Today is February 29. So I’ve decided that everyone who orders something from the web site, or makes a contribution today, will receive a little bonus. A surprise. No, I’m not going to tell you what it is. But you won’t have to wait until the next leap year day to find out.
Thanks for supporting At God’s Table. It means a lot to me and it means a lot to people all over the world.
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“The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just;” Deuteronomy 32:4 NASB
Rock – The Hebrew word sur is used 75 times in the Old Testament. Many of those uses are metaphorical. Here, God is likened to a rock. The attributes of God described by this term are compelling and comforting to every believer. He is absolutely reliable, completely trustworthy and an unfailing source of strength. God is completely upright (Deut. 32:4), He is the source of salvation (Ps. 89:26), He is a strong refuge in times of trouble (Ps. 94:22), He is a help and a protector (2 Sam. 22:32), He will either break us in repentance or crush us in judgment (Rom. 9:32ff.). When we consider how often God’s followers sinned by worshiping an idol carved from rock, it is amazing that the same word is used to describe many of the most important characteristics of God.
Rocks are one of the most common objects of our world. From pebbles to boulders, we are continually confronted by their beauty, majesty and strength. They can be the foundation of our edifices or the biggest roadblocks to our efforts. Moses exclaims that God is The Rock because everything that He does is perfect and just. Yeshua reminded us that unless we build on a foundation of rock, our lives would fail. Peter tells us that God is building a house of living stones. David proclaims that God is the rock of his salvation. And Paul tells us that Christ is a rock of offense. Rock is an important spiritual metaphor.
Given the predominance of physical metaphors in the Scriptures, it’s hard to imagine how we ended up with a God whose principle attributes are abstractions like omnipotent, eternal, infinite or immutable. I rather doubt that any of the prophets would describe God like this. The journey from The Rock to the First Principle of Causation (Aquinas) is a long and torturous road of commingling Greek philosophy with sacred texts. The theology sounds majestic (probably because we aren’t quite sure what it means) but it removes God from the everyday world of our lives. Hebrew points in another direction. Prayer is like breathing. The Spirit is like flowing water. Sin is like disease. Idolatry is like adultery. God is like rock. Perhaps Moses’ exclamation will help you recognize that the hand of divinity is as close as the nearest stone. Did you notice that Moses’ describes justice as whatever God does? That’s a bit backwards too. Our Greek minds teach us that justice is the exercise of certain principles of goodness, but Hebrew thinks differently. Maybe we need some further revisions here too.
As you journey through this day, keep an eye out for rocks. Every time you see one, take the liberty to say with Moses – “God is The Rock. His work is perfect.” You can stand on that!
Topical Index: rock, sur, Deuteronomy 32:4
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Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. Hebrews 10:35 NASB
Confidence – In the world of Babylonian entitlement, we often find the claim of free speech at the top of the list. Today we are sensitive to the oppression of the press, to the manipulation of the media and to all who are not given a voice in society. We might think that this great “right” is based in the Greek idea of freedom, just as forms of representative government are based in Greek thought. We might notice that this word combines two other Greek words meaning “all” and “speaking.” Parresias does mean “freedom in the act of speaking.” The word implies that we have boldness and freedom to speak of our experience of faith. But the basis of our confidence is not the Greek idea of the inalienable rights of human beings. Our confidence comes from God, not men. Because God accepts us, we are invited to become citizens of His new kingdom – the kingdom of the redeemed. Acknowledging our guilt and accepting God’s forgiveness means that our lives are no longer lived in fear. We no longer need to be afraid to express our feelings, our concerns, our struggles or our testimony of His care. We can boldly proclaim that God has done something in our lives. We can speak freely of His love poured out toward us. We are the evidence that His promises are true.
The letter to the Hebrews gives more content to this word. In Hebrews, the word expresses the free access that we have to God because of the sacrificial death of Yeshua. Our greatest obstacle is overcome. We are no longer separated from the One who is the author and finisher of Kingdom trust. We can find our individual purposes in life. We can have the joy and fulfillment that we were destined to have. Why? Because we can now enter into conversation and relationship with our Creator. The walls of sin and the separation of guilt have been torn down. Yeshua’s death and resurrection allow us completely free access to God. Not only are we free to speak the reality of faith acting in us, we are free to enter into God’s holy kingdom as fully accepted sons and daughters. Therefore, says the writer, don’t throw away this priceless gift of access, given to you at great cost. Use it and find great reward. The divine lover of your soul is waiting to greet you today.
Topical Index: confidence, parresias, speak boldly, Hebrews 10:35
sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it. Genesis 4:7 NASB
Crouching – Genesis chapter 4 is the story of Cain and Abel. It is a story that we have probably known since childhood. It is the story of the results of allowing the yetzer ha’ra to guide emotions. God knows that emotional situations can become the seedbed for sinful acts. He sees Cain’s depression. He knows that there are two monumental choices facing Cain. Cain can agree with God’s assessment of the situation and take steps to repair the relationship, or Cain can defend himself, refuse God’s offer and let his emotional state carry him into another action.
The text tells us that sin is crouching at the door. Notice some very important things about this statement. First, sin is still outside. It is right there, ready to come in if invited, but it is not yet part of the emotional equation. The word used here is ravats. It means “a resting place.” In almost every occurrence in the Old Testament it is associated with “repose” or “rest after exertion.” It does not carry with it the idea of something evil lying in wait. In fact, this word is used many times to symbolically describe the rest of sheep under the shepherd’s care. Translations that imply that this verse means sin is crouching like a tiger, ready to spring into action probably miss the mark. God says to Cain, “Sin is in repose just outside you. If you choose to accept my solution, it will stay there. It cannot begin to work until you open the door. But if you don’t heed my warning, if you let the yetzer ha’ra guide your emotions, sin will have the opportunity it needs to spring into action. Be careful, Cain.”
Then God closes His conversation with this remark, “Sin’s desire is for you but you must master it.” Sin wants control. Sin needs control. The word for desire used here occurs only three times in the Old Testament. In both of the other occurrences, the word indicates a turning point, a moment when the person (Havvah in the Genesis 3 account) opts for actions controlled by personal desire rather than godly advice. God makes it very clear. Sin wants to own you. Sin wants a controlling, intimate involvement with you. And it will use the emotional gateway to get what it wants.
But God says that Cain can be sin’s master. It is up to him. Choose! “You still have time, Cain. You can still reverse this emotional roller coaster you are on and prevent the downhill slide. Nod your ascent to my evaluation of the circumstance of your life. Agree that I am your King and deserve your tribute. And it will be acceptable. You will find joy. You will be released from this depression.”
How often do we find ourselves standing next to Cain, receiving God’s gentle instructions about the direction of our emotional decisions? How often have we discovered the power of the yetzer ha’ra is not in choosing, but in desiring what must not be chosen? But have we learned that sin has no power on its own. It lies dormant at the door and as long as the door remains closed, it can do nothing to harm us. Perhaps that’s why Sha’ul tells us that sin entered the world by Adam’s act of opening the door. That’s the way it enters our world too. We need more practice keeping the door shut. It helps to remember that there is no door handle on the outside.
Topical Index: Genesis 4:7, sin, yetzer ha’ra, crouching, ravats, repose
Thanks to Mark Klaasen in a comment to Bill Johnson, I need to make some corrections to the February 12, 2012 Today’s Word. Mark pointed out that the actual word in this verse is the verb makrothumeo, not the noun makrothumia. I should have made it clear that the verb is derived from the noun and therefore I want to understand what the noun means. My discussion of the noun makrothumia captures what I believe Paul had in mind when he used this verb.
In that same Today’s Word, I made a true mistake by claiming that the verb is passive (the fourth paragraph). It is active, not passive. What I meant to say is this: “The theological sense of makrothumia is both active and passive. It is active in the sense that I deliberately choose to wait no matter how long it takes. This is active spiritual obedience. I decide to behave like God. But “Love is patient” does not mean active endurance, as though I am called to exercise my mental and emotional muscles to attain that higher plane of ethical action. Biblical makrothumia is not the Greek idea of gritting my teeth and white-knuckling through life. Makrothumia is active in relation to God’s call, but it is passive in relation to the demands on others.”
I have corrected the February 12 edition. I hope that you will do the same with your copies. I am sorry about this. Of course, I don’t believe that this changes anything about the sense of makrothumia or the meaning behind Paul’s famous “love” passage, but it wasn’t linguistically accurate. Thanks, Mark, for keeping me on my toes.
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for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 NASB
Heart – This is only a part of verse 7, but a very important part. Even more interestingly, the translation from the New American Standard (above) is not exactly what the literal translation says. Literally, the verse says, “for man does not see what he sees. For man looks for the eyes but Yahweh looks for the heart.” The Hebrew word is lev. While it can mean the human organ “heart”, in most of its uses in the Old Testament, it refers to the immaterial makeup of a person – what later ages would call “soul” or “personality”. The Old Testament usage attributes a wide range of human emotions to the heart, including love, loyalty, joy, conscience, anger, fear, anxiety and many more. The heart is the center of a man’s will, thoughts and emotions. In modern terms, we would say that the heart represents our real (usually hidden) self.
Notice that God tells Samuel that men do not see what they think they see. They look at the outward appearance and make judgments on that basis. Even when men gather personal information and insights about you, they still do not know everything there is to know about who you really are. But God is different. He puts no stock in outward appearance. He looks for the real self, the inner being of who we are. Implicit in this idea is the fact that God alone knows us thoroughly. Nothing is hidden from Him. Most of us would rather not have anyone know all about us. There are thoughts and deeds that each of us would rather keep secret. God knows them all. Amazingly, in spite of this complete knowledge of who we are, He stands ready to accept us exactly as we are. The greatest fear is this: if you knew all about me, you wouldn’t love me. God says just the opposite: I know all about you and I love you.
Some of us have a hard time believing that this can be true. After all, we know ourselves pretty well. We know how many times we have broken promises, betrayed trust, acted with selfish motives, lied, deceived, grieved others. We know that all those past acts present a formidable picture of a very imperfect human being. And, if the truth were told, we would probably not want to be associated with someone like us. But God sees something we don’t see. He sees the work of His hands in who we are. He sees us as we ought to be, as we were intended to be. And that is lovely indeed.
Abraham Heschel once asked the great question for anyone who pursues God: “What does God demand of me?” There is a question that comes before the Heschel’s. It is this: Will I let Him love me?
Topical Index: 1 Samuel 16:7, heart, lev, love
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