Funeral Feelings
“He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.” Luke 7:13 NASB
Compassion – Nain. The village named “pleasant” or “beautiful”. But on this day the Hebrew name does not fit the mood at all. Today is the day of a funeral. Today is a mother’s worst nightmare – death invades life. Her only son is carried to the grave.
As Yeshua approaches the city gate, he comes upon a scene of grief. The funeral procession moves through the gate, carrying the body of a man. Within minutes the crowd discovers that this man is the only son of a poor widow. Many of the townspeople are walking with her, attempting to console her while they lament the cruel hand of God. To lose a husband is difficult enough. But to lose an only son after losing a husband. What will she do now? She has no one to care for her. The fate of widows and orphans was well known. She looked forward to poverty and abandonment.
There are two critical words in this very brief encounter. The first describes Yeshua’s character; the second his action. They are inseparable.
“And when the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her.” Compassion. The Greek word is splanchnizomai. It is the original Greek word for “intestines.” Over time the word became associated with those emotions that deeply upset us. In particular, it is connected with pity. This word is very graphic and very physical.
Imagine those times in your life when something affected you so dramatically that it literally “turned your stomach.” You had a burst of burning anger. You felt faint. What you saw brought instant discomfort, an outrage at life’s inequity. It is the immediate reaction over something tragic. Everyone in America got a taste of this on September 11, a modern nation’s heartache and agony.
Yeshua and the disciples are walking toward Nain. They are probably busy talking among themselves about the past few days. Suddenly they come upon the funeral. It was certainly not the first funeral the crowd witnessed. Death was a constant companion of those who lived in Roman occupied lands. Yeshua stopped. The crowd jolted with him. Compassion. A rough, physical word expressing the jarring, disorienting feeling of life gone haywire. Splanchnon presents an unusual word mystery. Most Greek words have direct Hebrew associations. But splanchnon has no Hebrew connection. When we look for a Hebrew connection, we find a different Greek word – oiktiro – the word for “sympathy.” Splanchnon is a word that surfaces much later. By the time Luke related this story in Greek, splanchnon had taken over the meaning “pity” and “sympathy.” That isn’t the end of this curious story. The Hebrew concept eventually captured by splanchnon helps us see an important distinction. The Hebrew word behind pity and sympathy is racham. But racham is the Hebrew word for “womb.” In Hebrew thought it is the symbol of intense, personal identification. Nothing establishes a bond of identity more than the same birth mother. When emotions cause us to completely identify with our common humanity, with being born into this world, we experience racham. The unity of brothers and sisters, the bond of parents and children, is extended to evoke the shared experience of being one who is born – and one who dies. From God’s point of view, we are all brothers and sisters. When splanchnon took over the meaning of this Hebrew concept, it carried with it the intense identification of common humanity, an identification that was particularly acute in times of trouble.
There is still more to this story. The Hebrew concept is not limited to a “feeling.” Sympathy is an emotional response of heartfelt identification. Pity is an emotional response to another’s suffering. Empathy is an emotional response to common-bond oneness. But racham is more than emotion. It is action elicited by emotion. Racham is the action of love expressed as a result of sympathy or pity. Racham does not pass by the circumstances of sorrow with a mournful sigh. Racham steps into life’s heartbreaking trials and actively engages in an effort to lift the burden. Zechariah 7:9 instructs us to “make and accomplish compassion.” Psalm 69:16 calls for the action of compassion from the God who is filled with compassionate acts. Divine compassion is not an arm around the shoulder and a shared tear. Compassion is warfare! It is active resistance to evil in a world. Compassion is me taking the place of you. It is personal action identification. It is Yeshua on the cross, enduring brutality, horror and torture for my sake because God is compassionate.
The most common subject of the word racham is God Himself. From the Old Testament context, it is abundantly clear that compassion is not an action prompted by the merit of the suffering party. I don’t earn compassion. God’s compassion, and the compassion of all who follow His example, is relief given simply because it can be given. If I am to follow the model of Yeshua, my actions of relief will not be based on how worthy the suffering person is. My actions will be based only on my ability to offer help because I can without any thought of reciprocity.
Exodus 34:6 is God’s self-definition. The very first word God uses to describe Himself is “compassionate.” If you gave your own self-definition, would that be the first word on your lips? The widow of Nain provides us with a window into the heart of God – and what we find is racham. The God Who cares.
Topical Index: compassion, splanchnizomai, racham, Luke 7:13
Excerpted from Jesus Said to Her, available on the web site
The topic caught my eye!
I’ve much past topics to catch up on, but I couldn’t help reading this one first. :- ))
So well expressed. Rachem is also comfort, but going beyond, as you’ve shared here.
It’s deep distress from within the bowels that one feels for another’s loss of a beloved.
The Israelis have such a bond, they feel for each other, in times of lives lost.
Shalom, Skip.
Oops, I meant to post the song Rachem by Mordecai ben David’s on Utube, it’s one of my favourites. Look for it. Enjoy!
Hi Ester,
Interesting Utube. Thanks for sharing!
Glad you like it, Michael, he sings very well from his spirit.
And there are other song sessions he sings with young men, and so worshipful.
Shalom!
ester & michael – it would sure be nice to know what he is singing in english… 🙁
Even our “modern” word ‘compassion’ speaks to us. Passion- to suffer. com- with. Compassion- to suffer with.
~For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin ~ (Hebrews 4.15)
~ In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that G-d, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the Author of their salvation perfect through suffering ~ (Hebrews 2.10)
~Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his Master’ ~ (John 15.20)
~ And the G-d of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast ~ (1 Peter 5.10)
~ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness ~
IF THIS IS TRUE, “From God’s point of view, we are all brothers and sisters,” THEN WHY DID GOD TEACH THE ISRAELITES/JEWS TO KEEP THEMSELVES SEPARATE FROM EVERYONE ELSE – NOT TO MARRY INTO OTHER NATIONS & TRIBES – NOT TO MIX WITH THE OTHERS OR MARRY THEM??? IF ALL OTHERS WERE THE ISRAELITES BROTHERS/SISTERS – WHY THE SEPARATION – THE NON-MIXING/MINGLING OF NATIONS/PEOPLES??? ONE REASON BECAUSE THEY WERE EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF GOD & HE DID NOT WANT THE ISRAELITES TO BE AFFECTED BY THEIR IDOLATRY/SIN.
AND THIS IS SO TRUE, “Compassion is warfare! It is active resistance to evil in a world. Compassion is me taking the place of you. It is personal action identification. It is Yeshua on the cross, enduring brutality, horror and torture for my sake because God is compassionate.” AS CARL ONCE STATED/TYPED – IF WE ONLY KNEW… ♥
Being brothers and sisters is a matter of God’s creative action. All human beings are related. But choosing to be a holy family is different. That requires behavior. I might be related to my brother by birth, but I don’t share the same “choice” family with him unless he and I follow the same code of conducted. God asks Israel to establish the example of a “choice” family – a covenant family based on commitment and conduct, not birth parents.
Absolutely right, Skip. Being on the narrow path of truth back to the ancient paths, therefore makes us a precious Family in Y’shua, unlike the natural family whom we cannot truly relate with freely the things of ABBA. That is so sad and heart-breaking.
Exodus 34:6 is God’s self-definition. The very first word God uses to describe Himself is “compassionate.”
Exodus 34:7 “He continues to show his love to thousands of generations, forgiving wrongdoing, disobedience, and sin. He never lets the guilty go unpunished, punishing children and grandchildren for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation”
“He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.” Luke 7:13 NASB”
Hi Skip,
Reading your commentary on Luke 7:13 was a great way to start the day.
Your commentary on Exodus 34:6 brought back a very old memory of my last day at UCSD.
I had taught Exodus in a Humanities class a couple of years before, and on my way to defend my dissertation an attractive young undergraduate came up to me and told me that what I had taught her had really changed her life.
On my way to defend my dissertation, I was not feeling all that secure in the first place, and her comments made me wonder if what I had taught her about the Jews and the Greeks was completely wrong.
My dissertation was a somewhat psychoanalytic/historicist approach to reading Nathaniel Hawthorne and it took exception to the reading of a famous Hawthorne scholar from named Fredrick Crews.
In 1966, Crews had published a study of Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Sins of the Fathers: Hawthorne’s Psychological Themes.
A hardly veiled reference to Exodus 34:7 …. “punishing children and grandchildren for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation.”
~ There is neither Jew nor Aramaean, neither Servant nor Free person, neither male nor female, for all of you are one in Yeshua The Messiah ~ (Galatians 3.28)
~ For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus ~ (Galatians 3.26)
Yes. Separate. In the world, but not a part of it. Christ is the express image of the Person of God, the brightness of His glory. We all would do well to take heed to the ways of Christ during His earthly ministry.
Though He was G-d, He embraced the leper, associated with the outcast, and loved the wicked.
I’ve known many times to miss the heart of Yeshua behind it all. Jesus was/is a Friend of sinners.
Carl, you know what i see when you express yourself the way you do above me – i see Jesus hanging out with gang members & doing what they do & approving because he has mercy & compassion on them while he lets someone else disciple his disciples while He is playing the field with sinners & wicked people.
Now, we all know that is not what went down but that is what i see when you keep making this same case over & over. Yes, Jesus befriended the sinners & wicked people & all that needed him; but who did he hang out with & who did He do one on one with – His “chosen” disciples. The men he hand picked & some women got to come along but were not hand picked per the Word/Scriptures (that i remember).
He/Jesus did keep Himself set apart from the world as well He should have & not everyone who crossed His path was saved, delivered, healed, saved or made whole – it just didn’t happen that way because there are people in the world that are not going to make it – not that He didn’t love them but He knew which ones were/are going to make it & He is not worrying or fretting over it either – even though His desire is none perish – i never see Him in the Scriptures begging, hanging around with & making Himself like one of them to try to persuade them to follow him – matter of fact, after he expounded/taught the TRUTH – He would try to get away from the crowds – He didn’t say to His disciples after a hard days work teaching in Temple or walking from town to town He would go to the local pub or bar & hang out with the sinners & prostitutes for a while just to get away from the disciples & rub elbows with the world because He felt he was tired of being with righteous men/women all day long & needed a change.
there was a purpose in him coming in contact with sinners, wicked people, prostitutes, tax gathers, etc. – it was for their salvation & to make a choice that He presented to them & He gave them the choice to follow Him sometimes & sometimes he told them to go & sin no more or go tell the rabbis they were healed but he didn’t just hang with them all the time – if that were so – a lot more people would have given accounts of their deliverance, healing & salvation.
“He embraced the leper, associated with the outcast, and loved the wicked. Jesus was/is a Friend of sinners.” HE DID NOT EMBRACE EVERY LEPER OR THERE WOULD BE NO LEPERS LEFT IN THE WORLD & THERE ARE TO THIS DAY, HE DIDN’T ASSOCIATE WITH EVERY OUTCAST OR THEIR WOULDN’T BE ANY TODAY & THERE ARE, HE DOES NOT LOVE WICKEDNESS BUT THE PERSON & JESUS IS A FRIEND TO THOSE THAT LOVE HIM & OBEY HIS COMMANDS – WE CAN CALL HIM FRIEND BUT I DON’T THINK HE IS FRIENDS WITH SINNERS THAT ARE NOT YET IN THE FAMILY OF GOD. I THINK HE MAKES HIMSELF AVAILABLE TO SINNERS IN ORDER FOR THEM TO BECOME HIS FRIENDS BUT I THINK/FEEL THAT IS QUITE A SLAM TO THOSE WHO HAVE LIVED VERY RIGHTEOUS LIVES IN THE SCRIPTURES THAT GOD STATED THAT THEY WERE HIS FRIENDS – HE DIDN’T CALL EVERYONE FRIEND – SEEMS THE SCRIPTURES I READ SAY WE BECOME A FRIEND OF GOD/JESUS BY OBEYING HIS COMMANDS & LIVING BY FAITH THAT IS ACCOUNTED TO US AS RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH CHRIST JESUS.
IF I THOUGHT JESUS/GOD WOULD BE MY FRIEND WHILE I WENT ABOUT SINNING & BEING JUST LIKE THE WORLD I WOULD NOT SET MYSELF APART & JUST GO MY OWN WAY – WHISTLING DIXIE IN MY SIN THINKING GOD/JESUS IS MY FRIEND NO MATTER WHAT I DO – SIN ALL I WANT TO. SO IF JESUS IS A FRIEND TO/OF SINNERS WHY IS THERE ANY REASON TO OBEDIENT TO HIS COMMANDS??? I AGREE THAT HE IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO US AS A SAVIOR/DELIVERER FROM OUR SINS UNTO SALVATION BUT HE IS NOT A FRIEND TO ALL – I DO BELIEVE YOU HAVE TO EARN THAT FRIENDSHIP BY BEING OBEDIENT – AT LEAST TO SOME EXTENT…
Just a few comments here. First, the idea that Yeshua or Father knows in advance who will be saved and who will not depends on a fallacious view of time and a mistaken doctrine of omniscience. Every person decided for himself and that decision is NOT determined in advance by the foreknowledge of God. So it is not appropriate to suggest that Yeshua hung out only with those who He knew would be saved.
Second, associating with sinners does not entail approving of sin. If it did, not one of us would ever be able to have fellowship with another person. Yeshua certainly associated with the lost (sinners) and as a result was accused on not being a proper holy man, but that doesn’t mean He endorsed their sins. Furthermore, it is not necessary to claim that He embraces EVERY sinner in order for us to learn what it means to befriend any other person.
Third, if it were true that Yeshua could not befriend me while I am sinning, then what kind of love would he show to me? Is His love so conditional that it takes effect only when I am being righteous? The story of Israel points in a different direction. God loves Israel and cares for them and woes them back EVEN WHEN they are entirely disobedient. If God’s loves only those who maintain righteousness, then none of us can expect His favor.
Your thoughts on these three points don’t seem to line up with Scripture.
i do not agree with this statement at all: ” First, the idea that Yeshua or Father knows in advance who will be saved and who will not depends on a fallacious view of time and a *mistaken doctrine of omniscience*. Every person decided for himself and that decision is NOT determined in advance by the foreknowledge of God.”
of course, every person decided for him/her self but you or anyone else will never convince me that God/Jesus does not know who will & who won’t – yes, He gives us free will to choose but He knows those who will & those who won’t. and i don’t think i ever said their decision was determined in advance by the foreknowledge of God… perhaps you perceived i said it that way & if i did – i did not mean it to sound that way.
and i know i didn’t say this: “So it is not appropriate to suggest that Yeshua hung out only with those who He knew would be saved.” of course he did mix/mingle among the unsaved – that is what He came for but hanging out is way different than mixing/mingling with the crowd – i don’t see you or Rosanne hanging out with sinners (unless you live some kind of secret life we don’t know about) – i see you going to teach/preach to people that are hungry for the truth of what you have to offer them – if they were truly sinners in the since i am typing about – they would be in meth labs, strip bars, human trafficking, pimps, johns, drug dealers, etc. – i don’t see you going to or teaching this crowd (not that you would not want to or have the opportunity to but i would think the sinner would have to start with the foundational truths which is not what you do in your teaching) – do you because if you do i have never read about it here on Hebrew Word Study… these are not the people Jesus “hung” out with – hanging out with people is an every day occurrence as being in a gang – you hang out with your trusted friends & you usually do what they are doing because they are your peers – these type of sinners where not Jesus’ peers – not that He would not like for them to be His peers or that He came for their salvation – He most assuredly did but He did not “hang out” with them. He was available for them to come to Him for salvation & he “walked” among them to make Himself available but He never was a part of their gangs – hanging out with them every day. the Scripture teaches us many times we are known by our associations & not to have corrupt companions – hanging out with sinners would mean having corrupt companions to me – maybe not to you – i don’t know – i am not you.
here again – it is perception: “Second, associating with sinners does not entail approving of sin.[try telling this to a court of law when a person is guilty by association – our courts/system of law is derived from the Mosaic Laws themselves; in a sense & at times it certainly does entail approving of sin but i don’t believe that it did in Jesus life/case – He was not a sinner because he mixed/mingled with sinners for a specific reason – their salvation]
“If it did, not one of us would ever be able to have fellowship with another person. Yeshua certainly associated [did not hang out with – mixed/mingled with a purpose – call it association if you want but even that word denotes to much intimacy without commitment to me] with the lost (sinners) and as a result was accused on not being a proper holy man, but that doesn’t mean He endorsed their sins.” [the accusations by the Jews that did not want to accept Him/Jesus was a ploy to kill Him & the Truth – they knew in their spirits He was a proper holy man & that is why they were so scared – scared that their traditions were going to be turned upside down – just like was later written – the traditions of men will nullify the Word Himself & Jesus never endorses sins – one thing we do agree on for sure]
“Furthermore, it is not necessary to claim that He embraces EVERY sinner in order for us to learn what it means to befriend any other person.”
[totally agree but i do believe that those we do befriend are those that God sends because if i befriended every sinner that came my way i would probably be drug to the depths of hell with them – i believe & you probably don’t that there are no coincidences in life for those who follow Him, who love Him & are called according to His purposes – that God/Jesus has a plan for each & every one of us that choose to follow Him (and those who don’t) & i am happy & content with that belief – knowing he cares about every hair on my head, every sparrow that He feeds & falls to the ground – i can rest in His all knowing love for me – He has drawn near to me because i have drawn near to Him & i love Him because He first loved me & yes, i chose to respond to that love but not everyone does or will & He knows it & He knows which ones & doesn’t mean He quits trying or gives up on them but He does know – not everyone draws near to Him & He knows it & desiring that none will perish but some will & He knows who will & who won’t perish – how can He not, but doesn’t mean He doesn’t love them any less & desire they wake up & smell the coffee but in the end there will be a very distinct difference & separation – what is He going to say when there is a line of demarcation & there are those standing on the other side begging Him to let them in – is He going to – not by the Word i read… so again, is this Jesus/King of the Universe going to be considered cold & unjust & unmerciful for not letting these people in to the banquet – how are we going to look at that scenario – i see it no different than what the Truth is today… there is a separation at all times – Alpha & Omega & all between…
“Third, if it were true that Yeshua could not befriend me while I am sinning, then what kind of love would he show to me?” [again, i don’t remember saying Jesus cannot befriend anyone He pleases, hang out with sinners, mix/mingle, associate with anyone He likes – it is His decision – i just don’t see that He “HUNG OUT” with sinners in Scripture – hanging out with people is being with them everyday & them only, being their peer, going to school with them, spending everyday almost 24 hours a day together – that sort of relationship was reserved for the disciples. surely you see in the Scriptures a difference in the relationship he had with those closest to Him that He “hung out” with daily & taught – the inner circle of “friends” than the mixing/mingling he did in the throngs/crowds of people – it was a whole different scene & relationship/behavior. i would say he “hung out/associated with” the disciples & mixed/mingled with the crowds & the ones that the Father spoke to Him about – we all know the accounts in Scripture, where the ones brought to Him by the Father & He was well aware of what they were doing & what was going on in their lives because He/Jesus told them so – that is one of the things that humbled the people he gave the Living Water to – He knew things about them no one else may have known & they were astounded & believed.
“Is His love so conditional that it takes effect only when I am being righteous?”
[i never stated/typed His love is so conditional – our righteousness is accounted to us by our faith not His conditional or unconditional love – if He has promises things in the Scriptures that have conditions to meet for Him to fulfill them – then there is some accounting going on for sure.]
“The story of Israel points in a different direction. God loves Israel and cares for them and woos them back EVEN WHEN they are entirely disobedient. If God loves only those who maintain righteousness, then none of us can expect His favor.” [personally, i feel/think love & favor are two different things but i’m sure you cannot have favor without love. it is true & i agree that God loves Israel with an everlasting love but get real here – He gave them a damn hard time over thousands of years for their constant disobedience & He did not let them off easy – His wrath was above the most terrible of what the world now would call atrocities i’m sure – people falling dead here & there for lying & being swallowed up by the earth for something that is commonplace today, destroying women, children, animals along with the men – complete annihilation of villages, tribes & the world is in a tizzy about our soldiers standing over dead taliban & urinating on them – guess no one ever reads the Old Testament & compares then to now – of course they don’t & if you did you would be accused of having no love – like it looked like God had no love to the world but He did – now didn’t he, but it will never look like that to the “world.”]
this statement just floors me: “If God loves only those who maintain righteousness, then none of us can expect His favor.” [the men & women of the old & new covenant that did maintain righteousness seemed to me were the only ones that receive & expect His favor & they may not have even expected it but got it for their faith that was accounted unto them as righteousness – why did Abraham get to go out & do what he did & become the man he was because of faith/righteousness, same with Moses, same with Noah, Joseph, Joshua, Ruth, Samuel, David, Solomon, Esther, all the prophets, the disciples & so on & yes, there were some sinful acts committed amongst the previous but they repented & paid/suffered the consequences – in other words they didn’t just get away with their sins – the were judged justly (with mercy & compassion) but most of the time they walked upright/with right standing with God/Jesus & were righteous in His sight. from what i read in the Scriptures we in the covenant family (as Israel) are to strive to & maintain righteousness (by our faith) – to seek to have right standing with God/Jesus – should we expect favor, probably so by the teaching of the Law but we usually don’t but also because of our inheritance in Christ Jesus.
[boy, these are some loaded statements here for sure – i so agree with what you state/type about Israel – Israel as you stated in a previous answer to my question is a whole different issue – salvation first to the Jew & then to the Gentile & by way of Jesus the Gentile who chose Jesus were grafted in as the wild olive shoot, “But choosing to be a holy family is different. That requires behavior. I might be related to my brother by birth, but I don’t share the same “choice” family with him unless he and I follow the same code of conducted. God asks Israel to establish the example of a “choice” family – a covenant family based on commitment and conduct, not birth parents. [your words not mine & i agree]
Skip, you will have to take in to consideration that i am not as learned as you in the Hebraic language via your interpretation of the Scriptures – all i know is what i have been taught in the last 40 years without your input… ♥ i know you try… ♥
A very brief reply to your considered response. Sorry about the truncated reply but I don’t have time to fully develop this answer. The fact that the Church taught you to believe that God knows the future choices of every person doesn’t make it correct. In fact, such a position stands in contradiction to everything Scripture suggests about personal accountability and culpability. Theologians recognize this contradiction and generally try to follow Augustine’s solution (that God knows in advance the “free” choice of individuals) or the solution of Thomas Aquinas (that God knows in advance and we are simply deluded to think that we have free choice). Neither solution squares with Scripture (and, yes, I know that Paul uses words like predestination). The full argument concerning the Greek philosophical assumptions that precipitate this dilemma are discussed in detail in my book, God, Time and the Limits of Omniscience. I realize that most church teaching never really exams the presuppositions or the historical development of these doctrines, but that only means that the church teaching is subject to error. Please consider reading the book if you really want to understand the problems and grapple with the biblical position.
~ “if anyone have ears to hear- let him hear” ~
hearken, heed, shema, kavanna- focused attention
faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of G-d
out of a crowd of 5,000- how many were listening and how many were discussing “what’s for lunch?”- or how was that game last night?
out of a crowd of 5,000- how many distracted sheep can you count?
carl, & magnify this to the millions:
out of a crowd of 5,000- how many were listening and how many were discussing “what’s for lunch?”- or how was that game last night?
out of a crowd of 5,000- how many distracted sheep can you count?”
not everyone heard & He knew it – so what is the problem – can we control their hearing – does He want to control their hearing or does he truly know those that will hear & come & those that won’t – does He go begging the ones that refuse to hear or did He give that job to the/His Holy Spirit to woo after He went away to be with His Father (which some of us are His children but not all) – the wooing, begging, calling, pleading didn’t even begin until Jesus went to be with His/The Father & we got the benefit of the Holy Spirit – there is also Scripture that i have read that even the Holy Spirit will give up after a while but maybe that isn’t true either because i don’t understand it in the Hebrew.
there are some things that i have learned in soon to be 59 years of being on this earth that i will probably never disbelieve because one person says it’s not true – i would have to do some serious studying on my own to disprove what i already believe & agree with & Hebrew Word Study does present some other schools of thought – be they true or not but doesn’t mean i have to believe everything i read or someone else states as their truth or the way they perceive it – permissive will – i don’t know & am not really concerned for i know Whom i believe in & am persuaded that He is able to keep that which i have committed unto Him until that day… ♥
for the Son of man is come to seek and to save (redeem,restore, renew) that which was lost..
what did we lose in the garden?
what happened to the intimate fellowship/relationship we once had with our Creator?
sin separates/divides- between G-d (who is holy) and between each other (who are sinful)
Our unity/shalom/well-being is found “in Christ.”
Love is a choice. We must first “draw near to G-d”- then He will “draw near to us”
We will not fill a cup that is dirty- neither will He. His instructions to us? “Be clean”- “be holy”- “be washed”- “be sanctified”- meet (fit) for our Master’s use.. (let (allow) the word of Christ dwell in you richly- in all wisdom” -How shall a young man cleanse His way?
We are twice-born people living in a once-born world.
Faith is our right-response to what G-d has said. What is our (only) right-response? – obedience. ~Whatever He says unto you- do it~ (shema)
People (everywhere) need the LORD..- (most assuredly- including myself) for He has said- “without Me (whosoever will) you can do nothing. Nothing except wood, hay and strudel. Nothing of eternal value.
Yes, Jan- there are “whosoever wills” and “whosoever won’ts”. Pharaoh had at least ten opportunities before destruction.
carl roberts, i’m glad you can see or agree on something i do believe/see in Scripture:
“Yes, Jan- there are “whosoever wills” and “whosoever won’ts.” Pharaoh had at least ten opportunities before destruction.”
the way i read the above story in the only language i know & have learned in – this was because God hardened Pharaoh’s heart & i really do believe he/God knew exactly how many times it was going to take before Pharaoh had run out of chances to do what he/Pharaoh was supposed to & was part of the plan. know one will ever convince me that God/Jesus is not omniscient – that He knows everything about everybody at all times & the decisions they will or won’t make – i don’t have a problem with that doctrine at all – when he knows the number of hairs on our heads & when every sparrow falls – i think you can call that all knowing & all omniscient. i have yet to read anything contrary to the fact & if i did i believe/feel i would still believe the same thing i have been taught & agree with – otherwise why would we need God/Jesus/Holy Spirit – if they aren’t the know-it-alls of the universe – i might as well believe in false gods.
carl, it is text like this i don’t understand from people:
“People (everywhere) need the LORD..- (most assuredly- including myself) for He has said- “without Me (whosoever will) you can do nothing. Nothing except wood, hay and strudel. Nothing of eternal value.”
do you not have the LORD??? does He not reside in your heart & there forever more – knowing you would never want Him to leave or do anything on purpose to grieve Him but may fail occasionally… i feel we can walk in some confidence of being His & saved even though we are not perfect but we run the race as well & as best we can & he understands that; now committing blatant sins & knowing so is a different thing – is that not rebellion -premeditated sin – just going out & on purpose sinning… and as you said above you may get 10 chances (like Pharaoh) to keep yourself from destruction & there is always repentance & even people with addictions i’m sure find themselves in the continual recycle/circle of vicious sin & i do believe that God/Jesus are the God’s of second & many chances – when they know your heart & they do know our hearts for sure.
without Him we can do nothing but with Him we can do everything within the boundaries of His will for us/His Word for us – we have not because we may ask amiss – a miss of His Word for us – His will for us; some of us have Him most assuredly & we need to rest in that blessed assurance & stop condemning ourselves like we have never been saved or that His precious blood was not atoning enough for us – it’s just hard to vision a lowly worm seated in heavenly places with Him. i do believe we should know who we are in Christ & what we have in Him which is the authority & inheritance given to us as His heirs of salvation.
Just a FYI- I have difficulty reading when you (sister Jan) type in ALL CAPS. (not to offend..-just sayin’)
Carl (brother in the Lord because i see your fruits over & over unlike others & i do judge you on those for sure), just FYI – seems i know one other person on flickr that has that same problem with their eyes but he doesn’t call himself Carl, but odd that you have the very same problem… (and not offended… – just sayin’)
just a FYI – you typed in ALL CAPS – did it hurt your eyes to do that???
“And when the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her.” Compassion. The Greek word is splanchnizomai. It is the original Greek word for “intestines.” Over time the word became associated with those emotions that deeply upset us. In particular, it is connected with pity. This word is very graphic and very physical.” Philippians 1:8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. I remember the day I first read this scripture. It is one of those you never forget. If you have ever mourned the loss of a loved one, it is pain that cannot be expressed with “normal tears”, it is a groaning that comes from deep within your very soul. A “gut-wrenching” pain. If you have experienced that pain, you never want another human to feel that, but when they do, you have such compassion, true compassion. That tells me that Hashem also feels pain How can we not have compassion for the heart of G-d? “The widow of Nain provides us with a window into the heart of God – and what we find is racham. The God Who cares.”Racham steps into life’s “heartbreaking trials and actively engages in an effort to lift the burden.Compassion is warfare! It is active resistance to evil in a world.” Thank you Skip for teaching. If we can enter into the very “bowels” of Jesus Christ, then we can enter into His “Rachem”
There was a period of time in my life (wilderness wandering?) from me having Him and Him having me. I had Christ as my Savior but He was not my LORD until (sorry to say) -later in life when I realized the complete, total, absolute Sovereignty of El Gibbor.
Now, please understand, when I say Jesus is LORD- He is LORD of all. Absolute Master and Commander and LORD of every thing. The macro and the micro, the seen and the unseen, past, present, future- He is (now) LORD.
He is not LORD because I say so- He was LORD before I got here and He will remain LORD long after my bones have turned to dust.
Let us listen (again for the first time) to His words- “But G-d Who is rich in mercy..” What do the scriptures say? “Comfort one another with these (His) words..” (He wrote the Book!)