What to boast in
the Message of
Yirme-Yahu 9: 23-24
André H. Roosma
10 February 2012 (EN & NL)
| So says YaHUaH, |
כּה
אמר יהוה |
| “Do not let the wise glory in his wisdom, |
אל־יתהלּל
חכם
בּחכמתו |
| nor let the mighty glory in his might; |
ואל־יתהלּל
הגּבּור
בּגבוּרתו |
| do not let the rich glory in his riches; |
אל־יתהלּל
עשׁיר
בּעשׁרו |
| but let him who glories glory in this, |
כּי
אם־בּזאת
יתהלּל
המּתהלּל |
| that he understands and knows Me, |
השׂכּל
וידע
אותי |
| that I, YaHUaH, |
כּי
אני
יהוה |
| practice (exercise)
lovingkindness, justice, |
עשׂה
חסד
משׁפּט |
| and righteousness in the earth; |
וּצדקה
בּארץ |
| for in these things I delight, |
כּיבאלּה
חפצתּי |
| says YaHUaH.” |
נאם־יהוה |
Yirme-Yahu (Jeremiah) 9: 23-24
This is a great and challenging passage!
God YaHUaH calls us here to boast
or glory.
That is the first thing that we are not accustomed to; to be admonished
or encouraged to boast.
‘Christians never boast in anything’ is the unspoken rule in
many Christian circles.
The second is, what we are to boast or glory in.
If it comes to boasting, we wil seek our specific strength – whether
it be might, wisdom or riches.
But God says we are not to boast in any of those; not in any of our
strengths – whether they be natural, acquired or earned.
What then, are we to boast in?
In that we understand and know God YaHUaH
as He is, that is: in the way He is active in this world.
God YaHUaH mentions three aspects
about what He does or how He is active in this world.
In the Hebrew text, there are a number of words that I would like to pay
special attention to:
- We are to boast in knowing God by His glorious and Personal Name
יהוה, originally:
  
– YaHUaH.
His wonderful Name stands for His Identity.
This lovely Name signifies Who He is.
And some of the things signified by that grand Name are: 1 2
- He is the Eternal One, exalted above all;
- He is the One Who gives us life and joy in connection with Him
and with each other, and in wonder and worship towards Him;
- He is the Present One; Who desires to be with us;
- Two words are used for that ‘knowing’ God.
The first is השׂכל -
haskél, from שׂכל sakal, or
()  
– this relates to the palm tree (and the light
on it, see part 4 in my series on the palm
tree) as the authority and blessing of a leader.
It denotes having a good perception and being able to act wisely on that
basis.
The second word ידע - yad‘a, or originally   - wad‘a, seeing the pin of
the door, denotes knowing in an intimate way.
- What we are to know about Him are the things He delights in.
That is most fitting, of course.
One of the first things we want to know about someone we love, is what he
or she really delights in.
The Hebrew word used here is: חפץ chaphets - in the old script:
  
– the border [of] the mouth (i.e. the lips) - to press. That is: to kiss.
We want to kiss the one whom we delight in; the one who is most dear, most
precious to us.
Well, what are those things He delights in?
- The first of His delights is lovingkindness -
חסד - chesed.
In the old script: , literally: to enter or to move the borders of the palm tree.
This may refer to the ‘skirt’ of old prickly leaves of a date
palm being removed so that the fruits become accessible, it may derive from
entering inside the border/fence marked by palm trees around a rich
person’s house, or it may refer to entering the restricted area around
the tree of life.
In any case, an undeserved favour is granted, giving free access to something
most valuable.
The Hebrew also has the connotation of a bending neck, as of a person bending
or inclining to another (of lower standing).3
It is translated in the Bible by such words as lovingkindness, steadfast
love, mercy, favour, goodness or grace.
Such is the first characteristic of the ways of YaHUaH in this world; the first He delights in.
- The second of His delights is משׁפּט - mishpat,
translated here as ‘justice’,
elsewhere as ‘ordinance’ or ‘custom’.
In the old script:
   – water source opening cover; I believe this to
denote originally a kind of cover over the opening of a water-well.
What it did, was that it restricted unlimited access to the well,
it prevented children or cattle from falling into the well,
and it prevented the well from drying up in the heat of midd-day sun
(for this habit, see e.g. Genesis 29: 10).
If this is correct, then mishpat carries with it the notion of
restricting and limiting for a purpose.
This reminds me of what Paul said about the purpose of God with the First
Testament ‘law’, as being that “we were confined under the law, kept under
restraint until faith should be revealed”
(Galatians 3: 23).
God often provides restraints or whatever we need to help us live in
harmony with Him and with each other.
- The third of God’s delights is צדקה - tsedaqah - ‘righteousness’,
‘(up)rightness’, ‘justice’.
In the old script:
 , literally: the
reed-/grain-like plant () moves () upward, shiningly () as if
worshipping God ().
The picture is that of a reed- or wheat-like plant
growing up straight, pointing to heaven (compare
the word ‘upright’), and shining like gold in the sun.
What strikes me here, is that in all of this, all the emphasis is on God
YaHUaH.
When we become too much focussed on ourselves or on other people, we
become less wise.
So, in short, we are encouraged to boast or glory in that we understand
and know God YaHUaH and what He delights in: His great mercy and
goodness over us, the help He provides for example by giving us boundaries or limits, and how He stimulates us to grow up straight (aright/upright) and glorify Him.
Boasting or glorying then becomes a manner of remembering and celebrating these three characteristics or delights of God and of His ways with us,
here on earth.
Hallelu YaH !
Footnotes
| 1 |
The glorious Name of God I presented here - as well as
I could - from the oldest Hebrew original, instead of replacing this grand
personal Name of The Most High by a common word, such as ‘Lord’.
For more background information on this see:
André H. Roosma,
‘The wonderful and lovely
Name of the God Who was there, Who is there, and Who will be there’  , extensive
Accede! / Hallelu-YaH!
study, July 2009. |
| 2 |
The word explanations given here are based in part on
an extensive study of the oldest pictographic Bible script. See: André
H. Roosma, ‘The Written
Language of Abraham, Moses and David – A study of the pictographic
roots and basic notions in the underlying fabric of the earliest Biblical
script’ , Hallelu-YaH Draft Research Report,
1st English version: 18 April 2011 (1st Dutch original: January
2011). |
| 3 |
Still another explanation of the original signs is
that they portray a palmtree between the wall and the door; i.e. the doorpost
(or possibly some servant standing there to welcome people in).
By the bending of this post at the top (or of the neck of this servant), it
would then have come to stand for ‘to bend (the neck)’, and from
there ‘to nod friendly, to incline with grace to a person of lower
position’.
Please, react below if you have information that can
affirm either hypothesis. |
|
