This morning the Lord spoke to me in a dream and told me to preach about being thankful. More specifically it came in a question….What is the first time in the bible that a human expressed the attitude of being thankful?
I thought this is going to be very easy. I am just going to lookup the Hebrew word for Thank you or Thanksgiving and see when that was first used in the bible. As I started down that path I was surprised at how long we have to read in the Bible before we begin to see even the attitude of thanksgiving, much less the words used.
I want you to think for a minute in your knowledge of bible stories, and tell me when you believe would be the first expression of thanksgiving or the contextual attitude of someone who is grateful for something given that was not earned or deserved.
- God makes Eve and brings her to Adam?
Genesis 2:21-25 King James Version
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
***Do you see an expression of thanksgiving or gratefulness?
Here is where we begin to understand something about mankind and the way God created him:
Genesis 1:26-31 King James Version
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
**When God created Man he was created in the image of God and he had full dominion over all of God’s creation. He was deserving of everything that he was given because he was like God. As God almighty is to the universe, Adam was to the earth and creation.
Now we are going to learn two Hebrew words together. Do not worry, these are easy:
Transliteration
tôḏâ
Pronunciation
to-daw'
תּוֹדָה tôwdâh, to-daw'; from H3034; properly, an extension of the hand, i.e. (by implication) avowal, or (usually) adoration; specifically, a choir of worshippers:—confession, (sacrifice of) praise, thanks(-giving, offering).
Transliteration
yāḏâ
Pronunciation
yaw-daw'
יָדָה yâdâh, yaw-daw'; a primitive root; used only as denominative from H3027; literally, to use (i.e. hold out) the hand; physically, to throw (a stone, an arrow) at or away; especially to revere or worship (with extended hands); intensively, to bemoan (by wringing the hands):—cast (out), (make) confess(-ion), praise, shoot, (give) thank(-ful, -s, -sgiving).
**Lets talk for a minute about the relationship between these two very powerful words: Think of them as two sides of the same coin:
Thankfulness is the outward behavioral response, while gratefulness is the inward emotional state.
- The Core Root: Acknowledging a Gift
At their emotional core, both concepts rely on the exact same psychological and spiritual trigger: the recognition of a benefit that you did not create or earn.
- Both require a posture of humility. You must acknowledge that you are the recipient of something outside of your own effort.
- Both shift your focus away from what you lack and anchor your attention on what you have been given.
- The Nuanced Difference (Action vs. Being)
While they share the same root, linguists, psychologists, and biblical scholars often separate them by how they manifest:
Thankfulness The Transaction & Action. It is usually conditional, triggered by a specific event, person, or gift. It is an expression directed outward (e.g., saying "thank you"). A letter sent, a prayer spoken, or a handshake.
Gratefulness The State of Being & Attitude. It is a deep-seated awareness of life's value that exists regardless of immediate circumstances. It is an orientation of the heart. A quiet, pervasive sense of peace and contentment.
Example: You feel thankful when someone cooks you a meal. You feel grateful for the baseline presence of love and family in your life, even on days when no one cooks for you.
Yadah and Todah
In the Hebrew Scriptures, this distinction beautifully collapses into the same linguistic roots.
- The word "Yadah" (the root of Judah, the first praise) means to physically throw or extend your hands. It represents the action of thankfulness.
- Yet, it stems from an internal attitude of absolute surrender and appreciation for God's character (gratefulness).
In the biblical worldview, you cannot truly have one without the other. True thankfulness without a grateful heart becomes empty manners or ritual. True gratefulness without thankfulness becomes a bottled-up emotion that never blesses the giver. They are functions of the exact same grateful heart.
The Connection Between Them
- Yadah is the action (the verb): I stretch my hands out to thank.
- Todah is the tangible expression (the noun): Here is my thank-offering / my thank-you.
*** The first point of the Message today: God desires you to live a life of gratefulness that is expressed through your thanksgiving.
**But I want to jump back for a minute to the Garden and see God and Adam together before the creation of Eve and before the fall of man. God sees that it is not good for man to be alone. Man has been created by God to have complete, godlike dominion over all of creation. God says you deserve something you currently do not have….That is a helper. God preforms the first and only “add-a-wife-to-me” medical procedure and introduces Eve to Adam. Why does he not say: Thank you very much God. I and so grateful and thankful because I did not deserve this woman, this helper. No, Adam in his godlike dominion over all of creation deserved her, needed he to do his job and was entitled to her presence, purpose and assistance. He does not look at her as a gift. He looks at her, defines her, describes her, names her and takes possession of her.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
***Some of you right now are saying to yourself, How rude. Remember this was before the fall and Man was like God. Do you know that God is never thankful or grateful
God never expresses yadah or todah to human beings.
In the Hebrew Bible, these two words exclusively flow in one direction: from creation up to the Creator, or occasionally from human to human.
The theological and linguistic reasons explain why God does not use these terms:
Yadah and Todah imply a Higher Authority
At their linguistic root, yadah and todah mean to publicly acknowledge, confess, or submit to a superior authority or sovereign standard.
- When a human yadah's God, they are extending their hands in a gesture of full surrender, admitting, "You are the King, You are the provider, and I am completely dependent on You."
- Because God has no superior, is entirely self-sufficient, and owes nothing to anyone, it is structurally impossible for Him to offer yadah or todah to a human. He never "owes" us a debt of thanks.
How God Expresses "Appreciation" Instead
While God never expresses thanksgiving, the Bible does record God expressing deep pleasure, approval, and affirmation toward human obedience. He uses different Hebrew concepts for this:
- Rotzon (רָצוֹן) – Favor or Delight: God expresses that He is deeply pleased with someone's actions. For example, Proverbs 11:20 states that those who are upright in their way are His "delight (ratzon)."
- Hafetz (חָפֵץ) – Delighting in Character: God takes pleasure in people. In 1 Samuel 15:22, the text asks, "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?"
****So we still have not gotten to a point in the bible where mankind is grateful or thankful
Lets continue in the Bible through the fall of man in the garden. There are other first words that are used: Here is big one: fear
The first time we see the word fear in the bible is spoken by Adam to God when God comes looking for him to spend time with him in the cool of the day:
Genesis 3:8-10 King James Version
8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
***2nd point of the message today: Sin brings fear and separation of relationship, dominion and authority.
Husband, Wife: Are you living in fear, doubt and unbelief? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the sin in your life and deal with it so you have confidence to live in Faith and Victory.
John 8:36 King James Version
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
1 John 1:5-9 King James Version
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 5:11-15 King James Version
11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
*** The first point of the Message today: God desires you to live a life of gratefulness that is expressed through your thanksgiving.
***2nd point of the message today: Sin brings fear and separation of relationship, dominion and authority.
***3rd point of the message today: It is God’s grace that brings salvation and from that flows gratefulness and thanksgiving.
You see before we get to the first use of the word: Gratefulness or Thanksgiving in the Bible we come to the word: Grace!
Transliteration
ḥēn
Pronunciation
khane
חֵן chên khane; from H2603; graciousness, i.e. subjective (kindness, favor) or objective (beauty):—favour, grace(-ious), pleasant, precious, (well-) favoured.
Genesis 6:1-8 King James Version
6 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Ephesians 2:10 King James Version
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Exodus 33:9-19 King James Version
9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.
10 And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.
11 And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
12 And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.
13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
17 And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
***So when do we see the first act of thankfulness, gratefulness? Hint it comes after the introduction of grace:
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and obeys God’s command in every detail.
Genesis 8:14-22 King James Version
14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.
15 And God spake unto Noah, saying,
16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.
17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:
19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
20 And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
***So when is the first time we see the word’s Yadah and Todah used in the bible:
Yadah
- The First Use of Yadah (יָדָה): Genesis 29:35
Genesis 29:35 King James Version
35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.
The verb Yadah—which means to praise, confess, or extend the hands in gratitude—is used for the very first time in Genesis 29:35.
- The Story: Jacob’s unloved wife, Leah, gives birth to her fourth son. After naming her first three sons out of a desperate desire for her husband's affection, she finally shifts her focus to God alone. She declares: "Now will I praise [odeh, from yadah] the Lord".
- The Legacy: Because of her gratitude, she names the baby Judah (Yehudah), a name built directly on the root yadah. This child would become the father of the tribe of Judah, the royal lineage of King David and Jesus. Every time someone says the word "Jew" or "Judaism" today, they are linguistically repeating the first word for praise and thanks.
***By the way the first time we see the word: Toda (Thanksgiving)
The First Use of Todah : Leviticus 7:12
Transliteration
tôḏâ
If he offer it for a thanksgiving, H8426 then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving H8426 unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.
The noun Todah—the direct Hebrew word for modern-day "thank you" or a formal "thanksgiving"—does not appear until the tabernacle laws are established in Leviticus 7:12.
- The Story: God is detailing the instructions for a specific, optional type of worship called the Zevach Todah, or the "Sacrifice of Thanksgiving". The text commands: "If he offer it for a thanksgiving [todah], then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil..."
- The Legacy: In the ancient world, a Todah offering was a joyful, public celebration feast. If a person survived a deep crisis—like a dangerous sea voyage, a wilderness journey, severe illness, or imprisonment—they would bring this offering to the temple to publicly say "thank you" to God alongside family and friends.
*** The first point of the Message today: God desires you to live a life of gratefulness that is expressed through your thanksgiving.
***2nd point of the message today: Sin brings fear and separation of relationship, dominion and authority.
***3rd point of the message today: It is God’s grace that brings salvation and from that flows gratefulness and thanksgiving.
*** In closing I want to share a passage of scripture with you where we find both Yadah
Todah used together.
Psalm 100 King James Version
100 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.