The Essential Ambiguity
Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. Psalm 139:10 NASB
Lay hold– I could hide in the twilight. I could flee to end of the sea. But the result will be the same. YHVH is there. The only question is why He is there. Is He there as guide and protector? Or is He there as judge and punisher?
The first part of this verse sounds as though God’s hand is benevolent. “You will lead me,” has a comfortable tone. The verb, nāḥâ, “represents the conducting of one along the right path.”[1] “It is equal to nāhal ‘to lead/guide tenderly;’ e.g. Ps 31:3 [H 4], to lead (nāḥâ), and tenderly lead/guide (nāhal) out of trouble (cf. Job 31:18).”[2]
But the second verb contains an essential ambiguity. ʾāḥaz basically means, “to take hold of,” but “sometimes ‘to take hold of’ has the violent connotation of ‘seize’ or ‘catch.’”[3] In idiomatic expression the sense is expanded. “A common idiom is to be seized by pain, sorrow or fear, often as a woman in childbirth. Anguish grips the enemies of Israel (Ex 15:14–15), but Israel herself suffers labor pains as she faces exile (Jer 13:21). King Saul was seized by the agony of death on the battlefield (II Sam 1:9), and the nations of the world endure pain and anguish as the day of the Lord approaches (Isa 13:8–9).”[4] As is common in Hebrew, the reader must determine the meaning of the word. That means words like this tell us more about ourselves than about the author. The poet merely provides the opportunity and the vehicle for the reader to reflect an inner attitude in the interpretation of the meaning. So if our relationship with God is close and secure, we will read both verbs, nāḥâ and ʾāḥaz, as affirmations of God’s gracious guidance, and the security of being in His hand. But if we are running from God’s overwhelming observation, like Jonah we will read ʾāḥaz as a time of pain, capture and exile. The reading tells us about us, just as the poet intended.
Hebrew is often like this. In fact, the poet’s essential ambiguity began earlier with šaḥar (“dawn”). Remember the ambiguous occurrences of this word? Jacob at Jabbok. Ruth after the night with Boaz. The twilight where nothing is quite clear. Now, in the second part of the same sentence, ʾāḥaz forces us to consider the Exile, the wandering, Esau’s heel, Samson’s pillars, the ram at the Akedah, the dead men of Ephraim (Judges 12). What do you read here? What does that say about you? Since the Tanakh is really a document of “connect-the-dots,” it is subject to howeach reader understands these connections, and that means each reader “sees” his own life in the spider web he creates.
Topical Index: nāḥâ, guide,ʾāḥaz, take hold, Psalm 139:10
[1]Coppes, L. J. (1999). 1341 נָחָה. 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.) (568). Chicago: Moody Press.
[3]Wolf, H. (1999). 64 אָחַז. 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.) (32). Chicago: Moody Press.
My understanding, paraphrased:
“Even there Your instructions (Geburah) will lead me, And Your grace (Hesed) will rescue me”
As we learn more and more about how we perceive the world, and ourselves in that world, we learn that identity is a floating composite, or, extension, of self into the cosmos (and beyond), and the corresponding intrusion (or allowance) of the Other into the self. We become more ourselves the more we identify with all else. Our hearts were created to be filled (love) with all as seen as ourselves. “Love your neighbor AS your self” takes on new meaning, as does “forgive our trespassing (our disrespectful intrusions) as we forgive (the disrespect of) others”. Our choices are inextricably linked with the choices of others (which is bad when there is an Achan in the camp, and great when there is Messiah).
This deliberate tangling of the self with all else can give us a new reference point into why witness is so effective. Vicarious guilt, shame and fear that we can share with others through being in contact with them shows us why the man in the ditch was being avoided, but we can share good stuff with others, too. It is good advice to hang out with the winners, because we literally BECOME what we “behold”. Witness, then, is where a self becomes visible to the world, to either be a “savor of life unto life or of death unto death”. A witness not only rubs off on others; they bring them to new decision points.
In Revelation, the “two witnesses” have historically been interpreted by many to be the two witnesses (Rev. 11:3) God gave us of Himself; namely, the Old and New Testaments, which are not only the records of where He entangled Himself with us in the past, but where we are called to interface with Him, too. The Word is where His naked hand reaches down in real space and time and not only links us with the past, but “takes hold” of us now. Whether that interference is a savor of life or death, like Skip says, is up to us who, in front of these Witnesses, find ourselves in this valley of decision, for as Yeshua points out; “all who are not for Me are against Me”.
The journey of life is exquisitely complex.
At times excruciating. At times euphoric.
While seemingly on our own, never for a
moment are we out of God’s all encompassing
purview.
He’s watched us run away.
He’s watched us run back.
And He’s watching where we go next.
Could this have something to do with God being a jealous lover? Exodus 34:14. As a parent, how you deal with your child has a lot to do with what direction he is headed in, and as you are aware of his predilections determines, how you interact with him. Sometimes with encouragement, words of support, other times by maybe a sharp rebuke, grabbing by the nap of the neck etc. so are you see both the goodness and the severity of God. Situational. You play different roles with your children depending on them. We also see a picture of God not only as a gentle shepherd but as one who grabs a hold of us. Jude 1:23. Just pondering …..
One other thing. Due to severe/extreme abuse as a child, under the guise of discipline/punishment/correction (Ephesians 6:4) it is taking me a long time to see God’s true father nature. The different aspects of who he is and how he “deals” with me. As a child in God, he handled me differently than he is handling me as a man of God. Understanding that those whom He loves He disciplines and scourges every son whom he receives. He lets me go, if I am determined to go but he also pursues me through a different means. Consequences is a great means of discipline. So I guess what I’m saying is that there is growth involved when I am able to see God not only when he pours out his love on me, specifically for me, according to my individuality as his son but also when I get all tripped up by poor decisions ( rebellion? ) and my world starts to come apart. THERE, in that place His right hand will lead me out! Man, that was hard to get into into words !