Today's Word

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For reasons I can’t explain, the word Mizpah and its meaning has been on my heart today. There is no logical or emotional reason why it should be there and it has no connection with anything particularly that is going on in my life or anyone I know. Many of you will have come across the word in your spiritual journey but I just want to take a short time to speak about it.

It is a Hebrew word literally meaning ‘watchtower’. A watchtower is automatically connected in my mind with guarding against danger. The word occurs in Genesis when Jacob and Laban, Jocob’s father-in-law, were separating from one another, maybe never to see one another again, and Jacob was taking Rachel and Leah and Laban’s grandchildren away with him and they built a pile of stones as a witness to the oath of loyalty to one another and called the place Mizpah. 

Jacob explained the word thus, “The LORD watch between you and me whilst we are away from one another”. Jacob didn’t just want to go and leave Laban, he called on God to look after both of them and their families while they were apart. I suppose the nearest English equivalent to Mizpah is “goodbye”, which is a shortened version of ‘God be with you’ .

To ask God to protect someone from danger and to keep them safe is one of the best prayers we can offer because it expresses faith in God and love for the other person. I therefore think that using the word ‘Mizpah’ more frequently in a parting statement is a loving and faithful gesture and the length of the separation doesn’t matter at all, we are invoking the care of God

Article written by Brian Preston, Elder @SFGH Church 

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