God’s appointments cannot be cancelled—only postponed.
It is said that “the Hebrew Scriptures are filled with various kinds of wordplay. For example, you will find alliteration, acrostics, parables, puns, similes, metaphors, theophorisms, hyperboles, gematria, and other literary devices present in the Hebrew text.” (hebrew4christians.com) This is why, no matter which version we use, we need to read the Old Testament especially—and indeed ALL of Scripture—with plenty of resources handy to help us dig into the deeper meaning buried in the text and intended by the writers.
Here’s an interesting example: the book of Nehemiah provides a beautiful chronicle of the nation of Israel’s reconstruction after the exile—both of the rebuilding of their walls and of the people.
We read in Chapter 9 that the Levites led the citizens of Israel, cloaked in sackcloth and ashes, as they together repented and recalled the faithfulness of God. The first fifteen verses of that chapter is a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving as they praised God with a loud voice, reciting the awesome accounts of Creation, their forefathers’ exodus out of Egypt through the Red Sea, and God’s miraculous provision and protection in the wilderness.
However, at verse 16, the wind changes dramatically, and the once-fluttering banners of glorious praise fall in a dead stillness of penitence. The Levites’ words turned to humble confession:
“But our ancestors were arrogant; they stiffened their necks and ignored Your commandments. They paid no attention to the wonders You had done among them. But because You are a God of forgiveness, merciful, and full of compassion, You did not abandon them. You led them by day and night, You gave Your good Spirit to teach them, You did not withhold manna or water, You sustained them in the desert, You brought them into the land, gave them kingdoms and peoples—and You even gave them extra land.” (Nehemiah 9 CJB excerpted)
And YET, after all that—and here’s the play on words—“they disobeyed and rebelled against You, THROWING YOUR TORAH BEHIND THEIR BACKS.” (Nehemiah 9:26 CJB)
This is a curious thing to say, but when we look at the Hebraic perspective of “past” and “future,” we see a totally different view than what the words convey to our modern minds. By throwing God’s laws “behind their backs” the people of Israel DID NOT cancel God’s judgment and punishment for their apostasy—tragically, they only postponed it.
I am not a Hebrew scholar, so I researched the perspective of others who are. I found that, in Hebrew, the “past” is expressed with a word derived from the Hebrew root word meaning “opposite to” or “facing you”—so that “yesterday” is in FRONT of you. Think about that. What you can SEE most clearly is NOT what is to come, but what has already been.
On the other hand, the “future” is expressed with the Hebrew word for “tomorrow,” derived from the root word that literally means “to remain behind” or “behind your back.” So the Hebrew view is that the PAST is “in front”—but the FUTURE is “behind the back.” No one, but God, can see the FUTURE. Therefore, the Hebrew perspective is that we approach the future literally walking BACKWARD.
This peculiar concept completely switches how we, with modern minds, envision our daily walk, but it sheds an illuminating light on the Scripture in Nehemiah 9. By throwing God’s Torah “behind their backs”, they were essentially projecting it from their PRESENT into their FUTURE. They could not bear to face the consequences of their rebellion, so they removed God from their “sight.” But they could not avoid it forever.
In our next study, we will look at how this understanding applies to our own daily walk.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, I am thankful to recall your faithfulness to me all through my past. I see, like the songwriter, a “crimson stream of blood that flows from Calvary,” washing over my sins and following me all the way to Heaven. Your Word is a lamp for my feet, and though I cannot see into tomorrow, Your Word illuminates each step of the path. I trust You with each and every step into my future. Amen.
(Part 1 of 2)
