If you're a military leader about to head into battle, receiving such a prophecy could be terrific news! ...or it could be horrible. That was certainly the case for King Croesus of Lydia, who consulted the famous Oracle at Delphi about whether he'd be safe to wage war against Cyrus of Persia. He received this very prophecy, and decided to attack. Sure enough, a great nation DID fall... except it was his own! Pretty tricky, that Oracle.
So why am I bringing this up? Well, a teacher of mine, Rabbi Eliezer Diamond, recently made me
aware of a very similar delphic prophecy in this week's Torah portion which I had never noticed before. Our reading introduces us to the notorious sibling rivalry of Isaac's two sons, Jacob and Esau. Before they were even born, still in their mother's womb, the two of them battled it out. God declared to Rebecca, "Two separate peoples shall issue from your body; One people shall be mightier than the other, and the older shall serve the younger" (Gen. 25:23). Based on this proclamation, Rebecca favors her younger son, Jacob, and helps him "borrow" (I'm trying not to say "steal"...) his brother's intended blessing.
Rabbi Diamond points out, however, that the phrase, "The older shall serve the younger," is actually quite ambiguous. There is a Hebrew word, difficult to translate, which helps distinguish the subject from the object, and it is missing in this prophecy. If it had said, "Rav Ya'avod ET Ha-tzair," we would know for certain that the older was destined to serve his brother. But as is, it could be read, "The older, the younger shall serve." Hmm, like the Oracle, the Bible has a few tricks up its proverbial sleeve.
The lesson we learn here (besides a healthy distrust of oracles) is the importance of a
partnership between God and human beings; between destiny and action. Part of our fate is decided, but a significant part is left up to us. We make choices every moment of every day, and these affect the way our lives play out. God told Rebecca that one child would dominate the other, but she took charge of her own life, and the lives of her sons, and made that prophecy come true the way it made sense to her. We must do the same for ourselves.
We ask God for direction, not because God is in the driver seat, but because God provides the best GPS on the market! We still have to make the right choices in order to get from point A to point B. Prayer works the same way. Rabbi Diamond says, "When I ask God for wisdom I am not asking for God to miraculously transform me into a genius or a sage. I ask for the wisdom to see the ways in which God has already placed before me opportunities to become wiser, whether they lie within or around me."
How do you pray? What do you ask for in your prayers? If you've
asked God for a sign, or a message, I would still recommend exercising caution. You may get a response, but YOU are still going to have to figure out how to interpret that sign for yourself. Taking it at face value could wind up getting you in trouble. Just ask King Croesus...
No comments:
Post a Comment