Cenchrus incertus Curtis

I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;
I hate the work of those who fall away;
It shall not fasten its grip on me.  Psalm 101:3  NASB

Fasten its grip – Let’s go walking in the fields by the dunes along the coast.  By the time we’re finished with our trip, you will have encountered Cenchrus incertus Curtis, otherwise known as sandbur, those barbed little stickers that get attached to your clothes and socks and are the devil to get loose.  Every time you get stuck, think of David.  The word, of course, is davak.  It’s the sandbur word of Scripture.  It’s most famous use is in Genesis 2:24.  A man is to glue, stick, cleave, attach, grip his ‘ezer kenegdo in a way that he can never let go.  God likes sandburs, especially when we are Cenchrus incertus Curtis attached to Him!

But there are some things in the world that we never want to stick to us.  I was going to say, “There are some things in life that we don’t want to stick to us,” but then I realized that these “stickies” aren’t life.  They are death.  They are the poisoned barbs of the defiled universe trying to get attached to us.  They are slow-kill darts, so slow that we don’t notice them for a long time.  But we should.  We should be so sensitive to the wiles of the enemy and the defilement of the creation that anything that is dipped in death is immediately cast away.  Didn’t Paul say exactly what David says when he spoke about not being captive to any of these things?  No one wants death clinging to him.

So here’s the problem.  Since sandburs are everywhere on life’s road and they are so small that it’s hard to see them along the way, how can we recognize them in advance so we avoid getting stuck?  If I told you, “Hey, that field over there is full of Cenchrus incertus Curtis,” you probably wouldn’t have a clue about the danger.  I need to break down the scientific technical term so that you know exactly what to avoid.  In biblical terms, I need to break down “sin” so that you know precisely what it means and can avoid it wherever it is found.  Fortunately, that is exactly what God does.

He could have said, “Love me and do as you please” (an adaptation of Augustine).  But that’s not very helpful when I need to know where the burs are.  So God gives me precise and exact directions about life (not death) and He warns me about all the death-darts.  God is good to me.  He tells me where I will find Cenchrus incertus Curtis in language that I can understand.

Are you listening?  Or have you decided that you know where you want to go and who cares about the burs?

Do you really think that a God who is so concerned about your well-being that He was willing to translate heavenly language into earthly instructions doesn’t know what He is talking about?  Who are you to tell Him that things have changed and you don’t need His advice anymore?  Ah, good luck with the Cenchrus incertus Curtis.

Topical Index:  davak, cling, grip, Torah, Psalm 101:3