Divine Knowing
“He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is this not to know Me?” says YHWH. Jeremiah 22:16
Know – What does it mean to know God? The quick answer in our culture is “having a personal relationship with Him.” And what does that mean? A reference to a point in time when you felt forgiven? A certain inner experience of divine favor? A theological confirmation of proper doctrine? A shared linguistic community? More than likely, our first (and perhaps only) understanding of knowing God revolves around some personal experience of divine action in our lives. Perhaps we can thank Augustine, Luther, Melanchthon and Moody for such an emphasis, but if we turn to the prophets, we find something radically different. In the prophets, knowing God is not about thinking, comprehending, understanding or inner mystical participation. It is about actions toward other men, in particular, actions toward the poor and the needy.
Do you realize how far we are from the biblical view of knowing God? What would happen in the average congregation or parish if the criterion for knowing God was determined by the effort directed toward justice for the poor and needy? Would the scales of divine forgiveness be disturbed? Would we suddenly be faced with our nearly total misunderstanding of who God is? How many theological textbooks and popular Christian expositions would be relegated to the ash heap as so much useless prattle? Do words matter when we are asked, “What have you done with your life to take care of My children?” Maybe, in spite of all our information, we really don’t know God at all.
My friend Amy works with handicapped children. Her business is helping these children in Florida lead lives as normal as possible. But Amy’s heart doesn’t stop beating when the day is done. She cares about the poor and needy in far away places. So, at her own expense and the cost of a second mortgage, she is building a school in Ukraine – the first school to offer treatment for physically and mentally handicapped children. We watched the videos of these children, left to themselves for years, physically undeveloped, mentally limited simply because no one came to help. But Amy is there. Twenty hours on an airplane followed by 25 hours on a train, she arrives at the school under construction, fights the bureaucracy and the corruption, unpacks containers, rebuilds equipment on her vacation so that these children, fifty of them out of thousands, will have a chance. Amy knows God.
The Hebrew word da’at covers knowing, learning, discerning, and gaining insight. It is associated regularly with wisdom. That helps us see the Hebrew perspective. To be wise is not to have a vast storehouse of information. It is rather to be thoroughly engaged in redemptive actions, particularly toward those who lack the resources to improve their plight. Put aside your sweet exegetical sermons, your comforting devotionals and your melodic hymns. Unless you have the dirt of the world under your nails, you are a bystander, an observer, not a child of the King. Amy knows God. Do you?
Topical Index: da’at, know, poor, paradigm, Jeremiah 22:16
The tree is known by it’s fruit. Even a child is known by his doings. Be doers of the word, not hearers only. If you love me keep my commandments- (and the only commandment Y’shua (G-d incarnate) ever uttered was to “love/serve one another.” “He went about doing good.” Who did? He did. If we are to walk in the path of our Master and “follow Him”- do as He did- how can we not be filled with compassion toward another? It is one of the marks of a believer.
It is not information. Information can be obtained through Google. It is transformation. It is a relationship with the G-d who (now) is and an “other” way of living. Jesus, then others, then you. What a wonderful way to spell Joy. I do not know what “church” you attended, but I would find the door marked exit and run away from these cold clammy people as fast as my legs could carry me. The fruit of the Spirit is what? or have we forgotten. Christ was (and is) the most “other” minded person to have ever lived. Serve one another in love. Love your neighbor (a word of proximity) as yourself. The tree is known by it’s fruit. An apple tree will bear apples. Hear what I say, but watch what I do.
What we do speaks louder than what we say.
Who we are speaks louder than what we do.
Whose we are speaks louder than who we are.
Who is your Father?
Skip,
Is the prophetic word here suggesting we need to go beyond the gleaning laws, tithes, etc. requirements of Torah for helping the poor and needy?
Shalom and good morning to all! Thanks Skip for allowing the prophets to speak again this day. The messages that G-d has given them to speak is still speaking (he that has ears to hear let him hear………….and obey!)
Jesus message on the subject comes along in the stream of the prophetic tradition. Luke chapter 4 in the audience of the synagogue of Nazareth. The Spirit of the LORD is upon me to preach good news to the poor. His message and actions and demonstrations of the Kingdom was to the hurting, needy, sick, and the down-trodden! Mark 6:34- and he had compassion on them. His compassion was (it seems to me) stirred mostly in the midst of the crowd. And of course his compassion always led to action. And of course Matthew 25, which is one of my favorites: if you have done it to one of the least of these, you have done it unto me.
The prophets message must heard again today and obeyed. But, the pent-ultimate expression of God, the messiah Yeshua- Hebrews 1;1-4 is the radiance we must reflect! For truy he is the full expression of the prophets message and intent!
Hbr 13:18 NKJV – Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.
I sense a really important element not necessarily mentioned here. The “peace” or good conscience that comes as a gift to those whose lives evidence honor is a sign of those spiritual. This is a marked characteristic of those who are mature. Being able to do well in doing good is the essence of divine knowing.
Skip,
WOW, I never quite thought of it that way. God is tugging at my heart more all the time, and I love it!
Skip, thank you for a word that one might not hear in Church, or in a Bible study group, or Sunday school; it begs the question, are we willing to uphold the cause of the poor and weak, to forgive as we have been forgiven, and to humble ourselves to submit to God’s will before our own, in order to really know God? The old saying goes, “You don’t really know me until you’ve walked in my shoes.”