“You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets-for he is poor and sets his heart (nephesh) on it-so that he does not cry out against you to the Lord, and it becomes a sin in you.”(Deuteronomy 24:15) Linked to the heart of a person, it is the force that drives one in a specific direction. The other distinct element of nephesh is the immaterial aspect, where we see nephesh translated as desire, passion or lust. The offering of a physical life of an animal covered for the life of a person. This meaning connects to the critical part of the sacrificial system in the Hebrew Bible, which was animal sacrifice. Like we see in Genesis 3:19, for dust you are and unto dust shall you return. Is Nephesh – Soul Measurable?įirst, nephesh is the “measurable life” – a life that can be counted, physically touched and measured. “But as for an uncircumcised male, one who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person (nephesh) shall be cut off from his people he has broken My covenant.” Genesis 17:14Īs we examine these verses, we might pick up on two distinctive – almost opposite – characteristics of nephesh. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul (nephesh).” Genesis 2:7 The promises God makes to His children are significant because He made life significant. Nephesh highlights the weight and worth of a covenant. This unique being, made in the likeness of God, is the recipient of God’s covenant. But man came alive because God breathed into him. God called the world into being with the power of His Word. Nevertheless, to fully grasp the weight of the Hebrew word nephesh, we need to return to the beginning. The way we interact with, speak to and relate to one another (and treat ourselves) should be in light of our understanding of nephesh. As believers, the value we place on life should reflect the high esteem God has for life. These verses speak to the substance and worth of human life. “But God will redeem my soul (nephesh) from the power of the grave for He shall receive me.”(Psalm 49: 15) “No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them so that they should live on forever and not see decay…”(Psalm 49: 7-8) God values our souls so highly He purchased us with His Son Jesus. He cherishes every single life young and old, married and single, male and female, Jew and gentile, from every nation. Nefesh also reveals the immeasurable value and significance God places on human life – on all human life. We exist to serve Him.” The Soul of a Living Being As pastor Craig Groeschel said, “God doesn’t exist to serve us. It means to love Him in everything we do, in every word we speak, in every minute of every day. And when we do – when we love God with all of who we are and with everything we’ve got – we bear witness to others! This means we should love God with all our life and for all our life. Have you ever considered that, just like the sky, your life should send this same message to the world? Your life-your words and your actions-are actually supposed to reveal God to the people around you! In Psalm 19, David wrote: “How clearly the sky reveals God’s glory… no speech or words are used, no sound is heard Yet their message goes out to all the world and is heard to the ends of the earth”. This is a love that takes over everything! It is a love expressed with “the whole of the affections of the heart, with great fervency and ardour of spirit, in the sincerity of the soul, and with all the strength of grace a man has, with such love that is as strong as death.” (Exposition of the Entire Bible by John Gill) Nephesh that Brings Revelation Love the Lord your God with every passion of your heart, with all the energy of your being, and with every thought that is within you. The New Testament reiterates this commandment: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul (nephesh) and with all your might. This understanding comes into focus when we examine Deuteronomy 6:5, the first and chief commandment given to the children of Israel: And it speaks of the very essence of a person. What does that tell us? We get the sense that nephesh is the inner, living being of a man. In the Bible, n ephesh is also translated into English as: living being, life, creature, mind, desires, heart, appetite, persons. As we notice the other uses of nephesh, the picture becomes a little clearer.
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