The Face of the Moon

The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Psalm 19:8  (Hebrew World translation)

Pure – The Hebrew adjective bar is rare indeed.  Occurring only in poetic works, it is found in only seven verses in Scripture.  Most of these are in Psalms where the word usually is translated “pure” or “clean.”  But there are two occurrences in Song of Songs (6:9 and 10) that demonstrate once again the tangible, physical orientation of Hebrew.  In these two verses in Song of Songs, bar is translated “perfect” as a description of the lover and immediately following, “beautiful” in comparison to the moon.  In other words, when the man looks upon his beloved, he can only compare her to the beauty of the light of the moon.  She is radiant without being blinding.  She glows without being too harsh to observe.  Her light is the mellow light of reflected glory.  When he sees her, he looks upon the face of the sun diminished so that he does not have to turn away. If we spiritualized this tangible reality, we could say that a man in love looks at a glimmer of the face of God when he sees the face of his ‘ezer kenegdo.  Would it be too much to suggest that the woman must be a reflection of the greater Glory if she is to be an analogy with the sun and the moon?

Notice the psalmist’s choice of verb following this moon-struck description.  The commandment of the Lord is as beautiful as the face of the moon, enlightening the eyes.  The verb is ‘or.  It is an active verb.  The commandment of the Lord gives light to the eyes.  In other words, its beauty, its purity enables us to see.  By the light of the moon, by the reflection of God’s glory found in His commandment, we are able to see in the dark.

Just a month ago I witnessed a full lunar eclipse.  It was the first full lunar eclipse on the day of the Winter equinox in 400 years.  I don’t think I will see that again!  As my son and I watched the shadow of the earth creep across the face of the moon, we saw the bright light of the full moon diminish until it was no longer possible to walk without a flashlight.  Only a few minutes before, we could easily see the surrounding landscape, but now that radiance was veiled.  The reflection of the sun’s light was hidden behind the earth’s shadow.  Had I considered this verse on that night, I might have meditated on the diminished light of God’s commandments when we cast our shadows across His creation.  The beauty and purity of His word is still there, but now it is reduced to the faintest glow by the interference of men.  Let us move out of the way so that His glory may once again be fully apprehended in the pure reflection of His command.  Let us look into the “face of the moon,” the reflection found in His instructions, and be enlightened.

Topical Index:  pure, bar, perfect, moon, command, Song of Songs 6:10, Psalm 19:8

Subscribe
Notify of
5 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Ilze

Thank you, this word hit home.
“Pure” in English suggested to me a guilt feeling about myself being impure – instead this explanation turns me away from my own refelection and make me face God’s reflection.
BIG difference. Thank you.

Tim

A beautiful and poetic view of God’s commandments to us. This view is constant, and rightfuly so, always given to God’s word in general, however we need to remember that His commandments are also His words and they too are ours and beautiful constantly giving light to us so we can live the life that gives light to others.

Thank you Skip for reminding us of how beautiful and light giving YHWH’s commandments are!

Roderick Logan

O LORD may my walk, behavior, and community serving be neither blinding or blocking; may it be beautiful whatever the context or conflict. As I repent may You be reflected. Teach me to forebear as I forgive.

Michael

“The commandment of the Lord is as beautiful as the face of the moon, enlightening the eyes. The verb is ‘or.”

Hi Skip,

That’s a very beautiful interpretation and a very powerful poem of love.

The face of the moon comes up right behind the hills of Milpitas, which face my front windows.

It comes up over the water in front of my condo and across the sky behind my back porch.

And with our clear skies lately the light of the moon has been extraordinarily bright.

As I’ve mentioned before, when I think of the moon and whiteness in nature.

It always reminds me of my favorite novel, Melville’s Moby Dick.

And my favorite anti hero, the monomaniacal captain Ahab (King of the Jews).

Meville uses the metaphor of the moon in a number of ways.

Sometimes he associates the moon with Moby Dick and then at others with a woman:

Page 044 : “And ever, as the white moon shows her affrighted face from the steep gullies in the blackness overhead…”

But in my favorite passage Melville describes Moby Dick as a manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva.

Shiva is the destroyer of the world, responsible for change in the form of death and destruction.

But Shiva is also the destroyer of the ego and illusion, which brings great purifying power.

It brings a form of enlightenment.

CYndee

“The commandment of the Lord gives light to the eyes. In other words, its beauty, its purity enables us to see. By the light of the moon, by the reflection of God’s glory found in His commandment, we are able to see in the dark.”

Psalm 36:9 “For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.”
Isaiah 45:3 “‘I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the G-d of Israel, who calls you by your name.'”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV9rH3UaDNQ&feature=related 4:30 MIN

“Beauty From Pain” by SuperChick

The lights go out all around me
One last candle to keep out the night
And then the darkness surrounds me
I know I’m alive but I feel like I’ve died
And all that’s left is to accept that it’s over
My dreams ran like sand through the fists that I made
I try to keep warm but I just grow colder
I feel like I’m slipping away

After all this has passed, I still will remain
After I’ve cried my last, there’ll be beauty from pain
Though it won’t be today,
Someday I’ll hope again
And there’ll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain

My whole world is the pain inside me
The best I can do is just get through the day
When life before is only a memory
I’ll wonder why God lets me walk through this place
And though I can’t understand why this happened
I know that I will when I look back someday
And see how you’ve brought beauty from ashes
And made me as gold purified through these flames

After all this has passed, I still will remain
After I’ve cried my last, there’ll be beauty from pain
Though it won’t be today,
Someday I’ll hope again
And there’ll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain

Here I am, at the end of me
Tryin’ to hold to what I can’t see
I forgot how to hope
This night’s been so long
I cling to Your promise
There will be a dawn

After all this has passed, I still will remain
After I’ve cried my last, there’ll be beauty from pain
Though it won’t be today,
Someday I’ll hope again
And there’ll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain