"By the Word of the L-RD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host." ~ Psalm 33:6
"..then the L-RD G-d formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." ~ Genesis 2:7
"Thus says the L-RD G-d to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live... So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army." ~ Ezekiel 37:5,10
"And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." ~ John 20:22
What is the breath of G-d, that He employs it to create space-time - to call light, all energies, as well as massive heavenly bodies, and the seemingly endless amounts of space in which they dwell, into existence? Is it simply His breath, similar to what we use to speak words - or is there more to it?
Why did He breathe into man's body when he was first created? Couldn't He simply have commanded man to live? Was it merely the breathe of life, or was it His Spirit? In what ways would man be different had G-d not held him close and filled him in this way? And how close was He when He did so? Was it face to face?
What is in the breath of HaShem that causes mountains of bones to spring to life, and assemble themselves with sinew and skin? Is the re-creation of Yisrael different than the creation of Adamah - if so, how?
How is it that Yeshua was able to impart the Ruach Ha Kodesh to His disciples by breathing upon them? Why not the laying on of hands, or anointing them with oil? And how close was He when He did so? Was it face to face?
Concerning the talmidim, do you think they received the Ruach then and there, or later on at Shavuot? The text in the beginning of Acts seems to me to indicate at Shavuot. And Acts 8:17 shows how even though a region of people receive the good news, it still took the pillars from Yerushalayim to come down and impart the Ruach by laying on their hands...
ReplyDeleteThat's a great question, Swanny. I've understood it as both, really. Though, as always, I'm open to your insights. In John 20:22, they receive it directly from Yeshua, which is plain in the text, but it appears to be to enable the talmidim to have the ability to forgive the sins of others in Yeshua's name - which makes sense in light of Yeshua just having resurrected. In Acts, at Shavuot, they're immersed in the Ruach - which I've taken to mean sealed in their belief, through the renewed covenant - just as when Torah was given at the first Shavuot. That impartation would be, from that point on, transferred by the laying on of hands. Nu?
DeleteShalom Luke,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! And you asked some great questions which I believe lead us in the right direction!
Have you read John 20:22?
ReplyDelete"After saying this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Take for yourself the Holy Spirit.'"
This happened well before the Acts 2 event, which may not have been the "general" giving of the Spirit, but a special enabling to allow the Apostles to preach the Word with much more courage than they had previously shown.
Just a thought.
-James
Shalom James, Great to have you. Who is your above question concerning John 20:22 directed towards - myself or Swanny?
DeleteOops. I was half-asleep when I posted the above. I see you've already quoted John 20:22. Still, it brings up interesting questions, since John is the only Gospel to record this event and most people believe Acts 2 corresponds to the "general" giving of the Holy Spirit which all believers receive (though we don't have anyone saying they have the identical experience of 'tongues of fire', today). I wonder, does God breathe on us?
ReplyDeleteThat's no problem at all, James. I've done that elsewhere many times myself. And your question is my own, really - does G-d still breathe on us? Is this how we become "new creations"? How are we sealed today? I'd really like all you guys' ideas on this, if you get time later.
DeleteIt's probably a question that has no definitive answer, though I suppose speculation could be an interesting exercise. I don't know if you visit my blog much, but I just finished a four-part series of the Divinity of Jesus using Kabbalah and Chasidic mysticism as my lenses. I didn't "solve" anything, but I did show how it is possible to look at the Messiah and his Deity (or lack thereof) from a completely different direction.
ReplyDeleteThanks, James. Yeah, if you'd like to discuss it here, that would be great - but I'll definitely get over to your blog soon and check out your recent posts. I used to read it every other day or so, but so many things have changed recently, and I'm not getting the time I would like for such things. Either way, thanks again for coming by.
DeleteJust start with Part 1 in Exploring Messianic Divinity and then continue to follow the links. Feel free to comment. Not your typical Christian (or for that matter "Messianic) content.
ReplyDeleteOk, will do, James. And I know your content is rarely typical - that's one of the reasons I like you. Thanks again.
DeleteSomething else to consider is that I noticed in the verses listed above that the english translations use the word breath or breathed for a variety of different hebrew words.
ReplyDeleteFor example in Gen 2:7 "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" is rendered "vayipach b'apav nishmat chayim." Here vayipach=breathed (better rendered "blew") and "breath of life"=nishmat chayim. Whats interesting is that nishmat is related to the word neshamah. Neshamah, as described by the Sages, is one of the 3 levels of the soul (nefesh, ruach, neshamah) and is the only one that never actually leaves the heavenly sphere. To paint the picture: the nefesh is the animalistic soul within the body here in earth that is connected to the neshamah in the heavenly sphere via the ruach acting as a spiritual channel, if you will.
In Psalm 33:6, "breath of His mouth" actually utilizes the hebrew word ruach (uv'ruach="and with breath"...). Frequently, ruach is used in connection with spirit, but in this instance I would agree with Rambam's interpretation in saying that ruach used here denotes the will and purpose of Hashem, and not an actual breath (seeing how the Torah is written in the language of men and the Holy One is not corporeal).
For the verse in John, Ill have to check out your DHE to see how he translated it to get a better idea of that verse. But for now, more things to ponder over and explore :) Shabbat Shalom Luke and Ill hopefully see you this weekend!
Question, you all are talking as if the HS only appeard After Yeshua. Was the HS not present in OT days? If not, then how were the OT people saved? Are they two way for salvation?
ReplyDeleteHey Dan,
DeleteSorry, no, we're not saying that at all. Not sure why it appears that way to you. In my post, you can see that I've included verses from Genesis, Psalms and Ezekiel as well as John. This is, or can be, a discussion concerning the Holy Spirit at any time you'd care to discuss - and I welcome that, actually. The comments have turned a bit to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but feel free to take it wherever you like.
And yes, you are correct. We see in multiple passages that the Holy Spirit was certainly present in the days of Tanakh - all the way back to the Spirit of G-d hovering over the waters. How could He not have been?
To the other point you've mentioned, which could be a much longer discussion, there is only one way of salvation. Salvation is, and always has been, through faith alone.
Let me know your thoughts. Thanks so much, Dan.
Luke,
ReplyDeleteThanks for clarifying.
Tell me if I am off topic, but the way I see it, the increase in the activity of the HS afre Yeshua's death is in quantity, not quality. Since the ingathering of the nations began the HS is more active because His work is much more spread. It does not mean that like many Christians believe, we are today more spiritual than the OT people.
Not off topic at all, Dan, and I wouldn't mind if you were. By and large, I would have to agree with you. People definitely misunderstand much of the Tanakh anyway, why should this topic be any different? Just the events of the Exodus and Sinai, alone, eclipse what we see in the Brit Chadasha, in terms of power, for example. But in that quantity (versus quality) dynamic you see the Holy Spirit working on a much more individual level now - and that's what people respond to more strongly, I suppose. So yeah, just as you said, the same Spirit poured into many more vessels. And no, clearly, we are NOT "more spiritual" today than the ancients were. I'd like to see someone try to argue that with a straight face.
Delete