Selah! “Suspended”...Part 1

Selah

Selah (סלה). In the songs of David, SeLaH was an utterance where an entire world of musical noise, in the song, was called to a stop. “Selah” is a stillness, “as a silence that hangs in the air”, within a song. It holds an expectation of anticipation, energy, and power. It is a time set aside and apart from all words, as a Sabbath (a time of rest) of holy silence as though a vision is being played over in every mind. Whether the music was flowing in a smooth melodic tempo, or in a wild crescendo, when the word "Selah" is sung: all the worshippers, all the musicians, all noise, all activity, comes to an abrupt halt. "Selah" is a call to be still, and know that GOD is.

In Habakkuk 2:20, the idea of Selah is conveyed in the words,
"YHVeH is in the ‘Hushed and Silent Temple of His Holiness’,
(and) before Him, (is) all the Earth.” (Translation mine)

while in Zephaniah 1:7, the reason for Selah is revealed as:
"Be hushed and silent before the Lord YHVeH:
for drawing near to battle is the Day of YHVeH:
because YHVeH hath prepared and appointed a sacrifice,
He has consecrated those called and summoned by proclamation.” (Translation mine)

In aleitheia (the true reality), Selah is a call to stop, pause, and reflect on the 3 hours of light, and 3 hours of darkness in which Christ hung upon the Cross. It is the this theme that is to be reflected upon as the Church takes Communion. Selah is a time to reflect on what GOD has done for us, and upon the sacrifice, which YHVeH (not man) has prepared. This gives us pause upon the Two Sacrifices of Judaism:
1) the upright Passover sacrifice, of a crucified lamb, cooked upright in that state upon a spit, with its intestines wrapped about its head and called the "horned" or "crowned sacrifice"; and
2) the escape goat that is led into the wilderness with scarlet wool wrapped about its head, to take upon itself the sins of all Israel during Yom Kippur.

One occurs in the spring for the benefit of no less than a group of 13, the lawful size of a "Community" AND THE Gematriac equivalent of "Love" in the Hebrew is - הבהא "Ahavah": a value of 13. This size is reflected in YHVeH Messiah's choice of having 12 anointed Disciples, who with Him, were representatives of GOD’s love to the world. Again, we see “love,” (the value of 13), with the 12 tribes of Israel represented by the Priestly tribe, whose number is not de facto counted as 13, but whose inheritance is from the LORD. In other words, the 13th member takes on the attribute of the Heavenly, while the 12 take on the attribute of the earthly. The Alef א is the abbreviation for “GOD” in the Hebrew - Elohim.{1}


The Alef - Havah
Separated in the word Ahavah, or “love”, it forms the identification of two words: Alef - havah, which in Gematria means “GOD breathes into existence”. Therefore, the very act of GOD creating Adam, and breathing into his nostrils “the breath of life”(Genesis 2:7), was an act of love. The souls of men are thereby “GOD breathed”, and must be “GOD redeemed” with the same concept as the exhaling breath. The name YHVeH is the sound of our breath in our nostrils (Lamentations 4:20), and is the name of our Messiah. The inhalation is the masculine YH (represented in the GOD-head by the Father and the Son); while the exhale is the feminine VeH (represented in the GOD-head by the Holy Spirit). This tells us, that since man was created by the feminine exhale breath of GOD, so also must all eternal life be born of the Holy Spirit; and physical life be birthed through the females of the species.
The Origin of the living engine of the soul of man, which is left as a hollow hole in the unbelievers, is in reality the place where G-D is supposed to come and dwell within each one of us. It is a ready-made structural design, to be filled by the Spirit of GOD...and was and is still birthed to a filling by the breath (as it were), such as the power of the spoken word in faith and trust into Christ Jesus as LORD and Savior. The soul that has fallen away in a state of sin (e.g., unbelief), following this line of reasoning, then must be redeemed also by the spoken word as well. Because it was mistrust that caused man to fall, it is by obedient trust or “faith” to which man finds his way back to GOD. That route of return is limited to one lone and narrow cross that stands in the vast wilderness where all other ways lead to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). We must trust the spoken word, Christ our LOGOS (John 1:1), and step through the dimensions of time and space through the only portal that will save us: the Cross.

Between 9 am and 12 pm on March 23, A.D. 30, very probably only those of the small faction that caused Christ to be crucified did call out words against Him, and mocked Him. But when the sun was high, and noon came, the whole world changed, and fell into darkness.{2} The sun fell into the blackness of sackcloth, the stars withdrew their light, the Cross may have taken on the appearance of having begun to smoke, and the moon shone a blood red ambiance upon the land.{3} The majority of the Jewish nation, who watched on like silent lambs, now did so with great sadness. And this they did, not knowing or understanding, not perceiving with eye or the ear, what was truly going on and taking place. They, like we -- had we been there -- stood stunned, and in a daze as if it all were an actual, living dream. But it wasn’t a dream. It was a happening.

As Christ hung upon the Cross, suspended between Heaven and Earth, when darkness enveloped the earth at about 12 noon: the wind was silent, the sky was clear, and a holy hush lay upon all of Jerusalem and its hills. There Jesus, who had 4000 plus years before breathed into Adam the breath of life as YHVeH, now as a man, whipped to shreds and pieces that hung on His skeletal frame, breathed in and out after the manner of one being strangled to death. Literally, now Christ breathed in death, that by His breathing in the form of one dead -- though yet alive in the physical -- He might breathe forth again eternal life. Wherefore as GOD He gave life to man, as man He gave up the death-state of man as atonement to GOD the Father, that all men, dead in trespasses in sins in the living flesh, might breathe forth the spoken word of faith and trust, and be redeemed unto GOD, once and for all time -- and beyond time itself. And as Christ breathed out His last, and the earth quaked, and the veil of the Temple rent, and the wind roared forth in great fury, as an entire nation fell to the ground and fell prostrate. There is a claim in Jewish Tradition that every synagogue but one in Jerusalem fell in that moment. That is a number akin to 499 buildings falling to the ground. When those moments were over, the Roman centurion spoke in a loud voice for all to hear, in words to this effect: “Surely this Righteous One, was a son of the gods.”{4} In response, the people acknowledging the intent of the centurion’s message, that Christ was the “son of GOD”, then beat their chests in mourning and deep heartfelt lament, and returned home overcome with grief (Luke 23:48).


א (Alef) and the Revelation of the Trinity

The letter Alef א holds the value of 1, which is the Heavenly. This letter hangs and hovers over the 12 of the earthly, even as the Holy Spirit hovered, fluttered, and moved upon the face of the waters in Genesis 1:2. The letter Alef hangs, quivers, and flutters as the Eternal Life of us hanging over us.

This Alef is shown in its very concept to be Trinity by the rabbis, and the eternal affirmation of Trinity, even as GOD is Trinity. Alef is formed by a yod (י) in the upper right, and a yod (י) in the lower left, joined in the middle by a Vav (ו).{5} The upper Yod (י) holds a value of 10, and represents the abbreviation for the name of YHVeH, which we Gentiles translate as Jehovah or LORD. In the Alef, the upper right yod represents the Heavenly Father YHVeH. The lower Yod (י), which supports, represents YHVeH the Holy Spirit. The Vav represents Messiah, He who is both man and GOD, having both the Heavenly and earthly attributes in one form. He, as the Vav (ו), has come down as the eternal Life from Heaven, from YHVeH Father (the upper yod). He has lived life as a man -- the Vav (ו): which holds a value of 6. He has died, and entered into the lowest depths of death; but by the power of GOD, He has risen from the dead. His ministry of Messiah being designated to eternally be supported by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of GOD the Father. Together, as One, these three letters value a total of 26, the same as YHVeH יהוה- Jehovah, LORD.

Thus, the Sh’ma of Deuteronomy 6:4 -
“Hear, listen carefully, and obey, O Israel!
YHVeH your GOD, YHVeH is One united!” (Translation mine)

And how do we see YHVeH united as One? In the Alef. Turned 90 degrees it becomes to us as the Cross, in its appearance. Therefore, to behold Christ upon the Cross, is to behold the mystery of the Trinity of GOD; whom in remembrance of this Day, will ever after call His own Name as “One” (Zechariah 14:9). This very concept, for man, involves the intensity of silenced and hushed meditation. It takes a need for a concentrated grasping of the far-reaching ness. Thus, in both the Cross and the letter Alef, Selah is found to be a reflection of how Christ died for the Community, for you and me, and for the nation of Israel.



Thought upon Selah and the Cross from the Psalms:

“YHVeH is made known in the Judgment He has made and brought about:
in the work of the bend of His Hands [.i.e., in His wrists]
are the wicked ensnared (as in a noose). A Meditation. Selah!” (Psalm 9:16, translation mine)


Selah is the suspension of both Time and Space.
When Time and Space are intertwined in a moment of eternity, we see a synonym in "Talah" (תלה), the Hebrew verb that means, "to hang". In Isaiah 22:24, Talah is used to describe a "hanging like a peg" (perhaps 'on a wall' would be a best word picture illustration for us). In Psalm 137:2, Talah is descriptive of the "hanging" of a (traveling) musician's lyre upon a tree in a foreign land. In Job 26:7, when the earth is described as hanging upon nothing, while "talah" is used in this verse, "selah" is visualized. However, the relationship between Selah and Talah does not end there. In Esther 7:9, the Greek Version (LXX, or the Septuagint) uses the Greek word "stauroo" in translating "talah".{6} In other words, after Haman was hung by a rope, he was impaled up high on the instrument of death, like a peg some 50 cubits high, fixed as an example to all.

In Deuteronomy 21:22ff, after the offender 'worthy of death' is stoned dead, he is then impaled and "hung upright" as though a dead image. Yet, quite often, the neurological system is still somewhat active, as many corpses may still have the post mortem "quivers". This aspect is important, because TaLaH (as a root word) has a derivative in the Hebrew word "teli" (תלי), which literally means: "to quiver". The nails pierced the hands of Christ through the bone in the bend of the hands at the wrists, right through the major nerves. This will make the hands go limp, the thumbs to bend into the palms, and the arms to quiver. Add a mildly breezy cold day in March, and strip Messiah of all garments, and the whole body will shiver and shake. So it is at this point that the next passage of Deuteronomy strikes home between Jew and Gentile unbelievers alike, as the literal reading of Deuteronomy 28:66 (in light of this) tells them:
"And your LIFE shall be hanging and quivering before you,
and you shall tremble with fear, and dread night and day,
because you do not believe into your LIFE." (Translation Mine)

The LIFE that is talked about in Deuteronomy 28:66 is YHVeH Messiah, who is the way, and the truth, and the LIFE (John 14:6); who for us men and for our salvation, came down from Heaven, and offered Himself as a ransom/sacrifice for our sins. One of the disciples of John the Apostle, Ignatius, whom became bishop of Antioch of Syria, used the example of his "love name" as an illustration of "selah" for us. In either 107 or 116 A.D. (depending on which historical reference you accept), Ignatius spoke with Caesar Trajan in Antioch of Syria. At the time, Trajan may have been warring in the East and decided to visit Syria. Antioch of Syria was third after the capitol of Rome in Italy, and Alexandria of Egypt. Trajan addressed Ignatius of his knowledge that Ignatius was secretly called "Theophorus": 'he whom GOD lifts up.’ But Ignatius corrected the Emperor, before being banished to death by wild animals in the Coliseum of Rome, saying that "Theophorus" should actually be interpreted as 'he who has Christ within his breast.’ To Ignatius, every believer who has Christ, experiences "selah".{7} Every believer is to be GOD - breathed from within. We are given a new and eternal nature that lays sin dormant (Romans 6:2-12).


The Selah Instrument of Jesus Christ -- the Cross
Again, this following quote, which bears repeating: in part because its clarity and truth concerning the mechanics involved in the Crucifixion has been so neglected by scholars; and in part, because it so accurately word-pictures "Selah" and suspension for us:
In the Syriac of Ignatius' letter to the Ephesians, .9., Ignatius clarifies this to us, writing:
"And you are prepared for the building of GOD the Father,
and you are raised up on high by the instrument of Jesus Christ, which is the Cross,
and you are drawn by the rope, which is the Holy Spirit;
and your pulley, is your Faith;
and your Love [Heb. “ahavah” - your GOD - breathed trust] is that Way
[or Path] which leads up on high to GOD."

When Christ was crucified, He was nailed to a Cross, and suspended upon the Cross; the Cross being lifted up by means of a rope and pulley. So too, by the Holy Spirit and Faith, Christ is lifted up and suspended in the breast of every believer and our love of Christ is that Way, which we then follow up on high to GOD the Father, through Christ our LORD. Selah.

The drawing up of the Cross, by rope-and-pulley, was accomplished by means of metal stakes that were driven into the Cross; which was a more sophisticated task than most modern scholars and lay people comprehend. Tertullian, the renowned Carthaginian Christian lawyer who resided and practiced in Rome from ca. 190 - 210 A.D., furthers our understanding about the Cross upon which Christ was crucified, saying:
" 'His glory, is that of a bullock. His horns, are that of a unicorn; (and) with them, shall He push the nations to the very ends of the Earth.' He was not, of course, designated as a mere unicorn with its one horn, or a Minotaur with two; but Christ was indicated in him -- a bullock, in respect of both His characteristics -- to some, as a severe Judge; to others, as a gentle Savior; whose horns were the extremities of His Cross. For the antenna, which is part of the Cross, the ends are called horns; while the mid-way stake of the whole frame is the Unicorn. His Cross is then, by this virtue and in this manner, "horned". He is both now pushing all nations through Faith, bearing them away from Earth to Heaven; and will then push them through Judgment, casting them down from Heaven to Earth." (Tertullian, Against Marcion, Book 3, Chapter 18)

Here we see a long metal protrusive stake through the back of the Cross, which is called a "unicorn". We also see the inference to metal spike also in the extremities of the Cross, likened to those Passover strokes of Lamb's blood on the door posts and lintel, which are called "antenna". It was to these that perhaps only 3 slaves were required to winch up a Cross and set it, while the soldiers could do their job, and stand guard; ensuring that the execution is carried out without interruption. “Thou hast heard Me from the horns of the unicorns…”(Psalm 22:21 - KJV)

Again, in "An Answer to the Jews", Tertullian explains:
"For even in the ship's yard -- this is the name by which the extremities are called, which is a part of (the Cross), -- the central pole of a mast is (called) a ‘unicorn’. In fact, by this power and in and in this manner (is) the Cross ‘horned’." (Tertullian, An Answer to the Jews, .10)

Thus, the goal of the bull and unicorn in the symbolism of the Cross, is to teach us about the nature of GOD. The shipyard tells us that we are living in the midst of a Universe created around the Design of the Creator, which central theme or purpose is the Cross. GOD is a Judge to the rebellious, but gentle to those who are reverent of Him. In the shipyard, this was probably the same attitude taken up by taskmasters, carpenters, and the various workers -- be they slave or free. Respecting the treatment of those who act and obey faithfully, these are to be treated gently. So it is, Tertullian demonstrates that the mission of the Cross, seen on every ship and in every shipyard, points to the mission of one's life: to pass from the Judgment of GOD, and to enter GOD's gentleness and love: through Jesus, through the Cross.
Irenaeus likened the Cross, which is plated together with iron, after the parable of Matthew Chapter 13,{8} to being the “plough of GOD”, by which the Almighty “turns up the earth” (i.e., mankind):
“He has firmly displayed the plough, in that the wood has been joined on to the iron, and has thus cleansed His Land; because the WORD, having been firmly united to flesh, and in its mechanisms fixed with pins, has reclaimed the savage earth. In the beginning, He figured forth the pruning- hook by means of Abel, pointing out that there should be a gathering in of a race of Righteous men.” (Irenaeus, Against Heresies,, 4.34.4)

Selah also takes into account the Sacrifice of the escape-goat at Yom Kippur, in His reclaiming the savage earth. For Christ (being without guilt, without sin) takes upon Himself the sins of all Israel, and by implication the sins of all mankind. Whereas the people whip and spit on the escape goat from Temple to the Water Gate of the Kidron, Christ was beaten about the face and head by over 400 - 600 open hand blows from the Gentiles in the fortress (which represents Heaven), and whipped at The Pavement (which represents the Bema platform of Moses' seat, hence representing Earthly domains). For intestines or scarlet wool about the head, he was plaited with a crown of thorns that not only pricked, and were pressed down with violence, and bled Him; but made Him vomit so much that it must have felt as if every last bit of food and drink was just sucked out of His small intestines. This disgusting and vulgar detail, though prophesied, is left out of the Gospel accounts. Therefore, every hangover or sickness that involves the activity of nausea can now also be identified as a sin atoned for in the Crucifixion of Christ. From thence, from Gabbatha, He was dispatched out of the city by the same path as the escape-goat of Yom Kippur.

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1 Hebrew is read from right to left, in an order reverse to English. Greek is read right to left, just as in English. These two languages show the Cross, in the effect, that the beginning of time in the Bible, is read as if going back into the past to the Beginning, in reverse order. The Greek is read as if from the Cross, and to the right, into eternity future. That is, it is read in such a manner as to the end of time -- either as we know it, or as the Bible tells it. This teaches us that time is a finite entity set for a singular purpose: that we might focus on YHVeH Messiah and the Cross, the source and means of our eternal salvation, in and above and infinitely beyond time - and beyond even the very concept of time. Amen.

2 In Rome, ca. 198-217 A.D., a well noted Carthaginian lawyer with Roman citizenship, wrote a lengthy speech that was to be read before the Senate and Caesar Himself, at a time when Carthage was considered the second most important city in the Empire. The matter at hand, in the apologia, was to defend the Christians, who were malfeasantly persecuted by the Empire. One of the things worthy of note, is that to the Senate and to Caesar and to all of Rome's elite in the gallery who would listen, Quintus Septimus Florens Tertullianus wrote:
"And yet, nailed upon the cross, He [Christ] exhibited many notable signs, by which His death was distinguished from all others. … In the same hour, too, the light of day was withdrawn, when the sun at the very time was in his meridian blaze. Those who were not aware that this had been predicted about Christ, no doubt thought it an eclipse. You yourselves have the account of the world portent still in your archives.” (Tertullian, Apology .21)

3 Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44-45 The idea that is conveyed from Joel 2:30-31, is that all Israel at Jerusalem saw the fulfillment -- the signs in the sun, moon, and the pillar-vapors of smoke. The confusing aspect that is overlooked is the sign of the plural pillar-vapors of smoke that is evident to both Joel 2:30-31, and all those witnesses of Jerusalem who saw its fulfillment only weeks before, as Peter so accused them of seeing with their own eyes. I believe that even as the Passover was cooked upright, from noon until 3 pm, a pillar-column of vapor that smelled like smoke may have taken on the appearance of being emitted from the Cross, and have flown upwards from the Cross itself, as far as the eye could see. This would be after the manner of the burnt sacrifice of Manoah in Judges 13:19-20. However, this would isolate only one column of smoke, and we are told in Joel and in Acts of wonders of the plural “columns” of smoke. Where else they could have come from, who knows? In the Letters to Tiberius Caesar from Pontius Pilate (Roberts, “The Ante Nicene Fathers”, Vol. 8, pp. 459-463.), it is suggested that they came from the Valleys of Kidron and Hinom themselves, as they gave the very appearance of opening up, even as the earth did so to Korah and the followers of him (Numbers 26:10). In Numbers, we are told that Korah and his followers became a sign, being 250 in number. Korah’s children, we are told (in Numbers 26:11) did not perish with him. Therefore, the sign, as it relates to the coming Cross, is that only a grand total of 250 men actually mindfully and knowingly conspired against Messiah at His crucifixion.
We are to absorb this, in light of the 2,700,000 to 3,000,000 Israelites present in Jerusalem at the time. Let us ask ourselves, how many members of the 3 branches of government in the United States would it take to commit a great evil? A handful in the White House, a couple dozen very determined leaders of the House and Senate would suffice to order the military to launch a war, including a nuclear option, just because…with the true reason hidden. Even so, this nation’s 280,000,000 would be put in jeopardy for all the consequences of the actions of these few men. Even so, it was with Israel. Therefore, anti-Semitism, simply based on their fulfilling prophecy in killing their own King through their leader’s manipulation of Law, has no real basis. GOD has given Israel to mankind as a gift, and they are to be treated as equals, and even with greater respect, because the gifts and calling of GOD are upon them, without repentance. Any person or entity, seeking the destruction of Jews or Israel, is de facto, a hater of GOD and a blasphemer of Jesus Christ.

4 cf. the Semitic of Daniel 3:25. If the centurion was like the Righteous soldier from Galilee, and a friend of Israel, then the translation of intent is obvious to be “Surely this Righteous One was THE Son of GOD.” The particular argument here, is in what language did the centurion speak? Obviously, he would have been fluent in three required languages: Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Hebrew being his most recent acquisition, he then would have uttered in his most native tongue: Latin. At the ages of 12-15, boys are sent to a 5 year boot camp on the isle of Sardinia, and grilled and drilled into being the Roman fighting machine, whose battle readiness must be a minimum of 5 hours of intense combat endurance. Drilling day in and day out, then, using Latin and the trumpet by instinct and temperament -- this centurion spoke Latin, and the Gospel writers translated based on their knowledge of Latin at the time they heard the utterance.

5 cf. Benjamin Blech, “The Secrets of Hebrew Words”, Northvale, NJ: Aronson, 1990, p.23

6 cf. Harris, “The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament”, Chicago:Moody Press, 1980, pp. 970-971

7 In the mind of Trajan, Christians were still considered a Jewish sect; and it was the Jews of the “Near & Middle East”, who were derailing his plans of conquest. Therefore, the kindness and innocence of Ignatius was lost on the Emperor, because of the equating of all Israelites leaders as being saboteurs who preached and practiced sedition (whether openly or philosophically).

8 Matthew 13 shows first, the parable of the seed. Jesus carries His cross, and then the Apostles sow after Him (Matthew 13:11). The seed is scattered about, some making it properly into their fitches, and bearing much fruit. That seed, which makes it into the fitches, does so because Jesus guides the direction of that seed: which are defined as being the “sons of the (Heavenly) Kingdom” (Matthew 13:38). Therefore, the Cross brings forth that treasure which is both new and old for every believer. The cross is the plough, and we are the seeds. Therefore, water yourselves in the Word of the LORD: and grow, grow, grow.