Weakness
In weakness, then I am strong
I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
12:9b. As a result, Paul determined that he would boast all the more gladly about his weaknesses. He quit complaining, so that Christ’s power might rest on him. The terminology translated “rest” (episkenoo) may be translated as “to tabernacle” or “pitch a tent.” It is likely that Paul drew upon Old Testament imagery of the glory of God coming upon the tabernacle (Exod. 40:34–38). If so, he learned that taking delight in his thorn actually brought the blessings of God upon his life.
12:10. From this understanding of his weakness, Paul concluded that he would delight in weaknesses rather than abhor them. Insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties were causes for joy because in these times of weakness, Paul was strong in the power of God.
12:7–9. So that Paul would not forget this, God gave him a constant reminder of his weakness. Countless explanations concerning the nature of his thorn in the flesh have been offered. They range from incessant temptation, dogged opponents, chronic maladies (such as ophthalmia, malaria, migraine headaches, and epilepsy), to a disability in speech. No one can say for sure what his was, but it probably was a physical affliction (for the work of Satan in this, cf. 1 Cor. 5:5; 10:10). It is understandable that Paul would consider this thorn a hindrance to wider or more effective ministry (cf. Gal. 4:14–16) and that he would repeatedly petition God for its removal (2 Cor. 12:8). But he learned from this experience the lesson that pervades this letter: divine power (My power, v. 8; Christ’s power, v. 9) is best displayed against the backdrop of human weaknesses (cf. 4:7) so that God alone is praised (10:17). Rather than removing the problem God gave him grace in it. This grace is sufficient (arkei, i.e., adequate in the sense of providing contentment). (The Gr. words trans. to keep me from becoming conceited occur in 12:7 twice, at the beginning and end of the verse. The NIV translates only the first one.)
12 Wisdom is a shelter
as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
Wisdom preserves those who have it.
13 Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?
14 When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, no one can discover
anything about their future.
Life under the hand of God (7:13–14). 13. This echoes 1:15; the crookedness of the world, which is being expounded throughout, is not mere ‘fate’. It is subject to God’s will (cf. Rom. 8:20). We may wish to quarrel with it, but we can effect no change in the basic structure of things.
14. Both prosperity and adversity have their uses. One leads to joy, the other draws attention to the realities of life and leads (if so allowed) to a life of faith in a sovereign God. Both are subject to God’s will and part of his providence. The constant fluctuation between them keeps us dependent not on our own guesswork, but on God who ‘holds the key to all unknown’.
37 Who can speak and have it happen
if the Lord has not decreed it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that both calamities and good things come?
39 Why should the living complain
when punished for their sins?
40 Let us examine our ways and test them,
and let us return to the LORD.
Like Job, the sentiment of the author is that ‘though he slay me, yet will I trust him’ (Job 13:15, AV). In a magnificent expression of faith in the unfailing mercies of God, the writer looks to the distant future with renewed hope. The Hebrew term ḥesed, used to describe these ‘mercies’, has the basic meaning of loyalty or devotion, particularly in relationship to a covenant and to God as its author.
Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
Another assumption which the author makes is that what has happened in the past has a bearing on the present
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care
חֶסֶד (ḥesed). n. masc. loyal love, mercy. Refers to feelings of loyalty and love that motivate merciful and compassionate behavior toward a person.
The term ḥesed indicates an essential part of God’s character. When he appears to Moses, God describes himself as abounding in ḥesed (Exod 34:6–7). His ḥesed is closely associated with his covenant love for Israel. In Exodus 20:6, God says that he shows ḥesed to those who love and obey Him (compare Deut 5:10). This description is echoed throughout the OT (Neh 1:5; Dan 9:4; Jer 32:18). God’s ḥesed is often described as an aspect of his mercy or compassion. In appealing to God to pardon the sins of the people, Moses appeals to God’s ḥesed (Num 14:18–19; compare Neh 9:17).
How many believers in the average church minister with a confident understanding of the grace given to them by God? How can we replace “recruiting” people to “work” in the church with helping people understand the grace for ministry given them by God?
