Havdalah – Olive Tree Fellowship 6th day of the 10th Biblical month (Dec. 31)
The origins of Yeshua’s Teachings Known as “The Beatitudes” in Matthew 5
Randall Westfall – randallwestfall@gmail.com
Mattiyahu (Matthew) 5:1-3 1 Seeing the crowds, Yeshua walked up the hill. After
He sat down, His talmidim came to Him, 2 and He began to speak. This is what
He taught them:
3 "How blessed are the poor [humble] in spirit! for the Kingdom of Heaven is
theirs.*
The word translated as “blessed” here is transliterated as “esher”. Let’s begin by
defining what it means to be “esher” in Scripture:
Psalm 1 – The Way of the Righteous and the Way of the Ungodly
Verse six presents a key to understanding this Psalm: For Yahveh knows the way
of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish; the way of the righteous
and the way of the ungodly are contrasted.
What the righteous man does not do:
“How blessed are those who reject the advice of the wicked, don't stand on the
way of sinners or sit where scoffers sit!”
Blessed is the man: Blessed here is translated from the Hebrew word “esher,”
which has the idea of happiness or contentment, rather than from the Hebrew
word “barak” from which we know from Avraham’s being “blessed.” Esher
comes from the Hebrew word ashar, which in its root means “to be straight” or
“to be right.” The Hebrew letters: Aleph, Shin, Resh. Blessed is the man speaks of
the contentment in the life of the man or woman who is in right standing or
“straight” with Elohim. The righteous man will be a blessed man, a content man,
because he partakes of the things of Elohim and casts aside the things of this
world.
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Walks not . . . nor stands . . . nor sits: The blessed man does not do certain things.
There is a way he will not walk, a path (way of life) he will not stand in, and a seat
he will not sit in. We might say these speak of thinking, behaving, and belonging.
The righteous man and the ungodly man are different in how they think, how
they behave, and to whom they belong. The righteous man is following the
cyclical path of Elohim, observing His mo’edim and keeping His instructions. In
order to do that, he must REJECT (resist) ungodly behavior or counsel. Do you
see a parallel in Ya’akov (James) 4:7?
Walks not in the counsel of the ungodly: The ungodly have counsel, and the
righteous man will not walk in it. With all the advice that comes to us, from so
many different sources, the righteous man knows how to stay away from the
counsel of the ungodly. To do that, one must know how to discern the counsel of
the ungodly. Do you stop and consider if counsel is godly or ungodly?
The righteous man is also discerning enough to know the counsel of the ungodly
can come from one’s own self. Our own conscience, our own mind, our own heart,
can give us ungodly counsel.
The righteous man knows where to find completely godly counsel: Also your
instructions are my delight; they are my counselors. (Psalm 119:24) Elohim’s Word
is always the best counselor, and godly counselors will always bring the truth of
Elohim’s instructions (Torah) to help someone who wants counseling.
Nor stands in the path of sinners: Sinners have a path (way of life) where they
stand, and the righteous man knows he does not belong on that path. Path speaks
of a way (Ha Derekh), a road, a direction, and the righteous man is not traveling
in the same direction as sinners. The righteous man is not afraid to take a lesstraveled road, because he knows it leads to blessing, happiness, and eternal life.
Go in through the narrow gate; for the gate that leads to destruction is wide and
the road broad, and many travel it; (Matthew 7:13)
The righteous can have the confidence of Psalm 16:11: You make me know the path
of life; in your presence is unbounded joy, in your right hand eternal delight.
Elohim has a path, and it is a good road to take.
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful: The scornful love to sit and criticize the people
of Elohim and the things of Elohim. The righteous man will not sit in that seat!
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What righteous men do: Their delight is in Yahveh’s Torah; on His Torah they
meditate day and night. (Psalm 1:2)
Their delight is in Torah: The righteous man is delighted with Yahveh’s
instructions!
What makes you happy? What gets you excited? This is a good way to see what is
important to you. If personal pleasure is the only thing that makes you happy,
then you are a selfish, self-centered person. If being with your family or friends
delights you, that can be better, but it still falls short. Righteous men find their
delight in Torah, and meditate on the Word day and night.
If a person delights in something, you don’t have to beg them to do it or to like it.
They will do it all by themselves. You can measure your delight for the Word of
Elohim by how much you hunger for it.
On the other hand, if a person is not content, then one needs to go back to and
seek where he or she left the path, repent, and walk in righteousness.
CJB version of Matthew 5:1-20 [Shem Tov Hebrew]
1 Seeing the crowds, Yeshua walked up the hill. After He sat down, His talmidim
came to Him, 2 and He began to speak. This is what He taught them:
3 "How blessed are the poor [humble] in spirit! for the Kingdom of Heaven is
theirs.*
Isaiah 66:2
Psalm 34
4 "How blessed are those who mourn [wait]! for they will be comforted.
Hosea 4:1-3
5 "How blessed are the meek! for they will inherit the Land!*
Psalm 37:11
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6 "How blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness! for they will be
filled.” **
Isaiah 32:17
Psalm 42
7 "How blessed are those who show mercy! for they will be shown mercy.” **
Psalm 18:17-31
II Samuel 22
8 "How blessed are the pure [innocent] in heart! for they will see God.
Psalm 24:1-6
Isaiah 56:1-7
9 "How blessed are those who make peace [shalom]! for they will be called sons of
God.
Psalm 34:12-15
Isaiah 54:13-15
10 "How blessed are those who are persecuted because they pursue righteousness!
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Proverbs 21:21
Jeremiah 29:10-14
11 "How blessed you are when people insult you and persecute you and tell all
kinds of vicious lies about you because you follow me!
Psalm 1
Proverbs 21:24
12 Rejoice, be glad, because your reward in heaven is great -- they persecuted the
prophets before you in the same way. 13 "You are salt for the Land. But if salt
becomes tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for
anything except being thrown out for people to trample on. 14 "You are light for
the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Likewise, when people light
a lamp, they don't cover it with a bowl but put it on a lampstand, so that it shines
for everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before people,
so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in
heaven. 17 "Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I
have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until
heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the
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Torah -- not until everything that must happen has happened. 19 So whoever
disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others to do so will be called the
least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be
called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your
righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P'rushim, you will
certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven!
Added to Shem Tov from other manuscripts *
Not in Shem Tov manuscript**
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