The Foundation Stone

He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Psalm 112:7 NASB

Steadfast – Hebrew is about reality. Hebrew doesn’t encourage fiction. And what’s the difference between fiction and reality. Fiction has to make sense.

Today we look at the Hebrew word kûn. There are basically two forms of this word. One is about what is right and true. The other is about the consequences of a primary statement. Thus, kûn means, “to bring something into being with the consequence that its existence is a certainty.”^[1] This is what God does. Nothing is brought into being without the certainty that it fulfills the purposes of God. Nothing is completely accidental. Nothing God does is fiction. That’s why many times what God does doesn’t seem to make sense. It’s real, not story. Get used to it.

The man of God doesn’t make sense either. He acts according to God’s will and purposes. He is counter-cultural. He is an enigma. He can’t always be explained because explanation assumes rationality within the box. And God isn’t in the box. The man of God speaks, thinks, acts and feels outside the box. We encounter him at our peril if we are box thinkers and doers. He pushes us outside our comfort zones. His religious stance is uncomfortable because God is uncomfortable. I didn’t say “intolerant.” God isn’t intolerant. He’s demanding with velvet gloves. He’ll let you decide, but your choices have immutable consequences. The man of God is nākôn, in his place, established, ready. If he were anything but the man of God, his life would be an utter contradiction, the epitome of a fool, for he trusts in something that cannot be “proven.” He trusts in someone outside the box. Don’t ask him to explain it all. He can’t. Explanation doesn’t apply outside the box. Devotion, true-heartedness, commitment: those are outside-the-box terms. And when you meet such a man, you know.

If only I were such a man.

Topical Index: kûn, nākôn, steadfast, right, Psalm 112:7

^[1] Oswalt, J. N. (1999). 964 כוּן. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 433). Chicago: Moody Press.

Today is the day of atonement.  Perhaps today we can come a bit closer to being people who are steadfast.  Perhaps we can encounter the unpredictable God in a day that is entirely predicted.