Pushing People Away from God

Observations for Our Time Volume 2: Religious Poison Pushing People Away from God

8

Spirit of Understanding

Woe to those who write Scripture... As we open the 11th chapter of Yasha'yah / Isaiah we are confronted by a word

which is only found two times in the whole of the Hebrew witness: choter. So as we seek to properly translate the opening statement, and understand who or what it is predicting, we must determine whether it conveys some aspect of the symbolic imagery inherent in the "tsemach ? branch" we have witnessed in association with Dowd and Yahowsha', or is it simply a "stem, sprout, or twig," and thus speaks of someone or something far less important? And since this is another verse Christians believe validates their faith, our quest to understand will be far from pedantic.

While we'll return to the opening statement in a moment, dissecting every nuance, so that we all appreciate the challenge, here is the passage we are striving to understand: "A ______ (choter ? a small shoot or secondary branch, a slender stick or twig, a tiny sprout or stem, a pliable wooden implement or rod as a measure or standard, a secondary source of growth serving as a living entity delivering progeny, an unruly and untrained tendril, or less-productive sucker) has come out or will be extended (yatsa') from (min) the stump or root-stock (geza') of Yshay / to Stand Out and Be Noticed (Yshay), a secondary branch or smaller limb (netser) from (min) his root, which keeps him anchored and nourished (sheresh), continuing to bear an abundance of fruit, being productive while encouraging productivity in others (parah)." (Yasha'yah / Isaiah 11:1)

There is no known verbal basis for choter, which means our preferred approach isn't going to provide the answer. The closest verb is chataph, which means "to catch or seize," and could speak of a stem's capacity to stretch out and catch the light of the sun, seizing upon its energy.

The three letters which comprise choter - are descriptive. The word begins with a Chet - , which is a fence, something that protects and separates. The Theth - was drawn to depict a basket in which things being harvested and valued are placed. And in the middle of the basket is an x, symbolizing the signature of Yah. Lastly, we find a Rosh - , drawn to present a thoughtful individual who is listening,

observing, and thinking. Therefore, by bringing these ideas together, we have an observant individual who is willing to listen and committed to thinking, collecting the things Yahowah values, the children He intends to harvest, His name, and His words, protecting His children by striving to separate the things of God from the things of man. The fact that the person is looking beyond the rather than at them would have suggested that the choter was counterproductive had either the been among the letters in Yahowah's name, . But as it is written, the choter's - merits are determined by how it is used.

Unfortunately, choter doesn't share its three-letter root with any other Hebrew word. Fortunately, however, the other use of choter is found in a Mashal / Proverb composed by Dowd. And since he was assuredly from Yshay, his use of the word should be instructive. Therefore, before we complete our translation of Yasha'yah 11:1, let's jump back in time three-hundred years and see how the ultimate wordsmith weaved choter into a lesson for God's children. He wrote...

"A wise (chakmowth ? the thinking and prudent, the most skillful and capable, properly instructed and learned; from chakam ? to learn and then teach) woman (`ishah ? wife and mother (also: `eshah ? maternal fire, motherly light, and feminine enlightenment)) builds (banah ? she constructs and establishes, she restores and perpetuates the family name of) her home and family (beyth hy' ? her house and household).

But (wa) the foolish and perverse (`iweleth ? the unthinking who is averse to understanding and thoughtlessly quarrelsome; from `ewyl ? foolish, defiantly ignorant, argumentative, and licentious (the basis of the English evil)) tears it down (harac hy' ? she breaks it apart, destroying and ruining it, pulling it down while pushing everyone out) with her own hands (ba yad hy' ? with her own power and influence)." (Mashal 14:1)

I don't want to minimize the value of motherly love, but you'll note that according to God, when it comes to building a home, intelligence trumps emotion. That should not be surprising because for both men and women, nothing matters more than being right.

"He who walks (huw' halak ? he who travels through life, going) in what he knows to be right, straightforward and honest (ba yosher huw' ? in His integrity and righteousness, in His direct, smooth, and straight path) respects and reveres (yare' ? admires and appreciates) Yahowah ().

But (wa) he who is devious and goes the wrong way along his own perverted and crooked path (luwz huw' derek huw' ? he who departs from the way and is lost from view, he who has corrupted the way by creating his own twists and turns), disregards and despises Him (bazah huw' ? disdains Him, views Him with contempt, loathing and spurning Him)." (Mashal 14:2)

It is counterintuitive, but the religious are so devoted to their mythical deity, they not only view Yahowah as a rival, they despise Him and His Towrah. It's not just that religions lead people away from God, most believers actually come to hate almost everything associated with Yahowah. The religious prefer their way, no matter how twisted, to God's way.

This then brings us to the first use of choter, and it's far from positive. Based upon this rendering, this "stick or twig" is well beneath the status of Yahowsha' and Dowd.

"In the mouth (ba peh ? on the lips and thus speech) of the stupidly stubborn (`ewyl ? of the simpleton who as an idiot fails to comprehend, of the defiantly ignorant and irrational who mocks the truth by promoting deceptions, of the argumentative and licentious, of the unthinking citizenry who are averse to understanding, thoughtlessly quarrelsome, and foolish) is an arrogant, selfexalting (ga'awah ? an overly proud, self-elevating, and self-aggrandizing yet majestic appearing) pliable implement and unproductive sucker (choter ? a small shoot or secondary branch, a slender stick or twig, a sprout or stem, a wooden implement or rod as a measure or standard, a secondary source of growth serving as a living entity delivering progeny, or an unruly and untrained tendril).

But the lips (wa saphah ? the language) of the learned and wise (chakam ? of the one who learns, comes to understand, and then teaches) are observant and focused (shamar hem ? pay attention, closely examine, and carefully consider, guarding them)." (Mashal / Word Pictures / Proverbs 14:1-3)

From Dowd's perspective in composing this Mashal, this particular choter was being used in a bad way, or perhaps more accurately, could at times manifest negative characteristics. As a thin twig it would be susceptible to bending, rather than being dependable and steadfast. As a skinny stem it would be blown around in the wind. As a less-productive sucker, it would be a source of wild growth, incapable of bearing fruit. As a small stick or thin rod, it might set a different standard or serve as a short-lived implement of control which would be prone to breaking. Then as a pliable implement or an unruly and untrained tendril, this individual's words would convey man's notions and be subject to evil influences.

In this case, especially as we consider the emergence of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all three religions tried unsuccessfully to graft themselves into Yahowah's Tree of Lives. Such is the history of religion. Satan and his clerical associates seldom if ever plant their own damn trees.

For example, a choter in the company of a pope or president, a minister or military officer, is a counterproductive implement. But a choter wielded by Yahowah, can be useful. A choter might even be Yah's pencil, a stick smearing graphite smudges on paper which in the right hand conveys a valuable message.

Dowd wasn't perfect, far from it, but I cannot fathom Yasha'yah using choter to describe him, not after what he has written about Dowd's vineyard and kingdom. It does not fit, especially following Dowd's derogatory use of choter in the Mashal / Proverb. And even if you were to concur with what seems to be the implication of what we are reading, that Dowd is even more important than Yahowsha', it is unreasonable to think that Yahowah would inspire anyone to refer to the perfect Passover Lamb as a choter. Therefore, as the word implies, apart from its source, apart from how it is used and who is deploying it, the choter is little more than a "pliable implement," an otherwise irrelevant "sprout" compared to the mighty branches of Dowd and Yahowsha'.

When we consider Dowd's derogatory use of choter in the context of what we read about the Assyrian in the previous chapter, the natural inclination would be to see the "ga'awah ? majestic and yet arrogant, self-aggrandizing and self-elevating" choter who is "stupidly stubborn" as one of the implements of oppression we saw associated with the Adversary. Since it is shown "lifting itself up," it is akin to the thin plank of wood Satan deployed as an economic club, the rod of compliance, the scepter of government control, the staff of religious subjugation, or the lance of military oppression. In the wrong hands, a tool can yield disastrous results.

And should this be too great an extrapolation, or if you'll excuse the pun, if I'm out on a limb on this, then at the very least we ought to acknowledge that it is possible that there is a connection between this self-elevating stick and the plank of wood which Yahowah referenced in Yasha'yah 10 when depicting the Adversary as an implement. Dowd may well have been addressing an insignificant twig which reckoned itself a mighty tree.

But, before we break every choter, condemning them all by association, keep in mind that a choter is an implement. It is just a tool. It can be used to build a home or construct a mosque.

Likewise, a stem can bear good or bad fruit, depending upon the tree. In this case, the choter appears to be an unnamed twig in the world's greatest tree. He is a tiny stem, but grafted into the Tree of Lives. Yahowah is the Trunk, Yisra'el is the soil, the Towrah is its root structure, and Dowd and Yahowsha' are its foremost branches. This choter is just a small stem off of a secondary branch, high up on the tree, supporting a few leaves, all seeking to absorb the Light.

Coalescing what we have learned, therefore, a choter is "a small stem, pliable implement, insignificant sprout, or untrained tendril" which emerges from the stump and root of Yshay. It is thereby productive, contributing to what Yahowah is trying to achieve by conveying some aspect of the life He is offering.

Just because the choter of Mashal / Word Pictures / Proverbs 14 was found in the mouths of evil, self-aggrandizing individuals, it does not mean that every stem,

implement, sprout, and tendril is counterproductive. After all, in the case of the Assyrian, while he is a mal'ak, most spiritual implements are effective.

Delving a bit deeper into the Hebrew lexicon, while it is a far more encompassing term, the primary Hebrew word for "rod" is shebet. It is from a root meaning "to branch off." And while a rod can be used as a means to control people by beating the noncompliant, it is sometimes used as "a measure or a standard." In such cases, Dowd becomes the standard next to whom our lives can be measured.

Considering where we have been and where we are going, with all the attention which has been drawn to Dowd and the fuss that has been made over the Assyrian, especially the repetitive use of tsemach to denote the branch's affinity with vibrant growth in the Covenant, I'm inclined to render choter a bit modestly in the opening statement of Yasha'yah 11. And while it was used negatively in the Mashal, as we have discussed, a stick is nothing more than a crude implement, and a stem is but a common conduit of life. They are neither good nor bad by themselves, but instead are either useful or counterproductive depending upon who is wielding them or based upon which tree they are connected.

While I was still editing this chapter, an especially bright Yahuwdy sent me something she had never done before, which was a mathematical analysis of a word, this one choter, all in recognition of the fact that every Hebrew letter is ascribed a numerical value. The ch or Chet is the number 8, representing eternity. This is reinforced by the fact that there is an 8th day added to the celebration of Sukah / Camping Out with God. There were 8 souls aboard the Ark. Also interesting, Dowd was the 8th son of Yshay.

The t or Teth is 9, and represents gestation, and therefore is indicative of adding children to a family. Nine adds another individual to eternity, making the experience richer. The Chet plus the Teth equates to 17 which is interesting because 1+7=8, reinforcing Yahowah's connection with eternity.

The third letter, the r or Rosh, is assigned the numerical value of 200, which is 4 Yowbel / Redemptive Years ? the very interval which defines time from God's point of view.

The combined total, 8 + 9 + 200 = 217, which when divided by 7 (God's promise of perfection based upon 6 (the number of man) in addition to God (who is 1) equals 7) yields 31 ? with the 3 equating to the number of a family (father, mother, and child) while Yahowah represented by the number 1. When 217 is divided by 8, the result is 27.125, interesting in that 2+7+1+2+5 = 17, the value of the first two letters, which when combined also equals 8, our initial value. Lastly, 2+1+7 = 10, the number of tribes in Yisra'el apart from Yahuwdah. So while none of this defines the nature of a choter, the math laden in these letters provides an interesting perspective.

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