Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the YHVH is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.” —Isaiah 12:2 KJV

We have traveled through Keter, being Born Again. Next is Gevurah, Hebrew for “strength.” This is the fifth Sephirah in the Tree of Life. It is below Da’at, across from Chesed, and above Hod.

Gevurah is the essence of Din (Arabic, “way of life”), or judgment, and limitation. And, it is fire. It represents the Left Hand of God; the Holy Spirit. Its fire will cleanse us and perfect us. Or, it will condemn us, and destroy us if we do not allow it to use Christ’s Grace to perfect us. Gevurah is the internal transformation. It is our confession as we wash away Ego and sin. It is God’s strength, and thus our strength from God. It is our repentance as we return. When we say that we have returned to become a “new being” or a “new creature,” we are referring to the union between our immortal spirit and our moral bodies. Our spirit and body have become one, our physical bodies growing to be like or resemble our spirits in purity. This union is the birth of the soul.

We were all perfect in the pre-mortal worlds. We were the perfect creations of God; children of Elohim; Avinu and Shekinah. Through Jesus, we are made whole again. This desire to return allows us to acknowledge our sins and be judged by them. Thanks to Christ’s atonement, justice has been served by mercy. This allows us something we could never do on our own, grow to heal the damage our physical bodies have done to our souls. We are able to return to Elohim as perfected beings, through Christ, accessing Binah, knowledge (Avinu) and Chokhmah, wisdom (Shekinah).

Gevurah

It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.” —Psalm 18:32

• English: Judgement
• Body part: Left hand
• Color: Red
• Element: Cleansing
• Associated with: The Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost
• Herald: Adam/Michael “One who is like God;” Michael is the chief archangel who leads God’s armies against Satan’s forces. In the war in heaven he defeats Satan, as recorded in the Book of Revelation (12:7-9). As Adam, he is the Ancient of Days, a prince, and the patriarch of the human family (Daniel 7). Some branches of the Latter Day Saint movement teach or imply that Michael or Adam actually is the Holy Spirit.
• Day of Creation: The second day. On this day God divided the waters from the waters, the heavens from the earth. Likewise we are able to separate the worldly from the spiritual, to help us finish the creation. Just as the rain pours down from the heavens and evaporates up to the clouds, so too must we make that which is above and below unified. As above so below, as below so above. This creates the inner balance between the physical and spiritual worlds we live in.

Gevurah is Din, the essence of judgment. If we are saved, the Holy Spirit cleanses us with Fire. However, if we are wicked we are burned as those same flames become Hellfire. Gevurah then is both the mode God uses to perfect the Saints, and to punish the wicke—judging humanity in general. It is the fulfillment of the Law, and strict meting out of justice. It is because of Chesed that Gevurah is associated with the power to bestow goodness upon others, the cleansing fire becoming Christ’s light of Creation. It stands in contrast to Chesed, though Christ’s mercy in Chesed will protect us from Genurah’s fire.

This sefirot allows one to overcome the true enemies, be they from without (Satan) or from within (Ego). As we work through Gevurah, we are judged and found worthy, having been washed clean by Christ’s mercy. Being the pure in heart, our perception changes— we see the world through new eyes. As we grow in grace we see things more and more as God sees them. We see God’s hand in everything around us. And eventually, we in a very real way will see God.

The Seven Days of Creation: Gevurah

1. Regret: On the first day we must separate the light from the darkness. We understand sin harms us, harms others, and separates us from God. We must regret this damage as the first step forward, away from darkness and towards God’s light. (Genesis 1:1-5)

2. Renounce: On the second day came the waters, and as in baptism we must awash way sin. We cleanse ourselves from that which separates us from God, desiring to replace acts of ego with acts of altruism. (Genesis 1:6-8)

3. Confess: Just as vegetation sprung from the ground, on the third day we bear the fruit of confession. We must separate the land from the seas, the guilt and shame, admitting what we’ve done to ourselves, to God, and to those we have harmed. (Genesis 1:9-13)

4. Reconcile: On the fourth day God created the sun, moon, and stars to light our path and give us signs in the firmament. Gevurah represents the Holy Spirit, the God that guides us. As we access this deity, he will light our path; bridging the gap created between us and God. This will stir Christ’s Grace within us, moving us to do his works. Thus, we do our part to mend bridges broken by our egos, that the warmth of the sun may be felt by all involved. (Genesis 1:14-19)

5. Make amends: On the fifth day living animals were created. While only Christ can truly repay our wrongs, we still must do our best to repair any damages caused by our ego’s sin, bringing life where there was only the vegetation of confession. Now, our good deeds bare fruit and multiply. God blesses both those that did harm, and those that were harmed. 

6. Resolve: On the sixth day God creates humans, as a new creature. The same is true with us. By working through the first five steps, we are new men and women, born again in Christ. We are humans created in the image of God. With renewed focus, we must now move forward resolving not to repeat this sin, as we are now a new person in God. (Genesis 1:24-31)

7. Rest: This last step can be the hardest, as we must forget the sin and forgive ourselves. Our egos will attempt to shame us for what we’ve done. We must see ourselves as God sees us; forgiven. We must put past sins behind us, and rest knowing God has seen our hearts and said, “It is good.” (Genesis 2:1-3)

The Return

In Keter we took the first steps of teshuvah, welcoming Christ into our lives. In Gevurah we take the next steps, learning to do God’s will, becasue Gevua is fire— action. This is the time when Ego steps in to move against us. Nagging doubts may creep in, but by building a relationship with the Holy Spirit, we gain a powerful guide and protector. Remember, God doesn’t want us to fail. His plan for our happiness is the reason everything is happening.

We were perfected when we were born again, even though we are not perfect. If we were perfect we wouldn’t need to grow in Grace. This is why works without grace are meaningless (dead), and grace without works are also dead, showing we do not truly have grace (Romans 3:19-24, James 2:14-18, 26) . Why follow the Law if the Law is dead to us? And how are we saved by the Law if the Grace of Jesus moves us to follow the Law? What matters then is faith and works going hand in hand. In Kabbalah, this is to say what matters is where the Law is written, in our pierced hearts.

To endure to the end the Law must be written in our hearts in Gevurah’s flames, any by this we know that we have accepted the Lord’s unconditional love. God has given us so much, and asks for so little in return (John 15:13) . He gave his life and asked us to pick up our crosses and follow him (Matthew 16:24- 26) . And this He said would be easy (Matthew 11:28-30) . As Gevurah transforms us, we move beyond merely accepting Christ’s mercy. The Holy Spirit finely tools us into instruments of God, in building His creations.

Assignment 9: Teshuvah Week 3

In more than 300 words, describe your experiences meditating for 7 days, preferably in a row. How long did you mediate? Did you notice a change in yourself throughout the weeks as you meditated? What does teshuvah mean to you now, and do you feel closer to the Lord after this week’s mediation? Why or why not?

Please send your written assignment to David Ferriman: dferriman@cjccf.org