“Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, a descendant of Zerah son of Judah, was the royal adviser in all matters of public administration.”
Nehemiah 11:24 NLT
Last time we met Uzzi, in charge of the musicians, who had their daily allotment from the king to minister at Temple. Today we see Pethahiah, in charge of public affairs.
Pethahiah’s name means “Yah has opened” from Yah and pathach – appear, to open, break forth, draw out, let go free, engrave, loose self, to loosen, begin, plough, carve, put off, ungird, unstop, have vent.
It makes me think of the tongue being set loose – both in a healing way and an unhealthy one. To draw out, open up, someone’s heart and feelings, hurts and joys, is an incredible privilege. When others share their journey with us, may we treat it as sacred. Particularly if Yah is the One at work in a life, stirring up memories and applying His Word for freedom, physiologically carving, plowing fresh neural pathways in the brain to deal with pain or trauma, in a very real way renewing our minds with Truth.
Unfortunately, it seems the other option for pathach is running free, having full vent to our emotions. To let go of restraint, loose self from discernment or the good of others. Yeesh, a tough balance of healing and hurting, allowing God to mend versus trusting self to self.
We’re fortunately given Pathahiah’s father’s name, Meshezabel, which means “God delivers.” It comes from el and shezab (to deliver) from azab – leave, abandon, loose, forsake, commit self, fail, fortify, help, leave destitute, refuse, permit.
We can relax a bit when we see loosing ourselves in the context of El Elyon, God Most High. If it is Yah Who opens, God Who delivers, we can know He will not lead us in ways contrary to His perfect character. When we’re delivered by God, we forsake what harms us and others, loosing ourselves from sin and its grip.
Because we are creatures, we will be mastered by something. Learning to leave destitute what we know from experience are cruel masters is what allows the sun of righteousness to rise in our lives, with healing in its wings.
Pathahiah’s grandfather is Zerah, which comes from the word zerach, meaning “dawning, shining, rising;” from zarach – to rise, come forth, broke, dawn, shone, to irradiate (or shoot forth beams), to rise (as the sun).
I’m struck by the “shoot forth beams” part, aren’t you? Sounds superhero-esque. But in a spiritual sense, it isn’t far fetched:
“Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.”
Psalm 34:5
“He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.“
Psalm 37:6
“The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.“
Psalm 19:8
“…the path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.“
Proverbs 4:18
And why?
Because:
“…he is like the light of morning at sunrise
on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain
that brings grass from the earth.”
2 Samuel 23:4
Our radiant, brilliant God, the Author of Light, can shine through us, in us.
This Pathahiah in our verse is described as the royal advisor. The word used here is simply yad – hand, as in, right hand man. And his job? To deal with affairs (dabar from last time – speech, word, account, act, advice, affair, because of, book, business) relating to the people (am – folk).
So last time this word dabar was used to describe the daily portion or quota. Here it is matters or affairs. The regular stuff of life regular people deal with. And royal implies he reported to the king.
“…entrusted with judicial power…of the Persian monarch…his duty consisted either in adjusting cases of civil dispute, or in regulating fiscal concerns.”
“…at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people; to speak for them to the king…when they had a favour to ask of him, a petition to present to him, he delivered it for them, and by him the king returned the answer.
Interestingly:
“…it seems more probable that ‘at the king’s hand’ denotes personal residence at the Persian court…”
So it’s possible our Pathahiah might not have even lived in Jerusalem! But either way,
“…he evidently held a confidential position, which made him an intermediary for certain purposes between the Persian king and the Jewish people. Perhaps he received and forwarded petitions and complaints.”
Hmmm. Complaints, petitions, instances of civil dispute. These are not light matters. And being an intermediary is a difficult position – both sides know you’re not fully on either one.
But having the king’s ear is a privilege. And we have His. We are given the honor of bringing before Him the cries of our own and others’ hearts. And we know He can and will deal with our civil disputes, the complaints we bring about one another. And, frankly, where better to take them? He is King, after all.
May we consider our ability to come before the throne of grace with confidence to not simply be about asking Him for something else for ourselves. The beauty of it all is interceding for one another, in the image of the One ever interceding for us.
Praise God, He delivers.