As we will discover, to “cultivate faithfulness” is to nurture and develop a steadfast spirit toward the Lord. It is to purposefully develop a stronger relationship with Him so as to not become an unfaithful follower through continued rebellion and thereby grieve His Holy Spirit. It is to “keep the faith” and to guard our hearts through the Holy Spirit so as to stand firm until the end and receive the promise of eternal life in Jesus Christ at His appearing.
Psalm 37:3-7 – See the note below. (This passage is from 12-31-19 in My Journal Of Healing.)
3 Trust in the Lord and do good [see Gen. 4:7]; Dwell [“to reside or dwell permanently, to settle down, to tabernacle”] in the land and cultivate [7462] faithfulness [530].
4 Delight [“to be soft or pliable”] yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way [1870] to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him…
NASU
OT:7462 ra`ah (raw-aw')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a primitive root; to tend a flock; i.e. pasture it; intransitively, to graze (literally or figuratively); generally to rule; by extension, to associate with (as a friend):
KJV - break, companion, keep company with, devour, eat up, evil entreat, feed, use as a friend, make friendship with, herdsman, keep [sheeper]-), pastor, shearing house, shepherd, wander, waste.
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
1) to pasture, to tend, to graze, to feed
a) (Qal)
1) to tend, to pasture
a) to shepherd
b) used of a ruler, used of a teacher (figurative)
c) used of people as a flock (figurative)
d) shepherd, herdsman (substantive)
2) to feed, to graze
a) used of cows, sheep, etc. (literal)
b) used of an idolater, of Israel as a flock (figurative)
b) (Hiphil) shepherd, shepherdess
2) to associate with, to be a friend of (the probable meaning)
a) (Qal) to associate with
b) (Hithpael) to be companions
3) (Piel) to be a special friend
OT:530 'emuwnah (em-oo-naw'); or (shortened) 'emunah (em-oo-naw')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
feminine of OT:529; literally firmness; figuratively security [see Deut. 22:8 - “parapet”, the “guardrail” of security]; morally fidelity:
KJV - faith (-ful, -ly, -ness, [man]), set office, stability, steady, truly, truth, verily.
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness
OT:1870 derek (deh'-rek)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from OT:1869; a road (as trodden); figuratively, a course of life or mode of action, often adverb:
KJV - along, away, because of, by, conversation, custom, [east-] ward, journey, manner, passenger, through, toward, [high-] [path-] way [-side], whither [-soever].
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
a way, a road, a distance, a journey, a manner
a) a road, a way, a path
b) a journey
c) a direction
d) a manner, a habit, a way
e) used of the course of life (figurative)
f) used of moral character (figurative)
As I “rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him” my desire is as the psalmist declares; to permanently dwell with the Lord in the land of His spiritual inheritance, committing my “way” to Him and trusting in Him to lead me into that which He has declared to me. My desire is to enter in the fullness (“completion”) of Christ (Romans 11:25).
We either cultivate faithfulness or forsake our faithfulness as seen in the paragraph below;
(The following paragraph is from the Bible study The Goodness Of God.)
In his prayer of repentance while in the belly of the big fish, Jonah declared; “Those who regard vain idols forsake [“to leave, to loose”] their faithfulness.” (Jonah 2:8/NASU) The Hebrew for “faithfulness” is defined as “goodness, faithfulness, kindness, grace.” The NIV version of the Bible says; “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” Spiritual idolatry is extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something other than God. When a Christian continues to stubbornly refuse the conviction of the Holy Spirit to repent and forsake their idols, they will, in the end, loose themselves from the goodness and kindness of God [i.e. His grace] shown towards them. They have insulted the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:29). That which has been loosed (which means “to unbind, to undo, dissolve”) on earth through rebellion has then been loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:19, 18:18). They are covenant breakers who have, through careless neglect, dissolved their union with God. (See the Bible study Binding And Loosing.)
To cultivate is, by definition, “to tend a flock; i.e. pasture it; to graze (literally or figuratively); by extension, to associate with (as a friend).” It appears to speak of watching over, of attending to something carefully. The something spoken of here is “faithfulness” which is defined as “firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness.” We are to cultivate, to nurture and develop our steadfast spirit toward the Lord without which we will not stand firm until the end “and be saved” (Matthew 10:22, 1 Cor. 16:13).
According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, figuratively it refers to “security, moral fidelity.” So then, to “cultivate faithfulness,” attending carefully to the condition of our hearts by “feeding” on the Bread of Life is to develop the spiritual condition of security in Christ. This is the truth concerning “eternal security.” We are exhorted/warned to guard our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit so as to receive that for which we were taken hold of by the Lord. All those who hold fast to Him with a faithful/obedient spirit at the end of this age will, like Joshua and Caleb (see Numbers 14:30-34 below), gain the promised possession of our spiritual inheritance which is eternal life in Christ.
Unfaithfulness In The Covenant
The lack of a steadfast spirit within God’s people, the children of Israel, as they journeyed through the wilderness, not believing in and trusting in Him to guide them to the Promised Land, was why He killed some along the way. Psalm 78 records their unfaithfulness in the covenant and God’s mercy even in judgement;
“And in their heart they put God to the test by asking food according to their desire. Then they spoke against God; They said, ‘Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out, and streams were overflowing; Can He give bread also? Will He provide meat for His people?’ Therefore the Lord heard and was full of wrath; and a fire was kindled against Jacob and anger also mounted against Israel, because they did not believe [539] in God and did not trust [982] in His salvation [3444].”
(Psalm 78:18-22/NASU)
The Hebrew for “believe” is 'aman (aw-man') [539]. It’s defined as “to build up or support, to foster as a parent or nurse, to be firm or faithful, to trust or believe, to be established [see Genesis 6:18 in the Bible study Noah; A Sign Of The End; we must first be established in the covenant before being allowed to enter into the ark of God’s deliverance].” The definitions are very similar to that of “cultivate”. To not believe, therefore, is to be unfaithful. It does not mean that you do not believe He exists, but rather that you do not nurture, or foster your relationship with Him.
The Hebrew for “trust” is batach (baw-takh') which means “to trust in, to be confident, to be bold, to be secure, to make secure, to feel safe.” “Salvation” is interpreted from the Hebrew word yeshuw`ah (yesh-oo'-aw) which means “something saved, deliverance, welfare, prosperity, victory.” This word is the Old Testament type/picture (and origin) of the name of Jesus Christ which is Iesous (ee-ay-sooce') in the Greek (New Testament).
From the meaning of these Hebrew words we can clearly recognize what this verse is saying. The children of Israel, who are a picture of the Christian’s journey today, were not careful to foster their relationship with God (believe), but instead became careless/unfaithful (unbelief), not showing confidence in God’s ability to safely lead them (trust; the place of security), so as to safely deliver them from death in His victory (salvation). This is a well-defined picture of what it means to put our trust/belief in Jesus Christ who will deliver/save us in His victory. Again, this is the truth regarding what it means to be secure in Christ (eternal security) rather than a covenant breaker who, through careless neglect, dissolved their union with God; “For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant.” (Psalm 78:37/NASU, also see Psalm 78:8-10.)
Psalm 78:5-8 – The psalmist declares the need to teach their children about the importance of placing their confidence/faith in God. They were to warn them to not be like their fathers in the wilderness, “a stubborn [“to turn away, apostatize”] and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God.” To be stubborn is to turn away with an apostate heart (see the note below for Hab. 2:4 below about turning away from the Lord, and see the Bible study Shaking). As Paul warned, this is what is occurring in these last days before the return of Christ (2 Thess. 2:3).
Interestingly, one of the definitions for “prepare” is “to be secure.” Again, for the stubborn and rebellious among God’s people who break covenant with Him through unfaithfulness (v.10), there is no eternal security, “but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.” (Hebrews 10:27/NIV) We will look at how a Christian can become an enemy of God further on in this study in the section “The Unfaithful Children Of God; From Savior To Enemy.”
5 For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children,
6 That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children,
7 That they should put their confidence in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments,
8 And not be like their fathers, a stubborn [5637- “to turn away, apostatize”] and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare [3559- “to be firm, to be stable, to be established (see Gen. 6:18), to prepare, to be ready, to be secure”] its heart and whose spirit was not faithful [539] to God.
NASU
OT:539 'aman (aw-man')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a primitive root; properly, to build up or support; to foster as a parent or nurse; figuratively to render (or be) firm or faithful, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet; morally to be true or certain; once (Isa 30:21; interchangeable with OT:541) to go to the right hand:
KJV - hence, assurance, believe, bring up, establish, fail, be faithful (of long continuance, steadfast, sure, surely, trusty, verified), nurse, (-ing father), (put), trust, turn to the right.
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
to support, to confirm, to be faithful
a) (Qal)
to support, to confirm, to be faithful, to uphold, to nourish
1) foster father (a substantive)
2) foster mother, nurse
3) pillars, supporters of the door
b) (Niphal)
to be established, to be faithful, to be carried, to make firm
1) to be carried by a nurse
2) to made firm, to be sure, to be lasting
3) confirmed, established, sure
4) verified, confirmed
5) reliable, faithful, trusty
c) (Hiphil)
to stand firm, to trust, to be certain, to believe in
1) to stand firm
2) to trust, to believe
2 Chronicles 20:20 – See the note below.
20 They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust [539- see def. above] in the Lord your God and you will be established [539]. Put your trust [539] in His prophets and succeed [6743]."
NASU
OT:6743 tsalach (tsaw-lakh'); or tsaleach (tsaw-lay'-akh)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a primitive root; to push forward, in various senses (literal or figurative, transitive or intransitive):
KJV - break out, come (mightily), go over, be good, be meet, be profitable, (cause to, effect, make to, send) prosper (-ity, -ous, -ously).
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
1) (Qal) to rush
2) to advance, to prosper, to make progress, to succeed, to be profitable
a) (Qal) to prosper
b) (Hiphil)
1) to make prosperous, to bring to successful issue, to cause to prosper
2) to show or experience prosperity, to prosper
The following New Testament passage comes to mind while looking at this verse;
“Now when He [Jesus] was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”
(John 2:23-25/NASU)
The word “believed” and “entrusting” are actually from the same Greek word, pisteuo (pist-yoo'-o). It’s defined as “to have faith in, to believe, to place confidence in, to trust.” Even though these people believed/trusted/were placing their confidence in Jesus, He was not believing/trusting/placing His confidence in them. The reason was, the Bible says, because “He knew all men… what was in man.” He alone knows the true condition of everyone’s heart.
Remaining Alive Through Faithfulness
Numbers 14:36-38 – As noted in Psalm 37:3-7 above, all those who hold fast to the Lord with a faithful/obedient spirit at the end of this age will, like Joshua and Caleb (see Numbers 14:26-34 below), gain the promised possession of our spiritual inheritance which is eternal life in Christ.
Joshua represents Jesus. Caleb represents the faithful/loyal servants of the Lord who are turned toward Him in their hearts and in so doing “will be prepared” and will remain alive and enter into the promised eternal inheritance (see the Bible study The Sons Of Jephunneh).
36 As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land,
37 even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the Lord.
38 But Joshua [“Jehovah (Yaweh) is salvation” (see Psalm 78:22)] the son of Nun and Caleb [“a dog, faithful, loyal”] the son of Jephunneh [“he will be prepared, he will be facing”] remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.
NASU
Habakkuk 2:4 – See the note below.
4 "Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous [6662] will live [2421] by his faith [530- def. in Psalm 37:3-7 above].
NASU
OT:6662 tsaddiyq (tsad-deek')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from OT:6663; just:
KJV - just, lawful, righteous (man).
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
just, lawful, righteous
a) just, righteous (in government)
b) just, right (in one's cause)
c) just, righteous (in conduct and character)
d) righteous (as justified and vindicated by God)
e) right, correct, lawful
OT:2421 chayah (khaw-yaw')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a primitive root [compare OT:2331, OT:2421]; to live, whether literally or figuratively; causatively, to revive:
KJV - keep (leave, make) alive, certainly, give (promise) life, (let, suffer to) live, nourish up, preserve (alive), quicken, recover, repair, restore (to life), revive, (X God) save (alive, life, lives), surely, be whole.
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
to live, to have life, to remain alive, to sustain life, to live prosperously, to live forever, to be quickened, to be alive, to be restored to life or health
a) (Qal)
1) to live
a) to have life
b) to continue in life, to remain alive
c) to sustain life, to live on or to live upon
d) to live (prosperously)
2) to revive, to be quickened
a) from sickness
b) from discouragement
c) from faintness
d) from death
b) (Piel)
1) to preserve alive, to let live
2) to give life
3) to quicken, to revive, to refresh
a) to restore to life
b) to cause to grow
c) to restore
d) to revive
c) (Hiphil)
1) to preserve alive, to let live
2) to quicken, to revive
a) to restore (to health)
b) to revive
c) to restore to life
The just/righteous person lives by their faith or faithfulness toward the Lord. We saw in the verses above that the Hebrew for “faith” is defined as “firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness.” Figuratively speaking it refers to “security.” It speaks to their faithfully standing firm in Christ, not moved away from Him with a wandering/drifting heart but to “hold fast” to Him with an obedient heart and steadfast devotion (see Deuteronomy 4:1-4 below and the Bible study Holding Fast To The Lord). According to Paul in his letter to the “saints and faithful brethren” who were in Colossae, to move away from “the hope of the gospel” is to move away from “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:23, 27).
The Hebrew for “live” is chayah (khaw-yaw') which is defined as “to live, to have life, to remain alive, to sustain life, to live prosperously, to live forever, to be quickened, to be alive, to be restored to life or health.” It also means “to revive [see Joshua 5:8, “healed”], to be quickened from sickness, discouragement, faintness, and death.” The final restoration/revival of all things (Acts 3:21), the final jubilee of the Lord when the righteous will be changed into the “image of the heavenly” (1 Cor. 15:49) and given eternal life draws near. Our faithfulness (“firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness”) in Christ is crucial in this moment. We must remain vigilant, guarding our hearts as we keep the faith (2 Timothy 4:7) in this midnight hour (see the Bible studies Jubilee and Well Pleased).
Deuteronomy 4:1-4 – As with Israel who is our example (1 Corinthians 10:1-13), all Christians who fall away from following Christ, in particular at the end of this age (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3), not holding fast to Him, will, first of all go through the tribulation, and then be destroyed if there is no repentance (see the Bible study Elul; The Season Of Preparation and 40 Days Of Fasting). To hold fast in Hebrew means “clinging, adhering to.” It is “to remain in Me and I will remain in you” (John 15:4-10). (See the Bible study Holding Fast To The Lord.) To remain is “to abide, to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy), not to depart, not to leave, to continue to be present, to remain as one is, not to become another or different.” The Lord is our source of life. As we continue to “hold fast” to Him we become a “living being” that is continually filled with His lively, fresh flowing, reviving river of living water that can then quench the inner thirst of not just us, but others as well (see Hebrews 3:12-19 below).
1 "Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
2 "You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
3 "Your eyes have seen what the Lord has done in the case of Baal-peor, for all the men who followed Baal-peor, the Lord your God has destroyed [8045- “to be annihilated, to be exterminated”] them from among you.
4 "But you who held fast [1695] to the Lord your God are alive [2416] today, every one of you.
NASU
OT:1695 dabeq (daw-bake')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from OT:1692; adhering:
KJV - cleave, joining, stick closer. [See the Bible study Joined Together.]
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
clinging, adhering to
OT:2416 chay (khah'-ee)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from OT:2421; alive; hence, raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year), strong; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether literally or figuratively:
KJV - age, alive, appetite, (wild) beast, company, congregation, life (-time), live (-ly), living (creature, thing), maintenance, merry, multitude, (be) old, quick, raw, running, springing, troop.
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
as an adjective:
1) living, alive
a) green (used of vegetation)
b) flowing, fresh (used of water)
c) lively, active (used of man)
d) reviving (used of the springtime)
as a masculine noun:
2) relatives
3) life (abstract emphatic)
a) life
b) sustenance, maintenance
as a feminine noun:
4) a living thing, an animal
a) animal
b) life
c) appetite
d) revival, renewal
5) community
Grieving The Holy Spirit While In Covenant With God
Psalm 78:40-42 – As already seen through the children of Israel, to continue in rebellion against the Lord’s leading while a Christian is to grieve the Holy Spirit. It’s to provoke Him, thereby breaking covenant with Him. One of the definitions of `atsab (aw-tsab'), the Hebrew word we interpret as “grieved,” is “to displease” (see the Bible study Well Pleased). From this we see that to grieve the Holy Spirit is to displease Him which, if not repented of, leads to our being a covenant breaker that will not make it into the Promised inheritance of Christ. We have forfeited the grace of God shown toward us through continued rebellion to His will. We must understand that the Holy Spirit is very patient with us but we dare not toy with His line.
40 How often they rebelled [4784] against Him in the wilderness and grieved [6087] Him in the desert!
41 Again and again they tempted God, and pained [8428] the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember His power, the day when He redeemed them from the adversary,
NASU
OT:4784 marah (maw-raw')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a primitive root; to be (causatively, make) bitter (or unpleasant); (figuratively) to rebel (or resist; causatively, to provoke):
KJV - bitter, change, be disobedient, disobey, grievously, provocation, provoke (-ing), (be) rebel (against, -lious).
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
to be contentious, to be rebellious, to be refractory, to be disobedient toward, to be rebellious against
a) (Qal) to be disobedient, to be rebellious
1) toward father
2) toward God
b) (Hiphil) to show rebelliousness, to show disobedience, to disobey
OT:6087 `atsab (aw-tsab')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a primitive root; properly, to carve, i.e. fabricate or fashion; hence (in a bad sense) to worry, pain or anger:
KJV - displease, grieve, hurt, make, be sorry, vex, worship, wrest.
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
1) to hurt, to pain, to grieve, to displease, to vex, to wrest
a) (Qal) to hurt, to pain
b) (Niphal) to be in pain, to be pained, to be grieved
c) (Piel) to vex, to torture
d) (Hiphil) to cause pain
e) (Hithpael) to feel grieved, to be vexed
2) to shape, to fashion, to make, to form, to stretch into shape, Theological Wordbook of the Old
Testament: worship
a) (Piel) to shape, to form
b) (Hiphil) to form, to copy, to fashion
OT:8428 tavah (taw-vaw')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a primitive root [or perhaps ident. with OT:8427 [“to mark out”] through a similar idea from scraping to pieces]; to grieve:
KJV - limit [by confusion with OT:8427].
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
to pain, to wound, to trouble, to cause pain [see 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 right below]; the probable meaning
1 Chronicles 4:9-10 – This passage refers to Jabez calling out to God asking Him to keep him from “harm” that it may not “pain” him. The Hebrew for “keep” is defined as ““to do or make, to fashion, to accomplish.” Interestingly, I don’t see the word “keep” even in the definition. It appears that God’s keeping is connected with His fashioning and conforming in our life, to His image.
The Hebrew for “harm” is ra` (rah) which means “bad, evil, unpleasant, disagreeable, displeasing.” The Hebrew meaning for “pain” is “to hurt, to pain, to grieve, to displease, to vex, to wrest.” It also means “to shape, to fashion, to make, to form, to stretch into shape.” It seems that Jabez was asking the Lord to keep him from evil, or that which is displeasing to Him and will cause pain/torture in his life. Through the definitions you could say he was asking the Lord to fashion/conform him into that which pleases Him so that evil will not fashion/conform him into that which would cause him great pain and grief (see the Bible study Well Pleased). Grieving the Holy Spirit brings forth grief in our life.
9 Jabez [3258] was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez [3258] saying, "Because I bore him with pain [6090- “pain, sorrow, an idol”]." [See Genesis 3:16 and John 16:21 which speak of pain in childbirth.]
10 Now Jabez [3258] called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep [6213- “to do or make, to fashion, to accomplish”] me from harm [7451] that it may not pain [6087] me!" And God granted him what he requested.
NASU
OT:3258 Ya` bets (yah-bates')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from an unused root probably meaning to grieve; sorrowful; Jabets, the name of an Israelite, and also of a place in Palestine: -Jabez.
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
Jabez = "sorrow"
as a proper noun, masculine:
1) the head of a Calebite family
as a proper noun, location:
2) a town in Judah apparently near Bethlehem
OT:7451 ra` (rah)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from OT:7489; bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral):
KJV - adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, displease (-ure), distress, evil ([-favouredness], man, thing), exceedingly, great, grief (-vous), harm, heavy, hurt (-ful), ill (favoured), mark, mischief (-vous), misery, naught (-ty), noisome, not please, sad (-ly), sore, sorrow, trouble, vex, wicked (-ly, -ness, one), worse (-st), wretchedness, wrong. [Incl. feminine ra`ah; as adjective or noun.].
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
as an adjective:
1) bad, evil
a) bad, disagreeable, malignant
b) bad, unpleasant, evil (giving pain, unhappiness, misery)
c) evil, displeasing
d) bad (used of its kind, land, water, etc.)
e) bad (used of value)
f) worse than, worst (comparison)
g) sad, unhappy
h) evil (hurtful)
i) bad, unkind (vicious in disposition)
j) bad, evil, wicked (ethically)
1) in general, of persons, of thoughts
2) deeds, actions
as a masculine noun:
2) evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity
a) evil, distress, adversity
b) evil, injury, wrong
c) evil (ethical)
as a feminine noun:
3) evil, misery, distress, injury
a) evil, misery, distress
b) evil, injury, wrong
c) evil (ethical)
OT:6087 `atsab (aw-tsab')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a primitive root; properly, to carve, i.e. fabricate or fashion; hence (in a bad sense) to worry, pain or anger:
KJV - displease, grieve, hurt, make, be sorry, vex, worship, wrest.
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
1) to hurt, to pain, to grieve, to displease, to vex, to wrest
a) (Qal) to hurt, to pain
b) (Niphal) to be in pain, to be pained, to be grieved
c) (Piel) to vex, to torture
d) (Hiphil) to cause pain
e) (Hithpael) to feel grieved, to be vexed
2) to shape, to fashion, to make, to form, to stretch into shape, Theological Wordbook of the Old
Testament: worship
a) (Piel) to shape, to form
b) (Hiphil) to form, to copy, to fashion
Ephesians 4:30 – To grieve the Holy Spirit is to cause pain/grief/distress to Him. What pains Him will also cause us pain/sorrow because it affects the condition of our sealing which is for our “security and preservation.” To grieve the Holy Spirit is to tamper with the seal.
30 Do not grieve [3076] the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed [4972] for the day of redemption. [See Romans 8:23; “the redemption of the body”]
NASU
NT:3076 lupeo (loo-peh'-o)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:3077; to distress; reflexively or passively, to be sad:
KJV - cause grief, grieve, be in heaviness, (be) sorrow (-ful), be (make) sorry.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
to make sorrowful; to affect with sadness, to cause grief; to throw into sorrow: tina (2 Cor. 2:2, 5)
lupeo [NT:3076] - denotes (a), in the active voice, "to cause pain, or grief, to distress, grieve," e. g., 2 Cor. 2:2 (twice, active and passive voices); v. 5 (twice), RV, "hath caused sorrow" (KJV, "have caused grief," and "grieved"); 7:8, "made (you) sorry" (Eph. 4:30), of grieving the Holy Spirit of God (as indwelling the believer); (b) in the passive voice, "to be grieved, to be made sorry, to be sorry, sorrowful," e. g., Matthew 14:9, RV, "(the king) was grieved" (KJV, "was sorry"); Mark 10:22, RV, "(went away) sorrowful" (KJV, "grieved"); John 21:17, "(Peter) was grieved", Romans 14:15, "(if... thy brother) is grieved"; 2 Cor. 2:4, "(not that) ye should be made sorry," RV, KJV, "ye should be grieved." See HEAVINESS, SORROW, SORROWFUL, SORRY.
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
NT:4972 sphragizo (sfrag-id'-zo)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:4973; to stamp (with a signet or private mark) for security or preservation (literally or figuratively); by implication, to keep secret, to attest:
KJV - (set a, set to) seal up, stop.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
a. for security: ti (Matthew 27:66)
b. to hide keep in silence, keep secret: ti (Rev. 10:4)
c. in order to mark a person or thing; hence, to set a mark upon by the impress of a seal, to stamp
(Rev. 7:3)
d. in order to prove, confirm, or attest a thing; to confirm, authenticate, place beyond doubt
Isaiah 63:7-10 – The children of Israel grieving the Holy Spirit after “He became their Savior.” Because of their rebellion God then “turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.” (See this passage in the section below called The Unfaithful Children Of God; From Savior To Enemy.)
(Continued in part 2...)
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