God’s Measure
“Boast no more so very proudly, do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and with Him actions are weighed.” 1 Samuel 2:3 NASB
Are weighed – “You are put on the scales and found wanting.” Fearful words. Have you heard them aimed at you? I have. I have experienced the “something missing” life, that recognition that all I have done to prove myself worthy can never be enough. My therapist helps me realize that the expectation that other people will validate my worth is ultimately a high-risk gamble. Others fail, no matter who they are. The sense of worthiness can’t rest with others, just as we know it can’t be placed on us. We are all far too fragile, too quick to judge, too impatient, too sinful. If you have ever heard, “You are put on the scales and found wanting,” from another person, you know the pain of not being enough.
Religious practitioners tell us that we must turn to God. He won’t fail to affirm our true worth. After all, He made us. He loves us. And then we encounter this word, takan. The argument about its basic meaning is instructive. “According to Dhorme the basic meaning of the root tkn is ‘gauge,’ i.e., ‘estimate a thing by comparing it with a standard’ (E. Dhorme, Le Livre de Job, Paris, 1926). This is also its meaning at Qumran (cf. M. Z. Kaddari in Revue de Qumran, 17:219–224). Driver, however, rejects this meaning and opts for the sense ‘to adjust (to a standard) set right’ (G. R. Driver, “Hebrew Notes,” VT1:242f.). But R. N. Whybray contends that while the basic root meaning cannot be determined, both meanings are found.”[1] Which will it be in this verse? Does God gauge us by comparing us with a standard (i.e., “the Son”) or does God adjust us to a right standard? Or both?
Pick one. Either way the problem doesn’t go away, does it? God has a standard. We don’t measure up. Whether he gauges or adjusts, it’s something He does, not me. And that means, left to myself, I don’t make it. But I already knew that. It didn’t take Hannah’s exultation to tell me that I am not God and I don’t match up to His standard. But it took my religious upbringing to convince me that it really doesn’t matter. Jesus will fix it all in the end. All I need to do is confess and I will get up from the altar with a new heart. Been there. Done that. After momentarily elation, life returned to the usual struggles. Maybe there are some who are instantly, radically transformed, but in my experience this change in direction is a very long process. It seems to have been the same long process for the patriarchs and their children. Maybe my expectations for instant renewal really ignore the Hebrew idea of hadash, the renewed covenant, the renewed life. Hadash doesn’t mean my old ways instantly disappear. It means that my old ways are bent toward new ends. God uses what I misused. Hope isn’t an eraser in God’s hand. It is a tuning fork.
It’s difficult to come to terms with the Hebrew idea that God really does weigh our deeds. We want forgiveness to remove all those past mistakes, but it seems as though there is a difference between guilt and consequence. Removing guilt allows me to walk in newness of life. It does not repair the results of the past. Consequences still get passed on. That doesn’t mean God isn’t actively adjusting the outcomes. It only means that the chains of events I began because of my choices and the past choices of my ancestors are still there and must be dealt with. Hadash—renewed, not replaced. Hadash implies obligation to restore. There is something for me to do besides claim that I am no longer guilty. I have to make amends for what I have done. Then I will be free.
Topical Index: takan, hadash, weigh, renew, 1 Samuel 2:3
[1] Waltke, B. K. (1999). 2511 ָּכַן. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (970). Chicago: Moody Press.
This may not sound like it, but it is a question from a tired budgie.
“Then I will be free”
Free from guilt?
Correct me if I am wrong. Yeshua’s death on the cross overcame death. I still need to make restitution/amends, to repair the damage I, and mine have done to the universe?
This is not the same as doing good works in order to get into God’s good graces?
Yes, I think freedom is not simply the removal of guilt. Nor is it simply the promise of life after death (and the removal of the specter of death). Freedom comes when I know that what I have done has been undone. Since only God can undo all the consequences, that means I must do what I can and then know that He will do what He can. I am not free if I have not attempted to make amends. The burden of consequences that result from my prior acts is still pregnant in the air. But I can do something. I can do what I can do, without restraining my efforts even if I must restrain the outcome in order not to extend harm to others. I can act to make it right, even if my act is substitutionary.
Just out of curiosity would this mean what Paul is teaching in 1 Cor 11 from verse 23, about the “rite” of holy communion?
It is not about the rite or participation therein but rather the conformity to the principle of being purified by making the Godly intent my way of doing things…
What does it mean to repent? Turn around. Question: what does it take to turn a ship around the size of an aircraft carrier? Look it up some time! I am that ship: I am carrying all the choices that have been made in my past that have not been redeemed, Yet. It takes a lot to turn me around!
I am studying the brand new concept of epigenetics, which basically says that we carry the changes that are the result of the past choices of our ancestors. Its like, wow! Those genetic switches that determine a genes expression are all over the place in me. I am basically the product of past choices. There are genetic codes for physical, mental, spiritual(!) and emotional realities at the somatic (body) level. Apparently, I am not just my own person! Where am I in all this mess? And we haven’t even gotten to the messes in those around me that I caused or that happened because of that carrier full of mess that I represent!
Free from sin involves freedom from what it represents, and now we are talking about fracture. How do I get free of the cracks in my life? Repair them! Fix those relationships! The only way to be free from sin is to restore relationship. Um, that’s a rather active participatory process! It definitely involves me. I was around when the mess happened. I have to show up when it gets fixed, too. Responsibility. The name of this game. Sure doesn’t happen in my sleep!
Laurita, what does it take to turn the “aircraft carrier” [me] around? Two words.. “but God!” He never changes and still is in the miracle working business. I know. I am one of His [many] miracles. My miracle? A changed heart. Changed both instantly and also changed [for the better] over the course of the years. God works both in the moment and in the course of time. Whether instant or not, “hope and change” are what God does. He give us hope. Hope for today and for tomorrow. And change.. If only you could have seen me “yesterday!” Reminds me of Ronnie Milsap’s “What a difference You’ve made in my life!” BTW, this is the testimony of every blood-bought believer – My life before.. how I met Christ.. and my life after!. Same story – repeated many times.. – from a mess to a message! From chaos and confusion to calm and clarity. Isn’t He wonderful?
Amen, fellow aircraft carrier. One day, on a certain sea of glass, we will all be singing the same tune. This is my story, this is my song, but, it’s yours too, and everyone else’s! Looking forward to singing with you, Carl!
“Removing guilt allows me to walk in newness of life. It does not repair the results of the past. Consequences still get passed on. That doesn’t mean God isn’t actively adjusting the outcomes.”
Though my guilt has been removed, (thank you, ABBA) I continue to carry my sense of guilt UNTIL I do my very best to make restitution where possible, to be freed of it. I can’t ignore nor presume just simply by believing it’s gone, that I will not be bothered by it anymore..No, that guilt will still be upon my shoulders.
We are not to take ABBA’s chesed for granted; He will adjust the outcomes actively only when we take responsibility for our actions/decisions. I must ensure no more of the same foolish actions.
Excellent explanation. Thanks
Thank YOU, Skip; for provoking us to DIG deep into ourselves and His Word! Shalom!
” hope isn’t an eraser in Gods hand, it’s a tuning fork ” great analogy!!
I will carry this with me today as I tune into God 🙂
Thank you so much Skip for taking the time to study and posting these teachings for all to partake. Fresh manah but the truth will set you free. This particular teaching sure removes the pressure of guilt and lost of hope. It restores my soul for sure.
Jesus said with the measure we measure with we will be measured… Does this have any relevance to the measure of God and how it is done in a righteous and just manner?
Almost eight years ago I was told by a respected Jewish/Christian teacher that because I, at a time of severe backsliding, had ‘married’ a divorced unbeliever I was living in perpetual adultery and the only way for either my ‘husband’ or I to be saved was for me to leave the ‘marriage’. He said that living together just as friends would not be good enough and added that I should be grateful we had no children since they would be ‘children of whoredom’. As you can imagine, I was devastated by his proclamation, even though he wouldn’t give me exact bible verses to back his words. And yet I wasn’t convicted enough to do as he advised. I live daily with the consequences of my backslidden choices, and the guilt of disobedience but, more than anything I am weighed down by the possibility that my ‘husband’s’ chance of ‘salvation’ is lost and still wonder daily if our only hope is for me to leave. I guess God forgives when we repent and turn away from our sin, and if we truly are committing adultery by living under the same roof, we haven’t repented. This teacher is a Hebrew/Greek scholar so I can’t take his words lightly. Skip, or anyone, could you give an opinion?
Helen, I am no scholar, but I do recall these words from scripture: “I will have mercy and not sacrifice.” You say you have repented. Who am I–or who is anyone else, including “respected teachers,” for that matter–to question that? Then we should be showing mercy, not asking you to perform some ridiculous sacrifice. The Bible also takes a dim view of people who condemn their brethren, when it is the Messiah who is able to make us stand. Your husband’s “chance of salvation” is not lost. God is love and wisdom and power and charity and…and so much more than we can possibly understand. Don’t for a moment think that you have the capacity to thwart God’s timing with your husband. We all make mistakes that can’t be undone. What you do next is be grateful to God for His help and loving kindness and do well with what is before you. You have a husband. You have a household. Both are gifts, and God is eager to see the good that you can do with these gifts.
Goodness, this is a really heart-felt question. Your honesty is both refreshing, and compelling if you know what I mean, Helen.
In addition to what’s already been suggested by others, I think that it’s imperative that YOU discover the answer to this question in order to make peace with yourself, this man, and with God. Here’s why: even if you get a dozen Godly responses in favor of your relationship, or a dozen Godly responses in opposition to it, you are still going to struggle with guilt and shame needlessly – perhaps your whole life – if you never learn for yourself whether or not your relationship with this man is right in God’s eyes. Ultimately, you’re going to stand before God and give an account of your sins – not before that Rabbi, or any of us.
The fact that you don’t actually know the bible verse to which the Rabbi was referring; and that you have in parenthesis the words “marriage” and “adultery” suggests to me that you don’t know whether or not you’re actually behaving sinfully based upon what the Rabbi said. Yet, you make the emphatic statement that you live daily with the consequences of your back-slidden behavior, as if you DO know through experience that the way in which you’re living is wrong. So, it seems that you’re currently double-minded about your relationship with this man. When you research for yourself the verses in scripture which specifically relate to your situation, then you’ll know what is true and the resolution will be clear.
Then, you’ll have peace because you’ll know what to do – you, and the man with whom you’re living, will either need to repent before God (which doesn’t necessarily require you to “leave him”, by the way), or you will be able to finally fully commit in your heart to this man in recognition of the truth you found in God’s word. Either way, you will finally be free.
Some people don’t know how to research a topic in scripture in order to find answers to their questions. If that’s the case for you, it’s actually really easy. Utilizing http://www.blueletterbible.org, do a separate study on each of the words “marriage;” “adultery;” repentance;” and any other words that you think are relevant to discovering the meaning of the Rabbi’s admonition to you and your concerns about the salvation of the man with whom you’re living. You may contact me through Skip, if you think this exercise would be helpful to resolving your angst and you don’t already know how to use this website to conduct personal bible studies.
Peace to you… and thanks, again, for your honesty.
Annamarie, this is an excellent response, well thought out and articulated. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Annamarie, for such a thoughtful response. And you are absolutely right, when I was first confronted by this teacher I sought the opinion of a few other scholarly souls, whose varying views left me still completely confused. I tried to study it through by myself, but felt my very small brain had no chance of really finding the truth, and asked the Father to show me clearly if I was meant to leave. Sometimes I would have been so grateful to have a Godly reason to walk away but that clarity never came and so we continue to live under the same roof just as friends – on a good day!
When I say that I live daily with the consequence of my sin, I really mean that it is terribly painful to live with the choice I made to disobey the Lord, live with someone who doesn’t share my love for the Lord, and to know the constant sadness of seeing his lost condition. But I have somehow managed to put the teacher’s condemnation to one side until very recently when some friends were enthusing about his wisdom and Biblical knowledge. Since then the turmoil has become almost unbearable once again, and I just want to know the Father’s heart in all this…
Anyway, I will attempt once more to study this out. I haven’t come across the blue letter bible before, but will give it a try. Thank you again for taking the time to give some very wise counsel in all this.
La Medida de Dios
No os jactéis más con tanto orgullo, no salga la arrogancia de vuestra boca; porque el SEÑOR es Dios de sabiduría, y por El son pesadas las acciones. 1 Samuel 2:3 LBLA
Son pesadas – “Te han puesto en la balanza y has sido hallado falto.” Terribles palabras. ¿Las has oído dirigidas a ti? Yo si. He experimentado esa vida de “falta algo,” el reconocer que todo lo que he hecho para probarme a mí mismo que soy digno nunca será suficiente. Mi terapeuta me ayuda a comprender que la expectativa de que otras personas validen mi valor es finalmente, una apuesta de alto riesgo. Los demás fracasan, sin importar quiénes son. El sentido de dignidad o valor no puede reposar en los demás, tal como sabemos que no puede depender de nosotros. Todos somos demasiado frágil, demasiado rápidos para juzgar, demasiado impacientes, demasiado pecadores. Si alguna vez has oído, “Te han puesto en la balanza y has sido hallado falto,” de otra persona, sabes el dolor de no ser suficiente.
Los profesionales religiosos nos dicen que tenemos que volver a Dios. Él no fracasara en afirmar nuestro verdadero valor. Después de todo, Él nos hizo. Él nos ama. Y entonces nos encontramos con esta palabra, takan. El argumento sobre su significado básico es instructivo. “De acuerdo con Dhorme el significado básico de la raíz tkn es ‘medidor’, es decir, ” estimar una cosa comparándola con un estándar ‘ (E. Dhorme, Le Livre de Job, París, 1926). Este es también su significado en Qumran (cf. M. Z. Kaddari en Revue de Qumran, 17: 219-224). Driver, sin embargo, rechaza este significado y opta por el sentido de ‘ajustar (a un estándar) reparar’ (G. R. Driver, “Notas de hebreo,” VT1:242f). Pero R. N. Whybray afirma que, si bien el significado básico de la raíz no se puede determinar, ambos significados se encuentran. “[1], ¿Cuál será en este versículo? ¿Nos mide Dios al compararnos con un estándar (es decir, “el Hijo”) o Dios nos ajusta a un nivel adecuado? ¿O ambos?
Elige uno. De cualquier manera el problema no desaparece, ¿o si? Dios tiene un estándar. No estamos a la altura. Sea que nos mida o ajusta, es algo que Él hace, no yo. Y eso significa, que por mí mismo, yo no lo lograre. Pero eso ya lo sabía. No necesito la exultación (declaración jubilosa) de Hannah para decirme que no soy Dios y no llego a su estándar. Pero se requirió de mi crianza religiosa para convencerme de que realmente no importa. Jesús lo arreglará todo al final. Todo lo que hay que hacer es confesar y voy a levantarme del altar con un corazón nuevo. Ya estuve allí. Ya hice eso. Después de un momento de euforia, la vida volvió a las luchas habituales. Tal vez hay algunos que son instantánea y radicalmente transformados, pero en mi experiencia ese cambio de dirección es un proceso muy largo. Parece haber sido el mismo proceso largo para los patriarcas y sus hijos. Quizás mis expectativas para la renovación instantánea ignoran la idea Hebrea de Hadash, el pacto renovado, la vida renovada. Hadash no significa que mis viejos caminos desaparecen al instante. Significa que mis viejos caminos son doblados hacia nuevos fines. Dios usa lo que utilice mal. La esperanza no es un borrador en la mano de Dios. Se trata de un diapasón. (Herramienta para afinar instrumentos musicales)
Es difícil llegar a un acuerdo con la idea hebrea que Dios realmente mide nuestras acciones. Queremos el perdón que elimine todos aquellos errores del pasado, pero parece como si hay una diferencia entre culpa y consecuencia. La eliminación de la culpa me permite andar en novedad de vida. No repara los resultados del pasado. Las consecuencias deben ser vividas. Eso no significa que Dios no se está ajustando de manera activa los resultados. Sólo significa que las series de eventos que empecé a causa de mis opciones y las decisiones de mis antepasados todavía están allí y deben lidiar con ellas. Hadash – renovado, no sustituye. Hadash implica la obligación de restaurar. Hay algo para que haga además de afirmar que ya no soy culpable. Tengo que reparar lo que he hecho. Entonces seré libre.
I’ll second that motion Thomas, David wasn’t required to give up Bathsheba. There are certainly consequences for sin but that doesn’t require us to engage in more chaos to fix the chaos we choose to engage in, wait, that sounds like a government fiscal policy! ?
To Thomas, Robert and Annamarie – I am really unsure of how this website works : ( so if you didn’t receive my individual responses to your posts, I apologise and thank you for your words, your wisdom and your willingness to advise…