Hamartanó: Missing The Mark

Romans 3:23-26
"23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

The Greek word for sin in the Bible is "Hamartanó."  It literally means "Missing The Mark, I miss the mark; I make a mistake." 

To the Greeks, it painted a picture of a man shooting an arrow but missing the bulls eye.  They would say to that person who missed the mark that they have "sinned."  

                                   

How do we view sin?  Usually in a "RELIGIOUS" context, right?  But that's not how God sees it.  He sees it simply as "missing the mark."  For instance:  Let's say you are depressed for some reason.  Your mind, your thinking "falls short" of the glory of what God's word says about you.  His word says you are "beloved of Him, blessed and highly favored, full of His Shalom, wisdom and discernment."  He says you have the mind of Christ!    

The Bible says that God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of SOUND MIND.  Depression is not the characteristic of a sound mind.  Confess, instead, what God's word says about you!  

                                                        

                      
Let's face it:  Humans are basically negative.  We constantly need to reprogram our brains to align with God's positive word daily.....hourly.....sometimes minute by minute so that we don’t become like the picture of the cartoon character that goes around with a thunder cloud over his head.
                                  

Our brains have a left and a right side.  Left is more logical; right is the creative side.   For those who are under that dark cloud, their left side has nothing "right" in it and their right side has nothing "left" in it, so to speak.

Science tells us that we only use about 1/10 of our brain capacity because of the glory of God that man lost in the fall.  Folks, we were robbed of 9/10 of our brain!  

Isn't it interesting that God gave us "NINE" gifts of The Holy Spirit?   Hmmm.......He gave us back what we lost!

So, the brain power and potential of someone who has received the Holy Spirit, in other words they are born again, has been "super-sized."  God restored to us the other 9/10ths!   That's way better than supersized fries at McDonalds.  Christ in us really, truly is "the hope of glory!"  HALLELUUA!

                               

You can also "come short of the glory of God" in your body if you are sick all the time.  That is also not God's will for us!  "Sin" isn't only lying, cheating, stealing, murdering, all that kind of thing.  It is simply " missing the mark" of what God says you already are, what you already have in Christ Jesus because of what He did for us at Calvary.  He PAID IN FULL the price for your COMPLETE SHALOM. 

The definition of Shalom, according to Strong's Concordance, is "completeness, wholeness, HEALTH, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, PROSPERITY.  Yes, that includes, but is not limited to, finances.  It is also perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. It comes from the root verb "shalom" meaning to be complete, perfect and full. In modern Hebrew the obviously related word "shelem" means "to pay for;" and Shulam which means "to be fully paid."

Jesus came to redeem us from the total fallen state created by Adam when he fell and death passed to all of us.  He redeemed us from our "SIN--our falling short; our lacking of; our forfeiting of the glory of God."  His death bought back our forfeited inheritance; our complete SHALOM!

As the world outside the church sinks deeper and deeper into spiritual darkness, as indicated in Isaiah 60:2, God's people shine brighter and brighter, especially as truths like these are restored to her.

There's no sense fighting the darkness.  There isn't any need to.  It will work for us and show forth the Glory of the Lord that is already upon us, even though we are not perfect and we often are "Missing the Mark."

Jesus Took Away Our Reproach: [חרפה] Kherpah

Reproach:  Kherpah [חרפה]

1  Samuel 17:12-13, 15-18 

“Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

"But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening. Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.””

David was sent to bring food and supplies to his brothers who were fighting with the armies of Israel on the front lines with King Saul against, who else?  The Philistines again!  These troublesome people were such a thorn in their sides!

He just "happened" to overhear what this giant was saying to the armies of Israel.  What was his greatest concern?  Not the giant, not the armies of the Philistines but he "reproach" he was heaping upon Israel.  

Let's continue the story:

1 Samuel 17:22-26

“And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. 

"So David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.” 

"Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?””

This is the strangest battle set up, don't you think?  Here we have these two opposing armies just camped there opposite each other in the Valley of Elah which, by the way, mears "fear."  It doesn't say they were fighting each other.  It just says that this giant, Goliath, came out every morning and evening to mock the armies of Israel, heaping crippling condemnation, "kherpah," on them.  That's right; he came out and stood before the Israelite army and hurled insults at them and their God for 40 days.  
What kind of battle strategy is that?

When David arrived on the scene on this 40th day, notice what his major concern was?  Not what was their battle strategy but TAKING AWAY THE REPROACH FROM ISRAEL.
 

"Reproach," is an old fashioned word for "shame."  In Hebrew, it is the word, "Kherpah."
Whenever someone is "standing in judgment" over you, they make you feel "reproach."  It could be your family, your "friend," pastor, Bible teacher, theologian or whoever.  

The fact that this was the fortieth day that this verbal abuse had been going on was another chief concern.  Why?  Fourty in Bible numerics is the number of probation or transition.  The whole situation was fast becoming critical. 

This terrifying giant of a man was clad in bronze from head to toe:  Bronze helmet, breastplate, shield and foot gear.  Bronze in the Bible depicts "judgment."  

Bronze helmet=judgmental thinking.  

Bronze breastplate=a heart that has no love for people.  

Bronze footwear=standing in judgment 

Bronze shield=resists grace, i.e. The real gospel.

The word, "Philistine," itself means "to wallow in the dust."  Can't feel much lower than that.  Sounds like the devil, doesn't it? 

The Hebrew spelling of the word, "Kherpah," is very revealing. Hebrew reads from right to left and is a form of picture writing, like Chinese.  The word pictures give us a window on God's perspective of what reproach means to Him and shows things you'd never read in any definition. 

Kherpah is spelled like this in Hebrew:  

[חרפה] 

Each letter means:
[ח] = het/chet--"fence"
[ר} = resh--"head, think, meditate
[פ] = pei--"mouth, confess"
[ה} = hei--"grace."

The root word of "Kherpah," is the word "relax-raphah" [רפה] but the letter "het [ח] is missing.  In other words, the "fence" is gone.  You can relax when you are not "fenced off" from God by CONDEMNATION.

The message is clear: 
"When you are fenced off, or prevented, from relaxing (feeling condemned causes unrest) you feel "Kherpah-reproach."

Reproach, shame and condemnation are all tools the devil uses to try and get at us.  He's really good at using half-truths; ok let's face it, even the whole truth, to make us feel shame, disgrace and that God is angry at us.  You see, he hates God and he hates man, who is made in His image.  But he cannot strike at God directly, so he does the next best thing; he strikes at US.  We are the ones God loved SO MUCH that He gave up the life of His beloved Son to save us.

What the devil does is come to you whispering condemning thoughts, but he substitutes the personal pronoun, "I" instead of "you." Then he knocks you on the head for thinking the thought he put there.  

He whispers things like:
"I don't spend enough time with my kids."
"How can I call myself a Christian after that display?"
"I only prayed fifteen minutes while (whoever) prays for two hours....EVERY DAY!"
"I really wish I could faithfully read my Bible EVERY day, like I should."
"I just can't seem to do anything right!"

Blah, blah, blah...on and on he drones and, as I said, substituting the personal pronoun, "I," instead of "you," so that you'll think you thought of it.

FYI:  He cannot read your mind.  He can only tell that he's got you by what comes out of your mouth.  Don't own the thought by giving voice to it.  Speak what God's word says about your situation. 

ANY THOUGHT THAT CONDEMNS YOU IS NOT FROM GOD.

Feeling condemnation effectively keeps you from receiving anything--and I do mean ANYTHING--at all from God.

Church, the Holy Spirit doesn't work by condemning us.  His job is to remind us that we are the righteousness of God in Christ.  He knows better than anyone that "THE STRENGTH OF SIN IS THE LAW, meaning condemnation. Sin loses it's power over us when we realize "there is therefore now now condemnation......" no Kherpah.  Jesus bore ALL our shame! 

Getting back to David, he knew that if the Israelites were buying into this "Kherpah" Goliath was spewing out, God would not be able to deliver them.  Condemnation, i.e. the law, stifles faith.  Since everything we receive from God is based on grace through faith, not by the law, which condemns, they were unable to believe God for the victory.

But look what happened as a result of one seventeen-year-old shepherd boy....ONE BOY....putting his faith in God......The giant, Goliath, was killed AND beheaded!  Afterward, Israel vanquished the Philistines by a great victory!  

Feelings of shame, condemnation or reproach still remain the greatest obstacles to our receiving from God.  WHEN WE REPROACH OURSELVES FOR OUR FAILURES, WE DISHONOR THE WORK JESUS DID AT THE CROSS.  

It's tantamount to us paying for our own sins!  AS IF!

Jesus died to deliver us from ALL shame, ALL condemnation, ALL reproach.  God wants us to relax, to rest in Him and not feel any shame or condemnation; no more "KHERPAH."

Thank God that Jesus took away all our reproach! 

The Sign At The Border

REAL Story In The Stars: Part 3 of 9

Isaiah 19:19-20
19 "In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD.
20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them."

Until recently no one really knew who built the Sphinx, what it means, when it was built or for what purpose.  In these last days, however, God is uncovering mysteries, like that of this gigantic monument, which have long baffled scholars. 

Because the Sphinx is located in Egypt, it would be a natural assumption that it's a pagan symbol of some kind.  But you will soon see that the answers to all these questions is stranger than fiction. 

(Drawing on a wall at the Egyptian temple of Esneh)

There are two ways to know God:
1) Through His Word 

2) Through His creation.
Those who either don't go to church to hear the gospel story or who may live where there is no witness of it yet can know, at least in part, that there is a God. Their concept of God is only that of "Elohim:  Creator God.

Psalm 19 begins by pointing out "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
"Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
"There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard....." in the first 3 verses.

Then the Holy Spirit through his "secretary, David, totally shifts gears midstream.  Why?

Part of the answer is found in chapter 1 of the book of Romans.  He writes in verse 20 "For the invisible things of Him (God) from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by THE THINGS THAT ARE MADE, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they {the whole world} are without excuse:"

If "they"--the world--cry out to Elohim, (Creator God) He will send a human messenger to find them so they can hear the Gospel.  He will do whatever it takes to get the the message to them.

You can clearly see that the Holy Spirit shifting gears in verse 7 where David writes:
"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple...."

You see? "The heavens declare"......and "the law of the LORD......"  

Two ways to know God.

We who know God through His word know Yahweh, the Covenant Keeping One.  We are therefore in covenant relationship with Him and under His blessing and protection.  Those of the world can only know Him as Creator.  

It is far better, of course, to be in covenant relationship with the Covenant Keeping One than simply to know Elohim, the Creator.  You see, God is not in control of this world, which may come as a shock to some.  God handed over the "keys," so to speak, to Adam in the garden.  Then Adam turns around and hands over control the earth to the devil!  Yes, Jesus came and bought them back but the earth is still a fallen earth. 

There are too many more details to that story to share here.  Please follow the link below for more on this topic:

http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2015/01/why-we-pray.html?m=1)

Before we had the written word, there was the testimony of Jesus in the stars.  His Father BLASTED IT ALL OVER THE NIGHT SKY!   

The devil came up with a perverted version of the story--astrology--and tried to twist and confuse the story.  He didn't want man, whom he hates as much as he hates God, to come to know the real story of the Gospel, believe in Jesus and that faith be counted to them as righteousness, like Abraham.  

You see, he can't strike at God directly so he does the next best thing: he strikes at us, God's beloved. Now you know why he tried to stop the spread of the Gospel.

It was God Who created the stars, placed them in the heavens and ORCHESTRATED THEIR MOVEMENTS, as you willbsee in my article on "The Southern Cross."  He did so Ato tell the story AS IT UNFOLDED.  The devil can't create anything; he only takes what God created and perverts it.

But, AS USUAL, God has always has the upper hand!  Amen!

In the opening passage, God says that there would be "AN ALTAR TO THE LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt," and a "pillar at the border." These are to serve as a "witness unto the Lord of Hosts." 

An altar?  In Egypt? As a witness? Surpise, surprise!  Well, personally, I don't see why not; I mean, the earth is ALL HIS, after all.  

You can see that the Sphinx has the HEAD OF A WOMAN and the BODY OF A LION. Is this starting to sound familiar? It should because the story in the 12 zodiak signs in the heavens, "Mazzarotte," in Hebrew, begins with the woman--Virgo--and ends with Leo, the Lion--Jesus--the King of Kings, Who soundly triumphed over the devil!....gave him a PhD: permanent head damage!!

(Follow this link for more on the REAL story in the stars:  http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-real-story-in-stars.html?m=1)

The sphinx has been preserved down through history so that we would know how to read the story.  Being a circular story you need to know where to begin in order to read it.  If one were to go by the devil's perversion, astrology, one would be led to believe that the story begins with Aries, the Ram.  It wouldn't make any sense. 

See what I mean?  The story is perverted again.

It always has and always will begin with Virgo, the virgin, the story of the virgin birth, and ends with Leo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.....OUR MIGHTY, GLORIOUS, TRIUMPHANT JESUS!

The "strong man" that many pagan religions call "Hercules," is actually Jesus. If you know anything about mythology, you know that the strong man, "Hercules,"  has one foot on the crushed head of the great dragon, one foot lifted up as though injured--Jesus' heel was bruised; devil's head crushed--and he is strangling the 3-headed serpent they call "hydra," in his left hand.
I'm pretty sure they borrowed their story line from someONE else.

Remember who ruled Egypt at one time?  Yes, Joseph!  It is very likely that he is the one who had the sphinx built for the purposes described in the verse above.  No one really knows for sure, but it sure makes sense.

There are pictures on the walls of the temple at Esna in Egypt showing the sphinx; then one of virgo and leo indicating they are joined together as one.  This also typifies Jesus' dual nature as fully God: THE LION, and fully Man, born of the Virgin!

The word "sphinx" itself is actually a Greek word meaning "joined together."
The head of the woman, virgo, is "joined together" with the body of the Lion, Leo.

It is there as a monument to THE LORD OF HOSTS, the One Who made the heavens, so that we would know where the real story in the stars begins and where it ends!............IN COMPLETE AND TOTAL TRIUMPH BY THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH!!!!!

And that, dear brothers and sisters, is why the Sphinx is there:  To serve as a Sign at the Border

The Tower Of Babel

REAL Story In The Stars: Part 2 of 9

Genesis 11 records the curious story of the Tower of Babel.

1"Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward,they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

What a curious story, huh?  Almost seems like a tale of fiction.  But I assure you: it was all too real.

What's the real reason God confused their languages?  I've heard no lack of sermons and speculation over the years.  You probably have,  too.  Let's let the Bible explain itself. 

So what gives, anyway?  What were these people doing that was so bad? I mean, they were just building a  really high tower, weren't they?  What's the harm in that?  

The answer to that question shows the great love of our God for lost, hopeless humanity.

Shinar is the country we know today as modern day Iraq. The builder of the tower was a man named Nimrod who, the scriptures record, was "a mighty hunter before the Lord."  

Sounds benign enough, doesn't it?  Then you find out that it wasn't game he hunted.  He was a hunter and enslaver of men.  They were conscripted to build his "tower that reaches to the heavens."

This tower didn't have any good purpose and it was not, as the English text, (particularly the old King James), would lead you to believe.  The tower didn’t actually reach all the way to heaven.  AS IF!  That is not even possible!   

In this passage we have a perfect example of what it's like to get a picture through the "lens," if you will, of a translator.  While it doesn't change the Bible story, it's a bit "unfortunate," shall we say. You see, translators are as human as you and I with their own frame of reference. Technically speaking, unless you are reading the original Greek or Hebrew, you're actually reading a commentary.  IT IS ONLY THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGES THAT ARE INSPIRED, not the language into which it was translated. 

So here we have this little "translator" issue, one of many found in scripture.  This does not in any way mean that the Bible has errors.  That's why you need to be able to check with the original text.  Strong's Interlinear Online is one great resource that anyone can use.

The Holy Spirit has watched over God's word to preserve it, so fear not!  You can still use your translation.  Just need to ask God to help you understand and check with an Interlinear Bible.  Like I said, Strong's Interlinear Online is very useful. I'm sure you'll find more clarity and, perhaps, more than a few surprises!

Getting back to the tower, no, it's top didn't really "reach to heaven."  The Hebrew bears this out.  Rather, it was "with or in" the heavens, meaning it was constructed to "contact demonic powers."   

The Bible refers to satan as "the prince of the power of the air," after all.  This tower was also designed to bring all the people of the earth together, which is the antithesis of God's purpose. 

Why would Nimrod want everyone to gather together in one place?  

I'm glad you asked!
You see, long before we had the written word of God, He wrote the Gospel story in the night sky.  Galatians 3:8 says that God preached the Gospel to Abraham.  He did this by showing him what He wrote in the night sky.

Now you know why the devil invented his pathetic perversion of the story:  Astrology.  It's purpose was to keep man, God's beloved creation, from learning the Gospel story and the truth about Jesus.  

This tower would have had a perverted version of the story.  The peoples of the earth would have come together and agreed that this was a true translation. 

Remember that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him for righteousness?  What, exactly, did he believe?  The same story of redemption you and I believe!  That was the Old Testament version of being born again only they looked forward to Jesus' finished work.  We look back to it.

Most scholars agree that Nimrod, who built the tower, was one of the earliest anti-Christs to appear in the earth.  He hated God, saw in the stars that a Champion, the Strong Man some cultures called "Hercules," would come and crush the head the the great dragon, his boss and buddy, satan.
The "Strong Man" is actually Jesus.  He came along in the fullness of time and did exactly that!  HALLELUJAH!

Nimrod built the tower in an attempt to pervert the Gospel story and promote the devil's primary objective:  To stop The One, Jesus, from coming.  He figured if he could pollute the story, men would come to believe the lie and not the truth.  They would not know of the virgin birth and the ultimate triumph of the Lion of the tribe of Judah CRUSHING SATAN'S HEAD!

Now you understand the real reason God had to come down and confuse their language; so that men would disperse and the truth of the gospel could be spread over the whole earth, not the perverted version.

This polluting of the gospel story is still going on.  You'll notice that the Zodiak today begins with "Aries." Why does that matter?  Because the Gospel in the stars is a circular story.  In order to read it correctly, one must where to begin. 

This perverting created a whole lot of mythology out there in various cultures and a whole lot of worshipping of pagan deities who, of course, are not gods at all.
For more information about the REAL story in the stars, follow the link below:  http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-real-story-in-stars.html 

You can also check out my article about a very distictive Sign at the Border (of Egypt), another important part of the gospel in the stars. 

 http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-sign-at-border.html.

The gospel story in the stars begins with "Virgo, the Virgin" and ends with "Leo, the Lion." Did you ever notice that the lion has one paw lifted up as though injured?  That's because Jesus' heel was injured in the process of CRUSHING THE HEAD OF THE SERPENT.

Jesus, the Son of God, was born of the "Virgin" and triumphed over His, and our, enemies as the "Lion!" He was hurt; injured on the cross. Just as was foretold, His heel was bruised but the serpent's head was FOREVER CRUSHED!  

Gave him a PhD:  

PERMANENT HEAD DAMAGE!

Even though this story does not have the same significance to us today because we have God's written word, it is nonetheless there to bless us and for all to see.  That is why all are "without excuse." 

The stars are still there "for signs and for seasons" as it says in Genesis 1:12.

I, for one, like understanding this wonderful story because it opens up opportunities to talk about Jesus with those who believe and follow horoscopes and star signs.  Maybe, just maybe, we'll get the chance to introduce them to THE REAL STORY OF THE ONE Who made the stars, what He went through to redeem us and how MUCH we are loved by Him!

God is still speaking to us in the stars:  THE REAL STORY in the Stars, that is.  It is still all there: The wonderful, incredible, incomprehensible, AWESOME Story of our Precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  

It is NOT the perverted version concocted by the devil and promoted by his buddy, Nimrod, and the Tower of Babel.

Rest Brings Healing: [מרפא]

Hebrews 4:1-3
"4 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, LET US FEAR lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For WE WHO HAVE BELIEVED DO ENTER THAT REST, as He has said:
“So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest,’”
although THE WORKS WERE FINISHED FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD."

Everywhere else in the Bible our The Holy Spirit is telling us to "Fear not," or he says "Don't be afraid."  This is the only verse that tells us to be afraid of something.

Our Father's greatest gift to us who are His children is that of REST.  He is continually telling us to "LABOR TO ENTER THE REST," which is kind of an oxymoron.  He is concerned that we "FEAR NOT" and be in complete Shalom.  In fact, that's the only thing we need to fear:  That we are not resting enough.  Why?

Because our physical bodies will thank us the more we rest in Him.  We'll be able to live a long, healthy life so we can spread to gospel to many, many more people!

But God isn't content to just tell us these truths, He draws us beautiful pictures!  Hebrew reads from right to left and is a form of picture writing, like Chinese.  Each letter has a number, a color and has a corresponding musical note associated with it. There are 22 letters in all. 

You might be intetested to know that David's harp had 22 strings.   He could literally "play" the music of the psalms on it!  Isn't that cool?

These are the Hebrew words for heal and relax:
[רפא]. Rapha-heal
[רפה] Raphah-relax

Notice they have two of the same letters but end in a different one.

[ר]. Resh-this letter is a picture of the "head," like the one on top of your shoulders.  It can also have a positional meaning, as in Rosh Hashana-New Year- "head" of the year."  Thinking and meditating takes place here.....we hope!
[פ]. Pei is a picture of the mouth: You speak with your mouth.
[א]. Aleph" is a picture of "ox". The ox is a sacrificial animal.  It can also mean head, as in leader and refers to Jesus sacrifice.
     

The word pictures tell a story and give us a glimpse of things from God's perspective that you would never find in ANY definition.  "Heal," to God means:  

"Think/meditate on and speak of Jesus' sacrifice. That is how you "heal."  

Raphah--rest--is the root word for Rapha--heal.  Speaks volumes, doesn't it?  Raphah has this letter, hei [ה], at the end, which is the far left, instead of this letter:  aleph [א]
"Hei" is a picture of an open window.  And what does God say in Malachi 3 about open windows?  It is from the windows of heaven that He pours out blessings--Grace--on us!  "Hei" means "Grace."  

It is the 5th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, that's why "FIVE" is the number of Grace. This letter is pronounced like a prolonged breath out.  Just doing that makes you relax!

With all that in mind, what does the word, "REST [רפה]" mean to God?

THINK/MEDITATE ON JESUS, SPEAK OF HIS GRACE ANS IT CAUSES YOU TO REST.

Relaxing is necessary to stay well.  Stress is a killer.  That is why God is constantly trying to get us to relax, and His favorite admonition is to "FEAR NOT."  But we humans often find it difficult to let go and relax, hence the verse that says "LABOR" to enter His REST."  We find resting to be very hard work.

In Hebrew, whenever you add the letter "Mem [מ]" in front of a verb, it becomes a noun.  So let's add the letter, "mem" onto the beginning of the word. "Rapha-heal" becomes Marpé: healing [מרפא].  In modern Hebrew it is the word for "medicine."

[מ,ם] Mem is a picture of water flowing, symbolic of spirits in general.  Most often it typifies the Holy Spirit.  This is determined by context.  Mem appears like this, "[ת]" at the beginning or anywhere in the middle of words in Hebrew but looks like this at the end of words:  [ם].  This is called "final mem," because it is only used at the end of a word, though it is still the same letter and still means the same thing.  

The word pictures for "Marpé" tell us that "when the Holy Spirit is helping us to think or meditate on and speak of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross we will experience "HEALING!"  By His stripes, we truly are physically HEALED!

Bottom line...............
If you want to avoid the need for healing in the first place:  "raphah-relax."
That's why, according to God, Rest Brings Healing!  

It Began In A Garden...

Genesis 2:16
"16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may FREELY eat;  17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

In the first garden, there was only ONE commandment; "Don't eat from that tree."  But what did they do?  They ate from that tree.  Now, sadly, God had to tell them the consequences of their actions.

In Genesis 3 God first speaks to the serpent and, among other things, informs him that He is sending a Champion, The SEED of the woman, Who will "CRUSH HIS HEAD."  Then he turns to the woman and says, in verse 16, “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”

And finally, He speaks to Adam;
"16 Cursed is the ground for your sake; {livelihood/provision}
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 Both THORNS AND THISTLES it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the SWEAT OF YOUR FACE you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.” {death}

Fast forward about 4,000 years to another garden; "Gethsemane."  In this garden, Jesus knew what He was about to endure for all our sakes.  He prayed to His Father and SWEAT great drops of (sinless) blood.  Medical science tells us this can only happen to someone who is under EXTREME duress.  He was about to drink the full cup of God's wrath and fully satisfy His just judgment that was leveled against us so that you and I wouldn't have to.

He was arrested, "tried," convicted, scouraged mercilessly, brutalized by the entire Roman garrison who jammed a crown of thorns on His head and then crucified like some common criminal.
After hanging on that tree for 6 hours He cried out, "I thirst."  They gave Him sour wine to drink.  Having consumed in His body every last bit of God's fiery wrath He cried out with a loud voice, "FINISHED."  Then He bowed His head, dismissed His spirit, and died.

Gethsemane is derived from two Hebrew words: Gath, meaning "wine press;" "shaman," meaning "oil." Jesus, like the fruit of the vine which represents His shed blood, was "pressed," in the garden; "pressed" at the scourging post; "pressed" at the cross;  all for us!  Everything His sinless blood touched was completely and unequivocally redeemed!

In Gethsemane, He redeemed our SWEAT, the very first curse from the first garden.  He reversed every last curse spoken to Adam after the fall.  No more "SWEATING" for blessings.
At the scourging post, every scourge that fell on Him, a disease or infirmity fell off us.  

With each lash, He was declaring, "There goes cancer; there goes diabetes; there goes heart disease;" on and on until every disease and infirmity was paid in full.  

Therein is your healing!

The crown of thorns, which was literally hammered into his head, redeemed from condemnation our every wrong thought, every fear, every worry, all of which are sins too, for with God, the thought is the deed.
Unlike Abel's blood that cried out "condemnation" from the ground, every drop of Jesus' precious blood that dropped along that road to Mt. Calvary cried out, "Mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation!"

He purchased our complete SHALOM:  Completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity in every area inclusing finances, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony and the absence of agitation or discord on that cross.

What a God!!!  What a SAVIOR!!!  He emptied Himself of everything that was rightfully His, He became poor so we could be redeemed from the curse of poverty.  Yes, poverty is part of the curse.  No wonder we can come to the Father without any fear.  God has no judgment left for us because He laid it ALL on His Beloved Son.  He did so we could come boldly, sit on his lap and say, "Daddy!"

Because of Adam's fall there was owed to God a GREAT DEBT.  Jesus didn't owe it, we did.  We couldn't pay it, HE DID!  Now, HALLELUIA, His perfect law-keeping is credited to us when we receive the free gift of righteousness in His outstretched, nail-pierced hand.
God looks at Jesus, our Lamb, to evaluate us and pronounce that He is well-pleased with us.

Oh, yes; It began in a garden; and HALLELUIA!!!!!.....IT ENDED IN A GARDEN!

Jonathan And His Armor Bearer

1 Samuel 14:1-5

"Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. 2 And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men. 3 Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

4 Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a SHARP ROCK on one side and a SHARP ROCK on the other side. And the name of one was BOZEZ, and the name of the other SENEH. 5 The front of one faced northward opposite Michmash, and the other southward opposite Gibeah."

(Jonathan and his armor bearer take on the Philistines.)

Ever feel like nothing is going well and God has forgotten you, like grass looks greener on the other side of the fence?  You're not alone.  The army of Israel was feeling just like that at this point in time. Those troublesome Philistines were at it again.

Jonathan and his young armor bearer, however, were not satisfied with just sittin' around and moping about it.  They left his father, King Saul, and the other troops, unbeknownst to the king.  They determined to go over to the Philistine garrison and defeat them in the name of The Lord!

You can stand in present day Israel at Michmash and look down toward the deep wadi that Jonathan and his armor bearer crossed.  The picture below shoe just how steep and rocky the terrain was.  

(Wadi at Mickmash.)

Jonathan expressed his faith by declaring it to his armor bearer.  He recognized that the Lord is never limited by the lack of His people’s abilities, powers, or resources.  He didn't look at the size of their problems; He saw the Problem Solver!

"SENEH," one of the two sharp rocks mentioned above, means "a thorn bush."  Thorns are a typology of the curse.  The Israelites were sure feeling like they were under the curse.  Bozez means " shining."  To them, things were looking brighter on the other side.

It sure seems that way when circumstances are against you.  But God is NEVER against His people. He is always for us!  

(Saul informed by the prophet, Samuel, that his kingly line will end.)

Israel was under the leadership of King Saul who had just been told that his kingly line would end with him and be given to another. Well, he was sulking about it, of course.  More importantly, the Spirit of The Lord was no longer with him and he knew it.  Not much headway was made against their enemies, the Philistines, as a result.  So, he was relaxing on the outskirts of his capital, Gibeah.

Jonathan, on the other hand, saw the Philistines for who they were:  Uncircumcised and having no covenant with God like they did.

We have a covenant with God today.  Theirs was sealed by circumcision of their flesh, ours by circumcision of the heart.  Our enemies, who do not fear The Lord and are uncircumcised, DO NOT HAVE GOD ON THEIR SIDE.

Jonathan was not depending on the might of armies. He did not put any faith the flesh like his father. He had faith in God. 

1 Sam 14:6
"6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.”

Many see The Lord God as holy or righteous or as one who judges sin.  But the revelation of The Lord that Jonathan had was God as Savior:  Y'shua!   That's what The Name means-Savior!  He came to save. He came to give us victory over our enemies.

1 Sam 14:9-10
"9 If they say thus to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. 10 But if they say thus, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up. For the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.”

Enemies never want to humble themselves. They always think they are better, smarter, higher.....whatever.
Vs. 11-12
"11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden.” 12 Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you something.”
Jonathan said to his armorbearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel.”

The Lord always wants us to go up higher. The best defense is offense.  Go. Attack! The Lord is always with you.  Jonathan and his armor bearer went up on their hands and knees , a picture of prayer.  We are never taller than when we are on our knees.

Vs. 14
"14 That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within about half an acre of land."

Whoa!  There was 2 against 20!  But with God, that is a majority!  The gates of hell cannot prevail against us.  When we step out in faith, God will save us every day.  Salvation in our physical body, from depression, from worry, from stress or whatever we are facing today.  No matter who or what our enemy is God will save us from them all. Amen!

Vs. 15-16
"15 And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great trembling. 16 Now the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and there was the multitude, melting away; and they went here and there."

Because of their faith, all Israel was saved and had the victory.
Saul, however, wanted to know disobeyed his orders and won this victory.  He, like all men of the flesh, do not understand men of the the spirit. The one trusts his own efforts, the other trusts in God.  People of the flesh will always persecute people of the spirit.  It is still happening today.

One of the big ways you can spot those of the flesh is that they are jealous and contentious toward those who are of the spirit.  They come against grace, which some refer to as "easy believism," not knowing they are really going against Jesus and the real gospel.

(King Saul foolishly wanted to punish his son.)

Saul made up this ridiculous law that the people ended up transgressing at the end of the battle because they were so hungry.  That's what legalism does:  IT CAUSES LICENTIOUSNESS.  Rather than doing what it's proponents intend--to restrain the flesh--IT DOES THE EXACT OPPOSITE.

Grace, on the other hand, swallows all our sin.  It alone can produce holiness.  The Spirit does a much better job of helping of us to discern what is good and right for us.  "Discerning" is 180% different from "knowing" good and evil.  Knowing presupposes an ability in ourselves to know the difference.  "Discernment" comes from The Lord. 

After all that Jonathan and his armor bearer had done for the people and the great victory they had won, foolish old Saul wanted to kill his son for transgressing the dumb law he had made.  But the people rescued him.  They at least had the sense to know he had worked with God.

As it was then, so it is in the Church today.  The "Sauls" are still coming against those who trust God.  They don't understand people like Jonathan and his armor bearer.