Study #16: TET
TET IN THE WORD CHOTER ( ROD )
CHOTER is the Hebrew word for ROD mentioned in Isaiah 11:1 – ” And there shall come forth a ROD out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots “.
Who is Jesse? The genealogy of Jesus given in the first chapter of Matthew informs us that Jesse was the father of King David, and hence is in the line of the Messiah.
The Rod is associated with “judgment” and Isaiah tells us in pictorial image how the proud will be judged – as a forest that will be cut down to no more than stumps ( Isaiah 10:33-34).
This happened historically when God allowed the proud nation of Judah to be judged and brought down by their Assyrian conquerors. But in Isaiah 11:1, the author prophesied that a shoot will grow out of the stumps – and this particular stump or “Rod of Jesse” embodied him as part of the faithful remnant who will father the Davidic Line of the Messiah.
This becomes clearer when we study the pictorial meaning of CHOTER which is spelt in 3 letters; CHET TET RESH
חֹ֫טֶר
1.CHET = Fence
2.TET = Surround like a coiled snake
3.RESH = Head of a Prince.
Thus CHOTER depicts a Prince who is coming, the One who will surround His people with a hedge of protection.
But who will He protect?
The answer is found in CHOTER’S numerical meaning:
1. CHET is 8 the number of New Beginnings.
2. TET is 9 as the conclusion of a matter, e.g. an evaluation of man resulting in judgment.
3. RESH is 200 which compares the sufficiency of God with the insufficiency of man.
The pictographic meaning of CHOTER read with its numericals show us that the Coming Prince, our Messiah, is going to surround and protect fallen and insufficient man who will be given a new beginning in Him.
Heavenly Father, the conclusion of the matter is that anyone who comes under the protection of Messiah ( identified as the Son of David from the ” Rod of Jesse”) will be surrounded and protected from judgment. Thanks be to our Lord Jesus who is our Sar Shalom ( Prince of Peace ) who will keep us in His Perfect Peace – freed from the terrible judgment of sin, death and eternal separation from You.
