Arriving On Time
Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those who are without strength and not just please ourselves. Romans 15:1
Ought – First in the verse. Yes, Sha’ul wants us to recognize the emphatic position of the word opheilo, so he puts it first. “Ought and we the strong the weaknesses of the not strong to bear” is the literal rendering. But there’s more here than an exclamation point. The word itself carries even more weight.
Opheilo literally means to be indebted, to owe. Sha’ul chooses this verb because it places the moral debt on those who are stronger. The stronger owe the weaker the obligation of bearing the weight of confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety and prejudice.
“Wait a minute! How can this be? Doesn’t Yeshua set me free from all these things? Why should I have to voluntarily take them back on my shoulders? I have been liberated from their oppressive consequences.”
Yes, you have. But don’t confuse Greek freedom with Hebrew freedom. In Greek thought, freedom means independence from others. It means stepping away from obligation and constraint. But the Hebrew view of freedom means becoming a slave voluntarily. I am free to be obligated. In fact, in God’s universe no man is ever free who seeks his own independence. He is merely a prisoner of his own self-will. The man who is truly free is the man who lays down his bequeathed release from self-will and takes up the cause of another. The Greek delusion of freedom is sacrificed on the altar of Hebrew opheilo.
The Greek word is used in translation of Deuteronomy 15:2, added to the Hebrew text in order to convey the idea of obligation to release a debt. There is no exact Hebrew equivalent here, but the context is obvious. At the end of seven years, debts are cancelled. Why? Because God says so, that’s why. The community is obligated to God to forgive the debt. The obligation is both legal and moral. It is a demonstration of the grace of God built right into the structure of the economic community.
Sha’ul was an expert in the LXX and the Hebrew text. He knew this Greek word found its way into Deuteronomy 15:2. He knew the word carried divine prescription. Using this word here would remind his readers that bearing weaknesses was not optional. This is halachah, a rule based on a teaching from the Torah. It is compulsory for the community. Our understanding of God’s character requires us to empty ourselves and pick up the load of another. Yeshua did it for us. Now it’s our turn.
So, ask yourself: Do you have a clearer vision of some aspect of God’s grace than others? Have you been blessed with insight or application that exceeds another? Then you are obligated to carry the load for them until they see what you see.
Topical Index: opheilo, ought, obligation, debt, Romans 15:1, Deuteronomy 15:2
In this life? As having been a single woman with three children, and the problems don’t go away when they get older, they still get sick, they still do childish things, thinking of living in a world like the one you describe is like thinking of Utopia. Even though we hear “It takes a whole community to raise a child” In America? I hear it used to be that way? I hear it is in other countries Maybe the next generation? Not much hope there, even when you raise them to be such, the world’s pull is sometimes stronger. Hopefully in heaven. Perhaps this is why our society/time is so focusd on the life hereafter as Skip so points out from time to time. Somewhere along the road of history that page/word was ripped out. Lost in translation?
Yolanda,
It did used to be that way in this country. Sadly, we believed the lie that prosperity is a sign of God’s approval, and we began to slide down the slippery slope.
However, I am seeing signs of believers who want to know the truth and are pursuing it. I wonder if it is not just ‘sifting’ at this time. Remember, the wheat and the tares will grow together until the harvest. We just tend to forget that small but crucial fact. Not everything that looks like wheat is wheat. I believe the Father will show himself to HIS CHILDREN. Not only am I asking Him to do so for my children and grandchildren, but I am telling them about His Torah and the things I learn, I am passing on. I will not be the purveyor of ‘cheap grace’ that is so common now. It is not the ‘norm’ in my community, but that is why I am here!