Continuing my Bible study of Job:
(Job 16:1) Then Job answered and said, (2) "I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all! (3) Shall vain words have an end? Or what emboldens you that you answer?"
With the word translated as "vain", we once again have the original word "ruach" meaning "wind; by resemblance breath". So Job believes his friends are also blowing hot air and wonders aloud if it will ever end. Because they have only empty meaningless words, what on earth emboldens them to continue trying to answer him?
(4) "I also could speak as you do, if your soul were in my soul's place. I could heap up words against you, and shake my head at you; (5) But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should relieve your grief."
Job condemns his friends' response to him in his time of trouble. If the roles were reversed, he says he would have spoken uplifting words and would have been a help to them.
(6) "Though I speak, my grief is not relieved; and if I cease, how am I eased?"
Whether he speaks or whether he is silent, Job's sufferings continue.
(7) "But now He has made me weary; You have made desolate all my company."
Because pronouns referring to God are not capitalized in the KJV, I sometimes just have to assume which person is meant. Judging by the list of sufferings that Job begins here, I believe he is referring to God making him weary, and then he turns his comments directly to God.
(8) "And You have filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me; and my leanness rising up in me bears witness to my face."
Job has been filled with wrinkles, not necessarily by old age, but through affliction; he has been made old before his time. This fact is being used by his friends as a witness against him as they see his afflictions as proof that he must have done something wrong. Because Job has always maintained his innocence, I believe the last part about his leanness bearing witness to his face means that Job can see for himself that he is an afflicted man, not a wicked man in fatness and covered with collops of fat, as Eliphaz had accused.
(9) "He tears me in his wrath, who hates me; he gnashes at me with his teeth; my enemy sharpens his eyes upon me."
The NKJV assumes that the pronouns here are referring to God, but after reading some of the old commentaries, I disagree. Job is a righteous man who, up to this time, has not condemned or cursed God. I see no reason to believe he has started now. I believe he speaks accurately of his enemy, Satan, who seeks to devour him as a roaring lion. Throughout Job's conversation in the book of Job, you see Holy Spirit inspired glimpses into truth and God's true nature. He may question why God did this to him, but he does not condemn God for it. I believe this idea is much more in keeping with the true nature of Job as reflected in this book as a whole.
Wow! What a lesson in context! Before this study, I had a misconception about Job. Oh, I knew he was a good man, but I fell into the belief that he came to speak to God a little uncharitably, to say the least. I was probably led into this thought pattern by incorrect translations of the original Biblical text. I have previously studied how Satan entered into the process of re-translating the Bible, diminishing the character of God and Jesus Christ, and wrote about my thoughts in Which Version of the Truth Will You Use? Consider how the newer translations, including the NKJV, which is supposed to be the same as KJV only with modern words, change the whole idea of this scripture:
He tears me in His wrath, and hates me; He gnashes at me with His teeth; My adversary sharpens His gaze on me. (NKJV)
God hates me and angrily tears me apart. He snaps his teeth at me and pierces me with his eyes. - NLT
God assails me and tears me in his anger and gnashes his teeth at me; my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes. - NIV
What a terrible mean picture of God these scriptures paint! But the very nature of God is love. He IS love; He can be nothing else. He is loving and merciful, and you can be certain He is ALWAYS just. While these could have been the words of a bitter man and not intended to be an accurate reflection of the true nature of God, I don't believe that is the case either. There has been nothing up to this point to indicate that Job has any such bitterness toward God. He only wonders why did these things happen to him. When you read the entire sentence, you can see that Job is speaking of the one who hates him, his enemy, and not of God:
He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. - KJV
(10) "They have gaped at me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me. (11) God has delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over to the hands of the wicked."
With these scriptures, we can see that Job only charges God with delivering him to the wicked and ungodly, but not with the wicked acts themselves.
(12) "I was at ease, but he has utterly broken me; he has also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces; and set me up for his target."
Once again it is not perfectly clear to whom Job refers. I would feel better about assuming his intention and capitalizing the pronouns if he had said, "God has utterly broken me", etc. Since the preceding scripture stated that God had turned him over to the wicked, it might be concluded that God set him up as a target to be used by the wicked.
(13) "His archers surround me; he pierces my kidneys and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground."
Once again I believe the meaning is that God has allowed the archers to strike Job. Whether "he" refers to the archer, or to God, who by allowing it, has in reality DONE it, I am not certain of Job's intention. But we get the idea! Innocent Job is being pummeled.
(14) "He breaks me with breach upon breach; he runs at me like a giant."
Paraphrased, "He crushes me and then renews and repeats the attack, with great and irresistible force."
(15) "I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust."
Sackcloth is the symbol of mourning. The horn of a beast is a symbol of its power, so throwing it in the dust would be another sign of mourning.
(16) "My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death; (17) Not for any injustice in my hands; also my prayer is pure."
Job reiterates his innocence.
(18) "O earth, do not cover my blood, and let my cry have no place."
Job compares himself to the murdered, and like them, he wants his innocent blood heard crying out from the earth.
(19) "Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high. (20) My friends scorn me; but my eyes pour out tears to God."
I feel these lines indicate again that Job condemns his enemy and his friends, but not God. He knows that God knows the truth about him, and he will make his plea to Him.
(21) "Oh, that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleads for his neighbor. (22) When a few years are come, then I shall go the way where I shall not return."
(Job 17:1) "My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me. (2) Are there not mockers with me? And does not my eye continue in their provocation?"
The original word translated as "continue" here is "lun" which literally means to "lodge all night", so Job's sense here is that the mockers with him continue all night, never letting up.
(3) "Now put down a pledge; put me in a surety with You; who is he who will shake hands with me? (4) For You have hidden their heart from understanding; therefore You shall not exalt them."
Job turns his conversation to God. He asks that God be his surety and let his cause come before Him. Obviously, his friends cannot see the truth, so Job reasons God will not give them victory over him in this discussion; his desire is that God will judge him righteously.
(5) "He who speaks flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children will fail."
Job is probably referring to those very friends of his who do not see the truth. The word translated as "flattery" means more accurately "smoothness", so Job refers to the smooth eloquent words they spoke to him which were to him completely wrong, and therefore they were speaking deceitfully for God. Job sees this as a terrible sin, punishable to even their children, perhaps recalling how God hates "deceitful tongues" and "flattering lips".
(6) "He has made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret."
Interestingly, most of the old commentaries believe Job is talking about God here. Personally, I don't see why it isn't reasonable to believe he is continuing his thought about the one who speaks flattery with what turns out to be destructive words. He makes Job a by-word, s satire, an object of ridicule. One meaning of "paniym", the word translated as "aforetime" is "before them" rather than "a time before". The word normally translated as a tabret or a timbrel is "toph" and that means an instrument like a tambourine. Here the word is actually "topheth" which Strong's defines as "smiting" and "contempt". Perhaps the original idea was that he was hit and smote like a tabret. The sense here is that Job has been ridiculed and made an object of contempt in their presence (before them).
(7) "My eye also is dim because of sorrow, and all my members are like shadows."
Another reason I believe that Job is talking about the man with flattering lips in verse 6 rather than about God, is that he now speaks of "my eye also" after he just spoke of the eyes of the flatterer's children. But in contrast to the children's eyes which will fail as a punishment, Job's eyes fail him because of his weeping. His members are his body parts that are probably emaciated and only shadows of what they once were.
(8) "Upright men shall be astonished at this, and the innocent shall stir himself up against the hypocrite. (9) The righteous also shall hold to his way, and he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger."
Job probably means that upright men will be astonished at the calamities that God has allowed to come upon such an innocent man as he, but that it will make them rise up all the more against hypocrites. They will hold fast to their righteous ways and will be made stronger. It's as if Job sees his life as a testimony to others, meaning he must have some sense of assurance that whatever happens to him, he knows in the end God is just and it will work out for the best. Would he have said the same thing if he felt in his heart that God Himself had condemned and punished an innocent man? I love the Holy Spiritual insights that Job appears to get throughout the book of Job!
(10) "But as for you all, you turn back and go now; for I cannot find one wise man among you."
Job obviously does not count his friends among the upright and righteous men about whom he just spoke.
I need to clarify my transcription of the above verse. In my study notes, I prefer to use the KJV, but will sometimes use a more modern word, or look to the original meaning of the word to give me the best understanding of the sense of the verse. I do not intend to make new translations, so I will explain why my transcription of verse 10 above differs a little from the KJV:
But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you.
It may mean as NKJV and some commentators have supposed, that they should go and come back again with better arguments, but I disagree. Job has tired of hearing their words and has said so on many occasions. Why would he ask them to come back with more? I understand that if they were to come back with wise words, he may want to hear them. But I found something interesting in the meaning of one of the original words of this verse. The word translated as "come" is "bo" and it means "come" or "go". It has been translated as "go" as often in the Bible as it has "come", so I believe the sense is "just go away" for there is not a wise man among his friends.
(11) "My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart. (12) They change the night into day; the light is short because of darkness."
Job means he is dying, there is no more purpose to his life, his thoughts incessantly pursue and disturb him day and night, and the darkness of his pain and torment darkens any light of day that may have given him comfort.
(13) "If I wait, the grave is my house; I have made my bed in the darkness. (14) I have said to corruption, 'You are my father', to the worm, 'You are my mother and my sister.'"
The word translated "If" also means "when", "while", "yet", and many other similar words, so I believe the sense is continuing that idea that he is indeed going to the grave. The word translated "corruption" more literally means "pit", which is really what Job means here; he is going to the grave and he will address it with familiarity because he is now so close to it. The worm is the one that feeds upon the dead as seen in other scriptures.
(15) "And where now is my hope? As for my hope, who shall see it? (16) They will go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust."
All of Job's hopes will go down to the grave with him.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
The Continuing Saga of How NOT to Comfort a Friend in Distress
Back to my study of Job, continuing in chapter 15:
(Job 15:1) Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, (2) "Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?"
The word translated as "vain" in the KJV is translated as "empty" in NKJV. Both are good attempts at the exact translation, but actually the word "ruach" means to blow as the wind or breath. In our day and time, Eliphaz would be saying that Job is blowing hot air! And in their part of the world, the east wind was tempestuous and the most destructive. Eliphaz reiterates that Job is full of boisterous hot air at the least, perhaps even destructive. Once again we see a friend of Job's on the attack and not very gentle in his criticisms, again illustrating how NOT to comfort a friend in distress.
(3) "Should he reason with unprofitable talk, or with speeches with which he can do no good? (4) Yes, you cast off fear, and restrain prayer before God."
The word translated as "cast off" more completely means "break up" and "make void". Fear is the reverential fear of God, so Eliphaz insinuates that Job through his speeches and principles, has made void reverence to God and made prayer (more completely, devotion to God) useless and unprofitable to men.
(5) "For your mouth utters your iniquity, and you choose the tongue of the crafty. (6) Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; yes, your own lips testify against you. (7) Are you the first man who was born? Or were you made before the hills?"
Paraphrased, "Have you been here since the beginning?", implying that would have given Job greater knowledge and wisdom.
(8) "Have you heard the secret of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself? (9) What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not in us? (10) Both the gray-headed and very aged men are among us, much older than your father."
Once again the implication is that the older and the further back in time one lived, the wiser he was. There were older and thus wiser men among Job's friends than Job and what he could have learned from his father.
(11) "Are the consolations of God small with you? Is there any secret thing with you?"
Paraphrased, "Are the mercies of God of little value to you? Do you have a better way known only to you?"
(12) "Why does your heart carry you away, and what do your eyes wink at, (13) That you turn your spirit against God, and let such words go out of your mouth?"
Eliphaz is accusing Job of being prideful, carried away by his own pride, winking at his own sin, and turning against God, speaking such rash words.
(14) "What is man, that he should be clean? And he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? (15) Behold, God puts no trust in His saints; yes, the heavens are not clean in His sight. (16) How much more abominable and filthy is man, who drinks iniquity like water?"
The word translated as "saints" here means sacred or holy ones, angels. So if even the angels and the heavens are not perfect and pure compared to God, how much less is mortal sinful man!
(17) "I will show you, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare; (18) What wise men have told as received from their fathers, and have not hidden anything, (19) To whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them."
Eliphaz declares he will set Job straight with the wisdom of their fathers who were first given the land by God Himself, pure godly wisdom not corrupted by foreign philosophy.
(20) "The wicked man writhes with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden from the oppressor."
The wicked man is a man of constant sorrows living a life of uncertainty, not knowing when or what his end will be.
(21) "A dreadful sound is in his ears; in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him. (22) He does not believe that he will return out of darkness, for a sword is waiting for him. (23) He wanders about for bread, saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. (24) Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready for battle. (25) For he stretches out his hand against God, and strengthens himself against the Almighty, (26) Running upon Him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers."
Whew! That last one is difficult. Not sure whose neck is referenced, whether the proud erect neck of the wicked one with his mighty shield charging against God, or if he is charging stubbornly into God's mighty shield. Either way, we have a picture of the wicked one who never has peace and security because he has chosen a path against God.
(27) "Because he covers his face with his fatness, and makes collops of fat on his flanks,"
Collops are slices of meat, so he "packs on the flesh". The sense here is that he lives an indulgent life, forgetting God.
(28) "And he dwells in desolate cities, in houses which no man inhabits, which are ready to become heaps."
Thus begins a listing of the consequences because of the wicked one's opposition to God. Eliphaz, in his way, is probably outlining the sequence of events that have happened to Job and is explaining why they happened to him.
(29) "He will not be rich, neither will his wealth continue, nor it spread upon the earth. (30) He will not depart out of darkness; the flame will dry up his branches, and by the breath of His mouth he will go away."
Because the pronouns are not capitalized in the Old Testament, I am assuming as did the NKJV translators and the old commentators, that the last "His" refers to God.
(31) "Let him who is deceived not trust in vanity, for vanity will be his reward."
Every wicked man is deceived, either by Satan or by his own selfish heart. Anyone who trusts in anything other than God will be rewarded with only vanity or emptiness.
(32) "It will be accomplished before his time, and his branch will not be green. (33) He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive."
Emptiness as his reward will occur sooner than it might have by the natural course of nature. Once again, I believe the "He" here refers to God who will shake off all that was dear and valuable to the wicked man.
(34) "For the company of hypocrites will be desolate, and fire will consume the tents of bribery. (35) They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepares deceit."
Some nasty final accusations of Eliphaz are that Job is a hypocrite and may have taken bribes, calling down the fire of God. The final verse may be a picture of birth. Satan sows the seed of wickedness with his deception, and the wicked man or hypocrite conceives mischief, brings forth only vanity and emptiness, more accurately, death. Sin brings forth death. This is a picture of the deceptive and fruitless birth of the wicked.
(Job 15:1) Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, (2) "Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?"
The word translated as "vain" in the KJV is translated as "empty" in NKJV. Both are good attempts at the exact translation, but actually the word "ruach" means to blow as the wind or breath. In our day and time, Eliphaz would be saying that Job is blowing hot air! And in their part of the world, the east wind was tempestuous and the most destructive. Eliphaz reiterates that Job is full of boisterous hot air at the least, perhaps even destructive. Once again we see a friend of Job's on the attack and not very gentle in his criticisms, again illustrating how NOT to comfort a friend in distress.
(3) "Should he reason with unprofitable talk, or with speeches with which he can do no good? (4) Yes, you cast off fear, and restrain prayer before God."
The word translated as "cast off" more completely means "break up" and "make void". Fear is the reverential fear of God, so Eliphaz insinuates that Job through his speeches and principles, has made void reverence to God and made prayer (more completely, devotion to God) useless and unprofitable to men.
(5) "For your mouth utters your iniquity, and you choose the tongue of the crafty. (6) Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; yes, your own lips testify against you. (7) Are you the first man who was born? Or were you made before the hills?"
Paraphrased, "Have you been here since the beginning?", implying that would have given Job greater knowledge and wisdom.
(8) "Have you heard the secret of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself? (9) What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not in us? (10) Both the gray-headed and very aged men are among us, much older than your father."
Once again the implication is that the older and the further back in time one lived, the wiser he was. There were older and thus wiser men among Job's friends than Job and what he could have learned from his father.
(11) "Are the consolations of God small with you? Is there any secret thing with you?"
Paraphrased, "Are the mercies of God of little value to you? Do you have a better way known only to you?"
(12) "Why does your heart carry you away, and what do your eyes wink at, (13) That you turn your spirit against God, and let such words go out of your mouth?"
Eliphaz is accusing Job of being prideful, carried away by his own pride, winking at his own sin, and turning against God, speaking such rash words.
(14) "What is man, that he should be clean? And he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? (15) Behold, God puts no trust in His saints; yes, the heavens are not clean in His sight. (16) How much more abominable and filthy is man, who drinks iniquity like water?"
The word translated as "saints" here means sacred or holy ones, angels. So if even the angels and the heavens are not perfect and pure compared to God, how much less is mortal sinful man!
(17) "I will show you, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare; (18) What wise men have told as received from their fathers, and have not hidden anything, (19) To whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them."
Eliphaz declares he will set Job straight with the wisdom of their fathers who were first given the land by God Himself, pure godly wisdom not corrupted by foreign philosophy.
(20) "The wicked man writhes with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden from the oppressor."
The wicked man is a man of constant sorrows living a life of uncertainty, not knowing when or what his end will be.
(21) "A dreadful sound is in his ears; in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him. (22) He does not believe that he will return out of darkness, for a sword is waiting for him. (23) He wanders about for bread, saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. (24) Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready for battle. (25) For he stretches out his hand against God, and strengthens himself against the Almighty, (26) Running upon Him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers."
Whew! That last one is difficult. Not sure whose neck is referenced, whether the proud erect neck of the wicked one with his mighty shield charging against God, or if he is charging stubbornly into God's mighty shield. Either way, we have a picture of the wicked one who never has peace and security because he has chosen a path against God.
(27) "Because he covers his face with his fatness, and makes collops of fat on his flanks,"
Collops are slices of meat, so he "packs on the flesh". The sense here is that he lives an indulgent life, forgetting God.
(28) "And he dwells in desolate cities, in houses which no man inhabits, which are ready to become heaps."
Thus begins a listing of the consequences because of the wicked one's opposition to God. Eliphaz, in his way, is probably outlining the sequence of events that have happened to Job and is explaining why they happened to him.
(29) "He will not be rich, neither will his wealth continue, nor it spread upon the earth. (30) He will not depart out of darkness; the flame will dry up his branches, and by the breath of His mouth he will go away."
Because the pronouns are not capitalized in the Old Testament, I am assuming as did the NKJV translators and the old commentators, that the last "His" refers to God.
(31) "Let him who is deceived not trust in vanity, for vanity will be his reward."
Every wicked man is deceived, either by Satan or by his own selfish heart. Anyone who trusts in anything other than God will be rewarded with only vanity or emptiness.
(32) "It will be accomplished before his time, and his branch will not be green. (33) He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive."
Emptiness as his reward will occur sooner than it might have by the natural course of nature. Once again, I believe the "He" here refers to God who will shake off all that was dear and valuable to the wicked man.
(34) "For the company of hypocrites will be desolate, and fire will consume the tents of bribery. (35) They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepares deceit."
Some nasty final accusations of Eliphaz are that Job is a hypocrite and may have taken bribes, calling down the fire of God. The final verse may be a picture of birth. Satan sows the seed of wickedness with his deception, and the wicked man or hypocrite conceives mischief, brings forth only vanity and emptiness, more accurately, death. Sin brings forth death. This is a picture of the deceptive and fruitless birth of the wicked.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Thankfully, The Lord MAKES Me Lie Down in Green Pastures
Like everyone else in this crazy world in these end times, I have been bombarded with trials lately. They have taken me away from my Bible study, from my "rest". The 23rd Psalm was recently brought back to my remembrance....hmmm, by Whom, I wonder? :-)
I have been able to appreciate that the Lord is my Shepherd, and that He fulfills my needs; there is nothing more I should ever want or need. I know He is the only One Who can really restore my soul. I have come to know that only by spending time in the Word of God and in prayer can I calm the storms of my life. But sometimes things are just so hectic and time seems too short to take the necessary time to be with Him. That's when He MAKES me lie down in those green pastures!
Have you ever wondered about that terminology that He MAKES us lie down? I knew I needed His rest, but I woke up this morning with a desire to learn more about the fact that He MAKES me take that rest.
As I have stated in articles before, I like to study the old commentaries and study guides and references. In the past 100 years or so, I believe the teachings have gone astray with more liberal ideas. I prefer conservative teachings taken straight from the Word of God itself.
It was interesting that I could not initially get much information on the word translated as "maketh" in verse 2 of the 23rd Psalm:
"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters."
Concordances and lexicons seemed to lump "He maketh me to lie down" into one word "rabats", meaning "crouch (down), fall down, make a fold, lay (cause to, make to) lie (down), make to rest, sit". So there is a sense that the word can mean more than voluntarily lying down or resting; it can mean "caused to or made to lie down".
Most of the old commentaries reflected more on the restful words of the second verse of the 23rd Psalm. Green pastures and still waters: cool, refreshing, still, and restful. One commentary, The Treasury of David, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), reflected beautifully on the "maketh" part of that scripture:
"But observe: 'He maketh me to lie down.' It is the Lord who graciously enables us to perceive the preciousness of his truth, and to feed upon it. How grateful ought we to be for the power to appropriate the promises! There are some distracted souls who would give worlds if they could but do this. They know the blessedness of it, but they cannot say that this blessedness is theirs. They know the 'green pastures,' but they are not made to 'lie down' in them. Those believers who have for years enjoyed a 'full assurance of faith' should greatly bless their gracious God."
I DO thank my sweet Lord for making me lie down, reminding me HIMSELF of His Word and His promises continually. He has been there constantly. Even as I feel I am being attacked, I can feel His presence and see His blessings in the midst of it. I know He is with me:
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."
From the 4th verse, we know that our Lord's rod and staff are constantly guiding us and leading us, even in the very midst of our trials, and I do know that firsthand.
But today I am marveling in the fact that my Lord MADE me stop and rest in Him! He alone restores my soul! Praise the Lord!
I have been able to appreciate that the Lord is my Shepherd, and that He fulfills my needs; there is nothing more I should ever want or need. I know He is the only One Who can really restore my soul. I have come to know that only by spending time in the Word of God and in prayer can I calm the storms of my life. But sometimes things are just so hectic and time seems too short to take the necessary time to be with Him. That's when He MAKES me lie down in those green pastures!
Have you ever wondered about that terminology that He MAKES us lie down? I knew I needed His rest, but I woke up this morning with a desire to learn more about the fact that He MAKES me take that rest.
As I have stated in articles before, I like to study the old commentaries and study guides and references. In the past 100 years or so, I believe the teachings have gone astray with more liberal ideas. I prefer conservative teachings taken straight from the Word of God itself.
It was interesting that I could not initially get much information on the word translated as "maketh" in verse 2 of the 23rd Psalm:
"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters."
Concordances and lexicons seemed to lump "He maketh me to lie down" into one word "rabats", meaning "crouch (down), fall down, make a fold, lay (cause to, make to) lie (down), make to rest, sit". So there is a sense that the word can mean more than voluntarily lying down or resting; it can mean "caused to or made to lie down".
Most of the old commentaries reflected more on the restful words of the second verse of the 23rd Psalm. Green pastures and still waters: cool, refreshing, still, and restful. One commentary, The Treasury of David, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), reflected beautifully on the "maketh" part of that scripture:
"But observe: 'He maketh me to lie down.' It is the Lord who graciously enables us to perceive the preciousness of his truth, and to feed upon it. How grateful ought we to be for the power to appropriate the promises! There are some distracted souls who would give worlds if they could but do this. They know the blessedness of it, but they cannot say that this blessedness is theirs. They know the 'green pastures,' but they are not made to 'lie down' in them. Those believers who have for years enjoyed a 'full assurance of faith' should greatly bless their gracious God."
I DO thank my sweet Lord for making me lie down, reminding me HIMSELF of His Word and His promises continually. He has been there constantly. Even as I feel I am being attacked, I can feel His presence and see His blessings in the midst of it. I know He is with me:
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."
From the 4th verse, we know that our Lord's rod and staff are constantly guiding us and leading us, even in the very midst of our trials, and I do know that firsthand.
But today I am marveling in the fact that my Lord MADE me stop and rest in Him! He alone restores my soul! Praise the Lord!
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