Hebrew Word Study – I Am With You – Anoki Amake אנכי עמך  Aleph Nun Kap Yod    Ayin Mem Kap

Genesis 28:15: “And behold, I am with thee and keep thee in all places, whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land, for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”

“This is Gart Williams, protected by a suit of armor all held together by one bolt. Just a moment ago someone removed that bolt and Mr. Williams protection fell away and left him a naked target.”   Rod Sterling – A Stop At Willoughby.

Rod Sterling, who is Jewish, wrote this classic episode from the 1960’s Twilight Zone. Garth Williams was a simple man over his head as an advertising executive and married to a woman he could never please. No matter how hard he tried to live up to the expectations of his wife, boss, friends, and others, no one seemed to be satisfied. On the train home, he fell asleep and dreamed he was on a train in 1888 and the conductor announced they reached the town of Willoughby, an idyllic late 19th-century town where the sun is shining and everyone is friendly and undemanding. Night after night on the train he had this dream. The stop for Willoughby comes between Westport and Stamford.  The conductor said he never heard of a town called Willoughby. One night after again failing to live up to the expectations of his boss and wife he vows to himself when he has that dream that he will get off the train at Willoughby. On the train home that night he had that dream and this time he stepped off the train into the town of Willoughby where everyone was friendly, happy, and had no expectations of him. He knew he was home. The scene switches to a dark snowy night in the 20th Century where the train conductor is saying how strange it was for this man to have just suddenly stood up and walked off the train while it was still moving. The final scene shows Gart Williams’s body being put into a hearse bearing the name Willoughby and Sons Funeral Home.

Rod Sterling was a successful writer and producer for the TV series, Twilight Zone. I remember watching him on TV as a child thinking how this was my idea. A successful writer, gifted, talented, good-looking, he had it all. Where other kids my age idolized football or baseball players and dreamed of being like them, I idolized a writer and dreamed of being like him.  Rod Sterling lived a very interesting life and like most writers, much of his writing reflected experiences in his own life. For instance, in his story “A Stop At Willoughby” the town of Willoughby lied between Westport and Stamford.  At the time Rod Sterling wrote this story, he was living in Westport, Connecticut. He too dreamed of a Town called Willoughby. Rod Sterling died in 1975 at the age of 50.  I wonder if during his heart attack he thought about the Town of Willoughby, his idea of heaven. Rod Sterling’s influence still affects me as I write this blog and my books where are all a reflection of experiences in my own life.

Perhaps “A Stop in Willoughby” became a cult classic because so many of us often feel a little bit like Gart Williams and we too dream of a Town of Willoughby where everyone is undemanding and friendly, a place where we can just live an idyllic life.  

Genesis 28:15 promises Jacob that God will not leave him until he is restored to his land until God’s promises are fulfilled. Jacob was at a pretty low time in his life, he felt so alone, his friends had deserted him and now he believed his own brother sought to kill him.  That night he had a dream of his Willoughby, heaven.  He saw angels descending and going up to heaven. I am sure he wanted to “walk off the train” and join those who seemed so loving and accepting. To go up that ladder to that place of peace and rest where he would never again be a disappointment to others. But the Lord spoke to him in Genesis 28:15 that he still had a job to do. Yet, God also assured him that he would never leave him until that job was completed. He would surround him with a suit of armor and God Himself would be the one bolt holding it together.

God said: “Anoki ‘Amake – I am with you.” The word with you is ‘amake.  Indeed, this is a preposition and pronoun, but it comes from the root ‘amam which means to be hidden and concealed.  When God says I am “with you” He is saying that He is hiding us and concealing us from all the attacks of this world. He provides us with a suit of armor where He is the one bolt that holds it together. Then God says he will keep us. The word keep is shamar a verb which is in a Qal perfect form. In other words: “I have kept you.“   We are already in his keeping, he has already surrounded us with His suit of armor.  Shamar has the idea of watch care.  He has been watching and caring for us all the time.  

Like Gart Williams we are protected by this suit of armor with just one bolt. Today I let financial, vocational, and health circumstances untighten that bolt from my armor and I was a “naked” target for the attack by the enemy, however, that bolt was not removed.  Unlike Gart Williams, I was able to go to Jesus and He tightened that bolt up when I repented and confessed my failure to trust in Him. So long as he tightens that bolt, no one can remove it. They might loosen it when we fail in our trust but Genesis 28:15 assures us that so long as we trust Him, He will keep that bolt tightened, and our armor will deflect all attacks until the day we step off that train into our town of “Willoughby” where Jesus is the mayor and chief ruler. Our Town of Willoughby or heaven is that idyllic place where everyone is undemanding and we do not need to live up to anyone’s expectations, everyone is a friend, and we will have no financial or health concerns. But until that time comes, we stay on that train, fulfilling our mission here on earth, with a suit of armor held together by one bolt – Jesus Christ. 

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