ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

Unveiling Mercy

Ko e Tatala Mai ‘o ‘Ene Meesi   

Unveiling Mercy is our new daily devotional for 2023, written by Chad Bird. The goal of these meditations is to unveil the mercy of God in the Messiah as seen in the Old Testamenta through the lense of the Hebrew language. We will look with fresh eyes at familiar verses from Genesis to Malachi. The insights from these reflections will hopefully allow us to gain a better perspective of the Bible as we look closer at the original language.

Ko e tohi ‘oku hoko atu ki ai ‘a e ALPHA MAAMA ‘o e ta’u 2023, ‘oku ui ko e TATALA MEESI fa’u ‘e he tangata ko Chad Bird. ‘Oku feinga ‘a e tokotaha ni, fou ‘i he ngaahi fakalaulauloto faka’aho, ke ne ‘omi ‘a e ngaahi veesi kuo tau ‘osi lau mo maheni mo ia ‘i he Fuakava Motu’a, pea ne toe hulu’i ‘aki ‘a e mahino mei he lea tupu’a ‘a e kau Hepeluu. ‘Oku ‘i ai pe ‘a e toe loloto ange ‘a e lea na’e ‘uluaki hiki ‘aki ‘a e Tohitapu pea ‘oku faka’amu te tau toe vakai atu ai ki he ngaahi meesi kuo ne tatala mai mei he Tohitapu ke toe ‘asili ai ‘etau fakahikihiki’i IAA.

Fakatauange ke tau toe hohoi ange ki he’ene Folofola pea ki he loloto ‘o ‘Ene ngaahi ‘ofa´.

Sapate Sanuali 1, 2023 

An Alphabetic Parable ב

Ko e Talanoa Fakatātā mei he ‘Alafapeti faka-Hepelū´

GENESIS 1:1

IN THE BEGINNING

GENESIS 1:1

‘I he kamata‘anga

The opening letter of the Bible, a bet (b) in b'reshit ("in the beginning"), resembles a square closed on all sides except one. Since Hebrew is read from right to left, the open side ushers us into the rest of the sacred writings. The rabbis saw the shape of the letter as a kind of alphabetic parable. It's closed on the right, top, and bottom to indicate that what came before creation is not our concern; neither should we go poking our noses into what's above us or below us.

On what would our Father have us focus? On what follows the open side of the bet. It's the portal through which we journey into the rest of the Scriptures, which "are able to make [us] wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 3:15). "The secret things belong to the LORD our God" (Deut. 29:29). That's his concern. Ours? "The things that are revealed belong to us" (v. 29). His revealed Word. His promises. His gospel. As the psalmist says, "I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me" (131:1). Instead, let us occupy ourselves wholly with Christ, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3). In the Messiah and his words, the Father is unveiling mercy, revealing everything he wants us to know.

O Lord, "open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law" (Ps. 119:18).