The Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever Hebrews 13:8
Yesterday — “In time past…” (Ephesians 2:11)Today — “But now in Christ Jesus…” (Ephesians 2:13)Forever — “In the ages to come…” (Ephesians 2:7) also " I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.(Revelation 1:8)
Hebrew Word Study - Welding Yourself to God - Batach Beth Teth Cheth.
Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."
In my 17 years of teaching Hebrew in Bible College every year in my advanced Hebrew class we started out the year translating Proverbs 3:5-6. Every year some student would come up with a rendering I had never considered but was still a correct translation. Often this new spin would come from one of my international students. I had exchange students from Russia under Perestroika who grew up under the oppression of communism where they as their parents paid a price for their faith. They understood this passage in a way I could never understand it. You see, the Word of God is a well that will never run dry.
After all these years, I am still learning. I recently read a story about a 19th Century missionary to Africa which gave me, not a new insight into this passage but a deeper understanding.
A young 22 year old woman was enjoying a holiday at the beach with her husband and four year old daughter. At the beach they heard the cries of young boy who was drowning. This woman's husband did not hesistant to jump into the water to save the child only before the eyes of this young wife and daughter he and the struggling boy were swept away and both drowned.
Not only did this woman lose her husband and father of her daughter but there were no safety nets in those days for young widows. They struggled just to avoid starvation.
One day there was no food in her house and she had no money. She told no one of her struggle but she and her young daughter went to God in prayer. The next morning she found a box of food and some money at her door step from some unknown person who wished to remain annyomous.
Would you like Chaim Bentorah as your personal Hebrew teacher?
After this even Louisa M.R. Stead wrote these words:
Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to take Him at his word,
Just to rest upon His promise
And to know, "Thus saith the Lord."
What is it to trust in the Lord? The word trust in Hebrew is
Batach which is a word used for welding. Archaeologist have discovered a primitive form of welding that dates back to 1,000 BC in Egypt. Welding is the process of melting metal together and then uniting the two units together by pressing and hammering. It is said a perfect weld will hold a joint together such that other parts of the metal will break before the weld will.
Louisa and her daughter trusted, batach themselves to God and united with God through much pressing and hammering. In their own understanding they could not imagine food and money just appearing on their doorstep, it was beyond their understanding but they did not lean to their own understandings, they just acknowledge God in all their ways.
God took care of them. Earlier in Louisa's life she wanted to be a missionary to China, but could not go as she was sickly, yet as they continued to acknowledge God in all her ways she did end up serving God as a missionary in Africa.
This welding yourself to God is not an easy process, you must pass through the fires, endure much pounding and hammering to achieve that perfect weld and melt yourself into God.
I shared more on "trust/batach" in a related topic last night in our weekly Bible Study. Watch the recording here and we hope you can join us live some time.: www.hebrewwordstudy.com
Copyright (C) 2026 Chaim Bentorah Ministries. All rights reserved.
In my 17 years of teaching Hebrew in Bible College every year in my advanced Hebrew class we started out the year translating Proverbs 3:5-6. Every year some student would come up with a rendering I had never considered but was still a correct translation. Often this new spin would come from one of my international students. I had exchange students from Russia under Perestroika who grew up under the oppression of communism where they as their parents paid a price for their faith. They understood this passage in a way I could never understand it. You see, the Word of God is a well that will never run dry.
After all these years, I am still learning. I recently read a story about a 19th Century missionary to Africa which gave me, not a new insight into this passage but a deeper understanding.
A young 22 year old woman was enjoying a holiday at the beach with her husband and four year old daughter. At the beach they heard the cries of young boy who was drowning. This woman's husband did not hesistant to jump into the water to save the child only before the eyes of this young wife and daughter he and the struggling boy were swept away and both drowned.
Not only did this woman lose her husband and father of her daughter but there were no safety nets in those days for young widows. They struggled just to avoid starvation.
One day there was no food in her house and she had no money. She told no one of her struggle but she and her young daughter went to God in prayer. The next morning she found a box of food and some money at her door step from some unknown person who wished to remain anonymous.
One of the recurring themes throughout Scripture is the importance of remembering. God repeatedly instructed Israel to remember His commandments, His works, and especially His promises.
But why was remembering so important?
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 gives us part of the answer:
"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children..."
Notice that God's instructions didn't stop with the individual. They were to be passed along to the next generation.
They were to talk about God's Word when sitting in the house, walking along the way, lying down, and rising up. In other words, remembering God wasn't supposed to be limited to a religious occasion. It was to be part of everyday life.
A People Prone to Forget
Unfortunately, Israel had a recurring problem.
Psalm 106:13 says:
"They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel."
God had delivered them from Egypt, provided for them in the wilderness, and brought them into the promised land. Yet they repeatedly forgot His goodness.
Psalm 78:5-7 explains why teaching the next generation mattered. They were to know God's works, set their hope in Him, and not forget His works.
But God Does Not Forget
Here is where the story takes an interesting turn.
Psalm 105:8 says:
"He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations."
Israel might forget, but God remembers!
Consider Isaiah 27:6:
"He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit."
Even after judgment and chastening, God's promises concerning Jacob remain.
Isaiah 27:12-13 goes on to describe the gathering of Israel's scattered people, concluding with their worship of the LORD in Jerusalem.
God had not forgotten His covenant.
A Lesson for Us
There is a difference between remembering something occasionally and allowing it to shape our everyday thinking.
God instructed Israel to teach His words diligently, not merely to hear them once and move on.
Perhaps that is a lesson worth considering in our own Bible reading. We aren't simply accumulating information. We are learning to recognize God's character, His purposes, and His faithfulness.
The Scriptures repeatedly remind us of something important:
Man forgets, but God remembers His promises.
And that is a truth worth passing along to the next generation.
There are chapters in the Bible that make you stop and think. Second Chronicles 30 is one of them.
Reading this chapter, I couldn't help but think about our own time. It is difficult to look around and not wonder how far many have drifted from the Scriptures. Yet, just as in Hezekiah's day, there are still people who have not forgotten. There are still those who are willing to hear, respond, and carry on.
But let's look at what was happening in Judah and Israel.
A neglected Passover
Hezekiah had become king, and he wanted to bring the people back to the LORD. One of the first things he did was make arrangements to keep the Passover.
Think about that for a moment. The Passover was not some minor observance. It was a reminder of how God had delivered Israel from Egypt. It was part of their history and their identity as a people.
Yet here they were, needing to be called back to something God had already given them.
Hezekiah sent letters throughout Israel and Judah, inviting the people to come to Jerusalem and keep the Passover unto the LORD.
The invitation was not limited to Judah. He wanted the people of Israel to return also.
The message was simple:
“Turn again unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel...” (2 Chronicles 30:6).
Some mocked, but others humbled themselves
What happened next is especially telling.
The messengers went from city to city, but the response was not what everyone might have hoped.
Verse 10 tells us:
“...they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them.”
There were people who wanted nothing to do with the invitation. Perhaps they had become so accustomed to their ways that the thought of returning to the LORD seemed foolish.
But the chapter does not end there.
Verse 11 gives us another picture:
“Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem.”
There were still some who listened.
I find that word nevertheless worth stopping over. Some laughed, nevertheless some humbled themselves. Some rejected the invitation, nevertheless others came.
It reminds us that even when it appears that people have turned away, we should not assume everyone has.
A heart prepared to seek the LORD
The people gathered in Jerusalem, and the Passover was kept.
But there was another problem. Many of those who came had not properly purified themselves according to the requirements of the law.
Hezekiah did not ignore the matter. He prayed for them:
“The good LORD pardon every one” (2 Chronicles 30:18).
Then he gave the reason for his prayer. These were people who had prepared their hearts to seek God, even though they had not been cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.
And the Scripture says:
“And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.” (2 Chronicles 30:20).
What a remarkable moment.
The people had come with shortcomings, but they had come with hearts prepared to seek the LORD. Hezekiah prayed, and the LORD heard him.
We should not overlook that.
There was still joy in Jerusalem
Verse 26 tells us:
“So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem.”
Think about how much time had passed. Think about the generations who had come and gone. Yet now, under Hezekiah, the people were gathered again, remembering what the LORD had done.
The chapter closes by telling us that the priests and Levites blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to God's holy dwelling place, even unto heaven.
What a contrast to the laughter and mocking that had greeted the messengers!
What about our day?
I don't want to suggest that our day and Hezekiah's day are identical. Israel had a particular covenant relationship with the LORD, and we should be careful to recognize the setting of the passage.
But there is something here that should make us think.
How easily can people become removed from the Scriptures? How many generations can pass before something once familiar becomes unfamiliar?
And yet, we should remember the nevertheless in this chapter.
There were still people who humbled themselves. There were still people who responded. There were still people who wanted to seek the LORD.
Perhaps we spend too much time looking at those who laugh and mock, and not enough time recognizing those who are quietly carrying on.
We may not know how many there are. We may not hear about them. They may not be the loudest voices in the room. But they are there.
Hezekiah sent the invitation. Some rejected it, but others came.
That is something worth remembering when we look at our own time.
The question I leave with you is this: Are we so discouraged by those who have turned away that we overlook those who are still willing to hear?
Read 2 Chronicles 30 for yourself. Notice the response of the people, the prayer of Hezekiah, and the joy that followed.
There is much more in this chapter than I can cover here. Sometimes the best thing a passage can do is send us back to the Scriptures to search out the matter for ourselves.
Lew Wallace governor of New Mexico territory offered Billy the Kid amnesty in 1879.
The deal was finalized during a secret meeting in March 1879, where the New Mexico Territorial Governor promised clemency amnesty if you will in exchange for the outlaw's testimony regarding the murder of attorney Huston Chapman. Although Billy the Kid held up his end of the bargain by testifying, the local district attorney refused to release him, leading to his escape and eventual death in 1881.
Jesus Christ is offering you amnesty according to 2 Corinthians 5:19 "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." We are in a grace period of time in Ephesians 2:28-9 says For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Christ as an atoning sacrifice Who gave of Himself willingly to die on a Roman cross for our justification before God to keep us from the wrath to come. 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured (helped you) thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
Even though Billy's amnesty offer didn't turn out so well for him yours can mean eternal life in Jesus Christ. believe in Him Today for today is the day of salvation don't put it off because what If Tomorrow Never Comes?
From the wilderness of Israel to the words of Christ
Sometimes we read Scripture and see only the physical events taking place. But throughout the Bible, God uses physical things to reveal spiritual truths.
Consider Israel in the wilderness.
In 1 Corinthians 10:1–4, Paul reminds us that Israel passed through the sea, was baptized unto Moses, ate spiritual meat, and drank spiritual drink.
Then Paul makes a remarkable statement:
"For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." (1 Corinthians 10:4, KJV)
The manna was real food. The water was real water. The Rock was part of Israel's wilderness experience. Yet Paul reveals a spiritual significance beyond what the physical eye could see.
The Bread from Heaven
Now turn to John 6.
After feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fishes, Jesus tells the people:
"Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life." (John 6:27)
The people had experienced a physical miracle, but Jesus wanted them to understand something greater.
He declares:
"I am the living bread which came down from heaven." (John 6:51)
The people struggled with His words. They were thinking physically: How could this man give us His flesh to eat?
But Jesus was directing their attention to Himself and the life He would give.
A Pattern in John's Gospel
We see this same difficulty in several conversations:
John 3: Nicodemus thinks of physical birth of Israel (Exodus 14) while Jesus speaks of spiritual birth of Israel (Jeremiah 31:31–34 , Isiah 66:8)
John 4: The woman at the well thinks of physical water, while Jesus speaks of living water.
John 6: The multitude thinks of physical bread, while Jesus speaks of the bread of life.
Jesus later explains:
"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63)
Learning to Listen
There is a lesson here for all of us.
We can become so focused on what we see and understand physically that we miss the spiritual truth being revealed.
Israel had manna, but the greater provision was Christ.
Israel drank water from the Rock, but Paul tells us that Rock was Christ.
The people in John 6 wanted another meal, but Jesus was offering something that would endure unto everlasting life.
Rightly Dividing the Word 2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (Orthotemeo} the word of truth.
We should also recognize the different audiences and purposes of these passages.
Jesus was speaking to Israel during His earthly ministry (Romans 15:8.) Paul was writing to believers in Corinth and using Israel's wilderness experience as an example and warning.
We should not confuse those settings, but neither should we overlook the connections Scripture itself gives us.
The physical events were real, and the spiritual lessons are real.
Perhaps one of the greatest lessons in Bible study is simply this:
Don't just look at what happened. Listen to what God is teaching through what happened.
2 Corintians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Ephesians 2:8 - 9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
BUT remember this warning 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succour thee (come to help you:) behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
