Breaking News
“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God. Isaiah 40:1 NASB
Comfort – “They will lick the dust like a serpent, like reptiles of the earth. They will come trembling out of their fortresses; to the Lord our God they will come in dread and they will be afraid before You” (Micah 7:17). The God of vengeance has spoken. The prophet has revealed the anger of the Lord. The day of wrath is coming when all His enemies will lick the earth. Be afraid!
Perhaps you are in Micah’s sights but you need to experience Isaiah’s rescue. It’s pretty easy to identify with the God of Micah. We all know our sins. We all feel the terror of impending punishment. We all struggle to maintain righteousness. And because we all fail, we are easily swept up in Micah’s warning. God is coming to clean the earth of all those who are not walking in His ways. Even if we are trying, many of us stumble along the trail and all of us know ones we love who are not even on the path. Is God going to sweep them up too? “May Your mercy outweigh Your wrath,” pray the rabbis—and for very good reason. Who can stand before the Lord? “A man with clean hands and a pure heart,” says David. And that leaves most of us looking in from the outside.
This is why Isaiah’s declaration is such wonderful, breaking news. Actually, it isn’t Isaiah’s declaration. It is YHVH’s, and that’s even more significant. God has determined that Israel has suffered enough. The very, very good news is that God Himself will provide comfort. In fact, investigation of the word (nahamu) reveals that this good news has much more to it than the deferral of vengeance.
Naham is a verb that means, “to be sorry, to regret, to repent, to be comforted” and “to comfort.” “The origin of the root seems to reflect the idea of ‘breathing deeply,’ hence the physical display of one’s feelings, usually sorrow, compassion, or comfort.”[1] That is an important connection with YHVH’s self-description, the God of the “long nose” (‘erek ‘appayim) from Exodus 34:6. Comfort is the direct expression of defused anger. But it is more than that. Notice that the same verb also means regret and repent. While most of the times this verb is used of God, not men, Christian orthodoxy suggests that the verb is anthropomorphic, that is, it doesn’t actually describe God but only our perception of God from a human perspective. I find the theology that requires this explanation quite convoluted. I see no reason why we should not accept the text as it is. God does repent because repentance is a feeling of regret not necessarily associated with sin. But what I find most interesting is that naham is also a verb about comfort. There seems to be a direct connection between repentance and comfort. Perhaps it is the case that the verb shuv is the typical verb of human repentance, but naham still provides me with a desperately needed insight. Comfort, that experience I so long to feel, comes from my repentance and God’s retraction. David knew this. “Your rod and Your staff comfort me.” The experience of comfort comes through the restrained power of the Lord. When He is not my enemy, I find contentment and tranquility.
Perhaps we should put it like this: Until we have heard the words, nahamu, nahamu, until YHVH has declared Himself no longer a God who seeks vengeance, we will be unlikely to find peace and tranquility. And how do we initiate the process that results in naham? We turn around. We demonstrate sorrow for our past direction. We come back—to His now open arms. The claim of peace on any other grounds is simply a delayed nightmare.
Topical Index: naham, repent, regret, comfort, Isaiah 40:1, Exodus 34:6, Micah 7:17, Psalm 23:4
[1] Wilson, M. R. (1999). 1344 נָחַם. 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.) (570). Chicago: Moody Press.
Can God change His mind, direction, response and EMOTIONS? If so, what are the triggers – what makes Him do it?
Skip has been circling this idea over and over again. If we are not creatures of fate – if our choices do matter; if they do change the outcome, but if the outcome is, at the end of our little earth day, all His will still, then the conclusion must be that that outcome reflects BOTH His will and ours. Together. We get our way AND He gets His. Um, very non-Greek.
I was reading about the propositions that Aristotle set forth as being foundational to thinking, and prominent among them were two: one being the principle of non-contradiction (a statement and its opposite cannot both be confirmed), and the other being that there can be no third (an assertion and its opposite cannot both be false). In other words, if one is false, the other must true. There is no other possibility. We in the West now have all learned to think this way, and to consider the ability to think LOGICALLY (a Greek invention) as ‘proof’ that we are able to arrive at TRUTH with our minds. Logic = truth, and it can all be proven as long as you follow the rules.
Thinking this way, we are never going to arrive at the understanding that God gets His way AND we get ours. Nope. Doesn’t go into the little logic box and come out the right hole. How can this be? Further, if He is so large and in charge, how come He is, seemingly, a prisoner of His emotions, just like us? After all, the entire planet has invented entire religions around trying to deal with those troublesome things. Passion is a problem here on planet earth, but if heaven has the same problem, we are going to (logically) conclude that heaven is not much better off than we are. If God is not immutable, impassable, and unchangeable, and, worst of all, if He can CHANGE HIS MIND according to HOW HE FEELS, then there is not much for us to hang a hat on up there, is there?
I have a little proposition that keeps floating around in my head, and that is the notion that, in a universe created to respond to the free will of both the Creator and the creatures He made like Him, every little choice we make changes not only reality, but God’s choices, too. He is so large that He can become that small. Conversely, His choices impact ours, too. We impact each other. This is His will, because this is how He made creation to be. I can change God’s mind, but at the end of the day, He is going to get His perfect Way. And all His creatures will, too, which is to say, those that have chosen death will get their choice. We cannot override His will, but He will not override ours, either. This is not fitting well with ANY Greek proposition. I am going to stop now because I am laughing too hard, and not because I think I have made any ‘sense’. (Hmm, wonder who invented that?)
I’m thinkin’ that’s called equity! 🙂
I guess smiley faces aren’t working anymore.
But I see your smiley in the post
must be my computer, all I see is a square.
The Compassionate Christ
Jesus wept. (John 11.35) May we be so bold as to inquire, “Why?” And while we are here, let’s include the other information gathering words: Who? What? Where? and When?
Tears, (it has been said) are the safety valve of the heart. The God-Man was moved with compassion. Was it the human side of HIm or the Divine within Him that caused this? “Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb.” (John 11.38)
Now we know why. “It is written.” ~ For we have not an High Priest [after the order of Melchizedek] which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin ~ (Hebrews 4.15)
And may we quickly recall His words: “He that has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14.9) Yes, “like Father – like Son.”
Our Father LOVES us. Are we able to even begin to fathom? “God SO LOVED the world?” (John 3.16)
Perhaps the answer to “Why” may be found when David’s happy conclusion become ours as well:
~ For [Because] the LORD is good; His steadfast love [lookup “steadfast love” in the original Hebrew!] endures forever, and His faithfulness is to all generations ~ (Psalm 100.5)
נָחַם ‘nacham’ meaning relent or comfort, to soften in feeling, temper, or determination; become more mild, compassionate, or forgiving.
YHWH did not ‘regret’ as in human terms, He is ever gracious/chesed not to punish knowing that mankind is “but flesh”, but, never giving up on our weaknesses, that there will be a precious Remnant who will not bow to idolatry, nor will they desire to transgress against Him. Amein! That is the nachum/ comfort we will hang onto.
Jeremiah18:8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turns from their evil, I will relent of the evil that I thought to do to them.
Jonah 3:10 And YHWH saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and He relented of the evil, that He had said that He would do to them; and He did not do it.
YHWH will relent even for a small number of righteous ones, and conditionally- when anyone seeks forgiveness for their transgressions whole-heartedly, returning to His Torah ways. THAT is chen/ amazing grace!
How wonderful are You, YHWH!
Let’s ask…
If our will and God’s could live together how would the universe be… Full of beautiful woman/millionaires/poverty/struggle/regret or what?
God created He can limit and does bring back to zero more often than we would be willing to admit.
Who are we as humans that can push his hand away and ask what do you think you are doing…
Throughout the history small things have been guarded by God while great things have been destroyed man-made as well as God made.
When and how will we hear you have suffered enough.
Job went through hell on earth and when his prayer was answered and he could talk to God and God explained his purpose and intent what did Job do… Humbled himself and in this humbleness God answered those convictions he always had – restored all and added benefits when he started praying for his friends.
As Micah said we lick dust… I add because we chase dust, build God unto our image, We are blessed when this or that is manifested… And I thought we are blessed when God touches our lives.
119 Ministries refers to psalm 119 as a guide to understand God and appreciate the manifestation of Christ.
Not so much turning around but more surrendering unto…
Study to show approved, seek first the kingdom etc and what we will eat drink and be sheltered with will be added.
I read of a prayer day for rain. All prayed for how they suffered and needed the water, a hobo prayed God forgive me as I am a sinner but the poor sheep and beasts of the veld are suffering and need rain to survive. That night it rained in the veld and around the hobo but not over the planted crop and town… Why anyone’s guess.
Is God’s will not easier than our insight?
Is His wrath not against our stiff necks?
If turning to Torah could resolve all as is indicated throughout the bible, why is this the most difficult thing to do.
We easily learn on more skills and habits both bad and good but learning the true Torah is the most difficult thing to do… WHY?