HEBREW WORD STUDY – AND IT WAS IN THE DAYS – VAYEHI BIYAMI ויהי. ביומי
Ruth 1:1: “Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.”
Let me share with you something interesting I read in Esther Rabbah. This is sort of a Jewish commentary on the book of Esther. Those in our Access Subscription know how to find this work online, if not be sure to write to me in Ask Chaim on our Access site. Anyway, I found that whenever the word vayehi (and it came to pass) followed by biyami in the days it indicates that some very sorrowful event is about to be described. The word veyehi is a play off the word that sounds identical to vay meaning woe. There are five vayehi biyami in the Old Testament all suggesting a sorrowful event. One of these is found in Ruth 1:1.
The rabbis teach that the sorrowful event was that the judges ruled and they were evil rulers. How do we know? Because there was a famine in the land. Judges were not supposed to rule, there were no kings in Israel in those days because God was their King, He was the one to rule and the judges were only to guide the people like a pastor. God rules the church, not the pastor. The pastor is just to guide the people to God like the judges but once the judges set themselves up as rulers, things quickly went South and God sent a famine as a sign of evil doings. So we have two sorrowful events, judges ruling and a famine. Pastors should take note, are you a ruler or a shepherd, a guide who lets’ God rule.
It is taught in Jewish literature that Elimelech, Naomi’s husband was a judge. When the famine came, rather than do his job and warn the people and other judges to repent and take the heat that follows, he simply packed his bags, gathered his family together, and left. This is the third woe or sorrowful event. A righteous judge who ran away from his responsibility to warn people to repent.
Would you like Chaim Bentorah as your personal Hebrew teacher?
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Many will not like what I am sharing next in this story but there are many who read this who are former Bible College students of mine, who sat under my teaching and are now in ministry and are pastors themselves. As your former professor, I would be amiss not to share with you what the Sages teach happened next. It is found in Ruth 1:3: “And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died, and she was left, and her two sons.” Not only does he die, but he is no longer referred to as a man but just as Naomi’s husband. The real faithful one to whom this story is dedicated to is his wife, Naomi.
I have come to believe from my study of the lives of the men and women of the Old Testament that God created us all for a purpose. For those of us who are believers, He has a very specific purpose and when that purpose is fulfilled, He takes us home with a Divine Kiss. I also believe that if we run away from that purpose we will either be swallowed by a great fish (metaphorically) and barfed up on the shore of our mission or He takes us home without a Divine Kiss. Age is not a factor, some fulfill their mission early in life and God takes them home, some it takes a lifetime. So I cannot say if a believer dies young he committed a vayehi and was taken home or completed his mission and was taken home. This is the same for an elderly person.
I feel the purpose God created me for is to encourage all believers to study the Word of God. I believe with all my heart that if I stop or run away from that purpose, at my age I will not get swallowed by a whale but will go the way of Elimelech. So what about you, are you a pastor ready to run away from your congregation without warning them to repent? Are you refusing to take a stand against sin or whatever your purpose is in this life? Maybe I am wrong but for myself, I believe the quickest route home is to run away from my mission in this life and I would not go home with the Divine Kiss. My plan is to stick it out no matter how hard it gets until my purpose is fulfilled and I get that Divine Kiss.
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What about running away while being a pastor? What can be done?
Whatever you do do it with all your heart as unto the Lord, not man.
God knew Elimelech’s heart. Whether he was a real judge or not (law)
it seems that rather than judge others and be cursed ( he and his sons judged their women wrongly), we can let God be our judge. The famine was of the heart. It may seem like a
sorrowful event, him leaving, but God knew Naomi’s heart and Ruth’s heart, praise be to God, and had plans to prosper these women. God uses what was meant for evil, for our good, if we have a heart for God and Ruth had more faith in the God of the Hebrews than even Naomi did. Praise God for Ruth’s faith. The story was about 2 women whom God could bless and men who were not walking upright and God could not bless. To be a Jew is to be one inwardly and Naomi learned this from Ruth, technically a Moabite but with her faith made it into the lineage of Christ. Their story is by far one of profound meaning and type of the family of God coming together from the four corners of the earth. Thank you Chaim for this teaching and so many others. If I were not a single mom looking for work, I would subscribe. I love what God is able to accomplish through you, as He is able to accomplish through me, a nobody in the world like Ruth but somebody to God simply because I Love Him with all that I am and have. God looks on the heart, thankfully. Like Ruth, God has good plans for me. Let people judge but if they do it with evil hearts, they shall face God’s judgment. You are right on, we should have to need of a teacher as the Holy Spirit guides us perfectly…you are right that if we are teaching or ministering to others, we must point people back to Jesus, the head and high Priest of our lives. I thank God for you, Chaim.
Hello Chaim, do you have any advice on how one might find this purpose? If what you say is true, surely there is no greater goal a follower of Jesus can have than to find that purpose. I’ve heard quite a few pastors preach on this topic and they seem to be talking about the general purpose of believers – to do the general will of God as revealed in the Bible..believe that Jesus is one’s personal Savior, be nice to other people, have a job and be responsible, read the Bible every day, go to church on Sunday & DON’T forget to tithe!, go on a missions trip once in a while…anything more custom-tailored is classified in the church extracurricular activities like children’s ministry, music, feeding the homeless. As much as I’ve tried, I’ve never been able to figure out how a Christian finds out his or her own unique mission or “specific purpose” as you call it, if there is one.
We find out the plans God has for our life by simply asking Him. Why do we complicate it? It’s really a matter of the heart, meaning if you truly want to know and walk out your destiny with Him, He will lead and guide us…do we really think He’s going to make us jump through hoops to know what His plans are? This is walking by faith…trusting He’s ordering our steps as we stay yielded and desiring to be where He is in our life. Why is it that so many struggle with this concept or substitute it with “getting busy” volunteering here and there or where ever there’s a random need? Is not the fact that God has made this so simple such a direct reflection of who He is.
Laura, are you replying to my post? I mean no offense, but I’ve been around people like you all my life (that is, Christians who make me feel bad whenever I’ve expressed a doubt or question) and you succeed more in driving me away from the faith than drawing me to it.
Hi AJM, yes I was replying to you and I actually agree with you regarding knowing that there’s more than just being busy in church, a few mission trips… etc. When jotting down some quick thoughts on a blog I can see why it’s so easy for people to misunderstand each other but I guarantee I’m not one of “those people” and I definitely do not want to make you feel bad for questioning that there has to be more and how to do find out what it is… as you said, “specific purpose” because that, in my opinion, is the meaning of life and what God most desires for us to ask and so many settle for so much less (such as the things you mentioned). Let me try explaining from my heart one more time and let me know if maybe I have misunderstood you. So first off, yes we need to stay grounded in scripture to know what God’s general will is in order to stay in unity with Him (with the understanding we’re all a work in progress). Secondly, for His specific will, I truly meant it when I said it’s simply a matter of the heart and not to complicate it.30 yrs ago I made the decision that I wanted to know and fulfill all the plans God has specifically designed for me because I believe on this “road” is where I will best get to experience and get to know Him. I regularly take an honest look at my heart to see if that is still my desire and if my heart is still yielded to “not my will, but your’s Father. With that said, if someone chooses just live out there own plans in a nice Godly way, that’s their choice and why God has given us free will. However, if your desire, above everything else life has to offer, is to know Jesus then you’re going to want to know His specific as well as His general will. He has made this easy for us because He wants it for us even more than we do. Once you decide you really want to know in order to do His specific will, then you will “hear” what it is. I quoted the word hear because it’s rarely a physical hearing. He will order our steps, He will give us discernment and we will begin to want the things He wants for us. He puts His will in our hearts when we give Him permission to. If we yield our hearts, stay connected in the Word, talk to Him and ask Him daily then we need to trust…this is walking by faith. I read your reply right as I was walking out the door but wanted to answer you because I felt it was important. If I wasn’t clear, please ask me to explain better. Whatever you do, don’t allow anyone to drive you away from Jesus. Hold on to Him and never let go :) He is good!!!:) Continue desiring truth, be patient, and the answers it will come to you.
Hello AJM, I believe I understand your question, because I asked the same. We pretty much know the generalities of our purpose as Christians, e.g. love your neigbour as yourself, forgive, be an example, etc but the specifics of that purpose is were we get stuck.
And God is a God of DETAILS, you can see it in the detailed instructions he gave for Noah’s Ark, the guidelines for the temple & Levites, down to the type of cloth to be used! To how he directed the early apostles on which regions to enter, he barred Paul from Asia and sent him elsewhere.
And the list goes on! And there is really no one size fits all in this Christian race. Our purposes & destinies are as unique as our finger prints.
So of all the hundreds of professions on earth, which does God want you to serve in? If you are called to be a doctor, what kind? Is it an eye doctor, pediatrician or heart surgeon? Are you going to serve as a military doctor in the US Army or a missionary doctor in Kenya or a teaching/research doctor in a university hospital? Also your purpose is sensitive to time….so when is the right timing to “move”?
And these are just questions as it relates to your specific purpose in work, what about your specific purpose in marriage, family & citizenship.
So many questions, each one important, because seemingly little decisions can end up changing the trajectory of your entire life.
The reason pastors and teachers stop at generalities is because Only God himself can speak and give you the specific answers regarding your purpose. Because he is the one that has plans and purposes for your life.
Some believe that hearing God speak about your specific purpose happens automatically when you become a Christian. From experience, I humbly beg to differ. You have to TRAIN your spirit and senses to hear and perceive ACCURATELY what God is saying about your purpose.
Practical steps I would humbly suggest you consider to know your specific purpose is to begin to spend time fasting, and praying in the Holy Spirit.(tongues) DILIGENTLY. I would also recommend the book Walk Of Power, Walk Of The Spirit by Dave Roberson. It will give you more detailed guidance than I can possibly type out.
Wish you all the best AJM, lots of love!
Yes, I guess we all experience and approach knowing God’s specific will for our life differently. For me, the very moment that I desired to know and do His will I was able to feel His leading and guiding and it remains the same 30 years later. It has never been about training my spirit…only desiring to know His will that I might know Him. I think He’s made it so simple, mainly a matter of our will and heart’s desire, then trusting Him, that the simplicity of it is a stumbling block to many. I do not find it any easier or harder today to know His will than that very first day I gave my heart to Him. I would add that in knowing and experiencing His specific will we must also know and live out His “general” will, the Word of God/scripture.
Can I say respectfully that you are probably an exception to the rule from the many people I have known? Most Christians want to do God’s will but get lost along the way. The desires of the flesh make it difficult to hear. Also, new Christians haven’t learned to hear from Him yet and wonder which voice they are listening to. They’ve been listening to the devil and the things of this world so long, they need to learn how to train their ear to their new master. I wish we all learned as quickly as you, but for me, it has been a long process of taking what I was hearing and matching it to the word of God. I wanted to make sure what I was hearing was actually from God. As I’ve gotten closer to Christ and my desires have changed from selfishness to desiring His will, it has gotten easier to hear His voice thankfully. But for many, there are lots of voices pulling them every which way. I have learned through many bible studies, the church, circumstances, and lots of prayer how to finally hear and head His word and voice.
If I am an exception to the rule, then that would be a very sad commentary on the state of Christianity today. God created us to “hear” and to know His voice and to walk with Him daily. Knowing His will in one’s life is a matter of the heart. It’s not a matter of learning or mastering a technique of hearing His voice it’s a matter of choice. The problem isn’t that God is not able to make His will known to us, the problem is that in our heart we only want some of His will. God designed us perfectly and if we decide in our hearts that we want to know and do God’s will without limit…we will know it and the more we do it, the more natural and second-hand it becomes to us. I made a choice when I first gave my heart to Jesus, that I wanted to hear and do all His will, and even though I was only saved a couple of days, He made His leading and guiding very clear…and I followed regardless of the cost. If a person wants to know God’s will, they will. The word for hearing in Hebrew is “Shema” it’s more than just physically hearing, it’s hearing with the intent to act on it. If heart wants to hear His voice in order to walk it out, they will. No need to overcomplicate it or blame the devil or God for our own heart choices. Hearing is simply a matter of the heart…not a special gift or saved for years etc.it’s a choice. To communicate & walk together in life= Intimacy. An intimate personal relationship is the reason we were created. This is what we believe and teach at Chaim Bentorah Ministries wholeheartedly and without apologies. Passionately, Laura (The other half of Chaim Bentorah Ministries)
I once knew a guy who contributed nothing to the church ministry wise. He could not teach, preach, or sing. But he loved fixing things, a handyman. That is the way God created him. Everyone has something they can do that they love doing it. Even if it is just Fixing
A broken toilet. God created us to enjoy something. Our job is find what we enjoy doing and do it. As Eric Liddell said: “God made me for a purpose but He also made me fast and when I run, I feel His pleasure.”
yes as a general principal I believe one of the best ways to stay on earth is to do what God has said to do. Going home is good but obeying the Lord is surely better.
Thank you, this has blessed me today.
I really enjoyed the reading.
Loved the teaching