As I read the verses that I’m going to use as the focus of this post, I have meditated on them, prayed about them, and then did a word breakdown into the Hebrew for multiple words in the verses. In sharing them, I am going to take a page from the Amplified Bible and in these verses put in brackets what I have found the rendering of the words to mean according to The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon. The more I study both the Hebrew words and letters and discover the meanings of the of both in Hebrew, it opens my eyes to see the Word in a new light that speaks to my heart in ways just sitting and reading the Bible never has. As we learn and understand the language and cultural significance of where these individual words were birthed, it allows us to have deeper intellectual and spiritual insight.
20 You are to fear [stand in awe] of Adonai your God, serve [worship and obey] Him, cling [be joined to, keep close, and remain with Him] and swear [take the most sacred of oaths] by His name [reputation]. 21 He is your praise [praise song, thanksgiving], and He is your God who has done for you these great [in magnitude and extent] and awesome [wonderful and glorious] things, which you have seen [what you have encountered] with your own eyes [in the presence of, in full view]. Deuteronomy 10:20-21
With this form of praise, praise song, we come to the next word in Hebrew on our list of words; Tehilla. This is the praise in which we lift our voices in song and thanksgiving to Him. The Psalms is the go-to book for songs of praise, and we are commanded time and time again to sing a new song unto the Lord.
Then my head will be lifted up above my surrounding foes, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, sing praises to Adonai. Psalm 27:6
Sing praise to Adonai, you faithful of his; and give thanks on recalling his holiness. Psalm 30:4
You turned my mourning into dancing! You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my well-being can praise you and not be silent; Adonai my God, I will thank you forever! Psalm 30:11-12
Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing Praises to our king, Sing praises! For God is king of all the earth; sing praises in a maskil (instructional poem). Psalm 47:6-7
Sing to God, sing praises to His name, extol him who rides on the clouds by his name, Yah; and be glad in His presence. Psalm 68:4
Sing to Adonai a new song! Sing to Adonai, all the earth! Sing to Adonai, bless his name! Proclaim his victory day after day! Psalm 96:1-2
All these psalms were birthed out of the commands within Deuteronomy 10:20-21. They were penned out of that reverential fear and awe of Adonai, out of serving, worshiping, and obeying him, by swearing by His name and reputation, and because He had done awesome, wonderful, and glorious things that the writers encountered with their own eyes. It was then He became their song of praise,
While this instruction is found in Deuteronomy, it is seen in play well before then, back in the book of Exodus. At the end of chapter fourteen we see that Adonai had just saved Israel from the Egyptians, and verse 31 says, When Isra’el saw the mighty deed that Adonai had performed against the Egyptians, the people feared Adonai, and they believed in Adonai and in his servant Moshe. Moses and the Children of Israel then had the first corporate praise and worship service singing, [1] I will sing to Adonai, for he is highly exalted: the horse and its rider he threw in the sea. [2] Yah is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God: I will glorify him; my father’s God: I will exalt him. [3] Adonai is a warrior; Adonai is his name. Exodus 15:1-3 As the chapter continues, they sing of all the mighty deeds of God as He brought them out of Egypt. Verse 8 describes the parting of the Red Sea like this, With a blast from your nostrils the waters piled up – the waters stood up like a wall, the depths of the sea became firm ground. The Exodus is one of the most captivating events in all of history and is probably the most talked about from the Old Testament. Centuries later, we are still caught up in the wonder of it to the point that researchers using modern technology are still searching for evidence of chariots in different locations believed to be where the crossing of the Red Sea happened.
As this song of praise is found in chapter 15, on a whim I decided to look up the numerical value of 15 just to see what I would find. And I found the word Halal, which is the root of each of the words for praise we have looked at so far. To sound forth, sing; to make famous, to praise; to shine, to bloom; utterance, sound; renown or splendor. Another word with the value of 15 is a rare spelling of the letter Hey, spelled Hey ( ה) and Yud ( י) which means singing or lamentation. It does not matter if it is a song of joy, or one of heartbreak and sorrow, regardless of the situation, when we make Him our praise song, He will draw close to us, as we draw close to Him. Sometimes the greatest victory is birthed out of the praise of our hearts in our most broken moments. My sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God you wont spurn a broken, chastened heart. Psalm 51:17
I continue to come back to Yeshua’s encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. But the time is coming – indeed, it’s here now – when the true worshippers will worship the Father spiritually and truly, for these are the kind of people the Father wants worshipping him. John 4:23 We can sing as loud or soft as we choose, we can have a voice that would make Juilliard want to recruit you, or as the saying goes, not be able to carry a tune in a bucket. But unless our praise is coming from that place of spirit and truth, if our song isn’t carried in awe and wonder, clinging to Him, exalting Him with what we have seen Him do in our own lives, then it is empty words, empty melodies and offer nothing of value to Him. But when we step into that place as Moses, David, and Asaf did, we will reach His heart with our heart and He will become our Praise Song.
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