We all know how important water is. In the opening of the Torah in Gen. 1, we read that God separates/divides the waters so that things can function. In Hebrew the dividing means “separation for a positive purpose”. Thus with water, in Hebrew, in the vault (typically translated ‘firmament’) above, and the waters below, things can function.
There is no chaos. Nor is there Greek based “separation and compartmentalization”, i.e., things in separate boxes.
What God does in short is set the elements of His Creation in order so that things function. In Hebrew, the “howling wild waste wilderness” of the Earth Gen.1:2 God sets in order. If the World began in order and then descended into chaos, the Universe could not function!
Paul writes the Corinthians that God is not of “akatastasias“, “without a supporting foundation; chaos, confusion caused by rebellion” but in strong contrast shalom 1 Cor. 14:33. (Paul would have had to use the KG “eirene” but his Hebrew heart would be thinking the Hebrew “shalom”). Shalom in Hebrew more deeply means in part “restoration of relationship, concern for the well-being of others”.
Paul incidentally only speaks of “lalein glossai“, “speaking tongues”, about 14 times – all in one Letter, 1 Corinthians. All but 2 uses are in one chapter- chapter 14. By comparison Paul uses the closest KG equivalent to shalom, “eirene“, in all 13 of his Letters.
Water in Hebrew is in plural form. The Hebrew for ‘Heaven’ is in plural form – and the Hebrew ‘water’ is not only plural ‘waters’ but also part of the Hebrew word ‘Heavens’.
A very fine Orthodox rabbi (whose name escapes me) gives us an excellent insight about water when he speaks of the Jewish People, that also applies very much to followers.
The Rabbi says 100 individual drops of water sitting on a table are useless. They’ll evaporate in short order. However, 100 drops united together in a glass, can be drunk – and provide what we need to help sustain ourselves, in order to serve the LORD and others.
The lesson for the Body is obvious!
Further, as the rabbi also points out, water either sustains us, or as we’re seeing, when it’s out of control, when it’s out of its boundaries it’s destructive and deadly. Water needs to operate within fixed boundaries in order for life to be sustained. Water – even though all ‘together’ – once it goes outside of where it needs to be, we all know what can happen!
So let us be encouraged not to be like “100 single drops of water”. Nor united, trying to operate outside the parameters set for us by God.
This very Torah based idea is behind Yeshua’s teaching in Mt. 5:48. Translated ‘perfect’, Yeshua’s Hebraic original is based on a Hebrew term in the Torah, said of Noach (Gen. 6) and Jacob (Gen. 25), as well as Iyov (“Job”) Job 1. More deeply meaning:
“Operate within the parameters set by God; without lack”. When we operate within the parameters set for us by God there is no spiritual lack!
Only Man. since he has free will (in Hebrew it’s from the word that means ‘specially choose’), can choose to operate outside of the parameters set for him by God. When he does so, as we’ve also seen, things don’t go well. Cf. Adam & Eve for example.
Just like water that overflows too much, Man can choose to operate outside the parameters set for us by God.
When we operate within them as Yeshua illuminates for us, then we have no lack. In short, Yeshua did not tell his fellow Galilean Jews to be ‘perfect’ as we would think of from English. Rather, in Yeshua’s Torah/Hebrew based original in Mt. 5:48, God does not operate outside His parameters so to speak. Meaning, that God does not operate in a non-godly way.
God thus has no ‘lack’. He only operates as God. Yeshua encourages us to do the same; operate within the godly parameters Our Father in Heaven sets for us. This is what Yeshua in context illuminates, originally, for his fellow Galilean Jews.
We should note that ‘you’ in Mt. 5:48 is plural.
The modern rabbi makes the point in the context of stressing Jewish unity – and again a perfect perfect lesson for followers – that each Jew rather than seeking to be their own single drop of water, needs to be willing to join with the other 99 drops and be placed in a glass so they don’t just evaporate – and can be used in a useful way!
In order to do so each Jew must be willing to put their Self aside, joining together with other Jews for the greater good!
This is exactly exactly what Yeshua teaches when it comes to serving him – and what he requires first, which unfortunately my dear Christian brethren are not taught – in Mk. 8:31-34 and Yochanon 12:24-26. Yeshua teaches the requirement of what is called in Hebrew and well-known in Orthodox Judaism by a couple of different terms, meaning “annihilation of Self”. (One of the terms is literally “waste or nothingness of substance”). Cf. esp. also 2 Tim. 2:21-22!
We are also reminded that when Yeshua speaks of water during the time of a water drawing ceremony at the Temple, based on Ish. 12:1-3, it is living waters that flow out from the belly – not into it. This of course is a totally Hebrew based metaphor because it’s based on something concrete – waters – referring to the Ruach Hakodesh Yochanon 7:35-37.
The idea of “living waters” is drawn from the Torah’s Hebrew. “Living waters” is a Hebrew way of saying water that moves.
One of the great 19th-century Torah teachers astutely and correctly points out that water in a small space shortly becomes putrid. It doesn’t move, and thus like anything else that is dead which also doesn’t move, it begins to decay.
Only water that moves is alive.
Lastly while I think of it, water is extremely extremely important in the Middle East because of its climate and its scarcity. We all know that too much water can be devastating and deadly. We also know that too little water – especially in the desert in the Middle East – can also be deadly.
So let us strive to be like “water” that is neither out of control nor too scarce, and operate within the parameters set for us by God and illuminated for us by our wonderful Mashiach! Imagine the tremendous potential positive possibilities!
All the best,
Jacob
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