On January 18th, I was in a semi-awake state in the middle of the night when I heard a scripture reference over and over in my mind. “Proverbs 15:7.” In the dark, I grabbed my writing tablet and scribbled the address, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

In the morning, I saw the tablet with the writing on it. I picked it up and went to find my Amplified Bible. Here is the reference:
The lips of the wise disperse knowledge [sifting it as chaff from the grain]; not so the minds and hearts of the self-confident and foolish.

Why was He giving me this? I am a Bible teacher, so on one obvious level, it describes what I do. But I sensed there was more He wanted me to see.

I reread it and the word KNOWLEDGE seemed highlighted. We Americans and Europeans consider knowledge something to be gained in study from a book or research, but I’ve learned to dig deeper.

I picked up my Strong’s Concordance and looked up this word.

The word Knowledge in this verse was #1847—personal, experiential knowledge
And 1847 comes from the primary root word Yada – #3045. Number 3045 has many uses for the word know. But one that is heralded from the very beginning of the Bible is found in this verse:

Genesis 4:1
Now Adam KNEW Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.”

Thus the word Know means – to know intimately aligns with the word Knowledge – personal or experiential knowledge.

So, in looking back to the passage we can say, “The lips of the wise disperse PERSONAL, EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE [sifting it as chaff from the grain]; not so the minds and hearts of the self-confident and foolish.

In John 17:3, Jesus says,

And this is eternal life, that they may KNOW You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

In Jeremiah 9:23-24 we find this word:

Thus says the Lord:
“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and KNOWS (#3045) Me,
That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

Let’s look at the letters for #3045:
Yod 10 = The outcome, the completion of something. Means: Hand, Right Arm, Power – Right hand of God’s power, a Deed Done, to Work, to Cover, Allow, Hollow, Open Hand, also refers to the Holy Spirit as it always hangs in the air overseeing

Dallet 4 = Earth or creation. Picture: Doorway. Means: Door, Gate, Impoverished man, to come from indicates a pathway, a place of decision, or an entrance to life or death.

Ayin 70= Completion of time. Means: Eye, to See, Understand, Experience, or to be Seen, Window of the soul-good or bad (made of a Zayin and Yod—Word and Spirit)

The right hand of God’s power opens the Door (Jesus) for us to gain understanding of Him, (Abba Father) through our experience with Him ( Jesus).

Philip asks in John 14:8-9,
Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Years ago when I was considering creating a website, my girlfriend asked me, “What are you going to call it?”

With very little thought I said, “Hear God’s Heart.” I’d just come home from my first visit to Israel and longed for people to know the truth about Israel and God’s love and protection of this amazing country. All our news presented were pictures of the desert and barren land. That was 25 years ago.

In 1985, God told me to start journaling my life with Him. “In years to come,” He said, “you will use your journal notes to share My heart.”

These thoughts and one more came to me yesterday as I started putting this blog together.

In 2005, Holy Spirit invited me on a very focused quest for revelation in Psalm 91. For six months, He would not allow me to read anything other than this Psalm and the cross references He led me to read. Those six months of notes are the text for the book I wrote in 2020 – Know God — Defeat the Enemy. It is full of intimate knowledge of God and His will for our lives. While I didn’t like the title initially, it makes much more sense today.

Reading our Bibles, and listening to sermons, podcasts, or even testimonies gives us some understanding of who God is and His ways. But time alone with Him, daily conversation about our ups and downs of life, and responding to His counsel over and over gives us an intimate, personal experience with Him that far surpasses book knowledge.

Reading His word is one thing. We can say we believe it with our minds, but are we willing to trust putting it into action when it’s calling us out of our comfortable places? Until we’ve walked with Him and know Him we won’t likely trust Him.

We’ve stepped into a season where our personal knowledge about Him and our trust is going to be tested more and more.

Daniel 11:32 says, “Those who KNOW their God will do exploits.”

Our call is to re-present Jesus to our world, to disciple and encourage them to Know God. Each of us will do this in unique ways.

Get alone with Him and ask Him what He’s created you to do. It is time.

Shalom ♥