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AND THERE IS NO CREATURE HIDDEN FROM
HIS SIGHT: kai ouk estin (3SPAI) ktisis aphanes enopion autou: (1 Samuel
16:7;
1 Chronicles 28:9;
2 Chronicles 6:30;
Psalms 7:9;
33:13-15;
44:21;
90:8;
139:11;
Psalms 139:12;
Proverbs 15:3,11;
Jeremiah 17:10,23,24;
John 2:24;
21:17;
1 Corinthians 4:5;
Revelation 2:23)
No (3756)
(ou) means absolutely no. No exceptions here!
Creature (2937)
(ktisis from ktízo = create, form or found) stresses work of
original formation of object and represents something which has undergone a
process of creation.
Hidden (852)
(aphanes
from a = without + phaíno = to appear) means
literally not appearing and so not manifest or non-apparent, concealed,
invisible. Unable to be known about.
God's microscope can lay bare the smallest microbe of doubt and sin.
Sight (1799)
(enopion from en = in + ops = ace, eye, countenance)
means in the face of, in front of, before, in the sight of
BUT
ALL THINGS ARE OPEN AND LAID BARE: panta de gumna
kai tetrachlismena (RPPNPN): (Job
26:6;
34:21;
38:17)
All (pas)
means all without exception and amplifies "no" exceptions mentioned
in the first part of this verse.
Open (1131)
(gumnos) means not covered, nude or naked but not necessarily descriptive of
absolute nakedness as it was used of a person wearing only an undertunic. As
such it could mean one who was comparatively naked or scantily dressed. It
was used of one poorly dressed (James 2:15). Figuratively in this verse it
means uncovered, manifest, disclosed, exposed, not hidden and easy to be
known.
Both soul
and body are naked to the eye of God. As it is the same sun that melts the
wax which hardens the clay, so it is the same Word of God that leads some on
to salvation, and turns others who will have none of it away into outer
darkness.
Barclay
explains that...
What he is saying is that as far as men
are concerned we may be able to wear our outward trappings and disguises;
but in the presence of God these things are stripped away and we have to
meet him as we are. (Barclay,
W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press
or
Logos)
Guzik writes
that open or...
Naked reminds us of the way God
saw through Adam’s feeble hiding. God sees through our hiding the same way.
(David Guzik. The Enduring Word Commentary Series)
Laid bare (5136)
(trachelizo from trachelos = neck) means to bend back the neck as the surgeon does for operating, as the anesthesiologist does that
he might be able to see the vocal cords thus enabling him to insert the
tube that conducts life giving oxygen thru the airway!
It may refer to the
wrestler’s art of seizing one by the throat, rendering him limp and
powerless.
Trachelizo was
also used to describes the bending back of the neck of an animal
to be slaughtered for an offering in order to expose the throat.
Figuratively as used
here trachelizo means
to lay bare or open.
Wuest writes
that trachelizo
means “to seize and twist the neck or
throat.” It was used of combatants who handled their antagonists in that
way. It meant also “to bend back the neck of the victim to be slain, to lay
bare or expose by bending back.” Hence the verb came to mean “to lay bare,
to uncover, to expose.”
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans
or
Logos)
Vincent adds
that...
The exact metaphor, however, it is
impossible to determine. The following are the principal explanations
proposed: taken by the throat, as an athlete grasps an adversary; exposed,
as a malefactor’s neck is bent back, and his face exposed to the spectators;
or, as the necks of victims at the altar are drawn back and exposed to the
knife. The idea at the root seems to be the bending back of the neck, and
the last explanation, better than any other, suits the previous figure of
the sword. The custom of drawing back the victim’s neck for sacrifice is
familiar to all classical students. See Hom. Il. i. 459; ii. 422; Pindar, Ol.
xiii. 114. The victim’s throat bared to the sacrificial knife is a powerful
figure of the complete exposure of all created intelligence to the eye of
him whose word is as a two-edged sword. (Vincent, M. R. (2002). Word Studies
in the New Testament 4:429)
Friberg writes
that trachelizo means...
strictly take hold of by the neck; only
passive in the NT, as a metaphor drawn from ancient custom, either of making
an enemy face his conquerors by a sword fixed under his chin, of fastening a
lock grip on an opponent in wrestling, or of bending back the head of a
sacrificial victim, ready for the knife be exposed, i.e. be easily known. (Friberg,
T., Friberg, B., & Miller, N. F. Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New
Testament. Baker Academic)
Vine writes
that trachelizo...
literally means to have the throat
exposed. It is taken from the games, and signified to bend back the neck.
Here the metaphor may be taken either from the sacrifice of a victim or from
a mode of punishment. Whatever the metaphorical sense is, the warning is
that there is no hiding oneself in any part of our being from God. (Vine,
W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)
Hebrews 4:13 is the only
NT use.
The
perfect tense
pictures this as a permanent state.
MacArthur adds
that t rachelizo had
two distinct uses in ancient times:
It was used of a wrestler taking his opponent by the throat. In this
position the two men were unavoidably face to face. The other use was in
regard to a criminal trial. A sharp dagger would be bound to the neck of the
accused, with the point just below his chin, so that he could not bow his
head, but had to face the court. Both uses had to do with grave face-to-face
situations. When an unbeliever comes under the scrutiny of God’s Word, he
will be unavoidably face-to-face with the perfect truth about God and about
himself. (MacArthur,
John: Hebrews. Moody Press
or
Logos)
Thayer has the
following entry for trachelizo...
1. to seize and twist the neck or throat;
used of combatants who handle thus their antagonists (Philo, Plutarch,
Diogenes Laërt, others). 2. to bend back the neck of the victim to be slain,
to lay bare or expose by bending back; hence, tropically, to lay bare,
uncover, expose
God's sharp Word shows
us where we are wrong not only in what we do, but in how we think and feel.
We would like to hide our guilt but we cannot. God has perfect knowledge of
what is going on in His world, even to the point of knowing the very
thoughts of our hearts. This calls us to repent before we have to face the
final judgment.
Barnes writes
that...
The design of the remark here is, to
guard those to whom the apostle was writing from self-deception --since they
could conceal nothing from God. (Albert Barnes. Barnes NT Commentary)
Barclay
summarizes the three potential meanings of trachelizo writing...
(i) It was a wrestler’s word and was used
for seizing an opponent by the throat in such a way that he could not move.
We may escape God for long enough but in the end he grips us in such a way
that we cannot help meeting him face to face. God is one issue that no man
can finally evade.
(ii) It was the word that was used for
flaying animals. Animals were hung up and the hide was taken off them. Men
may judge us by our outer conduct and appearance but God sees into the
inmost secrets of our hearts.
(iii) Sometimes when a criminal was being
led to judgment or to execution, a dagger, with point upwards, was so fixed
below his chin that he could not bow his head in concealment but had to keep
it up so that all could see his face and know his dishonour. When that was
done, a man was said to be tetrachēlismenos. In the end we have to meet the
eyes of God. We may avert our gaze from people we are ashamed to meet; but
we are compelled to look God in the face.
Kermit Eby writes in The God in You: “At
some time or other, a man must stop running from himself and his
God—possibly because there is just no other place to run to.” There comes a
time to every man when he has to meet that God from whose eyes nothing ever
can be concealed (Barclay,
W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press
or
Logos)
TO THE EYES OF HIM WITH WHOM WE
HAVE TO DO: tois opthalmois autou pros on emin ho logos: (Ecclesiastes
12:14;
Matthew 7:21,22;
25:31,32;
John 5:22-29;
Acts 17:31;
Romans 2:16;
Romans 14:9-12;
2 Corinthians 5:10;
Revelation 20:11-15)
To the eyes (3788)
(ophthalmos) anthropomorphic description of God, Who sees all and
knows all. You cannot hide, be you a saved or unsaved sinner.
God's eyes see all the
facts in our inmost hearts. Surely every servant of Christ today needs to
gaze into this revealing mirror and be honest with himself and God.
To do (3056)
(logos) means account or something said. Literally it says "to whom
the account is to us", "to whom is our word" or "with whom our matter is".
The idea is with whom our final reckoning has to be made.
The ESV and the NIV
render it...
to whom we must give account.
Guzik exhorts
us to...
Remember the context. The writer to the
Hebrews trusts that he has pierced the hearts of his audience, who were
contemplating “giving up” on Jesus. In this passage, he has made it plain
that they can’t give up on Jesus can keep it “hidden” from God. The word of
God has discovered and exposed their condition. (David Guzik. The Enduring
Word Commentary Series)
Ryrie writes
that it is
A play on the Greek term for "word";
i.e., if our lives conform to "the word of God" (v. 12), then our word
(account) in the day of judgment will be acceptable to God. (The
Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Translation: 1995. Moody Publishers)
Other versions offer
an easier to understand rendering -
NKJV: "to Whom we [must] [give] account"
NIV: "to whom we must give account"
NLT = "This is the God to Whom we must explain all that we have
done."
We must give a
personal account to God for what we have said and done in our own lives. A
personal relationship to God requires personal responsibility. Everyone,
including believers (not to pay for our sins for our sins have been paid
for! How did we redeem the time He gave us?, etc.), must render an account
to God for the life lived on earth. This should motivate us to obedience
realizing nothing can be concealed from Him. (See note
Romans 14:12)
><>><>><>
He's Watching - In this age of electronics, we have all become
aware of bugging devices. A person's office, hotel room, or telephone can be
monitored so that every sound is picked up. This is accomplished through
highly sensitive microphones that are so small they can easily be hidden.
Heads of state, government officials, and business people in strategic
positions must be exceedingly careful of what they say, especially when
entering a strange setting. The awareness that they might be overheard is
sure to make them think twice before they speak.
Did you ever stop to think that God sees everything we do and hears
everything we say every moment of the day? Hebrews 4:13 says that "all
things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."
This truth is both comforting and sobering--comforting because God stands
ready to deliver us when we are in trouble (Ps. 33:18-19), and sobering
because "the eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil
and the good" (Prov. 15:3). What a profound effect this should have on the
way we live!
The next time you are tempted or in trouble, remember that God is watching
and listening. —Richard De Haan (Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
There is no time of day or night,
No place on land or sea
That God, whose eye is never dim,
Does not see you and me. --DJD
To know that God sees us brings both conviction and comfort ><>><>><>
Today in the Word (click
here) has the following devotional... Wednesday, April
8, 1998
Read: Hebrews 4:12-16 In [Christ] and through faith in him we may approach
God with freedom and confidence. - Ephesians 3:12 TODAY IN THE WORD - The
British pastor Charles Spurgeon once made this observation about our need
for the application of the Scriptures: ""When a soldier is wounded in
battle, it is of little use for him to know that there are those at the
hospital who can bind his wounds and medicines there to ease all the pains
which he now suffers. What he needs is to be taken there and the remedies
applied. It is thus with our souls. To meet this need there is one, the
Spirit of truth, who takes of the things of Jesus and applies them to us.""
Although the writer of Hebrews may not specifically have had the comforting
power of God's Word in mind here, Spurgeon's point is helpful. Only the Word
of God, applied with surgical precision by the Spirit of God, can meet the
needs of the human heart.
Why did the author mention the Scriptures at this point (v. 12)? Because sin
is so deceitful (Heb. 3:13) and the danger of drifting away so real that our
only safe guide is the Word of God.
The Word is so potent that it can expose the deepest motives of our hearts.
We need this penetrating work desperately, as did the Hebrews, because ""the
heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand
it?"" (Jer. 17:9). God's Word can reveal our tendency toward waywardness and
help keep us on the path of faithfulness to Christ.
We have another source of help and strength in our struggle. In addition to
the living written Word, we have the living incarnate Word in the Person of
Jesus Christ.
In verse 14, Jesus is presented in His ministering role as our great High
Priest. Jesus took the blood of His sacrifice into the heavenly sanctuary,
just as Israel's high priest took the blood of animal sacrifices into the
inner sanctuary of the temple to make atonement for sin.
We are encouraged to approach Jesus in our weakness because He was tempted
in every way that we are tempted (v. 15). The difference, of course, is that
Jesus never succumbed to temptation. He never sinned.
Instead of Jesus' sinlessness being a barrier between Him and us, we are
encouraged to come to Him for mercy and grace in our time of need (v. 16).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY - With today's passage we begin the second
section of our study, the superiority of Christ's priesthood (see the April
1 study for our brief outline of the book of Hebrews).
We're in for several weeks of encouragement and blessing as we consider
Christ's priestly work on our behalf. That ministry is available to you
today, especially if you are facing a time of need. Bring your burden,
problem, or sin to the Lord right now and thank Him for His mercy and grace
to deal with it. (See
Moody
Bible Institute's Today in the Word) |