He is my God, and I will praise him . . .
These words come from Moses’ song, Exodus 15:2, right after the Israelites witnessed the parting of the Red Sea, after witnessing the destruction of all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen (Ex 14:23 NIV).
The King James version:
He is my God and I will prepare him an habitation;
The Jewish Study Bible reads this way.
This is my God and I will enshrine Him;
Some versions may read glorify instead of enshrine.
If we simply read the NIV, the word praise gives the reader a general idea of adoring God. By stepping into the KJV we get a little deeper into this act of worship. I’m a big fan of Strong’s Concordance, so let’s look and see what is meant by the word habitation.
The original Hebrew word is navah, which means to beautify or adorn. According the commentary in the Jewish Study Bible some researchers believe this was meant to beautify object meant o worship God with. Others imply that the word enshrine or glorify actually means to reveal God’s beauty.
Although I”m having a difficult time wrapping my brain around the concept, I like the later. How can I reveal God’s beauty? I’m not sure that it is at all possible.
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV)
Even if I lived a life totally and completely as the one described above, I’m not sure it would even come close to revealing a smidgen of God’s beauty. So, how about you? What do you think praise means in the context of Ex 15:2? How would you go about revealing God’s beauty?
2 responses to “Navah”
What a great question! How can I reveal God’s beauty? It’s all around us in nature. And in inspiration. I hope that in writing, I can always find a way to reveal God’s beauty. Maybe even in a new or unexpected way. That will be my prayer, anyway. And my new goal. Thanks for taking the time to express that verse in a new way. In doing so, you’ve revealed some of God’s beauty. 🙂
Barbara, revealing God’s beauty is an admirable goal. I, too, pray that I can reveal God’s amazing beauty through my writing. One of my favorite things to do is fish. Not because I like hooking little worms (or minnows in my case) to bait an unsuspecting crapie, or because I love cleaning fish (which I don’t do), but because I love being out in God’s beauty, especially when it is reflected on the calm waters.