Today’s Word
The Purpose of Miracles
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Psalm 139:6 NASB Too wonderful– What does “too wonderful” mean to a poet in the tenth century BCE? Well, not just any poet, but a poet who is saturated with a culture and a nation that believes YHVH to be the one true God. Perhaps…
Boundaries
You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5 NASB Behind and before– What does it feel like to have God’s hand heavy upon you? Does it feel comfortable? Gracious? Or do you feel as if you can’t move? Pressed? Coerced? Curbed? In this verse, the emphasis comes first, and in this…
The Necklace
You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5 NASB Enclosed– There’s not much wiggle room here. ṣûr, the Hebrew verb used in this expression, is related to words meaning, ‘besiege, bind, tie down’ and ‘encircle.’ The psalmist’s choice seems to make it abundantly clear that God Himself puts restrictive fences around our…
Cogito Ex Nihilo
Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all. Psalm 139:4 NASB Even before– We are fond of claiming that God created out of nothing. The theological term is creation ex nihilo. Although the first verse of Genesis is often read as a proof text for this doctrine[1], theologians also employ…
Three in One
You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Psalm 139:3 NASB Intimately acquainted with– Actually, the text doesn’t really say this. The last word in the sentence, hiskanet-tah, comes from the verb sākan. The translator has added “intimately” in order to capture the tone of this psalm. The verb…
Pitchfork Theology
You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Psalm 139:3 NASB Scrutinize– Been winnowed lately? When necessary, God takes us down to the threshing floor. The Hebrew verb, zārâ, is a product of the Israelite agrarian culture. It means, “fan, scatter, cast away, winnow; disperse, compass, spread, be scattered, dispersed.”[1] …
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