The title of this blog of mine has been weighing on my mind, because “Lahag”, while it means earnest studying and nothing but studying, it is alleged that it does not necessarily mean that a student will be moved to change. Under normal circumstances, changing, is the ultimate aim, key if you please, of any study revolving around Elohim, and this appears to be absent from the Lahag process.
But in considering this, it gave me a new insight to a problem that Paul experienced in some of the cities he worked in, namely falling away. Paul was actually saying that there was no panacea for those who fell away, after tasting the sweetness of the Kingdom of Elohim. Falling away was (and is) dangerous and I think that it can only happen if our conversion was at the very outset artificial, in the sense that we engineered our own conversion, before we truly understood what was involved.
This I think, is where Lahag would work. Let Yahweh and Yahshua convert us, our job in the process is merely to study the words of Yahweh and understand completely what Yahweh requires of us. You see, once you know, surrendering is not a problem and surrendering is an essential component of conversion.
In late 2006, I suffered a terrible health problem with my postrate glands and as a result I was unable to urinate for a period of about eight hours. The pain was appalling and as I lay on my bed, one of my sons explained to me the implications I faced and told me that he was taking me to the hospital, before I suffered something truly drastic like poisoning which could eventually take my life. So I went. I am one of those guys who are terrified no end when it came to going to the hospital. But that day my son Jerry reconfirmed to me the problem I faced and that knowledge, helped me to surrender to the hospital authority, in the form of a doctor who inserted a rubber tube up my penis, through which came the urine of a fairly large quantity. For close to two months after that I had this tube helping me to discharge waste water from my body and I am rather thankful for it. In the process, my prostrate glands was healed and it is I guess working again normally.
I was later told of a younger man who suffered the same problem I had, but he refused to surrender to hospital authorities, to have his postrate glands removed. When extreme pain began to set in, several months later, he rushed to the hospital and begged to have his prostarate glands removed, but it was too late because his bladder had deteriorated beyond repair. He died in extreme pain. He confided to his cousin who told me this story, “If I knew at the time, I would have had my prostrate glands removed without hesitation.” He did not know and He did not surrender. Knowledge I thought was important.
In terms of Yahweh Elohim, what exactly do we know about Him as our Creator? Many people cannot even recognise him, and think they should be forgiven if they called him, a string of names including GOD or for Fijians TURAGA na Kalou.
Back in 2003, I published the book of Matthew in Fijian (ISBN 928-9048-01-2) and distributed it to friends and realtives for the purpose of critical analysis and feedback. It was written in colloquil Fijian. My aim was to publish the New Testament later. Of those who came back to me with a feedback, one asked a very valid question; “Where is Yahweh’s name in all these? Not a mention of his Name, that is terrible Apenisa” he concluded.
It was a good and valid point, but I was writing a Fijian Bible am I not? Where does Yahweh’s name fit in a Fijian Bble? Hey, even the English do not use Yahweh’s name in their Bibles! Some of the English translations of Jewish (Hebrew/Aramaic/Syriac) Bibles do not use Yahweh’s name, they translate it and names like God, Lord etc appear in lieu of his Holy Names.
When I sat down to think through the implications of all these, it dawned on me that there must have been a plot to hide Elohim’s name. If the names of all the prophets remained intact through transliteration – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zecchariah etc – why is it that the name of our Elohim was blotted out by translations?
It reminded me of a Bible text (John 4:24) about worshiping Yahweh which reads, “ Elohim is spirit; and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” We need to surrender our human spirit to engage with the Spirit of Elohim when we worship him. We also need to deal only in truth. The question I ask; what is the truth about the Holy Names of our Elohim? Do we even know Him?
Just before that Yahshua said a few things that would be quite alarming to a lot of people today; John 4: 22-23 (WOY) which reads and I quote, “You worship you know not what; we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is come, and now is, when true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such to worship him.”
We need to study Yahweh and make it our business. We need to be prepared to surrender, when Yahweh seeks those who are to worship him in spirit and in truth.
I guess I am a Johnny come lately in advocating that Elohim’s sacred name should be resstored but I think it should be done wthout reservation. In surfing the Web I came across the following reasons for doing this and I cold not quote my source because I did not take it down when I gleaned this information several years ago:
1) “With due respect to our Jewish readers and to the Almighty, we teach, use and print the Sacred Name for the following reasons, which we feel do override all other considerations:
2) To identify and accordingly exalt the bearer of this Name as the PERSONAL Elohim of Israel and of the universe, as opposed to the general interpretation of a rather mystical, almost unidentifiable Being, as held by most religions.
3) To proclaim and make known this Name unto the masses of believers who claim to follow Him but know not His Name - so that they may sanctify and praise His name that His Name may be honored among the nations (Malachi 1:11; Isaiah 12:4).
4) To conform with what may really be the more correctly interpreted instruction of Exod. 20:7 concerning the use of His Name: viz. "Do not make His Name worthless" "Lo tisah et Shem YHVH Eloheicha l'shav." By withholding the proclamation of His Name, we may well be guilty of "making His Name worthless."
5) The Torah and Tanach ('Old' Testament) clearly records how Hebraic Patriarchs and Prophets actually proclaimed and pronounced the Sacred Name as a Testimony to non-Jews and non-believers and how His followers will come to know His Name and call upon Him, using this Name!
I will end this edition here but I will provide a substantial answer to the question, “should we refrain from using the sacred name of Elohim in my next post.
But in considering this, it gave me a new insight to a problem that Paul experienced in some of the cities he worked in, namely falling away. Paul was actually saying that there was no panacea for those who fell away, after tasting the sweetness of the Kingdom of Elohim. Falling away was (and is) dangerous and I think that it can only happen if our conversion was at the very outset artificial, in the sense that we engineered our own conversion, before we truly understood what was involved.
This I think, is where Lahag would work. Let Yahweh and Yahshua convert us, our job in the process is merely to study the words of Yahweh and understand completely what Yahweh requires of us. You see, once you know, surrendering is not a problem and surrendering is an essential component of conversion.
In late 2006, I suffered a terrible health problem with my postrate glands and as a result I was unable to urinate for a period of about eight hours. The pain was appalling and as I lay on my bed, one of my sons explained to me the implications I faced and told me that he was taking me to the hospital, before I suffered something truly drastic like poisoning which could eventually take my life. So I went. I am one of those guys who are terrified no end when it came to going to the hospital. But that day my son Jerry reconfirmed to me the problem I faced and that knowledge, helped me to surrender to the hospital authority, in the form of a doctor who inserted a rubber tube up my penis, through which came the urine of a fairly large quantity. For close to two months after that I had this tube helping me to discharge waste water from my body and I am rather thankful for it. In the process, my prostrate glands was healed and it is I guess working again normally.
I was later told of a younger man who suffered the same problem I had, but he refused to surrender to hospital authorities, to have his postrate glands removed. When extreme pain began to set in, several months later, he rushed to the hospital and begged to have his prostarate glands removed, but it was too late because his bladder had deteriorated beyond repair. He died in extreme pain. He confided to his cousin who told me this story, “If I knew at the time, I would have had my prostrate glands removed without hesitation.” He did not know and He did not surrender. Knowledge I thought was important.
In terms of Yahweh Elohim, what exactly do we know about Him as our Creator? Many people cannot even recognise him, and think they should be forgiven if they called him, a string of names including GOD or for Fijians TURAGA na Kalou.
Back in 2003, I published the book of Matthew in Fijian (ISBN 928-9048-01-2) and distributed it to friends and realtives for the purpose of critical analysis and feedback. It was written in colloquil Fijian. My aim was to publish the New Testament later. Of those who came back to me with a feedback, one asked a very valid question; “Where is Yahweh’s name in all these? Not a mention of his Name, that is terrible Apenisa” he concluded.
It was a good and valid point, but I was writing a Fijian Bible am I not? Where does Yahweh’s name fit in a Fijian Bble? Hey, even the English do not use Yahweh’s name in their Bibles! Some of the English translations of Jewish (Hebrew/Aramaic/Syriac) Bibles do not use Yahweh’s name, they translate it and names like God, Lord etc appear in lieu of his Holy Names.
When I sat down to think through the implications of all these, it dawned on me that there must have been a plot to hide Elohim’s name. If the names of all the prophets remained intact through transliteration – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zecchariah etc – why is it that the name of our Elohim was blotted out by translations?
It reminded me of a Bible text (John 4:24) about worshiping Yahweh which reads, “ Elohim is spirit; and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” We need to surrender our human spirit to engage with the Spirit of Elohim when we worship him. We also need to deal only in truth. The question I ask; what is the truth about the Holy Names of our Elohim? Do we even know Him?
Just before that Yahshua said a few things that would be quite alarming to a lot of people today; John 4: 22-23 (WOY) which reads and I quote, “You worship you know not what; we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is come, and now is, when true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such to worship him.”
We need to study Yahweh and make it our business. We need to be prepared to surrender, when Yahweh seeks those who are to worship him in spirit and in truth.
I guess I am a Johnny come lately in advocating that Elohim’s sacred name should be resstored but I think it should be done wthout reservation. In surfing the Web I came across the following reasons for doing this and I cold not quote my source because I did not take it down when I gleaned this information several years ago:
1) “With due respect to our Jewish readers and to the Almighty, we teach, use and print the Sacred Name for the following reasons, which we feel do override all other considerations:
2) To identify and accordingly exalt the bearer of this Name as the PERSONAL Elohim of Israel and of the universe, as opposed to the general interpretation of a rather mystical, almost unidentifiable Being, as held by most religions.
3) To proclaim and make known this Name unto the masses of believers who claim to follow Him but know not His Name - so that they may sanctify and praise His name that His Name may be honored among the nations (Malachi 1:11; Isaiah 12:4).
4) To conform with what may really be the more correctly interpreted instruction of Exod. 20:7 concerning the use of His Name: viz. "Do not make His Name worthless" "Lo tisah et Shem YHVH Eloheicha l'shav." By withholding the proclamation of His Name, we may well be guilty of "making His Name worthless."
5) The Torah and Tanach ('Old' Testament) clearly records how Hebraic Patriarchs and Prophets actually proclaimed and pronounced the Sacred Name as a Testimony to non-Jews and non-believers and how His followers will come to know His Name and call upon Him, using this Name!
I will end this edition here but I will provide a substantial answer to the question, “should we refrain from using the sacred name of Elohim in my next post.
