Tag-Archive for » shaphat «

Facing Forward

Thursday, February 11th, 2010 | Author: Skip Moen

Judge me, YHWH, for I have walked in my integrity; I also have trusted in YHWH; I shall not slide. Psalm 26:1

Judge – David seems to make a very bold request.  Can we echo his words?  Are we ready to have YHWH judge us?  Can we claim that we have walked in integrity when we appear before the Holy One of Israel?  Each of us probably feels a bit of trepidation over such an event.  We think of “judge” as the process of passing a verdict and handing out a sentence.  And since we all know that we have sinned – and that we still sin – we might not be as anxious as David seems to be to have God pass judgment on us.  We are more likely to say, “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner,” than we are to invoke God’s judicial prerogative.  Maybe part of our reticence comes from the change in meaning from shaphat (Hebrew – to judge) to judicare (Latin – to pass judgment).

Shaphat has a much broader application than simply pronouncing a sentence or a verdict.  Shaphat really is a verb about governing.  It covers all the elements of our form of government: legislative, executive and judicial.  Consequently, when David uses the verb, he could mean the full range of kingdom actions.  His word choice might cover the determination of the law, the process of instituting the law, the execution of its requirements, the arbitration of its application and condemnation and punishment.  In other words, David is not necessarily asking God to pass a sentence over him.  He is asking God to rule over him.  He is declaring that he is ready, willing and able to take on the mantle of God’s servant.  We could translate this verse, “Govern me, YHWH.”

Christians have the tendency to place a great deal of emphasis on sin.  In fact, we are particularly attuned to the idea of personal sin.  We see sin as the mountain to climb before we can be useful to God.  We think of sin as the axe that will fall and condemn us to hell.  We are acutely aware of our failures and we deflect our victories.  For us, sin is about judgment and judgment is about condemnation.   What’s startling is how lop-sided this view is when we really examine the biblical account.  Oh, don’t get me wrong.  Sin is very important.  But it is woven into the fabric of acts of righteousness, good will, mercy, spiritual triumph, deliverance, praise, devotion and celebration.  Under the Christian sky, we seem to have a constant forecast of gloom and doom.  But the Hebrew view is founded on shalom, sunshine in well-being in life.  To be ruled by God is to have shalom, even if life is filled with sin and repentance.  The Jewish sages recognized that the yetzer ha’ra is essential for human being.  That shifts the emphasis from sin to sacrifice.  Brother Lawrence believed that when we sin, we are to confess immediately – and then immediately move on with God.  The emphasis is not on all that I have done but rather on all that I am yet able to do.

“Govern me” leads me toward a life of obedience, free from the Accuser’s recall of past offenses.  It is a word that looks ahead whereas “judge me” often directs our attention behind.  David understood God as the God of shaphat.  We need to shift our vocabulary. The difference is monumental.

Topical Index:  shaphat, judge, govern, Psalm 26:1

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Rompiendo Todas las Reglas

Monday, July 13th, 2009 | Author: Bessy Bendaña

Juzgue – “Lo que consume la palabra de pacto.” ¿Cómo puede ser cierta esta imagen de la palabra hebrea mishpat (Shin-Pey-Tau)? Esta imagen de palabra debe estar errada. ¿No es acaso el juicio sobre restauración? ¿No acabamos de aprender que mishpat (de shapat) tiene como intención la reconciliación? Alto. Piénsalo con cuidado. ¿De qué manera consume el pacto la acción del juicio?

Cuando hago un pacto, me obligo a mi mismo a comportarme de maneras prescritas por el acuerdo. En otras palabras, prometo hacer algo. Siempre y cuando mantenga mis obligaciones, no existe necesidad de juicio. El pacto permanece sin perturbación alguna. Pero ¿Qué sucede cuando no mantengo mi promesa? Ahora se requiere un juicio. El mismo hecho que surja un juicio dentro de la relación del pacto significa que el pacto se ha o podría romperse. Por lo tanto, el mismo juicio consume lo que ha establecido el pacto. Esto es exactamente lo que implica Sara en su declaración. “Tu, Abraham, has roto tu fe en mi. Has actuado contrario a nuestro acuerdo. Ahora Dios será el juez entre tú y yo.”

Pero y que del pacto de Dios con Su pueblo. Dado que Dios hizo pacto con Si mismo, nunca ha existido la posibilidad que el pacto Abrahámico pueda romperse. El juicio nunca será ejecutado contra las partes del pacto. Pero este no es el único pacto que ha hecho Dios. En Sinaí, Dios hizo pacto con SU pueblo. Es un pacto entre dos partes – una persona es Dios, la otra es el pueblo de Israel.  Todos juraron mantener su parte del acuerdo siendo obedientes a las instrucciones de Dios. El pacto Mosaico es un pacto sobre bendiciones y maldiciones. Es un pactos obre el propósito del pueblo de Dios en la tierra, no sobre la presencia del pueblo de Dios en la tierra. El propósito es actuar de tal manera en que Su pueblo se convierta en una nación de sacerdotes. ¡Y eso requiere obediencia!

Cuando el pueblo de Dios no es obediente, fallan en guardar su pacte en el pacto Mosaico. SU fracaso no pone en peligro el pacto con Abraham. No puede hacerlo. Solo Dios participa en el pacto con Abraham. El juicio viene en base del fracaso de mantener el pacto Mosaico. El juicio reconoce la ruptura del pacto con el propósito de restaurarlo. El pacto Abrahámico nunca necesita ser restaurado porque no puede ser roto, pero el pacto de bendiciones y maldiciones se rompe con frecuencia y necesita restauración. Por lo tanto, el juicio que consume la palabra del pacto es el medio por el cual el pacto del propósito se renueva.

Tú y yo somos miembros de ambos pactos. Nuestro padre es Abraham porque hemos sido adoptados por medio de Yeshua HaMashiach. Pero también somos partes del Reino que Dios ha establecido en Sinaí. Por lo tanto, somos gobernados por las reglas del Rey. Pablo nos recuerda que nuestra desobediencia previa ha sido puesta a un lado para que podamos entrar en el pacto de propósito sin dudas. El Dios de gracia que nos salvo ahora nos provee obediencia por medio de Su Espíritu. Que dia de celebración. ¡El juicio se ha cumplido – dos veces!

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Breaking All The Rules

Monday, July 13th, 2009 | Author: Skip Moen

“Let YHWH judge between me and you.”   Genesis 16:5

Judge – “What consumes the word of covenant.”  How can this imagery be true of the Hebrew word shaphat (Shin-Pey-Tau)?  This word picture must be wrong.  Isn’t judging about restoration?  Didn’t we just learn that mishpat (from shaphat) is intended to bring reconciliation?  Stop.  Think about this.  Think deeply.  In what way does the action of judging consume a covenant?

When I make a covenant, I obligate myself to behave in ways prescribed by the agreement.  In other words, I promise to do something.  As long as I maintain my obligation, there is no need for a judgment.  The covenant remains undisturbed.  But what happens when I do not keep my promise?  Now there is a need for judgment.  The very fact that judgment surfaces in a covenant relationship means that the covenant has been or could be broken.  Therefore, judgment itself consumes what the covenant established.  This is exactly what Sarah implies in her statement.  “You, Abraham, have broken faith with me.  You have acted against our agreement.  Now God will judge between us.” 

But what about God’s covenant with His people.  Since God made the covenant with Himself, there is never any possibility that the Abrahamic covenant will be broken.  Judgment will never be executed against the parties of that covenant.  But this is not the only covenant God made.  On Sinai, God made a covenant with His people.  It is a covenant between two parties – one party is God, the other is the people of Israel.   All the people swear to uphold their part of the agreement by being obedient to God’s instructions.  The Mosaic covenant is a covenant about blessings and curses.  It is a covenant about the purpose of God’s people on earth, not the presence of God’s people on earth.  That purpose is to act in such a way that His people become a nation of priests.  And that requires obedience.

When God’s people are not obedient, they fail to uphold their part of the Mosaic covenant.  Their failure does not jeopardize the covenant with Abraham.  It can’t.  Only God is party to the Abrahamic covenant.  Judgment comes on the basis of the failure to uphold the Mosaic covenant.  That judgment acknowledges the breaking of the covenant for the purpose of restoring it.  The Abrahamic covenant never needs to be restored because it cannot be broken, but the covenant of blessings and curses is often broken and often needs restoration.  Therefore, the judgment that consumes the word of the covenant is the means by which the covenant of purpose is renewed.

You and I are members of both covenants.  Our father is Abraham because we have been adopted through Yeshua HaMashiach.  But we are also part of the Kingdom that God established at Sinai.  Therefore, we are governed by the rules of the King.  Paul reminds us that our previous disobedience has been turned aside so that we may enter into the covenant of purpose without hesitation.  The gracious God who saved us now brings us obedience through His Spirit.  What a day for celebration.  Judgment has been fulfilled – twice!

Topical Index:  shaphat, mishpat, judge, judgment, Genesis 16:5, covenant

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