Post 132 / The Next Language
March 7, 2023
The Apple of His Eye
[Deu 32:10 KJV] 10 He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
[Psa 17:8 KJV] 8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
[Mat 10:29 KJV] 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
[Mat 6:22-23 KJV] 22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great [is] that darkness!
This week three incidents took me to the eye. Two of them involve Hebrew idioms. The third a spirit manifestation.
The first was the reference in Moses’ song where he references God’s direct and careful protection of His children as one would protect the pupil of your own eye. The “apple of your eye” is actually an English language idiom. It is translating a Hebrew idiom that literally means “the little man” in your eye. Again — referring to the pupil of the eye.
If you look closely into your eye in the mirror you will see yourself reflected back in the pupil. I don’t know how the ancients had mirrors with that quality but it is probable that they noticed that when they looked into the eye of someone in front of them they could see a reflection of themselves- the “little man.”
That “little man” is of inestimable value and exists as a tangible reminder of the image of God that we each bear. We are pretty conscious of our value as physical beings, but the greatest value in us and in God’s eyes is His own image in us that is either glorified or profaned. If God sees the sparrow that has fallen to the ground how much more will He notice if His own image is in trouble?
The second idiom is of the “evil eye.” This does not have a very good English language idiomatic counterpart and is poorly understood. The simplest and more accurate translation of “evil eye” is stingy or greedy. When we are not generous with our possessions we have an “evil eye.” This is probably the most common and justifiable criticism of missionaries living in primitive societies. They arrive with a lot of material goods that the locals have not seen and the missionaries try to keep them under lock and key. This is hard to understand for people that live openly with each other and have no secrets and to a large degree have everything in common.
The third reference to the eye came about surprisingly at a church badminton game where between rounds a girl came up to a couple of us and said she had a friend — a snake friend. She showed us a tattoo. This was provoked because one of us had a tattoo on his arm.
She insisted that this “protector” of hers was benign and only required that she not eat fish. Of course she also called herself a Christian.
Please pray for this girl. I think she was seeking us out because either she wants help or she wants us to leave her spirit alone. That is a story that is ongoing but I bring it up because it provoked the third reference to the eyes of this week.
The third guy in our cluster was a native and experienced in dealing with spirits and gave this advice. When you deal with a spirit in a person you need to face them directly and look directly into their eyes while in dialogue. Otherwise they will be talking sideways and hiding. There is no hiding when you are looking directly into one’s soul.
And, that is exactly how the Amerindians see this. Eye contact is avoided in all casual contact. A stare or a long look is quickly attributed to a curse or a private invasion.
Jesus’ own reference to the eye and light and darkness is right in line with this, and adds a new dimension to protecting the “little man” of the eye. The fact that our eyes have lids that close voluntarily suggests that we are responsible for what we let into our eyes.
Pray with us that God will bring light into our own souls and to those around us.
[Jas 1:25 NASB95] 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the [law] of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
[2 Cor 3:18 NASB95] But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
God Bless,
Larry DeVilbiss
Global Recordings Network USA
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