Words of Hope

We are continuing to look at the word "hope" as it is found in the book of Job, an unlikely place to find a message of hope, or so it would seem.  It is even more surprising to find that the most positive messages on hope in the book come from the words of Job's friends.  Job, of all people, needed to hear a word of hope, for he spends much of the book describing his seeming hopelessness!  The failure of Job's friends to accurately diagnose his situation does not negate the truths that they proclaim - their theology was better than their counseling skills!  Last time we looked at the counsel of Eliphaz concerning the hope and confidence that comes with a sure relationship with the Lord.  In Job 5:16 we find a second message of hope coming from Eliphaz:  "So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth".  In this chapter Eliphaz is telling Job what he would do if he was in Job's situation:  "I would seek to God, and unto God would I commit my cause" (Job 5:8).  Again this is good advice, and this is exactly what Job does throughout the rest of the book (However not in the way his friends expect or approve of!).  The promise of hope found in verse 16 is based upon the power of God to relieve the oppressed when they call unto Him "which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number" (vs.9).  We may summarize verses 9-16 as follows:  God's marvellous works are without number; He faithfully sends rain upon the earth and fields; He promotes the cause of the lowly; He thwarts the plans of the crafty (this thought is quoted by Paul in First Corinthians 3:19); He brings darkness upon those who trust in their own wisdom; and, He delivers the poor from their oppressors.  For these, and for innumerable other reasons, the poor (i.e. the afflicted and oppressed - whether physically or spiritually impoverished - see Matthew 5:3) can have hope in the power and perfect justice of God who is able to reduce iniquity itself to utter silence!  "That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (Romans 3:19).  The power of God is a sure source of hope for those who trust in Him, but a sure cause of dread for those who shall stand before Him one day in the inexcusable guilt of their sins!

Words of Hope

A Word Study on the Biblical Word "Hope"

We have looked briefly at the first of the Hebrew synonyms for the word "hope" as found in the Old Testament, and have considered its root meaning of a "cord" which implies something "strong enough to place confidence in".  Now we want to begin looking at some of the scriptures where this word is found.  Using Strong's Concordance we can find 21 references where the Hebrew word tiqwa is translated by the English word "hope" in the King James Version of the Bible.  Interestingly, this word is found most often in the Book of Job (12 times), a book not usually associated with the concept of hope!  We will list them here so that you may read them for yourself:  Job 4:6; 5:16; 7:6; 8:13; 11:18,20; 14:7,19; 17:15 (twice); 19:10; and 27:8.  (You will find the word "hope" three other times in the book, but three different Hebrew words are used in these verses:  Job 6:11; 8:14; and 31:24.)  Even a casual reading of these twelve verses in their contexts reveals the emotional roller coaster of Job's experience in dealing with his inexplicable sufferings - there is a constant vacillation between hopelessness and hopefulness.  As Job looks at his circumstances he feel hopeless (7:6; 14:19; 17:15; 19:10), but as he looks to God with the expectation of future vindication and even resurrection, he finds hope!  Even his misguided friends encourage him in the beginning of their counsel that he could be hopeful of restoration if only he would be willing to admit his sins and come clean with God.  (Which would have been good advice if only Job's suffering had been caused by some sin in his life, which as we know, and as Job knew, was not the case.  They had the right doctrine, but were making the wrong application.)  In fact, the three most positive statements concerning hope come from the mouths of Job's friends!  We will consider the first of these as found in Job 4:6 -  "Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?"  Here Eliphaz reminds Job that he had counseled others in the past and had effectively encouraged them in their sufferings.  And so it would seem that Job should have had the inward resources  to comfort himself now that he was suffering (see vs. 4,5).  Indeed, according to Eliphaz, Job should be confident (yet another synonym for hope) because of his fear (i.e. his reverence for God), and should have hope because of the uprightness of his ways (i.e. the spiritual integrity of his life and testimony).  As an innocent man he would not perish, and as a righteous man he would not be cut off by the Lord (see vs. 7).  In other words, our relationship to God (reverence and piety) is a strong basis for confidence and hope despite our outward suffering or circumstances!  It is made equally clear, however, that there is no hope for the wicked or the hypocrite!  Job 8:13 - "So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish."  Job 11:20 - "But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost."   Job 27:8 - "For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?"   And so the all important question is this:  Do you have confidence in your relationship with God?  Do you have hope because your heart is right with Him?  If not, you can begin a personal relationship with God today by trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.  Faith in Christ is the foundation of a personal relationship with God, a life of true hope.  It is a firm confidence that our sins are forgiven and our souls have been made clean in the shed blood of the Lamb of God, so that we will not perish in our sins, but will have everlasting life in Him (John 3:16). 

Words of Hope

                                          Words of Hope

                              A Word Study on the Biblical Word "Hope"

Last time we began a study of the Hebrew word "tiqwa" - one of the synonyms for the word "hope" found in the Old Testament.  We found that this word was sometimes used as a name - spelled Tikvah in the KJV.

We now want to take a brief look at the etymology of this word and its root meaning.  The word "tiqwa" comes from the root word "qawa" or "qavah" depending on one's transliteration.  It is #6960 in Strong's numbering system.  According to A. H. Strong it is "a primitive root meaning to bind together (perhaps by twisting), i.e. to collect."  Thus it is commonly used of a rope or cord which was made by twisting together its several strands.  It is not always easy to trace a word's root meaning to its various derived meanings, but in this case we find an interesting progression of ideas.  Gesenius in his Hebrew Lexicon makes the following connection:  First, the twisted rope. Then the association of such a rope with strength.  This is not a stretch, since as he explains, the same derivation is found in the German language in its words for rope and strength:

"The notion of binding fast, tying fast, is applied to strength."  Finally, the idea of expectation, "perhaps from enduring, remaining, which differs but little from the notion of strength."  The lesson here is clear:  What we hope in must be something strong enough for us to have confidence in!  We must be certain that we can expect it to be dependable.  The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament reflects this root idea of strength and endurance in its article on the word "tiqwa" and defines it as "waiting with steadfast endurance" and as "enduring patiently in confident hope".  

A great illustration of the meaning of this word is found in the Old Testament account of Rahab and the fall of Jericho (Joshua chapter two).  The word "tiqwa" is used of the "line" that Rahab used to lower the two spies out of her window down the outer wall of the city of Jericho.   She was then instructed to place that same "line" in her window as a visible sign to the armies of Israel in order to ensure the sparing of her life and family when the city was conquered.  This she promptly did "in faith" trusting in the protection that was promised to her (see verses 18 and 21).  In verse 18 we read that this "line" was made of sewing "thread" died scarlet red.  Several strands of this thread were apparently twisted together into a rope of sufficient  strength in order to be able to hold the weight of a man.  (In verse 15 it is called a cord - here yet another Hebrew word is used for a "twisted rope").  This  blood red rope that allowed the spies to escape became the means of safety for Rahab and her family as well!  (See Hebrews 11:31 for a testimony to Rahab's faith by which she was saved).  And so Rahab's crimson thread is not only a beautiful picture of hope, but a widely recognized type of the blood of Jesus Christ in which the believer places his confident trust and finds the sure expectation of eternal salvation and deliverance from hell's everlasting destruction!
"In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:14).

Dr. Lee Wiggins

                 
                                     Words of Hope
                 A Word Study on the Biblical Words of Hope

I have been studying the word "hope" as it is used in the Bible.  Hope is one of the chief topics of both the Old and New Testaments.  The word "hope"  is found in the KJV English Bible over 140 times, but behind the English translation there are at least a dozen different Hebrew and Greek words used to convey the Biblical idea of hope.  Today I will begin a look at the first of these synonyms for the word "hope" - the Hebrew word "tiqwa" (Strong's # 815 for those who want to look it up).  It is interesting to note that two men were given this name in the Old Testament.  It is spelled or transliterated as Tikveh in the KJV.  One is found mentioned in the days of Josiah (II Kings 22:14) and another in the days of Ezra (Ezra 10:15).  Just like today, parents way back then would often give their children names expressing positive character traits they desired for them to possess and practice.  No doubt the parents of these two men had great expectations when they named their baby boys "Hope"!  We don't know how these two men called "Hope" turned out - we only are told something of their children.  One of these "sons of hope" was the father of Shallum who was  the husband of Huldah the prophetess who gave wise counsel to the young King Josiah. And so the character of hope continued from this man through his famous daughter-in-law. But the other was the father of Jahaziah, one of the few men who opposed Ezra in the dissolution of the mixed marriages that plagued the nation in those days of reform.  (The KJV states that Jahaziah was "employed" in the matter, but the margin explains that the Hebrew word here is "stood".  Most understand that he "stood against" Ezra or that he was employed in opposing him, not assisting him.)  So the lesson here is that no matter our hopes for our children, they do not always live up to their names or the expectations of their parents, nor can we predict the character of the spouses they will mary or of the children they will have.  Not every hope is well founded or realized.  This is a reminder that our hope must be grounded in the LORD and His Word, not in man - not even in our children or grandchildren!  Next time will will take a look at the root meaning of this Hebrew word and the wonderful word picture it presents.