The Blind God
Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and you can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor on those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up those more righteous than they? Habakkuk 1:13 NASB
Can not look – Can God look on evil? Can He intimately engage the wicked? When the sin of the world falls on Yeshua, must God turn away? Must He withdraw because Sin is so appalling, so hideous? “We cannot doubt that St. Mark intends us to understand that the Three Hours of Darkness symbolize a real darkness in the soul of Jesus: a real consequence of being forsaken by God which finds expression in the Cry of Dereliction.”[1] Really? Are you willing to take another look?
Traditionally, Christian theology agrees with Hickinbotham. God abandons Yeshua at the moment Yeshua takes Sin (capital S) on Himself. This verse from Habakkuk is often used to justify the claim. But what does the prophet really say? Does he say that God cannot look on evil because holiness prevents such a thing? Read the verse again. Notice that the NASB adds “with favor.” The Hebrew text merely says that God cannot look on amal, a word that means trouble, harm, anxiety and toil. The NASB attempts to capture the idiomatic metaphor by adding “with favor” in order to indicate that it is not logically or theologically impossible for God to view evil but rather that God does not condone evil. Given what Isaiah says in 45:7, it seems difficult to imagine that God cannot even look upon sin. Even if we read Isaiah 45:7 as a statement about natural calamity rather than moral disobedience, are we prepared to say that God must turn away from any form of rebellion? If that is true, then how did we enter into fellowship with Him?
The Hebrew expression in Habakkuk uses the verbs nabath and yakol. Nabath covers the range from a quick glance to a studied examination. It is the same verb used in Psalm 33:13 (“He sees all the sons of men”), clearly including the wicked whom He rewards accordingly. Yakol basically means “to be able, to have the capacity.” It is used to describe the sovereignty of God. There is nothing He cannot do. It certainly seems that Habakkuk uses the phrase metaphorically as an expression of God’s unwillingness to overlook evil rather than a declaration that God is unable to see evil.
Furthermore, if Yeshua is the Messiah, is He only the Messiah after the crucifixion? Is He not the Messiah during the crucifixion? Is He not the Son of Man, the only beloved in whom the Father finds great favor, during the paradigm example of obedience? How are we to split apart the seconds while He hangs on the cross so that at one moment He is glorified, at the next He is abandoned, and then glorified again?
Doesn’t the problem really come from reading the text, “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” as if it is a declarative statement rather than a form of ostensive definition (you can look that one up while I point you toward the dictionary). Put aside the theological doctrine for just a moment and ask yourself, “Does Mark really mean for me to imagine that God is blind to His Son’s struggle and triumph?” If you were at the cross at that moment, would you have understood His cry as a statement of abandonment, or would it point you to something else?
I wonder if the idea that God abandoned Yeshua because of the enormity of Sin isn’t the equivalent of the doctrine of non passé peccare, that it was impossible for Yeshua to sin. This seems like an analogy applied to the Father. And I wonder where all this came from?
We cannot diminish the hideousness of the crucifixion, but neither should we enlarge it. Scripture actually pays little attention to the details of the event. When it could have easily informed us of the physical agony, the pain and suffering and the humiliation, Scripture relegates those descriptions to the night in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Garden is the center of the struggle. The cross is almost an afterthought. It happened. It’s terrible. But what needed to be done was already done by the time the nails were used.
If God can’t look on the Sin attached to Yeshua, how can He look on me, one who isn’t blameless?
Topical Index: sin, cross, Mark 15:34, Habakkuk 1:13, , yakol, nabath, evil, Isaiah 45:7
[1] J. P. Hickinbotham, The Churchman, lviii, p. 56.
Skip,
I really like where this is going. It’s got me thinking…about translations…transliterations…and about Lamsa’s teaching that, “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” – in the original language spoken that day at the cross – would not have been understood by the Roman guards. Only those hidden in the crowd would understand Yeshua to have said, “My God, my God, for this I was kept (this was my destiny – I was born for this).” Lamsa claims Yeshua did not quote the Psalms because if He had, it would have been in Aramaic, and the word would have been “nashatani” which means “forsaken me” instead of “shabachthani” which means “kept me.” Those close to him and the disciples were all from Galilee and would not for a moment think that God had forsaken him. Would they? Hmmm? Yeshua himself told the disciples that the whole world would forsake him but the Father would always be with him. Now where’s that TWOT? Let me see…
I’m a new learner. I crave more information. Where does it say that G’d will never forsake His Son? Which Psalm is He quoting on the cross? Keep it coming; I’m feasting!
Lamsa’s insight is useful ONLY if the language of Yeshua was Aramaic. While that is the usual seminary understanding, there is a significant amount of evidence that indicates the language was Hebrew, not Aramaic. That changes things. See my article, written a long time ago, about Yeshua’s mother tongue. You can find it on the web site. The title is “The Hebrew Gospels”
Hello Skip. 🙂
This particular point you have made that i will quote and paste below has my interest…. and i will certainly look at your work titled ” Hebrew Gospels ” . It would be an understatement to say that i am intrigued. Quote : ” Lamsa’s insight is useful ONLY if the language of Yeshua was Aramaic. While that is the usual seminary understanding, there is a significant amount of evidence that indicates the language was Hebrew, not Aramaic. ”
So i am a slightly perplexed to see you hold this view .., that while i myself with confidence can say that Yeshua spoke Hebrew ..yes .., i guess i am baffled as to what you actually mean by ” not Aramaic “. Just curious. 🙂
I have been looking at Paul Younan and Andrew Gabriel Roths work on the Peshitta and the Aramaic language and it’s presence in all of Scripture as well as their critics which make many assumptions that simply are not true and or factual .
To quote Mr. Paul Younan regarding ..My God .., My God http://www.peshitta.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1587&start=15
” As you know Christian tradition is rich in the understanding that Psalm 22 is a messianic psalm. This is also true of our own tradition.
Whether or not He was quoting the first line of Psalm 22, I’m not sure. The Peshitta psalm reads identical. The Hebrew root there is an ancient root from Assyrian/Akkadian. It is the exact cognate of the Aramaic Sh-b-q. It also has the same shades of meaning as I mentioned above.
For instance, see Leviticus 23:22 for the shade meaning “spare”.
I think both David and Yeshua were looking for a completion of an action they are praying for, an end result. For David, that was a deliverance from his enemies. And for Christ, the only way off the Cross. The completion of His mission. I don’t think either of them felt God had forsaken them.
We do know that those condemned to a death sentence only fear one thing more than the inevitable moment of death, and that is a prolonged suffering. We do know that by the time Christ uttered these words, several hours of the most excruciating torture had transpired. I personally believe He was pleading for an end to the pain, and not that He felt God had abandoned Him in any way.
Any assertion that a-z-b in Hebrew cannot mean “spared”, “forgiven” or “reserved” is incorrect. It indeed does have those shades of meaning in Hebrew, Arabic and in the Akkadian root from which both are drawn.
The concept of God having “forsaken” Himself, or the concept of the Messiah having uttered such a thing as the English implies with the implication of that term, is a completely foreign concept in the understanding and patristic history of the CoE.
Quoting Andrew Roth regarding tMatthew 27:46
Perhaps no Scripture evokes more emotion than the cry from the stake in Matthew 27:46. How is it possible that these powerful words have been misunderstood for nearly two millennia? For many, Y’shua’s last utterance was either understood as a cry of desperation or a declaration of his Messiahship from Psalm 22:1; “My El, My El, why have you forsaken me.” Greek versions attempt to transliterate the Psalm as Eli, Eli lama sabacthani. However, the Aramaic Peshitta NT reads: “Eli, Eli lemana shabakthani,” while Hebrew Psalm reads: “Eli, Eli lama azbatani.” Greek transliteration reflects the Aramaic word as does the Peshitta. However, there is a key difference between azbatani, which only means “to forsake” and its Aramaic counterpart shabakthani which has multiple meanings but also includes the same concept.
http://www.therefinersfire.org/forsaken_me.htm
Have you given any thought to Andrew Gabriel Roth’s thesis on Aramaic NT Primacy ? It is quite compelling and he scratches the surface on this here in this link. Thanks for all you do Skip .. any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks
Peace and Blessings
Michael 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjbvXJ8g02M
Good Morning, to answer your last question. What I have been taught is that He doesn’t look at me directly He looks at me through Yeshua.
And where does Scripture teach you that God doesn’t look at you directly? How do explain the large number of texts in the Tanakh where God is in immediate contact with His people, corporately and individually?
As you are no doubt aware, there is a strong association of the idea that God looks at us through Yeshua with the long-time debate over whether justification is forensic or infused. Ultimately, this issue is answered in the way both justification and atonement are eventually viewed.
Looking forward to your TWs on these subjects. 🙂
Good TW. I’m stumped on this one. Skip and others, I’d like to know more.
Along with the view that God could not then, nor now, look upon sin, I was taught that He does not hear the sinner until they pray the prayer of forgiveness. Once they ask Jesus into their heart, He hears their every word. And then, if they sin again, God turns a deaf side to them until they ask for forgiveness again. What!?! a roller coaster experience. If YHWH cannot look upon the sinner, how does He know they sin?
Of course, I could never quite put my finger on the pulse of that teaching…something just did not seem reasonable about it. This teaching, however, makes the argument for Hebrew language and perspective quite a bit more logical, and unites the preChrist age to the present and going forward. It IS about how we live lives of obedience, doing what has been laid out for us and leaving the unseen plan to YWHW with a discerning heart.
If YHWH is able to do anything, but lie, how could He NOT look upon the Beloved, His Choice Offering of Atonement? Did the priest not look upon while the lamb while it was being slaughtered for sacrifice? I have a hard time picturing it in my mind, but He is so much greater than I!
And I agree with you, Skip, how can He see any of us who are less than Christ? I would not have any great degree of confidence with a fickle and queasy God like that.
Jesus is human And divine unlike, for example, Ha Satan who is just a “god”
For Humans, things happen subjectively that don’t really happen objectively
God obviously does not abandon Jesus or not look on him
But his last dying breath is an expression of His Humanity
An it connects us to Him IMO
“If God can’t look on the Sin attached to Yeshua, how can He look on me, one who isn’t blameless?”
Here (my friends, both Jew and Gentile) is some very good news!
My sins are gone,-I’ve been set free; My God, (and) my Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood,- His mercy reigns- unending love..-amazing grace.
Oh yes! Oh yes! Oh yes.. Hallelujah, Jesus ransomed me! How wonderful! How marvelous is my Savior’s love for me! And oh, how He loves you and me! He gave His life- what more can He give? -He gave His life’s blood for even me!
The cross! the cross! ~ For the message/word/proclamation of the cross is to those who are perishing “foolishness,” but unto to us who are being saved, it is the very power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” (1 Corinthians 1.18,19)
And to this I say, do it Father, and do it now. I will cling to the old rugged cross- and exchange it someday for a crown! At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the Light- and the burden of my heart rolled away! What was that burden? It was the heavy burden, the weight, the oppression and the mastery of Sin. But what can “wash away” my sin? -Nothing- absolutely nothing- nothing but the blood of Jesus. And what can make me whole again? Nothing-absolutely nothing- nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh precious is the flow- that makes me “white as snow” – Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow,- now “wash” me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
~Please come, and let’s reason together,” implores the LORD. “Even though your sins are like scarlet, they’ll be white like snow. Though they are red like crimson, they’ll become like wool ~ (Isaiah 1.18)
~ But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world ~ (Galatians 6.14)
~The Word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart: that is, the word of faith, which we proclaim; That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation. For the scripture said, Whoever believes on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same LORD over all is rich to all that call on Him. For whoever shall call on the Name of the LORD shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without one to proclaim? And how shall they proclaim, except they be sent? -as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach (euangelizomenōn-announce good news!)- herald the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias said, LORD, who has believed our report? So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes truly, their sound went into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses said, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. But Esaias is very bold, and said, I was found of them that sought Me not; I was made manifest to them that asked not after Me. But to Israel He said, All day long I have stretched forth My hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people ~
Is God then, “using” the Gentiles, to provoke Israel to jealousy? No matter, for the scripture says, “if any man be in Christ..” (2 Corinthians 5.17) – if any man or woman or child be “in Christ.” ~
~ Not I, but Christ! ~ and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the son of God, who loved me and gave Himself (upon the execution stake, the tslav, the cross of Calvary, for me. (Galatians 2.20)
“If God can’t look on the Sin attached to Yeshua, how can He look on me, one who isn’t blameless?”
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the Just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me
Behold Him there the risen Lamb
My perfect spotless Righteousness
The great unchangeable I AM
The Kind of glory and of grace.
One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood.
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God!
With Christ my Savior and my God!
~ My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people ~ (Ezekiel 37:27)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yoPyLcY6Zv4
Thanks for the song Carl. I’ve added it to my favorites to use when I go before the Throne.
Shalom
~ This is a faithful saying, and worthy of “all” acceptation, (both Jew and Gentile- “sinners” all) that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief ~ ( Timothy 1.15)
Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sov’reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
At the cross, at the cross -where I first saw the Light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, Thine—
And bathed in its own blood—
While the firm mark of wrath divine,
His soul in anguish stood.
Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And Love beyond degree!
Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, our mighty Maker died,
For man the creature’s sin.
Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears.
But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, LORD, I give myself away,
’Tis all that I can do.
At the cross, at the cross -where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom.
I never really thought about it! You are right, of course He did. Yeshua was with sinners all the time. He looked them in the face, spoke tenderly to them or caste demons out of them. I’m sure the demons trembled when they saw Him looking at them.
Shabbat Shalom to all!
I have a recent story I would like to share.
The local community that I am a part of here in New Orleans is connecting to another fellowship this weekend and participating in a conference called “Man 2 Man.” The conference started last night and featured a couple of local pastors who shared from God’s word. My local pastor will be speaking and concluding the conference tonight.
Last night was difficult for me. It has been a long time since I have been a part of the mainstream church and the way they taught was a real task of not being harsh and judgmental. As I am sitting there wrestling with my own thoughts and what the speaker is sharing, I have this inexplicable desire to see a “black and white” movie . . . okay, where is this coming from? I leave early before every one is dismissed and return home still in wrestle mode and still wanting to see a “black and white” movie. I share my wrestling and made mention of the desire of the movie to my family.
After talking a good while with my wife, I awakened early in the morning and could not go back to sleep. Upon hearing a noise in the house, I get up to investigate and eventually turn on the television to check out any news about the local weather. As it turns out, I was able to see a “black and white” but not in the way I expected!
There was a documentary playing on the life of John Howard Griffin. He was a different kind of person in the richness of his experiences that compelled him to ‘see’ the world differently. John Griffin went completely blind in 1947 because of an injury he sustained while serving in the Army in World War II. He miraculously regained his sight back ten years later and saw for the first time his wife and two children. In 1959 he decided to do an experiment where he changed his skin color from white to black with the help of a New Orleans dermatologist. He took a six week journey on a greyhound bus with occasional hitchhiking through the highly racially segregated areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. During this journey he compiled a 188 pp. diary that was the basis for his book, “Black Like Me.” He also went into the black community as a white man.
Here was a man who was blind for ten years and then was able again to see the world again in full color and life. He came to the startling conclusion that we should never take the gift of being able to see in color as a basis to judge another person of a different skin color! Plus, in his six week journey, he saw the world in “black and white!”
So how does this fit into my inexplicable desire to see a “black and white” movie?”
I have had a desire the last few years, and it has been accentuated the last few months, to see the mainstream Christian church and Messianic and Torah based communities to come together in mutual respect and understanding. But the last few years have been rife with angst and what seems to me outright hatred and hostility from both sides. I have played a part in this and am genuinely grieved and disturbed about my own actions and words. We must stop this nonsense!! Do we need to take drastic measures to understand one another? Do we need to become blind that we can truly see one another in “black and white?!”
A Post Script: It was my wife who made me aware that I had seen my “black and white” movie in a way I had not expected!
Skip,
Brian would like “Men to Men” to be changed to “Man 2 Man” Thanks
Done
Brian, a moving comment. Thank you. Also a reminder that a house divided is . . . well . . . a house divided. But it cannot remain divided. It falls and fails.
So does this mean when Yahshua made His decision toaccept thos cup in the gsrden was the pivotal poin so it’s all about choice – its the same with us
Didn’t realize I had so many typos. I am using my phone to type. What I wanted to type was- to accept His cup in the garden was the pivotal point. So His choosing was the key similar to us choosing yo observe Torah
Yup. The whole battle takes place between the first temptations in the wilderness and the last temptation in the garden. The rest is commentary. The strong man has to be bound before the new King can take over, and binding the strong man means removing his power to control us.
i’m new to the community so forgive me if i am asking an obvious question. When you say “The strong man has to be bound before the new King can take over, and biding the strong man means removing his power to control us.”
You are implying that this process was taken care of between the first temptation in the wilderness and the last temptation in the garden right?
I have corrected the typo in my comment. Should have been “and BINDING the strong man.” So, now that this is fixed, the answer to your question is YES, between the first temptation in the wilderness at the beginning of the gospel story and the last temptation in the Garden of Gethsemane before the crucifixion.