Hebrew Word Study – Showers of Blessings – Gishemei Berakah – גשמי ברכה Gimmel Shin Mem Yod    Beth Resh Kap Hei

Ezekiel 34:26: “And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.”

While I was a student at Moody Bible Institute, I spent considerable time in the school library, even when I was not doing homework. I just loved to browse through all the old books, some dating back to the time of Moody himself in the late 19th Century. Having practiced speed reading I managed to go through a lot of books during my time at Moody.  I remember running across a book that had a chapter about Major Daniel Webster Whittle who was an associate evangelist with D.L. Moody.  

Major Whittle fought in the American Civil war and rose to the rank of a Union Major. He apparently was not interested in Christianity but his mother was very devout and when he left for the war she stuck a New Testament in his haversack which he never read but kept as a keepsake because it was from his mother. She prayed every day for him and his salvation.  He fought in many battles and in one battle he was knocked unconscious and when he awoke he discovered his arm was amputated just above the elbow.  

As he was recovering in the hospital, he had plenty of time to think. He dug into his haversack and found his mother’s New Testament and read through the whole book and when he finished he read through it again.  He read with great interest every book in the New Testament but he gave no thought of becoming a Christians. 

One day a wounded man was brought to a bed beside him and he was begging the nurse to pray for him. The nurse refused and so the man turned to Major Whittle and begged him to pray for him.  Major Whittle explained that he was not a religious man and did not know how to pray.  But this wounded man persisted until the Major got on his knees beside this dying man and agreed to pray for him.  However, he explained that he first had to pray for himself as he was just as sinful as this dying man.  So Major Whittle began to pray, confessing to God that he was a sinner in need of a Savior.  Then the young soldier began to pray with Major Whittle as he began to confess that he too was a sinner in need of a Savior.  When Major Whittle finished praying he said it was like “showers of blessings” fell upon them.  But as he stood up to return to his bed, he discovered that somewhere in the midst of those showers of blessings the wounded soldier passed on to meet his new found Savior. 

Years later as an associate evangelist for D.L. Moody would share this story of how an unsaved man led him to the Lord as he led the same unsaved man to the Lord.  He would also refer to that time he felt those “showers of blessings.” In fact, he wrote a song for one of Moody’s Crusades entitled: “There Shall Be Showers of Blessings.”  

Alas, we don’t sing those dusty old hymns anymore.  Our worship services are filled with a lot of I like God songs which is ok and it fits our modern era.  I can’t expect our younger generation to take to the old hymns which often told a story and gave a little sermon. But I tell you, I hear a cry from many Christians and I believe what they are saying is “Showers of Blessings, showers of blessings we need, mercy drops all around us we have, but for the showers we plead.”  Mercy from God is one thing, but that is not enough, we need showers of blessings which is what God promises in Ezekiel 34:26 – gishemei berakah yihiu.  Yihiu is in an imperfect form. There will be and will continue to be showers of blessings.  A gishem is not just a drizzle of rain, it is a downpouring of rain, a soaking saturating rain that brings growth to plant life. The word gishem starts with a Gimmel which is a word for lovingkindness.  Shin Mem or shem is the word for name.  Showers of blessings reflect the loving kindness of his name. The words “there will be” is yihiu which comes from the same root was YHWH.  Literally, we are being told that God will send His lovingkindness in a downpour of blessings.   

Even in a battlefield hospital where so much misery and death was taking place, even when Major Whittle faced a life with just one arm, he and a dying man received showers of blessings, showers of blessing they needed. Not just the mercy drops but the showers of blessings they pleaded for and received. 

One day a wounded man was brought to a bed beside him and he was begging the nurse to pray for him. The nurse refused and so the man turned to Major Whittle and begged him to pray for him.  Major Whittle explained that he was not a religious man and did not know how to pray.  But this wounded man persisted until the Major got on his knees beside this dying man and agreed to pray for him.  However, he explained that he first had to pray for himself as he was just as sinful as this dying man.  So Major Whittle began to pray, confessing to God that he was a sinner in need of a Savior.  Then the young soldier began to pray with Major Whittle as he began to confess that he too was a sinner in need of a Savior.  When Major Whittle finished praying he said it was like “showers of blessings” fell upon them.  But as he stood up to return to his bed, he discovered that somewhere in the midst of those showers of blessings the wounded soldier passed on to meet his new found Savior. 

Years later as an associate evangelist for D.L. Moody would share this story of how an unsaved man led him to the Lord as he led the same unsaved man to the Lord.  He would also refer to that time he felt those “showers of blessings.” In fact, he wrote a song for one of Moody’s Crusades entitled: “There Shall Be Showers of Blessings.”  

Alas, we don’t sing those dusty old hymns anymore.  Our worship services are filled with a lot of I like God songs which is ok and it fits our modern era.  I can’t expect our younger generation to take to the old hymns which often told a story and gave a little sermon. But I tell you, I hear a cry from many Christians and I believe what they are saying is “Showers of Blessings, showers of blessings we need, mercy drops all around us we have, but for the showers we plead.”  Mercy from God is one thing, but that is not enough, we need showers of blessings which is what God promises in Ezekiel 34:26 – gishemei berakah yihiu.  Yihiu is in an imperfect form. There will be and will continue to be showers of blessings.  A gishem is not just a drizzle of rain, it is a downpouring of rain, a soaking saturating rain that brings growth to plant life. The word gishem starts with a Gimmel which is a word for lovingkindness.  Shin Mem or shem is the word for name.  Showers of blessings reflect the loving kindness of his name. The words “there will be” is yihiu which comes from the same root was YHWH.  Literally, we are being told that God will send His lovingkindness in a downpour of blessings.   

Even in a battlefield hospital where so much misery and death was taking place, even when Major Whittle faced a life with just one arm, he and a dying man received showers of blessings, showers of blessing they needed. Not just the mercy drops but the showers of blessings they pleaded for and received. 

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