GEMSTONES, LIGHTNING, and THE POWER of GOD
Do you know how God commands the storms?
Do you know how he sends the bright LIGHTNING from the clouds?
Can you explain how the clouds hang in the sky?
God knows everything perfectly and he does these wonderful things.
Job 37:15-16 EASY
It happens when you least expect it.
Open a car door.
Reach out to a friend.
Then ZAP!
Getting shocked with static electricity isn’t fun.
It also isn’t new.
In the 1700s, scientists experimented with “static” electricity, but Benjamin Franklin took it a step further with his kite experiment, proving that lightning was a form of electricity.
That was over 250 years ago, but in the Bible going back to the story of Moses 3,300 years ago, the Israelites often encountered GOD’S ELECTRICITY in the form of lightning as well as mini-lightning bolts (static electricity).
The Hebrew writers of the Bible described their electrical encounters with God and how the Creator of the universe used His command of lightning.
Today in modern Hebrew and in the Bible, the word for LIGHTNING is בָּרָק – BARAK.
In the Bible, the Hebrew word חַשְׁמַל – CHASHMAL only referred to the GEMSTONE AMBER, which can be a fiery red color as well as green, yellow, black, or a rare blue.
Chashmal shows its fiery red brilliance, which makes it a good metaphor for describing something on FIRE.
Why is amber so special?
More than its striking appearance, AMBER has a very unique property:
IT CAN PRODUCE STATIC ELECTRICITY.
Amber's magnetic property gave rise to the word ELECTRICITY : AMBER
(Greek, ELECTRON ) was used in the earliest experiments on electricity.
The Prophet Ezekiel likely knew about this “electrical” phenomenon of amber but had no scientific way to understand it.
Ezekiel's vision of God’s throne:-
Ezekiel 1:26 NLT
Above this surface was something that looked like a throne made of blue lapis lazuli. And on this throne high above was a figure whose appearance resembled a man.
Ezekiel 1:27 NLT
From what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like gleaming AMBER, flickering like a FIRE.
And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, SHINING with SPLENDOR.
So, when he described God’s form as bright, glowing amber he may have been thinking about the sparks that static electricity produces in addition to its fiery colors.
the Rabbis agree that it is speaking about God Himself, and His body is described as chashmal. (amber)
When light shines through amber, it indeed looks like fire or like “glowing metal”.
But perhaps, Ezekiel saw mini-lightning bolts fly out His body as well.
Static electricity produces a spark, which some call mini-lightning bolts.
Chashmal Becomes Modern Electricity
Before God re-established Israel in 1948, He also resurrected the Hebrew language, since the Jewish People had been scattered throughout the world for 2,000 years.
In the late 1800s, God used a religious Jewish man by the name of Eliezer ben Yehuda to re-establish the Hebrew language.
He was born in Lithuania (under the Russian empire) and moved to Jerusalem in 1881.
At that time, no one spoke Hebrew in daily life in Israel. Hebrew was viewed as the Holy language, only to be used for praying and synagogue worship.
Instead, the people spoke the languages from their home countries, mainly Yiddish.
Eliezer Ben_Yehuda
But God put in Eliezer’s heart to rebirth Hebrew as the spoken, read, and written language of Israel.
He forced his family to speak Hebrew in their home, and he created the first Israeli Hebrew newspaper and dictionary.
His efforts were quite prophetic, as the Prophet Zephaniah wrote in chapter 3 verse 9:
“For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, That they all may call on the name of the Lord, To serve Him with one accord.
Zephaniah 3:9 NKJV
Eliezer, had to create many new words which were not found in the Bible, such as “electricity” which was discovered by Benjamin Franklin only about 100 years earlier.
He chose the word chashmal.
Why did Eliezer choose that word?
When the Hebrew Scriptures were first translated into Greek about 2,100 years ago, the Hebrew word chashmal became the Greek word elektron.
In the 17th century, two English scientists (William Gilbert and Sir Thomas Browne) were trying to better understand the static electricity that amber produces.
Gilbert called it electrikus, meaning like amber.
Browne later changed the word to electricity, and the rest is history.
Judah Leib Gordon, one of the most notable poets of the Jewish Enlightenment of the 19th century helped popularize this new word when he wrote:
“The light, the heat, the steam, and the electricity (hash-ma-LA), all nature’s forces are the angels above.”
God is a ball of fire. Is light!
So, although God’s authority over lightning rightly invokes fear and trembling, it also commands reverence, honor, glory, and praise of Him who is righteous, just, and holy, holy, holy.
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.
And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come UP here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”
Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.
Revelation 4:1-2 NKJV
And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.
Revelation 4:3 NKJV
And from the THRONE proceeded LIGHTNINGS, THUNDERING, and VOICES.
Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
Revelation 4:5 NKJV
Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
Matthew 28:1-2 NKJV
He shone brightly like LIGHTNING.
His clothes were very white like snow.
Matthew 28:3 EASY
God did not want us to imitate Christ in the flesh
In the physical it will decay. Your spirit will live on.
We can shine. Shine for Jesus
The shining comes from your heart, from your spirit.
Lightning comes from the word light.
The soldiers who were carefully watching that place were very frightened.
They SUDDENLY FELL DOWN on the ground.
LIKE DEAD men, they COULD NOT MOVE.
Matthew 28:4 EASY
Eight days later, Jesus took Peter, Jacob, and John and climbed a high mountain to pray.
As he prayed, his face began to GLOW until a blinding glory streamed from him.
A RADIANT GLORY illuminated his entire body.
His BRIGHTNESS became so intense that it made his clothing BLINDING WHITE , as MULTIPLE FLASHES of LIGHTNING.
Luke 9:28-29 TPT
Glory of God shines
Matthew 24:27 TPT
The appearing of the Son of Man will burst forth with the brightness of LIGHTNING shining from the eastern sky to the west.
The spiritual realm is more open than physical realm.
On the 24th day of the first month, I was standing beside the great Tigris river.
I looked up.
I saw a man who was wearing good linen clothes.
He also wore a belt made of pure gold.
His body was BRIGHT like a JEWEL .
His FACE SHONE like LIGHTNING .
His EYES were like FLAMES of FIRE.
His arms and his feet shone like bright bronze.
When he SPOKE, his VOICE was very LOUD , like the sound of many people's voices.
Daniel 10:4-6 EASY
Faith is believing God, whatever He says will happen.
Barak (Hebrew: בָּרָק Bārāq, "lightning"), is a masculine name of Hebrew origin.
It appears in the biblical Book of Judges as the name of the ISRAELITE GENERAL BARAQ, who alongside Deborah led an attack against the forces of King Jabin of Hazor.
Charged with a THUNDEROUS FORCE, Barak is rooted in the biblical military leader who LED the Israelites in the great Battle of Mount Tabor.
Judges 5:1-2 EASY
On that day Deborah sang this song, with Abinoam's son Barak: ‘The leaders of Israel led their people out.
The people were happy to follow them to the battle.
Praise the Lord!
Hear this, you kings!
Listen, you rulers!
I will sing to worship the Lord. Yes, I will praise him with a song.
He is the Lord, Israel's God.
Lord, you came from Seir mountains.
Yes, you marched from the land of Edom.
As you came, the earth shook. Rain poured down from the clouds in the sky.
Judges 5:3-4 EASY
The mountains shook when you appeared, as they shook at Sinai mountain when you showed your power.
You are the Lord, the God of Israel.
Judges 5:5 EASY
When Anath's son Shamgar ruled the land, nobody travelled on the roads.
When Jael ruled, people walked on secret paths, because they were afraid. Nobody lived in the small villages.
Then I, Deborah, became their leader.
I became like a mother for Israel's people, to keep them safe.
Judges 5:6-7 EASY
Deborah in the bible is woman of fire. Fire is love. Passion and love.
When the Israelites chose new gods to worship, enemies attacked their cities.
No one in Israel was ready to fight.
Not one of their 40,000 soldiers had a shield or a spear.
Judges 5:8 EASY
The weapon of our warfare - armour of God
Helmet of salvation
Put back your shield of righteousness
I thank God for Israel's leaders, and the people who are ready to fight our enemies.
Praise the Lord!
Judges 5:9 EASY
We only have one enemy, the devil. Not fight within our own body of Christ.
Listen to me, you rich people who ride on white donkeys, with beautiful cloths to sit on. And you people who walk along the road, you should listen too!
Listen to the voices of the singers near the wells of water.
They sing about the GREAT THINGS that the LORD HAS DONE.
They TELL how Israel's soldiers have WON against their enemies.
Then the Lord's people marched down to the city gates.
Judges 5:10-11 EASY
Find something to thank God for. Thank God for the promise that everything is well.
“Wake up, Deborah!
Wake up and sing a song!
Get up, Barak, son of Abinoam! Take your enemies away as your prisoners.”
Judges 5:12 EASY
The faithful men who remained returned to their leaders.
The Lord's people came to me. They were ready to fight against our enemies.
Some men of Ephraim's tribe came to help, from the land where Amalek lived.
They followed men of Benjamin's tribe, with their soldiers.
Leaders also came from Makir. Army officers came from Zebulun's tribe.
Judges 5:13-14 EASY
The leaders of Issachar's tribe were with Deborah.
Yes, the men of Issachar joined with Barak.
Barak led them into the valley. But the men of Reuben's tribe could not decide what to do.
Judges 5:15 EASY
[Issachar = " there is recompense (reward) "]
Instead, they stayed to take care of their sheep.
Did they want to listen to the shepherds as they called out to their sheep?
The clans of Reuben's tribe could not agree what they should do.
The men of Gilead STAYED AT HOME , on the east side of the Jordan River.
The men of Dan's tribe STAYED with their SHIPS.
The men of Asher's tribe also stayed in their HOMES near the sea.
Judges 5:16-17 EASY
But the men of Zebulun's tribe were not afraid to die in war. The men of Naphtali's tribe were also ready to attack the enemy.
Judges 5:18 EASY
Perfect love cast out fear.
Kings of Canaan came and they fought against us.
They attacked us at Taanach, near the stream at Megiddo. But they could not take any valuable silver from us.
Judges 5:19 EASY
Even the stars fought against Sisera!
They travelled across the sky to attack him.
The Kishon river carried away Sisera's soldiers.
It used its power to stop them. So I will be brave and I will continue to fight!
Judges 5:20-21 EASY
We don’t take pride in the physical. We take pride in the Lord.
As for the horses of Sisera's army, their feet made a loud noise as they ran away.
The Lord's angel says, “Punish Meroz!
Punish the people who live there, because they did not come to help the Lord.
They did not agree to fight against the Lord's strong enemy.”
Judges 5:22-23 EASY
The angels were fighting on their behalf.
But Jael should receive great honour!
Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, should receive more honour than all other women who live in tents.
Judges 5:24 EASY
Go in His strength and power.
Sisera is the enemy.
Sisera asked her for water to drink, and she gave him milk. She gave him the best cream in a beautiful bowl.
She took a tent peg in her left hand.
She took a worker's hammer in her right hand.
She hit the peg through Sisera's head.
She broke his skull.
She broke it completely.
She knocked the sharp peg through his head.
Judges 5:25-26 EASY
In our time now is spiritual. Take the sword. The armour of God. Bless them that curse you.
The love of God will help us to love our enemy.
Touch their hearts and not break their skull.
He fell to the floor at her feet. He lay there and he did not move.
He died at the place where he fell.
Jael had killed him!
Judges 5:27 EASY
Sisera's mother looked out from the window of her house.
She waited for Sisera to return. She said, “His chariot has taken a long time to come!
Why do I not yet hear the sound of his horse's feet?”
Her wise ladies replied, and she herself thought the same thing:
“They are taking valuable things from their enemies.
They are sharing the things between them.
Each soldier will bring one or two women for himself.
Sisera's share will be some beautiful cloth.
Yes, he is bringing pieces of valuable cloth, and a beautiful necklace for me!
That is why he is so late to return home.”
Judges 5:28-30 EASY
“Lord, may all your enemies die like Sisera!
But may THOSE who LOVE YOU RISE like the SUN in ALL its POWER!”
Then there was PEACE in the land for forty years.
Judges 5:31 NLT
The sun is God’s power. Not my power. Jesus is the Sun
When God appears, one of the manifestation is lightning.
IN GOD'S LIGHTNING PRESENCE IS -
CHANGE (heals us, changes us)
MIRACLES
SIGNS AND WONDERS PROVISION
SUPERNATURAL POWER AND VICTORY!!
GOD MAKES HIS GENERALS LIKE LIGHTNING (BARAQ) !!
留言