Bible Tidbits

I am always interested in learning more about God through reading His story in the Bible.  I hope you are like me and enjoy delving deeper into scripture.  We can see God in both the obvious and not so obvious ways that He deals with us humans.  In this short blog I will submit to you, my followers, a few tidbits that I thought quite interesting and hoping you do as well.

The Last Part of the Last Supper.

As I was reading the account of our Lord and His disciples eating the Passover feast together in the upper room, it again came to mind that this was to be His last meal on earth.  I often skipped over the last part of the story focusing instead on the cup of wine and the broken bread.  I’m hoping that most of you at some point have been able to observe the Passover meal either in your congregation or perhaps at a special celebration presented elsewhere…..even in a movie.

So what happened at the end of the Last Supper? The Gospels, tell us “when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives” (Mark 14:26) The word hymn is a translation of the Hebrew word Hallel, a reference to the psalms of praise (113-118) which are sung on Passover eve as part of the Seder feast.  These hymns/psalms were also sung by the pilgrims going to the temple for the yearly feasts and were well known by the Jewish people.  They are still sung today as part of Passover meals. Jesus must have been fond of these psalms whose central message is deliverance.

The word Hallel means “praise” in Hebrew.  It is one of the most important words in the Hebrew Scriptures.  It is also the root of the word Halleluiah which means “Praise unto God” as well as the name of the Book of Psalms in Hebrew, Tehilim.  It is precisely the book of Tehilim (Psalms 118:25-26) that is being quoted on Palm Sunday when the crowds proclaimed “Hosanna….Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” (Mark 11:9)

A Sacred Number to Swear By!

What do the Sabbath, Joshua’s march around Jericho and the pairs of clean animals brought by Noah into the ark all have in common?  The answer is that all these biblical subjects have the number Seven.  And it’s not just in these stories.  In dozens of other Scriptural instances the number seven plays a central role.    In the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks of himself using the phrase “I am” seven times.  What is so special about seven?

In ancient Israel, the number seven represented divine perfection.  It was considered a powerful, unbreakable number because it could not be divided by common small numbers which the people used to count on a single hand.  The word seven in Hebrew, “sheva” is linked to “shevua”….an oath.  Unlike most languages, Hebrew words have layers of meanings.

This word sheva is used when someone wanted to make a very strong promise.  They would take an oath as though to say, “let the divinely perfect number seven be my witness.”  It was the same as saying that God is the witness between them…..however, the name of God was never used directly because it was considered too holy to be pronounced or even written.  Now we know seven is worth swearing by!

Why Do the Jewish People Pray Three Times Daily?

When reading the book of Daniel I noted that Daniel opened the window of his house and prayed to God.  Three times daily he did this. (Daniel 6:10)  The apostle Paul probably did the same although he told us to be in prayer continually.  In other words, always have a heart toward God.  But why would Daniel and other observant Jews pray three times daily?  God didn’t specify three times, did He?  No, however, there are examples of men praying at three different times during the day. The rabbis deduced from their reading that we ought to pray at three specific times daily… and more is even better.

First, the Morning Prayer.  Three times in Abraham’s story we read …..Abraham got up early in the morning…..when he was wondering what had happened to Lot (Gen 19:27); when fulfilling God’s command to sent Ishmael away (Gen 21:14); and when he was going to sacrifice Isaac. Each of these times, he was overwhelmed with anguish, pain and questions. Thus, he prayed and poured out his heart before God.

Second prayer. It is said that Isaac instituted the afternoon prayer when, “Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening” (Gen.24: 63). The word rendered as meditate here also means prayer.  Did he pray for his bride in order to be comforted after Sarah’s death?  If so, his prayer was answered quickly, because here she came, Rebecca, riding on a camel, escorted by his father’s servant!!  So the afternoon prayer goes back to Isaac.

The Evening Prayer….It is said that Jacob instituted the evening prayer. “He, (Jacob) came to a certain place and stayed there because the sun had set.” (Gen. 28:11) Actually one of the most well –known encounters with God happened there and that’s why, ever since, the Jewish people have sought God in the evening prayer.

Our Lord also observed these prayer times.  We do know that He went out early in the morning to pray.  We as disciples are to follow the example of our Rabbi, Jesus.  How is your prayer life?  Do you pray only in times of need or just when you feel like it?

I hope these few Bible Tidbits are interesting for your inquiring minds and will be of benefit to your spiritual knowledge.

“The fear (wisdom, awe, power) of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverb 1:7)