Word Study – Seek Him Early – Meshachari – משחרי  Mem Shin Cheth Resh Yod

Proverbs 8:17: “I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me.” 

Note: This study is found in my book: “Hebrew Word Study Revealing the Heart of God – Study 64 Page 279

This is a little odd in the Hebrew.  I love them is in an imperfect form, hence it should correctly be rendered as I will love them. Of course, no one will translate it that way for two reasons, it implies that God does not love everyone and He is waiting for a little love coming from the other side before He decides to love in return.  Another reason is that the following words that love me are in a participial form and it means those who are loving me.  Thus grammatically you would render this as; I will love those who are loving me.  This would again suggest that until we start to love God, He will not love us.   However, when put into the context of the proceeding phrase, those that seek me early… then the grammatical strangeness would start to make more sense.

The word love here is ahav which not only means love but in its Semitic root carries the idea of filling someone’s heat with your presence. Thus in this context, it is God filling our hearts with His presence.  When you love someone in the sense of ahav, that person has entered your heart and has taken control of your heart.  They are constantly in your mind, your thoughts, and your heart is no longer your own, they have seized control of your heart and can cause you to do some really strange things.  A very normal, articulate, intellectual person is reduced to speaking nonsense to a little baby like “Goo, Goo, Da Da.”  

Because of the broad range of meanings behind the word ahav it is very difficult to translate this phrase, “I will  love them that are loving me.” We can only paraphrase this or make a commentary on it. Thus, what this passage is doing is conveying the idea God will fill the hearts of those who love Him with His presence. 

Those who seek him early will find him.  The word find is masa where the Modern Hebrew word Masaad comes from.  The Masaad is the CIA of Israel and it literally means to discover hidden or secret knowledge. In this passage, masa is in a hiphil form which means that when you seek Him early you will be caused to find Him. It will just naturally happen.

Hence what Solomon is saying is that God will fill the hearts of those who love Him with His presence and if you seek Him early you will discover His hidden secrets. Rabbinic writings teach that the hidden mysteries or secrets of God are like the taste of food.  It is impossible to describe it to someone who has never tasted it. You cannot describe in words exactly what it is, it is hidden.  Hence you can see the mysteries or secrets of God in Scripture, you can read it and you can even hear teaching on it, but until you actually taste it or experience it, it remains hidden, a mystery until God fills you with His presence.

So what does it mean to seek Him early?”  The word used here for early is shachar which literally means black as in the night, or dawn, or early morning.  One interpretation is that God speaks to us in our dreams.  The Talmud teaches that the last dream you have, the one that you have as you are awaking in the morning is a prophetic dream.  So when you seek Him in your early morning dream you will discover his hidden mysteries or secrets. 

Another interpretation (and both are considered by Jewish rabbis as correct) is found in ancient rabbinical writings which say: “Happy is the Holy people!  Their Lord searches them, calls to them to bring them close to Him.  So the Holy people should join together and enter the synagogue.  Whoever arrives earliest joins himself to Shekinah in a single bond!”

This is explained in a parable.  A king summons a minyan (a quorum ten) to appear before him on a particular day and a specific place at a certain time.  While everyone is preparing, one individual arrives early and alone.  The king is present and waiting.  He asks the man where the others are.  The man explains that the others are coming but he has arrived early.  Therefore the king sits down and shares with the man his thoughts and feelings in an unofficial way.  Then when the others arrive he takes on a more formal posture and conducts his business.  After a number of such meetings and the continual practice of the one to arrive early, the king recognizes the man’s early arrival as showing his eagerness to serve and his deep love for the king.  This causes (hiphil) the king to open up with this man and share with him things that he would not communicate with the others. 

Hence this seeking God early is presented more as a picture than to be taken literally i.e., it is not saying that the earlier you get up in the morning to have your devotions, the better your chance of learning the secrets of God.  Rather what is being expressed in seeking Him early is your eagerness to serve God and to meet with Him.  If you arrive late for a job interview, you can pretty well write off your chances of getting that job.  Why? Because your late arrival will be interpreted as a lack of desire for the job.  If you arrive early, you are conveying that you are interested in that position. You are so interested that you made it a priority over everything else to be on time, even early. 

So too with God.  If you really love (ahav) Him and desire to serve Him, that love (ahav) will cause God, to fill your heart such that He will be a priority over everything else you have to do and He will be the first on your agenda, hence you will arrive in His presence early.   To such individuals who love (ahav) God, He will entrust His secret knowledge.

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