I noted in the previous entry on Psalm 78, that if we expect somehow to be led out of the division and struggle that we are in by a person or a few people, we will be doomed (based upon history repeating itself) to continue for a season yet to come, with many troubles. It is only when we look to change our own hearts, and I most definitely include myself in this, that our world can take a turn for the better.
From EDBH Introduction pp.xii-xiii:
Take good note of this thought, that “sacrifice” is a step taken to draw nearer to God (which Abel did; Cain not so much). More on this in a bit.
Think about this as we consider the meaning of the word “good” and the idea of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Think about why God did not want mankind to be the one determining what was good and what was evil.
“Good” = h2896. טוֹב ṭôḇ; from h2895. טוֹב ṭôḇ
- p.94 טוב be good; advance benefit to man
GV p.94 טוב be good [advance benefit to man]; p.103 יטב [be good]; benefit; please
CM טוב impact positively/negatively (D17); יטב impact positively/negatively (C12)
In EDBH Appendix A, p.295, in the discussion of Gradational Variants, note it is pointed out (using טוב and יטב as prime example) these two forms have identical meanings:
Also, recall, Hirsch makes the concept of Phonetic Cognates “central to his approach to the Hebrew language in general and his translation and commentary to the Bible in particular.” (pp.293-294, Appendix A) Notice above that the cognate meaning for טוב and for יטב are listed as being identical. Therefore we should expect very close correlation between cognate groupings D17 and C12.
We are not going to, in this setting, look up all of these words (though I encourage you to, as a part of better understanding Scripture), but I will point out that quite a few of these would fall on the “negatively” side. ((Let me remind you the roots are verbs, so the word shoulder here is as in “to shoulder a burden,” to carry a burden or responsibility.)) To quote a then very successful University of Texas football coach, Darrell Royal, who was known for winning teams consistently by having them “grind out” the yards in a running game, when asked about passing (throwing the football, for those who don’t know the imagery), “Three things can happen when you pass, and two of ‘em are bad.”
Not comparing Darrell Royal to God (though in ‘the day,’ some might have), but God warned us from approaching that Tree because of the risks involved. When we define for ourselves what is good, we inevitably bring about negative impact, either upon ourselves or others.
How do we get to understand what it is to draw closer to God? We can only know this by spending time with God in Scripture, God’s Word, and in applying it in our lives, in prayer and in actions, and in seeing the impact upon the world around us. It is an iterative process. We are changed by a God’s word. We act to change our surroundings, there is positive feedback from our environment, which we understand better when we look at it through the lens of going back to God’s Word to try to interpret what is happening around us. At each step we grow personally and we grow closer to God.
Micah 6:6-8
6 “With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Isaiah 1:16-17
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.
Psalms 82:3-4
3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
Deuteronomy 10:18-19
18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. 19 Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. ((I just remind you, discussed before, that “sojourner” is p.38 גור live fearfully.))
I really encourage you to read the entire Bible in order to draw closer to our Creator. There is so much there. One other great example is a repeated verse in Judges 17:6 and Judges 21:25.
And once again••• I refer you to Matthew 25:31-46.
We need a change of heart, my friends. If we choose leaders based upon our definition of what is a benefit to “me,” we focus on the one in the mirror. It can get a lot worse before it gets better.
Perhaps we should look a bit higher.
Here as in most recent entries we have been referring to the EDBH, which is listed in the bibliography as #14, under the name Clark.
© September 2020 logandspeck.com please cite if copying