Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar;
Isaiah 30:21: “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left.”
The remez comes when you look at verse 20 which tells us that “our eyes shall see the teacher” and then in verse 21 we are told our ears shall hear a word behind us. We see the teacher before us but the word is spoken behind us. Rabbinical teaching would suggest that this is a picture of the God’s Spirit (the Teacher) surrounding us. We see Him before us and hear Him behind us and He is also on our left and right.
There are two mistakes that good Western thinking Christians will make here. The first is to look at the word for “teacher” and say: “Ah ha, it is plural.” I know I said it was singular yesterday, but used as a participial noun it could be plural. So why do I say it is singular? I call it singular because I believe it has a Messianic message. I do this for the same reasons the rabbis would call “Elohim “ in Genesis 1:1 as singular. When I was teaching Hebrew to future pastors and Christian leaders in Bible College, I noticed a very common college phenomenon taking place in my classes. There would be some students who would fall asleep in my class. Some, deciding that would be disrespectful, would just cut class and go to the dorm and do their sleeping. Either way I have heard many preachers and Bible teachers who must have fallen asleep in their Hebrew class or cut class during the lecture on the Hebrew “plural.” These pastors and teachers are easy to spot because they have enough training to know that “im” at the end of a Hebrew word means it is plural, but not enough to know that “plural” in Hebrew is far different than the “plural” in English. They are the ones who say: “Elohim, which means God, is plural and therefore must refer to the trinity. Such stupid rabbis that they do not see this.” The rabbis would just roll their eyes and say: “Such stupid Christians, reading Hebrew like they were reading English.” Just because a word is plural in Hebrew, does not indicate it means more than one. A plural in Hebrew may mean a higher rank or privilege. Hence, the plural form here could be translated as “Master Teacher” rather than “teachers.” Exegetically, “Master Teacher” would be a better fit.
Thus, your spiritual eyes will recognize the “Master Teacher” and “your ears shall hear” (ve’azeneka tiwhema’enah). This expression denotes either an audible or a spiritual (or both) hearing.
What you hear is the second mistake a Western thinking Christian will make. You hear “a word” (devar). Indeed, “devar” is “a word”. But it is not idiomatic in Hebrew as it is in English. Did you ever hear a preacher say he would like to share “a word” with the congregation and then preach a whole sermon? Obvious, he wanted to say more than just one word. That expression “a word” in English is an idiomatic expression indicating that someone would like to deliver a short message. That is an English idiom and not a Hebrew idiom. When the Hebrew says “a word.” It means “a word.” Thus, what is this word? Well it can’t be: “This is the way, walk ye in it.” That expression has more than one word. The “zeh” is a demonstrative pronoun and would not fit devar. “walk ye in it” is a verbal phrase and would not fit devar. What would fit “devar” is the word “haderek” or “The way.” Did not Jesus say: “I am the way” (John 14:6). And who is it that reveals Jesus as the Messiah? In Matthew 16:16-17 we find Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus answers by saying this was revealed to Him by the Father. Could this not be the voice you hear behind you?
So can we not say that the “Master Teacher” is the Holy Spirit, and the voice is the Heavenly Father who is telling us a word. That word is “The Way” or His Son Jesus Christ and we are to walk (halakah, a righteous walk) in Him.
Yeah, I know, that interpretation is just so, so Christian.
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