Hearing the Message

Last night I had the fortunate privilege to attend Dr. Kenneth Schenck's lecture near Perimeter Mall.  His message was entitled "Are Differences in the Manuscripts a Problem for Christian Faith?"  The whole field of textual criticism is fascinating to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed his presentation.  A dozen or so years ago, had I known that such a career existed, I would almost certainly have pursued this path.  A product of the Information Age, I still marvel that a significant number of men and women in the Church are ignorant as to how the Bible as they know it came to be.  As Evangelicals who place such a significant portion of our faith on a compilation of documents which are thousands of years old, it behooves us to understand why we can have such a great degree of trust in modern translations' faithfulness to the original autographs of the Holy Scripts.  I would love to see a local congregation engaging it's members with this level of information; surely it would form a people characterized by their love of God's Word.  It makes me wonder how many Bart Erhman's we have lost because we don't teach our history and how it shapes our theology (or vice versa).

Perhaps even more interesting was God's plan for yesterday evening.  I arrived early to avoid traffic and to have my choice in seating.  Ever the people-watcher, I selected a lovely chair towards the back of the hall.  The welcome and introductions were beginning, and I'm sure a smile crossed my face at the realization of my situation.  Despite the large crowd, the two seats to my right were empty.  I like my space, and I don't like sharing it with people I don't know.  This would explain my chagrin at the sight of a late-comer who spotted my unsettled space with greed in her eyes.  She and her 55-gallon purse plopped into the seat right next to me.  As she descended into my bubble, I could vaguely hear her say "anyone sitting here?"  Clearly, no.  Sadly, no.  Quite unfortunately, no.  And the lecture began.  She leaned into my shoulder and glared at the dimly-lit notepad and pen in my lap.  Without even asking, she began to copy the speaker's name, mouthing the letters.  Really?  In my head, the wheels began to spin.  How do I politely communicate that I would really appreciate a little social distance?  Is there a Christ-like way to express my distaste for her being even remotely near?  The problem is that her presence only grew larger throughout the evening.  She would comment outloud on any statement she disagreed with, add any detail she thought might be lacking, voice her frustration when the speaker didn't say it just right (in her estimation, of course).  She would gesture and point and shake her head.  She would try and fill in the blanks when there was a momentary pause.  She would also fold her arms disapprovingly.  Did I mention that she was speaking outloud... to no one?

After two and a half minutes of the dueling lectures, I realized exactly what was taking place.  I looked sharply to my right and then to my left.  Not there.  Under my seat?  No.  Perhaps hidden in the rafters.  Nope, not there either.  For the life of me, I could not find the "Sweet LORD, I Hear You!" buzzer.  I get it.  I hear the message.  I know it's for me.  Of all the seats she could have chosen, she chose the one next to me, and I understand.  I am that person.  Granted, I might be a little more aware of my space, and I mumble my thoughts and sometimes even hold them in.  But I am nonetheless that person with the aura of superiority.  I am the authority in my own world except I'm too passive agressive to know what to do with it.  It's ugly enough when I'm wrong, but it's even more hideous when I'm right (which the girl may have been last night, but I tuned out her words early on).  In my mind, I want to stand on a chair and say "I knew that!!!  I knew it all along!  I even said it!  Didn't you hear me when I said it - back then - before you agreed?  Can you just tell me that I was right?  Now!"

For the love.  It was ugly on her, but "sweet LORD, I hear You."  It is beyond ugly on me.  If I can ever find that buzzer, I will press it a thousand times.  Seriously, I hear You.  France in his commentary on Matthew says, "the natural human concern with status and importance is clearly one of the most fundamental instincts which must be unlearned by those who belong to God's Kingdom" [emphasis mine].  I have no vain imaginations about status, but I surely have built mountains of other kinds.  The path of discipleship is a continual process of dying, and that part of me must die.  I have to live out the truth that humility is a requirement of the Kingdom.  I have so much to learn, and in order to make it to the other side of the process, I have to walk humbly.

"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?" - Micah 6.8

Sweet LORD, I hear You!

Proverbs 29.18: A Brief Exegesis

I have heard this particular Scripture cited a number of times in the past few weeks and could not help but to do what an obsessed (marginally psychotic) seminary student must do.  We cannot stand confidently on a passage unless we understand what it means, and this is my attempt to search out that meaning in Proverbs 29.18.

A cursory look at a few English translations shows that there is a range of meaning for the word which the ESV translates “prophetic vision.”

We should not impose our contemporary understanding of the word “vision” (e.g., overarching organizational goal) onto the pages of Scripture.  While translators have determined this word to be among the best equivalents to the Hebrew חזון, as in any translation, there is rarely a direct or perfect equivalent.  This Hebrew word appears 35 times in the Old Testament manuscripts and is translated in the ESV each time as vision; however, there are 9 other words which are also translated as vision.  This particular word carries the nuance which Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon characterizes as divine or prophetic vision.[1]  It is used elsewhere in the Old Testament to describe the dreams which Daniel received and the word of the LORD which was lacking in the days of Samuel and Eli (Dan. 1.17, 8.1, 9.24; 1 Sam. 3.1).  In each instance, true prophetic vision, ḥāzôn, originates from God and not from man.  It is a word about the future which is received directly from the LORD and is thus fully reliable.

The author of Proverb 29.18 argues that when this divine/prophetic and thus trustworthy vision is lacking in a community or organization, the group is often prone to act without restraint.  The KJV famously states that “where there is no vision, the people perish,” but I think the ESV is closer to the author’s original intent.  The word here translated as “cast off restraint” in the ESV is also used in Leviticus 13.45 to describe hair that is not tied back and is hanging loose.  People without an understanding of what God wants for their future are prone to wander without boundaries.  The prophet Amos describes this roving as follows:

“‘Behold, the days are coming,’ declares the Lord God,

'when I will send a famine on the land-

not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,

but of hearing the words of the LORD.

They shall wander from sea to sea,

and from north to east;

they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD,

but they shall not find it.'" (8.11-12)

This passage does not intimate the familiar business principle that groups lacking a directional goal cannot succeed.  Rather, the wisdom found here in this proverb reveals that a prudent group will seek to hear directly from God regarding their future before marching forward; otherwise, they cannot advance in confidence – they will merely be wandering, groping for the plan God has for them.  We are fortunate today to have the plenary counsel of Scripture as our guide; indeed, as the proverb so states, we are blessed in following the direction of the Word.  However, there are times when we must pause and seek the specific will of God in a matter.  We are wise to wait for His divine direction.

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[1] Gesenius, Wilhelm and Samuel Prideaux Tregelles. Gesenius' Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2003.