HEBREW WORD STUDY –  LOSING SOMETHING OF VALUE – TSAR צור  Sade Vav Resh

Job 38:22: “Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow, hast thou seen  the treasures of the hail which I have reserved against the time of trouble against the day of battle  and war?”

We are now into September and the weather forecast is calling for thunderstorms with hail.  I plan to be in the land of nod when it hits so I will not be looking for any treasures in the hail.  I mean what treasure can you find in hail.  I face a lot of trouble at work tomorrow where we are running short handed. I may have to bend the time/space continuum if I hope to get all my passengers to their appointments on time in my disability bus.  A hail storm would not be a treasure I can use in that trouble, it would only add to my trouble.

This is not only a metaphor, but there is a reality here. In one way the Hebrews did find a treasure in snow and hail. God stopped Israel’s enemies with snow and hail (Joshua 10:11).  I just watched a documentary on World  War II  where Hitler’s advance into Russia was stopped by a winter snow storm.  Historians says that had Hitler made it to Moscow he would have ruled the world and finished off his “final solution.”  That snow storm was a treasure for the Allied Forces.

Maybe Job intended for a literal meaning but then that is the beauty of the Old Testament and it’s poetry, you can drill down further beyond it’s literal meaning and discover hidden treasures. So what are some of these hidden treasures for hail and snow storms. Farmer’s Almanac predicts a lot of snow in the Chicago area this winter so I want to know how to praise God in the midst of that.

Well, let’s see hail was often viewed as seeds falling from heaven and replanting the earth.  Snow carries a very powerful symbolic meaning for the Jews, The Zohar  represents snow as the purist form of white and hence the purity of God and His wisdom.  The word trouble in Hebrew is tsar which the loss or potential loss of something of value. Battle and war often means the loss of something of value and yet God is asking, “have you seen the  treasure house filled with hail or seeds to replant what  you have lost and have you entered into the purity of the wisdom of God?” In the midst of trouble or facing a loss of something of value we can look at the purity of God and know that all we will loose in our trouble tsar is that which keeps us from the purity of God and it is the purity of God that is a doorway to His heart.

Let’s look a little deeper, Snow is the word shaleg.  It is spelled Shin which equals 300, Lamed which equals30 and Gimmel which is the number  3 for a total of 333.  The Hebrew word shich’cha has a numerical value of 333 and that means forgetfulness.  “Have you entered the storehouse of forgetfulness?”  I once own a house on five acres in the country. I learned quickly that if you fail to do a final yard work before the first snow, the place will really look shabby before the first snow. But after the first snow and that blanket of white covers the property, it looks picture postcard beautiful.  The snow makes you forgot all the uncleanliness and unkemptness.  I have walked through some of the most run down areas in the City of Chicago after a snow storm and the new fallen snow makes it look beautiful, it makes you forget all the clutter and trash that was covering the area.   In the midst of your trouble, have you entered God’s storehouse of snow that will help you forget all that those horrible things? The word enter in Hebrew is bo’ which has the idea of coming into, being a part of , having intercourse with.   In the midst of your trouble don’t dwell on your trouble but walk into and surround yourself with all the beautiful things God has prepared for you. God gave you an imagination, use it imagine all the good these.

“Have you not seen the storehouses of hail?”  Hail is the word barad which means hail.  The numerical value of barad is Beth = 2, Resh = 200 and Daleth = 4 for a total of 206.  The word ‘atsum also have a value of 206 and it means mighty/strong.  Hail is mighty and strong.  This treasure of hail is the filling of  the Holy Spirit which opens to great might and strength to deliver you from your trouble. 

Oh yeah, and this is in “reserve.  The word reserve is chashak which is to hold back, keep hidden.  This deliverance is held back and hidden from you until the day you need it.  When you need to enter into this might and strength you will find it the Holy Spirit at just the time you need it.