Face Backwards
My eyes at all times to the LORD, for He draws my feet from the net. Psalm 25:15 Robert Alter translation
At all times to – David’s declaration raises some significant questions. Did he always look to the Lord? Do we? Who among us can say that our eyes are always looking toward God? Who has the courage to suggest that we are never distracted, never detoured, never diverted? Perhaps we need to get out of the condemning space inside our heads and realize that this word, tamid, is most frequently used for the continual whole burnt offering made by the priests every morning and every evening. In other words, although it is certainly connected with personal devotion in the Psalms, its home is among the rituals of worship, the actions that demonstrate a continuous desire to seek God and obey Him even when we have looked another way. Wander if you will, but find your way back to the presence of the King in the rituals that remind you He hasn’t left the path.
It is quite unfortunate that modern Western civilization has inherited the Greco-Roman guilt of inner psychological space. A deeply-rooted consequence of Augustine’s Platonism, our idea of the soul and its essential unworthiness due to the inheritance of original sin means that most of us suffer from personal self-condemnation. We recognize our blameworthiness when we compare our performance to the holiness standard. We think of our identity in terms of failures rather than the objects of divine love. Because we believe we are somehow “not right with God’s world,” we either turn from any inclination to draw close to Him or we come feeling despicable and frightened. We need Hebrew psychotherapy. [You might want to read this paragraph again.]
The God of the Bible is not portrayed as a divine angry Judge ready to mete out punishment on our miserable pretentious lives. Yes, of course, He is the Judge, but the Bible focuses almost entirely on His fatherly image, an image of great care, concern and love. God desperately desires to bridge the gap we have created. He yearns for intimate companionship. He is ready to put everything on the line to woo us back to fellowship. Would not a God like this provide daily reminders of His longing for korban (closeness)? Don’t the daily worship practices teach us about the loving character of the Father rather than the need to appease some angry deity? When David says that his eyes are always turned toward God, does he mean he never flounders? Hardly! Isn’t it more likely that he means that despite detours he never gives up moving toward the Lord? The rituals or worship, the daily morning prayers, the Shema, even the dress he dons remind him of God’s search for Man. How can his eyes every turn anywhere else?
“Where else will we go, Lord? You have the words of life.”
Topical Index: tamid, continual, as all times, ritual, Psalm 25:15
Skip…Good Morning
In the NT Translations (see below), Paul/Peter use the word “Christians” in there statements of Faith. Is this word “Christians” a correct translation of Greek/Hebrew as found in the Bible that we use today?
Does it have a different meaning when (if) used by Paul/Peter?
G_d Bless…jc
New International Version:
1.Acts 11:26
and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
2.Acts 26:28
Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”
3.Ephesians 4:17
[ Instructions for Christian Living ] So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
4.Ephesians 5:21
[ Instructions for Christian Households ] Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
5.Colossians 3:18
[ Instructions for Christian Households ] Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
6.1 Peter 4:12
[ Suffering for Being a Christian ] Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
7.1 Peter 4:16
However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
I replied to you by email, but if someone else would like to comment, feel welcomed.
Skip,
I can only imagine the difficulty with providing a short response. My only suggestion would be to start in the Blue Letter Bible, From the word Χριστός (G5547) “The name was first given to the worshippers of Jesus by the Gentiles, but from the second century onward accepted by them as a title of honor.” Paul’s visit to Antioch was not in the second century. I do know that a lot of scholars have said that the term was associated with a derisive tone simply because they didn’t acknowledge the Roman emperor as god. The verse said they met for a year there, and I think the rest of it says this is the first place the derisive tone “Christian” was applied to them.
Skip, please send me that email as well. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Here it is, with additions and corrections.
Skip…Good Morning
In the NT Translations (see below), Paul/Peter use the word “Christians” in there statements of Faith. Is this word “Christians” a correct translation of Greek/Hebrew as found in the Bible that we use today?
Does it have a different meaning when (if) used by Paul/Peter?
G_d Bless…jc
New International Version:
1.Acts 11:26
and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
SKIP: While the translation might be rendered this way, the term really means “followers of the Messiah, i.e., Yehsua” (the Greek christos being the Hebrew Mashiach, that is, anointed one). Our idea of what it means to be “Christian” was added to the meaning centuries afterward. No one in the first century, especially Jews, would have thought of these believers as anything but Jewish or proselytes. Christians as a separate religion didn’t even identify themselves as such until the mid-second century.
2.Acts 26:28
Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”
SKIP: Same issue as above. Consider that Paul never uses the word of himself. He says he is a follower of the Way, a sect of Judaism. Agrippa is basically saying, “You are trying to persude me to be a follower of this Messiah?”
3.Ephesians 4:17 SKIP: NOTICE that the remarks in [ ] are NOT in the text. They are added translator’s introductions. Helpful hints to make you think that these letters were addressed to what we call Christians. ☺
[ Instructions for Christian Living ] So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
4.Ephesians 5:21
[ Instructions for Christian Households ] Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
5.Colossians 3:18
[ Instructions for Christian Households ] Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
6.1 Peter 4:12
[ Suffering for Being a Christian ] Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
7.1 Peter 4:16
However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
SKIP: See comment on Acts 11:26
I was reading the notes to the ESV on this Psalm: “There are echoes of Pentateuch promises, showing that the godly in Israel were to view the Sinai covenant as a gracious one.”
I just don’t get it that people can write this and still think that it is done away with. God does away with grace ???