new church life: november/december 2015
humanity, and by extension, the kind of gratitude extended on our parts.
There are many examples in the Old Testament of people finding grace
or favor in the eyes of the Lord. Consider Noah as an example. The world had
grown increasingly wicked, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”
(Genesis 6:8)
The Hebrew word for “grace” in this verse is “chen” (khane). In the Old
and New Testaments, every word has been assigned a number, the “Strong’s
Number,” which makes it possible to track that particular word wherever it
is used. The Strong’s Number translated as “grace” here is Strong’s 2580. The
Hebrew word is sometimes translated as “grace” and at others as “favor” and
appears many times in the Old Testament.
As in most words, there is a range of meanings that appear in the way it
is translated into English: favor, grace, pleasant, precious, well-favored. The
implications are that when the Lord looked at Noah, He looked at him with
favor or grace. He found Noah pleasant, precious and well-favored. So the
word “grace” begins to take on a range of interpretations.
However, the dictionary also shows that the word “grace” has interesting
origins. The root of the word carries a wealth of meaning as we think of the
Lord’s grace in our lives. At the heart of the Hebrew word is an action, for
to give grace means, “to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; to favor,
bestow.” (Strong’s #2602) This definition evokes the image of God reaching out
from on high to people. He is the infinite, we are finite, yet He can stoop down
and be kind to people, even though we are greatly inferior to Him.
This idea of the Lord coming down to the level of people lies at the heart of
the Lord coming into this world. By being born a baby He took on the human
weaknesses in such a way that He could throw them off and redeem the human
race. The advent of the Lord, then, is the perfect grace, or favor, that the Lord
gave the human race.
Most of the instances where this Hebrew word is used in the Old Testament
show people who seek to “find favor” in the eyes of the Lord or others above
them – a leader or king. For example, Abram hoped to find “favor” in the eyes
of the angels who visited him. (Genesis 18:3)
The most frequent use of “grace” or “favor” in the Old Testament falls
into this category – people who hope for kindness from another. In each of
these cases, the root concept of “grace” or “favor” is apparent in the hoped for
action: that the leader or king would stoop down and render a kindness to the
supplicant. What is interesting in considering these examples is the connection
between the action on the part of the supplicant and grace given as a result.
Interspersed with people seeking grace are passages where the Lord
declares that He bestows grace on those who walk in His way. In these passages,
the promise of grace is an incentive to obedience. For example, in the Exodus
story God promises Moses that He will give the Israelites “favor in the sight
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