Judgment and Faithfulness
Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” Genesis 18:23 NASB
Sweep away – The Hebrew word translated “sweep away” is tispeh. It comes from the root safah, a verb that means “to sweep away, to destroy, to consume.” The consonants are Samech-Pey-Hey (to twist or turn, the mouth, to reveal – the twisted mouth revealed). You might think that the pictograph is a bit odd, but then consider that the biblical idea of creation is not tied to physical manipulation but rather to vocal command (e.g. “Let there be light”). In biblical thought, the word is the vehicle of power. A twisted word, a word that does not come from the foundation of God’s reliability, is also powerful, but in the opposite sense. It destroys! This root word is most often used in the context of judgment which is obviously also a vocal image. To speak judgment is to utter a word that sweeps away.
The rabbis noticed something startling about the idea of God’s judgment. Mishpat is the Hebrew word for justice. Of course, as we know, the root verb shaphat really covers all of the actions of governance, not merely the execution of punishment. But if men truly desire mishpat, they soon discover that God’s holiness sweeps them all away. In other words, when Abraham asks the rhetorical question, “Will You sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” he expects the answer, “No, of course not.” But the deeper truth is that there are none who are righteous, “no, not one.” Therefore, the request that God judge accurately is actually a request that God not judge according to the strict application of justice, for if He did, all would be swept away in judgment. As Maharal observes, “To adhere to such standards [of mathematically applied exactness in judgment] is to destroy the world; in order to build the world, hesed, the generous perception of alternative possibilities, is necessary.”[1]
The biblical perspective of justice is exactly the opposite of what men really need. What men need is hesed, unmerited favor poured out on them for no other reason than the willingness of God to do so. When men cry for true justice, they are actually crying for their own doom. The world is not built on justice, mishpat. It is built on hesed. It must be built on hesed for otherwise men would experience the Flood once again.
What does this mean for us? It means that we are immeasurably grateful that we have not reached the end of Isaiah 61:2. It means that we are thankful that mishpat has not yet arrived in full. It means that we must build with hesed if we are to have life in this world, and that we hope and pray that mishpat will be delayed long enough for hesed to have results. It means that we will not twist our words because twisting causes judgment to come sooner rather than later. It means that we are singularly aware of the crucial importance of our fragile state of being. It is no more than that of the sound of a word on the wind. It means we find hope in hesed, and not in safah. We do not want the Judge of all the earth to judge justly – not yet while there is still day.
Topical Index: safah, sweep away, judgment, justice, mishpat, Isaiah 61:2, Genesis 18:23
“Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?”
Hmmm
I remember reading that the Rabbis use the passage above to note
How seriously Abraham took killing a human being
So seriously that he stood up to God
And questioned Him
“Swept Away” is one of my favorite films
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGo2PPAmhvU
I like that Wurtmuller film too, but it has little to do with Abraham. 🙂
“I like that Wurtmuller film (Swept Away) too, but it has little to do with Abraham.”
“But if men truly desire mishpat, they soon discover that God’s holiness sweeps them all away.”
Hi Skip,
When I first watched the movie Swept Away in a theater
I was most impressed by its aesthetic beauty
By the colors, the textures, the “film form”
On the Mediterranean Sea, it was filmed in one of my favorite places
Watching Swept Away was for me like walking into one of the great Cathedrals
Or looking up to the Sistene Chapel ceiling
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel_ceiling
The director, Lena Wurtmuller, was born in Rome to a devoutly Roman Catholic Swiss family
With the full name “Arcangela” Felice Assunta Wertmüller von Elgg Español von Braueich Wertmüller
She met Federico Fellini in 1962 and Fellini offered her the position of assistant director on 8½
Fellini, as you know, was arguably the greatest movie director of all time and
For me watching Fellini’s movie 8 1/2 the first time was like having a mystical experience 🙂
As a European intellectual of her generation, and the name Arcangel
I’m guessing Wertmüller would have been very familiar with Abraham and the three angels
Genesis 18:22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
And IMO her movie is all about Genesis 18:23
Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” NASB
“For me watching Fellini’s movie 8 1/2 the first time was like having a mystical experience”
Oops, I was actually thinking about Fellini’s movie “Giulietta degli spiriti”
Juliet of the Spirits (Italian: Giulietta degli spiriti) is a 1965 Italian film directed by Federico Fellini and starring Giulietta Masina
And I’m now remembering the old “master_slave dialectic”
Which we can see at play throughout the movie “Swept Away”
As well as in Abraham’s relationship to God and his women
The moral of the story being IMO
If you want to master your Self
You must become a slave 🙂
Judgement is coming, can’t you feel it? Like a hot wind blowing on a hot day, there is no relief. The wheels have once again cycled around to and lined up with the “all choosing evil”. Even those that think they don’t chose evil do chose it.
We live in a world of exceeding wickedness where what is evil is called good and what is good is called evil. People are lovers of themselves to the exclusion of others. Everyone you ask? I so want to say no, not everyone, seriously doubting the statement even in making it. Like Abraham, I beg the Lord for hasad in hope that there will be even a few that might be clean before Him.
Skip … nice commentary! I would like to focus on the resonance aspect of your message today!
It is so very important, and I am happy that you did, raise the issue of HOLY versus destructive resonance. The issue of evil speak (l’shon hara) and the results within the community are treated pretty extensively thorughout THE WORD. In fact the blight of Spiritual Leprosy (tz’arat) and association with evil speak is a known construct … Hebraically speaking of course!
The negative impacts of evil speak I believe are indicative of the negative impacts associated with all sin/destructive behavior which individually and aggregately speeds up decay!
In any event I agree with you zealously Skip that resonance (Both vocal and physical) applies to good and bad … to light and dark; hence another purpose of our obedience in manifesting the character of ELOHIM … that purpose as you elegantly point out … to stave off and prolong the time frame before the cup of iniquity is filled up so that “chesed” can be realized! We have an important purpose when viewed in this perspective. Obey G_D and show our true love to humanity! Our resonance streams out at the sub-atomic level and combats the powers and principalities … and we all throught THE WORD was discussing a strictly SPIRITUAL dynamic? Hmmm!
Mashiach’s advice … better off to say nothing than expose ourselves … and olam hazeh … to judgment.