Glory, Old Testament
Glory, New Testament
Holiness, Old Testament March 6, 2011
Holiness, New Testament March 13, 2011
Longsuffering, Old Testament March 20, 2011
Longsuffering, New Testament March 27, 2011
Steadfast Love, Old Testament April 3, 2011
Mercy, New Testament April 10, 2011
Graciousness, Old Testament April 17, 2011
Grace, New Testament May 1, 2011
Jealousy, Old Testament May 8, 2011
Intolerance of Sin, Old Testament May 15, 2011
Intolerance of Sin, New Testament May 22, 2011
The Character of God
Glory, Old Testament, Hebrew cabod
Introduction to “The Character of God.” (1/31/2011)
I was playing Legos with my 4-year-old grandson after Christmas. He was putting the people
together, and he said he needed a peig. I said, “A pig?” “No. A peig.” I said,
“What? Is it in the picture?” He pointed to a cylindrical object in the old man’s hand.
Actually, it was a long cylindrical object, so I would have called it a “rod,” or even a “walking stick,” but I just said, “Oh, a peg,” and handed it to him. Some time back, my granddaughter, also about 4 or 5 at the time, said she was going to put together the “assessories” for the castle.
Now, I’m not telling you this just because my grandkids are adorable and brilliant. The
important point is that nobody sits down with 4-year-olds and a dictionary to teach them
words like “peg” and “accessory.” They had learned these words from context. Then they used them, as naturally as breathing and for the most part accurately, but the way they used them needed a little refinement.
Strangely enough, the Bible doesn’t even come with a dictionary. We – all of us, children, readers, and scholars alike – have to learn the meaning of words from context, and sometimes our understanding needs a little refinement. So we in this study are going to spend some time looking at the basic words that we take for granted – in context. I will always give you the Hebrew or Greek word in bold italics, because sometimes the same word gets translated differently. Furthermore, I will try to give you bold italics for the other words (in English) that we’ll be looking at during the next three months.
Putting first things first, we’re starting with the character of God, and we begin with “glory,” as in “the glory of the LORD.” Notice that the glory of the LORD is like a devouring fire.
The Glory of God, Hebrew: cabod
Exodus 24:15-18; Ex. 40:30-38;
God gives the Law to Moses; Exodus 24:15-16
Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory cabod of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17-18 Now the appearance of the glory cabod of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Moses puts the finishing touches on the Tabernacle:
34-35 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory cabod of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory cabod of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
King Solomon prays at the dedication of the Temple, which replaced the Tabernacle; 2 Chronicles 6:38 – 7:4
7:1 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the
burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory cabod of the LORD filled the temple.
(2/1/2011): Do you have a friend whose opinion carries a lot of weight with you? Do
you honor your friend’s opinion? The root meaning of our Hebrew word cabod is
weight or heaviness, and thus splendor, honor, or glory. In the King James version,
cabod is translated “glory” 155 times, “glorious” 10 times, and “gloriously” once.
“Honor” and “honorable” weigh in for another 30 occurrences. A few other Hebrew words are
translated “glory” a few times. Mostly glory = cabod.
Even in English, our psalm today makes this connection between weightiness and glory. The
voice of the LORD is an almost physical presence that thunders over the water, shakes the
wilderness and the lands of Lebanon and Sirion, breaks trees, and strips the leaves from the
forest. We also see a flash of fire, reminding us that the glory of the LORD is like a
devouring fire. This weightiness, this physical presence, is the glory of the LORD that
filled the Tabernacle and the Temple.
Note that I’ve bolded “holiness,” because we’re going to see that word in a couple of weeks. I think you’ll be interested to see how often the Biblical writers use the same words in pairs and phrases to describe the character of God.
Psalm 29:1-11
1 A Psalm of David. Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory cabod and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory cabod due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory cabod thunders, the LORD, over many waters.
9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth*
and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, "Glory! cabod"
*For the benefit of readers who notice stuff like this: Yes, indeed—every
couplet is parallel except this vs. 9. The vowels in the Hebrew word make “deer.” But
remember, originally the Hebrew text had no vowels. If you leave out the vowels, you would
be inclined to read this “makes the oaks shudder,” and in fact a number of newer translations
have something like that. This is based on a brilliant conjecture by a scholar whose name
I can’t find right now. “Conjecture” means, “I know that’s not what it says now,
but I bet that’s what it used to say!” And I bet he’s right!
(2/2/2011): When God called Isaiah, Isaiah had a vision of God sitting on a high throne in the temple. As we saw earlier this week, God’s glory is manifested in the fire, smoke, and thundering voice that fill the temple.
The image of fire is also present in two more ways in this passage. Seraphim
means “burning ones.” The seraph touches a coal to Isaiah's lips: the fire of God’s glory is not only devouring, it is purifying.
By the way, this is one of the few passages in which an angel appears to a human being without saying “Fear not.”
Isaiah 6:1-13; 10:16-18
2-3 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and
with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory cabod!"
10:16 Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory cabod a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire.
17 The light of Israel will become a fire, and his Holy One a flame, and it will burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day.
18 The glory cabod of his forest and of his fruitful land the LORD will destroy, both soul and body, and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
(2/3/2011): First, full marks to fellow reader Vance B. for catching me in a mistake
yesterday (which I have removed). I keep telling you to read this stuff for yourself.
Unfortunately, you read it for yourself, and then you think, “What? Can’t Regina read?”
Apparently not.
Anyway, we’ve seen the glory of the LORD associated with fire, smoke, and weight. Today we see brightness. Notice that not only is the brightness visible in and of itself, but it illuminates the earth.
Isaiah 40:1-11; Isaiah 60:1-3
3-5 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory cabod of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
60:1-3 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory cabod of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory cabod will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
(2/4/2011) Ezekiel’s vision is hard to follow, but by now we recognize the images of smoke, fire, and brightness connected with the cabod glory of God. We’ve seen this week that God’s glory can be scary and dangerous, as well as awe-inspiring.
I should also tell you that human beings can also have cabod, especially kings (e.g., 2 Chronicles 1:2 and 17:5; Esther 1:4 and 5:11; Job 19:9), although sometimes it gets translated “honor.”
Cherubim are another kind of angels (note: 1 cherub, 1 seraph; 2 or more cherubim or seraphim. You may say cherubs or seraphs, but you may not say “1 cherubim or seraphim”). Cherubim are also mentioned in Exodus 25 and 37 and 1 Kings 6 and 2 Chronicles 3 as images in the Tabernacle and Temple. In 2 Samuel 22, God rides one(!). The angel with the flaming sword outside the gate of Eden is a cherub (Genesis 3:24) (or maybe more than 1 cherub—it’s plural). So. The next time you see an adorable baby, you will know not to say, “Oh, what a little cherub!”
Ezekiel 10:1-22
3-4 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the house, when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. And the glory cabod of the LORD went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory cabod of the LORD.
18-19 Then the glory cabod of the LORD went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD, and the glory cabod of the God of Israel was over them.
Next: Glory, New Testament
Copyright 2011 by Regina L. Hunter. Permission is hereby granted to New Spirit members to print copies, although why you would want to do that is beyond me.