Words of Hope

A Word Study on the Biblical Word "Hope"

Study #18 - A Collective Hope

At the beginning of our study on the Biblical word "hope" we stated that we would be looking at the various synonyms found in the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament and then at the various scriptures where those synonyms are found.  So far we have only considered the Hebrew word "tiqwa" as expressing a confident hope.  Our second synonym of hope we want to look at is the Hebrew word "miqweh" or "miqveh" (Strong's #4723).  According to most Hebrew scholars, both tiqwa and miqweh come from the same root word - "qawa".  This root word is most often translated as "wait" or as "expectation" in the King James Version of the English Bible (an interesting study in itself since the Bible has much to say about "waiting" on the Lord).  This fact also reveals that these two words for "hope" have a strong connotation of waiting and of looking with expectation for that which is hoped for.  We will consider this aspect of hope in future studies.  But how are tiqwa and miqweh to be distinguished?  The nature of synonyms is that they basically mean the same thing.  Sometimes there is a clear distinction between them, sometimes it is very subtle, and sometimes it is not at all evident.  We have been considering tiqwa as expressing a confident hope in part because of its association with a cord or rope that was made up of strands twisted together for increased strength (see study #3 posted on 2/10/2013).  It is now interesting to find that miqweh also is associated with things that are collected or bound together in some way.  This, in fact, seems to be its most basic meaning.  For example, in Genesis 1:10 the word "miqweh" is used to express the "gathering together" of the waters into seas on the third day of creation.  In Exodus 7:19 it is translated as "pools" and refers to the waters that were to be turned into blood during the first plague against Egypt.  And in Leviticus 11:36 it describes the "plenty" of water found in a fountain or pit.  In all of these places water is "gathered together" in some way or another.  One occurence of the word "miqweh" has caused a lot of debate among Bible translators and commentators.  In I Kings 10:28 and its parallel in II Chronicles 1:16 we read about Solomon's acquiring of horses from Egypt as a part of his great wealth.  The King James Version translates the word "miqweh" in these verses as "linen yarn" both times it occurs.  This translation of course would be in keeping with the root idea of a "twisted cord" of some type, but many find this to be somewhat out of place in the context of purchasing horses.  Most modern English versions of the Bible follow the Septuagint Version in this place rather than trying to translate the Hebrew.  The Septuagint took the word "miqweh" here as the name of a second source from which Solomon bought his horses - variously rendered as Kue (NASB, NIV) or as Keveh (NKJV) thought to be a region of Cilicia.  The Hebrew scholar Gesenius, however, argued that the idea of a "collection" should be maintained.  He suggested the translation "and the company of the royal merchants (out of Egypt) took the troop (of horses) at a price."  In other words there was a collective group of buyers who purchased this collective herd of horses for Solomon.  And so "miqweh" can refer to a gathering together of water, of merchants, or of horses.  So how does this collective idea transfer over to concept of hope?  Perhaps it once again conveys the idea of collective strength just like the twisted strands of a rope. Or perhaps it could refer to the collective hope of a group of people.  I may be stretching the idea here a little and I haven't found anyone else who mentions this possibility, but there are only five times that miqweh can be translated as "hope" in the Old Testament and all five of them refer to the hope of a collective group in some way.  I will list them here with only a few comments and will deal with some of them more fully in future posts:

I Chronicles 29:15 - "For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding."  Here the word miqweh is translated as "abiding" in the KJV to express the idea that the lives of all men are fragile and brief - no one can hope to continue to live forever.  There is no collective hope among men or any certain expectation of living in this world of sin and death. Indeed there is no hope for mankind apart from God, His mercy and His grace.

Ezra 10:2 - "We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing."  Once again the collective nation of Israel was in violation of God's law, but there was a collective hope for the nation if they would come together in dealing with this situation. 

Jeremiah 14:8 - "O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?"  This is a portion of the intercessions of Jeremiah for the nation of Israel.  Here he calls upon the Lord as The Hope of Israel forming a divine title expressing the collective hope of the nation.

Jeremiah 17:13 - "O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters."  Again Jeremiah addresses the LORD as the collective hope of Israel and gives his denunciation of any who may deny Him as such.

Jeremiah 50:7 - "All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers."  Here even the enemies of Israel recognized the collective hope of the nation was the LORD and stated their justification in conquering them since they had collectively sinned against their own God!  We will look more closely at this aspect of hope in our next study.

Words of Hope

A Word Study on the Biblical Word "Hope"

Study #17 - Prisoners of Hope

Our final passage that uses the Hebrew word "tiqwa" to describe the hope of Israel's restoration is found in Zechariah 9:12 - "Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee."  The imagery of imprisonment in this passage is very strong.  The previous verse declares, "I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water" (Zech. 9:11).  In ancient times empty cisterns were sometimes used as dungeons (see Genesis 37:24 and Jeremiah 38:6).  No doubt many of the captives of Babylon may have been all too familiar with this form of punishment.  But Zechariah was writing after the captivity had ended.  Were there some "prisoners of war" still being held in Babylon or Persia who were awaiting their freedom?  Or was Zechariah prophesying of a future "imprisonment" of God's people?  Interestingly in verse 13 of this same chapter God identifies "the sons of Greece" as the oppressors of Israel.  When this was originally written Greece was an obscure nation that had not yet risen to a position of world power as it would many years later under Alexander the Great.  At that time Israel would indeed be subject to the nation of Greece, but would not be oppressed by it.  Instead it would be a relatively peaceful time with much freedoms given to the Jewish people.  The nation of Greece would greatly influence the culture and language of the Jews.  The Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, would be a product of that time.  But following the Greek period, the nation of Israel would fall under the Syrian power and would experience one of its worst periods of persecution under the madman Antiochus Epiphanes.  Some scholars believe that this would be the "imprisonment" that is spoken of by Zechariah and that the promised deliverance would come during the Maccabean revolt (165 B.C.).  The problem with this interpretation is that the context of this passage associates the hope of Israel with the coming of their Messiah-King and the establishment of His Universal Kingdom:  "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass ... and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth" (Zech. 9:9,10).  While the prophecy of the "triumphal entry" was clearly fulfilled in the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 21), the establishment of Christ's earthly kingdom has not yet been fulfilled (Revelation 20).  This awaits fulfillment at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ when the nation of Israel will finally recognize Him as their Messiah and King.  And so, the "imprisonment" of Israel must be a future one, perhaps under the oppression of the anti-type of Epiphanes, the "little horn" of Daniel 8, the antichrist, who will one day come: "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom" (Daniel 8:21,22).  Once again Israel will be oppressed by a world power and imprisoned by it.  They will be prisoners yet prisoners of hope because of the salvation promised to them in Jesus Christ their King.  The basis of hope once again is declared to be the blood of the covenant: "As for thee also, by the blood of the covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners..." (Zech. 9:11).  This is no less than the blood of Jesus Christ which was shed for the sins of mankind upon the cross of Calvary (Hebrews 10:29).  The condition of hope is expressed in the phrase "Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope".  This is the language of repentance, of turning from sin and of turning to the Lord who alone is the Stronghold of His people and the only Source of salvation!  The reward of hope is a double pardon extended to those who will receive this promised deliverance (see Isaiah 40:2; 61:7).  These words of hope have special reference to the future of Israel, but may also be applied to all men who are in bondage to sin.  Thomas Moore wrote: "We, too, are often in a horrible pit and miry clay. We, too, are prisoners of hope, who are to go forth by the blood of the everlasting covenant ... Let sinners, who are also prisoners of hope, turn to the strong hold Christ, ere it be forever too late, and God will give them a double blessing." 

Words of Hope

A Word Study on the Biblical Word "Hope"

Study #16 - A Door of Hope

We are still looking at the numerous passages where the Hebrew word "tiqwa" is used to describe the confident hope of Israel's future restoration.  Two such passages remain for our study.  The first is in the book of Hosea.  Hosea ministered as a prophet of the Lord during the last generation before the Assyrian captivity of Israel in 722 B.C.  He foretold and forewarned of the certainty of coming judgment upon Israel in his day.  But, like many of the other prophets of God, Hosea also spoke of the certainty of Israel's future restoration.  The uniqueness of Hosea's message was the fact that his own marriage and home life was a vivid portrayal of the condition of the nation.  His wife was a harlot and unfaithful to him just as Israel had been unfaithful to God in seeking other "lovers" in the idols of false religion. But, like God, Hosea persisted in loving his unfaithful wife and eventually drew her back to himself.  The whole book is a testimony to the power of redeeming love!  One of the messages of Hosea concerning the restoration of Israel is found in 2:15 - "And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt."  God often used images from Israel's past to speak to her of her future.  The past redemption out of the bondage of Egypt stood as a constant testimony to the power of God to deliver His people.  It was also a reminder of the beginnings of the nation and of the blood of the Passover.  It was a very positive picture from Israel's past.  But the valley of Achor was another story!  The very name "Achor" meant trouble in the Hebrew language.  We have to go back to the book of Joshua to find the historical event associated with that place.  There in Joshua chapter 7 we find the record of Israel's first defeat in the conquest of the land of Canaan. The defeat was caused by the transgression of Achan who had taken spoils from the victory at Jericho in defiance of the express command of the Lord against doing so.  He had taken for himself the things that were to be devoted to God alone.  The judgment for this sin was severe.  Not only was the battle lost and 36 men killed, but the entire nation was left humiliated and devastated by the sight of their army fleeing before the enemy.  The sin of Achan however was soon discovered as the cause of this defeat and he was made to pay for his sins with his own life.  As Achan was brought to the valley outside of the city of Ai to be stoned Joshua said to him, "Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD will trouble thee this day...Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day" (Joshua 7:25,26).  Achor would from that time forth be a reminder of trouble and defeat caused by sinning against the Lord.  But, just as the nation's victory was restored through dealing with the sin of Achan, so the nation in Hosea's day was promised the hope of victory if they would deal with their own sin of spiritual harlotry (i.e. idolatry).  The place of trouble could become the place of triumph!  The valley of trouble would become a door of hope!  The exiled nation will one day be given the hope of an open door, a God-given entrance back to the land and back to their LORD.  One day the Lord will draw the nation back to Himself - "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably (literally - to her heart) unto her" (Hosea 2:14).  God will call His unfaithful wife Israel back to Himself and betroth them once again - "And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD" (Hosea 2:19,20).  In that day Israel will truly become Beulah Land - forever married to the Lord!  Israel's promised door of hope is a loving reminder from the Lord that He has the power to turn our troubles into triumphs and our defeats into victories!  "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (I John 5:4,5).  Have you entered God's door of hope?

Words of Hope

A Word Study on the Biblical Word "Hope"

Study #15 - Hope Revived

This is the second part to a study began last time on the loss of hope expressed by the nation of Israel in the days of Ezekiel.  In Ezekiel 19:5 we saw the crisis of hope unseen.  Israel could not see any hope because they were looking in the wrong direction - to their princes rather than to God's power to save and restore them.  And so we saw their hope redirected by God away from man and toward Himself.  We now will look at the crisis of hope unconfessed as found in Ezekiel 37 and the revival of Israel's hope as portrayed there in the vision of the valley of dry bones.  In Ezekiel 37 God showed to the prophet Ezekiel a vision of a valley full of skeletal bones - scattered, dried out, lying upon the ground, exposed to the elements, to predators and to scavengers.  It was a vivid picture of death - no life, no form, no flesh, and no breath.  It is not until verse eleven that God explains the meaning of this vision to Ezekiel:  "Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts."  Here was the state of the nation portrayed in no uncertain terms - dead, dried up, scattered, cut off from the homeland; in short, lost and without hope!  At least that is what they were saying.  The nation was complaining of their lost hope.  Many would have agreed with Israel's self assessment at that time in history.  Many have thought and even said as much even up to modern times.  One commentary I own made the very bold statement:  "That Israel has never yet been made one nation upon the mountains of Israel is incontestable, nor is there ground for expecting she ever will be."  Such an outlook was once very common among Bible "scholars".  They could not see any possible way for the promises of the restoration of the nation of Israel to their own land to be fulfilled in any literal fashion.  And so they sought for some spiritual or metaphorical meaning for the promises of God to Israel.  Ezekiel had a better attitude toward the Word of the LORD.  When God asked Ezekiel, "Son of man, can these bones live?", Ezekiel answered Him, "O Lord GOD, thou knowest" (Ezekiel 37:3).  We must never put limitations upon the power of our Sovereign Lord to do exactly as He has said!  Like Israel of old, we too may loose sight of our hope when we complain of our self imposed spiritual deadness or dryness rather than confessing our hope in the power of our Sovereign God.  God's power to revive the nation of Israel and to restore them to life and to their land is vividly demonstrated in the two-fold resurrection of the dry bones scattered across the valley recorded in verses 4-10.  First the physical restoration is portrayed:  "there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone ... the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above ..." (vs.7,8).  And so God Himself interprets the meaning: "Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel" (vs.12).  We believe that God has already begun this process of the physical return of Israel to her land.  Unlike the commentaries of the past, most modern Bible scholars wonder how this could have ever been doubted!  But something was lacking in the beginning of  Ezekiel's vision of Israel's restoration.  The bones were joined together, and the flesh had covered the bones, "but there was no breath in them" (vs.8).  Like the original creation of man, the re-creation of Israel will be two-fold.  First God formed the body of Adam out of the dust of the ground, but then He "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). And so it will be with Israel:  "Behold I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live" (vs.5); "I will ... put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD" (vs.6).  Notice that the renewed life of the nation results in them knowing the LORD.  This is the mark of spiritual regeneration and the new birth that comes only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  This is clearly spoken of in the previous chapter of Ezekiel, verses 25-28.  This is the promise of the New Covenant once again just as we saw in Jeremiah's prophecy.  "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean ... a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you ... and I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes ... and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God."   God will revive the nation of Israel just as surely as He will restore them to their land.  This He will accomplish through the instrumentality of His Word:  "Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD" (vs.4).  Even so must the Gospel be preached to Israel, for "faith cometh by hearing" (Romans 10:17); but we must also note that "hearing cometh by the word of the Lord".  The instrument of conversion is the preaching of the gospel, but the Agent of conversion is the Spirit of God.  Only He can cause the deaf to hear and the blind to see.  Only He can open the heart of the sinner to the call of the gospel and cause the dead to live again!  Even so, one day God will resurrect the nation of Israel and will put His Spirit within them.  And in that day God will unite His people in one eternal kingdom and covenant, under one eternal Shepherd and King, to worship Him their one eternal God (vs. 22-28).