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Leading Characteristics

Thursday, November 29th, 2012 | Author:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,  James 1:2  ESV

Count – “Never confound the trial of faith with the ordinary discipline of life, much that we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive.”[1]  If we take Chambers’ insight seriously, we soon discover that Paul’s statement is at the forefront of our attitude.  “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  That is the Hebrew equivalent of saying, “Reliability and steadfastness is the result of hearing/obeying and shema comes by obedience to the instructions God gives.”  In other words, what we call “faith” is really living according to the code!  It’s not what you think.  It’s what you do!

Ya’aqov echoes the same instruction.  “Count” is the Greek verb hegeomai.  It means “to think, to believe, to regard as.”  Ya’aqov tells his Jewish readers that they are to consider the trials they face as opportunities for joy.  But there is more here than simply encouragement.  The noun hegoumenoi is the word for leaders (see 1 Maccabees 9:30, Ezekiel 43:7, Micah 5:1 and Acts 7:10).  A characteristic of leadership in the believeing community is regarding trials as joyful expressions of God’s care.  Follow those who live according to YHWH’s code of conduct and who demonstrate joyful contentment in the face of apparent difficulites.

If we need a model for such behavior, we can turn to the life of Joseph (whose name, by the way, does not begin with a “J”).  The only time in the seventeen years of captivity that Yoseph displayed a lack of trust in the inexplicable engineering of YHWH was the time when he asked the wine taster to remember him to Pharoah.  And then he sat in prison for two more years.  If there is anything to be learned from the life of Yoseph, it is this:  reckoning trials as joy is training in contentment.  It has to be learned by experience.  There is no shortcut to contentment.  It is not the result of prior mental preparation.  Contentment, counting trials as joy, comes only in the trial.  Contentment is on-the-job training.

Oswald Chambers reminds us that too often we think of life’s ordinary ups and downs as spiritual trials.  We forget that just being alive means conflict.  We imagine that God will smooth out every bump in the road.  But He won’t, and He doesn’t.  Why doesn’t He?  Because He wants us to become leaders, those who by experience manifest joy in the midst of real trials.  YHWH knows that we need the practice and He is more than willing to provide the opportunities.  This is attitude training and it is far more important than planning and resolution.

Perhaps today is your day to demonstrate leadership contentment.  Perhaps you will be given an opportunity to count!

Topical Index:  count, trials, joy, hegeomai, leaders, hegoumenoi, James 1:2

 

[1] Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, October 31.

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Yesterday and Today

Friday, June 29th, 2012 | Author:

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.  Jude 4

Crept in unnoticed – Now how is this possible?  How can it be that some slip into the assembly to do harm and no one notices?  The Greek verb suggests that they settled in alongside (pareisduo – coming alongside twice – in duo – both in the open and hidden).  How did they get in?  Well, they must have said the right things.  They must have pretended to be worshippers.  They had to look the part.  If this reminds you of something in Genesis 3, don’t be surprised.  They were unnoticed because they appeared to share a common commitment.  But time will tell, and in this case, their true colors soon became apparent.

What were those true colors?  How did Jude conclude these people were the enemy?  He tells us that they turned God’s grace into licentiousness.  What does that mean?  Grace is the Greek word charis.  Its Hebrew equivalent is shamah – to rejoice, be joyful, be glad.  But in Hebrew thought, joy is both inward and outward.  The feelings result in action.  In particular, shamah  is the experience of God’s saving acts.  Joy comes when God delivers.  This is the sense that Jude has in mind.  God has saved us.  We rejoice.  But Jude sees the need for a warning.  Salvation does not mean life without obligations.  Our rejoicing entails a certain code of conduct – a path of righteousness.  Yes, we have joy because God has delivered us, but that does not mean we are free to do whatever we wish.  It means that we are free to obey His instructions.  Without the visible sign of obedience, we are pseudo-believers.  We might have a wonderful warm and fuzzy feeling on the inside, but we lack all the outward evidence that indicates God actually delivered.  You don’t get one without the other.

Notice that Jude expressly indicates what kinds of behaviors deny the true inner experience of charis – shamah.  He uses the Greek word aselgeia, a word that Peter associates with Sodom and Gomorrah.  But perhaps we are too quick to relegate the meaning only to sexual immorality.  While this is the usual meaning, the word carries the idea of license, not simply sexual permissiveness.  In other words, Jude warns not to turn the goodness of God’s benevolence into an excuse for permitting any behavior we wish.  Grace comes with rules.  That doesn’t mean grace depends on rule-keeping.  That would be the mistake of associating God’s goodness with human achievement.  But just because God sheds abroad His grace on undeserving men does not mean that grace in action has no boundaries.  Grace is demonstrated by the change in behavior that accompanies its transformative character.  Grace, as Paul reminds us, is never an excuse for sinning all the more.

All of this seems perfectly reasonable.  At the human level, we love our children but that doesn’t mean we let them do whatever they want to do.  Love comes with obligations and expectations, not for the good of the parent but for the good of the child.  But notice what this implies.  It implies that there is an acceptable and recognized standard of conduct.  It’s no good trying to tell your children that they need to live according to the family expectations if you don’t tell them what those expectations are.  And that’s Jude’s point.  Those who are part of the assembly of the Messianic community have been grafted into the commonwealth of Israel and therefore, they have been given instructions that accompany what it means to be Israel.  To suggest that people can experience God’s grace and reject these instructions is contradictory – and Jude knows it.  That’s why he warns his flock about the destructive nature of those who teach that the rules no longer apply.

I suppose we should ask ourselves if we have turned God’s grace into permission to do what we want to do rather than what He wants us to do.  And, obviously, we aren’t talking about Sodom and Gomorrah anymore.

Topical Index:  grace, charis, shamah, joy, rules, Jude 4, aselgeia, licentiousness

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Relief Pitcher

Wednesday, November 09th, 2011 | Author:

Restore to me the joy of Your deliverance, and uphold me, Noble Spirit!  Psalm (Tehillim) 51:12 ISR

Joy – Is there any greater joy than the feeling of being rescued from certain disaster?  Every basic survival instinct is flooded with relief as soon as you know you will continue to live.  Yes, the joy of companionship is wonderful.  Yes, the joyful intimacy of a spouse or of children is close to divine.  But to be snatched from the grip of death!  That is reason to rejoice!

Unfortunately, far too often the wonder that bathed our lives when we first experienced God’s gracious rescue seems to fade.  The memory of that moment of truth dims.  We look back on it with hopeful nostalgia, wishing that somehow we could have bottled that experience and hidden it away for eternal refreshment.  But we are like Mary.  Having encountered the Spirit in a life-transforming surprise, years later we find ourselves asking our Lord to please stop making such a spectacle and come home to a quiet and comfortable existence.  I am sure Mary felt a small pang of remorse in that request.  Once God filled her entire being.  Once God made Himself present even in her womb.  But that was long ago, and things tend toward entropy, physically and spiritually.

David knew this sense of loss too.  So he cries out, “Restore to me the joy. . .”  Ha-shiva li sason  . . .   The word sason means happiness, delight, exuberance.  Its synonym, simha, means being glad or joyful as an expression of the entire person.  In the synonym, we find joy as a description of engaging in the festivals, drinking wine, being treated with healing ointment, meeting a loved one, having a wise son and, most importantly, experiencing the rescue of YHWH.  Perhaps we learn two important lessons in David’s desperate cry.  The first thing we learn is that life is emotional meteorology.  We are all subject to temperament climate change.  The Greek denial of pascho is a misrepresentation of the nature of human being.  Feelings are the fabric of life.  A man (or a God) without feelings is Michelangelo marble – beautiful to look at but not a great traveling companion.  The Bible endorses feelings.  In fact, our emotions are the gateway to experiencing God.  Feel!  It’s OK.  Weep, laugh, shout, cry, rejoice, repent – this is what it means to be nephesh hayah.  To bury emotion is to bury myself.

But we also learn something else.  While no emotion is permanent, every emotion can draw us toward YHWH or push us away.  We are at liberty to choose.  The Greeks feared emotions because they sought permanent balance.  Hebrew takes a different tack.  Emotions are the fodder of choice.  I can let them drive me or I can corral them in the service of the King.  Once David allowed his emotion to carry him far from his King.  Now he seeks restoration and emotion is the train that he rides to reach his goal.

I feel David’s pain too.  I long for that joy, the same overwhelming sense of relief I felt on the soccer field in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, so many years ago.  I am wiser now, more sophisticated in my faith, perhaps, but Nathan comes to me too, and I need restoration.  Perhaps you know what I am talking about.  Once the light of heaven spilled from your countenance.  Once you heard the angels sing.  Once you felt His hand grip yours.

“Lord, restore us to your joy.  We are in desperate need.  We have wandered like sheep without a shepherd.  Bring us back to safety that we might live again.”

Topical Index:  emotions, simha, sason, joy, Psalm 51:12

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The Missing Ingredient

Sunday, June 12th, 2011 | Author:

for there was joy in Israel 1 Chronicles 12:40  (Hebrew World)

Joy – “Joy is not a theological category in the teachings of most religions and it is never discussed in handbooks of theology.  Those who are overwhelmed by spiritual solemnity and are unable to forget that faith lives in a constant state of tension between ignominious death and eternal life find it difficult to comprehend the Jewish conception.  Even within Judaism the teaching that joy lies in the very heart of worship, that it is a prerequisite for piety, is a scandal to the dullards and a stumbling block to the bigots.”[1]

What more can be said?  Should we recall that Yeshua does not greet the women who come to the garden tomb with “Shalom” but rather with “Chairete.”  [April 11, 2004]  Should we reflect on James famous statement, “Count it all joy when . . .”?  Do we need to remember the number of times Paul speaks of joy?  Yes, it’s true, this passage is about the joy of Israel when David is finally crowned king of the entire country, but joy is the watchword of true Hebraic faith.  It is the essence of our relationship with the Father and the substance of our message to the world.  Without joy, religion is just another way of plodding through the day.  If joy is absent from life, life is absent from being.

Simhah is not a feeling.  It is the reality, experience and manifestation of overwhelming gladness.  It’s not simply an inward emotional state.  Joy delivers actions.  Singing, dancing, shouting, offering praises, prayer, feasting and celebration.  Joy is the flow of worship and service.  In fact, God expects us to exhibit joy as we involve ourselves in His redemptive work.  That should give us pause.  If joy is the essence of my relationship with the Father, why does it seem so absent in the lives of many who call themselves His children?  If joy is to characterize our worship and our work, then why do so many of us drag ourselves through the day, hating what we have to do to make ends meet?  The Hebrew imagery of joy is captured in a wedding celebration.  That’s the kind of rapturous exuberance we are expected to display before God!  That’s what we bring to the Sabbath, to prayer, to His festivals.  This is the age of joy, the time of rejoicing.

If you’re like me, reading these words produces melancholy.  Yes, we know it’s supposed to be like this.  We are supposed to be flooded with joy.  But somehow life saps us of that divine vitality.  We catch only glimpses of joyful reality.  We experience only moments of bliss.  And we think, “Well, that’s just the way life is in this broken world.”   No!  That’s not the way life is.  That’s the way we have allowed it to become.  If the Lord of hosts expects His people to live with joy, then that is the reality of our experience.  Once again we are listening to that inner voice instead of the external word of the Father.  If He runs to greet us as we return to Him, and prepares the finest banquet to celebrate our recovery, why do we withhold what is His – our joy?  Get up and dance!  Eat!  Sing!  Love life!  Be joyful!  That’s an order.  :)

Topical Index:  joy, simhah, 1 Chronicles 12:40, chairete

[1] Abraham Heschel, A Passion for the Truth, pp. 51-52.

 

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Event Horizon

Monday, June 21st, 2010 | Author:

fixing our eyes on Yeshua the author and finisher of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

Joy – This is behavior directed by delayed gratification.  Oh, how difficult this is!  Especially when the task necessary to reach that delayed joy is excruciating, exhausting and exclusively yours.  Alone, you plod forward, buffeted by ridicule, rejection and abuse.  But the joy set before you keeps you going.  No one understands the purpose of your quest at this moment.  Perhaps you even doubt the outcome.  But you trust the One who asks for perseverance.  Joy comes in the morning, but the night is dark and deep.

The author of Hebrews encourages us to fix our eyes on Yeshua.  Why?  Because His perseverance is our hope.  We are called to follow Him.  That means we must see the joy over the horizon and take another step in the dark.  We have His promise, guaranteed by His action, that there is joy unspeakable waiting, waiting, waiting – and we will soon step into the light.

It is significant that Yeshua did not greet the women who came to the tomb on that morning after the long, dark night with the usual “Shalom.”  Matthew says that he stopped them the word “Chairete”,  Rejoice!  (although you will have a hard time seeing this in some English translations since they skip the Greek word).  Joy to you!  Immediately something has changed.  This is not what we expect.  It is never found in the Old Testament as a greeting.  The common Hebrew greeting should have been shalom – peace!  Shalom in its true context means completeness, wholeness, harmony or fulfillment in both our undertakings and our relationships.  This kind of peace is the result of God’s promise.  This was the common greeting of every Jew – a wish of God’s well being for another.  But shalom no longer fits reality.

Most of our English Bibles do not translate the actual Greek word.  They treat His greeting as an idiom, offering us something like “Hail!” or “Hello.”  But the word is chairete – “Rejoice!” – from the same root word as joy (charis).  Yeshua didn’t speak a causal hello.  He altered forever the perspective we have about this world.  Before the resurrection, we wished well-being for each other (Shalom), but after the resurrection, there is no need to wish for well-being.  It has arrived.  It is guaranteed.  Now we can say, “Rejoice!”  The dark night is over.  The dawn has come.  And soon the day will follow.

The author of Hebrews knows that if we are distracted by the present shadows sticking to our travel toward the light, we will divert our eyes from the Finisher of our faith.  We will see the edge of darkness and not realize the world has changed.  We will grope our way through the night, not realizing that the door to the tomb is open.  Wishing for shalom, we will miss the greeting in the garden and overlook the guarantee.  So we must fix our eyes on Him.  He is the only one who has gone ahead, who knows the path, who sees the end from the middle.  No other offers joy.

How easily the dark fingers of despair turn our eyes aside.  How quickly we forget that stone rolled out of the way.  As soon as we direct our gaze away from Him, we can’t see where we’re going.  In those panic-stricken moments, we grasp whatever gratifies, losing the joy of the morning.   Blink.  Adjust your vision.  And follow Him.

Topical Index:  joy, charis, rejoice, Hebrews 12:2

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Open The Gate

Saturday, June 12th, 2010 | Author:

Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord.  Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10

Joy – The rare word hedvah is found in only two verses in the Scriptures, here and in 1 Chronicles 16:27.  The usual word for “joy” is simhah, occurring dozens of times.  In this verse, hedvah is directly connected to YHWH.  It is not our joy that strengthens.  It is His joy.  The same connection occurs in the other use of hedvah (“strength and joy – gladness – are in His place”).  While simhah is clearly associated with human emotions and actions, hedvah seems to be the exclusive possession of God Himself.  This makes hedvah all the more important.  If hedvat YHWH is our strength, then we better know what it means.

We have a pretty good idea what “rejoice” means, even if the experience often escapes us.  The Hebrew word (simhah) is usually translated by Greek words that mean “to be cheerful, glad.”  Often rejoicing is associated with God’s festivals, spiritual awakenings or physical circumstances.  On reflection, we see that this kind of joy is connected to  participation in community, especially in events that celebrate God’s involvement with His people.  In other words, this rejoicing requires human participation.  God expects His people to celebrate their association with Him joyfully.  In the same way, when God delivers help or rescue, we participate in circumstances that call for rejoicing.

But what about “the joy of YHWH”?  What can it mean to suggest that God Himself experiences joy – and that this is the basis of our strength?  The text doesn’t offer much help since the word occurs only twice.  We will have to look deeper.  The pictograph provides a clue.  Hedvah is a noun derived from the verb hadah.  The consonants are chet-dalet-hey.   The picture is “behold, a door in the fence.”  Now we see.  What is the joy of YHWH?  It is the gladness of providing a door in the fence – a path for coming into His presence.  What cheers our Lord?  A way in.  God rejoices that there is a door for us to come into fellowship with Him.  We are not shut out for He has provided a way back.  The joy of YHWH is that He can fellowship with us!

Did you notice that none of this joy requires our efforts?  If we are going to rejoice in His festivals or in His deliverance from trials or in changes of circumstance, we have to do something.  The Bible describes our movements as clapping, singing, shouting, dancing and all the other motions associated with celebration.  But the hedvat YHWH exists because He made a way!  “Enter into the joy of your Master” (Matthew 25:21) is connected to the joy of YHWH.

So now we know.  Now we see that the deepest sense of joy is not about what we do.  It is about the gift God gives – an open door.  The privilege to enter in to harmony with God is our strength.  No other creature in all creation has this privilege.  There is no other door except the one He provides.  This should make our hearts leap with gratitude and rejoicing.  Our strength is His provision.

There are days when we just need to be reminded that the greatest joy in life doesn’t come with our effort.  Too often our efforts fall short of joy.  Too often we run aground on the sandbanks of life’s hidden obstacles.  Far too often, self-determined joy simply eludes us.  Shipwrecked on our own failures, we watch helplessly as the waves of consequence batter our protecting vessel.  Yes, we are invited to dance, to clap hands, to sing and shout to the Lord.  But there are days when even the invitation weighs like an anchor.  Our unworthiness chains us to the depths and we cannot be released to sail.  On those days, Nehemiah’s funny little word must become our only song.  “Do not be grieved, for the joy of YHWH is your strength.”

I couldn’t free myself today.  The anchor of my past, the chains of my failure – they kept me tied to the reef, left me beat up and broken.  But YHWH rejoiced in the open door waiting for me to say, “I am weak and heavy-laden.  You, My Lord, are my only strength.  Let me enter into Your joy.”

Topical Index: joy, hedvah, hadah, simhah, rejoice, Nehemiah 8:10, 1 Chronicles 16:27

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Emotional Imperatives

Saturday, December 12th, 2009 | Author:

“And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son, and your daughter, and your male slave, and your female slave, and the Levite, and the alien, and the fatherless, and the widow that are inside the gates.” Deuteronomy 16:14


Shall Rejoice – “Yeah, I see what it says, but what if I don’t feel like rejoicing.  I mean, sometimes I just don’t feel so happy.  How can God command me to feel a certain way?”  Answering this question requires a look at the usage of this Hebrew verb, samach.

Two-thirds of the occurrences of this verb in the Hebrew text are found in theological contexts.  Forty of these 180 occurrences are direct statements about God.  We can conclude that this verb reveals something important about the God-Man relationship.  Furthermore, despite our understanding of “rejoice” as a feeling, this Hebrew verb expresses actions.  What we discover when we look carefully at the texts is this:  rejoicing is associated with dancing, singing, clapping, playing and external movement consistent with festival celebrations.  In other words, samach is party language.

Why can God command you to rejoice?  Because once again it is not about how you feel.  It’s about what you do.  God tells you to get out there and party!  When its time for one of the feasts, it doesn’t matter if you feel blue.  You are supposed to clap, sing, shout, dance, jump up and down and act as if you are having a great time even if you don’t feel like it.  Why would God command you to do these things despite your feelings?  Because He knows that you are a nephesh – an embodied manifestation of His living breath – and what you do in the body affects your emotional makeup and your mental state.  If you don’t feel joyful, go act like you do and pretty soon you’ll find a smile on your face and a renewed spirit in your heart.

There’s one other important lesson in this verse.  Did you notice that rejoicing is commanded of everyone in the camp?  Rejoicing is a community affair.  Why do you suppose God specifically requires even children, foreigners and slaves to participate?  Why would He require widows and orphans to rejoice?  If there are any groups of people who are the least likely to have something to jump for joy about, it would be these.  But God insists.  Why?

You could suggest that God’s festivals are inclusive.  He requires participation for theological reasons.  All are under His covenant commitment.  That’s true, of course, but there might be another, more practical, reason.  If you don’t feel like it, someone else might.  And enthusiasm is contagious.  Get children laughing and playing and dancing and singing, and it’s pretty hard to stay blue.  See those much less fortunate jumping up and down for joy and your perspective might change.  This is group think.  After all, what good is a party for one?  God loves a good party.  He invites everyone, but He expects us to get into the spirit of the celebration and have a good time at His event.  Are you ready to dance?

Topical Index:  samach, rejoice, community, joy, Deuteronomy 16:14

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Re-birth Day

Saturday, May 09th, 2009 | Author:

You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalm 16:11

Fullness of Joy – Today is my birthday. Maybe I should take the day off. But then I wouldn’t get the joy of learning one more deep thing about God’s Word with all of you. My fullness of joy would be shortened. So, enjoy my birthday gift with me and we’ll take a look at shova semakhot. Literally, the words mean “abundance of joys.” The phrase is followed by the Hebrew place holder, et, telling me that fullness of joys is the face of God. This is the gift that I need today. All of my greatest joys are found when I am before His face.

When I think about the past years, I realize what was really missing was joy. If I had only experienced the fullness of His presence more often, my life would undoubtedly have taken a very different direction. I don’t mean it would have been more prosperous. That is not a measure of joy. I mean it would have avoided a great deal of trauma, stress, anxiety and disappointment. I would have been far more obedient and consequently, avoided a lot of chastisement. I would not have wasted or despoiled so much of His good gifts. Yes, more than anything else, joy was what I needed.

The tragedy is that joy was always available. I just didn’t avail myself of this great gift. Why? Because I valued doing things my own way. Oh, I had plenty of the right Christian vocabulary. After all, I have a D. Phil. in theology. But what you say doesn’t matter. It’s what you do that counts, and too often what I did was follow my inner voice of personal desire and leverage. Not living by the path that He teaches led me away from what I desperately sought. I had everything a man could want in this world – and no joy in having it. I was a perfect example of Yeshua’s comment about gaining the whole world and losing your soul.

Fortunately, God didn’t give up on me. He very rarely does. Today, I am discovering joy. Much of the trappings of success that led me astray are gone. It is a great relief. “Can’t buy me love,” is a tune that tells the real story. Can’t buy me joy either. And joy is a treasure highly valued.

I’m glad that the Hebrew text puts “joy” in the plural form. God gives lots of little joys, doesn’t He? We don’t have to store it all up for one big joy at the end. He provides fullness all along the way. I see His butterflies and find joy in His flying works of art. I read His word and find joy in its intricate construction. I hold Rosanne’s hand and discover joy in my belonging to my ‘ezer. My world is populated with joys – including each of you. So, thanks for this birthday present. It’s shova semakhot. Gee, it sounds a lot like Yeshua’s comment, doesn’t it? “My joy made full in themselves” (John 17:13).

Today is one of God’s gifts of joy. Share it with me.

Today’s Word: fullness, joy, shova semakhot, Psalm 16:11

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Two For The Money

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 | Author:

YHWH, in Your strength the king rejoices and in Your deliverance how he rejoices greatly!   Psalm 21:1 (my translation)

Rejoices – English just doesn’t cut it.  English is a language focused on things.  So, we have dozens of words to distinguish slight variables in things.  Just think about the many different words we have that all point to an automobile.  Every year the industry introduces us to more car vocabulary.  Hebrew doesn’t seem to be in love with these kinds of subtleties, but it often makes distinctions where we use only a single word.  This is one of those cases.  Here, David uses two different words for rejoice.  The first is gyl, the second is samach.  The puzzle is why there are two words and what the difference is between them.

First, let’s connect gyl to something more familiar.  Abigail is a name that means “my father is joy.”  You can see it in Hebrew – ab for father coupled with gyl for joy.  This might not be a popular name in our culture, but it certainly has a wonderful meaning in Hebrew.  Who wouldn’t want a daughter with a name like this?

Thirty-six times in Scripture, gyl and samach are found in the same sentence.  Twenty-five of those times, samach comes first.  Scholars believe that this indicates that samach covers a wider range of joyful expression than gyl.  It is also significant that gyl is not found in the Torah.  Almost all of its occurrences are in the prophets and in Psalms.  Finally, while gyl has a secular use, when it is used theologically, it is usually about God.  It describes rejoicing in God’s deliverance, loving-kindness (hesed), judgment and glory. 

Samach occurs in almost all the Old Testament books.  Although you might find this odd, samach occurs quite often in Ecclesiastes.  In the consummate book on the vanity of life, joy seems to play a rather significant role.  Like gyl, samach is a typical Hebrew verb that describes actions that result from emotions.  Nearly two-thirds of its uses are theological. 

Now we’re ready to note the difference between gyl and samach, and why the psalmist uses both so often.  Samach is a word that implies external motion as a result of internal emotion.  It is about clapping, dancing, shouting and singing.  It is joy out loud.  Gyl seems to express a more limited, and more internal experience, often associated with reflection on the character of God.  Gyl is never used “to express individual, isolated events in the past.” It is a present tense, existential experience of overflowing emotion, often resulting in physical action.

Here’s what we learn.  First, our language doesn’t capture all that Hebrew teaches us about rejoicing.  Second, the Hebrew concept of rejoicing covers both internal experience and external action.  Third, rejoicing is ultimately tied to a recognition of the character of God.  When David says that the king rejoices, in both samach and gyl, he says that the king finds the character of God and God’s benevolence so wonderful that his soul is thrilled and his body moved.  He just can’t help clapping and singing, dancing and shouting because what’s happening inside him is more than he can contain. 

Is that how you feel about God?  Are you so filled with His wonder that you just can’t stand still?  Is your rejoicing unbound?  Or are you a mental giant of Greek cognition who can’t quite make your feet move?

Topical Index:  rejoicing, samach, gyl, Abigail, joy, Psalm 21:2, Psalm 21:1

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COUNTING

Sunday, February 08th, 2009 | Author:

 

“Count it all joy when”   James 1:2

 

This Sunday I will share my story with the congregation of my church.  Since my wife and I are new members, few people know much about my life with God.  I realize that many of you who receive Today’s Word probably don’t know much about me either.  So here is the very short version.

 

My life was about counting.  I counted five academic degrees.  I counted houses and cars.  I counted money in the bank.  I counted careers.  Everything I counted was an effort to build walls of protection in order to be self-sufficient.  God tried many times to break into my fortress.  I suffered with emotional and physical issues.  I knew the pain of body and soul.  More than once I thought my life would fall apart.  But each time God drew me near the breaking point, I gathered my own will to survive and continued counting.  I counted everything except suffering and trials.  Those things I tried to avoid at all costs.  And the costs were very high.  I had to lie, cheat, steal, deceive and act unfaithfully in order to maintain my fortress.  In the end, I had lots of things to count but nothing worth counting.

 

Five months ago God decided that He had waited long enough for me to wake up to reality.  He removed my self-protection.  In one day, every dollar I had was stolen.  I went from millionaire to penniless.  All of those things that I counted on were gone.  God knew that until I lost everything I would continue on my path of independence from Him.  So, He took it all away.  Just like Job, He sent a messenger to tell me that the life I thought I had was over.  That message finally broke me.  I fell on my knees and confessed that my life had been a life of selfish desires.  I realized that I tried to barter with God.  I saw that I wanted life on my terms.  And I knew that all my life I had avoided God’s messages in my pain and suffering.  But this time I couldn’t avoid it.  There was nothing left to lose.

 

I started writing about this pain.  I started looking at the message in His Word and the message in my heart.  All of those years of academic studies suddenly became an avenue for me to understand something I never knew before – that without a heart of obedience a head full of theology means nothing at all.  God wants me to write.  Everyday.  Today’s Word.  Articles.  Studies.  Even a book.  God reaches out through these words into lives like mine, lives acquainted with sorrow and grief.  I have discovered that we are all connected in the fellowship of suffering.  It is in those places that God opens the windows of heaven.  Our pain is the thread that sows us into heaven’s quilt. 

 

I don’t know how God will resolve the problems I face.  My debts are overwhelming (and it’s a good thing they are because otherwise I would be trying to use self-sufficiency to escape them).  My life has been forced to become “daily bread”.  But I am doing exactly what God wants me to do.  I have opened my life to His scalpel and He is cutting away what is not needed.  And for the first time in half a century I find that I am counting joy.  It was the treasure I looked for all my life, hidden right in front of me.

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