The Doorway to God

Doorway

From time to time I will refer to the special meanings of the Hebrew alphabet. Their alphabet represents, not only their letters, but their numerical system and musical notes. On top of that each letter has a meaning. It has been said that if you would memorize what each letter meant that you could understand 80% of the Hebrew words.

For example, the first letter is “aleph.” In it’s book type it can look like an x. You can find it just above Psalm 119:1. In the pictograph form it looks like the head of an ox, similar to our letter “a.” It is said to represent leader – the head as well as being the first letter.

The second letter is “beth” which, in the pictograph, looks like our “d” laying down. It represents house. Put the two together and you have the word for father or leader of the house. We would pronounce it “ab.”

Did you know that there is only one letter different from the name Judah and God’s name, Yawah? It is the “Daleth”. The daleth looks like an open door or overhang over tent door found just above Psalm 119:25 in most bibles. It is said to represent door.

If Judah means praise and Yawah is God’s name then could we say that when the “daleth” or door is placed in God’s name that the doorway to Him is praise? Just a thought.

Feel free to leave your comments or insights.

Perfected Praise

Matthew 21:15-16,  But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”  And Jesus said to them, “Yes.  Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?”

Jesus was quoting Psalm 8:2 in Matthew 21:16 which would seem to be a misquote.  He did not quote anything which was contradictory to the verse in Psalm but merely clarified it.  After all, He is the author of the Word isn’t He?  John called Him the Word in John 1:1.

Psalm 8:2,  Out of the mouth of babes and infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

The ordained strength the Psalmist is referring to which silences the enemy, Jesus called it perfected praise.  Children can not always find the right words to say.  Often their praise lacks depth because of their lack of communication skills.  But their praise goes beyond being verbal.

Our praise may not always be very clear or even sound eloquent, but by the time it gets to the Lord’s ears it has been perfected. It is this praise that shuts the mouth of the enemy.

Feel free to leave a comment or insight.

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Halal – Praise

Psalm 150:1-6 Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

In the King James Version it says “Praise ye the Lord.” This was the favor proclimation of my mother’s father, Glenn Hartman, when he would walk into a room or great someone.

Halal is the most common Hebrew word for praise. It is what makes up the word Hallelujah which is translated, “praise ya” or “praise the Lord.” Ya is short for Yawah which was translated as Jehovah by King James’ scholars who did not realize that the scribes put the vowels of the word Adoni with Yawah to keep them from accidentally pronouncing God’s name.

Halal means to be boastful, to be excited, to enjoy, to flash forth light. It is an explosion of enthusiasm in the act of praising. It can also mean to act foolishly.

Could this be a way to describe David as the disrobed and danced before God with all of his might?

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Ruwa – Shout

Psalm 95:1,2 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

We first see this word in Joshua 6 when the instruction is given to Joshua and then from Joshua to the people to “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city!”

Ruwa means to shout a war-cry or an alarm or to shout in triumph.

In the book of Numbers king Balak hired Balaam to curse Israel and each time only blessing would come from his mouth. During his second attempt at cursing he made the following declaration in Numbers 23:21:

The Lord his God is with him, and the shout (ruwa) of a King is among them.

Psalm 47:1 Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout (ruwa) to God with the voice of triumph!

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Tehillah – Praise

Psalm 22:3 But You [are] holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.

Psalm 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise [shall] continually [be] in my mouth.

This word for praise is Tahillah which means to sing praise. This is the praise that dwells on. This is the praise that David said that he wanted to be in his mouth continually.

It’s root word means to shine and the letters of the root word means “Look at the Shepherd” or Look at the One who is in control!” (Hey, Lamed, Lamed)

These are songs that put all attention upon God, to boast of who He is. In Psalm 40:3, David said that “He put a new song in my mouth, praise (tahillah) unto God…”

Psalm 66:2 says to Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise (tahillah) glorious.

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Towdah – Praise

Psalm 50:23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders [his] conduct [aright] I will show the salvation of God.

Whoever offers “Towdah” glorifies God. Before knowing the Hebrew translation the word “offer” gives us a little clue into the meaning. In the Old Testament they offered up a sacrifice to the Lord.

This word for praise is translated in Jeremiah 33:11 as the “sacrifice of praise.” The author of Hebrews challenges us to offer up a “sacrifice of praise” in Hebrews 13:15.

The true heart behind one of David’s sacrifices to God was being threatened. He desired to make a sacrifice and offered to purchase the land upon which to offer it upon. But the own wanted to give it to him as well as the animal for the sacrifice. But, for David that would not be a sacrifice. Here was his response to the landowner:

Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy [it] from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 2 Samuel 24:24

In Psalm 34:1 David said that he WILL bless the Lord at all times. It is whether you feel like it or not. Does your praise to the Lord cost you anything?

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Shabach – Praise

Psalm 63:3-4 Because Your lovingkindness [is] better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.

This word for praise is “Shabach” which means to sooth or to stroke as in stroking the water. This is a soft tone or praise. The story that the letters tell is your house being consumed with God’s covenant. This is that overwhelming moment that you are engulfed into God’s presence.

This same word is used in Psalm 8:2, but is used to describe what God will do to the mouth of the enemy:

Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

When Jesus quoted this verse in Matthew 21:16 He said, “Have you never read, Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise?”

This “perfected praise” is what shuts the mouth of the the enemy and the avenger. It is ordained strength. All the more reason to have a quiet time with God.

So, how is it perfected? When my young grandchildren try to talk to me on the phone it is very hard for me to understand them with their broken speech. They are young and I am not so young. Although I may not have caught everything that they said, I did catch what their heart was saying. By the time it got to my ears my heart perfected it. By the time it leaves our lips and gets to God’s ears, our praise has been perfected.

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Zamar – Praise

Psalm 92:1 A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day. [It] is] good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High.

There are actually two words for praise in this verse. The first is the one for “give thanks” which is “Yada,” meaning to acknowledge in public the great things God has done.

The second praise in this verse is “Zamar,” which means to praise God with music. It literally means to “pluck.” There are other times that it is translated “to prune,” thus focusing on the use of the fingers in praise.

A whole Psalm is committed to describing this act in Psalm 150, although the Psalmist uses the word Halal (praise) as what is being played on the instruments. Give praise to God with musical instruments!

Barak – Praise

Psalm 72:9-15 Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him, And His enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles Will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba Will offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him. For He will deliver the needy when he cries, The poor also, and [him] who has no helper. He will spare the poor and needy, And will save the souls of the needy. He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; And precious shall be their blood in His sight. And He shall live; And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him; Prayer also will be made for Him continually, [And] daily He shall be praised.

All of these verses describe very well the meaning of this word for praise, “barak.” It literally means to bless. It is when we remember the good things that God has done that we bless Him. This praise has a position. It is on bended knee to adore Him.

A good New Testament description of this would be the sinful woman who came into the house where Jesus was eating and wept at his feet, wiped them with her hair, pour perfume on them and kept kissing them.

Yadah – Praise

2 Chronicles 20:19-21 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high. So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the LORD, For His mercy [endures] forever.”

The Hebrew word that we are very familiar with for “Praise the Lord” is Hallelujah. The word for praise used is Halel. But, the word for praise used in the above verse is “Yadah” which means to let God be known in public, to tell others what God has done. It’s root mean is to “throw out the hand.”

So, Jehoshaphat put his choir on the front line for battle and the song they chose to sing went something like this – “Tell everyone what God has done! Let it be known His great works, for His mercy will last forever!”

How effective was the song? When they got to the enemies camp every enemy was dead. They did not raise a sword but they raise a praise!