« Back | Home | Next »

Eyes and Ears to Judge

Eyes, Jim Jordan constantly points out, are organs of judgment. God "sees" the light and judges it good, and His eyes are open to judge the righteous and the wicked (Ps 11).

1 Kings 3, however, seems to make some play with this. Solomon is asking for discernment and wisdom to "judge," but instead of asking for "eyes" to judge, he asks for a new heart, a heart that "hears" (the Heb is SHEMA in v 9). When Yahweh hears this request, He finds it "good in his eyes" (v 10). Yahweh judges by the eyes, but Solomon knows that he can judge only by discerning hearing.

This doesn't undermine Jordan's point about eyes, but seems to qualify it a bit. Yahweh judges with eyes, since all things are open to His sight. Not everything is open to our sight, and we can plumb hidden depths and pass righteous judgment only if we do NOT judge by what we see but judge by careful listening. (Isaiah 11:3 makes a further move, by saying that the Messiah will judge righteously, and this in contrast to judging by what he sees AND hears.)

Solomon Among the Postmoderns

The Baptized Body

1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary

The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter

A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons

Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature

Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen

The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism

A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel

Against Christianity

From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution

Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy

Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper

A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament

Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature

Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays

Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life

The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church