Isaiah 55:12: “For you shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace.  The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you with singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”

Summer and winter, springtime and harvest

Sun moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Great is thy faithfulness, Great is thy faithfulness

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

– Thomas Chisholm,  “Great is Thy Faithfulness”

Have you ever been filled with the joy of the Lord such that it seems like all nature joins with you in praising God. I really believe that this is what the prophet Isaiah is trying to express here. Recently, as I was sitting on my porch, I noticed a squirrel running across the lawn. Suddenly he ran up to by the bottom of the stairs to my porch. You know how they are, once they see you they stop, get up on their hind legs, and twitch their nose at you as if to say: “Hello there, any peanuts today?” and then they run off.  Only on this occasion, I suggested to my furry chipmunk friend, that he join me in a little worship session with our creator. As if to answer he gave a little squeak and then  ran off. I took that as a “Praise the Lord.”

Crazy, no? Well, what do expect from a guy who is always going through a Looking Glass with Hebrew letters visiting an alternative world to get spiritual insight. I know Isaiah 55:12 is just a metaphor and a personification. The mountains really do not break forth with singing nor do the trees clap their hands – do they?

Actually in the Hebrew the word for breaking forth is yiphasechu which could have two possible roots. It could be pasach which is to break forth with a loud joyful noise.   But there is another possible root which would be paras’ which is the word used when a child is born or breaks forth through the womb for a new beginning.  Both words have the idea of breaking forth either with a loud joyful noise or a new beginning or both. This breaking forth is done with rinah which is simply a joyful noise. Since we are given a separate word for joyful noise, I can only assume that the intended root word has to be parats (a breaking forth as in a child breaking forth from the womb) rather than pasach as a breaking forth with a joyful noise. That would make the word rinah (joyful noise) too redundant, even for Hebrew.  So I would say that the root word for yipasechu would be parats which would mean the mountain are breaking forth with the joy of a new beginning.

So how would this verse apply to us, personally, today, three thousand years after it was written?  I think we would all love a new beginning. As my little furry friend and I shared the joy of the Lord together my mind went back to the realities I would be facing this day. Would the day be filled with its usual problems related to health, finances etc?  I really didn’t find any hope of a new beginning to rejoice about. As I ponder this thought I opened my Hebrew Bible to take a closer look at Isaiah 55:12 and have a little chat with Parats (breaking forth with a new beginning) and give him a little piece of my mind, I mean what right has he got to go around spouting out breaking forth with new beginnings when there was no such thing in sight.

I looked at the verse and noticed a blank spot where Parats (breaking forth in new beginnings) was supposed to be. “That figures, “ I thought, “Parats (breaking forth in new beginnings) is just as elusive as ever.” Suddenly I heard someone say; “Oh yeah?” I looked around and there I saw Parats (breaking forth in a new beginning). Parats is spelled Pei, Resh and Sade. I looked at Pei, Resh, Sade and saw they were dressed in military fatigues and each wore sergeant strips. Pei, (which represents a mouth) shouted Tend hut! “Tend what, who?” I ask, “Just what or whom am I tending to?” I question.  Resh (which represents following a path with an unknown destination) shouted “Forward March!” Sade (which represents performing a humble task) began a cadence “One, Two, Three Four, One two three…”  I decided to play along and marched back into my house and through my Looking Glass where I found myself in the midst of a field filled with hundreds of holes that have been dug by many other Christians this day. I was ordered by Sergeants Pei, Resh and Sade to start digging.

“Why am I digging a senseless hole?” I asked.  But Sergeants Pei, Resh and Sade just began to sing: “You’re in God’s army now, to satan you must not bow. You begin a little bit by digging God’s ditch, you’re in God’s army now.“  “Huh?”  I asked. “I still don’t get it, what does digging a ditch have to do with a new beginning?”

Pei, (mouth, speaking) said that Lamentations 3:23 tells us that God’s mercies are new every morning. The mountains and hills break forth with joy every morning as every morning brings new mercies. You come forth in joy and lead in peace because every day is a new day. This joy in Isaiah 55:12 comes from the newness of God’s mercies every day.” “I get it,” I replied scornfully: “So what am I digging for?” Pei (the first letter to parats, (breaking forth with new beginnings), replies that he is the number 100, Resh salutes and says, “Number 200, reporting, sir” and Sade snaps to attention and barks, ”90  present and accounted for, sir.” As I continued to dig, I added this up and found it totaled 390. Suddenly my shovel struck something solid. “Hey,” I shouted, I struck a Mem.” “Well, pull ‘em out” Parats ordered. So I pulled out Mem who was attached to Shin, Kap and Lamed, (masekel) which means understanding.  “Boy, it was hot down there, thanks for digging us up.“  I looked at Masekel (understanding) and said with surprise: “Why you are “understanding.“ “Right,” answered Mem. Then looking at Pei, Resh, Sade he shouted, “Hey, guys look, it’s our counterpart Parats and immediately Mem, Shin and Kap (masekel- understanding) ran over and shook hands and embraced Pei, Resh and Sade (Parats – breaking forth with new beginnings). I put down my shovel, scratched my head and asked, “Numerical counterpart?”  “Sure nuf,” replied Paras (breaking forth with new beginnings) we share the same numerical value of 390 with Masekel (understanding), we’re related.  You just unburied our kinfolk Masekel (understanding) who were buried under all the cares of that world on the other side of your Looking Glass.

Well, after the joyful reunion between Parats (breaking forth with new beginnings) and Masekel (understanding) I reminded Parats (breaking forth with new beginnings) that they really needed to return to my Hebrew Bible. But before we passed through my Looking Glass Pei, Resh, and Sade (parats – breaking forth with new beginnings) snapped to attention and saluted me and said: “Nice digging, you really found yourself a blessing.”

They were right, I was on my way to having one miserable day with the cares of my world, but when I dug through that day I found the understanding that God was giving me another new day, a new day of life with a little blessing to start my day, which I had never realized was meant to be a new beginning for a new day, a simple beginning, one I would not have recognized but for my friend Parats (breaking forth with a new beginning).

I found myself back on my porch and there was my little blessing on his hind legs, twitching his nose.  He gave another little squeak, I swear it sounded like parats (breaking forth with a new beginning). For you see, every day is a new day with God, a new beginning.  If I can’t rejoice as the mountains and hills over this new day or beginning in a beautiful world that God created for me,  then I must dig to find out the blessings that God gives each day, if I am to fully comprehend the meaning of Isaiah 55:12 in my life. With that I toss a peanut to my little morning greeter, this little bit of God’s creation, I reflect how he gave me my first shovel full of blessings for the day.