Hebrew Word Study – Inquire – Sha’al   שאל Shin Aleph Lamed

I Chronicles 14:14-15: “Then David enquired of again of God and God said unto him, Go not up after them, turn away from them and come upon them over against the mulberry trees and  it shall be when thou hears the sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees than thou shalt go out to battle for God has gone out before thee to smite the host of the Philistines.”

This is David’s second battle with the Philistines. He consulted God in the first battle and now in the second battle, he went to the oracle again to consult God. David was given a relatively long and complex answer.. 

David is always praised for consulting God and obeying God. Now come on, what is the big deal? If I had an Ephod or my own personal prophet to consult and get God’s direction, I would certainly obey  God’s direction and I doubt there would be very many Christians who would not. For me, the biggest problem in obeying the voice of God is knowing if it is God’s voice or not.

I  often hear some Christians say: “The Lord told me to do this.” or “The Lord told me to go there.” Now I am not questioning their subjective experience nor that the Lord spoke to them, but I am just saying that this is not my experience.  I often have to travel down the road a ways to be sure I am dealing with God’s voice. 

It is interesting to note that the Bible does not say David enquired of the ephod or an oracle, we just know this from prior passages of Scripture and the fact that Scripture indicates a prophet Nathan followed David around giving him advice. I am just assuming that when David enquired about God this is how God spoke to him.   

Sure we can find ourselves a Nathan or an ephod to consult, the internet is full of them ready to give you a word (for a price) but how can we be sure that we are receiving the voice of God through this prophet or oracle? We can hear an audible voice of God giving us directions, but how do we know that some anti-psychotic pill will not silence that voice? It all comes down to faith, no matter how we receive God’s voice. I believe that is why Scripture is not always definite on just how a person heard God’s voice but what is clear is that they did inquire of God and responded according to their understanding of God leading them. No matter how God responds, whether by the prophet, audible voice, or just a quiet impression on your heart, ultimately your leading is an act of faith. I can testify of numerous impressions, quickenings, promptings, etc. that I felt were from God and ended up being a closed door. 

The Bible makes one thing clear, David asked or enquired of the Lord.  The word “asked” is sha’al in Hebrew which is asking, inquiring, or to petition. I believe the word itself will tell us how we know our answer is from God. The first letter is the “Shin.”   This letter represents peace.  In Colossians 3:15 we learn: “Let the peace of God rule your heart.”  The word rule in the Greek is brabeuet which means to arbitrate or to umpire.  If you go to a baseball game and you see a ball pitched to a batter and the ball goes sailing over the batter’s head, everyone can see that it is a “ball” and not a “strike.”   But if the ball passes very close to the strike zone and half the audience cries “strike” and the other half “ball” you need an umpire to decide. You need an umpire to call those close ones.  When you consult God over whether to take a certain job or not and you are torn between the decision whether you should or not, it is the peace of God that will call that close one. It is the Shin that will make the decision. If you have no peace in your heart that you should take the job, it is probably not God.  If you are at peace then you have God’s answer.  

The next letter in sha’al (ask)   is Aleph. The second test as to whether the answer you have is of God or not is to hold it up to the Aleph.  The Aleph represents unity and harmony with God.  Is this answer in unity with God’s plan and purpose as shown in Scripture? The boss tells orders you to tell a little white lie to a customer. Immediately you feel deep inside that something is wrong with doing that, and you have no peace about it. You hold it up to Scripture like Romans 13:9: “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” 

Finally, the last letter in the word sha’al (ask)is the Lamed.  The Lamed is a picture of an uplifted hand in prayer. Ultimately the answer will not come unless you prayerfully consult God and once you have the answer, you continually keep the matter in prayer so that God remains in control of the answer and it is not subject to your revisions.  Note that David consulted God in the first battle and again in the second. Too many times I will consult God in the first battle but figure God will continue his good work in the next battle and I will not really consult Him. The results are not often satisfactory results.

Maybe there are prophets today that God will use to guide us, and there may be oracles that God will use.  I don’t know, God is infinite and He can speak in infinite ways.  But you know I am married to God.  A wife isn’t going to go to her neighbor and ask: “Would you ask my husband if it is ok to purchase a new sofa?” She is fully capable and should properly go to her husband to ask for direction. The bottom line, however, is to do what David did, inquire, ask, sha’al of God in faith that He will answer you. Then when you feel you have your answer make sure it is sha’al.  Shin – you have peace and no conflict in your heart, Aleph, it is in unity and harmony with God, and Lamed, you are praying that God remains in control of the entire answering process.

Hi there! Thank you for reading this Daily Word Study. Can I ask a favor? Share this Daily Word Study with your friends on Facebook and Twitter by clicking one of the icons below.

Thanks & Blessings, it means a lot to me!