Isaiah 51:1: “Harken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord, look unto the rock from whence you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit, when you are digged.”
“If you want to know faith and be attached to this righteousness, do not look at it directly as do others who cause themselves to die, rather, look at the rock from where you were hewn.” Zophar 3:222b.
The above Jewish commentary on this verse gives an insight I never really considered, but is one that truly offers an opportunity to glimpse into the heart of God. The key lies in that phrase written by Isaiah: You that seek the Lord, look unto the rock from whence you were hewn. This is not just those who follow a righteous life, all good church people want to follow a righteous life. The word follow is radaph which is in a simple qal form and has the idea of simply following after something.
However, for those who are following righteousness but are also seeking the Lord, Isaiah gives a little clue as to how to fill this void you feel within yourself. The word seek is bakas which is in a piel participial form, which is much more intense than just following after, this has the idea of being driven, or obsessed. As a participle it would put it in a present tense, you are now obsessively seeking the Lord.
I am beginning to discover that most the Christians I meet seem to have one thing in common. We all feel this driving urge to know God, to be intimate with Him. Well for any among you who are reading this and you have this drive in your heart, an obsession or radaph to know God then this verse is for you.
To really know the Heart of God you must look to the rock from whence you were hewn. The word look is navat which means to look upon or behold. However, this is in a Hiphil form and as such, it is more than just looking upon, it is attaching oneself to. Reattach yourself to the rock from which you were hewn.
The Jewish commentators in the Zophar explains it this way. When you suffer pain, you must realize that God, as a loving Father, is also suffering the same pain. If a man’s wife is unhappy, then he will also be unhappy no matter how good his fortune, for when he becomes one with his wife, he will share her happiness as well as her pain.
It would then follow that if we are the bride of Christ, then Christ as the bridegroom will not only feel our every hurt and sorrow but it will grieve him just as the hurt and sorrow of a man’s bride would grieve him.
However, the commentator goes on to say that we must look beyond our own pain and sorrow to the pain and sorrow God feels on our behalf and pray for His sorrow and pain as a wife would seek to comfort her husband who was feeling pain and sorrow on her behalf.
You must remember that the Jewish concept of prayer is much different than ours. To the Jew, prayer is uniting yourself with God, not just offering up petitions. In that unity with God you share his joy and his peace, that is prayer. When you share that joy and peace with others, that is also prayer for you are doing it in unity with God. Thus, when you feel pain, the Rock from whence you were hewn is also wounded. The word hewn is chastav which has the idea of being cut off . By reattaching yourself to the rock it will heal the wound that both you and the Rock or the Heavenly Father feels.
When you are lonely, broken, hurting; then pause to look at the Heavenly Father, He is feeling your loneliness, brokenness and hurt, He too is in pain. Do you ever stop to consider His pain or are you too focused on your own pain demanding the Heavenly Father do something about it. But what can you do for the Heavenly Father’s pain? The same thing a hurting wife can do for the pain her husband feels on her behalf, she will let him hold her, stroke her, comfort her and say gentle things to her to ease her pain. When he is able to ease her pain, the pain he feels because of her is also eased.
When you seek the heart of God, look to the Rock from whence you were hewn. In other words try to understand what He is feeling when you are frustrated, angry, lonely or heartbroken. Seek His comfort first, for His comfort comes from being able to comfort you.
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As an instructor in both ancient Hebrew and Aramaic, Chaim Bentorah is convinced that there are powerful truths buried in the original language of God’s Word that most Christians have never been exposed to. The Word of God is like the heart of God: it is a well that never runs dry. In this book, you will discover things about God and your relationship with Him that you may never have considered. By delving into the multiple layers and nuances of the ancient Hebrew language, you will discover that God is revealing His heart to you through the depths of His Word in new and exciting ways.
Hebrew is a language of poetry and pictures. With Bentorah’s expertise, you will see how to examine not just word definitions, but also the origin of the words, their place in the culture and idioms of the day, and even their emotional context. Through this devotional, you will walk the road less traveled as you uncover the deeper spiritual messages in God’s Word. In the process, you will discover the heart of God toward you and come to know Him better. You will see just how beautiful the Word of God is and, most of all, you will see the beauty of God Himself and love Him all the more.
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