My friend Alan wrote:<\/p>\n
KJV Genesis 29:33 And she conceived again, and bore a son; and said, \u201cBecause the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also.\u201d And she called his name Simeon. <\/p>\n
The saga of Leah, the first wife to Jacob, is a story of a woman (soul?) wounded by the knowledge that the man that married her did not do so out of love for her. When considering the \u2018un-love\u2019 that haunted Leah, the names of the six sons she bore to Jacob become more telling. The names of the sons of Jacob, born to four different women, present to us a progression of spiritual understanding, and a journey to an intended destination in Christ. Why did Jacob have four \u2018wives\u2019? What is this pageant revealing to us? The first step on our journey to Christ is to become aware that there is, indeed, a son to recognize, and then to pursue. The first step on this journey to Christ is Reuben; behold you, a son.<\/p>\n
As a side note, how interesting that we learn in Gen. 2:10 that a river (the River of Life in the heaven of New Jerusalem?) was sent forth from Eden to water (to provide drink for?) the garden setting, and from there that river parted and became four \u2018heads\u2019. Why four?! Should we assume that this garden setting, and the parable\/pageant of these four rivers (heads), is referring to literal water; to H2O? The Hebrew word for water does not show up in any of these verses. Compare Psalm 36:8. The word translated as \u2018pleasures\u2019 in this verse is the exact same word translated as \u2018Eden\u2019 in Gen. 2:8. Hmmmmmmmm!<\/p>\n
Most of us, throughout our lives, have begun our learning by seeing with our natural senses; faces and activities and events, etc. But we rarely understand what we are \u2018seeing\u2019 when first we observe something new to us. We most often rely on our natural senses to impart information that allows us to learn and grow. Hearing is also a very powerful sense in our arsenal, and coupled with seeing, is a primary source of information for enhancing access to the world that we experience. In Gen. Chapter 2 we are told that there is a \u2018tree of knowledge\u2019 in the garden which YHWH caused to grow, and \u2018adam\u2019 is warned to avoid eating from the \u2018tree of knowledge\u2019, for it also is \u201c\u2026pleasant to the sight,\u201d [Gen. 3:6] The knowledge provided to us through our natural senses can be often misleading, and destructive. Things are not always what they seem.<\/p>\n
Leah conceived a second time, and declared that the LORD had \u2018heard\u2019 about her being \u2018hated\u2019, and thus rewarded her with being able to conceive a second child for Jacob. Leah, whose \u2018god\u2019 was Yahweh, attributed her ability to getting pregnant to the idea that Yahweh, or the LORD, \u2018saw\u2019 her plight and \u2018heard\u2019 about her misery. In the narrative of Leah, Yahweh rewarded her with pregnancy because she was \u2018hated\u2019. And remember, the first son of Leah was named Reuben because Leah declared that YHWH had \u2018seen\u2019 that she was hated. When she delivered a second son for Jacob, she proclaimed that her second son was a gift to her because the LORD had \u2018heard\u2019 that she was \u2018hated\u2019. And so she declared the name of this second son to be Simeon; or more accurately stated, \u2018Hearing\u2019. The Hebrew word we translate \u2018Simeon\u2019 is not the past tense idea of having heard, but is actually describing the continual on-going process of \u2018hearing\u2019.<\/p>\n
For once you have \u2018seen\u2019 that there is a \u2018son\u2019, the next step in the journey is accomplished by \u2018hearing\u2019. As a foot note, the pronunciation of this name as \u2018Simeon\u2019 has been \u2018gentilized\u2019; the more accurate pronunciation of the word should be \u2018Shim-oen \u2019. We won\u2019t take that rabbit trail here, but it is of significance. <\/p>\n
One of the most sacred and quoted verses in all of Judaism, Deuteronomy 6:4, is called \u201cThe Sham-mah\u201d. NKJ Deuteronomy 6:4 \u201cHear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!\u201d The first Hebrew word in this verse is \u2018sham-mah\u2019 (Strong\u2019s # H8085), and is very often translated into English as \u2018hear\u2019. This Hebrew word is used prolifically throughout the Old Testament, and is also translated as \u2018understand\u2019, \u2018hearken\u2019, \u2018listen\u2019, \u2018obey\u2019, and numerous other ways that indicate the necessity to pay attention and heed what is being revealed through \u2018hearing\u2019. This word \u2018sham-mah\u2019 is also the word that the name \u2018Simeon\u2019 is based upon. Leah was proclaiming that because YHWH, or the LORD, heard and understood her plight, she was rewarded with the privilege of bearing another son for Jacob. I find this in itself very revealing.<\/p>\n
In Genesis Chapter Three we have the story of Adam and \u2018his wife\u2019 encountering interaction with \u2018the serpent\u2019 in the garden, and consequently falling from the realm of innocence that \u2018the garden\u2019 represented, and ultimately the vulnerable experience of feeling naked and exposed. NKJ Gen. 3:8 \u201cAnd they heard the sound of LORD God walking in the garden in the cool (spirit) of the day\u2026\u201d Chapter three of Genesis is introducing us to the concept of \u2018hearing\u2019 voices and sounds that influence us, and the consequences that accompany the responses to what we \u2018hear\u2019. Verse ten tells us \u201cI heard (sham-mah) your voice (sound of you) in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked;\u201d The response from the LORD was, \u201cWho told you that you are naked?\u201d with the implication being \u201cwho or what have you been \u2018hearing\u2019?\u201d Have you been entertaining \u2018sounds\u2019 that cannot be relied upon, or trusted?<\/p>\n
Simeon is all about \u2018hearing\u2019. However, what we \u2018hear\u2019 is rarely, if ever, clearly understood by the \u2018hearer\u2019. Because we hear by natural senses, much of what we hear becomes distraction and confusion. Only by Spirit Discernment can we properly understand and categorize the myriad of \u2018sounds\u2019 that bombard our hearing and thinking. Only by yielding to the Holy Spirit of Truth in Love may we safely filter those \u2018sounds\u2019 that should be discarded<\/u>. Some of what we \u2018hear\u2019 is very appealing, and often gratifying to the carnal appetites. But if we are \u2018hearing\u2019 spiritual poison, we will continue to walk in darkness, stumbling over the obstacles of carnal confusion.<\/p>\n
Every \u2018spirit\u2019 that is not Christ is of \u2018anti-christ\u2019, and will always impose hindrance and impediment to Spiritual maturity. And none of us have been immune from those hindrances. NKJ Deuteronomy 18:15 \u201cThe LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear;\u201d KJV Luke 9:35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.<\/p>\n
NKJ Revelation 2:17 \u201cHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.\u201d
First the natural, then the Spiritual. It seems the patterns never change.<\/p>\n
to be continued\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My friend Alan wrote: KJV Genesis 29:33 And she conceived again, and bore a son; and said, \u201cBecause the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also.\u201d And she called his name Simeon. The saga of Leah, the first wife to Jacob, is a story of a woman […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-love"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/servias.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/servias.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/servias.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/servias.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/servias.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6616"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/servias.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6617,"href":"https:\/\/servias.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6616\/revisions\/6617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/servias.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/servias.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/servias.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}