Archive for September 14th, 2009

A Personal Concern

Monday, September 14th, 2009 | Author:

I am sending this to all readers because I want to be sure I am providing material that the entire community can use.  I’ve noticed in the last few weeks that fewer people are adding comments.  Perhaps this is my fault.  I have been writing about some pretty difficult stuff – exegetical methods of rabbis, interpretative problems, etc.  This might push us toward cognitive faith – and this is not what I want to do.  While I believe it is vitally important to grasp this material in order to understand the Word of God, I know that most of us, me included, still need to grapple with daily issues of living as examples of redeemed children.  So, if I have neglected daily application, I apologize.  Although I must write Today’s Word editions in advance so there will not be gaps while I travel, I hope soon to be back on the “living it out” track.  I also hope to see more of your thoughts.  Thanks for your faithfulness in all this.

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Principio #6

Monday, September 14th, 2009 | Author:

Pues en la ley de Moisés está escrito: NO PONDRAS BOZAL AL BUEY CUANDO TRILLA. ¿Acaso le preocupan a Dios los bueyes? 1 Corintios 9:9

Acaso – ¿A Dios le importan los bueyes? ¡Claro que sí! ¿Acaso no aplica aquí el principio general (recuerda el #5)? Dios ama a su creación, por lo tanto ama a los bueyes. Entonces, ¿Por qué lo pregunta Sha´ul? Porque Sha´ul comienza la aplicación del sexto principio de interpretación rabínica; keyotza bo bamakom acher (“como viene de eso en otro lugar”) eso es una enseñanza basada en lo que es similar en otro pasaje. Esta es analogía exegética. Lo que Sha´ul quiere que notemos no son los bueyes. Lo que quiere que veamos es que igual que le importan a Dios los bueyes, así le importan aquellos que laboran a favor de otros. Los bueyes comen de su trabajo. Así también deben hacerlo los siervos del Señor, cuidados y alimentados por quienes son servidos. Sha´ul hace la analogía basado en circunstancias similares, eso es, la recompensa del trabajo.

Francamente, un versículo sobre la alimentación de los bueyes no tiene nada que ver con el pago de los ministros. EL contexto no es el mismo. El periodo histórico no es el mismo. El idioma no es el mismo (a menos que tu pastor sea como un toro). Un versículo no parece conectarse con el otro versículo, excepto por este proceso de analogía rabínica. Entonces tiene sentido. Pero si te pidiesen que encontraras apoyo bíblico para la recompensa de pastores, apuesto que jamás considerarías un verso sobre los bueyes – a menos que fueras un rabino brillante como Sha´ul.

Algunas veces este principio se  utiliza en formas más misteriosas. El pensamiento rabínico conecta varios versos aparentemente no relacionados porque comparten las mismas letras o palabras. El contexto o significado actual o del versículo individual tenía poco que ver con el análisis rabínico. Considera este ejemplo:

Lamentaciones 3:41 dice, “alcemos nuestro corazón en nuestras manos hacia Dios en los cielos.” Deuteronomio 11:13 nos dice que debemos “amar al SEÑOR vuestro Dios y de servirle con todo vuestro corazón.” De estos dos versículos, los rabinos conectan la palabra “corazón” y concluyen que servir a Dios con todo tu corazón significa orar. ¿Ves como actúa el principio aquí? Tomados independientemente, quizás nunca concluirías que el servicio al Señor era la labor de oración, pero cuando se utiliza el principio #6, estos dos versos comparten algo en común (la palabra lev) y eso significa que deben estar relacionados.

Como pensadores griegos, resistimos este principio. Deseamos la conexión lógica. De otra manera, nos quejamos que este versículo ha sido tomado “fuera de contexto.” Claro que se ha tomado fuera de contexto. Aquí el contexto es irrelevante. Lo que importa es la analogía o las similitudes. Quizás necesitamos poner nuestros criterios lógicos, lindos y ordenados en el estante por un momento y escuchar a los sabidos. Quizás aprenderíamos algo importante.

Principio #6 keyotza bo Bamakom acher, I Corintios 9:9, Lamentaciones 3:41, Deuteronomio 11:13, corazón, oración

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Picture This

Monday, September 14th, 2009 | Author:

Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24

Therefore – “Therefore” means that as a result of something previously explained, the following happens. Therefore, “therefore” is a very important word. Without it we will not know why a man (iysh) should forsake (that’s what it really says) his parents and cling (cleave) to his ish-sha. So, let’s back up. Adam offers the word “woman” because the woman comes out of the man. She is bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh. Notice he does not say “blood of my blood.” That is already established in the creation of Man. But now Adam sees she is the perfect complement to him, the one he was designed to embrace as his equal under God. She comes from him.

When Adam has been separated so that he confronts himself in the person of Havvah, he is to be reunited with her. His destiny in this relationship is to re-establish the unity that existed before she was taken out of him. He is to bring her back to him – to recreate the unity so they are once again “one flesh.” That’s what the “therefore” is for.

“Therefore” is the Hebrew word ‘al-ken. It has a very interesting pictograph. It is the picture of looking toward the open palm of life. In other words, to move from one truth to another is to move toward life. In Scripture, “therefore” is the step from one revealed insight of God’s creation to another revealed insight. Knowledge is always connected with obedience. To understand the insight is to act upon it. ‘Al-ken is not restricted to our notion of logical conclusion or rational analysis. ‘Al-ken is about what we are to do as a result of what we understand. Its two components mean “what is foundational and what is correct that leads to action.”

Man and woman are two elements of the same original union. We are to bring about the restoration of that union by an exclusive relationship that reunites what was once a single entity. That is the purpose of marriage. It is not lust abatement, economic leverage or passionate possession. It is re-union. It is homecoming. It is two becoming one again. This is “soul-partner” language. It is what we are all yearning to find.

The two critical verbs in this ultimate declaration concerning marriage are equally informative. The first is azav. It means “to leave, abandon, forsake or loose.” The consonant picture is the idea of a leader cut off from the house. The second verb is davaq (to cling, to cleave, to join with). The pictograph of davaq (Dalet-Bet-Qof) shows us a tent door to a house behind. In Hebrew, the future is behind us, out of sight. We can see where we have been, but we are not able to see where we are going. This word is the picture of a new home, one that is in the future, over the horizon. So, these two verbs actually paint the same picture as the word description of the verse itself. A man is cut off from living in one home and finds a new home in his future. That new house is the place of the ‘ezer, the place where he is re-united with himself in union with the one who was made for him.

Perhaps husbands need to take some time to reflect on the biblical view of “one flesh;” a view not based in the Greek overtones of sex. Perhaps husbands need to discover what they are missing. Perhaps they need to realize that reunion is the goal of marriage. Then they may choose to become one again.

Topical Index: davaq, ‘al-ken, therefore, cling, marriage, Genesis 2:24

For today’s photo, click here – Upper Enchantment Basin, Stuart Range

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , , ,  | 7 Comments