Your Lying Eyes
Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You. Psalm 66:3 NASB
Give feigned obedience – Imagine that you are really committed to your own agenda, but you’re confronted by an overwhelming adversary. You know that he can eliminate you at any time, so in order to survive you’ll have to placate him. You won’t change your real motivation, nor your hidden behavior, but you will alter your public appearance so that it looks like you’re being compliant. But behind it all is your own will to have it your way. You’re simply bidding your time until you can get free from the will of the oppressor.
Such is the perspective of the wicked, according to the Psalmist. That’s why he uses the unusual word, kāḥaš, to describe the behavior of God’s enemies. They know they can’t really do what they want to do because God holds the power of life and death, so they feign obedience. They look like they comply, but the truth is much deeper. They wait—and operate in the dark.
There are a few characteristics of kāḥaš that we should keep in mind. First, notice that fact that this is a particularly Hebraic word:
The Hebrew usage seems to stress the relational aspect of the word, emphasizing the undependable nature of a person or thing in a given relationship. The root is not attested in any other Semitic language.[1]
Some of the uses of kāḥaš are about denial. Oswalt notes:
To deny God is to live a lie. One may deny him by forgetting what he has done (Josh 24:27), by despairing of his goodness, or forgetting one’s own need and living without dependence on him (Prov 30:9). One may deny him without ever intending to do so by leading a crooked and corrupt life (Job 31:28; Isa 59:13). And if one doubts his ultimate justice as applied to oneself, God is denied (Jer 5:12).[2]
Feigned obedience doesn’t have to mean direct subversion. It can mean simply living without consideration for God. It might even be self-deceptive religious practice, the kind where we think we’re all about the spiritual but in fact we are acting in opposition to the expressed instructions of YHVH. Maybe that’s why this word is uniquely Hebraic. Other gods are content with outward compliance. YHVH is not, as the last of the commandments makes abundantly clear. Heart, head, hands and feet are YHVH’s realm of expectation. Lying eyes can’t disguise what otherwise appears so proper. But I guess you already knew that, right?
Topical Index: kāḥaš, deny, deceit, feign, Psalm 66:3
[1] Oswalt, J. N. (1999). 975 כָחַשׁ. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 437). Chicago: Moody Press.
[2] Ibid.
