What is a “man of renown?” Is it
a compliment or an insult to be identified as a man of renown? Who are the men
of renown in our culture? They are the sport stars, movie stars, musicians and
the rich. To a lesser extent, they may be our national leaders. Some groups
might identify a religious leader as a man of renown, but with few exceptions,
it is unlikely that his name will be known among the broader population. In the
time of Noah, God describes a group of men as men of renown. Is this a good
quality to have or a bad?
Genesis 6:4 NKJV 4 There were
giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God
came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the
mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
The Hebrew words that make up the
phrase “men of renown” is msh isna: enoshe ha-shem from two Hebrew words #582 enosh
which means mortal from a root word meaning feeble, frail, or sickly and from
#8034 meaning name. A man of renown is a mortal whose name is known. In Hebrew,
there are two other words that are also translated man. They are adam mda a term for mankind and any man
in general, and iysh sia meaning a male person. The choice of the word enosh
in this passage emphasizes the weakness of the men of renown and their
inevitable death. The context of this verse is that God is describing how evil
man has become. The next verse tells us that man’s thoughts were continually
evil! So the men of renown in Noah’s time were not the “good guys!”
The next time this phrase is used
is in Numbers to describe the leaders of Israel that rose up with Korah, Dathan
and Abiram in rebellion against Moses and God.
Numbers 16:1-3 NKJV 1 Now Korah
the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram
the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; 2 and
they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and
fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. 3 They gathered together
against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "You take too much upon
yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the LORD
is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the
LORD?"
Once again, this phrase “men of
renown” is the Hebrew enoshe ha-shem. These men accused Moses and Aaron of
exalting themselves above the rest of Israel. In reality, they were the ones
who wanted to exalt themselves above the rest of Israel. They wanted to be
great before the assembly. In contrast to their actions, Moses bows down before
them and puts the decision of who is to be the leader and who are to be the
priests up to God. He reminds Korah, the leader of the rebellion, of the
exalted position God had actually given him.
Numbers 16:8-10 NKJV 8 Then Moses
said to Korah, "Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 "Is it a small thing to
you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel,
to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the LORD, and
to stand before the congregation to serve them; 10 "and that He has
brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with
you? And are you seeking the priesthood also?
We know the end of the story.
Korah, Dathan and Abiram are swallowed up by the earth when they attempt to
usurp the duties of the priest by offering incense before the LORD. The two
hundred fifty men of renown who followed Korah are consumed in the fire of God
(Num. 16:34-35). Those known as men of renown were men desiring to be great in
the eyes of man.
We jump ahead now to King Saul,
the first king of Israel. King Saul, like the two hundred fifty leaders in the
rebellion led by Korah, also attempts to take on the duties of the priesthood.
1 Samuel 13:9-11 NKJV 9 So Saul
said, "Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me." And he
offered the burnt offering. 10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished
presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him,
that he might greet him. 11 And Samuel said, "What have you done?"
Later, God instructed King Saul
to wipe out the name of Amalek forever. He was to totally destroy all the
belongings and even the livestock of Amalek. Most importantly, he was to slay
King Agag of the Amalekites. This may sound brutal, but the reasons for this go
back to Israel’s first days coming out of Egypt. King Saul, however, spared the
best of livestock and King Agag. When questioned by Samuel, Saul stated that it
was so they could bring an offering to God. As we read further, we see that
that may have been Saul’s outward action, but his motivation was his own
exaltation.
1 Samuel 15:26-31 NKJV 26 But
Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you, for you have rejected
the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over
Israel." 27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge
of his robe, and it tore. … 30 Then he said, "I have sinned; yet honor me
now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with
me, that I may worship the LORD your God." 31 So Samuel turned back after
Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD.
Saul’s first words are an
acknowledgement of sin, but his next words indicate that he is only thinking of
himself. He pleads with Samuel to honor him in front of the people!
In the time of Noah, God repented
that he created man.
Genesis 6:6 KJV 6 And it repented
the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
Here in the account of King Saul,
we read that God repented that He made Saul king.
1 Samuel 15:35 KJV 35 And Samuel
came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel
mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
In both verses, the Hebrew word
for repented is nacham which means to sigh or breathe strongly. Other
translations of Genesis 6:6 use the word grieve. We have an image of God
grieving, breathing strongly, about man’s actions at the time of Noah and about
King Saul elevating himself before the people.
King Saul was not the only king
who sinned against God. In fact, the very next king, King David sinned in a
much more spectacular manner, at least in our eyes. King David lusted after
another man’s wife, got her pregnant, tried to fool the husband that the child
was the husband’s child, and when that failed, he conspired to kill the man. In
our minds Saul’s sin was a “white collar” crime; he stole a few goods and
manipulated public opinion… just a typical politician. We would slap him on the
wrist, fine him a few dollars and let him go. David’s sin on the other hand was
murder by hire. We would send him away for life. Why didn’t God view these sins
in the same way we would? It is all in the heart. Even after being confronted
by his sin, Saul never truly repented. He didn’t understand that his sin was against
God and he was only concerned with his image before the people. David on the
other hand truly repented.
2 Samuel 12:13-16 NKJV 13 So
David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan
said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14
"However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the
enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall
surely die." 15 Then Nathan departed to his house. And the LORD struck the
child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill. 16 David therefore
pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night
on the ground.
David humbled himself before God
acknowledging that his sin was ultimately against God and didn’t try to excuse
his actions. He didn’t care what the people saw, he only sought God. (In case
we think God didn’t punish David, read the rest of this account in 2 Samuel
12.)
The antichrist is like Saul. To
outward appearances, he is not bad. But he exalts himself over all men even to
the point of declaring that he is God.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 NKJV 3 Let
no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling
away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who
opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped,
so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
We need to look at one more
example of a person of renown, that is, a person whose name is known. In the
story of Ruth and Boaz, God blesses Ruth with a son who is the kinsman redeemer
for Naomi.
Ruth
4:14-16 MKJV 14 And the women said to Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, who has not left
you this day without a redeemer, so that his name may be famous in Israel. 15
And he shall be to you as a restorer of life, and one who cheers your old age.
For your daughter-in-law who loves you has borne him, she who is better to you
than seven sons. 16 And Naomi took the child and laid it in her bosom, and
became nurse to it.
This
son is described as Naomi’s kinsman redeemer not Boaz. Further, this son’s name
will be famous not just in Bethlehem, but in Israel. The word famous is the
Hebrew word “kara”, (Strong’s #7121) which means to call out.
The
name of this son, this kinsman redeemer which will be called out in all Israel,
is Obed. Obed means to serve (Strong’s #5744). Obed will not be famous for
exalting himself above others, but for serving others.
Obed
foreshadows another kinsman redeemer who comes to be a servant.
Philippians 2:5-11 NKJV 5 Let
this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of
God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no
reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of
men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became
obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God
also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of
those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
There is only one name that God
exalts and that is the name of Yeshua who brings glory to God the Father. This
name will be called out throughout the heavens and the earth.
We are to be like Yeshua,
servants of God. On the night that Yeshua was betrayed, He washed His disciples’
feet.
John 13:12-17 NKJV 12 So when He
had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them,
"Do you know what I have done to you? 13 "You call me Teacher and
Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 "If I then, your Lord and Teacher,
have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 "For
I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16
"Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master;
nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 "If you know these
things, blessed are you if you do them.
Don’t
seek to be a man or woman of renown in this life, enosh ha-shem. Instead seek
to be a person of renown in the world to come, adam HaShem, a person of His
name.
יבורך שלום
Shalom
and be blessed
Dan
and Brenda Cathcart
Volume
4 of our Bible study series “Shadows of the Messiah in the Torah”
is now available. For a limited time we
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