Ecclesiastes 4:12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Our relationship with the Lord is repeatedly expressed as a marriage. And human marriage has been expressed as a type of the Divine union of Messiah and His Bride. When a man and a woman are joined together in a marital union, the two together acquire a new level of strength according to this word. In that context, here in Israel and elsewhere, it is also said that, “A threefold cord is not easily broken.” But where is the third cord?
An answer may be derived from the Hebrew words for “man”, (eesh איש), “woman”, (eesha אשה), (because she was taken out of man), and “fire”(esh אש). The root letters for both “man” and “woman” are the same letters in the Hebrew word for “fire”.
We also notice that the “yod” (י) in the Hebrew word for “man”, and the “hey” (ה) at the end of the Hebrew word for “woman”, together form the word “Yah” (יה), a shortened version of YHVH, God’s Name given to Moses. Thus, implicit in the Hebrew spelling of the two genders, when joined together, we find the “third cord”, the Name of God, who identifies Himself as a “refiner’s fire”.
Take God (יה Yah) out of the marital relationship, and you are left with (אש, “fire”), human passion, often a fire of lust, which more than ever now is totally unable to sustain marriages, when the human “fire” dies out, and they burn and collapse. But keep Yah (יה) in the marriage, and this “third strand”, binding the couple together to withstand the fires of life, will strengthen the unity exponentially!
Marriage is under attack. We have all seen it and many have experienced it up close. Few have been spared the devastation caused by divorce somewhere in their circle of friends and family, and sadly many of those who divorce call themselves “Christians”. Yet, believers, betrothed to be the Bride of Christ, and sealed unto Him by His Holy Spirit, married or not, are being refined to be without spot or wrinkle for a Divine nuptial. And human marriage is almost invariably a vessel of that refining process for those who are joined as “one flesh”. If you’re in a marriage like that, please stick it out, persevere, by weaving in that “third strand”. Yah, with His Holy fire in your crucible marriage is burning the impurities out of you, both for the sake of your earthly union, but even much more, for your impending marriage to His Son.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]The world these days is full of bad news, with tensions growing in the Middle East, economies on the brink of collapse, and nature constantly adding to the chaos with one disaster after another. It's a time of trouble all right, and for us believers it may sometimes be hard to believe – but it never is as bad as it seems. Let me illustrate with a joke I like to share with my messages.
When I’m dealing with what is beyond a normal, average trial, I need to muster a more militant attitude, and I remind myself of this promise; the Lord has given me authority to TREAD upon the enemy … to walk in His victory over every trial and tribulation that life brings.
Moses was used mightily by the Lord, yet we all know he had his inadequacies and limitations too. Still he was the vessel through which God chose to work through as He carried out the plagues over Egypt, divided the Red Sea and miraculously led and fed the children of Israel for forty years. That's pretty big stuff. Can you imagine having to be Moses' successor after all that? That's exactly what Joshua had to do. I can't even begin to imagine what Joshua was thinking at the time -- How can I possibly live up to Moses? But the Lord comforts and reassures Joshua and says, "as I was with Moses, so I will be with you!"
An artist went searching the streets of New York City for a model to pose for a portrait he wanted to call -- 'The Prodigal'. One day was passing Central Park and saw an impoverished beggar lying on a bench and thought: 'He's perfect! That man would represent the prodigal son beautifully in my painting.' He asked the beggar if he would be willing to sit for his painting and he would gladly pay him for his time. Naturally, the beggar agreed.
"If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer..... but our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior."
D. L. Moody told the story of a man who was crossing the Atlantic by ship. He was terribly sick and confined to his cabin. One night he heard the cry “Man overboard!” He felt that there was nothing he could do to help, but at second thought, he said to himself, “I guess I can at least put my lantern in the porthole.” He struggled to his feet and hung the light so it shined out into the darkness.
Chanukah, a time of celebration and rededication, began last Thursday night here in the Land and for Jewish people all over the globe. Those of us who are grafted in through the atoning work of Messiah, we who know God, have an opportunity to see the deeper significance in the Jewish holidays and are not only welcome but encouraged to celebrate as well!