I Kings 11:2: “Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel; You shall not go in to them neither shall they come in unto you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their god.  Solomon clave unto those in love.”

 

The last phrase really caught my attention.  Solomon clave unto those in love.  We know   Solomon really blew it because he loved foreign women who turned his heart away from God.   However, it is that word clave which really stands out in this phrase.   In the Hebrew this word is devak.  It is where we get the word devekut. I’ve written about devekut many times, it is a word that is very important to the Jews and is a word that is practically unknown to Christians and I am determined to plow that word into Christianity before my days in this world end.  Devekut is often used to express the ultimate in  closeness to God. When one enters into a devekut with God he is joining his whole heart, his being, his desires and intentions with God and becomes one with God in purpose, desire and expression. His heart and the heart of God becomes one.   There have been reports in history of rabbis who have entered into this deep meditation and closeness to God, a devekut and have died while in this state.  They call it the kiss of God.  It is believed to be the state Enoch was in when he was taken to heaven.  He was so close to God that he did not want to move away, so God just brought him into his eternal state.  For the last seven years in my search for the heart of God I have been preparing for that day when God calls me home and I intend to be in a devekut when that time comes.

 

This is the same word that is used in Genesis 2:24 where we learn that a man shall leave his parents and cleave to his wife and they become one flesh. This is more than just yada’ or knowing, like Abraham knew his wife and she had a son. Scripture makes it very clear that this devekut is to only be shared with a woman who is one in spirit with her husband and worship the same God. A devekut is different than just a man yada’ (knowing, having sex) with his wife.  He is to have that intimacy with his wife so that they become one in worship to God together as one.   A man was created to share this devekut this intimate closeness with only one woman his wife, the one who he truly loves, a woman who worships God and he and his wife are so in tune with their worship and love for God that they join in a devekut an intimacy with God together. When a man and woman enters into a devekut together or intimacy together, God becomes a part of this intimacy.  They are so likeminded in their relationship with God, that God becomes a natural part of that relationship.   This is meant to take that relationship to a whole new level of satisfaction making that relationship so special that it is something that can only be shared with one person and God.  Ok, I know that sounds creepy to some, but if you ever experienced a devekut you are going to want to share it with that special someone, your mate making that devekut with God and her the intimacy you and she were designed to have.

 

Yet, here in I Kings 11:2 Solomon shared a devekut  with 1,000 women. It was only meant to be shared with one woman. Not only that these foreign women did not share Solomon’s relationship with God.  You can call it by whatever name you want, wives, partners, harem, but it still just boils down to Solomon having his own brothel. What he shared with these women  was only meant to be shared with one woman and God.  No matter how many wives he found he never found one that could sexually satisfy him.  Sure the many wives was a symbol of his power and these wives were often nothing more than glorified hostages  but he still sought intimacy with them and discovered so little fulfillment in those relationships that he instructed in his old age  “Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.” Proverbs 5:18.

 

Not only did he share this devekut with many women, but it was also the women he shared it with him that created the rift between him and God.  These were foreign women who worshipped pagan gods.  If Solomon became one with them they were to become one with his God. That didn’t happen, he become one with their god.

 

I spent the day working on my book and by the evening I just laid down on my sofa to rest for a moment. I was meditating on this word devekut and its root word devek spelled Daleth Vav and Qop.  I know the Daleth represents a doorway to the Vav which represents a connection to heaven, but I could not remember what the Qop represented.  Try as I might I could not remember the meaning behind the letter  and I was just too lazy to look through my library to find out.  I must be getting old, the Hebrew Alphabet had been an intimate part of my life for the last 40 years and I could not even remember what the Oop represents.

 

It might be I was just tired as I kept dozing off. I think I must have momentarily dozed off because I awake with a start, I felt something on my chest.  I looked up and saw Qop dancing on my chest, he was taunting me and singing a song:

You do not know my name

So from Beyond your Daleth I came

To not know my name, for shame

My name from God it came

To forget my name only you are to blame.

To know my name will bring you no fame,

But go ahead guess my name just the same.

 

That did it, I reach out to grab Qop and he just jumped off my chest still taunting me. I jumped off my sofa and chased Qop around my living room until I was able to grab hold of him with both hands.  I heard a little squeak and a weak voice say: “I am so fragile and yet Christians are so rough.  I break easy and you Christian’s so disregard me it makes my stomach queasy.”  Look you sorry excuse for a Qop I will just squeeze that Vav right out of you so you just tell me your name are you game? Good grief” I declare, “You have me talking like you.”   I began to squeeze Qop harder demanding he tell me his name when he said in a strained, weak voice: “I, I must separate myself from you.”   Suddenly there was a cloud of smoke and he was gone.  But instead of the word Poof! appearing in the smoke, I saw the word kodesh which means to be separate or holy.

 

That is when I remembered, Qop’s name is holiness. That last letter in devek for devekut is the Qop or holiness. Daleth, Vav  and Qop (devek – cleave) means a doorway (Daleth) heaven (Vav) which leads to holiness (Qop). The other day my study partner and I were traveling in the car and we both saw a shadow pass by  us very quickly. Qop appeared again and hopped on my shoulder and whispered in my ear, “You saw my shadow which is unholiness. Beware that you do not project that unholiness onto others or allow them to project it onto you.  You see when Solomon was cleaving (devekut) to foreign women  they projected their unholiness unto him turning him away from God.”  It was then I understood that the Qop or holiness of devekut  has a shadow that can be projected upon us be it a lover, money, our job, our investments, our hobbies and even the spiritual image we attempt to portray.    If we devekut these things their shadow will turn our hearts away from God and cause us to separate ourselves from God.  If a shadow passes by your eyes, beware, it may be the shadow of the Qop, reminding you that something you love more than God is casting its unholy shadow on you and like Solomon will turn you away from God.

PS: Laura looked up the word shadow and what she found goes hand in hand with this study. Shadow in Hebrew is spelled Sade Lamed, Lamed. Sade represents tzaddik which is a righteous person and the two lameds are like two hands reaching up in prayer. The word shadow is also symbolic of the transitoriness of life. Laura feels this is an encouragement from God. If you feel you are going through a transition in life where God is moving from one season into another it is at this time to especially be on point with God. Like the Tzaddik you are walking close to God in righteousness so the shadow of the Qop does not interfer to distract you from where God is taking you.

 

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