Secret of the Hebrew letter Chet

Transcript of “Secret of the Hebrew letter Chet”

The eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is CHET.

The numeric value of CHET is eight.

The pictogram or symbol behind the shape of the letter CHET is a doorway – not a door (that was represented by DALET) – but a doorway ... the opening you pass through and cross over to move from one space to another.

The name of the letter, “chet”, sounds like the Hebrew word “chatah”, which means “sin”. The letter CHET points to Jesus as our sin-bearer – He who “became sin” for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).

"God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us..." (2 Corinthians 5:21). By faith in Jesus, in Him we cross over from death to life.

Jesus is the only way to God. The only way to be in right-standing with God. We give Him our sin, and He gives us His righteousness. Jesus is the door ... the barrier that is opened as He takes our sin. And, Jesus is the doorway that we pass through from darkness to light.

The numeric value of the letter CHET is eight. Eight indicates resurrection life ... new beginnings ... the new birth, in Christ.

Jesus rose from the grave on the first day of the week, according to the Hebrew calendar. He was crucified on the sixth day (a Friday, by our reckoning), and He rose from the grave on the eighth day (a Sunday, by our reckoning).

In Jewish thought, part of a day counts as a full day. In several places, Scripture records that Jesus said that He must be killed and that on the third day He would be raised to life (Matthew 16:21, 17:23, 20:19, Luke 9:22, 18:33, 24:7, 24:46).

There is no confusion over the fact that Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday ... on the first day of a new week, according to Jewish reckoning (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1), and what we may call “the eighth day”.

There seems to be a contradiction in Scripture because a Friday crucifixion (the 6th day) would mean that, although Jesus rose from the dead three days later, that He was in the grave for only two nights. And there is a Scripture which records Jesus as saying, “... as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so must Jesus be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).

But this was Jesus speaking to the Pharisees, who were seeking a sign. The extra night in the heart of the earth is a hint of the fact that Jesus would be hidden from those of Israel who were hard-hearted and unbelieving, during the age when the gospel of His salvation would go to the nations. This also means then that Jesus will reveal Himself finally to the remnant of Israel.

Eight indicates resurrection life ... new beginnings ... the new birth. We receive new life – we are born again – in Christ. We enter into a covenant with God ... the promise of forgiveness of our sins, of adoption into God’s family ... when we place our faith in Jesus. We enter into the New Covenant. And we receive a sign from God ... the Holy Spirit.

Jesus appeared to the disciples late in the day on resurrection day. He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22).

When Peter preached to the Jewish crowd on the Day of Pentecost, and three thousand got saved, he said they would receive “... forgiveness of sins; and the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

If you are able to confess that Jesus is Lord, then you have the Holy Spirit, because Scripture says that “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3).

A sign of the Old Covenant for the sons of Israel was circumcision (Genesis 17:10-14, Leviticus 12:3). Abraham circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old (Genesis 21:4). Jesus was circumcised when He was eight days old (Luke 2:21).

In Christ Jesus, we have new life. In Him, we have the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is our sign from God.

In Jesus' sacrifice, “we are the fragrance of Christ to God ...” (2 Corinthians 2:14-15). We have crossed over from death to life.

How interesting that, when the flood subsided, Noah sacrificed to God and God “smelled the soothing aroma ...” (Genesis 8:21) and was satisfied. “Soothing aroma” in Hebrew is “re'ach ha'nicho'ach”. There are eight letters in the Hebrew phrase, and the third, seventh and eighth letters are each CHET.

I am sure that is not an accident. Every word and every letter in the original text of the Bible is there by God’s hand of design ... and it all points to Jesus.