Learn What This Means

By Rick Hoover

God spoke the world into existence. Why doesn't He speak clearly to us? Why would Jesus need to tell us to "Learn what this means"? If what God has to say is so important to us, why doesn't He make it clear from the beginning? Or is that not as simple as we think? What is our excuse for being confused? Can anyone ever be sure they've understood what they heard or saw? Rick Hoover thinks there's hope.

Rick takes a long look at communication that takes place between different hearts and minds. Can we ever be sure we're on the same page, speaking the same language together? When our conversations are filled with poetry, exaggeration, similes, metaphors, parables, puns, and words that have multiple meanings, is it reasonable to expect we can learn what anything - or anyone - really means? Is there any way around strange, mysterious signs and symbols? Or were they always part of God's plan?

We have the questions. And now you've found a book about it! And maybe even some answers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pelican Wings
• Release date: Aug 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005437442

Rick Hoover

I'm a retired deacon in the Episcopal Church. I served at a parish in central Florida. I've worked in radio, television and several jobs that included public relation efforts. As a Christian, I have discovered one of the things I enjoy most is spending time in a prayer closet with Jesus, learning to be still so He has space to speak. I shared about my first month as a Smashword author at my blog:https://deaconrick.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/editing-the-author/

Book preview

I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak

shall come to pass. (Ezekiel 12:25)

Won’t you show us what you mean by these? (Ezekiel 37:18)

LEARN WHAT THIS MEANS

Rick Hoover

© 2022 by Rick Hoover

Revised second edition

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible™

a Public Domain translation available at worldenglishbible.org

CONTENTS

Prologue

1 Manna (What is it?)

2 Smoke In Our Eyes

3 Lost Purpose

4 Fog and Ignorance

5 Helping the Blind

6 The Unavoidable Risk of Symbols

7 The Ultimate Goal

8 Followers as Signs

9 Samuel

Appendix The Ten Commandments

Appendix Who Says…?

Appendix Learn What This Memes

About the Author

PROLOGUE

The Book of Joshua recounts the history of the twelve tribes of Israel finally taking possession of Canaan. When that had been accomplished, a surprising last minute crisis threatened to stir up a civil war among the tribes.

Two and a half tribes had chosen to keep territory they had conquered earlier on the journey, before they had crossed the Jordan River. The flash point now was a misinterpreted symbol. Here are highlights of the event from Joshua Chapter 22.

9 The children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they owned, according to the commandment of Yahweh by Moses. 10 When they came to the region near the Jordan, that is in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, a great altar to look at.

11 The children of Israel heard this, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar along the border of the land of Canaan, in the region around the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the children of Israel.

12 When the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up against them to war.

16 The whole congregation of Yahweh says, ‘What trespass is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away today from following Yahweh, in that you have built yourselves an altar, to rebel today against Yahweh?

21 Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered...

24 If we have not out of concern done this, and for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your children might speak to our children, saying, What have you to do with Yahweh, the God of Israel? 25 For Yahweh has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you children of Reuben and children of Gad. You have no portion in Yahweh." ’ So your children might make our children cease from fearing Yahweh.

28 Therefore we said, ‘It shall be, when they tell us or our generations this in time to come, that we shall say, Behold the pattern of Yahweh’s altar, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you." ’

30 When Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation, even the heads of the thousands of Israel that were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them well. 31 Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, Today we know that Yahweh is among us, because you have not committed this trespass against Yahweh. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of Yahweh’s hand.

34 The children of Reuben and the children of Gad named the altar A Witness Between Us that Yahweh is God.

We all remain vulnerable to the kind of short sightedness the trans-Jordan tribes feared. Way back then they knew that this was what people were capable of: misinterpreting what they knew, if they didn’t just forget it altogether. Such blindness leads to breaking points over and over in every generation, and between generations.

As one painful example, in the post Reformation world there are 40,000+ Protestant denominations that argue over how to practice the Christian faith. All of them argue with Roman Catholics. Roman Catholics argue with the Eastern Orthodox. And countless independent congregations steer clear of all of them. Crosses can be found in all their gathering places. They all celebrate Christmas and Easter. But separately. They don’t agree on particular details. So they stay far apart and speak critically of each other.

After one encounter with argumentative religious leaders, Jesus burst out with a brusk order.

Learn what this means!

He was not abandoning symbols used for communication. He was agreeing that symbols and language could successfully communicate information, direction, and behavior. Signs are clear. The trick is learning what they mean. It’s a challenge for every generation.

It is one that does require patience and effort.

The victorious Tribes of Israel managed to clear the hurdle that day. Jesus expects that we can, too.

We must.

1 MANNA (What is it?)

Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, and John 12:1-8 record an incident that Jesus said would be forever linked with proclamation of the Gospel and the stories of his life. It also illustrated a problem for anyone who tried to share the story later.

It is a story of symbols and conflicting interpretations. It prompted utterly different reactions among witnesses at the time. The account provides a classic example of the importance of proper interpretation of symbols if they are to serve their intended purpose.

At a dinner in Bethany with friends, two days before his crucifixion, Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, approached Jesus with a gift of nard, an expensive perfume made from the roots of a small plant grown in the Himalayan mountains of India. She broke open the sealed alabaster bottle and poured the fragrant ointment on his hair (John says she poured the oil on his feet).

The disciples began murmuring. Matthew says all the disciples complained. Mark says it was some of them. John says Judas in particular objected that the valuable perfume could have been used more practically. It could have been sold to provide money to give to the poor. John also makes a specific charge about Judas’ motivation. It had nothing to do with any concern for the poor.

Jesus spoke up and rebuked all those who were complaining. Then he offered an entirely different interpretation of what Mary had done.

None of the descriptions of the incident make any mention of Mary trying to explain, or defend, what she was doing or thinking. Indeed, it is hard to imagine that Mary was consciously intending to do what she did for the reason that Jesus named. There is no hint in the Bible of her being present at any of the moments when Jesus began speaking privately to his twelve disciples about his upcoming death. Whatever prompted her that night, Mary responded without worrying or anticipating why her actions could be significant. God’s plan unfolded and her deed fell into place with no calculation from her. She acted from her heart, not her head. Even with Jesus’ instant approval, she would only fully realize much later the significance of her action and what Jesus had called it.

Luke recorded another dinner story that took place earlier in Jesus’ ministry, in a different town and with a different host (Luke 7:36-50). On that occasion the woman who broke in on the dinner was unnamed. She was identified only as a sinner. The dinner host, a Pharisee named Simon, also drew immediate, critical conclusions. These were based on the way Jesus (his guest) had allowed the notorious woman to approach him (she did not touch the hair of Jesus’ head, and brought only her own tears to wash his feet).

Jesus also interpreted what that woman was doing. He reached a different conclusion than Simon. Again there is no statement recorded from the woman herself that would offer any insight into her motives. We are left with the interpretation from Jesus as the last word.

No one disputed the facts of these events. But there was wide disagreement over what the events meant, how anyone should feel about them, and what should be done about them as a consequence. Disciples who had accompanied Jesus for three years were continually missing the point of things Jesus said. Excited fans following him got excited for the wrong reasons. Critics, religious leaders, and civil rulers thought him heretical and dangerous to the status quo. Such failures of communication and interpretation happened over and over with people who encountered Jesus. He said plainly why he had come. But no one knew what to expect next from him.

We might assume that one who could create the universe with a simple command (Let there be….) was not given to mumbling. Yet again and again, people who heard his words personally, face to face, responded with puzzlement.

Nicodemus was bewildered at the talk of being born again. How can these things be? Jesus answered him, Are you the teacher of Israel, and don’t understand these things? (John 3:9-10) 

After listening to the two woebegone men walking the Emmaus road, Jesus chided them. Foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! (Luke 28:25)

A teacher of God’s Law asked Jesus plainly, What must I do to inherit eternal life?

Jesus replied with a question of his own. What is written in the law? How do you read it? (Luke 10:26) When the lawyer wanted to argue details, Jesus told a parable about a good Samaritan helping a wounded stranger abandoned on a desert road. He included a barbed detail in which a lawyer, like the man talking with him, walked away from the victim in the story. Then, without ever answering the question the lawyer had posed, Jesus posed another question of his own.

Who do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers? (Luke 10:36)

If, as some thought, Jesus was nothing but another wandering sage, a passing novelty in the Jewish parade of holy men and prophets, then paying any attention to him was a matter of taste. It was of interest only to those who might want to bother with that sort of thing.

At one point Jesus asked the twelve men traveling with him, Who do you say that I am? (Matthew 16:15, Mark 8:29, Luke 9:20) They had heard the people making guesses all over the map. Only Peter was able to find the needle in the haystack — and Jesus said he’d been given help at that.

He told the disciples how fortunate they were, despite their slow-witted responses to what was unfolding before them. I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see the things which you see, and didn't see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and didn't hear them. (Luke 10:24)

It was going to be important for these eyewitnesses to clearly understand what Jesus was all about. They were links through which God intended for every generation to learn about His Son and His plan to rescue His creation from disaster.

Jesus laid it out clearly.

He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me. (Luke 10:16)

Eleven of these men would run away the night Jesus was being arrested by a posse led by the twelfth disciple. Even after some began to catch sight of him, alive again after three days dead in a tomb, these designated witnesses had trouble believing the stories brought to them.

Atheist mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell was asked what he would say to God if, after his own death, he came face to face with Him. Russell, confident that he had given God a fair chance to make Himself known to honest inquirers like himself, said he would rebuke God for not giving enough evidence to prove His existence.

Has God been unfair to us? Has He really spoken clearly to us?

Almost a thousand years before Jesus appeared, the Jews had collected the wise sayings of their leaders. The proverbs were observations made after much time spent reflecting on what they had seen while watching Yahweh’s ways of dealing with them.

Solomon said, It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter. (Proverbs 25:2) The requirement for people to show some interest and effort in hearing from God was recognized as all part of the deal. Jesus, too, on one occasion, burst out with an exclamation of admiration and gratitude over how The Father had chosen to become known by His children.

I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to infants. (Matthew 11:25)

He was frank about this point several times. When the disciples asked why he taught so often using strange parables that raised questions in everyone’s minds, he explained, To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them. (Matthew 13:11) Another time he said to them, Not all men can receive this saying, but those to whom it is given. (Matthew 19:11)

The barrier of misunderstandings that puzzle us can, in retrospect, be seen as a blessing. This blessing was a part of God’s intervention at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). At that time, with everyone speaking the same language, it required no great effort to communicate with other people. It was taken for granted that everyone was on the same page. After God divided man’s languages, it might be obvious that someone else had something to say, but it now required an effort to understand them.

The same attention was required if anyone wanted to hear from God. He wasn’t stuttering. But He was using new symbols and channels for His messages to His family. Learning that revised language is possible. But it does call for attention whenever class is in session.

It is worth the effort.

This book is part of my effort.

We are dealing with a Creator whose ways are not our ways, and whose thoughts are not like ours. We cannot approach our Heavenly Father while assuming we are already up to speed with Him. It’s not about us. That’s the wrong place to start.

When God began supplying manna in the wilderness to feed His people as they traveled to the Promised Land, the people were, at first, puzzled by the gift. (Exodus 16:14-15) (The word manna in Hebrew, in fact, means, ‘’What is it? or what-ness.") Moses, who had already told them it was coming, had to again define and interpret the odd new element before them. This is how to gather it. This is what it’s for. This is what it is.

We need to learn about spiritual realities that are not apparent to our natural, material, limited senses. In order to learn, we must plug into a new set of symbols. We must redefine our trusted and familiar anchor points. We need a guide. It is not in us to safely direct our own steps. (Jeremiah 10:23)

Because of the limitations of our natural minds, all realities, principles, and spiritually significant actions must be converted to, and communicated in, symbols. They must come in a channel our human will can perceive before they can be received by us. The Holy Spirit can indeed stir our spirits and hearts directly. These feelings and intuitions can be experienced outside our mind’s ability to explain them. And there are those moments where we go ahead and act, on faith, in these stirrings that are known only in our spirit. But we are called to love and respond to God with our minds as well as our hearts and souls. (Matthew 22:37) God wants conversation with us there, too. (Isaiah 1:18)

Thus, the immaterial spiritual realities must be conveyed in material symbols: language, music, images, narratives, parables, poetry. Summaries can provide key essentials, but not entire experiences. We grow in a learning process that unfolds in similes and metaphors. Language code transforms messages from one level of expression to another.

Wisdom will deal with these symbols not as the carrier-packages they are, but as the reality behind and beyond them. Language tools like similes, metaphors, or parables are not to be taken literally. Part of our learning curve includes recognizing when God’s own words are not themselves literal or material creatures. They are servant messengers. They are to be treated with honor and respect because of Who sent them, certainly. But they are not to be worshiped.

Written mathematics has a universal symbol-set convention established. One definition is assigned to each symbol and there is one right interpretation of those symbols to be used by everyone. In non-mathematical human communication it’s different. Our human languages often have many meanings for single symbols and words. That invites confusion. Agreeing upon names and definitions is required before we can communicate coherently with such symbols.

We make jokes about our difficulties in this. I’m going to take advantage of the opportunity to laugh about it in an appendix to this book. But first let’s look some more at the kind of obstacles that frustrate our understanding.

2 Smoke In Our Eyes

Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? Haven’t you been told from the beginning? Haven’t you understood from the foundations of the earth? (Isaiah 40:21)

The Jews therefore came around him and said to him, How long will you hold us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and you don’t believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, these testify about me. But you don’t believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:24-27)

A path makes traveling to a destination easier for us. It preserves the best, most direct trails discovered by earlier travelers. A path shows the way around the obstacles that make a destination difficult to see from a distance.

When you first come across a choice of paths, it can be hard to guess what makes one distinct from another. They all look the same leaving Kansas City. The same road can take you toward New York or California, depending on which way you place your next step.

Thank goodness for signs. They can tell you which way is which (As long as they’re clear. As long as no one has switched the sign around. You can be on the right path but still confused or misdirected by a sign).

Thank goodness for friendly neighbors who have been on the road before and who can confirm directions for you and answer your questions while you’re passing by.

Thank goodness someone built those great destinations to set out for that make it worth the effort of getting on the road at all in spite of the challenges along the way.

This book is my meditation on aligning those signs with their pathways, aligning symbols with their intended significance. I want to be plain and clear. It’s true, my subject is the matching of exterior, objective reality, mapping it to symbols of meaning in our inner thoughts. It sounds rather arcane and subtle. I hope readers who would shy back from academic studies of metaphysics will hang in there with me!

Cartoonist Mark Parisi drew Charlie Brown’s dog, Snoopy, staring