REST/BREAK/PAUSE/STOP: raga, verb (Strong’s 7280); ma-r’goa, masculine noun (Strong’s 4771).

רָגַע

Today we look at a Hebrew word that indicates the action of stopping, breaking, pausing, resting. We have looked, before, at a similar word: nuakh (rest) which has a much bigger footprint in the Bible. From nuakh we also can read about the noun manoakh (Strong’s 4494) which is usually transcribed as a “resting place.” Raga is not so much a place where you might be able to get some sleep, rather it’s a verb meaning to take a break, a pause, a brief stop to catch your breath. We all need to take a break once in a while.

 

Jeremiah, who lived in a desperate time of militant turmoil, wished that weapons would take a break:

Jeremiah 47:6

“Ah, sword of YHWH, how long will you not be quiet? Withdraw into your sheath; rest [hey-rag’i הֵרָגְעִ֖י] and stay still.”

Sadly war and violence rarely take a break once the first bullet flies. Deuteronomy gave a dire warning of what life, without rest, would look like when they turned to idolatry:

Deuteronomy 26:64-66

Furthermore, YHWH will scatter you among all the peoples, from one end of the earth to the other; and there you will serve other gods, made of wood and stone, which you and your fathers have not known. Among those nations you will find no peace rest/break/pause [lo ta-r’gia לֹ֣א תַרְגִּ֔יעַ], and there will be no resting place [manoakh מָנ֖וֹחַ] for the sole of your foot; but there YHWH will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. So your lives will be hanging in doubt before you; and you will be terrified night and day, and have no assurance of your life. 

The people turned to the pagan gods of their neighbours in an effort to take control of their own fate. They created things to pray to because it gave them a sense of control over their own lives. Bowing down to idols meant they were devoted to the things of this world… money, sex, food, shopping, popularity, independence.  There is no peace when you rely on nothing but yourself and that’s a very hard lesson to learn.

Jeremiah lived during the Babylonian invasion, and that attack came about because the Hebrew people had disobeyed the top two commandments: you shall have no other gods before me and  you shall not make for yourself an idol (Exodus 20:3-4 & Deuteronomy 5:7-8).

They placed themselves in danger by clinging to the worthless gods of their neighbours, and so God handed them over to the very same neighbours they tried to emulate. Nevertheless, Jeremiah clung to hope. He believed, wholeheartedly, that YHWH would have mercy on His people, and give the survivors of war the break they needed:

Jeremiah 31:2-3

This is what YHWH says:

“The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness— [such is] Israel, when it went to find its rest [l-ha-r’giyow לְהַרְגִּיע֖וֹ].”

YHWH appeared to me long ago, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you out with loving-kindness.”

God gave them a grace period, a break from the destruction that they experienced firsthand. They had to go into the wilderness (this time to Babylon), but YHWH promised to lovingly draw them out of the wasteland and into the fullness of life.

The lesson: sometimes we need to take a break and catch our breath, and that’s often when we realize that we can’t do things entirely on our own. Relying on God and giving up the desire for full control allows us to live freer than we could ever live on our own. More often than not, we need to take a break and trust in God. 

Babylon may have been successful in destroying the city of Jerusalem, but it would not destroy its people:

Jeremiah 50:33-34 

This is what YHWH of armies says:

“The sons of Israel are oppressed, and the sons of Judah as well; and all who took them captive have held them firmly, they have refused to let them go.

“Their Redeemer is strong, YHWH of armies is His name; He will vigorously plead their case so that He may bring rest [hi-r’giya הִרְגִּ֣יעַ] to their land, but turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.”

Babylon, the great and mighty destroyers, would reap what they sewed. YHWH would plead the case of His people and, in doing so, condemn Babylon. The great destroyers would end up destroying themselves. 

Jeremiah 50:44 (see also Jer 49:19)

“Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan to a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant (in a break) [a-r’giah אַרְגִּ֤עָה] I will chase them away from it, and I will appoint over it whoever is chosen. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can stand against Me?”

Breaking Up the Sea

“Take a break” is a common phrase. It literally means to stop and rest, but it can also suggest the breaking up of a pattern, such as the rhythm of the tides. Raga was frequently used to describe the choppiness of the sea:

Job 26:12

“With His power He quieted broke (up) [raga רָגַ֣ע] the sea, and by His understanding He shattered Rahav.”

 

Isaiah 51:15

For I am YHWH your God, who stirs up breaks (up) [roga רֹגַ֣ע] the sea so that its waves roar (YHWH of armies is His name). 

 

Jeremiah 31:35

This is what YHWH says, He who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up breaks (up) [roga רֹגַ֤ע] the sea so that its waves roar— YHWH of armies is His name. “If this fixed order departs from Me,” declares YHWH, “Then the descendants of Israel also will cease to be a nation before Me forever.”

YHWH is in control of the wild sea, and there’s no way the fixed order of the universe would ever lose control with YHWH at the helm. 

 

Where is the Break Up in Isaiah 51:4?

Raga is not only a break in time, it can also be a break in what is normally a consistent pattern… a break in a wall, a break in skin, the stop of a bad habit. In Isaiah 51:4, God’s justice breaks up a pattern of injustice that plagues the nations.

However, for some reason raga in Isaiah 51:4 is often overlooked. Most translations don’t know what to do with the word in this passage. Let’s take a look at a few translations:

New American Standard Version 

“Pay attention to Me, My people, and listen to Me, My nation; For a law will go out from Me, And I will bring My justice as a light of the peoples.”

Where is the concept of rest/stop/pause here?

New Revised Standard Version

“Listen to me, my people, and give heed to me, my nation; for a teaching will go out from me, and my justice for a light to the peoples.”

Again the passage makes no mention of resting, stopping, or pausing.

English Standard Version ESV

“Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.”

The ESV, again, gives no indication that raga is in the passage.

Smith’s Literal Translation gets a little closer to including the concept of rest/pause/break:

Smith’s Literal Translation

“Attend to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation: for a law shall go forth from me, and I will cause my judgment to rest [ar’giya אַרְגִּֽיעַ] for the light of the peoples.”

What is the gist of YHWH’s words?…

“My people! Pay attention to Me! Listen to Me! From Me a law goes forth and My justice, as a light, will break up [ar’giya אַרְגִּֽיעַ] the nations.”

Just eleven verses later we read:

Isaiah 51:15 (NASB)

For I am YHWH your God, who breaks up [roga רֹגַ֣ע] the sea so that its waves roar (YHWH of armies is His name). 

Yes, YHWH breaks up the waves, but if we allow raga to shine in verse 4, as equally as we do in verse 15, we discover that YHWH’s justice makes people stop and think; it turns things around; it makes us pause; it gives us rest. Raga is a word that shouldn’t be ignored and, unfortunately, it is ignored in this passage by a great many translations.

 

I will give you rest

In the story of Job we read about the feelings of hopelessness that plague him. Job lost everything… his children, his home, his livelihood, his health. In a rather graphic description, Job used the word raga to describe the break of his skin:

Job 7:5-6

“My flesh is clothed with maggots and a crust of dirt, my skin hardens breaks [raga רָ֝גַ֗ע] and oozes. My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope.”

Without rest from the trials of life, it’s hard to have hope, but Yeshua came to help fix our feelings of hopelessness:

Matthew 11:28-29

“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest [Greek: anapauso]. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest [Greek: anapausin] for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.” 

The English word “pause”, by the way, comes from the Greek word pausis (anapauso/anapusin). 

Yeshua promised to be a source of pause… a chance to rest and reflect on the goodness of life. But this wasn’t just a random life-quote form Yeshua, He was quoting His own scripture:

Jeremiah 6:16

This is what YHWH says:

“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest [ma-r’goa מַרְגּ֖וֹעַ] for your souls.

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”

If you walk on the path that leads to to YHWH, you will find rest. Yeshua is the source of rest. He is the pause we need. He can stop the chaos in our lives so that we can take a break and live in peace. Don’t be like the Israelites who refused to walk in the footsteps of their Creator. 

Yeshua said that He was “the way, the truth, and the life.” Yeshua is the Way and we ought to walk in His footsteps. Life is hard. And for many of us it’s a chaotic race, and an endless pursuit of  some kind of happiness. This is a world that tells us that joy comes from taking, but true happiness is not the accumulation of wealth, the endless striving for perfection, or the tireless desire to be recognized and appreciated. Those goals only bring feelings of guilt and disappointment when we can’t live up to our expectations or the expectations of others. 

Does life feel like a rat-race of endless, but unreachable, possibilities? Maybe it’s time to stop, take a deep breath, and trust that God has a beautiful plan for you. Give yourself a break, find your footing, and walk (one step at a time) on the path that leads to life in the Presence of YHWH. Take your time. Stop and smell the roses. Trust in the rest that Yeshua provides, because those moments of pause and reflection remind us that the best is yet to come!

Next week: Sermon- Paradise