Hebrew Highlights 102 VICTORY

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

ISA 25:6-9, “And the Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day, "Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."

The phrase, “swallow up death for all time”, uses the wonderful Hebrew word “netsach”, or eternity. This root word appears in another form in the following passage.

1CO 15:55-57 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Here, the word victory is “nitsachon”, using the same root. I find this correlation fascinating. Every victory we have in Messiah is eternal. God does not give us anything temporary.

Let’s see this principal again in ROM 8:35-37, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, "For Thy sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered." But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”

The word conquer is in Hebrew, “menatschim”. The word conqueror, or “minatseach” in Hebrew, also means “conductor”, as in a choir or orchestra. PSA 4:1 starts out, “For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.” This phrase, “choir director” actually never mentions the word choir. It only says “lamenatseach”, or to the director. If not for the context, it could just as easily be translated “to the victor”. The phrase appears 56 times in the Old Testament. Ask any worship leader, and he will tell you that he often feels as though he is in the midst of a battle on the stage, and senses “victory” when he finishes each praise session.

Our victories can come only through Yeshua, as we are reminded again in 2CO 2:14-17, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph (again “nitsachon” in Hebrew) in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.”

Every time we find ourselves in a spiritual battle, the first words out of our mouths tend to be, “why me O Lord”? Actually, we should see the privilege accounted to us as soldiers of God. He puts us on the front line in a war He has already won on the cross. Our victory is predetermined if we simply follow the rules the General has set before us. What could be more wonderful than knowing we are bound to win? It is as if a parade awaits to hail us as victors as the angels line up to cheer and wave as we come home with the troops.

So, what are the rules, and what are our weapons? Let’s look at 1JOHN 5:2-5, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith. And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

Don’t be a deserter, and run from the battle. Use your faith. Keep His commandments. The victory will be yours. And it will be eternal!

Shalom, shalom from Jerusalem.