Aramaic Word Study – Joy – Chadah

Luke 15:10: “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”

Recently, my study partner Laura and I walked up to her apartment and there I saw her two little Havanese dogs sitting at her window anxiously waiting for her return.  As soon as they saw her, the two little guys jumped down from her window and headed straight for her door.  Sure enough, as she entered her apartment, there were her faithful little companions delirious with joy and excitement over her return.  They were jumping all over her, covering her in wet kisses and greeting her with joyful little yip-yip sounds. I instantly thought of an old Aramaic word chadah which is used in Luke 15:10 for joy.  But the English word joy barely even begins to tell the story of chadah.

Actually, chadah is a word used for a hot ember, like the hot charcoal in your backyard grill.  You pour some lighter fluid over the coals, light them up, and let them just get hot. Then when you blow on them, you see the hottest parts of the charcoal get even hotter and then start to glow with a deep red. That glow you see from blowing on the embers is chadah.

You see, the angels of God are already joyful, but when one sinner repents, their joy literally begins to glow that is, it becomes more intense.  But note that this joy is in the presence of God. That word presence in the Aramaic is qadam which means to stand in anticipation.  When one sinner repents, the angels standing before God, anticipate that outburst of joy, an even greater glow of joy from the God they worship over one sinner who comes home.  Just as my study partner anticipates seeing that outburst of joy from her little Moxie and Shiloh when she comes home.

I recall how I used to drive in my disability bus an elderly woman who lived alone.  I would take her to the doctor once every three weeks for a blood test.  Every time I drove her home, I noticed a sense of qadam come over her as we approached her house.  There was that sense of anticipation as she was anxiously awaiting that moment we would pull up to her house, and then she would say excitedly say: “There he is, my Maxwell sitting by the window waiting for me.”  Maxwell was a big beautiful German Shepherd who would jump all over this elderly woman as she walked through her door, covering her with wet kisses. It was as if she were Maxwell’s whole world. She told how Maxwell would stand guard over the house and stand ready to protect her with his very life if need be. She felt extremely safe around Maxwell while anyone else, myself included, who trembled in his presence.  She told how Maxwell just knew when she was feeling depressed as he would come to her and snuggle up to her, whimpering and trying to cheer her up.

After dropping her at her house and helping her up the stairs to her porch, I would quickly return to my bus as I did not want to confront Maxwell, but I would pause before I drove off just to observe the warm greeting that Maxwell would give his lonely companion. I would always think that it was no coincidence that the word dog is God spelled backward.

Many years ago, a songwriter named Gilbert O’Sullivan wrote these words to a number-one hit song:

It seems to me that
There are more hearts broken in the world
That can’t be mended
Left unattended
What do we do
What do we do

Alone again, naturally

It is amazing how such a melancholy song could become a number-one hit except that many related to the loneliness expressed by Gilbert O’Sullivan.  My favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh. One of his most famous paintings was Irises at Saint-Remy.  In the painting, there are a bunch of irises all painted in a blueish purple except one that was painted a bright white. It stands out alone in the painting, and most art historians agree that Van Gogh painted that one iris a different color than the rest because that white flower represents Van Gogh himself, who was lonely.

Loneliness is a real problem in our modern society. Yet, if such a lonely person would only repent, their eyes would be open to the reality that their Creator and a heavenly host are all waiting in qadam – anticipation for that person to turn to God. That one seemingly insignificant individual who will be able to cause God to light up with a glow with joy if they should repent.

They say it is a real tragedy if a person has to die alone. Yet a believer in God who has spent his time on the earth learning to love Him will never have to die alone. In fact, as a believer when we approach our eternal home we are going to see God faithfully waiting by His window in heaven, watching for him, qadam(ing), anticipating our return with chadah.

I can’t help but believe that God gave us gentle loving creatures like Moxie and Shiloh and rather fearsome yet loyal animals like Maxwell to remind us that we never need to be lonely nor fearful for there is a loving God sitting by the window of heaven anxiously awaiting our arrival home, so that He can devekut, hug us and cover us with a big warm Divine Kiss.

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