Hebrew Highlights 65 – NINE ELEVEN

Shalom. This is Yuval Shomron, coming to you from Jerusalem.

PSA 27:1-6, “(A Psalm of David.) The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident. One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to meditate in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.”

Today is a time to remember heroes and miracles. A time to remember God’s goodness. Though it seems that our enemies win some battles, the final victory will be to the Lord of Hosts.

Where is God in the time of trouble? PSA 46:7 says, “The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.” Sometimes even modern translations of the Bible nostalgically stick to words no longer in use in modern language. For instance, the use of the word “hosts”. The word in Hebrew is “tsava’ot”, which means literally “armies”. Perhaps we have become a little too soft to think of God as a great general, commanding a host, or an army of angels and heavenly warriors. However, this seems to be an important aspect of God’s character. This name for God, the “Lord of Hosts”, is used 227 times in the Bible.

On September 11, 2001, many innocent people lost their lives. God’s angels, and His saints saved many more people miraculously. Regular everyday men and women became heroes in the moment of decision, giving their own lives for others. It is widely accepted that hundreds gave their lives to their Heavenly Father on that day. Some survived. Some did not. We will probably never understand why our Lord allows certain events to happen, and thwarts others. We always need to remember that God looks at the whole picture of history from an eternal point of view. His ways are truly higher than ours.

Even in regards to our enemies, there is a great temptation to be angry when some of the perpetrators of evil get away. Just remember, that on the eternal plane, they do not escape punishment. ROM 12:19 exhorts us, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.”

And in closing today I’ll leave you with ISA 2:12, “For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning Against everyone who is proud and lofty, And against everyone who is lifted up, That he may be abased.”

Shalom shalom, from Jerusalem.