Hebraic Musing – Does Greek-think Affect
How Women Are Viewed?
How much
advertising money and personal income is spent on “looking good” according to a
Hollywood’s standard? How much fuss do women
make over their appearance? How much of
a woman’s perceived self-worth dependent on how she looks? Are we having a daily Beauty Contest? Men, this applies to you too!
Last week we
discussed what has been lost in the Greek translation of a
Hebrew Bible? To quote a relevant
paragraph – “Greeks
admire the holiness of beauty; Hebrew-think seeks the beauty of holiness.” Scripturally we are to “Worship
the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” Psalm 29:2 KJV & NKJV
How does the
Greek-think attitude of “Beauty” contrast with Peter’s advice to wives in 1
Peter 3:1-4? “Wives, in the same way
submit yourselves to your own
husbands so that, if any of them do not
believe the word, they may be won over
without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity
and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate
hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it
should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet
spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” NIV **
Why would we
want to improve what Our Creator has already made perfect, according to His
plan? When did that happen? “So God created mankind in his own
image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 NIV And
David, the Psalmist, realized that. “For you created my
inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full
well. My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of
the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed
body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them
came to be.” Psalms 139:13-16 NIV
Proverbs ends
with the famous “Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character” and a woman’s beauty is put into perspective with this
recap – “She
is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful
instruction is on her tongue. She
watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of
idleness. Her children arise and call
her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ‘Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.’ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who
fears the Lord is to be praised.”
Proverbs 31:25-30
“You are altogether
beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.” SofS 4:7 So “Whenever you feel unloved, unimportant, or
insecure, remember to whom you belong.” Eph. 2:19-22 paraphrased.
On the other hand…a Bible college professor of mine dealt
with the “Holiness” movement’s ban on adornment by saying “If the barn needs painting, paint it!”
Points
to ponder
Will there be any beauty
contests in Heaven?
Are we the perfect creation
of Almighty God, or of Revlon?
Are men also guilty of
trying to enhance their worldly appearance?
Solomon, the wisest man,
recognized that
“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”
“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”
How many husbands have come
to Christ because of the inner beauty of their wives?**
Beauty is in the
eyes of the beholder.
Yosef a.k.a. Joe Brusherd February 20, 2018
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