The word empathy doesn’t appear in most translations of the Bible (although the concept is certainly there), so we don’t tend to think of it as a powerful biblical idea like faith, hope, or love. But empathy may be a vital virtue you are neglecting  –  a biblical super-weapon that every Christian needs.

Our new article looks at empathy in a way that may be new to you - as a tactical spiritual weapon that can help us both to do what is right and not to do what is wrong.   You can read this new article –  and find out why empathy is so important to you personally, here.
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The seasoned and successful warrior learns to recognize dangerous terrain from which ambush or sniper fire might come. This is just as true of the spiritual warrior as it is of physical soldiers – if we are oblivious to where attacks may come from, we are likely to fail repeatedly.

As a highly successful warrior, the biblical king David doubtless learned to be aware of areas that might conceal enemies and from which a salvo of arrows or other sudden attack might come, and we have only to read his psalms to see that he was just as aware of the directions from which spiritual attacks might come – whether from his own nature or from external enemies. 

Our new article looks at what we can learn from David's psalms about where spiritual attacks are likely to come from. It's spiritual "military intelligence" that may surprise you. You can read it here.

Most of us at some point in our lives have experienced parents, elementary school teachers, driving instructors, drill sergeants, or others saying “Pay attention!”  If we heard the statement, we probably snapped into focus quickly. But “Pay attention!” is advice we don’t always recognize if it is not spelled out that clearly.

So when most of us read the word “behold” in many translations of the Bible, we tend to see it as just an archaic pleasantry –  a routine biblical way of beginning sentences that we do not pay a lot of attention to.  But the Hebrew word hinneh in the Old Testament and the Greek word idou in the New Testament which are so frequently translated as “behold” (or sometimes “look”) actually have a much greater force of meaning. 
 
Although it is hard to find a single word in English that really conveys the thrust of these biblical words (which is why so many translations still use the somewhat outdated “behold”), the expression “Pay attention!” comes close.  Now it is true that the words translated “behold” appear a great many times in the Bible (for example, “behold” appears well over 1,000 times in the King James Version, the English Standard Version, and others), but their frequency does not undercut their importance.

We should realize that the words translated “behold” in both the Old and New Testaments are usually used of important statements that the writer or speaker wanted to emphasize. For example, in Genesis 6:13 when God tells Noah: “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth,” the word “behold” (emphasized here and in the scriptures below) is much more than “filler” or “polite speech” –  it is a verbal highlighting of a fact of great importance.

That is why the Hebrew word hinneh appears in Isaiah’s pivotal prophecy:  “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14), a prophecy that is quoted using the Greek word idou in Matthew: “Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matthew 1:23). 

“Behold” may be used several times in a biblical passage to signal an account of particular importance – for example, the word appears six times within just a few verses in Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus. The word is used in the same way at other key times in Jesus’ life –  his baptism, temptation, miracles, crucifixion and resurrection.   Notice for example: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
 
Finally, “behold” is often used to draw our attention to particularly important commands or to stress important points we must not miss:  “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).
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So next time you read “behold” or “look” in a scripture, remember that the word is probably there to help us focus on something of particular significance.  Remember to pay attention!

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​ “The Bible … has rhythms. If we examine the people who did great works for God, most of them underwent a similar pattern. God humbled them, taught them the important lesson of dependence, and exalted them in due time when their characters could accept praise with humility. God humbled Moses for 40 years in the wilderness, taught him the valuable lesson of dependence, and exalted him to challenge the king of Egypt.

God did the same with David. Everyone overlooked him. When Samuel came to the house of Jesse to anoint a king, David was not even present; no one thought he could be king, not his father, not his brothers, and no, not even the most discerning prophet in the land, Samuel. When David came to the court of Saul, further humbling took place to the point he became a fugitive. There in the caves, abandoned and rejected, he learned to depend on God. Eventually, he became the king of Israel.

Examples can be multiplied, even in minor leaders like Gideon; God chose him because he was from the feeblest clan and the weakest family (Judges 6:15), and when God finally called him to deliver his people, he reduced his army from 32,000 men to 300: humility, dependence, exaltation, repeat.”
 
*From “All We Need Is the Rhythm Divine,” John Lee, Christianity Today, March 8, 2018