And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show compassion to whom I will show compassion.” (Exo 33:19, NASB)
Giving Opportunity Message
One of the most powerful elements of God’s Glory is His grace. When Moses, who was the representative of God in the earth, asked to see the Kavod, the Glory of God, God responded with a fourfold response, one part of which was His grace. Grace is part of the Glory of God. His Glory is who He is. Glory is another word for reputation, how one is known!
Yeshua prayed in John 17:1-3:
“Jesus spoke these things; and raising His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, so that the Son may glorify You, just as You gave Him authority over all mankind, so that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:1-3, NASB)
“Glorify your son”. The cross is about to become how Yeshua is “known”. In turn, the cross also reveals the heart of the Father, His Glory! Knowing God and who He is opens up eternal life. Knowing Him is different than knowing anyone else. To “know” Him is to be one with Him and be transformed in that knowing.
Looking at the ancient Hebrew word picture for grace helps open up this understanding.
The Hebrew word translated as grace is חן (hhen, Strong's #2580) and is a two-letter parent root. In order to uncover the original meaning of this word, it is important that we first examine each of the roots and words that are derived from this parent root.
From חן (hhen) comes the verbal root חנה (Hh.N.H, Strong's #2583), spelled exactly the same except with the addition of the letter ה (h) at the end. The following verse provides a good example of the meaning of this verb.
And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. (KJV, Genesis 26:17)
This verb means "to pitch a tent" or "to camp." The noun derived from this verb is מחנה(mahhaneh, Strong's # 4264).
And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. (KJV, Exodus 14:20)
When we think of a camp, we think of tents scattered about in a general area, but the camps of the Ancient Hebrews were a little different.
The tents were set up in a sort of circle, and these tents serve as a "wall" separating the inside of the camp from the outside. At this point, it would be helpful to examine the pictographic Hebrew script that was used to originally write the word חן (chen). The first letter is the letter chet, which was written as and is a picture of a wall and having the meaning of "separation" as the wall separates the inside from the outside. The second letter is the letter nun, which was written as and is a picture of a sprouting seed having the meaning of "continue" as the seed continues a lineage to the next generation. When these two letters are combined, they mean "the wall that continues." The tents in the picture above are a wall that continues around the camp.
A second verbal root derived from the parent root חן (hhen) is חנן (Hh.N.N, Strong's #2603), spelled the same except with the addition of the letter ן (n) at the end. This verb is often translated as "to be gracious" or "have mercy," however, these are abstract terms and do not help us understand the meaning of this verb from a Hebraic perspective, which always relates words to something concrete. One of the best tools to use to find the more concrete meaning of a word is to look at how that word is paralleled with other words in poetical passages. In the following verses the translation of the verb חנן (Hh.N.N) will be underlined and the word that it is paralleled with will be in bold.
“Be gracious to me, LORD, for I am frail; Heal me, LORD, for my bones are horrified.” (Psa 6:2, NASB)
““Hear, LORD, and be gracious to me; LORD, be my helper.”” (Psa 30:10, NASB)
“But You, LORD, be gracious to me and raise me up, That I may repay them.” (Psa 41:10, NASB)
Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge Until destruction passes by.” (Psa 57:1, NASB)
“Turn to me and be gracious to me; Grant Your strength to Your servant, And save the son of Your maidservant.” (Psa 86:16, NASB)
Through this process we find that this Hebrew verb is paralleled with such ideas as healing, help, being lifted up, finding refuge, strength and salvation (literally rescue). From a concrete Hebraic perspective, חנן (Hh.N.N) means all of this, which we can sum up with "providing protection." Where does one run to for protection? The camp, and now we see how חנה (Hh.N.H), the camp, and חנן (Hh.N.N), protection, are related. Now we need to see how these words are related to the parent root חן (hhen).
“A gift is like a precious stone in the eyes of him who has it; wherever he turns, he prospers.” (Pro 17:8, AFV)
In this verse, the Hebrew word חן (hhen) is translated as "precious," something of beauty and value.
“A gracious woman attains honor, And ruthless men attain riches.” (Pro 11:16, NASB)
In this verse the "grace," or "beauty," of the woman is contrasted with the strength of a man.
“Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.” (Pro 31:30, AFV)
Again, this Hebrew word is being paralleled with "beauty." This "beauty" is something that is precious and graceful, which is exactly how the Hebrews would have seen the "camp of protection," a graceful and precious place.
All of this points us to grace as the beautiful place of protection where the seed or destiny is nurtured. God is telling us that He has a destiny for us and He Himself is our shield, our deliverer.
Now, the question is, how do we activate grace in our lives?
Let’s look at one of the first uses of grace in the bible:
“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” (Gen 6:8, NKJV)
Grace, Chen is “found in the eyes of the Lord”. In Hebrew, the phrase is “motze chen b’enayim Yahweh”. This tells us that grace is found in relationship. It is primarily about a perception. In the case of Noah, God saw something about Noah that was pleasing to Him. This is called grace. God sees a beauty in Noah and He protects that which He sees.
The eyes are the windows of grace. Grace opens our eyes to love. The Apostle tells us that we are saved by grace.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;” (Eph 2:8, NASB)
God sees our faith, our trust in Him and it is beautiful to Him and the result is our salvation. There is nothing more precious to God than our trust in Him. That’s why it says:
“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.” (Heb 11:6, NASB)
This describes grace perfectly. Our trust, our faith pleases Him. It releases salvation, the covenant wall that guards the seed of our destiny.
Now we can understand that grace is based on seeing. God sees our trust; it is beautiful to Him. This is why He gives grace to the humble and opposes the proud.
“But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” Submit therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (Jas 4:6-7, NASB)
Ultimately grace is part of the Glory of God. He told Moses that He would be gracious to who He would be gracious to. In some ways this could sound like God is playing favorites. But the truth is that God extends the invitation to all. We determine who He will release His grace to by our trust in Him.
This is the secret of covenant, of oneness. When we surrender ourselves in love then He reciprocates. This opens our eyes to the beauty of who He is and He sees us with the eyes of beauty. Next time we will look at opening these eyes of our heart.
Activation: It is our trust that is beautiful to God. This is what He meant, I think when He said that man looks on the outer appearance, but He looks on the heart.
“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God does not see as man sees, since man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”” (1Sa 16:7, NASB)
Our heart is His treasure. What do we need to trust Him for? Ask Him to reveal that and allow His grace to flow in your life. Pride is the opposite of grace. The need to do it on our own comes into conflict with the more excellent way of grace. Ask Him to reveal the places where the stench of pride is blocking the power of grace and surrender to Him. We all have places of weakness where we need His grace.
Related
Behold, I Am Coming Soon!
“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” - Revelation 22:7, NKJV
The New Jerusalem
“Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Rev 21:2, NKJV)
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb and the Battle of Armageddon
“After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her."” (Rev 19:1-2, NKJV)
Who is Mystery Babylon?
Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. - Matthew 24:3-5 NKJV
The Seven Vials of God's Wrath
And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues (vials); for in them is filled up the wrath of God. - Revelation 15:1
The Two Witnesses
And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. - Rev 11:3-4
The Seven Trumpets (Shofars)
So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. - Rev 8:6 NKJV
666 - The Mark of the Beast
“And he causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, and he decrees that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.” (Rev 13:16-18, NASB)
The Antichrist and the False Prophet
Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. (2Th 2:3-4)
End Times: The Holy Roman Empire Reborn
"You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. "The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. "You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. "Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. (Dan 2:31-35 NASB)
End Times: Israel God’s Centerpiece - Part 2
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate." (Dan 9:27 NKJV)
End Times: Israel the Centerpiece
“On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:” (Gen 15:18, NASB)
World War 3
“And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.” (Rev 9:15)
Final 3 Seals - 5th, 6th and 7th
“I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?”” (Rev 5:1-2, NASB)
Who Are the Main Players? The Four Horsemen
“I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?" And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; and one of the elders *said to me, "Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals."” (Rev 5:1-5)
New World Order
“And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.” (Rev 13:1-2)
Revelation: The Keys to the Kingdom
“When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.” (Rev 1:17-18, NASB)“When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.” (Rev 1:17-18, NASB)
Understanding the End Times
He said, "Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time. (Dan 12:9 NASB)
Brit בְּרִית, The Covenant
"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."” (Jer 31:31-3NKJV)
Bereshit בְּרֵאשִׁית, The beginning and the End
“All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Rev 13:8, NKJV)
Trust, Betach בָּטַח
“The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore, my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.” (Psa 28:7, NAS95)
Meekness, Canah כָּנַע, Anah עָנָה
“He has told you, mortal one, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?” (Mic 6:8, NASB)
Integrity, Yashar יָשָׁר
“And He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and listen to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.”” (Exodus15:26,NASB)
Image and Likeness Bearers Tzelem צֶלֶם and Demoot דְּמוּת
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Gen 1:26-27 NASB)
Succoth - The Mishkan - Tabernacle
““Have them construct a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them. “According to all that I am going to show you as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, so you shall construct it.” (Exo 25:8-9, NASB)
Yom Kippur: Alignment
“That they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. “The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me.” (Joh 17:21-23, NASB)
Yom Teruah, Day of the Shout of The King
“"He has not observed misfortune in Jacob; Nor has He seen trouble in Israel; The LORD his God is with him, And the shout of a king is among them.” (Num 23:21, NAS95)
Zachar To Remember
“And I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. “When the rainbow is in the cloud, then I will look at it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”” (Gen 9:15-16)
Grace and Light
And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. (John 1:16 ESV)
Enayim, Part 2
“I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.” (Gen 9:13, NKJV)
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