An Article for the Talmidah Chachmah (Wise Woman Disciple)
I remember long ago disagreeing with some sisters over the concept of the necessity of being broken to be pleasing to the Most High. I felt like you don’t have to be broken, you can be whole. That was in my youth. Now that I’m a little older, and much more mature in my faith, I have come to face the reality that brokenness is required in order for us to draw close and stay close to YHWH.
Psalm 34:18 says:
YHWH is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.
Why is YHWH near to those of a broken heart?
First, what does it mean to have a broken heart. The Hebrew word for broken (Shabar) means to be broken down, shattered, wrecked, crushed. The word heart (Lev) means much more than “heart”. It means the inner man, the will, the understanding, the soul, the conscience, the mind, the moral character – it is the thing that separates us from animals that act solely on instinct. A broken heart therefore means that our entire essence is broken down and shattered into pieces. This type of person, one whose ego is destroyed, is the type of person that YHWH can build up.
We see the concept of destroying and building with Yah’s commission to the prophet Jeremiah:
See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, and to destroy and to overthrow; to build, and to plant. (Jeremiah 1:10)
The heart of a man must be destroyed/overthrown in order for the Ruach of YHWH to be able to work with it.
What is a contrite spirit?
The Hebrew word for contrite (Daka) means dust. The word for spirit (Ruach) means breath or disposition. Someone who is puffed up and proud definitely does not have a crushed disposition. Being of a contrite spirit means that you are humble.
For thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (Isaiah 57:15)
In fact, if you even expect the Most High to look upon you, then you MUST have a humble/contrite heart:
…but on this man will I look, even on him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word. (Isaiah 66:2b)
So two things, we must have a broken/destroyed heart and we must have a crushed/humble spirit/disposition. We must be broken down, so that YHWH can build us up. Isn’t this what the New Covenant (Brit Hadasha) is all about? Let’s look at what Yah said:
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)
My husband is a construction worker. He has worked on many projects. Before you can rebuild anything, some amount of demolition must be done. The construction work that Yah does in us is in our inner being. He literally performs a heart transplant. He takes out the heart of stone, and gives us a heart of flesh. He gives us a “new” spirit, even HIS Spirit. He dwells in us, and causes us to keep His commandments from the inside out. If we think our heart prior to this construction work is good enough, we won’t seek Him out for this work. If we are proud, we won’t honor Yah as the King of Kings, and Ruler of Rulers… We must start broken so that He can build us up.
And we must in our own eyes remain broken.
Now this is the part that is hard to understand for some. We CANNOT become puffed up because of our new relationship with the Most High. We cannot become High Minded in our own abilities. Our egos must remain in their place on the back shelf. We must humble ourselves, and Yah will do the exalting.
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. (Matthew 23:12)
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. (James 4:6)
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (James 4:10)
We do the humbling, Yah does the exalting. We have a broken heart, Yah does the building.
To close out, the concept of humbling or bringing oneself low is not to say that we are nothing. It is to say that YHWH is EVERYTHING[1]. We decrease so that Y’shua increases. Not our will, but His will. Not our power, but His POWER. We make ourselves small in our own eyes, and make Him GREAT. Say it with me – “I exist to put the glory of YHWH on display[2]”.
Be, Stay, Live Broken.
Tirtzah Lewis, Derek Echad Talmidah
For questions or comments, reach me at:
[1] Biting off some of the concepts present by Rabbi Manis Friedman
[2] Statement coined by Lady Denise Anthony