Why 'VAV', the 6th Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet, Builds Security Psalms 119:41-48
Security is one of the great needs of the human heart, and the Word of God shows us where true security is found. In this episode of Light on Life, we continue the Hebrew Alphabet series by looking at Vav, the sixth letter, which means hook or nail. From the hooks that held the Tabernacle curtains in place to the nail fastened in a sure place in Isaiah, Vav points us to Jesus—the One who connects humanity to God, opens access to the Father, and secures believers in the family of God.
Listen to the Audio
#S2-031
Right Click to Download
Podcast Notes:
VAV is equivalent to ‘v or w’ in the English alphabet.
Definition: hook or nail
Vav As a Hook or Nail
In scripture, Vav is used for fixing something in place.
It’s used thirteen times in the Old Testament primarily in reference to hanging the curtains of the Tabernacle.
Exodus 38:12 (KJV)12 And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.
The word ‘hooks’ is the Hebrew letter VAV.
The curtains of the Tabernacle housed the ark of God.
They were hung from hooks and were gorgeous in appearance.
Exodus 26:1 (KJV)1 Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them.
The curtains were fine linen with a set array of royal colors, blue, purple, and scarlet.
Hooks were used to hang curtains from the pillars of the Tabernacle.
With all their beauty, the curtains would not be seen without the hooks.
The curtains would not be able to carry out their function of housing the Ark without the hooks.
It’s the little members in God who get the job done.
1 Corinthians 12:22 (KJV)22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
Did you notice the words, ‘much more.’
Much more are the little members, the hooks, the nails necessary.
Nails or hooks, when performing their function are almost never seen.
Yet, the hooks helped to establish the curtains in their place.
They were connectors between the curtains and the posts.
So, the concept of hooks speaks of fixing objects in place, and establishing connections between two points.
What if you didn’t have the hooks?
What if they were no nails?
Well, in the case of the Tabernacle, the beautiful curtains would be all over the floor. It would chaos.
When things are improperly connected or unsuitably fastened, that falling apart feeling yields insecurity and unrest.
Hooks are needed because when things are properly connected, the overall effect is confidence, security, rest, and peace.
[Tweet "It’s the little members in God who get the job done (1 Corinthians 12:22)."]
Jesus and the Sixth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet - ‘VAV’
A Tale of Two Managers
The 6th letter of the Hebrew alphabet appears in the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 22:23 (KJV)23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; And he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house.
This prophecy, given forth by Isaiah, concerns Eliakim.
God’s word to him is “I will nail him in a sure place.’
Isaiah 22:15–19 (NCV)15 This is what the Lord God All-Powerful says: “Go to this servant Shebna, the manager of the palace. 16 Say to him, ‘What are you doing here? Who said you could cut out a tomb for your self here? Why are you preparing your tomb in a high place? Why are you carving out a tomb from the rock? 17 Look, mighty one! The Lord will throw you away. He will take firm hold of you 18 and roll you tightly into a ball and throw you into another country. There you will die, and there your fine chariots will remain. You are a disgrace to your master’s house. 19 I will force you out of your important job, and you will be thrown down from your important place.’
The story surrounding Eliakim begins first with Shebna.
Shebna was over Hezekiah’s household.
He was ‘manager of the palace’ as the New Century Version has it.
Some scholars think this position was a top ranking one more like a prime minister or secretary of state the top ranking senior officer in the official hierarchy of the monarchy, some kind of prime minister. [2. T. R. Hobbs, “Shebna (Person),” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 1172]
Shebna’s position as manager of the place or royal steward went to his head.
Shebna sinned and in so doing shamed Hezekiah’s house. What his sin was is not indicated.
His pride though which lead to his sin was definitely on display.
As an indicator of his excessive pride and arrogance, he prepared for himself an ostentatious tomb carved in a high place. A place reserved only for the mighty men of Israel.
Shebna thought he had arrived.
What does the Lord do?
The Lord replaces him with Eliakim demoting him from royal steward to scribe.
Because of his pride Shebna was demoted from Prime Minister to secretary.
2 Kings 18:37 (KJV)37 Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rab-shakeh.
What does the Word of God teach us about the way of the wicked?
Psalm 73:3 (KJV)3 For I was envious at the foolish, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 16 When I thought to know this, It was too painful for me; 17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then understood I their end. 18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: Thou castedst them down into destruction.
The wicked are set in slippery places. They seem to be secure. They seem to be prosperous. But, it’s all an allusion.
The wicked are cast down. It’s what happens when you walk on slippery insecure turf. Eventually, you fall.
Contrast the wicked Shebna with the righteous Eliakim.
Isaiah 22:20–23 (NCV)20 “At that time I will call for my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21 I will take your robe and put it on him and give him your belt. I will hand over to him the important job you have, and he will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and the family of Judah. 22 I will put the key to the house of David around his neck. If he opens a door, no one will be able to close it; if he closes a door, no one will be able to open it. 23 He will be like an honored chair in his father’s house. I will make him strong like a peg that is hammered into a strong board.
God stripped the proud Shebna and gave his position to the righteous Eliakim.
He not only switched positions but God went one step further.
He nailed Eliakim in place.
In one of the most telling uses of a nail in scripture, God set Eliakim in place with a peg, a nail hammered into a board.
This speaks of generational foundational security.
How does all of this relate to Jesus?
Notice the prophecy in verse twenty-two states, “I will put the key to the house of David around his neck.”
Revelation 3:7 (NCV)7 “Write this to the angel of the church in Philadelphia: “This is what the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David, says. When he opens a door, no one can close it. And when he closes it, no one can open it.
The key of David was passed generationally to Jesus.
Jesus is the key to the house of David.
How else can we see Jesus in the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet?
You remember we spoke of the curtains of the Tabernacle?
There was a particular curtain, hung by hooks, which was used as an entrance to the Holy of Holies where the very Presence of God rested on the ark of the Covenant.
This curtain represented a separation between God and man.
In the Old Covenant after the sin of Adam, man was separated from the Presence.
Before Adam sinned, he had unfettered access to God’s Presence.God and Adam would take walks, the Word says, in the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8.)
That all went away with Adam’s transgression. Sin always separates you from the Presence.
The High Priest could only entire through this curtain one time a year. And, he had to come to with an animal blood sacrifice.
When Jesus cried with a loud voice as He hung upon the cross, the Bible says this curtain which separated God and man in the Tabernacle was torn from top to bottom.
What am I saying here?
Jesus was fastened to a tree with a nail.
When he died, the Holy of Holies curtain, which was also fastened with nail, was torn in two.
Through the new birth, through the new way to God which Jesus pioneered, we get to experience the effect of being nailed into God’s family.
Saying it a different way.
Jesus was secured in place by a nail, so you can be securely fixed as a son of God.
Now, you can enjoy unfettered access to God’s Presence.
Set in security, fixed in rest and established in peace.
Don’t take this access to God’s Presence lightly. It’s a temptation to do so.
Continually remind yourself that what one person in Israel had, one person, the High Priest, once per year, experienced access to the Presence of God, every single one of you can enjoy every single day.
You can sit in your living room and raise both your hands to Him and enjoy God’s Presence every single solitary day you live on planet earth.
Why? Because Jesus was hung with a nail.
Psalms 119: 41-48 and ‘HE’41 Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, Even thy salvation, according to thy word.42 So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: For I trust in thy word.43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; For I have hoped in thy judgments.44 So shall I keep thy law continually For ever and ever.45 And I will walk at liberty: For I seek thy precepts.46 I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, And will not be ashamed.47 And I will delight myself in thy commandments, Which I have loved.48 My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; And I will meditate in thy statutes.
Where is the Hebrew letter VAV in this sixth section of the 119th Psalm?
It is in the word ‘and’.
All eight lines in this stanza begin with the letter VAV.
Because of the translators attempting to make English sense, it doesn’t appear in English in every line. You see it in verse 43, 45, and 47, in our translation. But in Hebrew, it’s in every line.
The word ‘and’ is a conjunction.
Conjunctions link two thoughts.
John hit the ball AND Jill caught it.
'AND' serves as a link, or a connector between those two thoughts, one hitting the ball, one catching the ball.
How does this help us see Jesus?
Jesus is our connector, our link to God.
John 14:6 (KJV)6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jesus is the AND between humanity and God.
The AND is secure and fixed just like a nail.
He will never stop being that link.
He will never leave you or forsake you.
There will never be a day when Jesus says, “You know I am just tired of this whole linking business. I am not going to do anymore.”
Jesus will never call in sick and say, “I want to take the day off and rest. Don’t feel like being the connector today.”
He is ever vigilant in His VAV ministry of linking God and man.
God has fixed it.
God has securely established it. He is the Mediator.
He is the eternal AND.
1 Timothy 2:5 (KJV)5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;[Tweet "Jesus is ever vigilant in His VAV ministry of linking God and man. He is the eternal AND."]
Call to Action:
Are you nailed in a secure place in God? Walking with Jesus is the only real security in life. Everything we’ve spoken of in this podcast points to Jesus. You can encounter Jesus. You can come to know Him. You can receive Him into your heart and life. Jesus was and is the only sacrifice for your sins. He is the only connector to heaven. Pray this prayer with me.Father God, I come to you now in the Name of Jesus your Son. I do believe He died for my sins. I receive Him right into my heart. Thank you for saving me. I now declare Jesus as my Lord.