע, as faithful ambassadors of His reign, they needed to believe in Him and care about each other. .

Messiah quotes Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 6:5 in Mattithyahu/Matthew 22:37, when He was making it clear that we are to love יהוה our Elohim with all our heart, all our mind and all our strength, and while we know this to be true, we take note that in many passages of Scripture we recognise the love we have and show for one another is a certain sign that we love Elohim!.

The love we have for Elohim is what makes the body or community of Messiah distinguishably different from those who do not love Elohim, or so it should!

Sadly, this is not the case in the world today as we see more loyalty being expressed to each other in worldly groups and associations while the fellowship of believers is often riddled with backbiting, slander and gossip, and this should not be so!

We can understand why we see in Sha’ul’s letter to Ephesians the clear encouragement to love one another and the encouragement to build and guard the unity of the assembly. .

The love that the initial believers in Ephesos had for one another, may be one of the primary reasons that the whole of Asia Minor heard of the Good News that Sha’ul had taught there, as they lived as they should, working, labouring and enduring in the belief, love and expectation of Messiah..

Losing their first love, highlights the clear fact that divisions had occurred and that the believers were no longer displaying the proper love for one another.

They had certainly held fast to their belief and had not been swayed by false teachings yet the display of their first love was lacking.

They had left the first love that they had!

The Greek word used for ‘left’ is ἀφίημι aphiēmi – Strong’s G863 which means, ‘to send away, leave alone, abandon, divorce, forsake, to disregard’, and can also carry the meaning, ‘give up a debt, forgive, give up or keep no longer’.

What is clear is that they were abandoning one another and not defending one another against persecutions that were being faced, either from the wicked culture of the day or from the Nikolaites who taught falsehood and brought in divisions among the true set-apart chosen ones!.

This was an assembly that certainly showed great endurance and works of belief yet their love for one another was clearly lacking and the Master rebukes them for this and commands them to REMEMBER from where they had fallen. .

The Greek word that is translated as ‘remember’ is μνημονεύω mnēmoneuō – Strong’s G3421 which means, ‘remember, bring to mind, recall, think about, remember and mention’. They were to bring to mind the position from where they had fallen from in order for them to realise the need to get back to that first position they had in the Master!.

The Greek word for ‘fallen’ is πίπτω piptō – Strong’s G4098 which means, ‘to fall, break down, fail, fallen, be destroyed’, and what is interesting to take note of here is that this word is translated in Sha’ul’s letter to the Corinthians as ‘fails’ when he explained what love is and said in Qorintiyim Aleph/1 Corinthians 13:8 that “Love never fails”!!!.

True love never fails or falls, yet the rebuke being given here to this assembly is that it had and they needed to repent of this and return to doing the first works of love!.

The Greek word for ‘repent’ is μετανοέω metanoeō – Strong’s G3340 which means, ‘to change one’s mind or purpose, to repent, relent’ and involves a complete change in one’s attitude and thought.

They had to change their loveless attitude toward one another and make a serious turn around to get back to what they should be doing, and that was to love one another, as they guard the Truth and walk in the Truth without compromise!.

Do the first works!

The Greek word translated as ‘do’ here is ποιέω poieō – Strong’s G4160 which means, ‘to make, do, accomplish, keep, work, acts’.

A derivative of this word is ποιητής poiētēs – Strong’s G4163 which means, ‘a doer, a maker’, and is seen in:

Ya’aqoḇ/James 1:22-25 “And become doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 Because if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror, 24 for he looks at himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what he was like. 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.”

The word translated as ‘doing’ (of the Torah) is also a derivative of ποιέω poieō and is the word ποίησις poiēsis – Strong’s G4162 which means, ‘deed, making, doing, performing, in his doing (in the obedience he renders the law)’. .

These verses are very clear, in telling us that the true hearer of the word guards it and performs it, as his obedience renders the law under which he submits!

Doing the Word involves a proper loving of one another as the body covers and protects each other from the falsehood and trickery of those who claim to know Elohim yet deny Him in their confession and works!.

This assembly had tried those who said that they were emissaries but were not, so they were diligent in testing the confession and beliefs of many who claimed to be servants of Elohim and they had hated the work of the Nikolaites that oppressed people with falsehood, yet what was needed here was a love within the body to be properly restored! .

What is clear here, is that this assembly was certainly very diligent in testing and proving whether those who claimed to be emissaries were true sent ones or not and would therefore not put up with false hypocrites who claimed to be ambassadors of the Master, yet what this assembly had fallen from and now lacked was the ability to love one another, which includes defending and protecting one another and building each other up in the Most Set-apart faith! .

This message is as alive for us today as it was to the hearers back then, as we see the urgent rebuke and call of our Master to His True Bride who confess who He is to get back to loving as they should and this involves everything that love is, as Sha’ul taught to the believers in Corinth!

I am sure that what we find in the world today, is what went on back then for there is nothing new under the sun, as Shelomoh so discovered, in seeking out wisdom in all matters!.

Today we find that the love and unity that ought to be displayed within fellowship groups that the Master is building, is lacking at times and more loyalty and love is shown to those who are outside while those who are inside are neglecting one another and as a result the body is suffering harm, which needs to be repaired and restored with a proper restoration of true fervent love for one another!

What is love? Where is the Love?.

How are you answering and responding to these two very vital questions?

As we consider this message that contains both encouragement and rebuke, how do you measure up as you look intently into the mirror of the Words of our Master?

Sha’ul warns against those who do not take warning from the examples that have been written for us in the Word and the one who thinks he stands should take heed lest he fall!

יהוה disciplines those He loves!!!

Do not let the disciplining of the Word, when needed, cause you to think that love is not being shown toward you – embrace it and grow in love!.

May you be equipped, strengthened and stirred to love Elohim as you should and let not your love grow cold as you cling to our Master and always be ready to give a reason for the hope you have. When someone asks you, “where is your love?”, show them your love in your obedience to Elohim!

WHAT IS LOVE?

LOVE = OBEDIENCE TO ELOHIM

WHERE IS THE LOVE?

LET YOUR OBEDIENCE SHINE FORTH!.

יהוה bless you and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and show favour to you; יהוה lift up His face upon you and give you Shalom!

24^th of the 11^th month 2020/2021.

Shalom all,

Mattithyahu/Matthew 9:36-38 “And having seen the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, as sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His taught ones, “The harvest truly is great, but the workers are few. 38 “Pray then that the Master of the harvest would send out workers to His harvest.”

As a result of idolatry that has been highly promoted by false prophets and diviners of evil, many have wandered away from the truth and are left stranded without a Shepherd, as we see from Zeḵaryah/Zechariah 10 and our need to ask יהוה for rain.

With rain comes the promise of a harvest and we take note that our Master has indeed come down like rain and here, in these words of our Master and Elohim, יהושע Messiah, we take note of the urgent need for workers to be sent out, and herein lies the call for true servants of Messiah to stand up and work the harvest fields! .

In this message, which I have titled as, ‘A CALL FOR THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD OF MESSIAH TO LOVE!’ I would like to encourage your ears to hear our Master’s call and equipping of your life, so that you can be found to be about His business, when He comes! .

Kěpha tells us, in his first letter, what the goal of our belief is:

The deliverance of lives!

Kěpha Aleph/1 Peter 1:9 “obtaining the goal of your belief: a deliverance of lives.”

The Greek word that is translated as ‘goal’, as in ‘goal of our belief’ is τέλος telos – Strong’s G5056 which means, ‘an end, toll, continually, finished, fulfilment, goal, outcome’ and this word carries the understanding of setting out for a definite point or goal. This word τέλος telos – Strong’s G5056 is also used in:

Romiyim/Romans 11:4 “For Messiah is the goal of the ‘Torah unto righteousness’ to everyone who believes.”.

Sadly, we take note of how most translations have rendered this word as ‘end’, with the false teaching that the obligation to walk in the Torah of Elohim has come to an end because Messiah has fulfilled all! .

While our Master is indeed the goal and end purpose of the Torah, we know that this does not set aside our obligation of obedience, as a royal and set-apart priesthood!

As we pursue and walk, in complete set-apartness, we must recognise what the goal of end purpose of our belief is!

It is the deliverance of lives!

The Greek word that is translated as ‘deliverance’ is σωτηρία sōtēria – Strong’s G4991 which means, ‘deliverance, salvation’, and comes from the word σωτήρ sōtēr – Strong’s G4990 which means, ‘a saviour, deliverer’, which comes from the root word σῴζω sōzō – Strong’s G4982 which means, ‘to save, restore, make whole, heal’..

This Greek word σωτηρία sōtēria – Strong’s G4991 is used in the LXX of Yeshayahu/Isaiah 63:8, used to translate of the Hebrew word מוֹשִׁיעַ Moshiya, which is translated as ‘their Saviour’!

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 63:8 “And He said, “They are My people, children who do not act falsely.” And He became their Saviour.”.

Why I am sharing this with you, is to highlight that we are to be TRUE WITNESSES of who our Saviour is, and for more on this please see the article called “YHWH our Saviour – YHWH our Messiah!” on our site (https://atfotc.com) which can be found under the ‘articles’ menu, or by simply clicking on the following link:

https://atfotc.com/yhwh-our-saviour-yhwh-our-messiah/.

There are many who are breathing out lies, as they are not bearing the true witness of the True Witness, by denying that יהושע Messiah is the very manifestation, in the flesh, of the esteem of יהוה, our Master and Elohim!

Those who deny that יהושע Messiah came in the flesh, are of the anti-messiah and are betrayers who are breathing out lies! .

The goal of our belief is to be a true witness of Messiah and make His Kingdom known to many who are stranded and without a Shepherd!

This call is an urgent call, as it requires a focused approach on the proper service of a royal priesthood that shines the Light of the Truth in a darkened world, where depravity is increasing at an alarming rate and many are wandering about like sheep that have no Shepherd and are not being fed and nourished with the Truth; and they do not even know it, as most have been blinded by false traditions and the empty ear tickling teachings of man, that are not able to equip a proper serving priesthood! .

In this call for the royal priesthood of Messiah, which we are, to love, I would like to take a closer look at the words that our Master spoke to Kěpha, after His resurrection. .

Please read Yoḥanan/John 21:15-23.

This passage is certainly a very well-known one and is a great passage that can encourage and equip us to stand up and be the royal set-apart priesthood that we are to be, especially as we take a closer look at this discussion that takes place between Messiah and Kěpha..

Kěpha was a man who had suffered a great deal of discouragement and shame, for denying Messiah 3 times before His death, and in this interaction that takes place, we are able to see a powerful restoration taking place and a clear commitment to love and serve the Master without wavering, just as he had done before! .

How many times have you felt extremely discouraged and unable to properly serve the Master as you should, due to many wrong choices that have caused you to compromise your belief, when faced with extreme pressures from crippling circumstances or the corrupt influence of bad company that you may have kept?.

This passage can, in many ways, be a powerful mirror before each and every one of us, as we look intently into the mirror of the Word and be sober in our estimation of our love for the Master!.

Kěpha was the one who confessed that יהושע is the Messiah, the Son of the Living Elohim!

It was on this clear confession that our Master said He would build His assembly.

Kěpha was one of the 3 that had witnessed the transfiguration of Messiah and he also had his taxes paid by the miracle of יהושע providing their temple tax from a fish’s mouth. Kěpha was the one who made the very bold statement that he would never stumble:

Mattithyahu/Matthew 26:33 “And Kěpha answering, said to Him, “Even if all stumble in You, I shall never stumble.”

“I will never stumble, even if everyone else does, I will not”, is what Kěpha said and then יהושע told Kěpha that he would deny Him that very night and he boldly said that he would not, and so did all the taught ones say the same thing!.

This ‘rock’ of a man crumbled that very night and he was devastated when he heard the cock crow after he had denied the Messiah 3 times and he wept bitterly!

Have you ever felt so distraught for making bold statements of faith, only to find that you blow your witness so quickly?

In one breath you are proclaiming great praise and confidence in your walk of set-apartness and the next you find yourself in denial, as your belief in the Master is brought to question under trying circumstances which cause you to stumble! .

Can you consider for a moment what this night must have been like for Kěpha?

He was extremely bold until the test of his boldness came and he failed and left that place as a defeated man.

In this passage that we have in Yoḥanan/John 21, we see a complete restoration of belief taking place, along with a very bold confession of love for the Master!

This time Kěpha confirmed his love for Messiah 3 times, as opposed to denying it and was even told what kind of death he would face and this did not deter his renewed boldness in the Master who came to confirm his calling!

As you read this entire chapter you can see the renewed zeal and confidence that Kěpha had as he plunged into the sea when they saw יהושע standing on the beach.

In this short conversation that the Master had with Kěpha, we are able to see some powerful lessons that can equip us in being bold ambassadors of His Kingdom.

This was not only a reinstatement of Kěpha’s role of shepherding and feeding the flock of Messiah, but it was also a call to a royal priesthood in the order of Malkitseḏeq! .

Before His death and resurrection, Messiah had called them, when He was in the role of the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world and now, after His resurrection and the sprinkling of the heavenly tabernacle with His own blood, as High Priest forever, the body of Messiah could now be ordained to serve as a royal priesthood!.

This was not only a reinstatement of Kěpha but was also a clear call to care for, encourage, equip, strengthen and build up the body of Messiah in the most Set-Apart belief!.

As we look at the 3 times that Messiah asked Kěpha if he loved Him, we are able to glean some valuable insight and wisdom in allowing the Word to be the very mirror that continually asks us if we love our Master!.

Kěpha was called and questioned about his love and commitment to the Master, after they had been fishing.

What is worth taking note of, is that the first time that Kěpha was called to follow Messiah, was when he was casting nets into the sea to catch fish.

Once again, Kěpha was being called to be a fisher of men and take care of them as a good servant of Messiah! .

Let us take a brief look at the three times Kěpha was asked if he loved Messiah!

1) “Do you love Me more than these?”

The Greek word that is used here for ‘love’ is the verb ἀγαπάω agapaō – Strong’s G25 which means, ‘to love, welcome and entertain, be fond of, to be contented at or with a thing’.

While many may think that they know what love means, Scripture makes it very clear to us what ‘the love for Elohim’ is:

Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 5:2-3 “By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim and guard His commands. 3 For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands, and His commands are not heavy”

Here in this letter, the Greek word that is translated twice as ‘love’ in verse 2 is the verb ἀγαπάω agapaō – Strong’s G25 and the Greek word that is translated as ‘love’ in verse 3 is ἀγάπη agape – Strong’s G26 which means, ‘brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence, love feasts’, and comes from the verb ἀγαπάω agapaō – Strong’s G25, as already discussed above..

Messiah asks Kěpha whether he loved Messiah more than ‘these’, and here we can take note that the ‘these’ that Messiah is speaking of, can refer to:

1) The fish that he had caught, which can represent for us one’s career or work;

2) His friends – he was back to fishing with some of the other guys.

We know from Scripture that Kěpha was a leader that many had followed and with him going back to fishing, others may have followed him too and highlights for us the power of influence that we can have on others or what others can have on us and here, Kěpha may have been called to question whether he loved Messiah more than his friends!

This is a valid question, as we see how many are easily influenced by their friends who turn away from following Messiah, which can often cause their love for Messiah to be brought into question.

3) His family – Kěpha may have gone back to the family business that he was originally called from, in order to follow Messiah.

Luqas/Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and his own life too, he is unable to be My taught one.”

While this may sound harsh, the same question of whether we love Messiah more than ‘these’, is asked to all of us as we realise that we can never allow family, friends or career to be that which hinders our love for the Master; and by that, I mean that we must never allow family, friends or work/career to cause us to neglect our ability to love Elohim, by the proper guarding His commands!

Many may claim that they love Messiah “more than these”, as Kěpha did, yet they often find themselves breaking Sabbath or any other commands for the sake of family, friends or work and so, they reveal, by their actions, that they do not love the Master more than these!.

Kěpha answers Messiah with an emphatic, “Yes, Master, You know that I love You.”

The Greek word that is translated here, in his response, for ‘love’ is φιλέω phileō – Strong’s G5368 which means, ‘to love, kiss’ and comes from the primitive word φίλος philos – Strong’s G5384 which means, ‘beloved, dear, friend’..

While many have tried to find the significance in the different use of these words for love (ἀγαπάω agapaō – Strong’s G25 and φιλέω phileō – Strong’s G5368), it is difficult to do so, as both are interchangeably used in reference to Elohim’s love for man, as well as man’s love for Elohim..

This Greek word φιλέω phileō – Strong’s G5368 is used in the words of our Master, in:

Mattithyahu/Matthew 10:37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”

The idea of φιλέω phileō – Strong’s G5368 also highlights companionship and as one who associates familiarly with another.

It becomes very clear here, by our Master’s words, that He make it clear that our companionship and association with Him must exceed that of others. And by that, I mean that many often tend to compromise their obedience for the sake of their close family or friends that they know on a more intimate level than others that they will generally associate with within the body.

What our Master was making abundantly clear is that we are to be so closely associated with Him that we would not dare to compromise our walk in any way, not even for very close family who are provoking us to do so, in their vain attempts at challenging our love..

With Kěpha answering the Master’s question of his love (ἀγαπάω agapaō – Strong’s G25) for the Master, he responds by declares that he indeed does love (φιλέω phileō – Strong’s G5368) and was basically saying to the Master that He knew how close Kěpha was to Him and that His association with the Master exceeds that of any other, making it clear that He would certainly never deny Him again!.

The answer that Messiah then gives Kěpha is, ‘Feed My lambs’.

The Greek word that is translated here as ‘feed’ comes from the word βόσκω boskō – Strong’s G1006 which means, ‘to feed sheep, to pasture and tend while grazing’.

The Greek word that is translated as ‘lambs’ comes from the word ἀρνίον arnion – Strong’s G721 which means, ‘lamb, little lamb’.

This word is used 30 times in the Renewed Writings (N.T.) and we take note that it is used for the first time here, in this text from Yoḥanan/John 21:15, and the other 29 times it is used in the Book of Ḥazon/Revelation, with 28 times it being used in reference to The Lamb, יהושע Messiah and once in reference to the beast who had two horns, like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. .

When we consider the use of this word, being primarily of Messiah, then there is no doubt that what is meant here, by the phrase ‘My lambs’, is the “assembly/body of Messiah” as being the object of the loving care of יהושע Messiah, that must be properly lived out by His taught ones!

Kěpha was basically being told to teach and equip others to love the Master as he does, by feeding the lambs with the clear understanding that Messiah must be put first in order to properly extend that love correctly towards others!.

Kěpha is then asked a second time by the Master whether he loves Him, to which he responds positively too, with the same declaration of his intimate association with the Master (φιλέω phileō – Strong’s G5368) and he is then told by the Master to “shepherd My sheep”.