HEBREW WORD STUDY – HEWN STONE – GAZIT גזית Gimmel Zayin Yod Taw
Isaiah 9:10: “The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stone, the sycamores are cut down but we will change them into cedars.”
After 9-11 the House Minority Leader Tom Daschle, addressed the Congress and nation quoting this verse. Indeed, 18 years later Mr. Daschle’s speech goes down as a very pious comment. At least to those who do not really study Scripture. If you read the context you find that in Isaiah 9, the Northern Kingdom of Israel had just suffered a shocking defeat. They felt they were well fortified, powerful and secure in their might so that no foreign army would invade them.
Well, they were wrong. They had shut God out of their land and as a warning, God lifted his mantel of protection long enough for the Assyrian army under Tiglath-pileser to invade and destroy some key areas of Samaria. The people were shocked and dismayed. They could not believe that God would allow such a thing to happen. As I recall that historic moment in our history I think we had the same reaction. Rather than Israel returning to God in repentance, they stood up in defiance to Him.
The bricks are fallen but we will rebuild with hewn rocks. Bricks in those days were mud and straw and not able to withstand the forces of nature and man. However, they were going to rebuild with stone or hewn rock. Hewn rock in Hebrew is gazit which are costly carefully cut stone meant to not only to build a secure fortress to show off one’s wealth. It was more expensive and would require a heavier tax on the people, but who they wanted to declare to their enemies that they were great. Then they would replace the Sycamores with cedar or ‘erez in Hebrew The sycamore tree was common to Israel, but the cedar had to come from Lebanon. The wood of the cedar, although much more expensive, was much sturdier and more solid than the wood of the sycamore trees. The word ‘erez is also metaphoric for man’s arrogance and self-dependency.
When Israel declared they would replace bricks with stone and sycamore with cedar they were shaking their fist in defiance against God. They refused to submit to faith in God and to trust God to defend them. They refused to repent, they were going to trust in their own might, their own resources to build their strength, power, and security. Daschle made one mistake. I am sure he meant to show some holiness in quoting Scripture but this verse is a verse of defiance against God, not against God’s enemies.
See Israel did not consult God, did not call for a day of repentance and prayer. They just pushed God aside and started rebuilding. They did not declare as their former King, King David said: “Some trust in chariots, but we will trust in God.” All this time the invasion was allowed by God as a spiritual wake up call for the nation. Maybe 9-11was a wake-up call to spend some time in prayer and repentance.
You know, I wonder, speech writers not only write pretty speeches, it is their job to research any quotations to make sure they have it right, not only from the right source but from the context as well. I can’t believe that professional researchers and writers would just pluck a verse out without checking the context and realize, “OMG, this is a verse defying God. The evangelicals would have a field day and come down hard on my boss if he uses this.” Well, it wouldn’t be the first time some politician made a major boo boo.
But you know, I wonder now, if 9-11 were a wake-up call and Daschle’s blunder was really a secret message sent by God to the faithful who love God’s Word. Was God communicating something only the faithful would understand? Was God showing through this innocent mistake to bring God into the picture that this nation was actually defying God?
Did God blind the speechwriters to the context of this verse? Did He do it to send a message to us, believers who would spot that mistake to make a statement: “Believers, I sent a hidden message 18 years ago that the nation you live in needs to repent and turn back to Me. I sent it so you would pray for your nation and call them to repentance. Have you been faithful or are you like Israel during the time of Isaiah?” If we suffer a similar fate as Israel 20 years after the wake-up call, it is going to be our fault, the believers who study God’s Word, not the non-believers or even the nominal believers who never open their Bible. Did Christian pastors who are supposed to be knowledgeable of Scripture catch this ironic twist? Did they exhort their congregations to pray?
When you enter into the secrets of God, you are taking on great responsibility and you will stand accountable to God one day for the secrets He does share with you.
Chaim, This comment is tongue in cheek and I am teasing, but you are exactly on the same page as Jonathan Cahn (pun intended) – never thought I’d see that. I have read the Harbinger, but there is little I can do about all those crazy folks in the big cities that run everything. The only thing I can do is work on my relationship with the real God and that is the reason that I read what you write everyday. Your insights into the deeper meaning of what is in scripture contribute greatly to my being able to have fortitude despite all that is going on. And what has dawned on me is that there must have been many regular folks doing the best they could in Old Testament times despite what their leaders were doing, just as I look around me now and see a lot of good people hanging in there doing the best they can despite all of our very lost political leaders.
I also thought the quote was odd considering who quoted it. I read The Harbinger later on which caused more questions on my part. The defiance has continued. The last 18 years are proof of it. Both spiritual and physical, nationally and personally.
This is why we need to know the Heart of God so we may be sensitive to hear and do quickly what is needed.
Yes brother, I am just a laymen but even I feel the weight of the responsibility. GODS PEACE
Thank you for writing and posting this. Inspiring and revealing in more than one way. God bless you and yours.
You are absolutely right! Sadly, most “Christians” in this country are asleep at the wheel, content to be fed ear tickling messages by evangelicals whose main interest is filling the offering plate. And why not, they’ve been lied to for so long that they 100% belive the delusion that all that is required of you is to hold the opinion that Yeshua is the son of the living Elohim! Once you profess that opinion, you can lay back and take it easy cause it’s all been done for you!!! They are not taught that belief is not an opinion, but an action. He who claims to know (belive) HIM, but does not keep HIS commandments is a lier and the truth is not in him. Matt 7:23 And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’
But, that last word has been essentially muted, digused under the ambiguous word iniquity in the most read KJV. Iniquity is sin, sin is the transgression of the law. The people in the previous verses obviously know who Yeshua is, they obviously have been doing what they believed to be HIS work, but they have also obviously ignored HIS commands, HIS Torah, and have been practicing and teaching lawlessness! Yeshua said, “he who breaks the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven”. People have got to wake up and realize that there are requirements for being saved, it is a covenant with actions required from both sides and they better get off their duff and dig into the word to see what those requirements are because the truth is rarely being preached from the pulpit; and never if that pulpit has a salary attached to it!
God I believe shared a secret with me in regards to TV ministries using Jesus Christ name to rip off his people. Some are the most arrogant and prideful people on the planet ( Which is the attribute of Satan himself ) Taking funds from people and blowing it on their useless lifestyles. Look at one of them recently got 5 years in prison and I believe it is just the beginning of God cleaning house of the false teachers using Jesus to manipulate people for their own profit.
Pres Obama quoted the same verse. Jonathan Chan has written about this in his book, “the Harbinger.”
America is on a dangerous road towards self destruction.
As Christians we realize who is really the “Destroyer.”
Its time Christians wake up.
70 million innocent babies aborted, will lead the destruction.