Forgive

These are the days between the Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The other day, I heard the question in my spirit, "What does "forgive" mean?"

When I am asked a question by the Asker, I know it is something I am supposed to look into and learn. Because the question was asked of me in the first place, I know I'm going to be in for a surprise, and I was.

In English, the origin of the word from the Old English/German has the meaning of "give before". From this, I can learn that forgiveness is something given before a wrong is even committed, or a debt incurred. When I think of scripture, this makes sense because Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). Before man ever committed the sin, the provision for forgiveness and atonement was already in place.

Sometimes I feel very noble and "Jesus-like" when I say to myself that I have forgiven this person, or that incident. However, if I really want to be true to the real meaning of the word both in fact and in Spirit, then the forgiveness should have existed before the wrong act against me. There would be no need for me to have to stir up my "holy" attitude after the fact. If I am to forgive others as I have been forgiven (Mt. 6:12, Lk. 11:4), then it must be "given before".

The hurt and feelings of offense that come when a wrong is committed against me, may come because I have not given this forgiveness gift before, as God has. Perhaps it's why we always go back again and again, remembering the wrongs done, even though we say we have "forgiven". They haunt us, and stir up feelings of hurt and anger all over again. Just the other day, a memory of a wrong from my childhood popped up. I hadn't thought of it in many years, but, evidently, it is still there. A small thing like that came back before my eyes again. Perhaps this is why the internal question about forgiveness came up to begin with. I am going back now and forgiving before it happened so long ago, not only for the sake of the child involved, but for my own sake as well. I am saying, "It was already forgiven before it happened."  If I can learn to "give before" in this little thing from the past, perhaps it will train me for those larger, more difficult things that have happened, and will happen in the future. Starting small is better than not starting at all!

The word "forgive" in Hebrew is also very interesting. It is the word nasa. It means "to lift, to bear up, to carry, to lift up, to bear, to support, to endure, to be lifted up, be exalted, to rise up, to be borne, to be carried, taken away, carried off, swept away, to bear continuously, to marry, to magnify, pardon, honorable, respect, armor-bearer (person who carries the armor or weapons of a warrior)". This awesome meaning has very little similarity to my previous understanding of forgiveness. However, it immediately stirs up a connection to something else.

The Hebrew meaning creates an image for me of Jesus carrying His own cross, and being lifted up upon it. This forgiveness was borne from the foundation, and carried, lifted up and exalted, at the cross. Jesus was the armor-bearer who carried His Father's armor and weapons of forgiveness, the cross. It is our armor and our weapon, as well. This forgiveness might have even been the power behind His resurrection (see nasa above: "to rise up").
The letters of nasa are nun (heir to the throne, son, faithfulness), shin (devour, consume, destroy, point of a rock), aleph (ox head, leader, power, authority, first, teach, Adonai). The Son has the power and the authority to forgive:
"But that you my know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" - He said to the man who was paralyzed- "I say to you arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."
                                                                       Mt, 9:6, Mk. 2:10, Lk. 5:24)

The gift of forgiveness was prepared and given to me before I was born, and I accepted it thankfully through Christ. Now I have to learn to prepare and give forgiveness the same way as my Father did for me - from the foundation.
The gift was already prepared and given, and needed only to be accepted. I will now try to give the gift to others in the same manner.

Our Father prepared and gave us forgiveness before we ever knew Him.

"Via Dolorosa"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67XrqXXTceM


 



 

Ram

The Hebrew word and root for "ram" means the ram as food, the ram as a sacrifice, the skins dyed for the tabernacle. It means a pillar, door post, door jambs, pilaster (support). It means strong man, leader, chief, mighty tree like a terebinth, oak, or palm. In architecture, it is the term that refers to the projecting ledge or covering that surrounds the top and two sides of a door (Jesus said, "I am the door of the sheep." Jn. 10:7) on a building, often adorned with columns. It means powerful, mighty, strength, strong God. The Hebrew word for ram makes up the root of the name "El", which is part of the name of God. So the ram is identified with the Father, God.
The horns of the ram in Hebrew has the meaning to radiate, emit beams, shine, rays of light.
The ram was used as a sacrifice in the worship of the tabernacle as a peace offering(Lev. 9:4, 18, 16:3), a trespass offering (Lev. 19:22), as the ram of consecration (Ex. 29:15-22, 27, 31, 32), and as the ram of atonement (Num. 5:8).
As we know, God provided a ram caught in a thicket (entwined or braided branches, as a sukkah, or tabernacle) as a sacrifice in place of Abraham's son, Isaac (Gen. 22:13). We say that this ram represents Jesus, but I believe that the ram depicted in this encounter is the Father. Abraham travelled with Isaac to "the land of Moriah". What does "Moriah" mean? The Concordance says it means "Chosen by Jehovah". But the Hebrew words mean "to see, look at, perceive, consider, to be visible, to appear, to be shown, to look at each other, to face, Jah (Jehovah)", or the Father God. Abraham is brought to a place where he will see God face to face. He will perceive and consider God, Who is making Himself visible in this place, and in this situation, a situation of sacrifice.
I am saying that the ram in scripture is a depiction of the Father. A ram, as an animal, is a father, or sire, to its offspring, which are lambs.
I would also like to expand this thought by looking at the unconditional faithfulness and fealty of the relationship between Jesus and His Father:
"Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loved the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these that you may marvel."    Jn. 5:19-20
The above statement is very emphatic and clear and many times Jesus emphasizes the fact that He only says and does the things that He sees His Father doing (Jn. 8:38, 10:32, 37-38, 14:31, etc.).
I believe that one reason the Son is so determined to serve His Father so faithfully is because He saw His Father sacrifice Himself. Perhaps you may think this is a radical statement, but I believe the Son's relationship with the Father may very well be based upon this. Let us look at the following scripture:
"Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up (crucify) the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."                                                           Jn. 8:28-29
The Son is emulating the Father, including even in His death. Why should we think that the crucifixion, or sacrifice, is excluded from the acts the Son sees the Father, Himself, doing?
Jesus makes it clear to us that no one takes His life from Him, but He freely gives it up:
"Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."          Jn. 10:17-18
Jesus told us in Jn. 5:19-20, (see above) that whatever the Father does, the Son does in like manner (likewise: equally, in the same way).  Can't we therefore assume that the Son willingly lays down His life because He saw His Father do it also?
We may ask how the Father can sacrifice Himself, laying His life down, when He is not flesh, but Spirit? When He is eternal and everlasting? We can only say that Jesus sacrificed Himself before He became flesh, while He was Spirit, so this is possible:
"All who dwell on the earth will worship Him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."        Rev. 13:8
The Lamb, the offspring of the Ram, was slain before He was ever born in the flesh on earth. Before the foundation of the world, Jesus and the Father were one, the Father being in the Son (Jn. 17:20-26), when also the Lamb was slain in the Spirit.
A father does not ask a son to do something he has not done himself, or is not willing to do himself.
A son who only does what he sees his father doing, does not give up his life, unless he has seen his father do the same.
This only begotten Son emulates His Father in all ways. Even when He sacrificed Himself, He was taking us to the place, Moriah, where He could show us the Father.
"...Lord, show us the Father...He who has seen Me, has seen the Father." (Jn. 14:8-9).

Our Father is the Ram of sacrifice.

"Now Behold the Lamb"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CK1R1suY6U

"Worthy Is The Lamb"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAplJ0_jDFc