Psalm 22, Part 14

This is the conclusion of a continuing look into Psalm 22 as the music in Jesus’ heart as He endured the cross. The Psalm turns to Israel here, Jesus’ brethren according to the flesh.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Psalm 22:23, 24 (Tanakh/KJV)

Psalm 22:23, 24 (NET)

Psalm 21:24, 25 (NETS)

Psalm 21:24, 25 (English Elpenor)

Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. You loyal followers of the Lord, praise him. All you descendants of Jacob, honor him. All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him. You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Iakob together glorify him; let all the offspring of Israel fear him, Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye seed of Jacob, glorify him: let all the seed of Israel fear him.
For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid (הִסְתִּ֣יר) his face (פָּנָ֣יו) from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. For he did not despise or detest the suffering of the oppressed. He did not ignore him [Note 57: Heb “he did not hide (sāṯar, הסתיר) his face (pānîm, פניו) from him”]; when he cried out to him, he responded. because he did not despise or scorn the petition of the poor, nor did he turn away (ἀπέστρεψεν) his face (τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ) from me, and when I cried to him, he listened to me. For he has not despised nor been angry at the supplication of the poor; nor turned away (ἀπέστρεψε) his face (τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ) from me; but when I cried to him, he heard me.

The Hebrew word translated afflicted (Tanakh, KJV) and oppressed (NET) was עָנִ֗י (ʿānî). It was translated πτωχοῦ (a form of πτωχός) in the Septuagint, poor in English. Blessed are the poor (πτωχοὶ, another form of πτωχός) in spirit, Jesus said in the sermon on the mount, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.1

The clause neither hath he hid his face from him on Jesus’ lips or in his heart tends to invalidate a popular idea from my religious upbringing, “that as Jesus hung on the cross, bearing the sin of the world, His holy and pure Father looked away because He couldn’t stand the sight of all that sin.”2 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity,3 was the Scripture used to justify this idea.

In context, however, in the English translation of the Masoretic text this was Habakkuk’s preface to an accusation that God not only looked at evil but did nothing about what He saw. The English translation of the Septuagint seems a bit less like an accusation, a little more like a question addressed to God about troubling things Habakkuk saw.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Habakkuk 1:13 (Tanakh/KJV)

Habakkuk 1:13 (NET)

Habakkuk 1:13 (NETS)

Habakkuk 1:13 (English Elpenor)

Thou art of purer eyes than to behold (מֵֽרְא֣וֹת) evil, and canst not look (וְהַבִּ֥יט) on iniquity: wherefore lookest (תַבִּיט֙) thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? You are too just [Note 40: Heb “(you) are too pure of eyes”] to tolerate [Note 41: Heb “to see (rā’â, מראות)”] evil; you are unable to condone [Note 42: Heb “to look (nāḇaṭ, והביט) at”] wrongdoing. So why do you put up with such treacherous people [Note 43: Heb “Why do you look (nāḇaṭ, תביט) at treacherous ones”]? Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour those more righteous than they are? A pure eye is not for seeing (ὁρᾶν) evil things, and you cannot look (ἐπιβλέπειν) upon sufferings. Why do you look (ἐπιβλέπεις) on those who despise? Will you keep silence while the impious swallows up the just? [His] eye is too pure to behold (ὁρᾶν) evil [doings], and to look (ἐπιβλέπειν) upon grievous afflictions: wherefore dost thou look (ἐπιβλέπεις) upon despisers? wilt thou be silent when the ungodly swallows up the just?

Jesus praised God as He endured the cross.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Psalm 22:25, 26 (Tanakh/KJV)

Psalm 22:25, 26 (NET)

Psalm 21:26, 27 (NETS)

Psalm 21:26, 27 (English Elpenor)

My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. You are the reason I offer praise in the great assembly; I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers. From you comes my commendation in a great assembly; my vows I will pay before those who fear him. My praise is of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
The meek (עֲנָוִ֨ים) shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. Let the oppressed (ʿānāv, ענוים) eat and be filled. Let those who seek his help praise the Lord. May you live forever! The needy (πένητες) shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek him shall praise the Lord; their hearts shall live forever and ever! The poor (πένητες) shall eat and be satisfied; and they shall praise the Lord that seek him: their heart shall live for ever.

Here the Hebrew word translated meek (Tanakh, KJV) and oppressed (NET) was עֲנָוִ֨ים (ʿānāv). It was translated πένητες (a form of πένης) in the Septuagint, needy (BLB) and poor (Elpenor) in English. And God is able4 to make all grace overflow to you, Paul wrote, so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work. Just as it is written, “He has scattered widely, he has given to the poor (πένησιν, another form of πένης); his righteousness remains forever.”5

The Psalm concludes with a beautiful recounting of the joy set out for Jesus.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Psalm 22:27-31 (Tanakh/KJV)

Psalm 22:27-31 (NET)

Psalm 21:28-32 (NETS)

Psalm 21:28-32 (English Elpenor)

All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him. Let all the nations worship you. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the paternal families of the nations shall do obeisance before him, All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord: and all the kindred of the nations shall worship before him.
For the kingdom is the LORD’s: and he is the governor among the nations. For the Lord is king and rules over the nations. because kingship is the Lord’s, and it is he who is master over the nations. For the kingdom is the Lord’s; and he is the governor of the nations.
All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul [Table]. All the thriving people of the earth will join the celebration and worship; all those who are descending into the grave will bow before him, including those who cannot preserve their lives. All the fat ones of the earth ate and did obeisance; all who descend into the earth shall fall down before him. And my soul lives for him [Table], All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and worshipped: all that go down to the earth shall fall down before him: my soul also lives to him.
A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. A whole generation will serve him; they will tell the next generation about the Lord. and my offspring will serve him; the coming generation will be announced to the Lord, And my seed shall serve him: the generation that is coming shall be reported to the Lord.
They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this. They will come and tell about his saving deeds; they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished. and they shall announce his righteousness to a people to be born, because the Lord acted. And they shall report his righteousness to the people that shall be born, whom the Lord has made.

When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.6

According to a note (24) in the NET 2 Corinthians 9:9 was a quotation from Psalm 112:9.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Psalm 112:9 (Tanakh/KJV)

Psalm 112:9 (NET)

Psalm 111:9 (NETS)

Psalm 111:9 (English Elpenor)

He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor (לָאֶֽבְיוֹנִ֗ים); his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour. He generously gives to the needy (‘eḇyôn, לאביונים); his integrity endures. He will be vindicated and honored. He scattered; he gave to the needy (πένησιν); his righteousness endures forever and ever; his horn will be exalted in glory. He has dispersed abroad; he has given to the poor (πένησιν); his righteousness endures for evermore: his horn shall be exalted with honour.

A table comparing the Greek of 2 Corinthians 9:9 and that of Psalm 112:9 (111:9) in the Septuagint follows:

2 Corinthians 9:9 (NET Parallel Greek)

Psalm 112:9 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 111:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐσκόρπισεν, ἔδωκεν τοῖς πένησιν, ἡ δικαιοσύνη αὐτοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἐσκόρπισεν ἔδωκεν τοῗς πένησιν ἡ δικαιοσύνη αὐτοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐσκόρπισεν, ἔδωκε τοῖς πένησιν· ἡ δικαιοσύνη αὐτοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος

2 Corinthians 9:9 (NET)

Psalm 111:9 (NETS)

Psalm 111:9 (English Elpenor)

He has scattered widely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness remains forever. he gave to the needy; his righteousness endures forever and ever he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for evermore

Tables comparing Psalm 22:23; 22:24; Habakkuk 1:13; Psalm 22:25; 22:26; 112:9; 22:27; 22:28; 22:30 and 22:31 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Psalm 22:23 (21:24); 22:24 (21:25); Habakkuk 1:13; Psalm 22:25 (21:26); 22:26 (21:27); 112:9 (111:9); 22:27 (21:28); 22:28 (21:29); 22:30 (21:31) and 22:31 (21:32) in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and a table comparing 2 Corinthians 9:8 in the NET and KJV follow.

Psalm 22:23 (Tanakh)

Psalm 22:23 (KJV)

Psalm 22:23 (NET)

Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. You loyal followers of the Lord, praise him. All you descendants of Jacob, honor him. All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him.

Psalm 22:23 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 21:24 (Septuagint Elpenor)

οἱ φοβούμενοι κύριον αἰνέσατε αὐτόν ἅπαν τὸ σπέρμα Ιακωβ δοξάσατε αὐτόν φοβηθήτωσαν αὐτὸν ἅπαν τὸ σπέρμα Ισραηλ οἱ φοβούμενοι τὸν Κύριον, αἰνέσατε αὐτόν, ἅπαν τὸ σπέρμα ᾿Ιακώβ, δοξάσατε αὐτόν, φοβηθήτωσαν αὐτὸν ἅπαν τὸ σπέρμα ᾿Ισραήλ

Psalm 21:24 (NETS)

Psalm 21:24 (English Elpenor)

You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Iakob together glorify him; let all the offspring of Israel fear him, Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye seed of Jacob, glorify him: let all the seed of Israel fear him.

Psalm 22:24 (Tanakh)

Psalm 22:24 (KJV)

Psalm 22:24 (NET)

For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. For he did not despise or detest the suffering of the oppressed. He did not ignore him; when he cried out to him, he responded.

Psalm 22:24 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 21:25 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ὅτι οὐκ ἐξουδένωσεν οὐδὲ προσώχθισεν τῇ δεήσει τοῦ πτωχοῦ οὐδὲ ἀπέστρεψεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ κεκραγέναι με πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰσήκουσέν μου ὅτι οὐκ ἐξουδένωσεν οὐδὲ προσώχθισε τῇ δεήσει τοῦ πτωχοῦ, οὐδὲ ἀπέστρεψε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ κεκραγέναι με πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰσήκουσέ μου

Psalm 21:25 (NETS)

Psalm 21:25 (English Elpenor)

because he did not despise or scorn the petition of the poor, nor did he turn away his face from me, and when I cried to him, he listened to me. For he has not despised nor been angry at the supplication of the poor; nor turned away his face from me; but when I cried to him, he heard me.

Habakkuk 1:13 (Tanakh)

Habakkuk 1:13 (KJV)

Habakkuk 1:13 (NET)

Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? You are too just to tolerate evil; you are unable to condone wrongdoing. So why do you put up with such treacherous people? Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour those more righteous than they are?

Habakkuk 1:13 (Septuagint BLB)

Habakkuk 1:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καθαρὸς ὀφθαλμὸς τοῦ μὴ ὁρᾶν πονηρά καὶ ἐπιβλέπειν ἐπὶ πόνους οὐ δυνήσῃ ἵνα τί ἐπιβλέπεις ἐπὶ καταφρονοῦντας παρασιωπήσῃ ἐν τῷ καταπίνειν ἀσεβῆ τὸν δίκαιον καθαρὸς ὀφθαλμὸς τοῦ μὴ ὁρᾶν πονηρά, καὶ ἐπιβλέπειν ἐπὶ πόνους οὐ δυνήσῃ· ἵνα τί ἐπιβλέπεις ἐπὶ καταφρονοῦντας; παρασιωπήσῃ ἐν τῷ καταπίνειν ἀσεβῆ τὸν δίκαιον

Habakkuk 1:13 (NETS)

Habakkuk 1:13 (English Elpenor)

A pure eye is not for seeing evil things, and you cannot look upon sufferings. Why do you look on those who despise? Will you keep silence while the impious swallows up the just? [His] eye is too pure to behold evil [doings], and to look upon grievous afflictions: wherefore dost thou look upon despisers? wilt thou be silent when the ungodly swallows up the just?

Psalm 22:25 (Tanakh)

Psalm 22:25 (KJV)

Psalm 22:25 (NET)

My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. You are the reason I offer praise in the great assembly; I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers.

Psalm 22:25 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 21:26 (Septuagint Elpenor)

παρὰ σοῦ ὁ ἔπαινός μου ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ μεγάλῃ τὰς εὐχάς μου ἀποδώσω ἐνώπιον τῶν φοβουμένων αὐτόν παρὰ σοῦ ὁ ἔπαινός μου ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ μεγάλῃ, τὰς εὐχάς μου ἀποδώσω ἐνώπιον τῶν φοβουμένων αὐτόν

Psalm 21:26 (NETS)

Psalm 21:26 (English Elpenor)

From you comes my commendation in a great assembly; my vows I will pay before those who fear him. My praise is of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.

Psalm 22:26 (Tanakh)

Psalm 22:26 (KJV)

Psalm 22:26 (NET)

The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. Let the oppressed eat and be filled. Let those who seek his help praise the Lord. May you live forever!

Psalm 22:26 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 21:27 (Septuagint Elpenor)

φάγονται πένητες καὶ ἐμπλησθήσονται καὶ αἰνέσουσιν κύριον οἱ ἐκζητοῦντες αὐτόν ζήσονται αἱ καρδίαι αὐτῶν εἰς αἰῶνα αἰῶνος φάγονται πένητες καὶ ἐμπλησθήσονται, καὶ αἰνέσουσι Κύριον οἱ ἐκζητοῦντες αὐτόν· ζήσονται αἱ καρδίαι αὐτῶν εἰς αἰῶνα αἰῶνος

Psalm 21:27 (NETS)

Psalm 21:27 (English Elpenor)

The needy shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek him shall praise the Lord; their hearts shall live forever and ever! The poor shall eat and be satisfied; and they shall praise the Lord that seek him: their heart shall live for ever.

Psalm 112:9 (Tanakh)

Psalm 112:9 (KJV)

Psalm 112:9 (NET)

He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour. He generously gives to the needy; his integrity endures. He will be vindicated and honored.

Psalm 112:9 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 111:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐσκόρπισεν ἔδωκεν τοῗς πένησιν ἡ δικαιοσύνη αὐτοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος τὸ κέρας αὐτοῦ ὑψωθήσεται ἐν δόξῃ ἐσκόρπισεν, ἔδωκε τοῖς πένησιν· ἡ δικαιοσύνη αὐτοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος, τὸ κέρας αὐτοῦ ὑψωθήσεται ἐν δόξῃ

Psalm 111:9 (NETS)

Psalm 111:9 (English Elpenor)

He scattered; he gave to the needy; his righteousness endures forever and ever; his horn will be exalted in glory. He has dispersed abroad; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for evermore: his horn shall be exalted with honour.

Psalm 22:27 (Tanakh)

Psalm 22:27 (KJV)

Psalm 22:27 (NET)

All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him. Let all the nations worship you.

Psalm 22:27 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 21:28 (Septuagint Elpenor)

μνησθήσονται καὶ ἐπιστραφήσονται πρὸς κύριον πάντα τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν ἐνώπιόν σου πᾶσαι αἱ πατριαὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν μνησθήσονται καὶ ἐπιστραφήσονται πρὸς Κύριον πάντα τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ πᾶσαι αἱ πατριαὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν

Psalm 21:28 (NETS)

Psalm 21:28 (English Elpenor)

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the paternal families of the nations shall do obeisance before him, All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord: and all the kindred of the nations shall worship before him.

Psalm 22:28 (Tanakh)

Psalm 22:28 (KJV)

Psalm 22:28 (NET)

For the kingdom is the LORD’s: and he is the governor among the nations. For the kingdom is the LORD’S: and he is the governor among the nations. For the Lord is king and rules over the nations.

Psalm 22:28 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 21:29 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ὅτι τοῦ κυρίου ἡ βασιλεία καὶ αὐτὸς δεσπόζει τῶν ἐθνῶν ὅτι τοῦ Κυρίου ἡ βασιλεία, καὶ αὐτὸς δεσπόζει τῶν ἐθνῶν

Psalm 21:29 (NETS)

Psalm 21:29 (English Elpenor)

because kingship is the Lord’s, and it is he who is master over the nations. For the kingdom is the Lord’s; and he is the governor of the nations.

Psalm 22:30 (Tanakh)

Psalm 22:30 (KJV)

Psalm 22:30 (NET)

A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. A whole generation will serve him; they will tell the next generation about the Lord.

Psalm 22:30 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 21:31 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ τὸ σπέρμα μου δουλεύσει αὐτῷ ἀναγγελήσεται τῷ κυρίῳ γενεὰ ἡ ἐρχομένη καὶ τὸ σπέρμα μου δουλεύσει αὐτῷ· ἀναγγελήσεται τῷ Κυρίῳ γενεὰ ἡ ἐρχομένη

Psalm 21:31 (NETS)

Psalm 21:31 (English Elpenor)

and my offspring will serve him; the coming generation will be announced to the Lord, And my seed shall serve him: the generation that is coming shall be reported to the Lord.

Psalm 22:31 (Tanakh)

Psalm 22:31 (KJV)

Psalm 22:31 (NET)

They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this. They will come and tell about his saving deeds; they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished.

Psalm 22:31 (Septuagint BLB)

Psalm 21:31 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἀναγγελοῦσιν τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ λαῷ τῷ τεχθησομένῳ ὅτι ἐποίησεν ὁ κύριος καὶ ἀναγγελοῦσι τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ λαῷ τῷ τεχθησομένῳ, ὃν ἐποίησεν ὁ Κύριος

Psalm 21:31 (NETS)

Psalm 21:31 (English Elpenor)

and they shall announce his righteousness to a people to be born, because the Lord acted. And they shall report his righteousness to the people that shall be born, whom the Lord has made.

2 Corinthians 9:8 (NET)

2 Corinthians 9:8 (KJV)

And God is able to make all grace overflow to you so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

δυνατεῖ δὲ ὁ θεὸς πᾶσαν χάριν περισσεῦσαι εἰς ὑμᾶς, ἵνα ἐν παντὶ πάντοτε πᾶσαν αὐτάρκειαν ἔχοντες περισσεύητε εἰς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθόν δυνατος δε ο θεος πασαν χαριν περισσευσαι εις υμας ινα εν παντι παντοτε πασαν αυταρκειαν εχοντες περισσευητε εις παν εργον αγαθον δυνατος δε ο θεος πασαν χαριν περισσευσαι εις υμας ινα εν παντι παντοτε πασαν αυταρκειαν εχοντες περισσευητε εις παν εργον αγαθον

My Reasons and My Reason, Part 5

Late that summer before we began our senior years of high school, I asked B if she wanted to have sex for real.  “I think you already know the answer to that,” she said.  Actually, I didn’t.  That’s why I asked.  But I took her evasion for a negative answer.  When I asked C to the first football game of the season, I imagine that B felt rejected for her refusal.  But I had been biding my time all summer, waiting for the seniors who buzzed around C to leave for college.  I didn’t have the connection with B, that sense of loyalty and commitment, I had experienced with A.

A week or so after that football game C and I had sex for real for the first time, for both of us.  Everything began to change for me.  I didn’t think so concretely at the time, but if someone had tried to communicate the fruit of the Spirit to me then, I would have argued that sex with C was my source of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and, after I failed to inaugurate my water brothers scheme, faithfulness and self-control.  I had my parents’ example.

They could barely tolerate one another. I might have suspected, since I existed, that sex lacked the staying power I thought, and hoped for, at the time.  I reasoned instead that my parents didn’t do it right, and suspected that their religion inhibited and prohibited them from doing it right.  Now, I believe that the forbidden fruit was a forbidden fruit, that Adam enjoyed a blessed wedding night and a wonderful afterglow that first Sabbath with his beautiful naked wife (Proverbs 5:18, 19 NET).

May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in your young wife –a loving doe, a graceful deer; may her breasts satisfy you at all times, may you be captivated by her love always.

But at seventeen it was all too easy to assume that forbidden fruit was a religious euphemism for sex.  I didn’t recognize that new-found faithfulness and self-control as something alien to me, as something quite contrary to my own will in fact.  I assumed that I had changed my mind.  It was My love for C, after all, that filled me with joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, even faithfulness and self-control.  Isn’t that what we mean and expect of someone who loves us?  He/She is filled with joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and even self-control (as it pertains to another) in our presence?  And aches for the want of these things in our absence?

It wasn’t long before C and I discovered a mutual attraction for spanking and whipping (though I had  more affinity for dominant-submissive role-play than she did).  It became a routine part of our foreplay.  Yes, I was spanked as a child.  No, she was not.  But I’m not interested in psychological explanations.  What interests me is the wrath of Godrevealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness.[1]

Clearly, I did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but [I] became futile in [my] thoughts and [my] senseless [heart was] darkened.  Although [I] claimed to be wise, [I] became [a fool] and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings[2]

I didn’t know that Jesus was with God in the beginning.  All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.[3]  I didn’t know that Jesus was fully God.[4]  I had wondered about John’s mysterious Word, thrilled to the sound of the words that sang its praises, but hadn’t connected that Word with Jesus.

Jesus was the Son of God, less than God by definition, I thought. I believed in Jesus as a child but later (about twelve or thirteen) I put childish things away and prayed to God the Father, the true God, instead.  Jesus was the bait; God the Father was the switch.[5] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,[6] sounded wonderful in the sales pitch.  When I learned that faith wasn’t enough, that I had to live as a child of God, the deal changed dramatically: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.[7]  And Jesus being found in fashion as a man, was the image of the good son: he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.[8]  But at the critical moment when Jesus was most obedient to God the Father’s will, God the Father abandoned Him because, Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity[9]  Or, as another story goes, rather than abandoning Jesus on the cross God the Father hurled even more secret punishments at Him, because his death alone was not sufficient to atone for sins.

I feel bad about the previous paragraph, and can’t continue without correcting it. Though the Scriptures are true, my tone was all off.  The surprise when Jesus appeared on earth as a man born of a virgin was not that Yahweh had a Son, but that He had a Father: Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, before Abraham came into existence, I am![10] For this is the way God [the Father] loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.[11]  He gave Him in the garden of Eden, and in the burning bush, and on Mount Sinai, and at Bethlehem and on Golgotha. No one [not Adam, not Eve, not Moses] has ever seen God [the Father]. The only one, himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God [the Father] known.[12]

When Philip said to Jesus, Lord, show us the Father, and we will be content,[13] Jesus said: Have I been with you for so long, and you have not known me, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father!  How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me?  The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father residing in me performs his miraculous deeds.[14]  To imagine secret punishments (and one must imagine them since they are not revealed in Scripture) which God the Father hurled at Jesus on the cross, is to misunderstand his salvation (Colossians 1:13-20 NET):

He [God the Father] delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.  He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him.  He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.  For God [the Father] was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

The reason Jesus’ death on a cross makes any peace or atonement is that God the Father is pleased to accept it as such. Human attempts to rationalize his salvation are rationalizations by definition. And in context Habakkuk had whined that Yahweh/Son/Jesus was too longsuffering (Habakkuk 1:13 NET):

You are too just to tolerate evil; you are unable to condone wrongdoing.  So why do you put up with such treacherous people?  Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour those more righteous than they are?

The point here is that He was putting up with such treacherous people.  It is not particularly prudent then to turn it around and use poetic language—Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity—to make a rule forbidding God the Father from drawing near to, or compelling Him to turn away from, God the Son at the moment He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God,[15] when Scripture states otherwise (Psalm 22:21b-24 NET):

You have answered me!  I will declare your name to my countrymen!  In the middle of the assembly I will praise you!  You loyal followers of the Lord, praise him!  All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!  All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him!  For he did not despise or detest the suffering of the oppressed; he did not ignore him; when he cried out to him, he responded.

This is the very Psalm Jesus quoted from the cross, when he cried out in Aramaic, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?which means,My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?[16]  Psalm 22 is a heartrendingly accurate prophecy of the death of Yahweh the Son of God from his own point of view. Whether one believes that it was a psalm of David or not, it was clearly part of the Scripture translated into Greek in the Septuagint a couple of centuries before Jesus died in Jerusalem.  It is fitting that He, who lived by every word that comes from the mouth of God,[17] died with that word in his heart and mind as well.

But even years later after I returned to faith, I strove with every Zen particle of my being to let patience have her perfect work, that [I] may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.[18]  When I read my sister’s annotated Shakespeare and realized for the first time that, “Wherefore art thou Romeo,” means, “why is your name Montague,” I got my first Bible translated in my own tongue.  I was shocked to learn that wanting nothing meant lacking in nothing (James 1:4 NASB):

And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The King James translation had made sense to me. Nothing angered my father more than my wanting something from him.  I assumed that God the Father was the same. Wanting nothing was difficult but possible to achieve, I thought.  But lacking in nothing?  How could I achieve that through some form of meditation or patience or endurance?  It was crazy stuff.

I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God, and not a man—the Holy One among you.[19]  I didn’t believe it at first.  I thought it was some evil introduced into a modern translation.  So I checked the Bible, you know, the King James version: I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee:[20]

In my mind to carry out fierce anger was the essence of God the Father, the Lord Jehovah.  How could He turn it around and blame it on man?  How did He dare try to distinguish God, the Holy One among you, from man with a statement like, I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again? It was nuts.

So, I was guilty. I had a man-made image of God in my mind, one much more like a man—my father[21]—than like God revealed in Scripture.  And I endeavored to worship that image, even after I prayed, if You are there I want to know You. Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves.[22]  I have connected this to, Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin a person commits is outside of the body” – but the immoral person sins against his own body.[23]  So, I have considered unfaithfulness to a spouse to be the impurity to which God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to dishonor their bodies among themselves.

In an absolute sense taking up with C may have been a matter of infidelity to B or A, but in dynamic terms I was returning to a belief in faithfulness to one woman.  Now, I credit that to the Holy Spirit trying mightily to get through to me.  At the time I thought it was my doing.  After C and before my first wife (or, second, depending on your willingness to receive the law) there were other women, not enough to brag about, just enough to be ashamed of.  Two of those women were married.  The first was separated from her husband.  The second was living with her husband, but I was beyond caring.  If this was God’s wrath revealed from heaven I can easily attest to its justice, for I recall it as a time of profound loneliness, a loneliness I have not experienced since though I have mostly been alone (without a wife).

I’ll pick this up again in the next essay.


[1] Romans 1:18 (NET)

[2] Romans 1:21-23 (NET)

[3] John 1:2, 3 (NET)

[4] John 1:1 (NET)

[5] bait-and-switch

[6] John 3:16 (KJV)

[7] Hebrews 12:6 (KJV)

[8] Philippians 2:8 (KJV)

[9] Habakkuk 1:13a (KJV)

[10] John 8:58 (NET)

[11] John 3:16 (NET)

[12] John 1:18 (NET)

[13] John 14:8 (NET)

[14] John 14:9, 10 (NET)

[15] 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NET)

[16] Mark 15:34; Psalm 22:1 (NET)

[17] Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3 (NET)

[18] James 1:4 (KJV)

[19] Hosea 11:9 (NIV)

[20] Hosea 11:9 (KJV)

[21] Though to be fair, my father had serious reservations about, and had stopped attending, the church where I became an atheist, and to which I returned after I returned to faith.

[22] Romans 1:24 (NET) Table

[23] 1 Corinthians 6:18 (NET)