There are hidden treasures buried throughout scripture, some that are mysteries only discoverable once you trust the Lord and allow Him to reveal what has been there long before anyone knew to look.
Take for instance the Hebrew form of the name of Jesus. While you may or may not know that Jesus was named Yeshua in Hebrew, you may not be aware of how often this name appears in the Old Testament and how it is used to identify God.
As a proper name we first see the name Yeshua used by Moses to rename the man that would take his mantle, you might know him as Joshua. In Numbers 13:16 Moses changes Hoshea’s name which means salvation to Yeshua which means God is salvation.
As a verb the Hebrew word yeshua that is derived from the root word yasha and again means salvation or my salvation such as in Psalms 3 verse 9.
This explains the word play in Matthew, which I and some others believe was written in Hebrew originally. It says that His name will be called Yeshua because He will save or yeshua His people.
These hidden nuggets of gold are not useful in serious theological arguments nor were they meant to be so. I like to think of them as the rub on the head a father gives to his children to remind them they are loved or the wink a parent gives for an inside knowledge that few outside the family would ever get.
Some believers will get caught up in terrible arguments about the name of Jesus and how He should be called Yeshua by true believers, but that is not my point. I believe Jesus is fine with his transliterated name in English but on to a bigger point.
I hope that you read your bible on a regular basis, it is best if you have a defined reading plan to help you study the entire scripture in either a year or two years, one is better to give you a broad understanding of God’s word.
As you study the word of God and as you search His wisdom and you see the word salvation, especially in Psalms and other books, I hope that you will be comforted by this little word study and substitute Jesus for salvation.
It becomes powerful when you read scripture such as Psalms 118:14 where is says: “The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” And you realize that the Lord became Jesus.
