Drunken Stupor
Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. Hebrews 5:11 NASB
Dull – After a few glasses of a good wine, intellectual acumen suffers. The edge has been taken off reason and the arguments aren’t quite as sharp. That’s when Proverbs 22:29 applies the Hebrew word hashok. In a pictograph, “to allow to destroy the open hand.” Keep that picture in mind when you think of the Greek nothros. By the way, Proverbs 22:29 is the only place in the Tanakh where this word is used. The author of Hebrews would have known that the LXX uses nothros for this rare Hebrew word. That certainly helps us understand what this author had in mind when he wrote northroi (plural) – “you have become dull, sluggish, obscure.”
Consider the context of Proverbs 22:29. A man who completes his work promptly will be recognized by those of rank (the king). His success comes from this recognition and endorsement. In opposition to this idea, such a man will not find appropriate recognition among the hashukkim. These “low people” who have no power to reward. To stand before them (to be recognized by them) is a waste of time. Proverbs motivates a man to set his sights on excellence and the recognition that comes with excellence. Seeking recognition among the hashukkim is like allowing the destruction of a favorable response (the open hand).
The author of Hebrews may be using this imagery when he suggests that his intended readers are looking for solutions to life’s issues in the wrong places. They are presenting themselves before those who cannot assist them. How are they doing this? By allowing their minds to fall into what is the intellectual equivalent of a drunken stupor. They no longer press to discover the last bit of truth. They have given up fighting to uncover all that is available. They have declared an armistice with debate. They would rather be comfortably consoled than concerned. They have had too many glasses of Chateau Contented, Gran Cru Classé. No wonder they can’t understand. They are drunk on conformity.
There is always an edge to the word of God. Razor-sharp, it cuts us. We bleed ignorance and resistance. But bleeding is what we must do if we are going to experience all that God intends. No man comes to Scripture in armor. He must come naked, stripped of his presence and presuppositions. He must be ready to bleed before he can be infused with the truth for God’s words are not the comfortable words of logical men. They are the words of prophetic revelation, of penetrating stabs into our carefully-sheltered consciousness. The word of God is not hard to explain to one who has released his presumptions and his assumptions.
So tip your glass. What are you drinking today? Is it mental stupor you seek or are you inviting Him to fill your cup with suffering?
Topical Index: dull, nothros, hashok, hashukkim, stupor, Hebrews 5:11
A Personal Request: Most of you know that my daughter, Rachel, joined the Navy and is now in boot camp. If you would be so kind as to send her a note of encouragement, it would mean a lot to her – and to me. Just a small note would do. I just talked with her for the first time and she said that mail is very important to her as it is the only way she can hear from people. If this is something you would like to do, her address is:
SR Moen, Rachel
Ship 3 Div 148
3600 Ohio Street
Great Lakes, IL 60088-3156
She has 3 weeks to go. Thank you.
Skip
“Dull of hearing”- Definitely not a good thing as “faith comes by hearing” and “hearing by the word of G-d.” If any man have “ears to hear,” let him hear. We walk by faith, not by sight. For we look not on the things that are seen, but on the things that are not seen, for the things that are see are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal.- What are you lookin’ at? (Who are we listening to?)
“Gentlemen, -this is a football.” “Ladies and gentlemen, you can’t see G-d, He is “not seen.” Immortal, invisible, G-d, (the) only wise. And because we have a propensity for forgetting what G-d has said to us, we need to be reminded often. “Adam, don’t eat the fruit”- Did Adam remember? or did He purposefully forget? Was he momentarily “distracted?” After all, the fruit was beautiful and desirable. He was looking at the things that were seen- “the luscious fruit.” The peeling (outer covering) must have been appealing. He (and she) were tempted, just as we are, everyday and every time we take our focus off of where it should be- the things that are not seen. -What are you looking at?
Our natural inclination is to want more. Just look at the collection of _______ in your house, garage and “barns.” More stuff and things-continuously collecting and hoarding,this, that and the other. Where is our focus,- on “unseen things above?” No, not at all. Go on and this time- take a good look around the house. Evidence that demands a verdict.
We (all of us) are “set-up” and pre-wired to want more. What is this inner craving, this insatiable desire, dwelling within our “inner man?” Is it okay to want? To desire? To be passionate about life and living? Yes, it is. What do you want? What are the desires of your heart? Yes, the yetser hara. Is it possible for this insatiable desire to be sated? To be filled to overflowing with peace, love and joy beyond our knowing? Yes, with G-d, (through Christ) all things are possible. More? More what? -“More about Jesus would I know, more of His grace to others show, more of His saving fullness see, more of His love Who died for me?”
“Iron sharpens iron” so a man sharpens the countenance of His friend. And friends, “what a Friend we have in Jesus” is true. Can we find a Friend so faithful, -Who will are our sorrows share? Iron sharpens iron. Does this involve heat and friction? Yes, it does. The heat is on. Sometimes a grinding, sometimes a polishing-A little Oil helps. He will (and does) supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Need a little heat? A little affliction? A little trouble? Our faithful Friend provides it all to conform us into the image of the Son.
“Have thine own way, Lord. Have thine own way. Thou art the Potter, I am the clay,” are the words of this old hymn. Someone, some time ago knew the value of surrender. He, of course, was not the first one, neither was he the last. One by one, we arrive at the place of blessing- when we bow the knee and confess, “I surrender all.” Not my will (what I want), but Thine (what you want) be done. Yes, on earth, as it is in heaven. And when we do His good will,(what He wants, His desires, His good pleasure) He abides with us still,- and with all who will “trust and obey.”
Have you ever done the “will of G-d?” Have you ever done “what pleases Him?” When we bow the knee, and confess Jesus is LORD, Yeshua is ADONAI,- does this please the Father? When we “love one another with a pure heart fervently,”-does this please our Father? When we pray, and say, “our Father”-is this pleasing in His sight? When we say “Father” does this mean we are His children and because we now belong to Him (we have been bought/redeemed with a price), can we (always) trust Him, and should we allow Him (that right- give Him our “permission”) to deliver us from evil and to (daily) direct our paths? Yes, we may. And Yes, He will. Amen.
If we have become dull in our hearing, what is the fix? What is the cure? What does the Great Physician have to say? -“Today,- if you will hear His voice..” (Hebrews 3.15)
I have quite a story to tell, so I will tell it to encourage the community over the next several days (or weeks- however long it takes me to tell in “bitesize” chunks!). I talked to Skip on the phone and he suggested that I write and describe what has happened to me in the last year for those who are going through something they cannot control in their lives. God is good, but sometimes life circumstances are beyond our control and He uses them to mold and shape us, but ALWAYS turns them for our good according to the Word. When you are overwhelmed with the things of this life, it takes your focus off of God and puts it on the circumstances. Instead of telling God how big your circumstances are, tell your circumstances how big our GOD is!! Sometimes we have to be taken to the end of ourselves in order for God to be able to be heard in the quiet of our “aloneness”. I probably just made up a word, but so be it! I will begin to tell my story in my next post. In the meantime, remember, God has everything under control even when we feel things are out of control. He doesn’t CAUSE bad circumstances, but at times they may be allowed in order for us to stop, take inventory, and hopefully listen so that we can grow. More later.
Thank you, so many of us seem to be on the brink these days of ‘drunken stupor’ in one way or another, thank you for this reminder …
“Instead of telling God how big your circumstances are,
tell your circumstances how big our GOD is!!”
…. and may HE help us to refocus, focus, FOCUS.