Shalom in 2024,
Where is the Beauty?
(For Adult Eyes Only)
Since October 7, 2023, our eyes and ears have seen and heard the unbelievable. Our minds have had to process the unthinkable. Savage, barbaric, inhuman violence (hamas in Hebrew) and cruelty in our day? The war begun in Israel by Hamas on the final day of the fall holidays—Simchat Torah, the Day of Rejoicing of the Torah—has been openly demonic in nature. Beheading children, raping women, before and after shooting, burning families alive, dismembering males and females, and much more were recorded by Hamas on Israeli cell phones and Go Pros of Hamas (video cameras), presumably as bragging rights with their evil companions. Is there any doubt that we are in the Last Days? The devil’s time is short, and he is unleashing his vilest arsenal against God’s People Israel. The goal is the complete annihilation of the Jews and the Nation of Israel. This hatred, fueled by the ancient spirit of antisemitism, has also spread beyond the borders of Eretz Yisrael. We have seen it on college campuses and cities throughout the United States and the world.
What should be the response of believers in Messiah, both Jewish and non-Jewish? Will the antisemitic spirit pave the way for the anti-Christ spirit? Will Christians be the next target? As we look at the kibbutzim in Southern Israel near the Gaza border, burnt to the ground, we might ask: “Where is the ‘beauty for ashes’ (Is. 61:3)?
His Beauty/Our Beauty
Sometime during the month of September, the Lord gave me topics for the October through January newsletters. The January newsletter was to focus on one verse that God was emphasizing as a word from Him for 2024. The verse is from Psalm 90 and has always been one of my favorites. In my early days as a believer, I even put it to music.
Given the events of October 7, 2023, and the months following, I had to really dig into the Word to see how Psalm 90:17 might apply to us in the midst of a world falling apart:
“And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands.“
Psalm 90:17 is a prayer. It begins with a plea for beauty—the LORD’s beauty—to be upon His people. The Hebrew word for beauty in this verse is noam—נעם) NOH-ahm). Noam Adonai, the beauty of the Lord. Noam is the same word found in Psalm 27:4, “One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty [noam] of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.” The verse that follows says, “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion [Hebrew: sukkah]…” (v.5).
I had not yet begun my research and did not know the word noam, when I went to Target on Sunday, November 26th. I was trying to buy a new water bottle and had trouble opening one of the newer models. A young woman in the same aisle appeared friendly, so I asked if she could help me (I do this frequently). She commented on the unique design, and I detected a Hebrew accent. I asked if she was Israeli, and she said yes, but they had to leave Israel suddenly. Hillary, her husband, and two sons had gone on vacation to visit relatives near Gaza on October 6, 2023. Yes. They had to flee for their lives and were in Target getting some necessities they had not been able to bring with them.
When I showed Hillary the names of the hostages written on the palms of my hands—Ariel on my left and Mia on my right – she was amazed. I explained what many believers were doing, following God’s example in Isaiah 49:16, “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands…” We parted. I was about three aisles away when Hillary found me, visibly moved, and wanted to thank me for praying for the hostages. She explained to me that the first mother and daughter to be released were her relatives, but another was still there. She tearfully pulled up the photo on her phone and showed me the girl. Her name is NOAM! I said that I would add Noam to the palm of my right hand. (Noam has since been released from captivity. Noam—the word “beauty” from Psalm 90:17.)
I explained to Hillary that I was not born Jewish, but if they come again for the Jews, I’m going with them. When I mentioned Jewish Jewels and our television program, Hillary said, “I know that program.” I encouraged her to watch us again on YouTube. God loves this family, and His heart hurts for them, as well as all others—hostages, families, and innocent civilians—in their horrific suffering.
The word NOAM actually combines the ideas of BEAUTY and FAVOR. Kindness. Graciousness. Approval. Brightness. What is God’s noam that we want to be upon us? This is His gracious kindness, His glorious presence, and the loveliness of His character. The noam of God is who He is, not necessarily what He looks like externally. This brings to mind Isaiah 53:2, “…And when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.” And yet, the bride in Song of Songs 5:10-16, extolling the many virtues of her bridegroom concludes by saying, “His mouth is most sweet, yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem!” (v.16).
We don’t have to be externally beautiful to have the Lord’s beauty and favor upon us. Godly character, kindness, and holiness impart beauty and favor. God’s GLORY can be seen upon His beloved ones when we have been with Yeshua.
His Work/Our Work
In Psalm 90:16, the psalmist says, “Let Your work appear to Your servants …” This work is then connected with the Lord’s beauty/favor in Psalm 90:17. The first thing to consider is that the work is God’s work, not our own. It must be done in His way, with His beauty upon us, to be successful and have eternal value. I have heard it said many times that only what God initiates and only what is motivated by love lasts. (See I Cor. 13:8)
Work in Hebrew is maaseh—מעשה (mah-ah-SEH). The plural is ma-ah-SEEM. Works done according to the will of God are encouraged and praised in verses such as Num. 16:28; Deut. 15:10; Ps. 33:15; Pr. 31:13,31; and Is. 26:12.
The Brit Hadashah makes it clear that our salvation is not by works, but by grace: “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Ti. 3:5). Nevertheless, there are many many verses in the New Covenant that exhort us concerning works subsequent to salvation, since “…faith without works is dead” (Jm. 2:20, 26).
The Messiah Yeshua equates our works with God being glorified in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” This is the hour to connect this verse with Is. 60:1, “Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.”
Yeshua also said to His disciples, “‘…he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father‘” (Jn. 14:12). In Titus we read that the Messiah has purified for Himself “…His own special people, zealous for good works” (Ti. 2:14). Ephesians 2:89, which testifies to salvation by grace through faith, and not of works, is followed by a powerful truth in verse 10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.“
“Abba, please help us discover these pre-ordained good works, especially designed for each of us as individuals. Give us the will to obey and the strength and determination to follow Your lead, wherever You lead, whatever the cost.”
Sometimes we forget that the good works that are God’s will for us are very mundane, day-to-day kind of works. I Timothy gives us a window into this truth, as it refers to widows under sixty who have only been married to one man, “well reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work” (I Tim. 5:10). It appears as if those women are like the Messiah Yeshua who “…went about doing good...” (Acts 10:38).
Other exhortations concerning the good works of believers are expressed in I Pet. 2:12 and 15, Ti. 3:8, and Rev. 14:13, but the one that seems to speak most directly to us in 2024 is found in I Timothy 6:17-19, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” Abba, help us!
One final thought on works has to do with God’s judging and rewarding believers by our works. “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matt. 16:27; see also Rev. 2:23). We read in I Corinthians 3:13-15 that fire will test everyone’s work. In Revelation 20:12, we read that when the Book of Life is opened, the dead are judged according to their works.
The most comforting thought concerning our works is something that the Messiah said when questioned by His disciples concerning their works. “Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ Yeshua answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent‘” (Jn. 6:28-29).
His Hands/Our Hands
The second part of Psalm 90:17 says the same thing twice, giving it special emphasis: “…and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands.” While the “beauty of the Lord our God” is about who we are, the “work of our hands” is about what we do. (This is reminiscent of Commandments #1 and #2—Man and God, then Man and Other People.)
The word establish in Hebrew, coon—כון (COON)—implies giving success, directing, confirming, advancing, prospering, and blessing. In Psalm 90:17, establish has a similar meaning as Job 22:28, “You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways.” The work of our hands established by God is work led by the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit, as opposed to works of the flesh which have no eternal value. (See Gal. 5:19-21.)
If our work is God’s work, it will be established and effectual. The earlier part of Psalm 90 emphasizes the fleeting nature of life on earth (“Teach us to number our days…” v.12) so the prayer to”establish” our work includes a desire to have our best efforts rewarded as we work while it is yet day. “Lord, please make what we do today count for eternity.”
I love what MacLaren, a Bible expositor, says about the idea of establishing the work of our hands. “If my will runs in the line of His, and if the work of my hands is ‘Thy work,’ it is not in vain that we shall cry ‘Establish it upon us,’ for it will last as long as He does. In like manner, all work will be perpetual that is done with ‘the beauty of the Lord our God’ upon the doers of it.” Works established eternally are mentioned in the final book of the Bible: “‘Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them‘” (Rev. 14:13).
What about hands? Yad—singular, יד (YAHD), yadeynu—our hands—ידינו (yah-DAY-noo). The phrase, “the work of our (your, His) hands” is found throughout the Holy Scriptures. We are familiar with expressions in English: “All hands on deck” or “Put your hand to the plow” referring to being diligent and ready to work. What has God placed in your hands? How does He want you to use your hands for His glory and the expansion of His Kingdom? Does He have new End-Time assignments for you? I ask myself these questions.
One of the verses that has undergirded my life as a believer is Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…” I was shocked a few years ago when cleaning out a closet, I found my high school yearbook from 1965, the year I graduated. Under my photo, the yearbook staff wrote: “My heart bids me do it, if do it I can, and it is a thing possible to do.” God has had His hand on me, and on YOU, from before we were born. He wants to use your hands for His glory at this final hour of history. It does not matter how you began but how you finish this journey called life!
In 2024, our hands must be “praying hands.” We are in a spiritual battle—a war between good and evil. King David, an Israelite warrior, spoke of the God who is with us in battle: “Blessed be the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle—” (Ps. 144:1). One of the hostages, an Israeli Messianic Jew, was in her safe room when Hamas captured her kibbutz and was massacring her neighbors. She heard their voices in her home, lifted her hands to heaven, and began praying to her Lord Yeshua the Messiah. She saw Hamas on the security camera, standing outside the room, immobilized, as if someone kept them from shooting or storming into the room. The same thing happened at the door of her son’s room, where he was hiding. Lamentations 3:41 says, “Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven.” Our God hears and answers the prayers made in Yeshua’s name! This is the only story I have heard so far of a believer in Hamas’ war on Israel. I pray there are more to come.
Our hands can be hands of intercessory prayer for Israel, the peace of Jerusalem (Ps. 122:6), the IDF, and any hostages still being imprisoned by the wicked soldiers of Hamas. “Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also” (Heb. 13:3). In another version: “Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering, as though you were suffering as they are” (GNT).
Ariel, the four-year-old hostage’s name is still on the palm of my left hand today, as I write this letter on December 4, 2023. Ariel and his 10-month-old brother, Kfir, as well as their mother, were murdered, according to a Hamas spokesperson. But the Israelis don’t believe them. Ariel and Kfir, as the only children hostages still in Gaza (both precious redheads, like my son Jesse) may still be alive, to be used as important bargaining chips for the release of more brutal terrorists. Please be an advocate in prayer for Israel and the Jews. Pray for the safe, soon return of all hostages—especially those two children. (Mia, thank God, was released.)
When God’s favor is upon us, we can be Yeshua’s hands extended to those who need help and healing. We can be like the eschit chayil,חיל אשת (eh-SHET khah-YEEL), virtuous woman of Proverbs 31:20: “She extends her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.” We can lay hands on the sick and, according to God’s Word, they will be healed. Yeshua said about His disciples, “‘…they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover‘” (Mark 16:18).
Praying hands, healing hands, helping hands, blessing hands, strong hands, creating hands. So many ways that our hands can overcome evil with good. Perhaps that is why Psalm 90:17 says twice, “establish the work of our hands.” Most of all, our hands should be loving hands—touching a hurting world. One of my father’s favorite songs was “If I Can Help Somebody.” I leave you with words from that song: “If I can help somebody, as I travel along. If I can help somebody, with a word or song. If I can help somebody, from doing wrong. No, my living shall not be in vain.”
May the Lord bless you with a beautiful, established 2024,
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