How One Hebrew Word Changed My Heart
To a certain degree, I think men in general can struggle with a tendency toward being harsh and unloving. Colossians 3:19 seems to indicate so: “Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them” (ESV). Personal experience has shown me the power of this temptation toward harshness.
Several months ago, on one particularly
emotional evening, I isolated myself in the bedroom with my Bible, desperate
for God’s help. I was angry and I knew I needed to demonstrate more tenderness
and love to Shannon. (Sound familiar?)
God showed up and rocked my world,
displaying His tender love for me by drawing my attention to a short,
three-letter Hebrew word: leb. It
appears in several places in Scripture, each of which is packed with meaning.
God revealed Himself to me through
the Levite in Judges 19, who sought his wayward wife with gentle words: “But
his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her
father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four whole months. Then her
husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly [leb] to her and bring her
back” (Judges 19:2, 3a).
God revealed Himself to me through
Joseph, who showed mercy to his brothers, who, through hatred and jealousy, had
sinned grievously against him: “‘Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will
provide for you and your little ones.’ And he comforted them and spoke kindly [leb] to them” (Genesis 50:21).
God revealed Himself to me through
Boaz, who treated Ruth—a foreigner and a stranger to the people of God—with
kindness: “Then she [Ruth, after working in Boaz’s field] said, ‘Let me find
favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken kindly
[leb] to your maidservant, though I
am not like one of your maidservants” (Ruth 2:13).
God revealed Himself to me through
Hezekiah, who encouraged those in Israel with repentant hearts: “Then Hezekiah
spoke encouragingly [leb] to all the
Levites who showed good insight in the
things of the LORD. So they ate for the appointed seven days, sacrificing
peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD God of their fathers” (2
Chronicles 30:22, NASB).
How do I know God is like this? Because
He Himself has spoken kindly to wayward Israel with a gospel promise that is
for all who find mercy in His sight: “Therefore, behold, I will allure her
[Israel], and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly [leb] to her” (Hosea 2:14, ESV). “Speak
tenderly [leb] to Jerusalem, and cry
to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned” (Isaiah 40:2a,
ESV).
Through these examples, God graciously
plowed me over with His amazing love. Even though I have been unfaithful like the Levite's wife, God has tenderly wooed me back to Himself. When faced with my
anger toward Him, God has responded to me like Joseph did to his brothers—with mercy, not treating me as my sins
deserve (Psalm 103:10), dousing the flames of my anger and bringing me to sweet
repentance (Romans 2:4). Though I was once alienated from God, He has shown me
favor like Boaz by drawing me near through the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:12-13).
Though I have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), He has made
an astounding proclamation on my behalf: my iniquity is forgiven (Psalm 32:5).
Alone in my bedroom, I was
affected by the nature and character of God, enabling and equipping and motivating
me to treat my wife as this longsuffering, merciful, and gracious God had
treated me. Instead of trying to emulate the virtue of past saints in my own
strength, outside the power of the gospel, I was floored by the goodness of
God’s love for me in the gospel.
I can still struggle with anger. I’m
not what you would consider a bleeding heart. But that experience of God’s
condescending love has radically affected how I treat others when I find myself
annoyed and angered. In other words, I am learning how to more effectively love
others because of the love He has first shown me (1 John 4:19).
Photo by Tanner Mardis on Unsplash (cropped)