HEBREW WORD STUDY – IN ITS SEASON – BIYITO בעתו  Beth Ayin Taw Vav

Psalms 1:3: “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

I remember as a teenager in our church youth group we would sit around singing Gospel songs. One song we always sang was I shall not be moved.  “Just like a tree planted by the waters, I shall not be moved.”  Every time I read Psalms 1:3 I would think of this song and figure the image of the tree represents not being moved from God.   Yet, not until years later as I began to study the original Hebrew did I realize that was not really the context.  

What the verse is talking about is that we are like a tree planted by rivers of water.  Water in the Middle East was and is not that plentiful. Many trees attempt to grow but if not planted by rivers of water it will wilt and die.  But if planted by rivers of waters it will flourish and grow and bring forth fruit in its seasons.

Ah, there is the point, in its seasons.  The word in Hebrew for in its seasons is biyito from the root word byth which simply means an appointed time, a designated time.  I read something interesting in the Midrash Rabbah.  The sages teach that in every generation God raises up new fruit, different fruit. We think of fruit as the results of the ministry.  Yet, the sages teach that in this context fruit is your approach to share the love of God.  What was right for one generation may not fit the next generation.  In my father’s generation preachers were always raising funds to purchase time for a radio program to spread the Gospel.  In my generation TV came into play with the introduction of cable making it relatively cheap to purchase TV time to put a program together and preach the Gospel. But soon there appeared multiple channels on cable and people had a couple of hundred channels to choose from rather than the old VHF two or three channels.  Now, this next generation is finding the cheapest route is to live stream on the internet, upload a TV appearance on YouTube for free or start a podcast.  Heck, I do a daily inspiration talk on FaceBook and reach more people than many who spent thousands of dollars on TV time which only a few hundred ever watch. My publisher told me how one author had an appearance on Christian television and sold all of one book.  I can sell much more on Facebook and my website and YouTube channel and it doesn’t cost me a thing and I reach more people that I would by an appearance on Christian television. 

I am sorry and sadden to say that churches which cling to the old traditional church singing hymns that I love, giving testimonies I enjoy hearing, preaching the old fire and brimstone sermons that terrified more than Hollywood horror films are dying out. 

I know I like to think they lost that Old Time Religion and we need to go back to those wonderful days of yesteryear, but the fact is like we learn in Psalms 1:3, that season has passed, there is a new season. I would love to see the rise of another Billy Graham with his stadium-size crusades.  That season has passed, there is new fruit out there, God has new ways to reach people with His Gospel.  I hate the music in churches today, but that is the new fruit that God is using. 

We had our biyito, our appointed time, it has passed, there is a newly appointed time, new methods, new technology, new attitudes.  People are more astute today, they will not fall for every whim of doctrine.  We are moving toward ends time and God promised: “knowledge will increase in the last days.”  Daniel 12:4. That is knowledge of God will increase. Advances in the science of Archaeology, linguistics, and Anthropology are shedding new light on Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.   Thirty years ago I had to beg, plead and give Walmart cards to get students to sign up for an advanced Hebrew elective class.  Suddenly Christians all over don’t trust their English Bibles and they want to learn Hebrew to study for themselves.  

We are starting a new live streaming 12 week Hebrew class.  Yes, thanks to modern technology one can learn to study the Bible in Hebrew in 12 weeks.  30 years ago that would just not be possible. I am even preparing an Aramaic class to study the Gospel in the language Jesus spoke. 30 years ago few people even knew Jesus spoke Aramaic.

This is the season for personal study of the Word of God.  This is the season where you don’t need to tell your pastor to go into that cloud and come back and tell you what God has to say, you can now enter that cloud yourself.  This is the biyito, the appointed time. 

Let me help you enter this new season, to be geared to the times, but anchored to the Rock. To be biyito.