Lift up your heads, for our Redemption draws near

Genesis 7:13-16 On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.  They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings.  Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark.  The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in. (New International Version)

A few weeks ago I was meditating about Noah and the ark and I felt I needed to look closer at the verse where God closed the door of the ark after Noah, his family and animals were inside. I felt God had something to reveal in connection with this verse. As I looked into the verse, I felt the need to study the Hebrew word for “close” in the verse. I got to discover the word for “close” in Hebrew is סָגַר (sagar).

A fascinating thing about Hebrew is that every letter has a meaning and numerical value, and therefore words formed from these letters often have deeper meanings that can be got from analyzing the letters that make them up. This can add an extra dimension of understanding to Hebrew words. The table below shows the meaning of the different Hebrew letters along with their numerical values.

An example is the word “Father” in Hebrew, which is written as אָב (ab). It is made up of the Hebrew letters Aleph and Bet. (Hebrew is read from right to left). Aleph means “strength” and Bet means “house”. Therefore אָב (ab) which is the word for “Father” also means that he is the “strength of the house” by looking at the meaning of the letters.

Another example is the Hebrew word for “fire” which is אֵשׁ (esh) made up of the Hebrew letters Aleph which means “strength” and Shin which means “to destroy”. Therefore the meaning that can be derived for אֵשׁ(esh) is “strong devourer”, which highlights the destructive nature of fire.

Now let’s return to the word סָגַר (sagar). This word is made up of the Hebrew letters Samekh, Gimmel and Resh. The letter Samekh means “support”, the letter Gimmel means “to lift up” and the letter Resh means “head”. However, there is more to the letter Samekh. The root of the word Samekh is also found in the Jewish concept of Semikah, the laying of hands upon the head of a sacrificial victim in a blood ritual in the Jewish Temple (Source: hebrew4christians.com).

Leviticus 16:21 Aaron is to lay (Samakh) his two hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the Israelites and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins, and thus he is to put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man standing ready. (New English Translation)

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, the following is what took place during the Semikah;

The owner of the sacrificial victim was required to lay both his hands with all his might between the horns of the animal just before it was killed. The act of imposition, which took place in the court of the Temple where the victim was slain, was to be performed with bare hands, and there might be nothing between them and the head of the animal. During this ceremony the sacrificer, in case he brought a sin-offering or an offering of atonement, confessed his sins, saying: “I have done thus and so, but have repented; may this sacrifice bring me forgiveness and be an atonement for me” (Source: Jewish Encyclopedia)

So we see a picture of “redemption” portrayed during the Semikah. All this links the letter Samekh to “redemption”. With this information, when we put the meanings of the letters found in the word סָגַר (sagar) we get the phrase “redemption lift up head” or if we rearrange the words, “lift up head redemption”. Does this phrase ring a bell?

Luke 21: 25-28 and there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh. (King James Version)

I found this amazing! When you get the meaning of the letters that form the word “close”  in Hebrew  in the verse from Noah’s story, we get part of what Christ said in this verse, to “lift up our heads for our redemption” is drawing close when we see the signs in the heavens which we are always talking about! Also When we get the numerical value of the letters that make up the word Samekh ךמס (Samekh=60, Mem=40,Kaf=20) and add them up, we get:

60+40+20=120. (Source: hebrew4christians.com)

120 is a number that represents God’s grace and patience with Man as was discussed previously.

Genesis 6:3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.” (New International Version)

So the letter associated with redemption has the numerical value of God’s grace and patience!

In summary, what this could mean is that the signs God has been sending in the heavens are indicating that time is almost up before the tribulation to starts. The door of opportunity for of escape through the rapture is about to close! Could this also be connected with the 120 days from the August 21^st eclipse to 19^th December, the seventh day of Hanukkah? Only time will tell. Pray about these things.

Luke 21:34-36 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (New International Version)