Isaiah 48:11: “For my own sake, (even) for my own sake, will I do it; for how should my name be polluted? And I will not give my glory to another.”
Wow, this is really telling about God. The prior verse declares that He will test us in the fires of affliction and now in the following verse we learn that God is going to do it for His own sake. That phrase, for my own sake, is repeated two times. When a word or phrase is repeated two times in Semitic languages it is to show emphasis. God is emphasizing that it is not for our sake we go through the fires of affliction but for the sake of God’s name and his glory.
Just because God happens to be sensitive about getting a little dirt on his name and not all the glory He puts us through the fires of affliction, how is that fair? I know He is God and He can do whatever He likes, to quote Calvin. But I’m sorry Calvin my man, but that selfish expression at our expense does not sound like a God of love, surely that is not my God? But, gosh, there it is right in the Bible, I go through the fires of affliction just to protect His good name and make sure He gets all the credit that is his due.
I don’t know about you but sometimes I read the Old Testament all these demands by God that no one steals His thunder, He is to get all the glory and we are to continually bow down and praise Him makes Him out to be some sort of self absorb narcissist.
Oh right, before I give you my own spin on all this, let me point our right here that that is exactly what I am doing, I am giving you may own spin based upon my world view of God. I view God as a God of total love and total loves means he cannot be a self-absorb narcissist who puts us through the furnace of affliction just so he can get some glory and protect His good name. Hebrew is an ambiguous language and there are always alternative renderings. I am presenting this without being backed by a team of linguist or peer review which means this is not an academic paper but only a sermon and preaching my personal bias and this is to be taken and understood as that and not oh my gosh Chaim Bentorah has some new revelation and everyone else is wrong. Chaim Bentorah does not have new revelation or new truth only a personal spin and bias.
This morning I want to examine the word glory. I will examine other words in later studies. But first what does it mean when God says that He will not share his glory with anyone else and that He will put us through the furnace of affliction for His own sake which is to get all the glory.
Just what is glory? We hear that word in English and we automatically think of getting all the credit, praise and honor for something we do. So God created the world and He wants to get all the credit. Can’t blame the old boy, creating the world is quite an achievement and for some other phony god to walk away with all the praisealleuiahs would be pretty upsetting, at least I would get a little upset.
This word glory in the Hebrew is kabod which has a wide range of meanings. This passage was written during a time when the Assyrian empire has its strongest influence upon the Hebrew culture and language. Hence when we trace a Hebrew word back to an Akkadian origin, we should pause to take note of how it was used in the Akkadian language as it would be an indication as to how this particular word was used in Hebrew language at this time. The definition of glory as honor and praise is a later usage of this word. The word never loses its original meaning but just takes on a lot of extra baggage so to speak as the years go on. Another bit of baggage is that idea of a cloud or a representation of something beautiful and majestic. It also meant a heaviness. The Akkadian word however had the idea of a burden and about the time of Isaiah carried the idea of a heavy burden. Thus, I believe this word glory in this passage should be rendered not as giving credit or praise to God but as God taking on our heavy burdens. In context with the preceding verse God says that He refines us through the furnace of affliction for His sake and he will not share the glory with anyone else. Based upon this definition of kabod God is saying that He will refine us from the furnace of affliction but as He does He will take on our kabod or heavy burden we carry during this furnace of affliction and He will not allow anyone else share that kabod heavy burden, He wants it all Himself.
In Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, Act 2, Scene I we have this exchange between Brutus and his wife Portia:
Portia: Dwell I but in the suburbs of your good pleasure? If it be no more Portia is Brutus’s harlot, not his wife.
Brutus: You are my true and honorable wife. As dear to me as the ruddy drops that visit my sad heart.
Portia: If this were true then should I know this secret… Tell me your counsel. I will not disclose ‘em. I have made strong proof of my constancy. Giving myself a voluntary wound, here in the thigh. Can I bear that with patience. And not my husband’s secrets?
Brutus: O ye gods, render me worthy of this noble wife!
What is happening here is Brutus carries a kabod heavy burden of being part of a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. His beloved wife knows he has a kabod heavy burden and begs him to let her share it with him but Brutus will not. She declares that if he will not share his kabod heavy burden with her then she is just a harlot and kept woman and not his wife. Still Brutus, declares he is not worthy of such a wife but will not share his kabod heavy burden with her. She is so distraught that he will not let her share his kabod heavy burden that we learn later in the play she kills herself.
Love demands that you share our kabod heavy burden with our beloved. If a husband shares his heart, his kabod heavy burden with another woman, his wife will be shattered and heart broken. The wife not only wants to share her husband’s kabod heavy burden, but if it were possible to lift that heavy burden kabod glory entirely and place it upon herself she longs to do so.
Yesterday my study partner called and said that an old friend of mine suffered a heart attack. I instantly felt a heavy burden kabod glory for my old friend and my heart cried out to God, “God – Jeff.” That is all and I felt that heavy burden kabod glory lift as I placed upon my God. No long prayer, no explanation, God knew the burden, I just placed it upon Him. Sometimes I have to talk it out with God with a long explanation, but that is for my sake not God’s, he knows the situation and nature of my burden. When I pray for someone I just mention names and place my heavy burden kabod glory for that person on God. I heard someone say that clapping your hands is not the highest form of praise, it is lifting your hands. Baloney! The highest form of praise to give God all the glory, kabod, to give him all our heavy burdens. What greater compliment, what greater praise can we give to God than to entrust Him entirely with all our burdens and cares, to pour our hearts out to him. He loves us so much he just longs to lift our burdens from us just as Portia longed to lift the burden from her husband, to be truly his wife and not his harlot. Is God just your harlot or is He your beloved spouse If He is your spouse then give him all the glory kabod, your heavy burdens, for His sake nothing could please Him more.
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