This Changes How You Know God
June 28, 2026Pastor Josh Starnes presented today's message, "This Changes How You Know God." A video of today's message is here on YouTube. It may help to be familiar with the message but that is not required to enjoy the thoughts below.
This was the fourth message in a summer series on the Jehovah names of God. Today's name was Jehovah Tsidkenu (Lord is Our Righteousness).
The Hebrew for Jehovah Tsidkenu is יְ֭הוָה צְדָק֣וֹת .
As Pastor Josh noted, the words charity/righteous (tsed-aw-kaw, צְדָקָה), justice (tzedek, צֶ֖דֶק), and righteous one (tsaddik, צַדִּיק) all share the same root with a fundamental meaning of straightness or firmness.
The tangent I'd like to take is to think about applying the term righteous or righteousness to humans of the Bible...
It's interesting that other Biblical characters were also referred to as righteous. Here's an interesting article that discusses who these people were and what we learn about righteousness from their stories: Other biblical figures called righteous?
Here's an article that focuses on Noah's story and what all he did to be called righteous: Timeless Life Lessons from Noah in the Bible. In summary:
Trust Wholeheartedly in God
Follow God's Instructions Precisely
Practice Patience in Trials
Live Righteously Amongst Unrighteousness
Prepare for Future Challenges
Prioritize Your Family
Care for Creation
Always Give Thanks and Worship God
Be Faithful to God and Live a Life Set Apart
Bonus
Hebrew Almost Became America's Official Language
I stumbled onto the idea that Hebrew was actually considered for being the official language of the nascent USA. It's controversial just how hard it was pushed, but apparently it was pushed to some degree. Here are some bullet points from "The Story of How Hebrew Almost Became the Official U.S. Language."
An English essayist, William Gifford, reported that some Americans wanted to substitute Hebrew as the official language of the U.S. Gifford got the story from Comte de Rochambeau who traveled to America in 1780.
It would make sense that a separation from England would also mean shifting to a different language, of which there were plenty in the new world.
The folks from Plymouth, primary the pilgrims, were very much in favor of the language of the Old Testament.
The Puritans identified with "crossing a sea" to become free as did the Israelites. They viewed Hebrew as the language of ultimate authority.
There were plenty of Jewish settlements in the colonies, particularly New England.
Clement Moore, author of A Visit from St. Nicholas, put more store in his first Hebrew Dictionary published in 1809.
Early American schools made learning Hebrew mandatory, such as Yale. The Hebrew words Urim and Thummim (the oracular will of God) were already on the Yale seal. Harvard also taught Hebrew since the 1720s.
Bonus2
Ancient Treasure Cache Discovered in Biblical City from Genesis
Fox News in June of this year reported "Ancient treasure cache discovered in biblical city from the Book of Genesis."
The lead line: "It was a find of Biblical proportions."
The article goes on to talk about treasures found in a grave site within the Heliopolis necropolis at the Panhesy tomb site in Ain Shams, Cairo. The Bible refers to this "hub" as "On." It's referenced in the Book of Jeremiah, the Book of Ezekiel, and in Genesis. Genesis 41:45, "Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On [my emphasis], to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt."
The treasure was found beneath a mud-brick tomb housing human remains and was described as the "first near-complete funerary assemblage ever found in the area."
