Scripture Study

The Hebrew Letter Peh

A teaching on the meaning of the Hebrew letter Peh.

The ancient symbol is a picture of a mouth and has the meaning of blow, scatter, or speaking.

The Way of God’s Creation

God has created the universe in a certain manner – I call this the natural law of the universe.  His natural law corresponds to the Torah which is an explanation of how a nation should conduct itself according to His natural law.  The Torah also includes special commands that relate to Israel getting a concrete view of how God made things.  For instance the Temple was to be created in a very specific manner which relates to the Temple in heaven (which will reside on earth in the next age – Rev. 21).  It is a viewable, touchable (concrete) model of the Heavenly Temple.

The Torah is built on the principle of loving another as you love yourself.  This is the way God originally created things.  Whatever deviates from this rule is unnatural and evil because it is against the way God created the universe and intends that it should be maintained.  Imagine a world in which everyone loved each other as they loved themselves!  This was the world of Adam and Eve!

We get an insight into this from Paul where he states that love is the fulfilling of the law because it does no harm to your neighbor.  The word “Ra” in Hebrew which is translated as evil actually means harm.  To harm others intentionally is against the natural law (which has been corrupted) of the universe.

Order

In Genesis chapter one we see God creating order from chaos ( the earth was tohu and bohu.) Creation or re-creation (as some would propose) began with darkness and chaos. God brought light and order by way of separations.

The idea that God is not a God of order and requires us to not have order to be spiritual is not Biblical. The meaning for the word council in Hebrew (etsa) that we find in Isaiah chapter eleven verse two has the idea of putting someone’s life in order.

Humans are not as orderly as God – in fact we can be quite chaotic. It is humanity’s endeavor to get in step with God’s Spirit. This actually brings order not chaos as God has everything planned out.

When God is moving it can appear chaotic however everything is really in order. Everything is orchestrated and planned like every note of a symphony. Under God’s conducting what He has planned is accomplished.

There is this concept that we are supposed to live our whole lives spontaneously and not attempt to order it and this is being spiritual. We do want to be in step with the Spirit, however we still need to do things orderly to function in the physical world (like driving by the rules)…

Love One Another

There is an ancient story about the apostle John’s last sermon. They brought him in on a cot and he only said four words: children love one another. The Holy Spirit fell on the people in that meeting and many were convicted and crying. His last sermon was about love.

What does it mean to love? The root word for the Hebrew word for love ahava, is “hav.” Hav means to give: God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son. First Corinthians 13 states that you can give all of your goods to the poor and if you don’t have love it profits you nothing. You can give and not love but you cannot love and not give. What is the missing ingredient? The missing ingredient is giving for nothing in return. How do we give to one another?

We are told by the Apostle Paul – in honor to prefer one another affectionately with brotherly love (Rom. 12:10.) Jesus bowed down and washed his disciples feet. God the father bows down to relate to us. He humbles Himself to look upon the heavens and the earth yet comes and ministers (speaks) to us. The word for bless in Hebrew means to kneel. When God blesses us He kneels down and ministers to us. When we bless others we kneel down (in our hearts) and serve (prefer) them and when we have the right motive we do it for nothing in return. As Yeshua said: The greatest among us is the servant of all.

The Yod

I would like to consider the Hebrew letter called “Yod”. All the Hebrew letters have meaning and the “Yod” the smallest of letters is symbolic of the “right hand” or “power.” “Yod” is the first letter of God’s name and depicts His power (right hand). “Yod” being the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet points out the humility of God.

God humbles himself to look upon the heavens and the earth yet He would come and relate to us. When Yeshua (Jesus) washed the feet of his disciples He revealed not only the Son in this act but the Father as well. Yeshua was imitating the Father (as He always did) – even though He was the one due the honor and was the master He humbled himself and served his disciples.

It is important for us to learn humility that we might imitate the Father and walk in His power. God looks to and fro throughout the whole Earth to find someone whose heart is wholly His that He might show himself strong on their behalf – humility comes before honor. Giving our hearts to God is an act of humility.

“Yod” also the represents the small workings that evolve into something great. Great undertakings are a series of small actions that must begin in small steps of accomplishment. We are told not to despise the day of small things – small workings accumulate into something large if continued.

Another aspect of the “Yod” is its representation of the “world to come”. The “world to come” is a place and time where the humble will feel comfortable. It is a place where small acts of kindness will be acknowledged. It is a place where the most humble person in the universe dwells – God Himself!