Psalm 23–a Trinitarian Psalm

Psalm 23 is the best known and most popular of all the Psalms. People comfort each other with Psalm 23 when they are in great distress. The effectiveness of such comfort lies in the fact that this psalm is very Trinitarian based on the blessings of the Triune God, the One true God.
In line with one approach, Psalm 23 may be divided into two sections. The first section (vv. 1-4) portrays the image of God as SHEPHERD, guiding and caring for His sheep. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is seen to be that Good Shepherd of the flock (John 10:1-21). In the second section (vv. 5 & 6), the believer is invited to partake in a meal—and God the Father is the Host of this extravagant banquet.
Another approach found the early Church associating Psalm 23 with the three (3) sacraments of the Christian Church:  baptism in verse 2: “beside the still waters”; confirmation in verse 5: “You anointed my head with oil” [the receiving of the Holy Spirit]; the Eucharist/Lord’s Supper in verse 5: “You prepare a table before me”.
Still further, Psalm 23 seems to comment on one’s “new life” in the Church and even one’s promised life hereafter, the latter being shown by the words: “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (v. 6).
It is well known that King David wrote this Psalm and, of course, was inspired by the Holy Spirit. As with many verses in the Bible, a verse can do multi-duty, that is, make application to human events as well as Divine events at the same time. Therefore, the speaker of Psalm 23 can be (1) King David, (2) Jesus Christ Himself, and also (3) Christians themselves. This leads us to view Psalm 23 from yet another complementary viewpoint, namely, as a three-part, Trinitarian Scripture.
Psalm 23 from a Trinitarian point of view
The “Christian” as the Speaker of Psalm 23
Psalm 23:1 & 2: Jesus Christ as a shepherd

“The LORD [Jesus Christ] is my [the Christian’s] Shepherd; I [the Christian] shall lack nothing. He [Jesus Christ] makes me [the Christian] lie down in green pastures; He [Jesus Christ] leads me [the Christian] beside quiet waters.”

There are many verses in both the Old and New Testaments that attest to Jesus Christ [God the Son] as the Shepherd. The most famous Shepherd-“verse” is John 10:11 (cf. Zechariah 13:7) where Jesus in His own words claims that He is the “Good Shepherd.”
However, the earliest mention of Jesus Christ [God the Son] as a Shepherd appears way back in Genesis 49:24. Here Jacob blesses Joseph with the words, “His [Joseph’s] bow remained steady, the arms of his hands [Joseph’s] were made strong, by the hands [God the Son + God the Holy Spirit] of the mighty One of Jacob [God the Father] (Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62).
The identity of the “hands” is expanded upon in Genesis 49:24b-25. The hands of God the Father are (1) the Shepherd, “the Rock of Israel” [Jesus Christ, cf. 2 Samuel 23:3, Isaiah 30:29, Exodus 17:6] and (2) “the God of your father, who will help you” [God the Holy Spirit who is our Helper and Comforter, John 15:26]. It is also interesting to note that Psalm 80:1 echoes Genesis 49:24 where Asaph sings about the Shepherd of Israel (but with some reversal roles for the Father and the Son, which by the way is not unusual, cf. John 10:30 – also more than coincidentally referenced in that “Good Shepherd” chapter): “Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel [God the Father]; You [God the Holy Spirit] who lead Joseph like a flock; You [God the Son] who sits enthroned between the cherubim.”
Also note another very important passage where Jesus, the final “Servant David,” is predicted to become the ultimate, “Shepherd” of the New Covenant and of its fruits, the Christian Church, which is composed of all Christians of all time (Ezekiel 34:23-25).
Psalm 23:3 & 4: Depicts the Holy Spirit as the Comforter and restorer of soul

“He [God the Holy Spirit] restores my [the Christian’s] soul. He [God the Holy Spirit] leads me [the Christian] in paths of righteousness for the sake of His [God the Son’s] Name. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I [the Christian] will fear no evil, for You [God the Holy Spirit] are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

A man is declared righteous through his faith in Jesus Christ.  (There are thousands of articles written on this subject.)  In 1 Corinthians 12:3 it says that “no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” So it is the Office of the Holy Spirit to lead men in paths of righteousness for His Name’s [Christ’s] sake. In a sense, the Holy Spirit, like the Son and the Father, can also be called the Good Shepherd (cf. Isaiah 9:6 where Jesus is said to have fatherly characteristics – “Everlasting Father”).
Psalm 23:5 & 6: The goodness of God the Father and a promise

“You [God the Father] prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You [God the Father] anoint my head with Oil [God the Holy Spirit, Psalm 45:7]*; my [the Christian’s] cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy [steadfast kindness or love] will follow me [the Christian] all the days of my life, and I [the Christian] will dwell in the LORD’s [God the Father’s] House forever”.

Everything visible and invisible belongs to God the Father. We will surely live in our Father’s home. Recall Jesus Christ’s words in John 14:2: “In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”
*NOTE: Anointing the head with oil is always associated with the Holy Spirit. “So Samuel took the horn of olive oil and anointed him [David] in the presence of his brothers, and the LORD’s Spirit came mightily on David and stayed on him from that day onward” (1 Samuel 16:13; cf. John 1:33).

Abraham and Sarah

Regularly, this blog asks: “Are there any Old Testament proofs that hint at the Triune nature of God?”. In this post, we will look at the Hebrew letter “ה” (English “h”; pronounced “hay”; transliterated “Hē”). Pictorially, this Hebrew letter may signal “three [lines]-forming-One,” which could then indicate “Triune.” Note: The name Elohim [“Gods”]—on the same basis of “three-forming-One”—can be denoted in Hebrew by merely using this one Hebrew letter made up of three lines, “ה,” which is (1) technically called a Monogrammaton,* which is (2) a one letter signal that, by itself, can stand for or indicate “God” Himself, and which could (3) also indicates “Trinity,” if the “three-in-One” (letter-idea) holds theological water.

This letter “ה” may also have a connection with the renaming of Abram and Sarai in Genesis 17.

Genesis 17 starts with God the Son speaking with Abram, and saying, “I [God the Son] am One of the El Shaddai [‘God the Mighty Ones’ (masc. pl.) = Trinity; the Hebrew for El Shaddai is 'שני']. Walk before Me [God the Son], and be blameless.” Then, in Genesis 17:5, 15, God the Son gives Abram and Sarai new names—“Abraham and Sarah”. Now let us see how these names are written in Hebrew:

Just by adding the letter “ה”, the names Abram and Sarai were changed to Abraham and Sarah. Possibly the same letter “ה,” used to denote the Triune God, was added to the names Abram and Sarai to distinguish them as further promoters and worshipers of the true God, the Triune God.

What do you think? Makes you wonder, right?

Word of the Lord – Dabar Yahweh

The term “Word of the Lord” (Dabar Yhavoh) appears first in Genesis 15:1. The Hebrew word dabar has many meanings (e.g., act, advice); however, when it is used in conjunction with Yahweh, it becomes Word of the Lord. With God the Father only blinders, many consider this a message sent by God the Father. However, Genesis 15 teaches us that Abram saw the Word of the Lord and interacted with Him. The first words uttered by the Word of the Lord are even more interesting: “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you" – a loud and clear message during Jesus Christ’s ministry here on earth.
The other words associated with the Word of the Lord are Memra and Logos. The words Dabar Yahweh and Memra are clear references to God the Son (Jesus Christ) in the Old Testament. Logos -- a Greek word meaning reason or wisdom -- is found in the most famous verse, John 1:1, in relation to The Divine Word, or Christ: “In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word (Logos) was with God, and the Word (Logos) was God.” It similarly occurs in John 1:14 with “the Word (Logos) became flesh.” In Revelation 19:13, Christ is explicitly portrayed as the Word of God: “He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood (a reminder of his work on the cross), and his name is the Word of God”. Here is a partial list of references to the Word of the Lord in the Old Testament.

Genesis 15:1	After these things the Word of the Lord (God the Son) came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great."
1 Samuel 3	10 Then Yhovah came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for Your servant is listening." 21Yhovah continued to appear in Shiloh, since Yhovah revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the Word of the Lord (God the Son). These versus clearly imply that the Word of the Lord is God.
1 Kings 18:1,31	1Now it happened after many days that the Word of the Lord (God the Son) came to Elijah in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I (God the Son) will send rain on the face of the earth." 31Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the Word of the Lord (God the Son) had come, saying, "Israel shall be your name." Verse 31 confirms that Malek Yahveh who wrestled with Jacob in Genesis 32:24 is the Word of the Lord.
1 Kings 19:9-11	Then he (Elijah) came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the Word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" The Word of the Lord (God the Son) asks Elijah to stand before Him when God the Father and Spirit was passing by.
Psalm 33:4, 6	For the Word of the Lord (God the Son) is upright, And all His work is done in faithfulness. By the Word of the Lord (God the Son) the heavens were made, And by the Breath of His mouth (God the Holy Spirit) all their host. Also see Genesis 1:2 and John 1
Jeremiah 1:4-5	Now the Word of the Lord (God the Son) came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."

The Word of the Lord also appeared to prophets Nathan (2 Samuel 7:4), Gad (2 Samuel 24:11), Solomon (1 Kings 6:11), Shemaiah (1 Kings 12:22-24), Man of God (1 Kings 13:1), Ahijah (1 Kings 14:18), Jehu (1 Kings 16:7), Ezekial (Ezekial 1:1-3, 3:4), Hosea (Hosea 1:1-2), Joel (Joel 1:1), Jonah (2 Kings 14:25, Jonah 1:1), Micah (Micah 1:1), Nahum (Nahum 1:1), Habakkuk (Habakkuk 1:1), Zephaniah (Zephaniah 1:1), Haggai (Haggai 1:1-3), Zechariah (Zechariah 1:1, 4:8, 12:1) and Malachi (Malachi 1:1).

Aaronic Blessing or Aaron’s Blessing

God the Father specifically instructed Moses on how Aaron should bless the Israelites. This blessing is recorded in Numbers 6:22-27 and later came to be known as the Aaronic blessing or priestly blessing or Aaron's Benediction. This three-line prayer is very Trinitarian and in the original text, each line is two words longer than the next. This prayer can be translated as follows.

God the Father said to Moses: “Tell Aaron and his sons: This is how you should bless the Israelites: Say to them:

 

Yahveh [God the Father] bless you, and keep you;
Yahveh Paneh [God the Spirit] illuminate you, and be gracious to you;
Yahveh Paneh [God the Son] forgive you, and give you shalom.

So shall they [the priests] put My [the Father’s] Name [Yahveh] on the children of Israel; and I [the Father] will bless them.

Explanation: The first line is about asking God the Father to bless and keep. God the father blessed Adam, Noah and Israelites to multiply godly beings, expand the Garden's territory and be fruitful. Every one of them failed and Jesus Christ had to start it all over again in the Garden of Gethsemane. The word "keep" has many meanings including guarding and protecting. For example, Adam was commanded to guard and protect the Garden of Eden from the evil one. The second and third line contain the words Yahveh pa-nahv which means Yahveh Face or Yahveh Presence. Presence or Faces usually refer to God the Spirit or God the Son. For example, in Exodus 33:14, God the Father promised Moses that His Presences will go with the Israelites. 

The second line of the prayer contains the verbs shine and grace. Teaching, illuminating and grace is the office of the Holy Spirit. In John 14:15-26, Jesus Christ promised his disciples that He will send a Comforter who will provide them with truth, love, sustenance, and friendship. Men reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior until the Holy Spirit begins to illuminate them. Interestingly the Holy Spirit is portrayed as light in many places including (1) Exodus 13:21 where the spirit acted as the pillar of fire by night giving light to the Israelites exiting from Egypt and (2) in the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on Christ’s disciples as tongues of fire.  

The third line of the prayer contains the verbs forgive (Strong's Hebrew: 5375. נָשָׂא (nasa or nasah)) and peace. The word “nasa” is usually translated as “lift up”. From the ancient Hebraic perspective, the forgiveness of sins is similar to lifting or carrying the sins off and removing them. Genesis 50:17, Psalm 25:18,  Psalm 85:2 are examples where "nasa" is translated as “forgive”. The word “peace” or “shalom” means to restore what was lost or restore to state of perfection. Christ’s work on the cross restored what was lost due to Adam's sin or it was the dawn of the new creation. One can only be in peace with God by believing and trusting in the work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Peace with God means eternal life!

Traditional translation of Aaron's blessing

God the Father said to Moses: “Tell Aaron and his sons: This is how you should bless the Israelites: Say to them:

Yahveh bless you, and keep you;
Yahveh make His Face shine on you, and be gracious to you;
Yahveh lift up His Face toward you, and give you peace.

So shall the priests put My Name or Character on the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

Luke 1:35 and the Song of Mary

And the angel answered and said to Mary, the Holy Spirit shall come on you, and a power of the Most High (God the Father) shall overshadow you: And for that reason the Holy Thing (God the Son) to be born will be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:35

In this verse, Gabriel accomplishes two things. The first one is obvious i.e. to tell Mary that she is going to conceive a Son. The second one is to assure Mary that God is Triune. Gabriel does this by explaining the role of each Member of the Trinity in this miraculous conception. Gabriel explained to Mary how the power of God the Father will be put forth by the Holy Spirit, as the immediate Divine agent in this work. Thus, Gabriel distinguished God the Spirit from God the Father. The Holy Spirit exerted the power of God the Father as His own power – the Holy Spirit cannot exert the power of the Most High if He is not God Himself. Here itself we see two divine Beings in Gabriel’s explanation. Therefore also - Not only is Jesus Christ, God from eternity, but on the special way he is conceived he shall be called the Son of God. Also note how Jesus is called the Holy Thing which is in the neuter gender.

Mary doesn’t seem to have a problem accepting what Gabriel said. This can also be seen when she sang the “Magnificat” (Luke 1:46-55) praising the individual work of each member of the Trinity. The song of Mary derives most of its words from many versus in the Old Testament and still it flows perfectly. Mary couldn’t have done it without the help of God the Holy Spirit.

And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior (God the Son), for He has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

Summary: Here Mary definitely refers to God the Son. She knew through the Old Testament scriptures that salvation for her as well as the whole mankind will come through the God-Man – the Messiah.

From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One (God the Father) has done great things for me—Holy is His name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with His Arm (See Psalm 98:1, Exodus 15:6 about the Arm – God the Son);

Summary: The quote “generation to generation” reminds us of the Father’s words during the giving of the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 20:6 we read “but I show mercy to thousands of generations of those who love Me and obey My commandments”. Also see Psalm 103:17.

He (God the Holy Spirit) has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.

Summary: Humbleness is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 5:3, Galatians 5:22-23). In addition, as we have seen in Psalm 110:1, 4-6, one of the works of the Holy Spirit is to bring down haughty rulers. Also see Hosea 1:6-7 and Zechariah 4:6.

He (God the Son) has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has come to help His servant Israel (also see Psalm 98:3), remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as He said to our fathers (also see Micah 7:20).

Summary: In Psalm 107:9, the Psalmist talks about how the pre-incarnate Christ fed the hungry and filled them with good things. Jesus Christ’s ministry on earth was filled with feeding the hungry and sending away the rich empty handed (both physically and spiritually).

The First Commandment

In the last post, we saw the Members of the Trinity -- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit -- appear to the Israelites on three different mountains during the giving of the law. The Israelites already knew about God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, for in Exodus 14:19 we read that Malek of [All] the Gods [haElohim] and the Pillar of Fire and Cloud [the Holy Spirit] were leading Israelites out of Egypt. I should add that the very famous golden calf story and its retelling in Nehemiah (read the LXX version) and Acts (Stephen’s account) also reveal that the Israelites understood that both Malek Yahveh and God the Holy Spirit is God (we'll discuss this further in a later post).

Now, what exactly did God the Father say when He gave the first commandment? The most common English translation is, “You shall not have other deities before Me.” This translation is the main source of confusion for many people who want to serve the One True God but reject the Trinity. The English translation is very clear: God the Father commands the Israelites not to worship any god (which may also include God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) other than Him. While this translation may lead one to believe that the first commandment is Unitarian, we should be clear that it is not. In fact, the original Hebrew translation tells a different story, making both a distinction (against false gods) and an allowance (for God the Son and Holy Spirit).

Let there be [singular verb] to you no Elohim [plural noun] Acharim [plural adjective] before My Presences [plural noun Panim] (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7).

By using the words Elohim Acharim (which literally means deities of others) and Panim (or "My Presences" – God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) God the Father makes both a distinction and an allowance. The inclusion of "deities of others" (human's or devil's) is interesting, because since there is only one true God, other so called “gods” are just human imaginations given “god”-like status (Isaiah 44:14-20). However, the deities of others clause makes an allowance for the Divine Beings whom God the Father calls God - i.e. His Presences. In the first commandment, God the Father clearly makes it known to Israelites that His Presences are co-equal to Him and worthy of worship. This view is reinforced in Psalm 45:6-7 (where God the Father calls God the Son God) and Acts 5:3-4 (where Peter calls God the Holy Spirit God), to name a few.

Trinity in the Old Testament

In this blog I hope to unite the Christian Church, helping break down the denominational boundaries inhibiting the spreading of God's Word and readying His elect for the second coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Bible is a collection of ancient religious writings about Father, Son and Holy Spirit and their relationship to Human beings. The Bible is written over a period of 4000 years (4000 BC to 70 AD). Christians unfortunately divide the Bible into two parts, the Old Testament was written by Jewish authors (e.g. Moses, Samuel, Solomon, David, Isaiah, etc.) before the birth of Jesus Christ and the New Testament was written by Jesus Christ’s disciples (e.g. Matthew, Paul, Luke, etc.) after His death, resurrection and ascension. It should be noted that use of the words Old and New testaments may imply that some sort of a new start was made after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is simply not true, the redemption plan of Father, Son and Holy Spirit for humanity has not changed since creation of Adam and Eve.


Who is Jesus Christ?
In short, Jesus Christ is God Almighty maker of heavens and earth along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Yes Jesus Christ has appeared to many human beings recorded in the Old Testament including Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Hagar, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Israelites and other prophets.
Here are some example versus
Adam and Eve - Genesis 3:8
In the cool of the day (afternoon), when Adam and Eve heard the “Voice/sound of Elohim” among the trees of the garden; they hid themselves from the presence(s) or Panim (Faces) of Elohim. In fact, the Targum reads that they heard the Voice/Sound of the Word of God (Jesus Christ), the Memra, walking in the garden. The Trinity was there to pronounce both a blessing and judgment on mankind. Interestingly, the cool of the day in middle east should be around 3 PM, the same time when Jesus died on the cross.
Israelites - Exodus 14:19
Then the Malek haElohim (translated Angel of the Lord, a separate entity from the Pillar of Cloud or Holy Spirit), who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them.
Malek haElohim, usually translated as the Angel of the Lord, is a separate entity from the Pillar of Cloud or Holy Spirit. Malek haElohim is no other than pre-incarnate Jesus Christ.
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