HEBREW WORD STUDY – CASUALLY – QARAH – קרה
Leviticus 26:27-28: “And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; (28)Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
I was reading a Jewish commentary on Leviticus 26:27-28 and I had to pause and wonder why I never saw this before. So I opened my Christian Bible KJV and found out why. The word qari from the root word qari is rendered as contrary. Other modern translations render it as hostile or resisting. Not one modern English translation that I have looked at renders this as the Jewish masters render it and that is casual. The only reason it is rendered in this obscure use is that the text says God will return it all in fury and chastise you seven times for your sins. Qarah must mean something terrible.
Really? I mean really? Is this the God I love? Is this the God who said, “love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you?” Yet, God does not apply this principle to Himself. Are there now two sets of laws, two standards? God’s Son teaching us to turn the other cheek and His Father still saying “Eye for an eye?” Sorry Christian scholars and teachers, I’m not buying it. The God I love will not return hostility with greater hostility that includes fury and punishment for sins times seven.
I am taking the side of the Jewish Hebrew masters and say qarah is not to be rendered as hostile or contrary in this passage. Casual is the best rendering. The word qarah means to meet without prior intent, an accommodating arrangement, a marriage of convenience. Its origins lie in a roof that uses beams to connect it to the walls. You look at a roof and it looks like it is just laid on top of the four walls. Yet it is laid upon the beams and not the walls. The roof is not connected to the walls but to the beams that are connected to the walls.
In other words, God wants to be directly connected to us, not to the support beams of good works, the church or pastor. If you do not connect directly to God, He will not connect to you, He can’t. No more than the roof can connect directly to the walls or the walls to the roof, they are divided by support beams. The roof has only a casual connection to the walls.
God is not saying; “Well, if you are contrary to my laws, then I am just going to be contrary to you, how do you like them apples?” What He is saying: “I want to connect with you directly, I don’t want a marriage of convenience.” A marriage of convenience means two people are married not out of love, but that each derives some benefit from the relationship other than love, be it finances, having someone there, protection or any reason other than passion and love. God is not interested in a one-sided marriage or such a casual relationship with us. He loves us and He wants to pour His passion and love out on us. He doesn’t want a relationship of convenience where we scratch His back with good works and he scratches ours with gifts. If that is what you want, fine He will give it to you but with fury. Fury in Hebrew is chemah from the root yacham which is a word used for sexual excitement. In other words, you may not desire Him any more than a sugar daddy to take care of you, but He will be filled with such passion for you that when you discover what you were missing you will be chastised seven times. Chastise in Hebrew is yasar which means to influence toward a goal, instruction or correction. So even if you do all your good works it will cause God to be filled with such passion for you that He will work you over with love until you find that love sitting in your own backyard and love Him in return. He is going to win you over, so why not just surrender now.
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