Hebrew Word Study – To Belittle – Qalal – Qop Lamed Lamed כלל
II Samuel 16:11b-12: “Let him alone, let him curse for the Lord has bidden him. It may be that the Lord will look upon my affliction and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day.”
“If a man loses pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.” Henry David Thoreau – “Walden”
Watchman Nee during his ministry in China underwent some very strong criticism for his teachings. Most of the criticism was false and his friends kept encouraging him to defend himself. However, Watchman Nee would not defend himself. His response was that every criticism bore some truth and thus he could learn something about himself and his relationship with God if he were to listen closely to the criticism and find that grain of truth,. Watchman Nee marched to the pace of a different drummer. The world would say, “Go get ‘em, fight ‘em, defend your reputation.” However, the drum beat Watchman Nee heard was: “Listen closely, find out what is in harmony with Me and you shall draw closer to Me.”
This had to be the lowest time in David’s life. His own son seized the throne, forced David to flee for his life. In one clean swoop David lost his kingdom and now he was fleeing with a price on his head. If things weren’t bad enough, as he is running for his life some Benjamite appears and starts throwing rocks at him and cursing him.
Finally one of David’s servants had about all he could take and said: “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king, you just say the word and I will go lop his head off.” David’s response is very curious. He rebuked this loyal servant and said that God told this guy to curse him, so let him curse. So he continued to let the Benjamite curse him and throw rocks at him.
Would you like Chaim Bentorah as your personal Hebrew teacher?
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The key to what is going on in David’s head at this time is in the words: beaoni beeyni. There are almost as many renderings to this as there are English translations. Beaoni has the idea of dealing with or overturning sin. Beevni comes from the root word ayin which could mean the physical eye or spiritual insight. Most translations render this as a hope that God will see David’s affliction. Perhaps I am a bit naïve but don’t you think a man after God’s own heart, the king of Israel, would catch God’s attention if he is suddenly kicked off his throne? I find the rendering of beaoni beeyni as the Lord seeing “the sinfulness of my discernment and overturning it” to be more appropriate.
The last phrase: “He will requite me good for his cursing this day” would express David’s heart in this matter. The word requite is shuv which means to return or restore. The word “good” is “tov” which means to be in harmony with God. David is saying that the cursing of this Benjamite might just restore his harmony with God.
My rendering of this passage would be that David is telling this servant to let the Benjamite curse him because God told him to curse him. The word curse is kalal which means to slight, or belittle someone. “Let him belittle me because God told him to do it. Perhaps God will show me what is wrong with my spiritual discernment and will restore me to harmony with him through this humbling process.” From the reading of most your standard texts it would appear as if David wants this guy to throw rocks at him as a form of penance. The ambiguous nature of this passage will allow you to read it that way. But the passage could also be rendered to express the idea that David is not wanting rocks to be thrown at him as a form of penance but as a way of God speaking to his heart to restore him to harmony with God. There is no indicate that David would suffer any physical harm from the rocks. In fact they were thrown as a symbolic gesture. Perhaps David saw this as a reminder of how God used a stone to defeat a giant. The way you will render this passage will depend upon which drum beat you follow.
Some Christians are like the David’s servant. They follow the beat of the drum of the world which says that if you are being unfairly stoned and curse, stand up, fight it, lop their heads off. Some Christians, like Watchman Nee and David, follow the beat of a different drum, a drum which comes from further off, a drum which looks beyond this natural world and into the spiritual world. A drum which says that in this affliction, this suffering, this persecution, there is a deep message from God, one seeking to restore you to harmony with Him.
When sorrows or trials come, you will begin to hear the beat of a drum telling you to find your way out through natural means. But off in the distance is the beat of a different drum, one which will cause you to lose pace with the world, will cause you to search for that spiritual insight which keeps you out of harmony with God. We as believers walk to the beat of a different drum from the world. This is a drum which beckons us to walk through all the difficulties and trials of life to find harmony with God.
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Thanks & Blessings, it means a lot to me!
I think I’m a fighter but I’m getting less so as I try to listen better to the Holy Spirit and be guided in God’s ways. However I hate injustice and my instinct is to fight it. I’ve often heard the Lord advising me that if I fight He will stay out of it but if I leave it to Him He will deal with it.
good one, was actually somehow taken aback by your reference to David’s battle against Goliath since the only time I ever heard of this account was when I was a kid in Sunday School, not once since those many moons ago.. I mean we might sing about it: I’m calling on the GOD of Jacob, WHOSE love endures through generations. I know that YOU will keep YOUR covenant… I’m calling on the GOD of David, WHO made a shepherd boy courageous; I may not face Goliath, but I’ve got my own giants
Maybe David is scared to kill/murder another brother, it seems he said as much about the murder of Abner..?
Joab was furious & pursued Abner to kill him, but Abner escaped [2 Samuel 2:12–32]. Later, after Abner swore allegiance to David, Joab’s fuse blew, and his desire to avenge his brother’s blood drove him to deceive and murder Abner [v.26–27]. This action deeply grieved David, but the King felt unable to bring justice against the mighty Joab [v.39]. Instead, David pronounced a curse over Joab & his future descendants: “May his blood fall on the head of Joab & on his whole family! May Joab’s family never be without someone who has a running sore or leprosy or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks food” [v.29].
On the brink of death, David told Solomon to have Joab killed, citing Joab’s past betrayals and the blood that he was guilty of. Solomon ordered Joab’s death by the hand of Benaiah [1 Kings 2:29–34]
This sounds similar to the curse pronounced by Jacob on his sons Simeon and Levi for killing [Genesis 49:5-7]
Scary stuff, because the first was Cain: “Sin is crouching at your door, it seeks to dominate you, but you can overcome it.” [Genesis 4:7]
Love the worlk you all do here, GOD Bless you all
I pray I can remember this.
Brother Chaim is word is right on time . May the Lord bless you today .
You know what’s funny Chaim last night was getting down again thinking about
how I have no motivation to do anything, no longer desire anything, & I slept all
day today as I had also stayed up all day the day before learning about how GOD
thinks..even after hearing it all, it only motivated me until I sat there thinking of
doing GOD’s will.. [stuck in the mud] I was like wait, where is the desire to do all
this?! [Phippians 2:13] Aren’t YOU supposed to will this into being?
What’s going on here? What am I missing?
I feel like the donkey that guy kicked & beat but wouldn’t budge in the OT; then I
thought: What if I just grit my teeth & go, maybe GOD will be pleased if I forced
myself to do it & HE will bless me with a transformative experience at Church or
something like that.. I’m like HE better or it will be the last time I go. No, I was
like I do not want to move off this couch or ever study another word.
It was worse than before almost, because GOD had made things better & still I
didn’t have the desire to please HIM. I am the people of Israel pissing on GOD
in the wilderness..
When I finally got up 5pm PST, I grabbed the 9 translations for Psalm 44, laughed
my head off at v.4 & 23 [MSG] Are YOU going to sleep all day?! LOL hilarious haha
don’t tell me GOD doesn’t have an incredible sense of humour.
v.4 because that night was asking why did GOD mention the fact that Moses had
full strength & eyesight undiminished till the day he died when everything in the
Bible is pertinent? I just kept asking & no one had a single clue so they said you
can’t know everything. I was like then why put it there!
Worship | Timothy J. Keller [Psalm 95:1-11]
watched Tim spell out the beauty of stduying GOD’s Word, reason I said I want
to stop is because why do it if this beauty can’t change me to do what HE says..
Any ways I got my answer from those two sources but as GOD would have it, I
randomly clicked on someone’s post, & watching this guy do a breakdown of
Jordan Peterson’s Logos & Literary Documentary—again in the whole spiel,
Jordan Peterson said this is an act of worship to study GOD’s Words & is the very
basis for the educational system as both Oxford and Cambridge are essentially
monastaries.
But my other question to HIM was why does it have to take so long? I kid you not
I had watched it part way before going back to Keller’s sermon for a few hours,
before asking this question then on a whim went back to see Logos & Literary &
it was at the sport where Peterson says: The process of learning is theorizing the
meaning of GOD’s Word & testing it against other parts of GOD’s Word [evidence]
& repositing a new thesis & going thru testing & getting closer to the truth [GOD].
Then I had crazy question after laughing about v.23, wait is that comment tied to
being a lazy sloth from Proverbs, a little slumber..so shall poverty will come on
you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man?
A previous sermon study hyperlinked Book of 1 Corinthians, I look to fill the hole
for any book with missing translations..but this phrase jumped out at me during
the whole process: 1 Cor 1:1 [NLT] HE made you Holy by means of CHRIST JESUS
[because you belong to CHRIST]
But as I’m going back to guess which CH I read & was touched by GOD on, had a
few moments even looking at the various Daily Wire Plus ad clips for the Exodus
Series made me cry hearing Stephen Blackwood say:
Pharaoh said under no conditions will you leave & the Israelites said under any
condition we will go—realized that is what GOD wants from us, to drop it all for
HIM & yes all this knowledge is making us puffed up, it’s not making us ask HIM
to do it through us. 1 Corithians 8:1 [AMP] Knowledge [makes arrogant] puffs up,
but love [builds up] edifies.
There’s more but still processing through it..
but pretty significant what just happening tonight.
Thanks again for your lesson. It gives much to consider!
It seems to me that David was not only concerned for his own spiritual welfare ,but also the Benjamite’s soul. David was unselfish in this. I am a little unsure of Watchman Nee however! It seems to me he was a bit self centered . Shouldn’t a teacher be accountable for what they teach? He doesn’t have to defend himself,but he should defend the Word of God ! People’s souls are at stake here. Jesus said that Satan is a liar and will deceive many
Paul says be prepared to tell why you believe as you do.
We all should be careful not to fall for the teachings of false prophets and teachers that want to ” tickle the people’s ears” as the saying goes.
It is said that teachers of the Word of God will be judged more strongly than the student.
Chaim check-out my new favourite song:
quiet my soul, cause [GOD] YOU are teaching me how to slow down
Surrender it all, let YOU take control and slow down
I know YOU’re not far away from me, YOU are so close now
I’m waiting in the stillness, I need to hear YOUR voice now
And YOU’re telling me:
Quiet, you don’t have to be so frightened
About what tomorrow brings
Just keep taking it slow
I will always be close
And I’m never gonna leave you
Promise I’ll never forsake you
So don’t even worry now
You’ve just gotta let go of trying to be in control
And slow down
(Slow down)
Love is patient, love is kind
Good things sometimes take some time
Lyrics to Slow Down – Jonathan Ogden