“[From the descendants of Judah]…
…Maaseiah son of Baruch, the son of Kol-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah…”
Nehemiah 11:5a
Last time we saw the final name in the line of Athaiah, grateful part of discipleship to Him means infusing all things with His Spirt, to the Praise of God. Today we see the second line of the descendants of Judah who was to remain in Jerusalem.
The provincial leader’s name is Maaseiah, which means “Work of Yah.” We have seen this name both in Ezra and Nehemiah, and it comes from Yah and maaseh – accomplishment, vocation, workmanship, art, task, sculptured; from asah – to do; an action with a product, specifically a poem, a thing offered.
Do you like the references to art in this definition? Sculpture, poetry, workmanship, a thing offered. And how the accomplishment is a product of Yah?
Me too. I appreciate His movement in our world includes beauty for the sake of beauty. Workmanship offering our work, all a product of His Spirit in us. Anything He’s asking you to create out of overflow? Let’s cooperate with Him, then leave the results to Yah.
Maaseiah’s father is Baruch which means “blessed.” It is from barak – to kneel, abudantly bless, boast, congratulate, salute, thank, pronounce blessing; curse, blaspheme. Yeesh, a couple of those are rough. Boast, curse and blaspheme I could do without. Yet out of the same mouth we bless God and curse our neighbor, do we not? Never has this been so large scale as in our divided moment with social media amplification.
What does it look like to repent of that and embrace the rest of the definition: to kneel, abundantly bless, pronounce blessing? And to take it one step further and repair what’s been broken? Not just relational trust, but actual walls like Nehemiah. Actual institutions and business cultures, school systems and healthcare. Seems as though that blessing would mean more than words, but a doing of the Word.
Baruch’s father is Kol-Hozeh which means “Every Seer.” It comes from kol (whole, all, entirely, farthest, throughout, utter, wholehearted, altogether, every one/place/thing) and chozeh (a seer, agreement, stargazer). This is the active participle of chazah – to see, behold, gaze, gloat, prophesy, contemplate with pleasure, have vision of.
I think to our twenty-first century perspective, this idea of a seer freaks us out. We’re not sure what to do with it, and, frankly, there have been many to proclaim the title and lead people astray. Seems we should test prophesies while not quenching the work of the Spirit.
But if we’re embracing the Spirit’s work among us in our day, I think this looks like bringing together all – whole, entirely, altogether – those who follow Him. Which means a variety of cultures, expressions, experiences who seek to follow the Spirit’s lead in their lives. It means resisting that the lens through which we read Scripture is the only one, acknowledging that God’s Word is alive and those traditionally marginalized have authority to speak from its oft-marginalized perspective.
And, friends, the glory of this is a real-time life of chazah – beholding His supremacy in our culture, a vision of the Church as a beacon of light and service, gazing at the utter magnificence of His Beauty and Work in our midst. Seeing sons and daughters prophesying as His Spirit is not quenched or grieved, but allowed to work in our midst.
It makes me smile my morning reading out of Numbers was when God allows elders to assist Moses and He “take[s] some of the Spirit that is on [Moses] and put[s] it on [others].” (Numbers 11:17b) Then two men who were not called as elders to the tent, but remained in the camp with the rest of the people, had the Spirit rest on them and they prophesied in the camp (11:26).
It’s almost as if His Spirit cannot be controlled, huh? Once unleashed and allowed to lead in individual hearts and communal structures, a speaking forth of His Word is sure to follow. When Joshua gets mad at these two men prophesying, Moses rebukes him with, “Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them.”
Oh, reader, the brilliance of living in a time in history when that is true. When those who have told Jesus He can have utter control of their lives do have His Spirit – not just on them but inside them. We may not all have the gift of prophesy, but we can all speak forth His Word and let it guide our lives.
And, finally, the beauty of Kol-Hozeh’s father’s name listed in our verse today. It is Hazaiah which means “Yah has seen,” from Yah and that same word chazah, the only instance of this name in the Word.
Don’t you love it? That every seer is the active participle of the Ultimate Seer. A doer of what He has revealed to us from His supreme seeing. We get the joy of living out the Word while recognizing the One Who ultimately sees all – past, present, future – fully. That He alone can contemplate with pleasure the whole of history, the coming Kingdom, and the entirety of the Spirit’s work in our day.
He alone is King, the only wise King. May we bow before Him alone. For Yah has seen.