Acts 1:9

KABOD – GLORY!

(July 30, 2023) Dr Jim McClure shares on this Hebrew word… 

‘Glory!’ Christians often use the word ‘glory’… but usually do not have much idea of what it means!

The Hebrew word for glory, kabod, is found 200 times in the Old Testament and its development is interesting.

Development
The root of kabod actually means ‘heavy’ and is associated with the liver (Exodus 29:13), which is the heaviest of the internal organs.  The use of the word as ‘heavy’ is seen in a number of Old Testament passages such as Psalm 38:4KJV, ‘For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.’

Glory developed into the concept of splendour.It referred to material wealth, that is, being ‘heavy with riches.’  Note Isaiah 10:3, ‘To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?’  Here ‘wealth’ is ‘kabod.’ 

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IN THE GARDEN

(April 02, 2023) Richard Winter reflects…

It’s often said that in the olden days things were different. Some will remember in those olden days that we had a garden at the back of our home… we grew most of our vegetables, some flowers and some fruit trees.

Everybody loves a garden. Whether you like to work in a garden, whether you plant it, or just like walking through one that somebody else has done all the work in, there is beauty in a garden.

The Holy Bible has a lot to say about either gardening or planting, or sowing and harvesting. Gardens feature in scripture from the beginning of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation. All of them are important to God’s plan… three on this earth, one not.

The three earthly ones were places of sadness, although the third became a place to rejoice over! And the fourth? Well let’s look at these four pivotal biblical places that have changed the way God’s people live… and can live.

The first garden was creation…

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GLORY!

(March 20, 2023) Dr Jim McClure explains about God’s glory… 

Christians often use the word ‘glory’ but usually do not have much idea of what it means! The Hebrew word for glory, kabod, is found 200 times in the Old Testament and its development is interesting.

Development
The root of kabod actually means ‘heavy’ and is associated with the liver (Exodus 29:13) which is the heaviest of the internal organs. The use of the word as ‘heavy’ is seen in a number of Old Testament passages such as Psalm 38:4, ‘For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me’(KJV).

Glory developed into the concept of splendour.It referred to material wealth, that is, being ‘heavy with riches.’  Note Isaiah 10:3, ‘To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?’  Here ‘wealth’ is ‘kabod.’ 

The word continued to develop to mean honour. In Malachi 1:6 God asks, ‘A son honours (kabod) his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honour (kabod) due to me?’ 

Glory also came to be recognised as a characteristic of God’s splendour — ‘The heavens declare the glory of God’ (Psalm 19:1).

Regarding the word ‘Shekinah’, although some people use this when referring to God’s glory, it does not refer to a special dimension of divine glory.  In fact this Hebrew word is not found in the Bible. It literally means ‘presence’ but doesn’t add anything to the concept that God’s glory reveals His presence.

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