HEBREW WORD STUDY – THE FULLNESS OF JOY – SOBA SEMACHOT שבע שמחות  Sine Beth Ayin   Sine Mem Cheth Vav Taw

Psalms 16:11: “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Well, today was just one of those days driving my disability bus.  Most people are grateful and gracious for the ride. Our town provides the service free and it is door to door and we work very hard to meet the needs of our riders. However, on occasion, you get those who feel entitled and consider you their own personal chauffeur.  They know the time of their pick up but wait until you beep the horn to do their last minute things while I’m running a tight schedule and traffic is building up behind me because they cannot get around my bus.  It was one of those days when I was really getting in a very unchristian mood. 

In the midst of my grumblings and feeling sorry for myself and trying to find a way for cars to get around me without having to go around the block, I got a call from my dispatcher to make a special trip for someone they accidentally overlooked.  Well, I did not realize how special that little trip would be.

I had dropped off my last passenger and went to pick up my special trip.  I had my worship music playing on my IPOD when I pulled in front of her house.  Out came an elderly woman who was knocking at the door of 90.  After helping her onto my bus, I moved to the driver’s seat when I heard her say: “Oh, that is beautiful, they sang that song in church last Sunday.”  It was an old song sung by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, In Your Presence:

Just a moment in your presence, My heart is ever changed

Just one touch from heaven, I’ll never be the same

I find joy, peace and comfort, A love that’s pure and true

While I’m here in your presence, Lord with you.

I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw this elderly woman, who was suffering from numerous afflictions,  weeping.  She said; “It’s not the song, it’s the Holy Spirit.” I too found myself like Maynard G. Krebs used to say: “Like everything’s getting misty.” It was like a cloud of glory filled that little bus. For the first time that day I was able to relax, to smile and to enter into the fullness of joy.

What is the fullness of joy?  In Hebrew its soba semachot.  The word semachot comes from the root word semchah which means joy and serenity.  But this word is found in feminine plural form.  How can you have joy in a plural form?  The plural form in Hebrew could indicate one of two things or even both.  It could indicate as it does in English more than one.  We find more than one joy in the presence of God.  Indeed, in that wonderful moment in my bus I experienced the joy of fellowship with another who also loved Him. I experience the joy of serenity, the joy of peace, the joy renewed Sabbath energy.  The word soba comes from the same root as Shabbat which means rest and ceasing from labor.  It also has the idea of abundance and fullness.  

Did you ever notice a picture or a scene in a movie where a Jewish family is about to celebrate the sabbath and the mother or wife lights the sabbath candles and then covers her eyes to say the blessing.  She covers her eyes because you are supposed to light the candles after you say a blessing but on the Sabbath you first bring in the illumination or the light of God and then say the blessing, but you cover your eyes to block out the light so you are saying the blessing before the Light of God and not really doing it backwards.  In other words, first comes the light then the blessing only the blessing comes while the light is hidden and then you remove you hands and see the light. 

I was really miserable before my elderly sister got on the bus. When she got on she was glowing with the light of God but I blacked out that light, until she said that blessing: “It’s not the music it’s the Holy Spirit.” She was telling me the Holy Spirit was present in the midst of my miserable day.  Then I opened my eyes to Light.  You may also notice that the mother or wife circles the candles three times before she covers her face and says the blessing.  I know there are a number of reasons for this but I thought of one reason, the esoteric reason.  It is believed by orthodox Jews that when you enter the Sabbath rest, it is just not sitting back relaxing.  You spend your week exhausting all your energy in work, labors, stress, fears, worries, problems etc.  The Sabbath is the day to renew that energy, the Sabbath energy.  You notice as the mother or wife waves her hands over the light of the candles she is inviting the Light of God (by the way Jesus is the Light of God)  to enter the body, the soul and the fellowship.  I felt that energy of the Light of God enter my body, my soul and the fellowship with the elder sister. 

In His presence there truly is a fullness of joy in a plural form. Oh, I forgot to mention another use of the plural in the Hebrew it does not necessarily have to express more than one. It could be used to express the ultimate, the greatest.  In the presence of God is the fullness and the ultimate or greatest joy. 

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