Illuminated: Hebrews 1-2Àpẹrẹ

It has been testified somewhere, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? - Hebrews 2:6 ESV

Greek Word Focus

ἐπισκέπτῃ/episkepte: concerned for, look upon, visit

Why It Matters

There’s a fascinating story told in Genesis 16 about an Egyptian woman named Hagar. She was the servant of Sarai, taken from her home, and tradition tells us other people’s decisions dictated her life. When Sarai and her husband Abram realized they couldn’t bear children (v. 2), they asked Hagar to conceive a child on Sarai’s behalf. After this, Sarai treated her harshly, and Hagar responded by running away to the wilderness (v. 6). Imagine what this woman’s experiences might lead her to believe about herself! We glimpse those beliefs in the encounter Hagar has with the angel who spoke with her. After telling Hagar that the child she is bearing would be named Ishmael (meaning “God hears”), verse 13 records her response: So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” After all the pain she had experienced, Hagar must have wondered if anyone saw her as valuable, worthy of being treated with dignity. The fact that she named the Lord “The God of seeing” connects this story with the point that Hebrews is making in our verse today. The writer is quoting from the Psalms, asking, “what is … the son of man that you episkepte (look upon, visit) him?” This specific Greek word for care articulates what Hagar was pointing to - that God shows His care for us by looking upon us! He sees us when we feel isolated and reminds us of our worth through that act of seeing. When we feel like others look at us only when they want to get something from us, we are confident because of Jesus that God sees us so that He can speak truth into us. God has shown his episkepte for you and me by sending Jesus into the darkness of our lives. His light has illuminated our journey no matter who or what has tried to darken it.

Application

How will I apply Christ's humility to change my perspective?