"Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever"
Dan 2:20
When we go to Israel our guides are usually non-Christian Jews. To be a guide in Israel means you are licensed by the State of Israel only after completing the equivalent of a two-year college course studying the hundreds of Biblical sites in the promised land.
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Compass Israeli guide Yaniv |
So the vast majority of our Israeli guides are articulate, well-educated... but secular-- meaning not religious. They usually observe Passover and Day of Atonement but nothing else. Sorta like some Christians only go to church on Christmas and Easter.
It is always perplexing to us on our Israel trips to hear the guide say things like, "Over here God helped David defeat the Amorites," or "Here is where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead," yet totally miss what they are actually saying.
They talk about God and Jesus all day long, quote passages out of the Old and New Testaments, but don't connect the spiritual dots. They refer to Him by name, but the deep and powerful meaning of that name escapes them.
What Does "Yahweh" Mean?
"Yahweh" is the personal name of God in the Bible. Called the Tetragrammaton, it is composed of four letters, no vowels. The Hebrew letters are Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey, read right to left in the Hebrew (see above), left to right in English (YHWH).
Hebrew letters all have meanings. You're going to love what the letters mean in "Yahweh"!
Yod
Yod the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet and is masculine in gender. It portrays the symbol of an entire hand, or closed hand, from the wrist to the fingertips. This is distinguished from another letter, kaf, that means "palm."
Hey
Hey is feminine and means "to behold", "show" or "reveal."
Can you tell where this is going?
Vav
Vav is masculine and signifies a nail, peg or hook, signifying being nailed or bound together.
So when read in Hebrew, right to left, God's name means:
"Behold the Nail, Behold the Hand"
0r simply,
"Behold the nailed hand."
It gets even better when you combine the meaning of the individual letters with the overall meaning of the word, Yahweh, YHWH, which means "Salvation," then it basically translates:
"Behold, the nailed hand is salvation."
There are other Biblical references to the Messiah's pierced hands and feet:
"...they will look upon Me whom they have pierced"
Zech 12:10
"...they have pierced My hands and feet." Ps 22:16
With the name of God being so specific, it makes one wonder how in the world do the Jews, especially the Jewish guides in Israel, miss the fact Jesus came as the Messiah?!
The answer, of course, is in scripture. God has "blinded" them.
"... And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" For this cause they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, "He has blinded their eyes, and He
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Ido Keynan, a 7th generation Israeli guide who speaks five languages. After 25 years of quoting the New Testament, got saved! PTL!
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hardened their heart; lest they see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and be converted, and I heal them."John 12:39-40
But God has not blinded us. His Holy Spirit living in us reveals truth to Believers through the Word of God.
He has also gifted teachers to expound on God's Word. And God encourages us to have "many counselors." That's why we hold the Steeling the Mind Bible Conferences.
We bring in the best and the brightest Bible teachers to hammer away on tough but relevant topics. So join us Saturday, September 17 in Denver, or in your home or group meeting via a very affordable live simulcast of this great Bible conference. It will STEEL YOUR MIND with God's truth! Register today!
For information on attending the Denver Steeling Bible Conference, or to watch it live via simulcast,
Click here for Steeling Denver info