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]“Don’t be anxious”…even though it's a perfectly natural response to mounting threats; sickness, finances, employment, uncertainty, emotional stress, family crises...Nevertheless, it says, "Don't be anxious about anything". Instead, pray!
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This reminded me of when we first moved to Israel, in 2003.
The word "verily", in this verse, is the Hebrew word “emunah” (em-oo-nah). It also means "faith" or "faithfully". When we trust in the Lord, and our trust is demonstrated by doing good, He declares that He will faithfully feed us. How will we be fed?
In the early 1800's a preacher gave a message to call men to join him on the mission field in Africa. In the audience were only a few women along with a boy. The pastor knew that few women were expected to volunteer to face harsh African jungle conditions. However, he gave the message; and no one responded. What he didn't realize was that he had touched the heart of a little boy whose name was David Livingstone. This boy would grow up to spend the rest of his life ministering to Africa's unreached tribes.
A.W. Tozer had an interesting commentary on this verse. He said: "Faith is seeing the invisible, but not the nonexistent."
When does God answer our prayers? And when do we receive what we ask of Him? And when are we confident He has heard our requests? Many of us wonder why our prayers seem to go unanswered.
A farmer was showing his visiting citydwelling friend around his farm. "Watch this!" he said. He gave a whistle and his little dog came running from the house, herded the cattle into the corral, then latched the gate with her paw. "Wow, that's some dog -- what's her name?" The forgetful farmer thought for a minute and then asked, "What do you call that red flower that smells good and has thorns on the stem?" "A rose?" "That's it!" The farmer turned to his wife. "Hey Rose, what do we call this dog?"