INTRODUCTION
The questions, "What is man that You (GOD) are mindful of
him, and the Son of Man that You should visit Him?" (Heb
2:6; Ps 8:4), when answered and understood, destroy the spurious
dogma of the Trinity and the false ideologies inherent in the
immortality of the soul doctrine. Both falsehoods defy biblical
teaching and originate in the paganism of ancient Babylon, Egypt
and Greece (e.g., from Plato to Proclus to Augustine). True religion
teaches knowledge of the true GOD, right thinking, wise decision-making,
godly behaviour in all matters, and acceptable worship of GOD
(Ps 82:1-8; 1Cor 15:34; Rom 12:1-2).
What each of us presently knows and understands about the nature
of God, the nature of Jesus Christ, and the nature of the Holy
Spirit influences what we think, say and do about our beliefs,
values, ethics and relationships within ourselves, among ourselves,
and with others. Many people hear and read that God is love, as
1Jn 4:8,16 states. Our experiences of that Divine love, real or
distorted, govern how we respond to God, how we respond to those
God loves, how we respond to all people, and how we respond to
the world. There is a parallelism between these and experiences
and perceptions children have of the parental love which shapes
their lives.
This message is motivated by the desire to enhance our understanding
of the God of the Bible to the rejection of the many lords and
gods of human misperceptions (1Cor 8:5; Is 2:7-9; Jer 2:28). May
I, therefore, review some teaching we should know well and add
additional perspective, and thus lift the spirit in such evil
times as we now painfully see, hear and feel.
An amazing question is asked in Hebrews 2:6 and in Psalm 8:4:
What is man that You are mindful of him,
and the Son of Man that You visit Him?
The question speaks of the Will and the Power of GOD. Who understands
these? Let's consider more of the awesome coherence and beauty
of the truth in the Word of the LORD of hosts.
CONTEXT FOR KEY WORDS AND MEANINGS
Ps 8:1-9 gives some context to the verses we're looking
at. Like most psalms, it is set to music, for the superscription
says: To the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath
(Gath means wine press). It is a psalm by or for David.
LORD, our Lord (YHWH Adonai-nu), how excellent is Your
Name in all the earth.
To whom and to how many in all the world is the Name of the LORD
excellent, glorious, and noble? Are our personal experiences in
conformity with this Scripture? Surely our experiences and our
thoughts on this influence how we respond to God? For how long
and how much do our perceptions of God's glories influence our
daily behaviours so that we are holy?
You have set Your glory above the heavens! 2 Out of the mouth
of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength (Since
the power of God's Truth can come from babes in Christ, how do
we hear?), because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy
and the avenger (such as Cain, Ishmael, Esau, Judas, and any led
by Satan. Does each of us have a clear perception of whom God
wants to silence? Those teaching error!)
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the
moon and the stars, which You have ordained (as Rom 1:20 says:
For since the creation of the universe God's invisible attributes
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
even His eternal Power and Divine Nature [See Heb 11:3; Ps
33:6]),
4 What is man that You are mindful of him (Out of all the
glories of the vast universe and the awesome mysteries of nature,
why should mankind on this little planet on the edge of one small
galaxy, the Milky Way, be specially considered by the Almighty
GOD?), and the Son of Man that You visit him?
Why has the immutable, omnipotent, omniscient Father deigned and
bothered to look at mankind by means of the Son of God? It's a
wonderful question that I can explore now, but only in part! God
is not like man, for He considers the latter end of all things
and people, and knows the beginnings and end of all histories
(Dt 32:29; Is 46:10). He is all-knowing—omniscient! He is also
full of love and mercy. If GOD is all-knowing, what are the awe-inspiring
implications we may deduce from this? And if your god is not all-knowing,
what are his weaknesses, what are his caprices, what are the limits
to his fixing his mistakes?
Having considered mankind's history and His own Purpose before
the creation of the universe, GOD appointed His Son as the Lamb.
Let's review some Scriptures on this.
1Pet 1:18-20 says that we were not redeemed with corruptible
things, like silver or gold (but gold lasts for thousands of years!),
from our aimless conduct received by tradition from our fathers
(i.e., our leading forebears who passed on our culture), 19 but
with the precious blood of Christ, the Lamb without blemish and
without spot. 20 He was foreordained (appointed and foreknown)
before the foundation of the world (just as the saints and their
names in the Book of Life were foreordained [see Rom 8:29-30;
Eph 1:3-12; Ex 32:32; Ps 56:8; 69:28; Dan 12:1; Mal 3:16;
Phil 4:3; Rev 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 21:27; 22:19]), but was manifest
in these last times for you—for us all!
Acts 15:18 gives us James' words while he summarised Peter's
learning experience in preaching to the Gentiles: "Known
to God from eternity are all His works."
Eph 1:3-7 speaks of predestination and God's foreknowledge:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
For many years I read this Scripture and many just like it and
did not begin to think what this was saying. It's saying that
Jesus Christ has a God and a Father! Why didn't I hear? Because
a false ideology permeated the church and blinded me to listening
to the Word of God. It's much easier to listen to men
pretending
or falsely believing they are servants of God.
Blessed be the God and Father of Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places
in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus
Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made
us accepted in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through
His blood, forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His
grace.
The apostle Paul, in
2Tim 1:9, declares that the grace
of God was foreordained before time began—before the universe
was created:
God has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace
which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
And in
Tit 1:2, Paul tells us that the hope of eternal
life was promised by God, who cannot lie, before time began.
Although I've read, studied, and meditated so much on these and
like Scriptures, I'm always overwhelmingly awed by their immense
meanings. They confirm that the Almighty GOD and Father of all
knows the end from the beginning. This is why GOD foretells, sees
in advance, declares outcomes, knows the end result of all things.
Prophecy is based on the fact that God knows the end from the
beginning (as Is 46:10 says; see also Is 41:22; 44:7; 45:21; 48:3,5;
and our paper
The Immutability of God.)
We return to Ps 8:
5 For You have made him (mankind and, subsequently, the
Son of Man) a little lower (in terms of time and apparent status)
than the angels.
The LXX and Heb 2:7 use the word
angels, but the Hebrew
of Ps 8:5 has
elohim, which means God, god, gods; the
-im
ending indicates the noun is plural. Eloah in Hebrew and Elah
in Aramaic—
Allah in Arabic is related linguistically—are
singular forms for
Elohim.
You have crowned him with glory and honour (i.e., His status was
raised. And if raised, then it was lower before). 6 You have made
him to have dominion over the works of Your hands.
Man was told to
exercise godly dominion over the earth,
which he contrarily and increasingly defiles. The Son of Man,
the Saviour of mankind, will have dominion over the earth and
all nations, which Satan, originally a son of God, now rules and
dominates.
God has put all things under mankind's feet,
7 all sheep and oxen—even the beasts of the field, 8 the birds
of the air, and the fish of the sea that migrate through the paths
(the currents) of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how excellent
is Your Name in all the earth! (Again I ask, just how excellent
is the Name of the LORD to each of us?)
With phenomenal discoveries and experiments in the fields of genetic
engineering of plants and animals, in human genetics, and with
the discovery of the entire human DNA map, some supposedly wise
men are foreseeing man's capacity to make man immortal (according
to Professor Paul Davies on an ABC radio interview recently).
So the mortal can attain immortality and the corruptible can be
made incorruptible by that which without GOD is corrupt and corrupting—contrary
to 1Cor 15:42-54! Men can become gods without God; men can reward
themselves with non-death—these are surely blasphemies!
The angelic host has responsibilities as ministering spirits to
the saints, as Heb 1:14 tells us (also see Dan 10:13,20-21; 12:1;
Zech 1:11; Rev 1:20). The demon spirits are Satan's servants ministering
to the destruction of the saints and all mankind. Dt 32:8 informs
us that the nations have angelic beings assigned to them by the
Will of God (cf. D.S. Russell, The Method and Message
of Jewish Apocalyptic (Westminster Press, 1964), pp 236,248;
NEB, NJB, NRSV footnotes to Dt 32:8; P. C. Craigie, Deuteronomy
[NICOT, Eerdmans, 1976], pp 377-380). And since Satan is the
present ruler of the world (as 1Jn 5:19; Lk 4:6; Jn 12:31; 2Cor
4:4; Rev 12:9 and many other Scriptures declare), surely his demonic
servants also rule over the nations.
In Heb 2:5, we're told that GOD did not put the world to
come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels—because the resurrected
saints are to inherit the earth.
Some background context to Heb 2 is found in the first few verses
of Heb 1.
Heb 1:1-4 God (the Father), who at various times and in
various ways spoke in time past to the fathers (i.e., the leaders
of Israel) by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to
us (who have ears to hear) by His Son, whom He has appointed (set
Him aside for special purpose as) heir of all things (which perhaps
suggests He was once not heir of all things), through whom also
He made the universe (from the Greek aionas; TDNT,
Vol 1.197-209); 3 who being the brightness of His (Father's) glory
and the express image of His person (i.e., the exact
expression and manifestation of His Father's reality or being;
TDNT, Vol VIII.572-589; hypostasis, can mean, plan,
total or ground plan, life plan, reality,
policy, purpose, complete deeds of ownership),
and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had
by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels,
as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent Name than they.
The Son of God, by doing what He has done, through the giving
up His divinity in Heaven, by taking on the life of a man as the
Son of Man (see
The Nature of Jesus Christ—Part 2), by
teaching, by dying for the sins of the world and perfectly doing
the Will of His Father, has obtained a more excellent Name than
all the angelic host. Does this not mean that He did not have
that before His coming to die for the sins of the world as the
Lamb of God? And are we not likewise to do the Will of God our
Father, just as Jesus did for His God and Father, to also obtain
a more excellent Name? (Rev 2:17; 3:12; 14:1; Is 62:2,12; 65:12).
Surely there is no greater honour than to be called a child of
GOD by GOD (1Jn 3:1-3). However, we still do not know what we
shall be like in the resurrection of the saints from all ages
(1Jn 3:2; Rom 8:19-25).
Hebrews 2:6-9 tells us:
6 But one testified in a certain place, saying: "What is
man that You (the GOD and Father of Jesus Christ, as expressed
in Jn 20:17; Rom 15:6; 2Cor 1:3; 11:31; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:3, 17;
Col 1:3; 1Pet 1:3; Rev 1:6) are mindful of him, or the Son of
Man that You take care of Him? 7 You have made him a little lower
than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honour, and
set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things
in subjection under his feet." For in that He put all in
subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him.
But now we do not yet see all things put under him.
When all things are completed, when all power and authority is
under Christ, then Jesus Christ will give it all to the Father
and be subject to Him, as is expressed in 1Cor 15:24,28.
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels,
for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour, that
He, by the grace of God, might taste death (for the wages of sin)
for everyone.
We cannot escape the similar responsibility given to mankind's
parents, Adam and Eve, as described in
Gen 1:26-28
God said, "Let Us make man (adham; TDOT,
Vol I.75-87) in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them
have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the
air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping
thing that creeps on the earth." 27 So God created man in
His own image; in the image of God He created him (so that man
might be called into the holiness of God and accept adoption as
children of God); male and female He created them (for just as
man was to increase and grow, so will the Kingdom of God grow
in every righteousness [Is 9:7]). 28 Then God blessed them, and
God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply (God blesses
His children and asks them to grow in the grace and knowledge
of Jesus Christ and to share the Gospel); fill the earth and subdue
it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of
the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Mankind, or at least those who would live by the Faith, by being
faithful in the
little things of this life, would prove
its faithfulness in the great things of eternal life. The Son
of God set the standards for all the children of God—those who
would form the assembly of the firstborn, the remnant, the firstfruits,
the church of the living God, the New Jerusalem (Heb 11; 12:22-23).
WORDS AND MEANINGS
Let's examine the meanings of vital words in Ps 8:4-6 and Heb
2:6-8. What is man? we are asked in Ps 8:4. The Hebrew
word is enosh (also in Ps 9:20; 103:15). The LXX (the OT
in Greek) uses anthropos. Both words mean a man
or mankind. However, the first use of the English word
man in Scripture is in Gen 1:26
God (Elohim, i.e., GOD the Father with the heavenly Council,
which included the Son of Man) said, "Let Us make man
(adham) in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them
have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the
air, over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping
thing that creeps on the earth."
The next use of the word
man is
Gen 1:27 So God (Elohim) created man (adham)
in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male (zakhar;
an amazing word we need to look at further) and female (neqeba)
He created them.
Here man, or mankind, is recognised as male and female.
Next we have:
Gen 2:5 …. the LORD God had not caused it to rain
on the earth, and there was no man (adham) to till the
ground.
Obviously, God intended that man should have a special habitat
and improve it (Gen 1:28-30; 2:15), one in which he could live
well and make a living by work, by considered and skillful effort.
The hydrological cycle (i.e., evaporation and rainfall) was created
(verse 6; water, like the Spirit of God, gives life) and then—
Gen 2:7 The LORD God formed man (adham, also
vv. 8,15,16,18) of the dust of the ground (the Hebrew says literally,
from the ground - man; min ha'adhamah - adham [TDOT,
Vol I.226]), and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man (adham) became a living being.
The pun in Hebrew could be put as:
from the earth—an earthling.
Gen 2:8,15,16,18 use adham for man and then, in
verses 19-22, adham is the name for the man who would be
the first of mankind, created for salvation, of whom God would
be mindful. Pre-adamic creatures commonly viewed as mankind's
evolutionary ancestors (such as the Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon
Man) are not in God's Plan of Salvation and are probably the creations
of Satan. Why do I suggest that? Satan has creative power, as
was shown by the creation of snakes, blood and frogs by the Exodus'
Pharaoh's mediums, as is recorded in Ex 7:11-12,20-21; 8:6-8.
There is demonic procreation with women recorded in Gen 6:1-8
(Gerhard von Rad, Genesis, SCM Press, 1972; pp 113-6; NJB
& NRSV footnotes; D. S. Russell, The Method and Message
of Jewish Apocalyptic, Westminster Press, 1964; pp 249-57);
Num 22:2-7 tells us that Balaam was asked to miraculously curse
Israel. 2Thess 2:9 and Rev 13:13-15 speak of miraculous powers
of the future false prophet, the anti-christ.
adham in Hebrew means man, mankind, Adam.
adhama is ground, land, earth (Gen
2:7). In the Hebrew word for man, in the name of the first
man, in the word for ground, we have the notions that the
first man made in the image of God is of the earth, returns to
the earth in death (Gen 2:17), and without God is but of the dust
of the earth. Yet God is mindful of man. God is always mindful
of man's needs, is lovingly and mercifully mindful of each person's
genuine needs. Each of us constantly hungers after 'needs' that
are not legitimate, that are unnecessary, or untimely. God always
recalls that man is of the earth, is frail, is corruptible and
needs desperate help. This loving mindfulness is inherent in the
purpose God has for those who endure in response to His grace
and calling—to become His ever faithful children (1Jn 3:1-3),
now and forever!
Gen 2:22 says God took (laqach) a rib from
Adam and made a woman (ishshah). Verse 23 has Adam
saying: "She shall be called Woman (ishshah,
which means woman, female, wife), because she was taken
(laqach) out of (and for) Man" (ish
is used instead of adham; ish means man, male,
husband).
Theologically and typologically, we should realise that the first
woman created within the divine purpose of God, Eve, which means
"the mother of all living" (Gen 3:20; Is 54:1-3; Gal
4:26-29), foreshadowed the Bride of Christ, was the creative work
of the Son of Man, and is for Him, the Bridegroom, by the Will
of the Father. Perhaps we see that Gen 2:24, which says,
"a man (ish) shall leave his father and mother and
be joined to his wife (ishshah), and they'll become one
flesh," also speaks in prophetic parable of leaving the environment
each of us was born into—the idolatry and harlotry of the present
evil world—and of seeking to live as one with the Bridegroom and
the Father of the Son (Jn 17:22-26). I make this analogy for Paul
tells us that the first Adam foreshadowed the second Adam, as
1Cor 15:21-23,45-49 and Rom 5:14 make quite clear. Just as Adam
foreshadowed the Son of Man, so Eve foreshadowed the Bride of
the Son of Man.
MEANINGS OF KEY WORDS—COHERENCE IN SCRIPTURE
Scripture tells us that God is mindful of man, of all mankind,
and of every person!
Heb 2:6 and Ps 8:4 share the
common expression: GOD IS MINDFUL
OF MAN
The Hebrew word used for mindful is zakhar, which
means remember, take to heart, recall (TDOT,
Vol IV.64-82). The Septuagint (LXX) has the Greek mimneske
(remember, keep in mind, be concerned about;
and is equivalent to the Hebrew zakhar. Though some scholars
might say these words (zakhar [mindful] and zakhar
[male, in Gen 1:27; TDOT, Vol IV.82-87 and TDNT,
Vol IV.675-683; TWOT, 551] are unrelated, the similarity
suggests meaningful allusions (If you are able to, please see
the dictionary articles listed in this paragraph).
Examples and synonymous uses in the OT are:
David, in Ps 144:3, mindful of God's greatness and magnanimity,
asked: LORD, what is man (enosh), that You take
knowledge of him? Or the son of man (ben enosh),
that You take account of him (hesheb; TWOT,
767; plan, make a judgment, think about)?
We find ourselves confronted with: Why should the Almighty and
perfect God bother to consider to offer His love and the gifts
of life, joy, peace, and greatness to man? Perhaps we know
that God does these things for man! But how are we affected with
the realisation that although we receive such gracious gifts,
there seems so little visible evidence of many joyful recipients?
Do we, nevertheless, really see what God is doing for each
of us and among us?
Job is a most remarkable example of an individual called by God
to overcoming and perfection, who thought he knew God and his
own smallness before God, yet who failed to see that his spiritual
understanding was hopelessly inadequate and flawed. In Job
7:16-20, he murmured bitterly:
I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, for
my days are but a breath (hebel; abel; and Abel's
name). 17 (Job asked in puzzlement during his awful trials): "What
is man (enosh), that You God should exalt
him (TDOT, Vol II.390-416; exalt is gadhal; to magnify,
weave together, twist together 'to strengthen'),
that You should set Your heart on him?"
So God is working something very special in any who respond to
Him to be His children. Job was perhaps being sarcastic in that
God magnifies us in Spirit and in Truth, that He weaves us into
His values, but Job saw his life as cursed and magnified by physical
decay and twisted by spiritual confusion.
18 What is man that You should visit (paqad; take
care of) him every morning, and test him every moment? 19
How long? Will You not look away from me, and let me alone till
I swallow my saliva? 20 Have I sinned? What have I done to You,
O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, so that
I am a burden to myself?
Job is despairing, angry, accusative of God, sarcastic and is
probably parodying Ps 8:4-6. And yes, we are our own worst enemies.
It's our individual weaknesses that give us our problems— especially
relationship problems.
In Job 10:3, having expressed hatred for his own life,
he asks despairingly,
"Does it seem good to You that You should oppress, that You
should despise the work of Your hands, and smile on the counsel
of the wicked?"
Cain, Ishmael, and Esau expressed such characteristics. The carnal
mind despises submission to the Will of God, hates His correction
and rebuke, His righteousness and truth, and instead seeks its
own definitions of love, mercy, truth, will, obedience. The human
mind prefers its own definitions of righteousness rather than
what God does, and how and when. Please revisit these crucial
verses: Jer 17:5,9-10; Prov 16:2; 21:2; Rom 8:7; 1Cor 2:14; 1Jn
5:19; Rev 12:9.
Job continued his bitter complaint in Job 10:8-12:
"Your hands have made me and fashioned me, an intricate unity;
yet You would destroy me (This of course insinuates futility into
what God had done for Job). 9 Remember (as if God could forget
or be unaware), I pray, that You have made me like clay. And will
You turn me into dust again? 10 Did you not pour me out like milk,
and curdle me like cheese, 11 clothe me with skin and flesh, and
knit me together with bones and sinews? 12 You have granted me
life and favour, and Your care has preserved my spirit."
Job admits that God's indignation is against him but he refuses
to really listen to God's indirect questioning. His despair of
life is expressed in verse
18,
"Why then have You brought me out of the womb? Oh, that I
had perished and no eye had seen me!"
God never gives us more difficulty and trial than we can take,
as 1Cor 10:13 says, although we may claim that our trials are
far too big, as Job did. Do we know what strength and courage
we have or how much help we truly need and will be given when
we fervently ask the gracious God (2Cor 12:10; 13:4)? Here's an
example:
Ps 74:2 Remember (zakhar) Your congregation (assembly,
church, gathering of saints), which You purchased from the beginning,
the tribe of Your inheritance, which You redeemed; this Mount
Zion where You live (Rev 14:1-4; Heb 12:22-23; Is 2:2-4).
7-9 They (enemies like Esau; Obad 12-15) have set fire
to Your sanctuary; they have defiled the dwelling place of Your
Name to the ground. 8 They said in their hearts, "Let us
destroy them altogether." They have burned all the meeting
places of God in the land. 9 We do not see our signs (i.e., no
more miracles); there is no longer any prophet (i.e., none to
properly teach and warn); nor is there anyone among us who knows
how long.
Disaster and terrible trials are not excluded from the lives of
the saints, for it is through many trials and tribulations that
the children of God must be purged and brought to perfection,
as these verses show: Acts 14:22; 2Thess 1:4-5; 1Pet 1:4-9; 2:21-25.
Ps 89 is a meditative and joyous remembrance of God's promises
to David. It has moments of great pain also.
Ps 89:46-48 How long, LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire? 47 Remember (but can God
forget?) how short my time is; for what futility have You created
all the sons of man (bene adham)? 48 What man (geber;
mighty man or warrior) can live and not see death? Can he deliver
his life from the power of the grave? Selah!
Scripture tells us that it is difficult to maintain a godly vision
of what the Almighty promises and is doing for each of the children
of God. As with lovely little children of good parents, so the
children of God are asked to trust their God and Father completely.
But that depends on our understanding and experience of the work
of God in us.
Ps 80 gives a perspective that we should know is true, but how
well do we live it? And how weak is our weakness? May God help
our unbelief (Mk 9:24; Heb 3:12,19)!
Ps 80:14-19 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; look
down from heaven and see, and visit this Vine (i.e., the church)
15 and the Vineyard which Your Right Hand (i.e., Jesus
Christ; see Is 59:15-18) has planted, and the Branch (i.e.,
Jesus Christ, as Is 11:1-2 and 4:2 show) that You made strong
for Yourself (an example of the Father caring for His Son). 16
It is burned with fire (the Vineyard), it is cut down; they perish
at the rebuke of Your countenance. 17 Let Your hand be upon the
Man of Your right hand, upon the Son of Man whom
You made strong for Yourself (as Lk 2:40 and 52 illustrate:
The Child grew and increased in strength, became filled of wisdom
and the grace of GOD was upon Him; Jesus increased in wisdom and
stature and in favour with God and men). 18 Then we will not turn
back from You; revive us, and we will call upon Your Name. 19
Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; cause Your Face (Jesus
Christ is the Face of God; cp. Gen 32:29-32; Jn 14:8-9;
2Cor 4:4; Col 1:15) to shine, and we shall be saved!
There is no salvation by any other means nor any other Name except
the Son of God, Jesus Christ (as Acts 4:12; 10:43; 1Tim 2:5; Lk
24:47; Is 42:1,5-6; 53:11; Jn 14:6—
I am the Way, the Truth,
and the Life—say). Eternal life and the Paradise of God (Rev
2:7) are only possible by being called, knowing the only true
GOD, the God of Scripture, and the Lamb of God He sent (Jn 17:3;
1:29).
WHAT IS THE SON OF MAN THAT YOU TAKE CARE OF (VISIT) HIM?
is asked in Heb 2:6b and Ps 8:4b. What do the key words mean?
The Hebrew word for visit or take care of is paqad,
whose Greek equivalent is episkope (TDNT, Vol II.599-622;
TWOT, 1802).
John the Baptist's father, Zacharias, prophesied of his son's
preparatory work and emphasised Christ's salvational work. The
first two and last two verses of this prophecy use the word visit.
They illustrate how the Scriptures define Christ "visiting"
mankind.
Lk 1:68-69,78-79 Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for
He has visited (episkeptomai which forms one paradigm
with episkopeo) and redeemed His people, 69 and has raised
up a Horn (a Leader) of salvation for us in the house of His servant
David ….
78 through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring
from on high has visited us; 79 to give Light to those
who sit in Darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet
into the Way of Peace.
The first coming of the Son of God is seen as a
visitation.
What was done during that visitation? The answer defines the word
we're considering! 1Pet 2:12 speaks of the second coming as the
Day of Visitation (
hemera episkope. Is 10:3 speaks
of that Day by using the terms
le'yom pequdda,
the Day
of Visitation; the LXX has
the Day of Visitation;
hemera
tes episkopes). You may be reminded of words such as
episcopate
and
episcopal which are derived from the Greek
episkopeo,
which means
to look upon,
to consider,
to have
regard to,
to care for (God's sheep),
to be concerned.
It can also mean
to take oversight (of sheep),
to investigate,
to search (for lost sheep). An example of OT usage is in
Jer 23:2
Therefore this is what the LORD God of Israel says against the
shepherds who feed My people, "You have scattered (diaskorpizo;
the antonym of to care for and gather) My flock, driven
them away, and have not visited (paqad; episkeptomai)
them: behold, I will visit (paqad) upon you the
evil of your doings."
In Hebrew we have a pungent pun. God in effect says: "Just
as you have not taken care of My flock so I will take care of
you!" (i.e., I will punish you when you are confronted in
the Day of Visitation because you have not visited the sheep with
the Gospel but have taken care of them with deceiving doctrines).
One of the finest uses of this good concept in the NT is in Acts
15:14-17, when James recounts the apostle Peter's experience
of preaching the Gospel.
Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles
to take out of them a people for His Name. 15 And with this the
words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 16 "'After
this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which
has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up;
17 so that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, even all the
Gentiles who are called by My Name,' says the LORD" who does
all these things.
James, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, defines the meaning
of what the LXX of Amos 9:11 says. Here the
visitation
includes restoration, gathering, preaching the Gospel to all the
world. What we have is another expression for the reasons for
Christ's first Coming and the reason for the initial growth of
the apostolic church.
But what is meant, in Heb 2:6b, by the expression, "the Son
of Man that You take care of (visit) Him," and in Ps 8:4b,
"the Son of Man that You visit (take care of) Him"?
How did the Father visit and take care of the Lamb of God? It
would be so easy to spend at least an hour on that question. But
let's look at two Scriptures, one in the OT and one in the NT.
The words visit or care are not used in these examples,
but the grace, presence and help of GOD are most evident.
Ps 22 speaks of Jesus' agony during the crucifixion. Let's
look at verses 16-24.
For dogs (those who are demonically inspired. There are
occult beliefs connected with the Dog Star [Sothis and
Anubis in Egyptian myth, Ninurta in Babylonian myth], i.e., Sirius
in Canis Major in Orion) have surrounded Me; the congregation
of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My
feet; 17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare
at Me. 18 They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing
they cast lots. 19 But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My
Strength, hasten to help Me! 20 Deliver Me from the sword, My
precious life from the power of the dog (Anubis
was the god of the dead). 21 Save Me from the lion's mouth and
from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me.
22 I will declare Your Name to My brethren; in the midst of the
assembly (of the holy congregation) I will praise You. 23 You
who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify
Him, and fear Him, all you offspring of Israel! 24 For He has
not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor
has He hidden His face from Him; but when He cried to Him, He
heard (God the Father visited, cared for, gave answer to His Son's
needs, strengthened Him while the Lamb agonised in the crucifixion).
If any of us does not accept the way God deals with us then we
will forsake the Almighty and gracious God in future trials!
There are many NT examples of God's mercy and help in time of
need, and perhaps the best is revealed in Jn 17, Christ's greatest
recorded prayer.
Jn 17:1-8 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to
heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your
Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him
authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to
as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is Eternal Life, that
they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You
have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished
the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father,
glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had
with You before the world was. 6 I have manifested Your Name to
the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours,
You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they
have known that all things which You have given Me are from You.
8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me;
and they have received them, and have known surely that
I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me."
Jesus Christ always sought to do the Will of His Father, always
relied on the power His Father offered, always cried out for the
help, the support, the strength to do, to say, to finish what
He knew was according to the perfect Will of His God and Father.
The Father constantly visited His Son and the Son constantly sought
His Father's care.
VISITING THE CHILDREN OF GOD
GOD chose and appointed Jesus Christ from among all the sons of
God in Heaven to be the only begotten God (Jn 1:14,18 [monogenh.j
qeo.j monogenes Theos]; 3:16,18; Heb 1:2,5-14; 11:17-19;
1Jn 4:9; Phil 2:6-11; Col 1:15; Rev 3:14) and to perfectly carry
out His Will. The firstfruits of God, the children of God from
among mankind, must grow in stature before God and man, must endure
to the end, must seek with all zeal and strength to become perfect
as the Father in heaven is perfect, must overcome despite ever-present
carnal nature, despite the lures and deceptions of this world,
and despite the evil forces sent by Satan. God never neglects
those who are faithful and is ever-present in time of need!
Ex 19:3-6 and Dt 14:1-3 tell us that God wanted the children of
Israel to be His only, and He promised that they would be glorious
in their example to the world. Being faithless and rejecting the
Messenger and the Message, they utterly failed, except for a few
(Gen 6:5-8; 1Sam 8:7; Ps 118:22; Is 5:24; 53:3; Hos 4;6; Mt 21:42;
1Pet 2:7). The firstborn of God, as Israel and Ephraim were called
(in Ex 4:22; Jer 31:9), failed. Their spiritual antitypes, the
Israel of God and Church of the Firstborn, will not fail (1Pet
3:20-21; 2Pet 2:9; Rev 3:10; Dan 12:1).
The children of the Kingdom of God (Mt 8:12; 2Thess 1:5), the
children of peace (Lk 10:6), the children of Light (Lk 16:8; Jn
12:36; Eph 5:8; 1Thess 3:5), the children of the resurrection
(Lk 20:36), the children of Abraham (Jn 8:39; Rom 2:24,29; Gal
3:7; Ezk 16:30), the firstfruits of God (Rom 8:23; 1Cor 15:20,23;
Jas 1:18; Rev 14:4), the Church of the firstborn (Heb 12:22-23)
are all guaranteed the completion of the Work of God in them,
as Jn 6:29 promises.
In Gen 28 is the account of Jacob having a visionary dream
of the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ assuring him, in the Name of
God the Father—
15 "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever
you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave
you until I have done what I have spoken to you."
These same assurances and help were given Abraham and Isaac (Gen
22:16-18; 26:3).
In the last month of Moses' life (Dt 31:2), he gave God's assurances
of protection, help, comfort, and blessing to Israel if they were
faithful:
Dt 31:6-8 "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear
nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who
goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." 7
Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel,
"Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this
people to the Land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to
give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. 8 And the LORD,
He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you, He will
not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed."
The same promises were given to Joshua, who took Israel into the
Promised Land. And Joshua foreshadowed Jesus taking the children
of God into the Kingdom.
Josh 1:1-9 After the death of Moses the servant of the
LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of
Nun, Moses' assistant, saying: 2 "Moses My servant is dead.
Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people,
to the Land which I am giving to them, the children of Israel.
3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have
given you, as I said to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this
Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the
land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down
of the sun, shall be your territory (which is far greater than
what the Jews presently claim. The borders given here take in
much of Syria, Lebanon, some of Jordan. Nevertheless, the promise
is not to Israel of the flesh, but to the Israel of God [Gal 6:16;
3:7-8]).
5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your
life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not
leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage,
for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the Land
which I swore to their fathers to give them (i.e., Heb 11:10;
12:22; 13:14; Rev 1:6; 2:26; 5:10, the New Jerusalem).
7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to
do according to all the Law which Moses My servant commanded you;
do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you
may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not
depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night,
that you may observe to do according to all that is written in
it. For then you will make your Way prosperous, and then you will
have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of
good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD
your God is with you wherever you go."
This OT promise for the Israel of God (Gal 3:7-9,14,26,29; 4:28,30-31;
6:16) is given in
Heb 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content
with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I
will never leave you nor forsake you."
How can the LORD forget His children? Isaiah answers the question.
Is 49:14-16 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken
me, and my Lord has forgotten me." 15 Can a woman forget
her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. 16 See, I have
inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls (the
walls of the Holy City; Rev 21:12-21; Heb 12:22-23) are continually
before Me."
CONCLUSION
The OT is full of powerful assurances to the faithful.
Is 43:1-2,5-7
says to us
But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and He
who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed
you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. 2 When you
pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers,
they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you
shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you (i.e., the
fiery trials will not destroy you, for you will be helped in every
time of need)…. 5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring
your (spiritual) descendants from the east, and gather you from
the west; 6 I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the
south, 'Do not keep them back!' Bring My sons from afar, and My
daughters from the ends of the earth; everyone who is called by
My Name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him,
yes, I have made him."
May I refer to the last paragraphs of the
Nature of Jesus Christ
paper,
The Son of Man.
We've looked at Ps 8 and Heb 2,which ask two supreme questions: Why should the Almighty God of
infinite wisdom bother with puny mankind? Why should the Almighty
care to send, through the Incarnation, the Son of Man to save
mankind?
We know, do we not, that the relationship of the Ancient of Days
to the Son of the Man corresponds to the relationship between
the Most High God and His Son, Jesus Christ? The same relationship
is promised to the holy ones, the saints, the elect, the children
of God, who are being prepared as a Kingdom of priests, with the
Son of the Man as High Priest. The name, Son of the Man,
takes on the meaning and purpose of creation: the creation of
man, the salvation of mankind, the relationship of the Father
and Son, the relationship of the children of God to the Son and
His Father, i.e., all those of mankind accepting salvation through
the mediation of the Son of the Man become children of GOD, elohim,
in the resurrection, and greater than the angels.
May the grace of God be with all the saints who will be the eternal
servants and children of the Almighty and Perfect Father of all.
