Personal Log 2.8.2018
So I was reading the blog of a lady in my Christian Bloggers Circle on Google+; she's from Finland where she lives w/ her husband/family & as always, I'm curious to know how other Christians view things, not only here in America but around the world. Her most recent post was titled “Seek God and His Presence” & in this blog she quoted 1 Chronicles 16:11 AMP:
“Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face continually [longing to be in His presence]”
It caught my interest because I had recently blogged on entering & exiting God's presence: how there's verses for entering but none for exiting therefore it's implied we're to enter (per se) & remain in God's presence, taking it w/ us & being aware of it everywhere we go…
I'm a grace person, I like to think & operate from a new covenant standpoint rather than an old covenant standpoint so my mind is constantly being renewed to new covenant position, thinking, prayers, lifestyle, etc… the more I meditated on her blog & on this verse in particular the more I wanted to respond but the Lord checked me on it & I felt impressed to research it, so here's the verse broken down in Hebrew (emphasis in bold are mine):
Seek | h1875 | darash
the Lord | 3068 | Yehovah
and His strength | h5797 | oz
seek | h1245 | baqash
His face | h6440 | paniym
continually | h8548 | tamiyd
Darash =
- to resort to, seek, seek w/ care, enquire, require
- to frequent (a place), (tread a place)
- to consult, enquire of, seek = of God
- to seek deity in prayer & worship
- to investigate
- to practice, study, follow, seek w/ application
- to be sought [out]
Yehovah =
- “the existing One”
Oz =
- might, strength (also translated boldness)
- material or physical
- personal or social or political
Baqash =
- to seek, require, exact, request, ask
- to seek to find
- to seek to secure
- to seek the face
- to desire, demand
- to be sought
Paniym =
- face
- presence
- in the presence of
- from the presence of
Tamiyd =
- continuity
- perpetuity
- to stretch
- continually, continuously
I'm always intrigued when I break down a Scripture & find two different Hebrew or Greek words for the same English word (in this case "seek"), so breaking down the entire verse the gist of it is this (brackets are mine for flow of thought):
Frequent the existing One
for strength & boldness [in/for] personal, social & political [situations/influence],
desire His face, [operate] in & from His presence continuously.
Wow!
I had wanted to respond to this blogger to impart my knowledge of this in relation to grace but I'm actually really glad the Lord checked me on my motive because instead of trying to teach her something I learned something instead.
I'm not going to add anything more, 'just going to let you dwell on this verse & let God reveal some things to you...
What is seemingly often understated is how when you read a scripture at different times in your life, the meanings seem to shift to my level of maturity at that time. What were just stories as a kid are now these incredibly rich parables that you can chew on for days at a time. In how many ways can you dissect Jonah and the Whale and apply it to you life? It really is amazing the layers of meaning.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya, the same scriptures, parables or proverbs that I've heard for years take on new meanings at different times in my own life... the Prodigal Son w/ love, forgiveness, stewardship, rebellion, etc... Jonah w/ love, compassion, obedience/disobedience, purpose, mission, attitude, etc... I've found that's there's really alot of depth to even the most mundane or seemingly insignificant scriptures.
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