Ezekiel 2:6-7 reads, “And you, O son of man, do not be afraid of them; and of their words do not be afraid, because there are obstinate ones and things pricking you and it is among scorpions that you are dwelling. Of their words do not you be afraid, and at their faces do not you be struck with terror, for they are a rebellious house. 7 And you must speak my words to them, regardless of whether they hear or they refrain, for they are a case of rebellion”.
In his commission, just before being instructed to eat the scroll offered him, Ezekiel is told not to be afraid of their words, not to be in terror of their faces. Jeremiah is told similarly in Jeremiah 1:8, and again at 17, and even earlier, Joshua is instructed likewise, “Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and strong. Do not suffer shock or be terrified, for Jehovah your God is with you wherever you go.” – which are words once spoken by Moses to Joshua before the eyes of all Israel – and so it became a promise made from Jehovah. Elijah is instructed in the same manner at 2 Kings 1:15.
The reason for this warning (not to be terrified) was interesting -
In Proverbs 29:25 we are told that “Trembling at men [‘a-dham] is what lays a snare, but he that is trusting in Jehovah will be protected.” Similarly, Jesus also echoes a similar message to his disciples in Luke 12:4 (as well as Matthew 10:28), “Moreover, I say to you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body and after this are able to do nothing more – but I will indicate to you whom to fear: fear him who after killing has authority to throw into Gehenna”.
Trembling at men is what lays a snare – as Peter experienced first hand in Matthew 26:75.
In Proverbs 29:25, the word translated as “snare” is mowqesh – meaning a noose, primarily for catching animals, and by implication, a hook, a trap. The root word here being yaqosh. Yaqosh, and its various derivatives, occur forty times in the Hebrew Scriptures – and refers to a set trap which catches prey – and more frequently, it is used metaphorical sense of entrapping people. A snare is something that that allures one from his real purpose and then destroys him. In such a light, Saul to ruin David gave his daughter Michal to him in marriage so that she might become a snare to David (i.e., something to deter David from his real purpose). In mowqesh, though, it is the “mem” which prefixes, indicating the confusion and sense of entrapment or panic an animal (or man) immediately senses when they realize what has happened to them – though such a realization comes as a result of already being trapped – it is a sense then of known dread – knowing you are done for.
Because of its inescapable hold, the power of death is often referred to as the “snares of death” – often brought on by trembling at men. In Psalms 18:4-5 David acknowledges this lesson when he speaks on the day that Jehovah delivered him from the snare set by Saul - “The ropes of death encircled me; flash-floods of good-for-nothing men also kept terrifying me. The very ropes of sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me.”
Jehovah warns Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Joshua, Elijah, as Jesus warns his disciples, that trembling or being afraid of men – thus succumbing to the spirit of men over the course directed to you by Jehovah, is a snare which will entrap you – and its hold you may not be able to break – and it may even serve as death or destruction for you.
There are other snares warned of – wickedness is identified as a snare (Proverbs 29:6), vowing rashly (Proverbs 20:25), and being friends with a man given to anger (Proverbs 22:24), idolatrous worship as well is called a snare.
Therefore, the Scriptures instruct that the righteous turn to God in prayer to be kept from being thus snared (Psalms 141:9 – “Keep me from the clutches of the trap that they have laid for me, and from the snares (mowqesh]of those practicing what is hurtful.”
Those who have followed idolatry become ensnared and can no longer serve Jehovah (Exodus 23:33). Jehovah, on the other hand, also prepares snares for his opponents (Jer 50:24) – in that they become so self-sufficient in their opposition to him that they are unaware of the snare – becoming entrapped by their own sin (Proverbs 29:6) – placing one at the hand of God to seal the trap and judge the victim (Psalm 9:16).
Mem m (Mah) – water
Vav (Waw) – tent peg
Quph – horizon
Sin – thorn
Mem [Mah] – water – the ancient Hebrew drew a symbol for water (horizontal wavy line, similar to how youngsters still indicate waves of water] – representing the meaning of liquid, water and sea, mighty and massive from the size of the sea, and chaos from the storms so common in the open sea. To the Hebrew, the sea was a feared and unknown place, and for this reason, this letter is used commonly as a question word – who, what, when, why, and how – in the sense of searching for the unknown – clarification for when one is floundering in a chaotic situation, being tossed about, unsure of a direction, without sure course.
Waw [vav] – tent peg – the ancient symbol here being a symbol for the “Y” peg or hook commonly used in construction of a Semitic tent; meaning to add or secure, fastened.
Quph – horizon – a symbol of the sun, setting or rising across the horizon; carrying the meaning of revolution, circle – often being “condensed” or collected, even separated, as light gathers at the horizons as the sun rises or falls, and when the light becomes separated from the darkness at the horizon just before dawn, or just before dusk.
Shin – the two front teeth – meaning teeth, sharp, press (from the function of teeth when chewing, eating) – a sustaining function – one is what they eat.
fqwooom (left to right mem, waw, quph, shin) combined, mowqesh reflects one who has become gathered in, collected, separated, and then secured or fastened, and to left to feed – but not on the food provided by God, but on calamity, confusion, being tossed about in uncertainty – a situation which ultimately results in one’s death or final destruction. The word is very similar to qadash but quite telling is the absence of the tent of Jehovah, d – and added is the chaotic sense of mem m
In contrast, there is “holy”, qadash) a collecting, gathering, and separating (quph), to dwell in the tent of God (dal), to be sustained by the food God offers (shin)
In the instruction then given to Ezekiel, Jehovah is telling him not to tremble at the faces or the words of those he is about to enter with – for in so doing, he would become snared and trapped (Proverbs 29:25) – just as they were – and instead of performing the will of God, he would be separating himself from God, to end up in fact being secured and fastened to those feeding on confusion – lost – from the very path of God which leads to life. And so he must not tremble or fear man, but rather, as Jesus says, keep your fear and trembling on Jehovah.
The words and the faces of those who bring confrontation against the word of God, should be dealt with, but not dwelt upon, for their very purpose may simply be a snare, a diversion which leads one away from their God established purpose - a purpose for a Christian which is to declare the good news of the Kingdom of God, and not to become ensnared in small battles with those who would serve only as distracter from this commission. If one continues to argue and become entangled in the snare of linguistic detail, one cannot simultaneously be expending full effort on declaring the good news.
In his commission, just before being instructed to eat the scroll offered him, Ezekiel is told not to be afraid of their words, not to be in terror of their faces. Jeremiah is told similarly in Jeremiah 1:8, and again at 17, and even earlier, Joshua is instructed likewise, “Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and strong. Do not suffer shock or be terrified, for Jehovah your God is with you wherever you go.” – which are words once spoken by Moses to Joshua before the eyes of all Israel – and so it became a promise made from Jehovah. Elijah is instructed in the same manner at 2 Kings 1:15.
The reason for this warning (not to be terrified) was interesting -
In Proverbs 29:25 we are told that “Trembling at men [‘a-dham] is what lays a snare, but he that is trusting in Jehovah will be protected.” Similarly, Jesus also echoes a similar message to his disciples in Luke 12:4 (as well as Matthew 10:28), “Moreover, I say to you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body and after this are able to do nothing more – but I will indicate to you whom to fear: fear him who after killing has authority to throw into Gehenna”.
Trembling at men is what lays a snare – as Peter experienced first hand in Matthew 26:75.
In Proverbs 29:25, the word translated as “snare” is mowqesh – meaning a noose, primarily for catching animals, and by implication, a hook, a trap. The root word here being yaqosh. Yaqosh, and its various derivatives, occur forty times in the Hebrew Scriptures – and refers to a set trap which catches prey – and more frequently, it is used metaphorical sense of entrapping people. A snare is something that that allures one from his real purpose and then destroys him. In such a light, Saul to ruin David gave his daughter Michal to him in marriage so that she might become a snare to David (i.e., something to deter David from his real purpose). In mowqesh, though, it is the “mem” which prefixes, indicating the confusion and sense of entrapment or panic an animal (or man) immediately senses when they realize what has happened to them – though such a realization comes as a result of already being trapped – it is a sense then of known dread – knowing you are done for.
Because of its inescapable hold, the power of death is often referred to as the “snares of death” – often brought on by trembling at men. In Psalms 18:4-5 David acknowledges this lesson when he speaks on the day that Jehovah delivered him from the snare set by Saul - “The ropes of death encircled me; flash-floods of good-for-nothing men also kept terrifying me. The very ropes of sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me.”
Jehovah warns Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Joshua, Elijah, as Jesus warns his disciples, that trembling or being afraid of men – thus succumbing to the spirit of men over the course directed to you by Jehovah, is a snare which will entrap you – and its hold you may not be able to break – and it may even serve as death or destruction for you.
There are other snares warned of – wickedness is identified as a snare (Proverbs 29:6), vowing rashly (Proverbs 20:25), and being friends with a man given to anger (Proverbs 22:24), idolatrous worship as well is called a snare.
Therefore, the Scriptures instruct that the righteous turn to God in prayer to be kept from being thus snared (Psalms 141:9 – “Keep me from the clutches of the trap that they have laid for me, and from the snares (mowqesh]of those practicing what is hurtful.”
Those who have followed idolatry become ensnared and can no longer serve Jehovah (Exodus 23:33). Jehovah, on the other hand, also prepares snares for his opponents (Jer 50:24) – in that they become so self-sufficient in their opposition to him that they are unaware of the snare – becoming entrapped by their own sin (Proverbs 29:6) – placing one at the hand of God to seal the trap and judge the victim (Psalm 9:16).
Mem m (Mah) – water
Vav (Waw) – tent peg
Quph – horizon
Sin – thorn
Mem [Mah] – water – the ancient Hebrew drew a symbol for water (horizontal wavy line, similar to how youngsters still indicate waves of water] – representing the meaning of liquid, water and sea, mighty and massive from the size of the sea, and chaos from the storms so common in the open sea. To the Hebrew, the sea was a feared and unknown place, and for this reason, this letter is used commonly as a question word – who, what, when, why, and how – in the sense of searching for the unknown – clarification for when one is floundering in a chaotic situation, being tossed about, unsure of a direction, without sure course.
Waw [vav] – tent peg – the ancient symbol here being a symbol for the “Y” peg or hook commonly used in construction of a Semitic tent; meaning to add or secure, fastened.
Quph – horizon – a symbol of the sun, setting or rising across the horizon; carrying the meaning of revolution, circle – often being “condensed” or collected, even separated, as light gathers at the horizons as the sun rises or falls, and when the light becomes separated from the darkness at the horizon just before dawn, or just before dusk.
Shin – the two front teeth – meaning teeth, sharp, press (from the function of teeth when chewing, eating) – a sustaining function – one is what they eat.
fqwooom (left to right mem, waw, quph, shin) combined, mowqesh reflects one who has become gathered in, collected, separated, and then secured or fastened, and to left to feed – but not on the food provided by God, but on calamity, confusion, being tossed about in uncertainty – a situation which ultimately results in one’s death or final destruction. The word is very similar to qadash but quite telling is the absence of the tent of Jehovah, d – and added is the chaotic sense of mem m
In contrast, there is “holy”, qadash) a collecting, gathering, and separating (quph), to dwell in the tent of God (dal), to be sustained by the food God offers (shin)
In the instruction then given to Ezekiel, Jehovah is telling him not to tremble at the faces or the words of those he is about to enter with – for in so doing, he would become snared and trapped (Proverbs 29:25) – just as they were – and instead of performing the will of God, he would be separating himself from God, to end up in fact being secured and fastened to those feeding on confusion – lost – from the very path of God which leads to life. And so he must not tremble or fear man, but rather, as Jesus says, keep your fear and trembling on Jehovah.
The words and the faces of those who bring confrontation against the word of God, should be dealt with, but not dwelt upon, for their very purpose may simply be a snare, a diversion which leads one away from their God established purpose - a purpose for a Christian which is to declare the good news of the Kingdom of God, and not to become ensnared in small battles with those who would serve only as distracter from this commission. If one continues to argue and become entangled in the snare of linguistic detail, one cannot simultaneously be expending full effort on declaring the good news.
