Sharpen the Word

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

In the Hebrew text it begins with the Hebrew word ve’-shi-NAN-tam. There exist certain rules for translating words into English and vice versa. In many cases we find the Hebrew word is easily translated by its use in the sentence and in those cases almost all translations will be similar. However, if the Hebrew word seems to have several meanings, then we must rely on our ability to search through the scriptures. Here we see this Hebrew word ve’-shi-NAN-tam is given to mean several things. Our text lists them as repeat them, teach them diligently, impress them, rehearse them, recite them, and inculcate them, which means instill, implant, fix, ingrain, infuse, impress, imprint, introduce, to teach by frequent repetitions and admonitions. Looking at our text surely, we can see that GOD intended for all the parents to frequently repeat and admonish the WORD of GOD to their families and among themselves. So now we understand why GOD chose the Hebrew word veshinantam for with this one word, GOD knew the people would do all these things with their families. They were to be in constant rehearsal of the Torah, which was all they had that was written at the time.

The word “teach” appears a little over 80 times and in almost all those cases it means just what it implies “TEACH!” The Hebrew verb for teach is LMD (lamad). The root Hebrew word ShNN means “to sharpen” and it appears in eight verses in the Bible. Seven of those verses it is what is being sharpened, a weapon, such as a sword or arrow; it also includes the sharpness of the snake’s tongue, so we can conclude that this is an obvious metaphor such as sharpening an actual weapon.

For the word of God is quick [alive], and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

It should be noted that the last of the eight uses of the root ShNN refers to a person pierced by a sword.

Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. (Psalm 73:21-26)

The conviction doesn’t mean we do not still belong to GOD, but rather it means we still do and are now in a position to gain strength through GOD’S forgiveness and POWERFUL SPIRIT in us. “because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”(Hebrews12:6 NIV) Asaph had come to realize that he could make his complaint about how the wicked seemed to prosper while he struggled, but in his weakest moment he could gain strength and become even bolder.

And he said unto me, MY GRACE is SUFFICIENT for thee [Paul]: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the POWER of CHRIST may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for CHRIST’S sake: FOR WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN AM I STRONG. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17 NIV) I was a meat cutter for many years, and I used what we called a steel to draw the edge of the knife back upright, so it made it easier to cut through the meat. Many people are under the delusion that if a knife shaves the hair off their arm, then it is really sharp. Not so necessarily, for many times a knife that will shave hair will never smoothly cut meat. For the steel to sharpen the knife edge then the knife must already be sharp. After much use, the steel will fail to draw the edge back up. It is then the steel has to be placed in an oven and heated and then it has to be rubbed with a whet stone and then polished with fine sandpaper and then oiled to prevent rust. Can you see the analogy of what GOD must do to us so that we can “sharpen” others with the WORD of GOD? Every day the WORD of GOD must be renewed within us by “repeating” it over and over again and again. We must be put through the stress of battle with the enemy of our souls. It is a necessity to know the WORD of GOD well enough that we can teach it to others.

Deuteronomy chapter six tells us to teach our children the WORD of GOD. However, instead of using a word that means to teach it uses a word that means “sharpen.” We could easily interpret this to read, “And you shall sharpen them like a weapon to your children.”

They sharpen [shanenu] their tongues like swords and shoot bitter words like arrows. From their hiding places they shoot at innocent people; they shoot suddenly and are not afraid. (Psalm 64:3-4 NCV)

Whose arrows are sharp [shenunim], and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: (Isaiah 5:28)

It is beyond doubt that the meaning of the root word ShNN means to “sharpen.” If the intent of these verses was only to “teach” then the word used would have been hoh-rah-AH and if we pronounce this word fast it sounds very similar to TORAH.

The goal of all parents should be to prepare our children with enough information that they are armed to fight our enemies. In Ephesians 6:13-17 the Apostle Paul instructs the church to put on the “whole armor of GOD.” In verse 17 he says for us to “take the SWORD of the SPIRIT which is the WORD of GOD.” Paul also lets us know in this chapter what it is we are fighting. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12) I have always had a major rule here: “If you can’t run with the big dogs then just sit on the porch with the pups.” That is even more sure if we or our children are not sharpened in the WORD of GOD. The young men known in the Book of Daniel as “The Three Hebrew Children”, when they would not bow to the King’s idol, they faced certain death in a burning furnace. The King offered them a second chance, but their answer was still the same as before. “…we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.If it be so, our GOD whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and HE WILL DELIVER US OUT OF THINE HAND, O KING.” (Daniel 3:1-17)

These young men had been sharpened by the WORD of GOD. The King had renamed them after some of his gods, but they still wouldn’t bend, and they wouldn’t bow and then they wouldn’t burn. Their Hebrew names were “Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah” the moon god worshiping King of Babylon, just like their same descendants of today called Muslims, changed their names to “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.” By changing their names, the King hoped they would accept his moon god and other gods. This is why we need to “sharpen the WORD of GOD.” The name Shadrach means the servant of “Aku” the “moon god of Muslims.” Meshach means “Cil-Asharidu” the “shadow of a prince” and means the “servant of sin”. Abednego means “servant of Nabu.” Nabu was the scribe of the patron god of Babylon known as Marduk. It was believed he could make prophecies come true just by writing them down. Now you know where all these prophets on television that tell us just think it into existence. Nabu became a god after he was entered into the Babylonian trinity godhead as Marduk’s first born son by his wife Sarpanitum/Erua.

We know Abraham was born and raised and lived in this area until he was 75. Jewish traditions teach that Abraham worshiped the “moon as god” until he saw a full eclipse and he said then the moon is not all powerful for it can be hidden. He worshiped the sun too until he saw an eclipse of the sun and then he said the sun is not all powerful either for it can be hidden at noon day. His father was a high priest of the false god Nimrod who was also the King. Two ancient records tell us of Abraham being placed in a fiery furnace and they were written in the same year of 1320 and pictures were painted of the event. These are “Leipzig Mahzor”, Southern Germany and “Golden Haggadah”, Barcelona. There was another in Barcelona that shows angels in the furnace with Abraham getting him out where the first one shows them trying to keep him from entering the furnace.

It is of the utmost importance that we equip our children with “sharpened weapons” in order to meet and defeat the enemies of TRUTH and RIGHTEOUSNESS. Our children and ourselves must be able to recognize falsehoods and evil wherever we see it. As Supreme Court Justice, Potter Stewart, once said about defining “obscenity” for he said in 1964, “I may not be able to define what obscenity is, BUT I KNOW IT WHEN I SEE IT!” The question is now, sixty years later, “Can we know when we see it?” Things that appear totally harmless often are filled with deadly results. The proverbial story of the lady that came upon a snake along a road and was almost frozen and she took it home and nursed it to health, but one day that snake she called “Beautiful” bit her and she died. There are “deadly snakes” standing in the pulpits spewing out soul killing venom in the name of JESUS but are destroying our children. I just read an article about Chelsea Clinton and she is now openly claiming that she gave up on the church and GOD when she was six years old. She said she quit the Baptist Church because of their stance against abortion and their criticism of her dad, Bill Clinton, over his reckless lifestyle of “gutter living, alley cat indiscretions.” How in the world can a six-year-old know what abortion is unless she is being influenced by one or both of her parents? This is what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he said we are fighting against “powers of the darkness of this world.” We must “SHARPEN THE WORD OF GOD INTO A MIGHTY SWORD.” In my times of distress, I have relied on the WORD of GOD which contains this verse that I repeat over and over: “Great peace have they that LOVE THY LAW: and NOTHING SHALL OFFEND THEM.” (Psalm 119:165)

Our scripture text actually begins with this MIGHTY DECLARTION: “Hear O Israel the LORD our GOD is ONE LORD!” (Deuteronomy 6:4) That needs to be sharpened and instilled in the minds of all of us including our children. Believe me when I say that our Apostolic Doctrines are and will be challenged more and more as we move toward the “end of all things.” As I often repeat that some of my cousins often asked me why we Apostolic people get so loud, for they wanted to know if we thought GOD was some somehow deaf or hard of hearing, but I replied, “NO! But HE is not nervous either!” “Instead you must worship CHRIST as LORD of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” (1Peter 3:15 NLT)

It has been popularly believed that the Bible is one fourth prophecy and some even say it has more than two thirds as prophecy. Now, whether you or I believe which is right or even none at all, the Bible is being proven correct more and more every day. Just start today and listen to the discoveries being made in the many different nations mentioned in the Bible, However, it is important to follow these nations through history as their names change over time. The very first miracle JESUS performed was known as “Turning Water into Wine.” HE was at a wedding, some traditions say the groom was one of HIS cousins named Benjamin, on HIS mother’s side of the family. Let us notice what John said about this: “And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, AND THE MOTHER OF JESUS WAS THERE. And both JESUS was called, and HIS disciples, to the marriage.” (John 2:1-2) (Now if you read on you will find what took place that caused JESUS to perform this miracle.) It appears John is telling us that Mary had went earlier and was there on this “the third day.” A Jewish wedding usually lasted for seven days. The actual marriage vows usually occur on the third day. It is a time of great rejoicing and celebrations. The wearing of white is a very long-standing custom. The bride we all know about, but in those days the groom also wore a white garment called “kittle” plus the groom was given a “tallit” (also known as a prayer shawl) by the bride and he was to wear it from then on as long as they lived together, even though he already had one from the day of his Bar-mitzvah. The idea of white as the color for the wedding was to show that both were pure and not defiled and in love. Now follow me closely from here on.

We all know the Biblical story of the Great Flood and how GOD placed a “rainbow” in the cloud as a sign to the earth that HE would not destroy it by flooding again. It takes the light of the sun shining through the clouds and the water droplets breaking up and refracting the light to show the different colors of the rainbow. (Genesis 9:13) Okay, I have often spoken of the fact that the rainbow we see is first a white rainbow before the SUN SHINES THROUGH. On February 11, 2024, www.israel365news.com/biblical-news reported a very, very rare white rainbow was sighted in Northern Israel. This is a sign of the impending wedding of the Bride united with the GROOM. We need to take special notice that right after JESUS explains what we read in Matthew chapter 24 as to the signs we need to notice, then HE continues in chapter 25 about a wedding. HE began HIS ministry with a wedding, and HE closed HIS ministry with a wedding. John said in Revelation 21:21 that the HOLY CITY, NEW JERUSALEM is adorned as a BRIDE for her HUSBAND. Many of our weddings today we put up an arch for the vows to be made between the bride and groom. We will not need the sun or the moon or the stars to shine then because the LAMB will be the LIGHT of IT. (Revelation 21:23)

Lift up your eyes on high, and behold WHO hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: HE CALLETH THEM ALL BY NAMES, BY THE GREATNESS OF HIS MIGHT, FOR THAT HE IS STRONG IN POWER, NOT ONE FAILETH. (Isaiah 40:26)

The phenomenon of the white rainbow is formed in the midst of fog more than in a down pour of rain. We know we are told that if we are driving in a fog always keep our headlights on so we can see and be seen, it is for our own safety. Paul explained it well also for he said, ^“For NOW we see through a glass, darkly [barely seeing image}; but then face to face [with the GROOM]: now I know in part; but then shall I know even AS ALSO I AM KNOWN.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)In the Hebrew Zohar, section 1, 72, explains the difference between the full colored rainbow and the white rainbow. The full colored one is a covenant with the earth while the white rainbow is a sign of the soon coming of the MESSIAH. The word Zohar means “splendor and radiance” and is a compilation of kabbalah meaning of Hebrew scriptures and it should be noted that even the Muslims use it too. The Jewish kabbalah is meant to explain the difference between the “unchanging, eternal GOD” and the “mortal, finite, universe.” Since it means “splendor and radiance” this explains Psalm 119:105 “Thy WORD is a LAMP [Splendor] unto my feet and a LIGHT [Radiance] unto my path.” The Hebrew version of this verse uses the Hebrew word ner for the English word “lamp” and it means “the light of a candle” and gives us the connotations of enlightenment, wisdom, and guidance. The Hebrew word used for “light” is ohr often translated as owr meaning “to give off light and to shine like the stars, sun and moon.”

Those who are [spiritually] wise will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead many to righteousness, [will shine] like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:3 AMP)

The need is urgent that we “sharpen the WORD of GOD” so that it penetrates deeply in the hearts and souls of ourselves and our children. And again, let us read Deuteronomy 6:4-6.

Hear, O Israel: THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy GOD with ALL thine heart, and with ALL thy soul, and with ALL thy might. AND THESE WORDS WHICH I COMMAND THEE THIS DAY SHALL BE IN THINE HEART:

These verses are the first part of what is known as the shema which is the basic, fundamental prayer designed to bring back to remembrance that the Jewish people are the chosen people of GOD forever and ever. Shema literally means “to hear” but it also means “to obey and take action.” The absolute better meaning is GOD was telling them that their LORD GOD was the only GOD because they were among many people that had all kinds of gods. Just how effective was this declaration ingrained into the hearts and soul of the Jewish children can be found in this story from WWII.

A European Rabbi named Herzog was able to take a large number of Jewish children to a Catholic Monastery and hide them there. Hitler was more sympathetic to many of the Catholic churches and monasteries and convents than any other religion. Rabbi Herzog knew the Nazis probably would not enter there and arrest the children. During the long years the nuns taught these Jewish kids about their Catholic beliefs, just in case they were ever raided by the Gestapo. A few years after the war was over and Europe was rebuilding, Rabbi Herzog returned in hopes of getting the Jewish children and taking them to their homeland. When he arrived the head nun told him she had no way of knowing which were Jewish and which were not. He had her assemble all the kids in a large room. When all were assembled, he spoke loudly and said, “Hear, O Israel the LORD our GOD is ONE LORD!” All the Jewish kids stepped forward for they knew that meant for them to step out and declare they were descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Muslims teach they came from Abraham, but they cannot claim they came from Isaac and Jacob. Proof we need to SHARPEN THE WORD OF GOD SO IT PENETRATES INTO OURSELVES AND OUR POSTERIOR.

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