As I was talking to my Papa God this morning and praising Him for Who He is…
Not only is He my Heavenly Father and the creator of ALL things in heaven and earth…
Not only is He my savior, redeemer, healer, hope, peace and more…
He pointed something out to me…
He showed me that in the word Friend; is the word end…His friendship with me Will Never End…BFF’s always…
He is faithful and kind and gentle…He is Love and He is good…He is powerful and bold make no mistake…He calls gently to us to follow Him… not to hurt us but to complete us…
Praise God…not only is He King…but He is my friend…and I am His friend!
He’s not some far off relation or President I will never meet or ever be able to talk to…
He isn’t a famous person who has to run from the paparazzi and doesn’t let anyone close…Although He is famous…
He doesn’t hide from us…
He isn’t a diplomat or political figure…but he governs all the earth…His motives are pure and righteous…
He isn’t some rich and famous person who is surrounded by guards protecting him from the crowds…but He is, surrounded by angel armies whose wealth is limitless…
Jesus goes out of his way to be known to us personally…
He wants to know us…and He wants us to know Him…
He is a “fri’end” whose relationship with us will never end!
In the New Testament…there isn’t a word in the Greek for friend…however Jesus spoke Aramaic and uses the word racham, so in John 15:15 when Jesus called them friends (racham)… it is agape (love) on steroids!!!
And this is what God was saying to me this morning about friend… (Jesus) He says: “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you my dearest cherished beloved who has captured my heart.” (Chaim Bentorah)
I can say with all my heart that Jesus is MY RACHAM…DEAREST CHERISHED BELOVED WHO HAS CAPTURED MY HEART!!!
We are His racham…dearest cherished beloved who has captured His heart!!
~Marla Shaw O’Neill August 3, 2018
John 15:15 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) I no longer call you slaves, because a slave doesn’t know what his master is about; but I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
ARAMAIC WORD STUDY – FRIEND – RACHAM – רחס
To be fair the Greek uses the word phileous which means a friend; it is a lesser love than agape. But then are we to say that agape is the word in John 3:16, but he only phileous his disciples? Jesus spoke Aramaic and the word used in the Aramaic Bible is racham. In its Semitic root, it means the womb or more specifically the love a mother has for a child in her womb. A child in the mother’s womb is little more than a friend. There is not a word in the Greek for racham; it is agape love on steroids.
Let me put it into context. Imagine getting a notification from your local politician who instead of calling you “my friend” starts with: “My dearest cherished beloved who has captured my heart.” We would say that is a bit pretentious. Yet that is racham and what Jesus is saying when He says: “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you my dearest cherished beloved who has captured my heart.” (~Chaim Bentorah)
