The Lord Jesus Christ told his disciples that not one "jot" or "tittle" will pass away from the Law until all is fulfilled (see Matt. 5:18). The word translated "jot" (iota from the Greek New Testament) refers to the smallest Hebrew letter "Yod”. It distinguished Joshua (יהושע) from Hoshea (הושֵע) and Sarai from Sarah. The “tittle” (keraia in Greek) is one of the smaller strokes when writing the Hebrew letters. It distinguished ד (D) from ר (R), or כ (K) from ב (B). Jewish Rabbis used to caution their scholars against so writing as to cause one letter to be mistaken for another, so doing could result in nonsense or misinterpretation. For Christ the smallest stroke of the smallest letter of the Law had value.
I have always wanted to read the Old Testament in Hebrew or at least be able to get through the Torah (the first 5 books of the Old Testament) as well as Isiah. Admittedly I have started the process more times than I care to say and have progressed less than I would have liked. For a while I get excited about it and jump in with both feet but over time life gets in the way. Despite the fact that I have progressed very slowly, I have begun looking at the Old Testament through a Hebrew lens. I am amazed at how many gems are missing in the English translation and how a jot or a tittle of information can provide so much more insight into the scriptures.
Whether you’re interested in learning Hebrew or not I
recommend getting a copy of Stong’s Concordance. It is a reference book that
takes every word from the bible and indexes it. This allows the reader to find Hebrew words where they
appear in the Bible. This reference book also provides direct comparison where the same word may be used in different passages. The main benefit for me is that a
word in Hebrew may be translated into different words in English depending on
the context and as a result the comparison is lost.
So let me begin. When you want to
share something, it is best to start at the beginning and so we shall. The first
chapter of the first book of the Old Testament starts out like this:
"In the beginning God created heaven and earth."
The Hebrew word used for creation is ארב “Ba-raw” and is
more exclusive then the English equivalent. In English the word create is
generic you can create, I can create, anyone can create. In Hebrew however ארב is
a verb that is only used when God is the subject of the verb. For example
2)
God created mankind both male
and female (Gen 1:27)
3)
God created heavenly Host (Isa 40:26)
4)
God will create a new heaven
and earth (65:17)
5)
God created righteousness and
salvation (Isa45:8)
As we look at this list we may feel that God is a very
distant God, one who is only concerned with the grand and important events of his
plan but David knew better. He knew that if we were to cast off the natural man
and become saints we could not do it alone. In fact, it is only through and
with God that we can overcome the natural man. In one of the Psamls of David as
he pleads with the Lord he asks the Lord to “create in [him] a clean heart… and renew a right spirit within
[him]” (Ps. 51:10). In this verse David
uses the verb ba-raw. He realizes that God is not only involved in the creation
of the universe but is intimately involved in David’s own creation and
salvation. David understands that if we are to become as God we need to allow him
to change us.
The link between our own progression and Christ is so
precisely depicted in Dante’s Divine Comedy a 14th century poem
written by Dante Alighieri. In this story Dante finds himself lost in a dark
and dreary wood with help from Virgil a guide from beyond the grave Dante
descends into the pits of hell then ascends Mount Purgatory to Paradise or
Heaven. The poem represents, allegorically, the soul's journey towards God.
As Dante Climbs Mount Purgatory it is revealed that Souls may climb the
mountain only during the day. Symbolically this is because they can reach the
top only with the help from the divine light. Christ must be
an integral part of their ascension.
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| Mount Purgatory by Domenico di Michelino, 1465. |
Ezekial also understood this link. He teaches that the Lord,
if we let him, will play a central role in our development.
“For I will take you from among the heathen… Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness…I will cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Ezekial 24-27).
As we once again look at the opening words of Genesis there
is one unique word that is left untranslated. There is in fact no equivalent
word in English. If we are to translate it literally it would look something
like this.
“In the beginning God created et [אֵת]”
Et (אֵת) is a
particle used in front of the direct object of a verb. In Genisis 1:1 “et” precedes
the heaven and the earth which in this case are the direct objects of the verb
“created”. The word et is composed of the first and last letters of the Hebrew
alphabet (Aleph and Tav) Some Rabbis interpret this to mean that God first
created the alphabet.
 |
| Hebrew Alphabet |
Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi stated that if the
letters were to depart even for an instant, all of creation would become
absolute nothingness (Zalman, Shneur. 1981. "Igeret Hateshuvah."
Likkutie Amarim - Tanya. Brooklyn: Kihot. 289).
From those letters God created the word. Jews
would equate the words of life with the divine revelations as given in the
Hebrew Bible. Christians view this from a different vantage point.
It is interesting that in the first instance it was the
WORD that Elohim created. The word for me has a three fold meaning. It is the
word that gave him the power to create. As it is written, “God said let there be Light and
there was light”. It is also the words of life that will teach us how to return
to live with him. Finally the Word is the Savior, the means by which we will
be able to return. For as John says:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” (John 1:1)
For me this gives a whole new meaning to Lehi and Nephi’s
vision of the tree of life. In this vision numberless concourses of people hold
tight to an iron rod which leads them through the mists of darkness to the tree
of life. The rod is identified by Nephi as the WORD of God and so it is but
could we not also see the WORD as a representation of the Word that was with God in the beginning even Christ himself.
As we press our way forward feeling our way toward the tree
of life is it not Christ that we must take hold of to guide us through the
mists of darkness, Like Dante as we ascend our own mount Purgatory is it not
Christ that will provide the guiding and reassuring light and Ezekiel and
David taught that as we attempt to purge our imperfections do we not need to hand
our life over to Christ in order to create in us a new spirit. Let us remember that we can not do it alone.
We must invite divine guidance into our lives and allow the Creator of all to
create in us a new heart.
