The Messiah Knows
YHWH’s Anointed One (Messiah) would certainly be our best teacher for seeking and knowing God, because He was one with God:
John 14:6-7
Jesus said to him [Thomas], “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
Yeshua (Jesus) reflected the Old Testament emphasis on knowing and seeing. The disciples saw and knew Yeshua, so they saw and knew YHWH.
The Tanakh (Old Testament) was filled with Messianic prophecy. Of the coming Messiah, Isaiah said this:
Isaiah 11:1-9
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of YHWH will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge [ruakh da’at] and the fear of YHWH.
And He will delight in the fear of YHWH, and He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make decisions by what His ears hear; nut with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the humble of the earth; and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the belt around His waist.
And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fattened steer will be together; and a little boy will lead them.
Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of YHWH [de’a et YHWH] as the waters cover the sea.
A child, from the line of Jesse, would conquer death (the sting of a snake) bring complete peace, and from this the entire world would fully know God.
Isaiah also expressed that by the Messiah would be a sacrifice, knowingly taking on our sins upon Himself:
Isaiah 53:10-11
But YHWH was pleased to crush Him [Messiah], putting Him to grief. If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of YHWH will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied. By His knowledge [b-da’tow] the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.
Knowledge sometimes comes at a price. Perhaps we should be grateful that we don’t know all that is to come. Jesus knew. He knew everything that would happen to him… and it was costly.
John 13:1
It was now just before the Passover Feast, and Jesus knew [Greek: eidos] that His hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end.
Jesus (Yeshua), knew He had to leave the world behind. His career on this planet as a teacher in situ was finished. He had taught all He needed to… and, wonderfully, we have access to those teachings. One of those teachings focused in on the importance of knowledge. Quoting Isaiah 6:9-10 Yeshua explained why he talked in parables:
Matthew 13:10-17
Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?”
He replied, “The knowledge [Greek: gnonai] of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. This is why I speak to them in parables:
‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’
In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.’
But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
Let us not be the person whom Yeshua was speaking of. Let us not be the person who hears a sermon but doesn’t draw it in, who sees the beauty of God’s handiwork but gives it no attention, who hardens their heart to the teachings of God and throws up walls to block God’s voice. Let us not be blind or deaf or imprisoned to the gifts we have been given.
Listen, Seek, Discover!
Here’s the thing… God wants us to listen for His voice, seek and discover Him. More than any gift we could give Him, He wants us to really know Him. It is what God delights in:
Hosea 6:6
[YHWH:] For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God [w-da’at Elohim] rather than burnt offerings.
The Proverbs highlighted that our whole body should be focused on knowing God… our ear, our heart, our voice, our whole soul:
Proverbs 2:2-10
Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding.
If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of YHWH and discover the knowledge of God [w-da’at Elohim].
For YHWH gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge [da’at] and understanding.
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones.
Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge [w-da’at] will be pleasant to your soul.
Here is what Paul hoped for:
Colossians 2:2-3
…that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know [Greek: epi-gnosin] the mystery of God, namely the Messiah, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [Greek: gnoseos].
This, also, is my hope for you!
YHWH’s Anointed One (Messiah) would certainly be our best teacher for seeking and knowing God, because He was one with God:
John 14:6-7
Jesus said to him [Thomas], “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
Yeshua (Jesus) reflected the Old Testament emphasis on knowing and seeing. The disciples saw and knew Yeshua, so they saw and knew YHWH.
The Tanakh (Old Testament) was filled with Messianic prophecy. Of the coming Messiah, Isaiah said this:
Isaiah 11:1-9
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of YHWH will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge [ruakh da’at] and the fear of YHWH.
And He will delight in the fear of YHWH, and He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make decisions by what His ears hear; nut with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the humble of the earth; and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the belt around His waist.
And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fattened steer will be together; and a little boy will lead them.
Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of YHWH [de’a et YHWH] as the waters cover the sea.
A child, from the line of Jesse, would conquer death (the sting of a snake) bring complete peace, and from this the entire world would fully know God.
Isaiah also expressed that by the Messiah would be a sacrifice, knowingly taking on our sins upon Himself:
Isaiah 53:10-11
But YHWH was pleased to crush Him [Messiah], putting Him to grief. If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of YHWH will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied. By His knowledge [b-da’tow] the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.
Knowledge sometimes comes at a price. Perhaps we should be grateful that we don’t know all that is to come. Jesus knew. He knew everything that would happen to him… and it was costly.
John 13:1
It was now just before the Passover Feast, and Jesus knew [Greek: eidos] that His hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end.
Jesus (Yeshua), knew He had to leave the world behind. His career on this planet as a teacher in situ was finished. He had taught all He needed to… and, wonderfully, we have access to those teachings. One of those teachings focused in on the importance of knowledge. Quoting Isaiah 6:9-10 Yeshua explained why he talked in parables:
Matthew 13:10-17
Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?”
He replied, “The knowledge [Greek: gnonai] of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. This is why I speak to them in parables:
‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’
In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.’
But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
Let us not be the person whom Yeshua was speaking of. Let us not be the person who hears a sermon but doesn’t draw it in, who sees the beauty of God’s handiwork but gives it no attention, who hardens their heart to the teachings of God and throws up walls to block God’s voice. Let us not be blind or deaf or imprisoned to the gifts we have been given.
Listen, Seek, Discover!
Here’s the thing… God wants us to listen for His voice, seek and discover Him. More than any gift we could give Him, He wants us to really know Him. It is what God delights in:
Hosea 6:6
[YHWH:] For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God [w-da’at Elohim] rather than burnt offerings.
The Proverbs highlighted that our whole body should be focused on knowing God… our ear, our heart, our voice, our whole soul:
Proverbs 2:2-10
Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding.
If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of YHWH and discover the knowledge of God [w-da’at Elohim].
For YHWH gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge [da’at] and understanding.
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones.
Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge [w-da’at] will be pleasant to your soul.
Here is what Paul hoped for:
Colossians 2:2-3
…that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know [Greek: epi-gnosin] the mystery of God, namely the Messiah, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [Greek: gnoseos].
This, also, is my hope for you!
