As a child, hide and seek was one of the more thrilling activities I participated in. The anticipation of finding someone or being found always heightened the excitement. With four children in the house, this classic game is still a favorite. Even at a very young age my kids, loved playing even if they needed my help every time to find a suitable hideout. There is something about discovering the unknown that is built into our DNA. God put that inside of us and is encouraging us to join in the greatest game of hide & seek ever - finding Him.
We will start our search by looking in the Bible. The original text of the Bible was not actually written in Old English. This sadly may a be a surprise to some people. No, Jesus did not drop one “thee" or “thou" while he was leading his disciples across Israel. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek. Often times these languages use multiple words while English may only use one. Dream is one of those words.
Looking into the original meaning of the words used in the Bible can often bring deeper insight on what is being said. In the Old Testament there are four words used for dream:
chalem,
chalom, challam and
paam. You may have picked up that the first three are related. You will get bonus points on your next quiz.
Chalem is the root word and it means "to dream" or "to be healthy and/or strong."
Paam means "stroke, beat, step or occurrence" which gives the meaning of "oftentimes" or "to beat regularly." Interestingly,
paam is always used in the context of someone being troubled after having a dream. They were not quite sure what was being said in the dream and needed someone to bring clarity.
In the New Testament there are two words used for dream:
onar and
enupnion. Those two words put together is where we get “onion.” Onions are a dream come true. And that last part was completely false.
Onar simply means "a dream" while
epnupnion is "something that occurs during sleep, to dream frequently."
The secondary meaning of the original languages gives us a clue about the heart of God concerning our dreams. He is speaking through them regularly and they are meant to build health and strength in our life. He does this through various types of dreams:
- Dreams that keep us from evil
- Dreams that reveal God’s will
- Dreams that encourage
- Dreams that reveal the future
- Dreams that instruct
God directly tells Job the nature of how He speaks in chapter 33 through dreams and visions. He is speaking but the catch is we may not fully understand what He is saying.
For God does speak—now one way, now another— though no one perceives it. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, 16 he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, 17 to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride, 18 to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword.
Job 33:14-18
You may be thinking, “What’s the point?” Stop thinking that way! While God is the greatest hide and seek player ever, He does fully expect you to find Him. Pursue God first and He will add all these things to you. Seems like I’ve heard that somewhere before. In the intimacy of searching the heart of God you will learn the vocabulary of heaven. Just as God is frequently reaching out to us, our reciprocation leads to deeper understanding of His thoughts and ways.
The game is on. God and His mysteries are waiting to be discovered. Ready or not here you come!
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About the author
Mark is a marketer and sometimes writer. He's trying to get better at that sometimes thing.