The title of this post is Threats and Sabre Rattling, which when we hear of it may cause anxiety in the hearts of many, but is our Heavenly Father worried?

There is so much in the world’s media and news warning of conflicts and wars. The term often used is ‘sabre rattling’, meaning the opposing sides using threatening words and vowing to follow up their threats with action. There is sometimes a hope that the threat is enough to have the opposing side back off and withdraw their aggression, but sometimes it instead accelerates the bellicose rhetoric and physical retaliation ensues.

We are in a time unlike any other and fears can easily arise if we are not rooted and grounded in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. We are not to be moved by what we hear and see and sometimes that is not easy; however our hearts must not waver when we consider the Creator of the Universe is fully aware and in control of everything. Nothing causes Him concern, worry, anxiety or fear, nor is He afraid of the outcome of any situation or future events for He knows the end from the beginning. So we are to be at peace in the midst of chaos around us and to keep looking to Messiah Yeshua/Jesus, to the Father and know His Holy Spirit is abiding within; helping to maintain that peace, that true shalom, that fills our hearts and minds when fear of the unknown tries to infiltrate our thoughts. Nothing the worlds armies can come up with can stand against our Heavenly Father, even with threats of nuclear weapons and biological warfare. Learning to rely on our Savior and trust in Him and His Word is crucial at times like these, and we must make certain our foundation is deep in His Word, that we are anchored in Him and that scriptures such as Psalms 91 and 23 are indelibly written in our hearts so that we are not shaken by any news reports.

There is a verse in Psalm 147 that seems a little strange, verse 10 reads:

He delighteth not in the strength of horses; he takes not pleasure in the legs of man.

and it is curious to read that the Lord seems to not like parts of His own creation in both man and animals. Here we again remind ourselves that what The Father is telling us may have been lost in translation.

The scriptures tell us to rightly divide the Word and as much as we think we know what it says, the word is spiritually discerned because it is a spiritual book; it is a living word and unlike any other book written by humans. 1 Cor. 2:24

The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of the Lord God, they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because as scripture says, they are spiritually discerned. This means spiritual truths and teachings from the Bible can only be understood through the Father’s Holy Spirit, as the natural person does not accept them and considers them foolishness. Spiritual understanding requires a spiritual heart and discernment provided by His Spirit, and a knowing that there are ‘PaRDeS’, layers to the revealed knowledge given.

We need the indwelling Spirit of Holiness to correctly discern or divide the Word, remembering when the original scrolls were penned there were no chapters and verses, and no spaces between the words; nor were there any vowel points added to help the pronunciation. The Hebrew letters had to be separated into words by the reader, hence one meaning of rightly dividing the word of truth. 2.Tim. 2:15 Rightly dividing the word of truth. Of interest the Greek word translated in the English version “rightly dividing,” literally signifies “cutting a straight line.”

The Rabbis of Israel are experts in the Hebrew language and understand the difficulties of translating an ancient language, so a certain amount of ‘give and take’, was and still is very common among them as they study the Holy Scriptures. It’s no surprise that most of the rabbis have little trust in the English translations of the Bible, this is because they are very aware that any one of the translations is often the result of just one individual’s or one certain group’s opinion, and that translation could be biased, favoring their particular church denominations, doctrines and beliefs.

When we study the Bible and wonder what a certain word actually means in Hebrew, we should look at the context in which it is placed. In the case of the Greek language it is usually alright to simply translate a words meaning and still; we must remember it has come from the Latin Septuagint, which is another step in translation and meaning. In Hebrew, we need to know the verse and the context to fully understand what is being said, and not just extract a words meaning from a concordance or dictionary because the context can seriously change the usage of the word. We know this happens because individual verses are often taken out of context to the whole text, and have been sorely misused to backup ideas and erroneous principles. As we are studying, we must determine what a word means in the context it is used, as there are many meanings to each Hebrew word.

Looking at the verse in Psalms 147:10 in the KJV He delighteth not in the strength of horses, he takes not pleasure in the legs of man. A number of commentaries on this verse offer the meaning that: in those days horses were thought to be the most beautiful animals in existence and the legs of a strong muscular man were also to be admired, but God doesn’t take pleasure in this beauty.

Already noted why would the creator of both not take pleasure in His own creation?

As an example of words and meanings in the context of the text pictured above, let’s look at the word rendered as

strength which in Hebrew is geburah from the root word gavar.

In context one could use gavar as strength but more in terms of

having mastery or control over the horses.

1369 geburah: might, strength, power

Original Word: גְּבוּרָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: gbuwrah
Pronunciation: ghev-oo-RAW
Phonetic Spelling: (gheb-oo-raw’)
KJV: force, mastery, might, mighty (act, power), power, strength
NASB: might, strength, power, mighty deeds, mighty acts, courage, mighty
Word Origin: [feminine passive participle from the same as H1368 (גִּבּוֹר גִּבּוֹר – mighty men)]

1. force (literally or figuratively)
2. (by implication) valor, victory, force, mastery, might, mighty act, power, power, strength

 In Scripture Gebûrâ is recorded as the manifested strength of God that equips, delivers, and judges, directing attention away from self-confidence by pointing it toward the Lord, whose mighty acts come to a victorious conclusion in the Messiah Yeshua Ha Mashiach, and through Him, continue to empower His people to live a life of holiness as a witness to the world.

Next in the verse, look at the word chepats from the root word chapats which is translated as delight.

2654 chaphets: To delight in, to take pleasure in, to desire, to be pleased with

Original Word: חָפֵץ
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: chaphets
Pronunciation: khaw-fates’
Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-fates’)
KJV: X any at all, (have, take) delight, desire, favour, like,

move, be (well) pleased, have pleasure, will, would
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. (properly) to incline to
2. (by implication) (literally but rarely) to bend
3. (figuratively) to be pleased with, desire

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance

to be pleased with, desire

A primitive root; properly, to incline to; by implication literally to bend;

We could say in this context that the word for delight – chapats – suggests

a bending toward or inclining before.

Then in the same verse, looking at the word rendered as pleasure. In Hebrew it is retseh from the root word ratsah which means:

7521 ratsah: To be pleased with, to accept favorably, to delight in, to satisfy

Original Word: רָצָה
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: ratsah
Pronunciation: rah-tsah’
Phonetic Spelling: (raw-tsaw’)
KJV: (be) accept(-able), accomplish, set affection, approve, consent with, delight (self), enjoy, (be, have a) favour(-able), like, observe, pardon, (be, have, take) please(-ure), reconcile self
NASB: accept, accepted, pleased, delight, delights, enjoy, favor
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

In this context maybe a more realistic translation could be the Father is saying He will not yield to, bend, incline before, or give in to the horses strength or men’s mastery of them; nor the strength in human bodies however well endowed or prepared they may be. This is because of the context and that here David is faced with a threat from the Assyrians who had the most powerful army in the world at that time and because of this they appeared invincible. They had the strongest and largest chariots than any other nation and had spent around 20 years breeding horses that were strong enough to pull the war chariots. They had also spent a similar amount of time training soldiers so they could be the charioteers by making sure their leg and arm strength was sufficient to control or master these horses. David had not had the time to equally prepare horses and soldiers. So in the options of other words it may seem to make more sense.

The translators of the KJV used what they had available to them and chose words which matched the Hebrew words, they did not have extensive knowledge with which we are privileged to have today at our fingertips, both in publications and the internet archives.

The reports of ongoing discoveries by various teams of archeologists gives credence to what the ancient Assyrian armies were really like and if they had known that rather than using English words which suggest that God takes no pleasure in the beauty of horses and men’s legs, maybe they would have used words which express that our Heavenly Father will not yield or bend even to the most powerful weapons on the face of the earth nor its strongest warriors.

This should give us such great confidence and send any fears fleeing just like our enemies

The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways

Now in context in this verse, we have a wonderful promise that our Heavenly Father is not at all intimidated with the might or technological superiority of weapons that any nation has because He is still in control; and no weapon is a match for Him just as the chariots and soldiers were not in David’s situation.

When we hear the sound of the sabres rattling, let’s not throw away our confidence in our Heavenly Father’s ability. Hebrew 10:35/6 To not throw away our confidence means to remain steadfast in the faith we must not abandon our boldness and assurance. In 1 Sam. 30:6 David encouraged himself in the Lord and we too can encourage ourselves too, by reading in the scriptures of all the armies that were defeated over the millennia.

Hebrew 13:8 reminds us He is the same yesterday, today and forever and no strong horses or weapons of war and men that control them are any match for the Lord of Heavens armies, King of Kings, Creator of the Universe and everything in it.

Shalom, shalom mishpachah/family

and cheverim/friends!

It’s all about Life and Relationship,

NOT Religion.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

NOT SURE?

YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.