God Is Not Near-Sighted
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: II Timothy 3:16
The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. Psalm 12:6-7
Let me begin my first post in what has been…FOREVER…by making a very frank statement: “God is not stupid.” I say this in response to the current debate about the inspiration of the KJB. Allow me to explain…
Once upon a time, thousands of years ago, God gave man His words. First He gave man his Old Testament in the language of Hebrew, along with a little Aramaic and Chaldean. Later, He gave man his New Testament. He put this portion of Scripture in Koine Greek. (Are you with me so far??? I know this is deep. Sarcasm)
Why did He choose these two languages? Is it true, as some seem to believe, that there is something mystical about these ancient languages? Did God sanctify Greek and Hebrew making them “better” than any other languages in some spooky way? Why did God choose Greek and Hebrew? Here is the answer:…Are you ready? Hang on to your kiddie chair…He gave the original MS in Greek and Hebrew because…THEY WERE THE COMMON LANGUAGES OF THE PEOPLE! There is nothing spooky or special about the Greek or Hebrew language. These languages were simply chosen to record Scripture because they were the common languages in their respective era. God gave the Hebrew people an OT they could understand. God gave the NT in Greek, the common language of the entire world at that time, so that people could understand. If at that time the common tongues were English and French, I dare say that God would not have given them a Greek and Hebrew Bible and said, “Here, you figure it out.” “God is not the author of confusion” and would have simply inspired the original MS in the common language of the people as He did.
However, in the day we live not one single person on the face of this earth speaks Koine Greek. Furthermore, Hebrew is spoken by very few and those who do speak it usually have English as their first language. Do you honestly think that God didn’t realize that Koine Greek would die? Did God inspire the originals and then 2,000 years later say, “Oops! What do I do now?” NO! God would have to make a provision so as to not allow His word to die along with the language. If the original NT was lost for a thousand years after it was written, and along the way Koine Greek died, what good would those copies do if they were found today when no one speaks Greek? NONE!!! The Word of God would be dead! It would be unprofitable! It would be of no use! God knew after He inspired the Word of God in Greek or Hebrew that one day those languages would die out. Something would have to be done so that God’s Word would live on.
As a language dies, another takes its place. As Koine Greek died, other languages took its place. In order to keep God’s Word alive and available to people God would have to do something so His Word could avoid death. This is where preservation comes in. God has promised to preserve His Word. God did NOT promise to preserve Koine Greek or OT Hebrew. As Koine Greek died, God was obligated to preserve His Word to “all generations.” How did He do this? God used a simple method called Translation. What is translation? It is when something changes from one form to another to avoid death. We see this definition in the story of Enoch:
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. Hebrews 11:5
Enoch was TRANSLATED, so that he wouldn’t die. The Bible was translated so that it wouldn’t die!!! If the Bible was exclusively in Greek and Hebrew and those languages were dead, as they basically are now, non one would be able to read the Word of God! It would be DEAD! So in oder to avoid death, God translated His Word into other languages. Here we see the very same definition of translation as I mentioned. Translation is when something is moved from one form to another to avoid DEATH. Koine Greek died. The Word of God did not. God simply TRANSLATED His Word from Koine Greek and Hebrew to other living languages to ensure that His Word would not see death! How did God preserve His word alive for you and me today? Through TRANSLATION!!! God is not near-sighted. He was not surprised when Koine Greek passed off the seen. Because God promised us His Word, He could not allow the Bible to be pulled down to the grave along with Greek and Hebrew. So…He preserved His Word in living languages like English! Isn’t God awesome!!! God is never surprised! No matter how the critics assail or the foes of God cry out, His Word still stands! If the English language were to die in 1,000 years, God will simply preserve His Word in other languages for future generations. God is not bi-lingual! God is the inventor of ALL languages (Babel) and He is powerful enough to preserve His Word however He may choose. He has chosen to keep His word from ever seeing death by the simple method of translation. God’s Word is ALIVE and well today thanks to translation! Thank God for an inspired Bible!
God is not stupid!
~ Zack Evans
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