Pursued by God

The original psalms were written in Hebrew and sometimes the translations are not as accurate as they could be. In Psalm 23 we pray “goodness and mercy ‘follow’ us all the days of our lives.” But Chad Bird, an Old Testament scripture scholar, claims that the verb radaph in Hebrew is more accurately translated “chase after or pursue.” Thus, Bird says, “The goodness and mercy of God don’t follow us like a good little puppy dog. They gallop after us like a celestial stallion. They chase us down labyrinthine paths like the hound of heaven.”

The image of God pursuing us “like a celestial stallion” is an intriguing one. It is not we who take the initiative, but rather God. We have all these thoughts about being unworthy or feeling that God will take away our freedom if we are caught. Yet all God wants is to shower us with His goodness and mercy.  

“Who are we that you care for us?” the psalmist asks in another psalm. We just can’t believe that God is so enamored with insignificant human beings like us. He might pursue important people like saints and martyrs or kings and rulers, but we see ourselves as nobodies. What could we offer God? That’s our human way of thinking.

I am reminded of a prisoner that I write to who is a “lifer.” He was an accomplice in a murder when he was a young man. He is now in his 60s. He reads the Bible every day and tries to be kind to his fellow inmates even when they are bullies. He says he is blessed and prays for all those in need. God chased him down in prison and filled his heart with goodness and mercy. 

God does not just wait for us to come to Him. He is “hot on our heels.” This is hard for us to fathom and so we try to run away from God. Yet we cannot escape Him. He keeps chasing us all the way to heaven. As Bird expresses it: “The goodness and mercy of our Shepherd radaph us all the way to heaven’s gate and into the arms of our Father.”