Glory

by Brad Scott

Have you ever found yourself yelling, crying, or simply proclaiming "glory to God ...!" or "... we glorify you O Lord!" Have you ever stopped to look up that word glory to see what you were all excited about? This is such an abstract word. I mean Bruce Springsteen sings about Glory days and there was a popular Civil War film called Glory about an all black volunteer Massachusetts infantry. In sports we hear this word in context with fame all the time. A popular expression is glory be or glory, glory, glory, and of course we all are used to singing the popular patriotic Battle Hymn of the Republic "Glory, Glory, Halleluyah!"

The English word glory is generally translated from the Greek word doxa. Some times the word honor is also translated from this same word. The word comes from the Hebrew root kavad. It is built upon the root letters kaph, bet and dalet. It is a picture of a hand on the door of the house. The door is the most important part of a house. It is the pathway in and out of the house. Yeshua‘ claims to be the door. This word, in all it's forms, will be based upon that which is most important or weighty. The glory of God is the most important and weightiest part of our Master. When we glorify our Creator we are saying that He is most important, He takes precedence over all. Here are a few examples beginning with the first occurrence which always sets the foundation.

Bere’shiyt (Genesis) 12:10And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

Shemot (Exodus) 20:12Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which YHVH thy ’Elohiym giveth thee.

Honor thy father and thy mother. In other words give more weight to them than you would your boss, a psychiatrist, or the guy that delivers your pizzas.

Shemu’el Aleph (1 Samuel) 4:18And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

Shemot 29:13And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.

Yes, that is right, it is also the Hebrew word for your liver, the weighiest organ in the body. Now how did Moses know that?

Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 29:13Wherefore YHVH said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

It seems that some people only make YHVH more important with their mouth and not their actions.

Mizemor (Psalm) 50:15And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

Here are a few examples in the New Testament.

Romans 1:21Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Apparently in the latter days there are some people who do not consider our Creator to be all that important.

Romans 15:6That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Adonay Yeshua‘ the Messiah.

Hmmmm. It seems to me that very similar words are spoken in Tzefaneyah (Zephaniah) 3:9 when the pure language will be turned back to the people so they can serve Him with one consent. And finally...

Hitgalut (Revelation) 15:4Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

There will come a day when all will recognize the gravity of the situation and will then know who carries the most weight.

Shalom Alecheim! ◊