Do Unto Others

“Not so, with My servant Moses,
He is faithful in all My household;” Numbers 12:7 NASB

Is faithful – We aren’t surprised to find that this is the Hebrew verb ‘aman. Its derivatives, ‘emunah and ‘emet are found all over the Tanakh. Faithfulness and truth are inextricably linked in Hebrew thought. The TWOT points out that the heart of the Hebrew idea of certainly is reliability, steadfastness and confidence, not (as in Greek thinking) correct correspondence with facts. But what might surprise us a bit is that the use of ‘aman in this sentence is in the Niphal form (a Niphal participle, singular, absolute to be technical about it). What does this mean and why is it surprising?

First, the Niphal verb form is usually passive or reflexive. That means it describes something that happens to the subject, not something the subject does. It is also a participle. That means it is a verb that functions as if it were a noun or an adjective. That means that our translation “is faithful” isn’t quite correct. There is no “is” in this verse. The word ne-eman (notice the nun prefix) is a verbal description, not verb state of being. When we say, “He is faithful,” the very structure of the language implies that the subject has acted in a way that produces faith. But this is a Greek explanation, not a Hebrew description. In Hebrew thought, without the imported “is,” Moses wears faithfulness because God gave him the clothes. He receives faithfulness as a garment—and it fits. By the way, everyone in the community can see that Moses wears the clothes of faithfulness because his clothing glows of God. Just look how he walks!

What did you do to acquire your faith? Did you rush to the altar, make a pledge, say a prayer, join an organization, read a verse, confess a secret? Are you suddenly aware that these actions taken by you, the subject, are not what God describes when He speaks of Moses. Moses received faith. He did not produce it. He put it on. It came to him as a perfectly tailored garment and he wore it. What if that described you? What if you just stopped trying to have faith and simply put on the clothes God designed for you? What if you never again thought, “I just don’t have enough faith” and realized that getting dressed in God’s “skin” is all you need. What if you simply put on the covering God offers?

Does this change the way you read Paul’s description of the “new man”? Does this make a difference to the way you think about being the temple of the Holy Spirit? Good, now let’s add just one more thing.

God’s clothes are verbs.

Think about that for awhile. Then read Exodus 34:6-7 and Matthew 5:3-9.

Topical Index: faithful, ne-eman, ‘aman, Numbers 12:7