HEBREW WORD STUDY – GIVE THANKS – HODU הודו Hei Vav Daleth Vav

Psalms 106:1 “Hallelujah, O’ give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good.”

David says to “Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good.” When we thank someone, it is for something that they did not have to do but chose to do it. Is that to suggest that God is really a bad God who has chosen to be good and we should thank Him for making that choice? Also, the word thanks is in a Hiphal imperative form. Something causes us to thank Him and then we are commanded to thank Him. Thanks sure do not mean much when we give it because we are forced or commanded to give it. Thanks are most meaningful when it is given as a free act of our will when we don’t have to give it. Finally, why give thanks for something that God is and in no other way could be? I mean, He sets the standard for what is good, so if He is bad, then that bad is really good as he represents the standard as to what is good.

Obviously, we are not thanking Him for being good but that by his nature of being good He deserves our thanks. So, what are we giving thanks for? David doesn’t specify. For you see, David is giving you the secret to entering into His presence and it is not, as I said, putting on your favorite CD and repeating over and over: “Praise you, thank you, praise you thank you.” This secret that David is giving will work every time, guaranteed to bring you into the presence of God. The Apostle Paul knew David’s secret and revealed it to us in I Thessalonians 5:18: “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

The word thanks here is hodu from the root word yadah. It is spelled Yod which represents a messenger who brings us in close friendship with God. The next letter is a Daleth which is a doorway to the next letter the Hei – His presence. Thanksgiving brings you into a close friendship with God which is the doorway to His presence. The sages have played around with that Yod because it represents both a message or messenger from heaven and a close friendship with God. Some have suggested that the Yod can represent the Messiah. Like any self-respecting Christian goyim I took that and ran with it and I say this message and messenger from heaven is Jesus Christ. So, what are we thanking Him for? Some sages suggest we thank him for the future peace that the Messiah will bring. I say we thank him for sending His son Jesus Christ to redeem us and be our atonement for sin. Because of the finished work of Jesus Christ we can enter into his presence with thanksgiving for everything for in His perfect presence nothing happens in our lives without God’s Divine approval. So, we can thank him for everything that happens in our lives good or bad. In the good times we can praise Him in the bad times we can thank him for his protection and deliverance.

So why do thanks bring us into the presence of God? Because God is good. Remember the word good is tov. In its Semitic root, tov or good is whatever is in perfect harmony with God. David was striving to be in perfect harmony with God. He found that giving thanks brings him into harmony, or in tune with God. When in tune with God you feel his vibrations, you vibrate with Him and that is His presence.

I recently had a rather bad experience on my job. My first thought was that if I had retired when I wanted to I would not go through this. No, I had to keep this job to pay off bills that I incurred in starting up Chaim Bentorah Ministries. “So,” I said to God, “Is this my reward. Well, I’m tired of being a good soldier, I am tired of working long hours and seeing little results.” I have to admit I was not being very thankful and it really had me in a funk.

Then I thought of the Apostle Paul who said in everything give thanks. I thought of David who was thankful just because he was allowed to be in harmony with God. I looked up to my Heavenly Father and said, “Please dear Father, don’t think I am ungrateful for this job, for I truly am and I am truly thankful that you provided this job. I am thankful that you have helped me to perform my task, you have given me enough health to perform my duties. I don’t understand this problem but I thank you for it because I know you are in control and I am thankful that you are in control.” I immediately felt that sweet presence of God, I knew I was “in tune” tov with Him and you know, everything was ok in His presence. I still had my problem, but it didn’t matter, so long as I had the love of God in Christ Jesus.

You see, it was God’s choice to send His Son to die for us, to suffer for us. He did not have to forgive our sins, but He did and for that we can be tov in harmony with Him. No matter what happens, how terrible things might be, we can be in harmony with Him and that is enough to thank Him for.

In everything give Him Thanks

In the good times praise His Name

In the bad times do the same

In everything, give the King of Kings

All the thanks.

When troubles come

And there’s no one around

Satan tries to tell me,

“God’s let you down,”

In every dark hour

The best thing I found

Is to give my God thanks,

For he has never, never, never

Failed me yet,

So why should I start now

To worry or fret

In everything, I won’t ever forget

To give Him all the thanks. – Lanny Wolfe

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