god had a vision for the world. he viewed his acts of creation as good. eyes, sight, and vision carry with them different qualities within the torah. “vision” at its highest level deals with issues good, evil, and being able to project the future. a visionary even sees things that are not there!
adam and eve, who upon eating the forbidden fruit, had their eyes opened to the extent that they saw themselves as naked. genesis 3:7 (good and evil). abraham’s concubine, hagar, after being sent away into the wilderness with her son. was in a state of fear. her eyes were opened [from her fear] and she was able to find water. genesis 21:18-19. abraham who without fear, moved to sacrifice his son isaac and who was declared a god=-fearing man raised his eyes to see a ram to sacrifice. genesis 22:13. abraham, a visionary, did not require assistance in his sight.
the births of the forefathers, isaac and jacob were not viewed as “good.”
before moses, moses’ mother already had two children, aaron and miriam. therefore, there was nothing special to her about having a child. it was no new joy to her. this child to be born, however, was going to be born under the decree of death.
the torah states, with respect to the birth of moses, that “the woman conceived and bore a son, and [when] she saw him that he was good, she hid him for three months.” exodus 2:2
who else sees things good in the torah? the creator of the world! it can be contended that moses’ mother, a fearless individual of faith and giving birth to a child with a pronounced death sentence, was channeling the creator as he pronounced what he saw as good. she was a true visionary. did she envision that what she created would be the emancipator of a nation, a prophet, and a great teacher? one can make that argument. we can learn from the story that god has a special relationship with mothers. they are his partners in creation.
what does this mean to you?
your eyes may operate on a physiological basis. you see things.
your vision may be clouded by your emotions such as fear. as a result, you may not see the entire world around you.
when you are a person who does not have fear of this world but of a god, has faith, and has understanding, you will have a vision of what is around you and what is to become.
be well!
The Ten Commandments Project 