WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SAY “I BELIEVE...”? (PART I)

 

What does it mean to believe?  The answer to this question will not be found by looking at the behaviour of those who claim to be believers - not even by listening to those who claim to be leaders of believing people.  As in all other matters concerning the requirements for salvation, it is not wise to trust in men.  Neither the behaviour of men, nor the teachings and doctrines of men are a hundred percent trustworthy when it comes to matters of eternal salvation.  Our only trustworthy source of knowledge is the Word of Yahweh.  It is clear from the Word of Yahweh that to believe is absolutely crucial for any person who wish to partake in the kingdom of Yahweh.  In the gospel of Yochanan (John) alone the word “believe” occurs 85 times!  Certainly all people reading this article have been confronted at some stage in their lives with the challenging words of a verse like John 3:16: “For Elohim so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  It seems that believing (the way Yahweh intended us to believe) may prove to be one of the most significant activities of our entire life!

The Hebrew word most commonly used in the Tanach (Old Testament) for the concept of believing is “aman”.  This word is the root of the word we normally use at the end of our prayers (“amen” which should really be pronounced as “amein”).  To end our prayers with “amein” is just another way of saying “I believe”, in other words: “Father, I believe in You as my Master, my Helper and my Provider - therefore I also believe that You have heard my supplication and that You will answer my prayer according to your perfect will.”  

The interesting thing about the word “aman” is that it says something about the person who “believes” as well as the One in whom he/she believes.  This may be illustrated by looking at the word “trust” which is the basic meaning of the word “aman”.  When I believe in someone, I put my trust in that person. This means that within myself there is a quality of trust and confidence and dependancy.  But the very fact that I have chosen to believe in this particular person shows that this person has within him-/herself the quality of trustworthiness and competence and reliability.  To believe in the sense of “aman” means to trust and fully rely upon the integrity, the steadfastness, the faithfulness and the capability of Yahweh the Almighty.  While I am the one who believes, He is the One who provides the foundation and the stability for me to believe in Him.  That is why one of the meanings of the word “aman” (according to dictionaries) is to have permanency (or to be established).  When I believe in Him whose Name, Yahweh, conveys the meaning of “the One who is and was and always will be”, there is a strong degree of steadfastness and strength from His side that will continually encourage me to keep on putting my trust in Him. 

Dictionaries like “Strongs” reveal another very interesting meaning of the word “aman”.  This word can also mean “to go to the right hand” (this meaning is included because “aman” seems to belong to the same “family” of words as “yaman” which means “to be right or to turn right”).  It therefore makes sense for us to say: To believe in Yahweh means “to go to the right hand of Yahweh”.  Would this perhaps be the reason why Yahshua the Messiah is said to be at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us?  Isn’t this the reason why the Messiah Himself taught (eg. Yochanan / John 14:13) that all prayer must be directed to the Father “in my Name”, that is, in the Name of Yahshua our eternal High Priest?  And is this not perhaps the main reason why the Word of Yahweh reveals that to believe in the Father cannot take place without looking on and trusting in the Messiah, the One at the right hand of Yahweh the Almighty? This is most clearly implied in a verse like Yochanan (John) 14:6: “Yahshua said to him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.”  I believe this is also the reason why all new believers, without any exception, after the introduction of the new covenant, were immersed (baptized) in the Name of Yahshua the Messiah (eg. Acts 2:38; Acts 10:48; Acts 19:5).

The Scriptures indicate that even before “the Word became flesh” people like Abraham who believed Yahweh, had their eyes firmly focussed on the One who would much later come to tabernacle on this earth for a period of time and then return back to heaven where He would once again take His place at the right hand of the Almighty.   Heb 11:13: “These all died by way of faith (or: “died as believers”), not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off. And they were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”  It has been the Father’s design from the beginning that those who believe in Him, were challenged to believe his revelation concerning the Messiah The very first time we come across the word “aman” in Scriptures is in Bereshiet (Genesis) 15:6: “He (Abraham) believed in Yahweh; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness.”  What did he believe?  He believed the words spoken by Yahweh in verse 4: “He that shall come forth out of your own body shall be your heir.”  This word was not only about Yitschaq (Isaac) that would be born of Abraham’s own body but also about the Messiah, the distant seed, also from Abraham’s body, the One who would ensure that  Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars in heaven (verse 5). 

The word “reckoned”, used in verse 6, is an interesting one: “Abraham believed in Yahweh; and Yahweh reckoned it to him for righteousness.”  The Hebrew word here (“chashav”) has the basic meaning of “to consider, to regard or to count” but there are two additional aspects that are also connected to this word.   The root meaning of this word is to “plait” or to “interpenetrate” - an action connected with weaving and draperies.  There is an interesting commentary in Webster, given with the explanation of this word: “It is very difficult to trace out the figure of a vest through all the plaits (that is: the folds and the entanglements) of the drapery.”  This reminds one of a similar difficulty in the process of believing: the predicament of not being able to “trace out the figure” of where Yahweh is taking us and what He is planning for us.  Many times it is as though we are only able to see reverse side of the drapery - the loose ends, the incoherent pattern, the lack of shape.  The main thing in times like these is to know and to trust that the One at work, knows what He is doing, and therefore not to give up!  Even if our own experience of being a believer seems to us like something that would never be adequate, or something that would never work out, our Father can still reckon it for righteousness! 

The second aspect also connected to this word “chashav” is described by the words “to compute”.  What does it mean to compute?  It is not only counting and reckoning.  It is also purposing, designing and shaping.  According to Webster Dictionary, it includes the process of pruning.  Our Father has a wonderful way of “reckoning” or “computing” our belief for righteousness.  He has a specific purpose in mind.  He knows where He is going with us.  His design for this world is so perfect, it is completely beyond our thinking and imagining.  It is also beyond our own capability to prepare ourselves and to correct ourselves for the purpose and design He has for us.  Therefore it is necessary for Him to take us through a process of pruning and shaping and molding.  The way we believe and the things we believe are not always a hundred percent in line.  But this doesn’t necessarily mean our belief is in vain.  No, our Father, Yahweh, is able to compute our belief for righteousness.  If necessary, He will prune us, He will test us, He will even discipline us.  For it is his purpose and his design to purify us and to make us part of his set-apart people, bringing esteem to Him as the only true Elohim and the only true Redeemer. 

We have only touched the surface of this very important theme throughout Scriptures.  There is much more to be said about this subject.  But perhaps the best approach is to take one step at a time.  May those who read these paragraphs find within them at least one or two aspects that may serve as an encouragement to once again start believing.   Perhaps the time has come for each one of us to allow  Yahweh to shape our belief systems into what He  had in mind for us from the very beginning.  May  He bless each reader of this article with the desire to believe in the sense of going to His right hand and putting one’s trust in Yahshua, the Messiah and Saviour of this world.