Need help with rabbit hole word study (righteousness)

[DuckieLady]

I know I'm supposed to be taking time away but I'm doing a really bad job at it. I also need help with this. (I usually take time away from the internet when doing this stuff, but the Kindles are gone now so now I'm stuck with flexibility to research despite the fact it gives me anxiety.)




"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness"

HOP INTO THE RABBIT HOLE

Okay, so "righteousness" is ...

Strong's Greek: 1343
dikaiosynēn

"just; especially, just in the eyes of God; righteous; the elect (a Jewish idea).

1343 /dikaiosýnē ("divine approval") is the regular NT term used for righteousness ("God's judicial approval"). 1343 /dikaiosýnē ("the approval of God") refers to what is deemed right by the Lord (after His examination), i.e. what is approved in His eyes.

So the only thing that I could consider being "approved in His eyes" would be "holiness." (Right?????? Maybe?)


So we go hopping all of the way over to "holiness."

Strong's Greek: 38
hagiasmos

the process of making or becoming holy, set apart, sanctification, holiness, consecration.

hagiasmós (a masculine noun derived from 40 /hágios, "holy") – sanctification (the process of advancing in holiness); use of the believer being progressively transformed by the Lord into His likeness (similarity of nature). See 40 /hagios ("holy").


Explanation of my discomfort:

I am thrown off on this after learning about tzedaqah, the Hebrew word for "righteousness", but also tied in with charity, and I can't tell if it is expected of Christians or not. Like a way of atonement, from what I can understand.

At first glance, I said "No, because we run off of grace like it's discount gasoline and we don't believe in alms to make up for atonement" but on the other hand... Looking further....

Matthew 25:31-46 (This is important don't miss this part with the discomfort part or you'll miss out on the point)

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.

Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’

Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’

And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’ Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You? ’Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’

And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

 

[Jay Ross]

@FluffyYellowDuck you have asked a very important question in your post above.

The basis of the parable of the separation of the sheep from the Goats can be traced back to Isaiah 58. Righteousness is mentioned twice in this chapter: -

Isaiah 58:1-3: - Fasting that Pleases God

58:1 "Cry aloud, spare not;

Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.​

2 Yet they seek Me daily,

And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.​

3 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and You have not seen?

Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?'​

and,

Isaiah 58:6-9

6 "Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?​

7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?​

8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning,

Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.​

9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'​

The Parable of the separation of the Sheep from the Goats is a reference to Ezekiel 34:17, which speaks of two separations that will come in the future. The first, in my humble opinion, is the separation of the flock into those who call Jesus/God Lord, and those who do not. This is the separation of the flock from the flock. The second separation is the separation of the Rams from the Hegoats.

Ezekiel 34:17-19: -

17 'And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. 18 Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture — and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? 19 And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet."​

God's judgement of righteous is first mentioned in Genesis 15:6 where Abraham's belief in the Lord was accounted by Him for Abraham's righteousness.

God also acknowledged that Abraham would teach his descendants about righteousness and justice, when He said: -

Genesis 18:17-20: -

17 And the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him."​

In God's covenant with Abraham, God told Abraham to walk away from his country, his relatives and his father's household and to walk in God's earth that He would show him. This covenant was made with Abraham some 25 + years before Abraham left Haran, in Ur of the Chaldeans, and Abraham began his walk, initially away from his county, the Land of the Chaldeans, his relatives, who at that time lived in and around Ur, and travelled towards Haran. Then finally Abraham left his father's household, which was inherited by Nahor, his brother, and travelled down towards the Land of Canaan.

Abraham was not perfect in his walk with God and he did stumble once or twice during his lifetime, but God did not abandon Abraham and He does not abandon us, when we stumble along our walk in God's earth.

What does God require of us but to show mercy and righteousness and Justice to all of those who we rub shoulders with, around us, on a daily basis. Isaiah 58 tells us what shape that takes. This chapter also tells us to keep God's Sabbath "day" for mankind, holy.

As we all individually walk in God's earth, God will show us the way, encouraging us to be righteous in all that we do in helping others to also see God's righteousness, through us as we dispense God's justice to all those around us.

It is my view that in the parable Jesus told, that the Sheep had a Hebraic heart after God, while the Sheep had a Grecian understanding of how they would be able to enter into God's inheritance.

From what I have seen of your journey, in the past few months, you are well on your way to being a Child of God in the things that you are doing. Keep up your walk with God in all that you do, even when you stumble because if we keep a very short account on our relationship with God, He will always be gracious towards you/us all.

Shalom

 

[DuckieLady]

@FluffyYellowDuck you have asked a very important question in your post above.

The basis of the parable of the separation of the sheep from the Goats can be traced back to Isaiah 58. Righteousness is mentioned twice in this chapter: -

Isaiah 58:1-3: - Fasting that Pleases God

58:1 "Cry aloud, spare not;

Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.​

2 Yet they seek Me daily,

And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.​

3 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and You have not seen?

Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?'​

and,

Isaiah 58:6-9

6 "Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?​

7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?​

8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning,

Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.​

9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'​

The Parable of the separation of the Sheep from the Goats is a reference to Ezekiel 34:17, which speaks of two separations that will come in the future. The first, in my humble opinion, is the separation of the flock into those who call Jesus/God Lord, and those who do not. This is the separation of the flock from the flock. The second separation is the separation of the Rams from the Hegoats.

Ezekiel 34:17-19: -

17 'And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. 18 Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture — and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? 19 And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet."​

God's judgement of righteous is first mentioned in Genesis 15:6 where Abraham's belief in the Lord was accounted by Him for Abraham's righteousness.

God also acknowledged that Abraham would teach his descendants about righteousness and justice, when He said: -

Genesis 18:17-20: -

17 And the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him."​

In God's covenant with Abraham, God told Abraham to walk away from his country, his relatives and his father's household and to walk in God's earth that He would show him. This covenant was made with Abraham some 25 + years before Abraham left Haran, in Ur of the Chaldeans, and Abraham began his walk, initially away from his county, the Land of the Chaldeans, his relatives, who at that time lived in and around Ur, and travelled towards Haran. Then finally Abraham left his father's household, which was inherited by Nahor, his brother, and travelled down towards the Land of Canaan.

Abraham was not perfect in his walk with God and he did stumble once or twice during his lifetime, but God did not abandon Abraham and He does not abandon us, when we stumble along our walk in God's earth.

What does God require of us but to show mercy and righteousness and Justice to all of those who we rub shoulders with, around us, on a daily basis. Isaiah 58 tells us what shape that takes. This chapter also tells us to keep God's Sabbath "day" for mankind, holy.

As we all individually walk in God's earth, God will show us the way, encouraging us to be righteous in all that we do in helping others to also see God's righteousness, through us as we dispense God's justice to all those around us.

It is my view that in the parable Jesus told, that the Sheep had a Hebraic heart after God, while the Sheep had a Grecian understanding of how they would be able to enter into God's inheritance.

From what I have seen of your journey, in the past few months, you are well on your way to being a Child of God in the things that you are doing. Keep up your walk with God in all that you do, even when you stumble because if we keep a very short account on our relationship with God, He will always be gracious towards you/us all.

Shalom

Thanks, Jay Ross! I am going to look over this more in detail tonight. Do you personally believe that the Sabbath is for today? (That isn't to bring it into debate. I'm just curious. Personally I think it's a gift more than it is a commandment- "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." So I think yes, if we're willing to rest.)

It was interesting that the scripture in Isaiah 58:2 said "did righteousness..." as opposed to "were righteous," which to me would signify an "act" and not a "state of being." And then went on about doing good for others, so I looked it up and that word that you put in bold there was "tzedakah." (Maybe that was intentional?)

In response to that the Hebraic/Grecian heart thing, You know, what I have always noticed is people are so devoted to doing things in false religions, which I suppose in their case it's downright slavery to the devil's cause, but when it comes to be a Christian, it becomes very easy to whine about everything that might be expected of us.

My covering doesn't give me salvation, it's an issue of obedience that only came with conviction after YEARS of studying one chapter and the history. I cannot read the scripture any other way.

I'm not going to go on about why, nobody cares and there's misconceptions, but just providing it as an example. It is a simple cloth over my head. It is a simple thing to do in the morning. Wash one, don the other. Go on about your day.

This isn't the purpose of it, but for a woman, it does instill a lot of humility and it does work as a daily reminder that your life is not your own and to remember who you live for. That's not in the least what it's for. That's just what it does when you have mirrors around and your living in this day in age of social media, narcissism, and the pressure to be physically beautiful while nobody cares about the adornment of the heart.

It is such a small and petty thing, but I still really wrestle with it.

Jesus said, "my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” But sometimes I think especially in our times, that burden feels 500 times heavier than it should - and I think that's a spiritual battle we all go through.

 

[Jay Ross]

Do you personally believe that the Sabbath is for today?

I like this question, as I did not provide any explanation as to why Israel was reminded to keep the Sabbath Day Holy.

Israel came into existence at the beginning of the third "day of the Lord"/age from the time that God created Adam at the very end of the sixth day of the Lord. God in Exodus 20:4-6 Said that if fathers of Israel during the first and second "days" of the Lord/ages of their existence, turn to idolatrous worship that the sins of the fathers, (plural as it covers the first and second ages) will be visited on their children and on the children's children, during the third and the fourth ages of the existence of the nation of Israel. In Daniel 9:24 God gave Israel a period of Grace to repent of 490 years, but the did not repent so some time later in 70 AD, the Temple was destroyed, so that Israel had no means of offering up their yearly sin sacrifice, unto the Lord to receive forgiveness. In the year 4 BC God turned His back on Israel because they had not repented of their continual idolatrous worship, which also co-insides with the beginning of the the fifth day of the lord/age from the creation of Adam. It is not until the beginning of the seventh "day" of the Lord/Age, that God will once again turn his ear to hear Israel once more as He searches to Gather all of Israel to Himself and to heal them and cleanse them and to enter into once more the Kingdom of Priest, a Holy Nation and His Possession among the Nations Covenant.

It is my understanding that the Sabbath Day, referred to in Isaiah 58, is all of the seventh "Day" of the Lord/age of the existence of mankind. Mankind is to keep all of the last Age Holy unto the Lord. It is my view that this Sabbath day will being in around 25 years time into our future.

The beginning of the seventh Age of mankind also corresponds with the Judgement of the kings of the earth on the earth at Armageddon, the judgement of the wicked fallen heavenly angels, i.e. the beasts etc, in heaven, and their imprisonment in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years, the coming down from heaven the foundation stone untouched by any human hands, that Jesus is the Son of God, and the establishment of God's everlasting Kingdom here on the earth.

For 1,000 years from the start of the seventh age, mankind will have a peaceful existence except for Satan's good and faithful servants who, will with the money Satan has given them, oppress the people to distract them of coming into a relationship with God/Jesus.

After the first 1,000 years of the seventh age has pasted, the Bottomless Pit will be unlocked, and then out of the pit first will come locusts, then the four facetted beast as described in Daniel 7:19-27, will appear, after which the False Prophet will appear and he will cause as many as possible of the peoples of the earth to begin worshipping the beat and to take the mark of the beast so that they can trade for food etc. It is during this time of the Beasts, that the saints will be oppressed once more by the beast and the little horn, i.e. the false prophet, will speak pompous words against God and think to change the times and the law and the saints will be given into his hand for a time times and a half, i.e. possibly three and a half years.

But I have taken your question a lot further than is necessary to answer it.

Do I believe that the Sabbath Day mentioned in Isaiah 58 is for today? No. But it is for all of the seventh Age which I believe will begin in around 25 years time plus or minus a few years either side.

If we are continually walking in God's earth on a daily basis, then every day is a Sabbath Day for us as we are continually in His presence as He heals us and cleanse us and renews us to be Like Him.

Shalom

 

[quietthinker]

I know I'm supposed to be taking time away but I'm doing a really bad job at it. I also need help with this. (I usually take time away from the internet when doing this stuff, but the Kindles are gone now so now I'm stuck with flexibility to research despite the fact it gives me anxiety.)




"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness"

HOP INTO THE RABBIT HOLE

Okay, so "righteousness" is ...

Strong's Greek: 1343
dikaiosynēn

"just; especially, just in the eyes of God; righteous; the elect (a Jewish idea).

1343 /dikaiosýnē ("divine approval") is the regular NT term used for righteousness ("God's judicial approval"). 1343 /dikaiosýnē ("the approval of God") refers to what is deemed right by the Lord (after His examination), i.e. what is approved in His eyes.

So the only thing that I could consider being "approved in His eyes" would be "holiness." (Right?????? Maybe?)


So we go hopping all of the way over to "holiness."

Strong's Greek: 38
hagiasmos

the process of making or becoming holy, set apart, sanctification, holiness, consecration.

hagiasmós (a masculine noun derived from 40 /hágios, "holy") – sanctification (the process of advancing in holiness); use of the believer being progressively transformed by the Lord into His likeness (similarity of nature). See 40 /hagios ("holy").


Explanation of my discomfort:

I am thrown off on this after learning about tzedaqah, the Hebrew word for "righteousness", but also tied in with charity, and I can't tell if it is expected of Christians or not. Like a way of atonement, from what I can understand.

At first glance, I said "No, because we run off of grace like it's discount gasoline and we don't believe in alms to make up for atonement" but on the other hand... Looking further....

Matthew 25:31-46 (This is important don't miss this part with the discomfort part or you'll miss out on the point)

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.

Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’

Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’

And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’ Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You? ’Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’

And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

I think you are making it too complicated for yourself duckie. Righteousness starts with your conscience.....from there, God will lead you further.

Being true to what we understand (the little) precedes being given more. Righteousness/holiness is not graspable intellectually without it being a reality in your experience. When what you already understand is a reality in your experience then other doors will open.

 

[2nd Timothy Group]

Here are some simple ideas from Scripture that I've collected over the years regarding Righteousness:

1 John 03:10 "Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God." Therefore, whoever is of God is Righteous.

Righteous people obey God.

Is equated to Blamelessness Prov 11:05,6.

Definition #1: Those that are Righteous are "upright in heart." Psa 32:11. This means, that only those who are of incorruptible Seed are Righteous. This means that Abraham was upright in heart, or, that he was Righteous, of which we all know.

Deut 6:25 says that "If we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness."

Think about this: If God is referred to as Righteous, then the meaning of the word must certainly mean "perfect" and "Holy." So when we, or other Holy men and women of the Old Testament were called Righteous, why should we not apply this same idea to them, or ourselves, assuming the Sinful Nature has been cut away?

Righteousness delivers from Death Prov 10:02,3. And why wouldn't it? Righteousness is what a person has when their heart has been Circumcised by Christ. In fact, to the Righteous, "He thwarts the cravings of the wicked."

 

[Grailhunter]

Now we can discuss this, but your basic cause of confusion lol stress...is that you are mixing Judaism with Christianity.

If you look at the responses that you are getting...they are mostly from the OT

 

[DuckieLady]

I am trying to remember why I was trying to figure this out on such a deep level, but honestly, ADHD, which is why I'm going to be taking a break from the internet and things for a little bit because my mind starts doing things like this.

Coding, math, crochet, sudoku sooth my brain quite a bit but when I stop doing those things and my brain has enough time to analyze everything in great detail ... it will. It wants to solve and understand everything to the extreme.

 

[Grailhunter]

I am trying to remember why I was trying to figure this out on such a deep level, but honestly, ADHD, which is why I'm going to be taking a break from the internet and things for a little bit because my mind starts doing things like this.

Coding, math, crochet, sudoku sooth my brain quite a bit but when I stop doing those things and my brain has enough time to analyze everything in great detail ... it will. It wants to solve and understand everything to the extreme.

lol sorry about your head...50 first dates lol
Ya know Robin Williams was a favorite of mine.
He had issues his whole life and I commend him for dealing with them.
He put things in an alternate reality where he could relieve his stress and entertain people.
He dealt with it as long as he could.
My son had ADHD and bi-polar....he could memorize ballistic tables for reload ammo but he said math hurt his head.
The key and the relief maybe doing things you like.
It is a journey with challenges and I wish you the best to luck....God Bless.

 

[quietthinker]

I am trying to remember why I was trying to figure this out on such a deep level, but honestly, ADHD, which is why I'm going to be taking a break from the internet and things for a little bit because my mind starts doing things like this.

Coding, math, crochet, sudoku sooth my brain quite a bit but when I stop doing those things and my brain has enough time to analyze everything in great detail ... it will. It wants to solve and understand everything to the extreme.

The matter of righteousness is a worthy subject to understand. A surface understanding does not allow the heinousness of sin to be seen. And where and how is this to be understood?.....by revelation only....when our hearts desire for righteousness cries out to God for understanding.