Measure for Measure Revised
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him. Psalm 103:10-11 NASB
According to – The preposition that changes everything. In this case, a single letter (כְּ) prefixed to the noun “sins.” The preposition kă does the work of an entire collection of English prepositions. It can be translated “as, like, before, about, according to.” As always, context determines the appropriate English rendering. In this case, we can be very very glad kă shows up. Without it, we would be left with the consistent biblical judicial practice “measure for measure.” So stop a moment and consider what midda keneged midda, “measure for measure,” would mean for you. I know very well what it would mean for me—and none of it is good news. Every sin I’ve ever committed would be played back on me in equal amount. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t survive that. Even the small tastes of my past misdeeds render me paralyzed with grief and fear. I need kă desperately.
When you think about this amazing exception, when you consider the enormous upheaval caused by mercy, you must not only shudder but also weep. Justice requires midda keneged midda. Mercy eviscerates righteousness. It sweeps away the very foundation of the Law. How is it possible for God to allow such a miscarriage of justice. The guilty must be punished. The righteous must be rewarded. We agree—and wail. For we are not on the right side of this equation. Without kă, we are doomed.
Most of the time our religious paradigms focused on the benevolence of the Lord. We were taught that God is the loving Father, that He forgives, that He doesn’t want anyone to perish. Rarely if ever did we hear the cry for judicial consistency. Why? Because thinking about midda keneged midda is emotional suicide. We accept “measure for measure” in theory. That’s what makes justice work. But in application, we want anything but midda keneged midda—for us! Let midda keneged midda reign supreme over others. They deserve punishment for their evil ways. We even pray that God will bring His justice to bear upon our enemies, never embracing the implication that midda keneged middaapplies equally to us. Mercy for us. Punishment for others. No, I don’t think God’s version of kă’āwōnotê’nû (“according to our sins”) is selective—thankfully.
One of the great questions of Scripture is wrapped up in this little preposition. It is profoundly unsettling: How can God forgive? Behind that question is another just as terrifying: “Why should God forgive?” If those two questions haunt you, this preposition provides some relief. It doesn’t provide answers. It just provides an assertion: God does forgive. How and why might not really matter.
Topical Index: kă’āwōnotê’nû, according to, kă, sin, justice, mercy, midda keneged midda, Psalm 103:10-11
