Bible Studies
Be not carried about with divers [various] and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
Hebrews 13:9 KJV
I recently had the pleasure of visiting a Jewish synagogue over the Christmas holidays, and shared my faith and deep study methods with a young rabbi. I was interested in a Hebrew language class he would be starting next summer. As we talked, he encouraged me to build the foundation of my faith, to shore up what I believe in, and to enjoy the blessings from God - my wife and children. He also shared with me, the four levels of studying scripture in Judaism.
P’shat Level is the plain sense of the text. The Bible says what it says. Every word, phrase, thought has a meaning.
Drash Level is where truth and principles are presented. Truth can only be truth if it is confirmed. The rabbi explained this level is applying scriptures to your life.
Remez Level is the underlying theme or story that is told while speaking of other things. It is how prophecy is laid into the story of history. This level show’s God’s plan for redemption and restoration.
Sod Level is the mysterious and coded level. This involves understanding numbers along with meanings associated with certain numerical values. 6 is the number of man, 7 completeness. The Esoterica approach with the Hebrew letters. This is the level where most of my studies find themselves and is in my engineering nature. This level is sometimes referred to as mysticism.
I believe Christianity has another level, called the emotional content level. This is where the Bible comes alive, where the Holy Spirit guides us into the meaning of scriptures that makes it personal to us.
The rabbi shared a warning with me of a legend of four rabbis who stayed in the Sod (deep level) of studying scriptures. The first rabbi lost his faith, the second committed suicide, the third went crazy and the fourth, somehow held on. This is where I feel the verse in Hebrews comes into my life and word studies. As I read this verse in Hebrews, I thought about the sages and rabbis during Jesus and Paul’s time, who knew the scriptures and studied diligently, but missed the Messiah and grace.
I was reminded of a very intelligent person who spent ten years developing a theory of the Bible, but when he took a step back and analyzed his faith, he debunked his theory and walked away from Christianity. He is now borderline atheist. This verse reminded me that without the understanding and establishment of grace, we may set our focus too deeply, and totally miss the founding of Christianity. The grace Jesus brought into a lost and dying world.
With that said, what is a heart established with grace?
Grace, found in this verse comes from the Greek word chariti, which means grace, favor, thanks, pleasure, from the root word chairo meaning to rejoice, be glad, and rejoice exceedingly. The Lexicons define grace as, that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, lovingness, grace of speech. As I read through this, I believe this is a result of grace, not necessarily what grace is.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines grace as an unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification. A virtue from God, or a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace. This is better, but I want to look at the Hebrew word, which is chen (cheth-nun).
Chen means grace, favor, pleasant, precious, well favored. To find favor in the eyes of someone, to be acceptable to him. This is from the root word chanan, which means, to be gracious, show favor, pity. Properly, to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior, to favor, to shew mercy upon.
Even though I gave a warning of the Sod Level, esoterica methods gives me a little more insight into grace. Cheth, the 8th letter of the Hebrew alphabet represents new beginnings, which was the purpose of Jesus on a cross, to establish a new covenant. The Nun tells of this covenant would be one of faith and faithfulness to God. This leads to an abundant life of joy and peace in our Savior.
As Paul tells us, this new beginning is in the heart, a repentant, changed heart. Where a merciful God, stooped down in loving kindness to show mercy upon me. His Grace that stepped down from his throne to come to earth taking on our poor state of human existence. Grace, where He was willing to go to a cross to die covering my sins and overcome death, so I would not have to bare their weight. Grace, where I found favor in the eyes of God, where he continued calling out to me. Grace, where I became precious in His sight, when he reached down for me.
In His Grace, His Amazing Grace, we can rejoice exceedingly, be glad, for we are saved, for by His Grace we are acceptable to him. Amazing grace. To know that I am His and He is mine. With all that Jesus did for us, we have his presence in our heart. This is establishing a heart of grace, which is exceedingly far more than the word studies, the hidden coded meanings in the Bible, life in itself. For without applying the Grace of God to your heart, nothing is profitable under the sun.
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