Can I get an AMEN?

[OhmyKimB]

Tiffany Ann Lewis:

Can I Get an Amen?
​

"With His wing He will cover you, and under His wings you will take refuge; His truth is an encompassing shield."—Psalm 91:4, Judaica Press Version

I can hear in my spirit the angels singing the words of this classic psalm. The sound is music to my ears, for my soul is weary and my tears seem to have no end. These messengers of God were sent with a message of hope. With a tenderness of a mother hen and the strength of a mighty soldier, God promises protection and safety for those gathered under the shadow of His wonderful wing. Can I get an Amen?

Glory...I'm feeling better already, but there is much more hiding in this passage which helped me today. Let's begin with the word Amen. It doesn't look like the word "amen" is in our passage, but it is. Let me explain.

Amen is a Hebrew word that is created by the three letters: aleph – mem – nun. Can you hear it? Amen—a – m – n...aleph – mem – nun. You didn't know you could speak Hebrew, did you? Amen is also a Hebrew root word. I am drawing your attention to that for two reasons, the first is found in Romans 11:18, "the root supports you," and also because in Hebrew all words are built off of a root. Therefore, the other words that are derived from the root are connected to it and supported by its core meaning.
Today we are focusing on this root word, amen. Amen (pronounced ah-mayn, Strong's #539) is personified in Revelation 3:14, "These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God." We are most familiar with this word at the end of prayer, meaning surely, so be it... amen, Lord. However, amen means something much greater than that. It has the core meaning of firmness and support. It is used to describe a foster-father/mother or nurse who supports and nourishes a child. What a precious picture of our faithful and true Amen.

God's Truth is a Shield that
Encompasses and Surrounds Us​

As I said, this root is found in our key passage. It's found in the word "truth." "With His wing He will cover you, and under His wings you will take refuge; His truth is an encompassing shield."

I'm sure you've noticed that I am quoting from a translation that doesn't use the standard "shield and buckler." I did that because these translators caught an expression of the passage that is missed in the explanation of double armor. A buckler is defined as a small round shield that was carried in the hand or worn on the arm of a soldier. However, the Hebrew word reveals a bit more. The Hebrew word for buckler is socherah (pronounced so-chay-raw', Strong's #5507) and it comes from a root that means to go around, to surround. Therefore, in Hebrew, this expression suggests that God's Truth is a shield that encompasses and surrounds us.

Keeping in mind that the Hebrew word for truth comes from amen, which is a picture of a foster-parent supporting a child, let's take a closer look at God's enveloping Truth.

In Hebrew, the word truth is 'emet (pronounced 'em-et, Strong's #571) which is spelled: aleph – mem – tav. The nun from amen was replaced by the tav, making 'emet. Why I view this as being "encompassing" is because in the full Hebrew alphabet, aleph is the first letter, mem is the middle, and tav is the last. His Truth surrounds our beginning/first/aleph, our ending/last/tav and all that is in between/mem.

We're in the "in between" time right now while we are here on earth. As Believers in Jesus, we know that one day we will enter into the Promised Land and inherit everlasting life. In the meantime, we are in this world and subject to the good stuff, the bad stuff, and all that's in between. I call it "the mem time."

Are you still with me? I hope so because it gets even better. These letters are what God used when He created the universe. When He spoke, His words and the letters which form them, brought light and calm to the chaos. Beloved, the universe continues to be upheld by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). These letters of light will bring calm to your chaos and hold you together, too. This is the Word of God that won't return to Him void.

Christ's Sacrifice and the Cross
Encircle Us in Our Stormy Times​

All Hebrew letters have a pictograph, a picture that is used to define them creating a spiritual picture of sorts. You won't see that picture in English because our letters don't have pictograms, you will only see it in these wonderful Hebrew letters. Let's take a look.

Truth ('emet) is spelled: aleph – mem – tav.
Aleph – is a symbol of strength. It is the picture of a strong ox and represents a sacrificed animal.
Mem – is a picture of water and chaos.
Tav – is called the seal of truth because it is the last letter of the word truth. It is a picture of a cross, a sign.
I see a spiritual picture of the sacrifice of Christ (the aleph), on the cross (the tav), which is surrounding, encompassing, encircling us in our times of mem, times of stormy waters, chaos, and mayhem, because they are on both sides of the letter mem. This is my truth.

Amen is spelled: aleph – mem – nun.
Nun – is considered the faithful letter because it represents our faithful God—the steadfast, unwavering, unfaltering, unswerving, faithful Lord and King. As a picture, it represents life, seed, activity, and fish.
In these letters of light we can see the strong sacrifice of Jesus, our Aleph, swimming like a fish (the nun), in all the crazy waters (the mem) of our chaos to support us, because He is faithful and He loves us with a never-ending love.

"Truth" is the shield that surrounds us, but it was the faithfulness of God (the nun) that brought Him to the Cross, the tav of truth. Can I get an Amen?

Our Shield of Faith is
Jesus Christ, the Door of Hope​

The New Testament counterpart to Psalm 91:4 is found in Ephesians 6. In this passage we are encouraged to stand with our loins guarded with truth while raising up the shield of faith. I have to be honest with you and say this isn't always easy for me. When I'm sinking like a stone in the waters of chaos (the mayhem of mem), I don't always have enough faith to fight the fiery darts of the enemy. Sometimes I'm just too weak to even raise up my shield. This is where I find myself often these days, but there's still the sound of the heavenly chorus singing, "With His wing He will cover you, and under His wings you will take refuge; His truth is an encompassing shield."

The Greek word used for shield in Ephesians 6:16 is thureos (pronounced thoo-ray-o's, Strong's #2375) and it is only used once in the Bible, however, it comes from a root that is used often, yet it doesn't mean shield...it means door. Physically, the shield is said to have looked like a door, but spiritually there is even more than meets the eye. The root of this word is used in John 10:7 (Strong's #2374) as Jesus boldly declares that He is the door that the sheep go in and out of. Our "shield" of faith is Jesus Christ, the door of hope leading to pasture for all who call upon Him.
Beloved, in these crazy moments of chaos, we're not supporting the Word...the Word is supporting us. "In Him all things consist, (cohere, are held together)" (Colossians 1:17b, AMP). Even when we can't keep it together, when it seems our world is falling apart, He holds it all together. Even when our faith seems to fail us, He is our shield of faith. Let's look once again at these letters of light.

The Hebrew word for faith is 'emunah (pronounced eh-moo-nah, Strong's #530).

Faith ('emunah) is spelled: aleph – mem – vav – nun – hey. The important letters to notice in these five are aleph – mem – nun. I highlighted them because they are the root of the word faith ('emunah). Notice that the three letters are our Amen: aleph – mem – nun.

Beloved, when you are tired and beaten down, Jesus Christ is your shield. He is the Word of God made flesh, the Aleph, who was slain, is your eternally faithful nun (foster-parent), He is your Amen. He is surrounding you, upholding and supporting you through the mayhem of this world. He came to give you life and life abundantly. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith, and nothing can take us from His hands because we are sealed with the tav, the Cross.

Listen to the song again, "He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust; His truth shall be thy shield and buckler" (King James Version).

Can I get an Amen? Amen and Amen.


Tiffany Ann Lewis
Dancing with the Flame of the Lord Ministries
Email: <A title=mailto:[email protected]?subject=Inquiry%20from%20Elijah%20List%20Subscriber href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=Inquiry%20from%20Elijah%20List%20Subscriber">[email protected]