Hebrew Word Study – Iniquities – ‘Eonenu עונינו Ayin Vav Nun Yod Nun Vav

Jeremiah 14:7: “O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it, for thy name sake, for our backslidings are many, we have sinned against thee.”

Judah is facing a time of real trouble because of their sin.  Actually, Jeremiah is mentioning three things Judah has done against God.  One is their iniquities, the other is backsliding and the third is sin.  We tend to throw all this dirty laundry into one basket, which is fine, dirty laundry is dirty laundry.  But let’s just consider what this dirty laundry happens to be.  

The first piece of dirty laundry is iniquities.   Are iniquities and sin the same thing?  The laundry is laundry, but some of our laundries could be shirts and some slacks.  Iniquities in the Hebrew is ‘eonenu. Strongs and your lexicon will tell you it means to make crooked, to pervert.   That helps some, but we really need to look at this word closer to see what it is that we pervert or make crooked that makes this so bad.   You will notice that the root word is spelled Ayin Vav Hei.  Now, these letters are telling us that iniquity is depending on something or someone other than God. It is a distortion of reality. That brings this home very quickly. Before I looked at this word I was fairly certain my life was free of iniquities. Based on this definition, I have to admit I have a number of iniquities in my life and they are certainly testifying against me. 

The word testify is sort of a play on the word ‘eonenu and is the word ‘anu. ‘Anu comes back at you without the second Nun which represents faith.  Indeed, trusting in something other than God is not living in faith. ‘Anu has the idea of responding with affliction.  My iniquities respond back to me with affliction.  Or when I depend upon something or someone other than God it usually comes back to me as an affliction. 

Jeremiah makes the plea to God, that although Judah has depended upon something or someone other than God and it now has returned to them as an affliction, he asks that God still do something. He admits that their backslidings are many. The word backsliding comes from the Hebrew root word shuv. This is simply a turning back, a restoration, or a return to something that is not as dependable or real as God.  A backslidden person is simply one who returns to his former life after he is saved. Finally, Jeremiah says they have sinned against God. The Hebrew word chatah is the one we are all familiar with, it means missing the mark. Missing the mark of the true reality of what is truly dependable.   Are you beginning to feel more like Judah? We often view sin as lying, cheating, adultery, etc. But these are not sins, it is the result of sin. It is the result of depending upon something other than God, of returning to your old former way of life that which is known rather than the unknown, and as a result, we miss the mark or fall short of God’s ideal plan for our life. 

The whole process starts when we ignore faith and depend on something other than God.  We lean on the arm of the flesh to deliver us, to bring us through our trials. Perhaps that is what Paul meant when he said that it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). Without a total dependency upon God, God can not be pleased. In fact, it is this lack of faith that brings about iniquities. We so want to cling to that which we know, what we can see. 

Yet, the fundamental element of Western Philosophy is Cogit Ero Sum, I think therefore I am.   Rene Descartes who coined this phrase spent twenty years at his desk trying to find an absolute.  He wanted to find something he could be absolutely sure about.  He questioned how he could be sure that the world around him was just not an illusion.  How did he know his desk existed?  He finally concluded that the only thing he could be sure about was that he was thinking.   

We play around with illusion every day. We live in the illusion that we have money in the bank account to pay the bills this month, but that could disappear. We live in the illusion that we have a healthy body, but in 24 hours that could be gone.  We live with the illusion that we have friends who will stand by us, but that could change overnight. What God is asking from us is not unreasonable at all.  Everything we feel and touch can change overnight.  But, God is the one thing that will not change. To depend upon something or someone rather than God is an iniquity because we are trusting in something that is less dependable than God.  As you move closer to the heart of God, you begin to realize that the supernatural or spiritual is more real than the natural world.  

When Jeremiah says to God: “Do thou it.” What is “it?” Perhaps, he is asking God to be exactly what He is, God, the true reality.  Remove the blinders of illusion so we can see what is true reality. Like C.S. Lewis called the shadowland. This world is but a shadow of the true reality, the realm of God. For true reality is not our present problems, they will pass, it is not our future fears, they will pass, the true reality is God Himself, He will not pass and we should devote our time and energies to that which will not pass. 

Jeremiah makes the plea to God, that although Judah has depended upon something or someone other than God and it now has returned to them as an affliction, he asks that God still do something. He admits that their backslidings are many. The word backsliding comes from the Hebrew root word shuv. This is simply a turning back, a restoration, or a return to something that is not as dependable or real as God.  A backslidden person is simply one who returns to his former life after he is saved. Finally, Jeremiah says they have sinned against God. The Hebrew word chatah is the one we are all familiar with, it means missing the mark. Missing the mark of the true reality of what is truly dependable.   Are you beginning to feel more like Judah? We often view sin as lying, cheating, adultery, etc. But these are not sins, it is the result of sin. It is the result of depending upon something other than God, of returning to your old former way of life that which is known rather than the unknown, and as a result, we miss the mark or fall short of God’s ideal plan for our life. 

The whole process starts when we ignore faith and depend on something other than God.  We lean on the arm of the flesh to deliver us, to bring us through our trials. Perhaps that is what Paul meant when he said that it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). Without a total dependency upon God, God can not be pleased. In fact, it is this lack of faith that brings about iniquities. We so want to cling to that which we know, what we can see. 

Yet, the fundamental element of Western Philosophy is Cogit Ero Sum, I think therefore I am.   Rene Descartes who coined this phrase spent twenty years at his desk trying to find an absolute.  He wanted to find something he could be absolutely sure about.  He questioned how he could be sure that the world around him was just not an illusion.  How did he know his desk existed?  He finally concluded that the only thing he could be sure about was that he was thinking.   

We play around with illusion every day. We live in the illusion that we have money in the bank account to pay the bills this month, but that could disappear. We live in the illusion that we have a healthy body, but in 24 hours that could be gone.  We live with the illusion that we have friends who will stand by us, but that could change overnight. What God is asking from us is not unreasonable at all.  Everything we feel and touch can change overnight.  But, God is the one thing that will not change. To depend upon something or someone rather than God is an iniquity because we are trusting in something that is less dependable than God.  As you move closer to the heart of God, you begin to realize that the supernatural or spiritual is more real than the natural world.  

When Jeremiah says to God: “Do thou it.” What is “it?” Perhaps, he is asking God to be exactly what He is, God, the true reality.  Remove the blinders of illusion so we can see what is true reality. Like C.S. Lewis called the shadowland. This world is but a shadow of the true reality, the realm of God. For true reality is not our present problems, they will pass, it is not our future fears, they will pass, the true reality is God Himself, He will not pass and we should devote our time and energies to that which will not pass. 

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