Little treasures
Jeremiah 9:25. If we are to boast about anything it is to be that we Know God.
- Let’s look at that word “know.” It is the Hebrew word “Yada”
- If you look the word up in a lexicon is generally means “to know.” To have knowledge of.
- But the Hebrews used this word in interesting ways.
- 4:1 That word “Lay” is the Hebrew word Yada. It’s the same word we saw in Jeremiah 9:24.
- In Hebrew it says, the man “Yada” his wife and she became pregnant.
- The man “knew” his wife and she became pregnant.
- Genesis 4:17. Cain “Yada” his wife and she became pregnant.
- This word Yada can refer to the intimacy between and husband and wife.
- How does that relate back to that passage in Jeremiah 9:24?
- The idea here is that we are to know God, the same way a man knows his wife.
- We are talking about that level of intimacy.
Proverbs 3:6. (NKJV) The word here “acknowledge” is guess what? That same word “Yada.”
- Tim translation. “In all your ways be intimate with the Lord, and he will direct your paths.”
- There was this idea among the Hebrews that Knowing God was to be on the same level of intimacy that a husband has with his wife.
Genesis 18:19. The first phrase I have chosen him” is the same word “Yada.” God Can know us the same way.
- God says, “for I have been so intimate with Abraham, that I want him to direct…”
- God knew Abraham so intimately that he chose him to do His work.
Psalms 37:4. The English word delighted is the Hebrew word `anag
- The root of the Hebrew word used here is: to be soft or pliable.
- Tim translation. “Be soft before the lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
- Being soft before the Lord could certainly be in the same vein as being intimate.
Psalm 37:7. The verb “be still” is the Hebrew word dah-MAHM.
- Which means to be dumb. As in silent. Not speaking.
- Intimacy can be found in silence.
- Tim translation Be silent before the lord, and wait patiently for him;…
Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 Picks up on this same idea.
- Contrast with Psalm 46:10. “Be Still.” Here, it is a military term and mean to “let it drop,” as in a weapon. Drop your weapon!
Psalms 23:6 The English word follow is far too bloodless for the Hebrew verb Radaph.
- The Hebrew word means to chase after and pursue. It’s actually a hunting or military word.
- God’s Goodness, mercy and Love hunt us down like a starving man hunting prey.
Genesis 2:24 (KJV) The root of the word cleave means to catch by pursuit. A man is to catch his wife by pursuit.
- One lexicon describes the word this way. “The most intimate adhesion imaginable.”
- The verbs is also a sequential imperfect. First the leaving of mother and father and then pursuit of wife.
- In the grammatical structure of the verse, it looks like this. Leave, cleave, become one.
Mark 1:23. Perhaps the first thing we need to note here is that there was a demon in the synagogue. And no one seems to notice or care. I am sure this was not the first time this demon had been present in the synagogue.
- But Jesus doesn’t allow this disruption to continue.
- Jesus commands the spirit to come out of the man.
- The Greek word Jesus uses here literally means “be muzzled.”
- Mark 4:37. Jesus stands up and tells the squall to be quiet and be still.
- The wors here “still” is that same Greek word which means to be muzzled.
- Jesus treats the two problems the same way.
- In the first one, we know it was a demon. But Jesus uses the same approach with the storm.
- And in both cases, Jesus just uses a simple command prayer, “Be muzzled.”
John 3:22 The Greek word used here has two parts; the first part means “against” and the second part means “to rub.”
- So, the word literally means to rub against.
- This is the essence of discipleship. To rub off on each other.
- Jesus us trying to rub off on them.