Hodu: Give THANKS (or Thanks-Gifting)

Hodu: GIVE THANKS

Original text: הוֹד֣וּ

Sounds like: hoe-du

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!… well here in Canada at least. It’s a day of gathering and feasting! And in the Bible Thanksgiving is usually associated with a sacrifice of Thankfulness.

In the belly of the fish Jonah prayed to God, saying, “With the voice of Thanksgiving [todah], I will sacrifice to you. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation is from YHWH” (Jonah 2:9). 

Thanksgiving is a sacrificial vow. Really, it is Thanks-Gifting… giving something (as simple as praise)  to show your thankfulness. Your words of praise is your gift of thankfulness to God and, really, to anyone who does something nice for you. A friend shows you a kindness and you gift back to them a praiseful “thank you!” 

Gratefulness is a transaction. It’s a relationship of back and forth gift-giving. In many ways it makes can turn an acqaintance into a friendship. This is why it’s so important to be thankful to God.

We’ve looked at the Hebrew word for thanksgiving (todah) in the past, but today we’re going to look at the verb, hodu, meaning “to give thanks”.

Hodu, as well as the word todah, comes from the root yadah  יָדָה (Strong’s 3034) which, hyper-literally, means to hold out the hand. It is a full-bodied action. Hodu ties thankfulness and praise together, like a lifting of hands, because if you’re giving the gift of thanks then you’re also giving praise. This was a word used frequently in the Psalms:

Psalm 33:1-3

Sing for joy in YHWH, you righteous ones; praise is becoming to the upright. Give thanks to YHWH [hodu la-YHWH הֹוד֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה] with the lyre; sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy.

Psalm 100:4-5

Enter His gates with thanksgiving [b-todah בְּתוֹדָ֗ה], and His courtyards with praise. Give thanks [hodu הֽוֹדוּ] to Him, bless His name. For YHWH is good; His mercy is everlasting and His faithfulness is to all generations.

Psalm 105:1-4 (see also 1 Chr 16:8-36)

Give thanks to YHWH [hodu la-YHWH הֹוד֣וּ לַ֭יהוָה], call upon His name; make His deeds known among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wonders. Boast in His holy name; may the heart of those who seek YHWH be joyful. Seek YHWH and His strength; seek His face continually.

 

One phrase, repeated over and over in the Tanakh is this:

Psalm 107:1 (see also Psalm 106:1 and Psalm 118:1, 29)

Give thanks to YHWH [hodu la-YHWH ], for He is good, for His mercy is everlasting.

הֹד֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה כִּי־טֹ֑וב כִּ֖י לְעֹולָ֣ם חַסְדֹּֽו

Hodu la-YHWH ki tov, ki l-olam khas’dow

Psalm 136:1-3, 26 

Give thanks to YHWH [hodu la-YHWH הֹוד֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה], for He is good, for His faithfulness is everlasting.

Give thanks to the God of gods [hodu l-Elohai ha-elohim הֹ֭ודוּ לֵֽאלֹהֵ֣י הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים], for His faithfulness is everlasting.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords [hodu l-Adonai ha-adonim הֹ֭ודוּ לַאֲדֹנֵ֣י הָאֲדֹנִ֑ים], for His faithfulness is everlasting…

…Give thanks to the God of heaven [hodu l-El ha-shamayim הֹ֭ודוּ לְאֵ֣ל הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם], for His faithfulness is everlasting.

Jeremiah 33:11

“Give thanks to YHWH [hodu et YHWH הֹודוּ֩ אֶת־יְהוָ֨ה] of armies, for YHWH is good, for His mercy is everlasting,”

Thanking YHWH for His mercy is a reminder of our failings. We must constantly be a disappointment when our actions do not reflect God’s image to the world around us… when we are judgemental or greedy or self-serving or ungrateful and unappreciative. God’s mercy means He loves us and is willing to save us despite our faults and failings.

But even when we fail we must pick ourselves up again and do our best to reflect God’s love to the world. We cannot let our failures hold us back, we must do what we were made to do. That means being the face of God to others and sharing the Good News of His love:

Isaiah 12:4b-6 

Give thanks to YHWH [hodu la-YHWH הֹוד֤וּ לַֽיהוָה֙], call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; make them remember that His name is exalted.

Praise YHWH in song, for He has done glorious things; let this be known throughout the earth. Rejoice and shout for joy, you inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

God’s Response to our Thanks-Gifting

There’s a story in the Old Testament that has something to say about thankfulness and God’s response to it. The Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Meunites gathered their armies together to make war against Judah. Jehosephat, the king of Judah, made an impassioned plea to God to save them. God responded that He would, indeed, save them. So on the day of battle…

2 Chronicles 20:20b-22

…Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: Put your trust in YHWH your God and you will endure. Put your trust in His prophets, and succeed.” When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to YHWH and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks [hodu la-YHWH הֹוד֣וּ לַיהוָ֔ה] to YHWH, for His faithfulness is everlasting.” When they began singing and praising, YHWH set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were struck down.

Notice that the exact moment the congregation said words of thankfulness, YHWH took action and struck down their enemies. 

They were saved without lifting a finger… the only thing they had to lift was their voices to God.

It was the same response that God gave when Jonah sang a song of thanksgiving in the belly of the fish. When Jonah’s song was done, God commanded the fish to spit Jonah up on dry land. YHWH responded to Jonah’s gift of thankfulness with the action of saving Jonah.

Similarly, let’s take a look at how Yeshua responded to thankfulness…

Luke 17:11-19

While Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered one of the villages, He was met by ten lepers. They stood at a distance and raised their voices, shouting, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

When Jesus saw them, He said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were on their way, they were cleansed.

When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. He fell facedown at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving [Greek: euchariston] to Him—and he [this man] was a Samaritan.

“Were not all ten cleansed?” Jesus asked. “Where then are the other nine? Was no one found except this foreigner to return and give glory to God?” Then Jesus said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has saved you!”

This Samaritan man, a foreigner, came back and fell at Yeshua’s feet, offering thanksgiving to Him. And Yeshua’s response? Where are the others?

Who showed up? Only one Samaritan man and to him Yeshua said,  “your faith has saved you!” 

Being thankful is connected to giving glory to God. And when you give “fall-on-you-face” glory to God, you’re having faith that He will save you. For this man, he was healed with a word, but his salvation came at the moment of his thankfulness.

There is a difference between being healed and being saved. Eventually our bodies will not be healed. Eventually our mortal bodies give up… and they go back to the dust from which they came. But our souls, the essence of who God created us to be, will soar back to God… because we are saved. Because we took the time to be thankful to our Creator, to believe in His ultimate goodness, and to build a relationship with the One who gave us breath in our lungs… and we can use that breath to be thankful!

Are you grateful just to be alive? Give thanks to God. 

Even if you’ve had a terrible year, you can at least be thankful that you have breath in your lungs… and an opportunity to live and see the beauty of this world… the changing of the leaves, the smile of your grandchild or little niece or nephew, the deep purrs of your cat, the way the sky turns a magnificent orange at dusk, the taste of pastry.

So go… have your pie this weekend, but be thankful for more than its flavour. Be thankful for the Creator who gave us the pumpkins and the flour and the hands that kneaded the dough. It all comes from the God who loves every bit of His creation… including YOU!

In conclusion, let’s listen to the words of Paul on the matter of thankfulness:

Colossians 3:15-17

Let the peace of Christ, to which you were indeed called in one body, rule in your hearts; and be thankful [Greek: eucharistoi]. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness [Greek: chariti]. in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks [Greek: eucharistountes] through Him to God the Father. 

Amen? Amen!

Next week: Back under the knife…