Sivan 3
Heavens
“Our Father who is IN
the heavens …” (Mat 6:9 ISR,
emphasis mine)
The Greek word
that has been translated here as “heavens” is the word ouranos (Strong’s #G3772), and refers to the sky,
the atmosphere, above the earth. The
ancient sages believed in multiple layers of the atmosphere, or the “heavens”,
and it was understood that the place of Elohim’s throne was in the highest of
the heavens.
When we declare that YHWH our Elohim is “omnipresent”,
this means that He is “present in all places
at the same time”[1], something that only our Creator is
able to do. Therefore, when we pray to “Our
Father who is in the heavens”, we are acknowledging His presence not only in
the atmosphere immediately surrounding us, but also His sovereignty from the
highest of the heavens, His throne. We
must first, always, recognize and endorse who
our Elohim is: He is our Father, and He
is the Elohei Mikkarov, the Elohim
who is near.
In the first paragraph of the Amidah, we find that Elohim is here too
recognized as the “Creator of all things”, and the “great, mighty and revered
God”[2]. It
is humbling to me to realize that this
is the way that Messiah prayed, and addressed the Father, with reverence and
awe, upholding our set-apart, kadosh
Elohim. May I always do the same …
“Where would I go from Your Spirit? Or
where would I flee from Your face? If I go up into the heavens, You are there;
If I make my bed in the grave, see, You are there. I take the wings of the morning,
I dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, There, too, Your hand would lead me,
And Your right hand hold me.” (Ps 139:7-10 ISR)
©2018
[1] American Dictionary of the English Language,
Noah Webster, 1828
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