11.5.26 – Did You See What I Saw?

Whether you see things in Scripture from a Hebrew perspective or from a Greek perspective... it is true in your eyes. The lenses, like glasses, will determine how you view God, life, and its circumstances. Recently I was visiting with a person, and our discussion took us to how God works all things out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes (Rom. 8:28; Gen. 50:20). No matter which perspective or lenses you wear (Hebrew or Greek), this statement rings true.

Understanding how God "causes" us to go astray from His ways (Isa. 63:17) is one of those realities. "Why, Lord, do you make us wander from your ways and harden our hearts so we do not revere you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes that are your inheritance" (Isa. 63:17).

You may want to read that verse again :-)

Your viewpoint will determine a lot about how you read Scripture and how you understand the workings of God. Our first reaction to a statement like this is, "Huh? You have got to be kidding me! No! Really? How can God—who has no sin, cannot be tempted, and does not lead us into temptation—cause (ta'ah) us to wander from His ways...?" When we look at this in Hebrew, it is definitely what Isaiah says: God causes (ta'ah, hiphil, imperfect). Huh? This creates quite a problem, does it not? Yes, it does! That is, until we understand that Hebrew is a phenomenological language that describes situations as they appear. It is a language of observation, not analysis. Appearance can often be misleading when it comes to the reality of a situation.

Have you ever seen times in your life where it appears that God "caused" this twisted mess to happen—especially when we look back at it with 20/20 hindsight and see how He worked all things out for the good? If you are anything like me, we certainly blame Him for all types of events in life, do we not? "God, why did you make me this way?" "Why was I put in these circumstances?" "Why did this happen to me?" "Why was I born to these parents?" "You are sovereign over all things." "Your plans never fail, but look at this mess." "Why have you caused me to wander from you?" "You knew I would eat from that tree—why did you put it there anyway?" "Why did you not stop me?" At those moments, we might use Isaiah's words and blame God for the hardened condition of our hearts.

Greek eyes would see conflict and incompatibility with God's nature... "It is not logical." "Inconceivable." Isaiah, however, reveals truth to us from a Hebrew perspective on how things appear—especially for those who would love to shift blame to the Creator, as Adam did (Gen. 3:12). Oh my, we have not progressed much past Adam's perspective, have we?

Scripture does not come to us with a neutral revelation on biblical teachings and doctrine. It comes to us through eyes of observation, even ones that suggest something that is not. There are human factors that are woven into every guiding passage. Your viewpoint will always determine your mindset, and your mindset, your actions, and your actions, your destiny.

Be careful, little eyes, what you think you see.

Shalom,
Alan

P.S. If you want a little more clarity on a more biblical perspective, here is a short video to give you some insights 🥰

https://youtu.be/4xvgohq9JBY 

www.lightintorah.org

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