{"id":460,"date":"2021-01-26T08:36:06","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T13:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=460"},"modified":"2021-01-26T08:36:06","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T13:36:06","slug":"mizpah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/26\/mizpah\/","title":{"rendered":"Mizpah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Every week at the Sunday School I attended as a child, the superintendent closed our brief worship service with the same words.

\u201cLet\u2019s all join in the Mizpah Benediction.\u201d  Then we would recite, in lyrical King James English: The Lord watch between me and thee while we are absent one from another<\/em>.

I have no doubt that our superintendent, a good and gracious man, felt confident he was teaching us a verse of scripture that embodied this heartfelt wish:  \u201cEverybody, may God watch over you and bless you until we all meet here again next Sunday morning.\u201d 

A similar sentiment is associated with the popular piece of jewelry called the Mizpah pendant.  It is typically shaped like a coin that has been cut in two along a zigzag line.  The two parts of the pendant have individual necklaces, so a pair of friends or siblings or spouses can each wear one-half of the same \u201cthe Lord watch between me and thee\u201d verse.  The words have come to connote an unbreakable emotional bond during times of separation.

There are more than a few \u201cMizpah Cemeteries,\u201d and numerous poignant references to Mizpah on headstones.  We\u2019re absent from each other for a little while; may God watch over us until we meet again.<\/em>

This is perfectly lovely.  And we have good reasons for believing that God does indeed watch over his people during times of separation. 

But one of those reasons is not rooted in Genesis 31:49, aka the \u201cMizpah verse.\u201d  Let\u2019s do a little digging into the original context. 

Jacob, the grandson of Abraham \u2013 and thus one of the key figures in biblical history \u2013 had a major struggle with taking things that didn\u2019t belong to him.  His very name, Ya\u2019akov<\/em> in Hebrew, may be loosely translated, \u201cHe who comes alongside but wants to jump out in front.\u201d  We could simply call him Grabber.  Jacob was the twin brother of Esau, who by virtue of being born a few minutes earlier was in line to receive the dual priceless gifts of his family\u2019s birthright and his father\u2019s blessing.  Jacob the Grabber managed to steal both.

Subversively aided and abetted by their mother (Esau really could say what Tommy Smothers always said to his brother: \u201cMom liked you best!\u201d) Jacob ran for his life.  He fled to his grandfather\u2019s country of origin, where over the course of 20 years he managed to marry both of his Uncle Laban\u2019s daughters and snag a huge portion of the older man\u2019s livestock.  This would be like making off with his 401(k).  

As his uncle\u2019s attitude toward him noticeably cooled, Jacob did what he did best.  He ran for his life, this time back in the direction of Palestine. 

Laban and his entourage charged after him.  As they stood face to face seven days later, the tension was thick.  Laban wanted revenge over this Grabber who had fleeced him. 

But God intervened in a dream, reminding Laban (who was just as crafty and underhanded as his nephew) that he needed to watch himself. 

The showdown ended in a compromise.  The two men decided to make an uneasy peace.  They gathered stones into a huge heap.  \u201cLaban said, \u2018This monument of stones will be a witness, beginning now, between you and me.\u2019 (That\u2019s why it is called Galeed\u2014Witness Monument.) It is also called Mizpah (Watchtower) because Laban said, \u2018God keep watch between you and me when we are out of each other\u2019s sight. If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives when there\u2019s no one around to see you, God will see you and stand witness between us.\u2019\u201d (Genesis 31:49-50)

Essentially, these two men were saying to each other, \u201cLook, pal, I don\u2019t trust you any farther than I can throw you.  Since I can\u2019t keep my eye on you all the time, God will be watching.  Don\u2019t think for a moment he won\u2019t notice if you mess up.\u201d    

At the very least we need to rethink the so-called Mizpah Benediction (\u201ca good word\u201d).  It seems much more like a Malediction (\u201ca God\u2019s-going-to-get-you word\u201d).    

Right now, if you\u2019re feeling as if you\u2019ve just \u201clost\u201d one of your favorite Bible verses \u2013 especially if you\u2019re beginning to regret having Genesis 31:49 engraved on your wedding ring \u2013 don\u2019t fear.  There are lots of other compelling scriptural statements about the depths of love and partnership.

One of the most powerful is John 15:13, where Jesus quite simply redefines friendship: \u201cGreater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.\u201d

Jesus, of course, did that literally. 

Sometimes, in extraordinary circumstances, we may be asked to do the same.  It\u2019s impossible to overstate the enduring bond experienced by a \u201cband of brothers\u201d who have been ready and willing to lay down their lives for each other in combat. 

But in the course of so-called ordinary existence any one of us can do the same for friends, family, and neighbors \u2013 and not just once, but day after day. 

We die for each other when we give away gifts that cannot be reclaimed.  That would include our time.  And our encouragement.  And the gift of paying attention.  And our need to be in control or to insist on our own agenda.  I am loving you when I give up the life I would otherwise have lived so that you might be blessed. 

Such sacrifices always feel a bit like death.  But they bring life. 

Instead of warning each other, \u201cI\u2019m keeping my eye on you,\u201d we\u2019re pledging, \u201cI\u2019m on the lookout for endless new ways to help you thrive.\u201d 

Which just might be the best benediction \u2013 \u201cgood word\u201d \u2013 our friends and family will ever hear.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every week at the Sunday School I attended as a child, the superintendent closed our brief worship service with the same words. \u201cLet\u2019s all join in the Mizpah Benediction.\u201d  Then we would recite, in lyrical King James English: The Lord watch between me and thee while we are absent one from another. I have no doubt that our superintendent, a… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[156,155],"class_list":["post-460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-friendship","tag-jacob-and-patriarchs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":462,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions\/462"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}