25th of the 8th month 2016/2017
Shalom all,
Tehillah/Psalm 32:10-11 “Many are the sorrows of the wrong; but as for the one trusting in יהוה, loving-commitment surrounds him. 11 Be glad in יהוה and exult, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”
In this psalm of Dawiḏ we see how he gives us the confident assurance in the Truth that the loving-commitment of יהוה surrounds the one trusting in Him and calls for the righteous to exult in יהוה and shout for joy!
In the midst of the chaos and sorrows of the wrong, those who trust in יהוה can be glad, exult and shout for joy as they are protected in the sure loving-commitment of Elohim. I often wonder how many times that we, as ardent believers and followers of Messiah, forget the great joy we are to have in the Master who surrounds us and shields us from harm.
While we know that we will have pressure in this world, our Master calls us to take courage for He has overcome the world (Yoḥanan/John 16:33); yet do we embrace this call to take courage or do we, at times, allow the pressures of the world to get us down and get us so far down that we forget to recognise His loving-commitment that surrounds the one who trusts in Him and in the process we find that we often lack the ability to render the proper joy-filled praise and esteem that we ought to bring to our Master and Elohim?
Dawiḏ faced much opposition and persecution from his enemies yet we are able to learn a great deal from this beloved king of whom יהוה had said, ‘I have found Dawiḏ the son of Yishai, a man after My own heart, who shall do all My desires.’ (Ma’asei/Acts 13:22)
Trusting in יהוה does not cause one to be void of pressures and persecutions but it does cause one to recognise and acknowledge the sure hope we have in our Mighty Redeemer and Saviour which causes us to remain steadfast in our sure expectation we have in Him and make sure that we cleanse ourselves from all sin and lawlessness as we set apart יהוה our Elohim in our hearts, always being ready to give an answer to everyone asking us for a reason concerning the expectation that is in us, with meekness and fear! (Yoḥanan Aleph/1John 3:3 & Kěpha Aleph/1 Peter 3:15)
Being a man after יהוה’s own heart, Dawiḏ had confident trust in יהוה and was able to boldly come before Him and pour out his heart in desperate pleas for help and support amidst distress, while never neglecting to respect, esteem and praise יהוה in all circumstances. The words he uses in many of his heartfelt songs of desperate cries for help along with much praise and the call for others to do the same, are able to equip, teach and give us much insight in the precious gift we have in our Master and Elohim, יהושע Messiah, who has, by His own blood, given us access to come boldly to the throne of favour in our times of need! We are able to do this knowing that He surrounds those who stay in Him with His favour and loving-commitment!
In this message, which is called: “YAHWEH BLESSES THE RIGHTEOUS AND SURROUNDS THEM WITH FAVOUR!”, I would like us to go through one of the psalms of Dawiḏ and be reminded of the blessing we have in the Master!
Please turn with me to Tehillah/Psalm 5 (Read)
This psalm is one that carries a deep expression of sorrow by an individual who feels oppressed and persecuted and is one that we are all able to identify with and personally express in many instances, especially when we find ourselves amidst very pressured circumstances that do not necessarily look to have a favourable outcome when looking solely at the circumstances themselves; however when we are able to ‘look up’ and fix our eyes on our Master and Elohim, our ability to express our cares upon Him and put our confident trust in Him causes us to fix our eyes on Him, seek Him for guidance and exult in Him with resounding praise and call others to do so too as we acknowledge the Truth and the firm expectation we have in Him!
Let us go through this Tehillah/Psalm of Dawiḏ and glean some valuable insights from the words of a man who was after יהוה’s own heart.
The title of this Tehillah/Psalm 5 is written in Hebrew as follows:
לַמְנַצֵּחַ אֶל־הַנְּחִילוֹת מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד
Lam’nats’tseaḥ al–hanneḥiloth mizmor leDawiḏ
It is translated into English as follows:
To the chief musician upon the neḥiloth, a psalm of Dawiḏ
The Hebrew term ‘הַנְּחִילוֹת’ – hanneḥiloth comes from the root word נְחִילָה neḥiylah – Strong’s H5155 which is widely understood as being a musical term that is only used here in Scripture. While many sources state that this is a musical term with an unknown meaning, it is widely accepted as it possibly being a musical instrument and more specifically the flute or a woodwind instrument for making music and may be from the noun חָלִיל ḥaliyl – Strong’s’ H2485 which is used 6 times in Scripture and translated as, ‘flute’. The title could therefore be rendered as:
To the chief musician, upon the flutes, a psalm of Dawiḏ!
The name of Dawiḏ – דָּוִד – Strong’s H1732 means, ‘beloved’ and the term used for ‘psalm’ is מִזְמוֹר miz’mor – Strong’s H4210 which means, ‘melody’; and it comes from the primitive root word זָמַר zamar – Strong’s H2167 which means, ‘to make music (in praise of Elohim), sing praises’ and therefore could literally be rendered as, ‘a melody of the Beloved’. This was a melody of Dawiḏ that was given to the chief musician to be done on the melodic sound of flutes! This certainly sets the tone as one understands the beautifully sharp, precise and powerful tone that a collection of flutes or woodwind instruments bring to a melody!
This melody, in praise of Elohim, begins with a prayer for help followed by a statement of Elohim’s displeasure with the wicked. Dawiḏ expresses very clearly that he is not like the wicked and declares his confidence and trust in the great loving-commitment of יהוה and prays for complete guidance in the true path of righteousness. He emphasises how wrong the wicked are and asks יהוה to judge and destroy his enemies and then ends this psalm/melody with a prayer for יהוה’s protection and blessing upon all who love Him!
This melody that has the clear musical direction given by Dawiḏ to the choirmaster to be played on the flutes and is certainly a powerful beautifully constructed prayer of protection to begin the day with! This melody, in praise of Elohim, is a solemn prayer that is given unto Elohim at a time when the psalmist being brought to distress by the wickedness of his enemies. Dawiḏ encountered many such times and in fact there may have been very few times in his life where this melody could not be accommodated as he was most certainly a ‘type’ or ‘shadow picture’ of our beloved Messiah who would face the continual battles from those who are opposed to the Truth and the revelation thereof. This powerful melody most certainly lends itself to being one that all who are in Messiah are able to bring personally before our Master and Elohim, especially when are surrounded by or faced with intense opposition and persecution for the Truth!
The structure of this song/melody of prayer for protection is very similar to many such psalms that Dawiḏ wrote as we see herein Dawiḏ’s request for יהוה to hear, answer and not delay the petitions and requests that are done with thanksgiving and praise, all of which are typical themes that are displayed in other such beautiful melodies of earnest and heartfelt prayer unto Elohim! Prayers and melodies which we can most certainly identify with on a very personal level as we are able to make these songs our own before Elohim, echoing the fervent cry of a righteous heart before a righteous King who is coming to fetch His faithful and trustworthy beloved ones who have trusted in Him!
The cries for help and the urgency within which these seeming commands/demands for Elohim to act quickly are in no way done with any disrespect, but are rather earnest cries for help from a faithful suffering servant of the Most High who seeks out and makes petition to the One in whom is his only source of hope and expectation that never disappoints!
Romiyim/Romans 5:1-5 “Therefore, having been declared right by belief, we have peace with Elohim through our Master יהושע Messiah, 2 through whom also we have access by belief into this favour in which we stand, and we exult in the expectation of the esteem of Elohim. 3 And not only this, but we also exult in pressures, knowing that pressure works endurance; 4 and endurance, approvedness; and approvedness, expectation. 5 And expectation does not disappoint, because the love of Elohim has been poured out in our hearts by the Set-apart Spirit which was given to us.”
As I have already mentioned, this psalm/melody is a song/prayer unto Elohim that we can all identify with and recognise how applicable this song can be to each of us individually as well as corporately before our Master and Elohim! While we may be able to relate to the words of this melody and the deep cry of this psalm that is given unto Elohim, we need to actually ask ourselves if we are able to truly identify with the words of this psalm as Dawiḏ did?
By that I mean the following: … we know, as I have mentioned, that Dawiḏ was identified by Elohim as a man after His own heart and was clearly a man who sought יהוה with all his heart. In order to capture the true heart and powerful plea that lays behind these very poetic words of Dawiḏ we certainly need to assess our own lives before the mirror of the Word in order to determine if we too are earnestly and desperately seeking and loving יהוה with all our hearts! For if one is not seeking and loving יהוה with all their heart then these words of desperation may only become significant to one when they are simply seeking to get out of the mess that they find themselves in without actually desiring the intimacy of Elohim at all times! By that I mean that many may echo the words that are being expressed here, yet are not being done from a place of truly seeking יהוה at all times but are rather only being done when they expect יהוה to act on their behalf to get their problems that they encounter fixed immediately while they fail or neglect to seek and love יהוה at all times, especially when their lives are seemingly going well!
Dawiḏ could make these earnest pleas amidst distress for he was a man after יהוה’s heart as he did not just seek יהוה when he needed something but was one who held fast to seeking and loving יהוה at all times!
How about you?
In verse 1 (verse 2 in Hebrew Scriptures) Dawiḏ asks יהוה to consider his ‘meditation’! The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘my meditation’ is הֲגִיגִי – hagiygiy which comes from the root word הָגִיג hagiyg – Strong’s H1901 which means, ‘meditation, whisper, murmuring, musing’ and is only used twice in Scripture: here in this Tehillah/Psalm 5 and in:
Tehillah/Psalm 39:3 “My heart was hot within me; while I was meditating, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:”
Here the root word הָגִיג hagiyg – Strong’s H1901 is translated as ‘meditating’ and it is akin to the word הָגָה hagah – Strong’s H1897 which means, ‘to moan, growl, utter, speak, muse, declare, meditate’.
הָגִיג hagiyg – Strong’s H1901 is a word that denotes either the ‘unspoken words’ or ‘prayers of the heart’ or ‘the murmuring utterance of brooding sorrow’. What we are able to recognise here is that there is an urgent appeal for יהוה to hear the deep, sorrowful and burdened cry for help, which often cannot be expressed in many audible words! Dawiḏ is basically asking יהוה to hear the deep and earnest prayers of his heart!
Dawiḏ’s meditation is the ‘faint utterance’ or ‘murmuring’ or ‘groaning’ that he has deep within!
We take note that this is NOT a grumbling or moaning but is rather a groaning in expectation of the Truth and can often reflect the inner thoughts of the heart and mind that one has without the vocal utterance of excessive words from the lips; yet we also take note that this can also refer to the physical words of a ‘quiet tone’ that are whispered under the breathe, so to speak, unto Elohim! This highlights for me the power of intimacy that the one that trusts in יהוה can have, as they do not need to make hypocritical prayers to be seen by others but can rather express the deepened cry of their hearts unto Elohim, done with utmost intimacy in praying to the Father in the secret place and have the full assurance of His ear being attentive to the cry of the righteous!
In verse 2-3 we take note that Dawiḏ understood the importance of starting the day correctly as he declares that he presented himself to יהוה in the morning and looked up! The Hebrew word that is translated here in verse 3 as ‘morning’ comes from the root word בֹּקֶר boqer – Strong’s H1242 which means, ‘morning, dawn, day-break’, and can also be a reference to the time just before dawn at the breaking forth of light and therefore the ‘morning’ can be understood as being the early part of the daytime period, which can vary from early daybreak, to an undetermined time before midday when the sun is at its apex. This word comes from the primitive root verb בָּקַר baqar – Strong’s H1239 which means, ‘to seek, inquire, make inquiry, meditate’. The Greek word that is used here in the LXX (Septuagint) for ‘morning’ is πρωΐ prōi – Strong’s G4404 which means, ‘early, early morning’ and comes from the word πρό pro – Strong’s G4253 which means, ‘before, above, ahead, prior’.
πρωΐ prōi – Strong’s G4404 can also be understood as being that which describes the morning watch which ushers in the dawn, as we see this word being used in:
Marqos/Mark 13:35-36 “Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming – in the evening or at midnight, or at the crowing of the cock, or in the morning, 36 lest, coming suddenly, he should find you sleeping.”
We also see this word being used to describe how our Master would go out very early to pray:
Marqos/Mark 1:35 “And having risen very early in the morning, while still dark, He went out, and went away to a lonely place, and there He prayed.”
The reason for me highlighting these verses is to emphasise the pattern that our Master and Dawiḏ shows us by their getting up very early to pray and awaken the dawn with prayer and this is a pattern that we would all do well to follow, as we rise up and seek Elohim before the day begins in order to have the shalom and full assurance of starting the day in the right frame of mind.
The Hebrew word translated as ‘present’ is עָרַךְ araḵ – Strong’s H6186 which means, ‘to arrange or set in order, draw up in formation, prepared, set, present’, and clearly speaks to us of something that has been properly prepared and set in order, according to a proper plan and design.
Dawiḏ rose up early in the morning and presented himself to יהוה, which highlights for us how he had properly prepared to do so through proper planning and discipline; and then he says that he looks up!
The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘and I look up’ is וַאֲצַפֶּה – va’astappeh which comes from the primitive root verb צָפָה tsaphah – Strong’s H6822 which means, ‘to look out, watchman, keep watch’, and this word is translated as ‘look’ in:
Miḵah/Micah 7:7 “As for me, I look to יהוה, I wait for the Elohim of my deliverance, my Elohim does hear me.”
The prophet Miḵah prophesied about 20 years prior to the House of Yisra’ĕl’s divorce and he prophesied from the southern kingdom of Yehuḏah in the face of the northern kingdom’s impending dispersion.
Despite the clear depravity and corrupt worship practices that were taking place this prophet made it clear who he looked to and in doing so recognised his need to be a true watchman of יהוה, hence his urgency in speaking the Truth!
Presenting oneself in the morning to יהוה in order to ‘look up’ reflects a disciplined and prepared heart that is steadfast in looking to the Master and His compassion!
When we consider this we are able to identify our need to make early morning prayers a priority in our proper looking to the Master and take note of the words we find in:
Yehuḏah/Jude 1:20-21 “But you, beloved ones, building yourselves up on your most set-apart belief, praying in the Set-apart Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of Elohim, looking for the compassion of our Master יהושע Messiah unto everlasting life.”
The Greek word that is translated here as ‘looking’ is προσδέχομαι prosdechomai – Strong’s G4327 which means, ‘look for, wait for, expect: the fulfilment of promises’ and is constructed from two words: 1) – πρός pros – Strong’s G4314 which is a primary preposition meaning, ‘advantageous for, at (denotes local proximity), toward (denotes motion toward a place)’, and 2) – δέχομαι dechomai – Strong’s G1209 which means, ‘to receive, accept, welcomed’.
This word προσδέχομαι prosdechomai can be understood as ‘going toward that which is to be received and welcomed’, and is used in:
Titos/Titus 2:11-14 “For the saving Gift of Elohim has appeared to all men, 12 instructing us to renounce wickedness and worldly lusts, and to live sensibly, righteously, and reverently in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed expectation and esteemed appearance of the great Elohim and our Saviour יהושע Messiah, 14 who gave Himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people, His own possession, ardent for good works.”
How do we ‘wait expectantly’? By renouncing wickedness and worldly lusts and live set-apart lives in complete reverence of Elohim, for we recognise that Messiah has redeemed us from all lawlessness! We wait expectantly by guarding His laws!!!
As we consider our need to be looking to our Master’s esteemed appearance and His compassion, we must recognise the urgency in our need to be diligent in keeping our eyes on Him and not be led astray by things that can cause us to lose sight or focus of walking in and staying in Him and living set-apart lives in complete reverence before our Mighty Elohim and King!
When Dawiḏ says that he looks up we take note that this verb is written in the intensive or intentional form which highlights a diligent and well prepared action of watching carefully and this words expresses the confident expectation that he had in יהוה our Elohim! He confidently declares that יהוה was His Elohim and King and when he says, ‘my Elohim and my King’ we take note that this is a personal prayer and cry unto that identifies an intimate and personal relationship with Elohim, who is His authority in all matters and in great expectation he looks up in confident anticipation that his prayer was being heard!
Tehillah/Psalm 145:18-19 “יהוה is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. 19 He does the desire of those who fear Him; and He hears their cry and saves them.”
Yoḥanan Aleph/1John 5:14-15 “And this is the boldness that we have in Him, that if we ask whatever according to His desire, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
The righteous ones that make יהוה their refuge have the full assurance of their prayers being heard, as we see from the words we find, when speaking of those who find shelter in the Most High and abide under His shadow, in:
Tehillah/Psalm 119:15 “When he calls on Me, I answer him; I am with him in distress; I deliver him and esteem him.”
We are also told in:
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 15:29 “יהוה is far from the wrong ones, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.”
The prayers of those who turn their ears away from hearing the Torah of יהוה are an abomination to יהוה:
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 28:9 “He who turns away his ear from hearing the Torah, even his prayer is an abomination.”
Those who guard to do all He has commanded us – which is righteousness – have the assurance that their prayers are heard!
Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 3:22 “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we guard His commands and do what is pleasing in His sight.”
Yoḥanan/John 9:31 “And we know that Elohim does not hear sinners. But if anyone fears Elohim and does His desire, He hears him.”
These were the words which the man who was born blind and had his eyes opened by Messiah spoke to the Pharisees who refused to believe that he had been healed by Messiah and accused him of being blind from birth because of sin and he therefore said these words as a witness against them and highlighted that he feared Elohim and not man! His witness also made it clear that he confessed that יהושע Messiah had forgiven him and cleansed him from sin, showing that יהושע is Master and Elohim, who is able to forgive and cleanse and restore those who seek Him with their all!
As we consider the confident witness of the man who was born blind and had been healed to see we are able to identify with the courage that Dawiḏ had too as we take note that those who earnestly seek יהוה and look to Him need not fear what man can do!
Dawiḏ understood what יהוה delights in and what He does not and makes it clear that while he presented himself before Elohim in the morning and have his prayers heard, he knew that יהוה did not delight in the wrong and that they were unable to stand before Him, nor dwell in His presence (verse 4-6).
After describing how the wicked are unable to stand before Elohim he says in verse 7 that he enters into the House of יהוה in the greatness of His loving-commitment and he bowed toward the set-apartness of יהוה in His fear!
These words echo the pure cry of a man who had much reverence and the proper fear of יהוה – a quality that is sadly missing by most today and needs to be properly restored in the Bride who prepares Herself for our Maker’s soon return!
Dawiḏ knew and understood that he could not just come into the presence of יהוה any which way he felt, nor could he come in on his own merits! He could only come into the House of יהוה and bow down before Elohim because of יהוה’s loving-commitment! It is only by the blood of Messiah that we, who were once far off from the covenants of promise and without Elohim, are able to draw near!
Eph’siyim/Ephesians 2:11-13 “Therefore remember that you, once nations in the flesh, who are called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called ‘the circumcision’ made in the flesh by hands, 12 that at that time you were without Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Yisra’ĕl and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no expectation and without Elohim in the world. 13 But now in Messiah יהושע you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah.”
We now, by the blood of Messiah and our immersion in His Name, have boldness to come near to the throne of favour in our time of need! Without Messiah we are unable to draw near!
Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 4:14-16 “Therefore, since we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, יהושע the Son of Elohim, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who was tried in all respects as we are, apart from sin. 16 Therefore, let us come boldly to the throne of favour, in order to receive compassion, and find favour for timely help.”
Without the loving-commitment of Elohim we have no hope and Dawiḏ understood this!
In His great compassion and His loving-commitment to His Covenants of Promise, Elohim came in the flesh to redeem us from all lawlessness and cleanse us from sin, by His own blood, and was taken up in esteem, in order that we may draw near to Him and bow in complete reverence and set-apartness and dwell in His presence!
The ground for Dawiḏ’s confident expectation to having his prayers answered was in the set-apartness of Elohim who does not tolerate evil, wickedness or falsehood! The wicked, lawless and false cannot enjoy the hospitality and protection of Elohim. In verses 5-6 Dawiḏ makes mentions of various kinds of sinners:
1 – The boasters!
The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘boasters’ is הוֹלְלִים – hol’liym which comes from the root word 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 word can have both a positive as well as a negative connotation and while we are to make our boast and praise in Elohim we also take note that this word can also help us identify those who make a loud show in order to be seen while their hearts are riddled with deceit and compromise!
This word simply amplifies for us the picture of those who love to put on a big show and pretend obedience and make vows yet never keep them! יהוה take no pleasure in foolish boasters who shall be destroyed for their pride and arrogance of lawlessness, making a false claim to be believers yet shall be rejected and cast away!
2 – Workers of wickedness!
The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘workers of wickedness’ is פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן – po’aley aven which comes from two root words: 1) פָּעַל pa’al – Strong’s H6466 which means, ‘do, make, accomplish, perform’, and from this root we get the word פֹּעַל po’al – Strong’s H6467 which means, ‘doing, deed, work, activity, wages, what you have done’, and is therefore a word that clearly reflects that which is gained by what you do. 2) אָוֶן aven – Strong’s H205 which means, ‘iniquity, trouble, wicked, sorrow’.
In Hoshěa/Hosea 10 Yisra’ĕl is called a degenerate vine, due to the corruption of their false worship practices that they had adopted, as they were a nation that had become so twisted in their attempt at worship, that they resorted to the use of lying, cheating and twisting words to cover up their wickedness; and they had put more trust in self and their worship programmes and idols rather than in יהוה. They were more afraid of losing their calf to the enemy than actually stripping away the lies!
When Yaroḇʽam, the king of the northern tribes, had built Sheḵem in the north as the capital of Ephrayim, he did not want people to go to Yerushalayim to worship in fear that they would return to Reḥaḇʽam, the king of Yehuḏah, and so he made two calves of gold, setting one up in Bĕyth Ěl and another in Dan, made high places of all sorts and made many priests from all sorts of people who were not from Lĕwi. And this became the focus of their worship – calf worship – they had not learnt from the incident in the Wilderness many years before when Aharon built a golden calf proclaiming a festival unto יהוה, while in יהוה’s eyes it was an abomination (Shemoth/Exodus 32). This time was no different – יהוה does not change!
Yisra’ĕl was more concerned about their calf being captured due to the tightening grip of judgement that was coming upon them and in Hoshěa/Hosea 10:5 we see the place Bĕyth Ěl being called בֵּית אָוֶן Bĕyth Awen – Strong’s H1007 which means, ‘house of iniquity/ house of wickedness/ house of vanity’.
Hoshěa/Hosea 10:5 “The inhabitants of Shomeron fear because of the calf of Bĕyth Awen. For its people shall mourn for it, as well as its priests who used to rejoice over it, because of its esteem that has departed from it.”
What we see very clearly here is the fact that the House of Ěl had now become the House of iniquity!!! False worship was taking place and the people leading the services were false priests! The word used here for priests is כֹּמֶר komer – Strong’s H3649 meaning, ‘Idolatrous priests or priests in idol worship’!!! How did this happen? Well remember that Yaroḇʽam made anyone a priest and this is the result!!! It is יהוה who calls and not man; and today there is a man-driven system of appointing priests that adhere to man-made standards which primarily end up in priests who are engaged in idolatry and teaching others likewise! The word for idolatrous priests comes from a root word that can mean ‘black’ giving reference to the black garments of idolatry as opposed to the white robes of righteousness!!!
Why I am mentioning this is to highlight how יהוה hates workers of wickedness and those who work wickedness through the corrupting of the Truth will be destroyed and unable to stand before the eyes of Elohim!
3 – Liars!
The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘liars’ comes from the root word כָּזָב kazaḇ – Strong’s H3577 which means, ‘a lie, falsehood, deceptive thing, deception’, and comes from the primitive root verb כָּזַב kazaḇ – Strong’s H3576 which means, ‘to lie, be a liar, fail, told lies, deceive, disappoint’.
4 – Man of blood!
The Hebrew term for ‘man of blood or ‘blood thirsty men’ is written as אִישׁ־דָּמִים – ish damiym and comes from the two root words: 1) אִישׁ ish – Strong’s H376 which means, ‘man’ and 2) דָּם dam – Strong’s H1818 which means, ‘blood, bloodguilt, bloodshed’. We know from Scripture that ‘life is in the blood’ and those who murder and take the blood of the innocent יהוה hates
5 – Deceitful!
The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘deceit’ as in ‘men of blood and deceit’ is מִרְמָה mirmah – Strong’s H4820 which means, ‘deceit, treachery, dishonesty, falsehood’, and also is used in Amos 8:5 with reference to those who couldn’t wait for the Sabbath to be over so that they could trade and falsify their scales by deceit! False measures are an abomination to יהוה. There is no reward for ‘half’ obedience or for lukewarm obedience – you either obey or you do not, for there is no partiality with Elohim.
When Dawiḏ asked the question of who may go up into the mountain of יהוה, he tells us in:
Tehillah/Psalm 24:4 “He who has innocent hands and a clean heart, who did not bring his life to naught, and did not swear deceivingly.”
Obedient hands, an undefiled heart and no deceitful words – that is who may ascend the mountain of יהוה!
So many today will swear that they follow the Master and walk in His Torah, while their actions show a clear breaking of obedience when they compromise in the smallest things – and that is deceit!
In these last days, when deceit is all around, we recognise how small the true remnant of Elohim’s Bride is; and as יהוה restores a clean lip unto the remnant few, they will call on the Name of יהוה and serve Him with one shoulder, and we are told in:
Tsephanyah/Zephaniah 3:12-13 “But I shall leave in your midst an oppressed and poor people, and they shall trust in the Name of יהוה. 13 “The remnant of Yisra’ĕl shall do no unrighteousness and speak no falsehood, nor is a tongue of deceit found in their mouth. For they shall feed their flocks and lie down, with none to frighten them.”
No tongue of deceit found in their mouths!!!
Let no deceit be found in you, is a clear message we all need to hear in these last days – for the deceitful danger of deceit can cause us to be slain with the wrongdoers and workers of wickedness, the treacherous and adulterers, who do know יהוה, nor love Him as they do not guard His commands!
Deceit causes one to refuse to know Elohim, and deceit is a very dangerous and poisonous thing – it will cloud your judgement and your ability to think straight!
Kěpha Aleph/1 Peter 3:10-11 “For “He who wishes to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit, 11 let him turn away from evil and do good, let him seek peace and pursue it.”
In summary of verse 5-6, we are able to see from Dawiḏ’s words that the proud, the lawless, the liars and men of falsehood, the bloodthirsty and workers of wickedness and deceit will have no access to the Kingdom of Elohim, as יהוה hates these. In fact, in these two verses we are able to see יהוה’s judgement on such sinners being described in a number of ways: 1) They may not stand in His presence – unable to enter in; 2) They are hated by Elohim; 3) They shall be destroyed by Elohim; 4) They are loathed by Elohim
Understanding how the wrong are totally unacceptable Dawiḏ does not presume to be without the need of יהוה and His deliverance as he seeks יהוה to lead him in righteousness, lest he ends up being like the wicked and no longer be a beloved of the King! He seeks יהוה’s righteous direction and leading because of the many enemies of Dawiḏ who are trying to catch and destroy him! We too need His leading, for He is our Shepherd and we cannot be without our Good Shepherd’s leading and guidance in righteousness! If we do not let Him lead and if we do not follow Him as we should then we open ourselves up for a fall and at risk of destruction. Dawiḏ asks יהוה to make his way straight before His face! This is an important concept to grasp as we too must take note that we must walk straight before the face of יהוה which teaches us that whatever we do, whether in word or deed, we are to do it in the Name of יהושע Messiah, knowing that His eyes are on His servants and therefore we must never be found doing that which displeases Him; which calls for us to guard righteousness and do so with fervent joy!
Dawiḏ was, in essence, asking יהוה to keep him focused on the Truth and not be distracted by wickedness and the distresses of his enemies. How many times have you found that you have taken your eyes off the mark, so to speak, and have, in the process, been led astray by fear and worries?
Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 12:1-2 “We too, then, having so great a cloud of witnesses all around us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race set before us, 2 looking to the Princely Leader and Perfecter of our belief, יהושע, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the stake, having despised the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of Elohim.”
We are told to be ‘looking’ to Messiah – and in order to be able to properly ‘look’ at Messiah, we need to throw off and lay aside every weight and sin that easily entangles us and run with endurance – looking intently at our King as we run faithfully as servants of the Most High Elohim!
Many are trying to run, yet find themselves getting tired and unable to endure the hardships and persecutions that comes as a result of set-apart living amidst a crooked generation! The question that you need to ask yourself as you take an eye test so to speak is, “What are you looking at?” Are you looking at Messiah?
The two words used here for our Messiah are:
‘Prince’ – ἀρχηγός – archēgos – Strong’s G747 – translates as ‘prince, captain, chief leader and author’ and describes ‘one that takes the lead in anything and thus affords an example, a predecessor in a matter, pioneer’.
‘Perfecter’ – τελειωτής – teleiōtēs – Strong’s G5051 – this is the only place this Greek word is used in Scripture and denotes a ‘finisher, completer, perfecter’ and describes ‘one who has in his own person raised faith to its perfection and so set before us the highest example of faith’. This is a description given only to יהושע Messiah who has become the supreme model for us to follow.
Dawiḏ understood his need to fix his eyes on יהוה and His righteousness and he goes on to highlight in verse 9 the way of the wrong, which have no stability in their words and way and then asks to be guarded against deception and the smooth and flattering words of falsehood!
In these last days there are many ear ticklers that are deceiving many and we are therefore reminded to keep our eyes fixed on the Truth and are able to present ourselves as workman approved, who can rightly divide the Truth!
Watch out for smooth talkers and do not be led astray by wrong counsel!
Timotiyos Bět/2 Timothy 4:1-4 “In the sight of Elohim and the Master יהושע Messiah, who shall judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His reign, I earnestly charge you: 2 proclaim the Word! Be urgent in season, out of season. Reprove, warn, appeal, with all patience and teaching. 3 For there shall be a time when they shall not bear sound teaching, but according to their own desires, they shall heap up for themselves teachers tickling the ear, 4 and they shall indeed turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to myths.”
In closing, Dawiḏ asks יהוה to let all who take refuge in Elohim rejoice and shout for joy! Why? Because:
יהוה BLESSES THE RIGHTEOUS AND SURROUNDS THEM WITH FAVOUR!
The Hebrew word that is used here for ‘rejoice’ comes from the root שָׂמַח samaḥ – Strong’s H8055 and means, ‘to rejoice, be glad, be joyful, delight in and be elated’, and can also carry the meaning ‘to brighten up’, giving us the picture how we are to carry His joy as the light of the world and let praise and rejoicing abound!
The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘shout for joy’ comes from the primitive root verb רָנַן ranan – Strong’s H7442 which means, ‘to overcome, cry out, shout for joy, give a ringing cry, sing aloud’.
Those who love the Name of יהוה (YAHWEH) are to ‘exult’ and the Hebrew word that is translated as ‘exult’ comes from עָלַץ alats – Strong’s H5970 – ‘rejoice, exult, triumph’, and this verb describes an emotional response of the righteous.
Pilipiyim/Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in יהוה always, again I say, rejoice!”
This command to rejoice is not to be done as a robotic response of a rehearsed script, but rather an expression of a true heartfelt response that comes from deep within our being that causes us to do nothing else but exult in Elohim. Have you ever experienced this kind of praise for Elohim? Where the emotions of exulting praise are built up so deep inside that they cannot be contained and results in one bursting forth with triumphant praise?
What I love about the structure of this melody that is played with flutes in how it starts off with a whispering cry of the heart in the desperate cry for help and as the boldness of one’s confession in the Master is expressed with confidence we see the end of this song carrying with it a great shout of victory and praise that can be heard far and wide!
This in itself can teach us a valuable lesson of how we are to take everything in prayer to our Master and Elohim and pour out our burdens before Him, for then He will turn our mourning into dancing and our sorrow into songs of joy!
Those who truly love Elohim are properly equipped to exult in Him!
Love for Elohim = obedience!
Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 5:2-4 “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, 4 because everyone having been born of Elohim overcomes the world. And this is the overcoming that has overcome the world: our belief.”
יהוה BLESSES THE RIGHTEOUS AND SURROUNDS THEM WITH FAVOUR!
The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘righteous’ comes from the root word צַדִּיק tsaddiq –Strong’s H6662 which means, ‘just, righteous, blameless, lawful’!
We are also told what righteousness is for us, in:
Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 6:25 “And it is righteousness for us when we guard to do all this command before יהוה our Elohim, as He has commanded us.”
Therefore: RIGHTESOUNESS = OBEDIENCE and OBEDIENCE = LOVE!
The obedient lovers of Elohim are blessed by יהוה and surrounded with His favour, as with a shield, which signifies complete protection from the fiery darts of the enemy!
The Hebrew word translated here for ‘surrounds’ is עָטַר atar – Strong’s H5849 which means, ‘to surround, to crown’ and metaphorically speaks of honour and authority, and we see that this word is often translated as ‘crown’ and is used as such as we see that grey hair (Mishlĕ/Proverbs 16:31), grandchildren (Mishlĕ/Proverbs 17:6), a capable wife (Mishlĕ/Proverbs 12:4)and wisdom (Mishlĕ/Proverbs 14:24) are considered to be a ‘crown’, or that which ‘surrounds’ the righteous!
The Hebrew word used here for ‘favour’ is רָצוֹן ratson – Strong’s H7522 which means, ‘goodwill, favour, acceptance, desired, well-pleased’, and comes from the primitive root verb רָצָה ratsah – Strong’s H7521 which means, ‘to be pleased with, accept favourably’.
In the Beloved we have been accepted favourably by Him, having ordained us to adoption as sons through Messiah, according to the good pleasure of His desire (Eph’siyim/Ephesians 1:2-7).
In this powerful melody of praise unto Elohim, Dawiḏ knew that he could boldly come to the throne of Elohim and seek favour in his time of distress, with the full assurance that his prayers would be heard; and that through his diligent seeking of, and loving, יהוה with all his heart that he would experience the true blessing and protection of Elohim, for:
יהוה BLESSES THE RIGHTEOUS AND SURROUNDS THEM WITH FAVOUR!
The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘You bless’ is comes from the root word בָּרַךְ baraḵ – Strong’s H1288 and means, ‘to abundantly bless’ and literally carries the meaning, ‘to kneel or bow down, to show respect, to bring a gift to another while kneeling out of respect’.
The ancient script has the Hebrew word for bless – בָּרַךְ baraḵ – Strong’s H1288 pictured as:
Beyt – בָּ:
The ancient script has this letter as , which pictures a tent floor plan and means, ‘house’ or ‘tent’. It represents family and the importance of those who are inside the tent as opposed to the tent structure itself.
Resh – רַ:
The ancient pictographic 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.
Kaph – ךְ:
The ancient pictographic script has this letter pictured as – – which is a picture of an open palm of a hand and can symbolise that to which submission is given – ‘under the hand’
From the pictographic rendering of this word we are able to clearly see who it is who blesses us –
The House/Assembly of Elohim is blessed as the Head/Chief, comes down and extends His open and revealed hand to His own!
Our Mighty Master and Elohim came down to bless us and redeem us from all lawlessness! That is more than enough reason for us to respond positively to the call to rejoice, shout for joy and exult in יהושע Messiah, our Master, Elohim, Saviour and King!
יהוה BLESSES THE RIGHTEOUS AND SURROUNDS THEM WITH FAVOUR!
As we carefully consider this Truth and meditate on this very powerful prayer of protection that was done with the playing of flutes, let us do our utmost to be found to be diligently guarding righteousness at all times!
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 2:20 “So walk in the way of goodness, and guard the paths of righteousness.”
Tehillah/Psalm 106:3 “Blessed are those who guard right-ruling, who do righteousness at all times!”
יהוה bless you and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and show favour to you; יהוה lift up His face to and give you shalom!