Hebrew
Highlights 119 – Consider
Shalom! This is Yuval
Shomron coming to you from Jerusalem.
HEB 3:1-3, “Therefore, holy
brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High
Priest of our confession. He was
faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house. For He has been counted worthy of more glory
than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the
house.”
The word “consider” in this
passage is interesting in both Hebrew and Greek. We’ll take a look at the Hebrew a little
later, when I return to these verses.
The Greek word behind “consider”
is “katanoeo” Which basically means to take note of, or to perceive. How often we do exactly the opposite. We take the scriptures, and yes, even the
Lord Yeshua himself for granted. We do
not always notice the deep meanings in the scriptures, or the beauty of our
salvation. All too frequently, we just
do our daily reading, close the book, say a brief prayer, and go on about our
daily business.
Three other verses, which contain
this word, give us suggestions as to how we might more appreciate God’s world
around us. Let’s start with LUK
12:24.
"Consider the
ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; and they have no storeroom nor barn; and
yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!
Driving down
the highway, we see many ravens, or crows, or sparrows, or whatever. Many times we may be worrying at that very
moment about our finances, or some other worldly woe. If we would only “take note” of those
abundant flying reminders of His grace, we might let go of our fears.
About an inch
down the page, in LUK 12:27, the example is reinforced. "Consider the
lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, even Solomon
in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these.
Again, if we
get out of the city during the springtime, blooming promises of our Heavenly
Father’s provision surround us. How
obtuse we can be, when the Lord’s answers to our problems are so obvious.
In HEB 10:24,
the word in our study today is used in a different context. “And let us
consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.” Now there’s an idea whose time has come! It might be enough to stimulate ourselves
to love and good deeds. However, in this
particular passage, we are to encourage each other, possibly rather that
finding fault in everyone else.
Now I’d like to “reconsider” our original verses for
today. HEB 3:1-3, “Therefore, holy
brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High
Priest of our confession. He was
faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house. For He has been counted worthy of more glory
than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the
house.”
In Hebrew the
word “consider” used here is “lahitbonen”, which literally means, “look upon
with understanding”. If we look at
Yeshua in this way, we will draw more from Him than we do in a quick glance. In verse 3, He is called the “builder”, or in
Hebrew, “Bonei”. This is built on
exactly the same root letters as “lahitbonen”, or “consider”. Perhaps this is because a good carpenter has
to look very carefully at His plans before beginning.
By the way,
we learn in verse 1, that Yeshua was the first Apostle. For those of you who still mistakenly think
there were only 12, “consider” this verse.
God appointed Him and sent Him out to build His church, just as today,
in this continuing Apostolic age, God sends out messengers, or apostles to
build His church in new lands. That
paragraph was free of charge, if not free of “current”.
I’ll mention
one more verse where our Hebrew version of “consider” is used in the Old
Testament. PSA 107:43, “Who is wise? Let
him give heed to these things; And consider the lovingkindnesses of the Lord.”
I don’t know
about you, but if I begin to look back on my life, and “consider” all the times
God has extended His grace to me, I begin to understand the height, the width,
and the depth of His lovingkindness.
Next time you
drive by a field of lilies, or see a blackbird fly overhead, or on the other
hand, see a drunk lying in the gutter, “consider”, “take note”, “perceive”, and
“look on with understanding”.
Where would
we be without Jesus?
Shalom, Shalom from Jerusalem