Hebrew Word Study – Synchronicity – Ta’am תאם Taw Aleph Mem
Song of Solomon 7:3: “Thy two breasts [are] like two young roes [that are] twins.”
Genesis 50:20: “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; [but] God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as [it is] this day, to save much people alive.”
Do you remember the story of Joseph? His brothers were jealous and threw him into a pit. As the brothers were debating what to do with Joseph, like kill him, suddenly by some coincidence a caravan was passing and they figured they would not have to shed his blood but just sell him into slavery. This caravan just happened to be going to Egypt, coincidence number two. They just happened to sell Joseph to a high government official, coincidence number three. This official just happened to have a wife who tried to seduced Joseph and then blamed him for raping her, coincidence number 4. In prison Joseph just happened to befriend two close government officials and interpret their dreams coincidence number 5 and so on. Coincidence after coincidence creating a chain of events that lead to his rise to the second most powerful man in Egypt, the world. You may say not all were coincidences but you have to admit there were may coincidences in this story of Joseph.
I remember when I was an assistant pastor in a church. This story is found in my new book to be released: Not My Idea of Revival. There is a chapter in this book where I mention a member of the church who came to me and asked about a tithing fast. He said he felt God was leading him not to put his tithe in the offering plate but to store it away for something special. So, each week he took out his 10% and locked it in his desk at work. Sometime later a young man came into our church and asked for prayer, he had MS and God healed him. He came into my office a couple weeks after confirmation of his healing and said he got a call from the 700 Club. He sent them a letter about his healing asking for further prayer. He was told that every week they would go to the thousands upon thousands of letters they received and just pull one out. They happened to pull his out. The Vice President of CBN felt led to invite this guy to his home in Virginia Beach to stay as long as he felt a need and seek the Lord. But there was one condition. He must pay his own plane fare and he must not ask anyone for the faire, how much the fare was nor even tell anyone that he needed the plane fare, he was only to pray that God would send the money. He went to a member of our church who had prayed with him on numerous occasions and simply asked him to pray about going to Virginia Beach, saying nothing about the plane fare or his need. As they prayed this man, who was the same man who asked me a few months earlier about a tithing fast suddenly said; “I have the money for your trip” and told him of his tithing fast. He ran to his desk pulled out the money he had put away and it was exactly the amount needed for the plane fare. What a coincidence.
Would you like Chaim Bentorah as your personal Hebrew teacher?
|
|
I believe we have all at some time or another experienced such miracles from God or heard testimonies of such miracles. There is no word in the Hebrew Bible for coincidence. The closest I could find was in Song of Solomon 7:3 where the word ta’am is used which is rendered as twins. But isn’t that what a coincidence is between two matching identical events? Coincidences happen all the time. You decide to look for a parking space in a crowded area and at your first glance, you see one. Just today, I was thinking about someone I had not heard from in over eight months and then all of a sudden my phone rang and it was him – coincidence.
We consider the word coincidence to mean a random act that just happened. However, when you have prayed about something and it happens, well that then might change your coincidence to a miracle in your mind. But to most of us, two events that related together are either random chance or Divine providence. There might be a third option that is far more exciting to consider than God just doing a miracle for you. What can be more exciting than a miracle?
It is called synchronicity. Webster defines synchronicity as: “the simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.” Sounds like a good definition of coincidence. However, synchronicity is believed to have a scientific basis. In a spiritual sense synchronicity is: “Someone on the spiritual path in that moment in the fabric of time when he suddenly and briefly became consciously aware that he had made a deeper connection with God or someone that is greater than his individual self.”
In other words, many of the coincidences in our lives are really a spiritual connection. Not only with God but with others. There are many times when I share with my ministry partner a verse I had been studying and unknown to me she had been studying the same verse that very same day. It is like we are spiritually in tune or perhaps we can call it synchronicity.
Actually, coincidences have been an object of scientific study by such notables as Carl Jung. More recently physicists have suggested that there may be a scientific basis on a quantum level. Thought waves are simply energy impulses or vibrations. It is like two people, say a married couple or twins who share a close relationship, and hence their vibrations that they send out may sometimes perfectly match to create a synchronicity.
Now imagine that all these coincidences you have with God are not just a feeling you get but could be an actual connection of God’s vibrational energy with yours. No, I am not talking New Age, I am talking about quantum physics which is provable science such that at some point scientific knowledge will become so advanced that humankind will actually be able to cause coincidences to happen.
God has already acquired that knowledge, actually He created it. Someone once said: “When I pray coincidences happen and when I stop praying coincidences stop happening.” The point is that when we pray we are spending out certain vibrations to God and when they are in tune with God these miracles happen. Of course, we could explore that concept in many books. The point I want to make is that when there is a coincidence involving God, it means that we have made a very special and intimate connection with the God of the universe. You, me, that speck of dust on a blue planet can actually make a connection with the Creator of all things.
Hi there! Thank you for reading this Daily Word Study. Can I ask a favor? Share this Daily Word Study with your friends on Facebook and Twitter by clicking one of the icons below.
Thanks & Blessings, it means a lot to me!
To your introduction: That was not only a pit, but a well. Many centuries (is it a millennium?) later, Jesus, a son of the tribe of Judah goes to a well to save the Samaritans’ souls. The Samaritans were descended from Ephraim and Menasseh. Judah was the one who suggested to his brothers they go to the well and save Joseph. Joseph went on to Egypt, where he fathered the patriarchs of two tribes: Ephraim and Menasseh.
God works outside of time, and so synchronicities can occur across time as well as in it.
At this point, is it any coincidence God picked a man named Joseph to serve as a father on Earth to Jesus, or that He sent an angel to tell him to go hide his family in Egypt for a season?
Thank you Joshua Karr .
I got “goose bumps” reading this! I felt an inner thrill, realizing all the more that God loves me so deeply.
My husband and I just had a “coincidence” this past week that both of us feel was God assisting in a building project. We want to have a section of ground dug down so that when gravel is poured, it will be confined within the dug-out space. Willing to do the work ourselves, we were considering renting a “Bobcat” for the project, but when a customer to our sign shop came in with a lettering job pertaining to big earth moving equipment, my husband asked him about doing our digging project. Analyzing the situation, he noted that because this parking space will be created right next to a line of large pines, the bottom of the scraped area will need to be covered with a mat-like material in order to prevent the gravel from sinking away into the loamy ground created by many years of pine needles falling there. We had no idea this potential challenge existed in this part of our yard! “Coincidentally”, this man had just received a call about someone who had a surplus of the very mats needed for our project and was willing to sell them at a discount because he just wanted to get rid of them. Talk about Blessings from Above! Gives me goosebumps again just thinking about God’s love and care.
Thanks for your insight. I wondered what was coming when I saw the quote from Song of Songs!
Thank you Dear Teacher ,
Talk about coincidence . Often what you write about coincides with something happening in my life .
When you wrote about the gay veteran .I was thinking about my gay friend .
He was most remarkable . He rode a motorcycle and wore a leather jacket .and a bandana tied around his head . He also wore a cross . One day a young man approached him and pointed to his cross and said “do you really believe in that stuff ?” My friend said ” yes I do ” . The young man then walk away, but I bet it gave him “food for thought ” .
My friend spoke , wrote , and read many different languages including Hebrew , Russian , Punjabi , Polish and others .
I took delight in watching him converse with people in their own native language . Sometimes they were shocked and happy to hear him speak to them in a language they knew best .
May God help us to see the good in people and bring us a greater understanding of Him .
I like to think of coincidences as ‘God- incidents’ 😁
Shalom!!
Hallelujah. This is so timely. I have been thinking about my subconscious mind lately and how I can be more aware of God’s love for me. Spiritual connection is what I have been searching for. You mentioned that a couple of times. What a coincidence!