Shevat 22
Counsel
“Blessed is the man
who shall not walk in the COUNSEL …” (Ps 1:1 ISR,
emphasis mine)
The Hebrew word that has been translated as
“counsel” is the word ‛êtsâh (Strong’s #H6098), and is
defined as “counsel, advice, purpose”. Jeff Benner, in his
wonderful Ancient Hebrew Dictionary, defines this word as “Advice given
in the sense of being the firm support of the community”[1],
revealing that ‛êtsâh is also meant for the good of the community, the people, and not
necessarily for an individual alone.
My husband does not randomly give counsel or
advice; he learned many years ago that for the most part, people only want you
to tell them what they want to hear,
and will often ignore what is truth.
Even when asked for his opinion, very seldom will my husband give
it. And we have both learned some
painful lessons through the years. In
one instance, a sister in Messiah came to us, asking for counsel about leaving
her husband, who had some issues that he was not willing to seek help over, and
that could have been sufficient
grounds for divorce. We gave her the
Scriptures concerning divorce, what we believed was the correct interpretation
of them, and agreed to hold her up in prayer as to direction from the
Father. She eventually returned to her husband
– however, they did divorce some 8 to 10 years later. Unfortunately, what counsel we gave her at
that time was held against us, and the relationship between all of us was
irreparably damaged.
I truly believe that there are those
individuals that our Creator has set in place as counselors; these people – the
ones that I am personally familiar with – have an amazing knowledge of the Word
of our Elohim, as well as being anointed with a calm and gentle spirit when
dealing with other people. I do not
hesitate to say that I am not one of
these people, but I have no qualms in directing others in need to these
individuals. That is their calling, and their purpose.
Be careful, brethren, not only in giving
advice, but in listening to it as well.
Perhaps one of the questions we might ask ourselves is, “Is this advice
ultimately for the good of the community; is it for my benefit only, or will
others benefit as well?” We know that
Torah is all about community, becoming not only the person our Messiah would
want to spend eternity with, but one that others would want to dwell with as
well. And that is my counsel …
©2018
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