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...brute beasts
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the Fight Of Our Life series
Becoming Human
by haRold Smith
a citizen of the Commonwealth (Ephesians 2:19)
"But these, as natural brute beasts,
made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall perish in their own corruption..." 2Peter 2:12
"But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally,
as brute beasts,
in those things they corrupt themselves." Jude 1:10
"For the shepherds are become brutish,
and have not sought YaHoVeH: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered." Jeremiah 10:21
"Every man is
brutish in his knowledge:
every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and
there is no breath (of Life) in them." Jeremiah 10:14
YaHoVeH doesn't make mistakes. So, when
YaHoVeH (click on highlighted words to view content)
chose to use the Hebrew language to reveal Himself, it wasn't an accident. The Hebrew language is the perfect vehicle to communicate what YaHoVeH wants to share about Himself and His creation. What does this mean to us? It means that what YaHoVeH says in Hebrew is usually much richer and deeper linguistically than we initially observe from our English translations. Hebrew fulfills a role that no other language can because it can be understood as both a picture language and a phonetic language. Our contemporary translations are based on the phonetic aspect of Hebrew, not the
pictographs.
Sometimes we need to look at the pictures to see what the language is painting. That leads us to ask a question about some crucial words concerning homo-sapien and what it means to be "human." Words mean things and what is found in these words is truly amazing. Most people would not consider themselves "brute beasts" as the passages from the beginning of this article indicate - especially those who consider themselves to be "shepherds." The world suggests that the essence of being human is a fact of existence as a homo-sapien. But scripture, when seen from the Hebraic perspective it was written in, reveals a different point of view. Many have asked "why would a God of love simply eliminate large swaths of people?" Understanding the Hebraic perspective of scripture allows us to see that all scripture only acknowledges two categories of people - Hebrews and "others."The others are Gentiles - those comprising other nations of the world having no ancestral ties to the family of Israel and that worship gods other than the One True Holy One of Israel, YaHoVeH. He is the Source of Life and
1John 1:5
also shows Him to be Light. In the same way that it is a physical impossibility for
Light and darkness
to occupy the same space at the same time, so it is with Life and death - you will either have one or the other. There is no "middle ground." So we see that Life=Light and death=darkness.
Hosea 6:5-7
tells us that His Judgments, His Words go forth as
Light.
YaHoVeH's Words contain His Light, the Nature of His Spirit, and we are "slain" by the Words of His Mouth. Therefore, anything apart from Life is considered
to be death
- even though it may still be breathing. From the Hebrew perspective, a homo-sapien is not human unless it
abides in the Spirit of Life.
This is what Yeshua addressed in
Matthew 8:22
when He said to let the "dead bury the dead". So, while it is possible for a homo-sapien to exist apart from YaHoVeH - from the Hebrew perspective, that is not considered Life. From
2Peter 2:12
we see that the definition of the Greek word
alogos
(translated as the English "brute") means "destitute of reason" and the Greek word
zoon
(translated as the English "beasts") simply means "a live thing."Consequently, because those "others" (living things) were living apart from YaHoVeH's Words by their actions (destitute of reason), they were consumed. They were already dead, considered to be nothing more than "brute beasts" as other animals - not human.
The religious traditions of men would seek to re-write history in order to uphold and to fit into its own artificial paradigm what it wants us to believe. YaHoVeH is the God of Israel - not of mankind
(see the Whose Word Is It?).
The story of the creation of Adam in Genesis 2 is NOT a "rewrite" of the story found in Genesis 1 of the general creation of mankind. Genesis 1 gives us an "overview" of the creation of the heavens and the earth where "in the beginning" YaHoVeH created "humankind" - many and in general, male and female
(see One Covenant - A History for a more detailed explanation).
We know this by looking at the original Hebrew words used to describe each of the actions mentioned. The Hebrew word generally translated as "made" in English is
'asah
denoting something "produced", as a "work."This is the same connotation given to the Hebrew word translated "created" in English,
bara',
used in conjunction with the rest of what is "created" in
Genesis 1.
However, there is a different word used in
Genesis 2:7
for Adam - yatsar,
which means to "fashion or form with a purpose."Adam,
the first of YaHoVeH's Hebrew family,
was formed human (not created) because scripture tells us there was
"no one found"
among the rest of mankind who would serve YaHoVeH. Adam was invited to participate in the Divine Image - an image that is the dynamic interplay of actions reflecting the Nature of Spirit. This is the same word found in
Isaiah 43:21
proclaiming Israel to be "the people I formed (yatsar) for Myself" - for a purpose. That purpose was to be a
Light to the Nations
to attract the other nations of the world into becoming members of YaHoVeH's Family - like a moth to light. The Hebrew word translated "praise" in this verse comes from the root word
halal
meaning "to flash forth light, to shine." In Hebrew thought all biological entities called homo sapiens began in some state of less-than-human
(Romans 3:23).
Doing what I want instead of doing what YaHoVeH wants reduces the image of His Spirit in me, and consequently, reduces my humanity
(Luke 9:23).
Adam's disobedience was what passed to the rest of YaHoVeH's Family, placing them into bondage alongside the rest of the world separated from Spirit
(Exodus 34:7).
Sin,
which is disobedience, does not reflect that Spirit; rather, it reflects rebellion against Spirit
Therefore, sin is the antithesis of being human. Sin makes us less than human.
It is interesting to note the first usage of the Hebrew word
ha-'adamah
(the ground) occurs in this passage of the creation of Adam in Genesis 2 - not the first of mankind in general in Genesis 1. Since the Hebrew word
'erets
(earth) has been used since the opening verse of the book of Genesis - why would the focus now shift to 'adamah? The obvious answer is Adam coming from the 'adamah causes him to be someone intimately connected to the ground. The meaning of 'adamah is also embedded in productivity as seen in
Genesis 2:5
(there was no one found to "till the ground"). The meaning of the word translated as "till" in that verse comes from the Hebrew word
'avad
which is translated 227 times more often as "serve" than "till" (9 times) or "work" (5 times). Since the Torah establishes that what we give ourselves to is what we serve and what we serve is what we worship
(Matthew 4:10,
quoting Deuteronomy 11:16),
the productivity meant by 'adamah is the worship given to the Creator, YaHoVeH, by our deeds, our doing of His Righteousness in the keeping of His Words. The worship of YaHoVeH is also found in the productivity of service to the brethren of YaHoVeH's Kingdom as exampled by His Son, Yeshua
(1John 3:16).
The Tanakh (re-named OT), as a chronicle of the passage of the
firstborn status
from Adam to Yeshua through the lineage of the Hebrew people, shows that the
Yud
(Hebrews) are all connected to the Land and the Land is connected to the productivity shown in the righteousness of the people who occupy it. The Hebrew word for male in general is
zakar.
This is also the same Hebrew word used in
Genesis 9:15
for the word remember. To "mark or to remember" in Hebrew is much more than a mere mental assent. It involves action; to remember is to act on behalf of someone or something. Zakar is used in the Ten Commandments in regard to the Sabbath: "Remember the Sabbath day."This commandment is not telling us to "think about" or "recall" the Sabbath; it is telling us to DO something - and that something is to enter into REST. Therefore, being male is the very same (in Hebrew) as "remembering" or "acting on behalf of."When we see these seemingly unrelated ideas together in this manner, the Hebrew mindset starts emerging. While we are used to the Greek mindset and worldview that describes the appearance of a noun, the Hebrew's focus is always on FUNCTION. Thus, a man is called male (zakar) for one reason in Hebrew. His designed function is to remember who YaHoVeH is, what YaHoVeH requires, and then act on this knowledge. Likewise, he is the one that ACTS on behalf of his wife and children. A zakar passes his knowledge of the Creator through his visible service to his children, and they receive the "name" of their father. In a restored state, the male remembers the commandments of YaHoVeH; that is, he keeps and guards the Word of YaHoVeH. But, from creation, there was no male found who would serve YaHoVeH by remembering to keep His Words. Thus, the need to "form" another who would productively serve Him - the first Hebrew named Adam who came from the ground of worship. The woman of Adam, not of "mankind", came from Adam also with a specific purpose.
The first occurrence of the Hebrew word
neqebah,
the general word for female, is found in Genesis 1:27. But, YaHoVeH's chosen word for "woman" in the garden is found in Genesis 2:18 ("I will make him a help-mate" - an
'ezer).
This is YaHoVeH's word, not Adam's. The word consists of the consonants A-Z-R which display a
Paleo-Hebrew
picture of "first cut from a person", "strength cut from the highest" or even "the first weapon (of defense) of the person." Does this sound like the commonly portrayed role of an 'ezer? This is the same word YaHoVeH applies to Himself in relation to Israel
(Psalm 115:9).
In the garden, the woman is certainly the first cut from the man. In fact, she is taken directly from him. And the role of the 'ezer is to protect, help, provide and nourish. Certainly this is the biblical view of strength and defense. What YaHoVeH had in mind is not subservience or patriarchal hierarchy. His choice of 'ezer indicates that this woman is built to be Adam's first line of defense, an equal partner in the journey of life. The 'ezer is YaHoVeH's gift to the husband within His Family. But, 'ezer isn't the only word for the woman found in the garden. There is Adam's choice of
ish-sha,
found in Genesis 2:23.
In Paleo-Hebrew pictography, this doubled consonant paints a picture of the woman as consumer and destroyer, a very powerful combination. But there is another picture here. This pictograph also means "what comes out of the strong consumer." Remember that in the account of Genesis 1, the man and woman were simply "created" together without any explanation of that creative process along with the rest of creation. The woman of the garden, however, comes out of Adam. The second picture makes visible what the text confirms: "She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man."
If all the created women are taken from the bones of the males of created mankind; then, why does Adam say "this is now bone of my bones" in
Genesis 2:23?
The phrase "this is now" is an attempt at an English translation of the Hebrew phrase "zot hapa'am." The word
zot
does mean "this" but the word hapa'am is a little more difficult. This is the Hebrew word
pa'am
prefixed by "ha" meaning "the." The word pa'am is literally a repetitive beat such as from a drum. It can also mean a stroke of time or to repeat something such as seen in Genesis 33:3; "He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times (pa'am)." Using this understanding of the word, Genesis 2:23 should be translated as, "This time is bone from my bones" and is implying that the previous times were not "bone from my bones." Three verses prior to this it states "The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him." In this context, the "prior times" were unsuccessful in finding a helper for Adam among those already created, but with Eve - this time it worked. Adam recognizes her essential equality and unique similarity in his choice of word. He also acknowledges the dangerous bliss resident in this perfectly suited partner. So far, so good. YaHoVeH has a word picture that paints the divinely ordered role of the woman of the garden. Adam has a word picture that displays her vital connection to him. But there is still one more word. It occurs in
Genesis 3:20
when Adam finally gives his wife a proper name. That name is
chavvah,
not Eve. This reveals an even more interesting picture. This pictograph is "what comes from the place of work." What does this mean? It means that woman of the garden is the vehicle through which all "living" come - all those who work serving YaHoVeH. Thus, her name literally means "the mother (source) of all living." Once again the picture paints what the words say. This is her legacy. Since Hebrew views work and worship as one and the same, the name chavvah means the woman brings to life all those who worship - all those who give themselves to the Source of Life, YaHoVeH. Not all mankind because, as Light and darkness cannot abide in the same space at the same time, whatever is apart from the Source of Life is dead. The Hebrew perspective is that a
homo-sapien
does not become human without
the Breath of Life.
"Yeshua is the image of the invisible YaHoVeH -
the firstborn of all creation."
Colossians 1:15
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While the Hebrew word
goy
means "nation" from a general perspective, there is only one nation (goy) that worships the One True Elohim of Israel. However, in the plural, goyim, it is especially used of "other nations beside Israel" to describe the profane practices of those who are strangers to Elohim. In
Isaiah 42:6,
YaHoVeH says He will make His Family, Israel, a "light (i.e., a teacher) to the other nations (KJV translated "Gentiles"). One cannot be a practitioner of the ways of other nations and, at the same time, expect to be incorporated into the nation of YaHoVeH's family of Israel as seen in
Leviticus 19:2.
The four instructions in Acts 15:19-21
are taken directly from the portions known as the "Heart of the Torah" in the Original Writings. They are found in the book of Leviticus from chapters 11 through 20. These chapters give YaHoVeH's definition of what is holy - and what is not. Notice that Acts 5:19 declares these instructions are to be given to "those of the Gentiles (other nations) who turn to YaHoVeH" -
not to Yeshua.
Turning to YaHoVeH means abandoning the pagan practices of other nations and choosing to align oneself with the ways of the nation of YaHoVeH, the Family of Israel - one cannot do both at the same time.
Too many have been taught that
within scripture
they find the Source of Life and call the scriptures "the Word" when the scriptures themselves testify that
YaHoVeH is the Word.
These are the ones who try to use scripture to fashion themselves rather than allow Spirit to make them into
His Image.
To be holy
simply means to be visibly set apart from the rest of the world by aligning our behavior to
His Words.
Although the term "Gentile believer" has gained wide acceptance, in reality it is an oxymoronic phrase because it contains two conflicting words that oppose one another - one cannot worship gods from another nation and, at the same time, be included in the family that worships only YaHoVeH
(see Defining Enemies).
To join oneself to the Holy One of Israel means to renounce (by abandonment of practice) any association with other gods
(Acts 15:28-29,
see Legalism).
There was no death in the Garden because Adam and Eve were living in
Perpetuity
with the Source of Life - apart from the rest of mankind. The serpent in the Garden told Eve that if they partook of the fruit they
would not die
as YaHoVeH had said. Did they physically die when they ate of it? No,
they did not
- so, the serpent was not lying. But the death YaHoVeH was speaking to was not simply physical. They chose to ignore His Words with their actionable disobedience to those Words and, as a result, chose darkness instead. Thus, a separation from the tree, the Source of Life, became necessary.
Having established earlier that scripturally
(Matthew 4:10,
quoting Deuteronomy 11:16),
who or what we give ourselves to is what we serve and what we serve is what we
worship;
we can see that worship is what establishes our faithfulness - thus the importance of having a standard by which to measure our deeds. Worship is defined in behavior - our deeds
(Hebrew po`al,
Jeremiah 25:14,
Deuteronomy 11:16
/ Greek ergon,
John 3:19-21,
Luke 4:8).
What we serve, what we give ourselves to in time, energy and resources are defined as deeds. What we give ourselves to IS what we worship - and Yeshua said you cannot serve two masters
(Luke 16:13).
Scriptural idolatry is the worship of (by service to) something or someone above and to the exclusion of the direction of the Source of Life - the True Holy One of Israel. To worship Him, then, is to give ourselves to the way and manner He has spoken to us in His Words. The way we worship Him is the measure of our faithfulness and is the path to becoming human.
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a discussion of Becoming Human
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"For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will
be made righteous."
Thus it is written, 'The first Adam became a living being'; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.'
...as He is, so are we in this world."
Romans 5:19, 1Corinthians 15:45, 1John 4:17
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the Fight Of Our Life series
Part One:Becoming Vulnerable
Part Two:Resist Not Evil
Part Three:Becoming Human
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???Questions???
Please feel free to email me at harold@hethathasanear.com.
While not claiming to have all
the answers, it would be an honor to partake with you of what Spirit is uncovering.
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