Watching and Waiting
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
What Does “Look” to God Really Mean?
We had a widely used expression in the 1970s: “neat” or “that’s neat.” But when I was in Germany, that expression made no sense to them. Did it mean “clean” or “orderly”? The slang usage lost the dictionary meaning of the word “neat.”
Similarly, there were words and phrases in the early church that had a lot of force, but overuse diluted the meaning. One example would be “bring the kingdom down to earth.” That idea had much more power in the minds of the early believers, but that lessened over time. “Look to God” or “look only to God” was much more powerful in the minds of early believers, but less so to us today.
“Look” in the Old Testament
There are at least 19 different Hebrew words translated as “look.” Which one are we talking about? Different words carry different meanings, from merely seeing or noticing to watching very carefully.
We’re going to take a closer look at two of the words and concentrate on “watching” and “waiting.” There are other aspects, but we’ll focus on those today.
Watching Closely
tsaphah (or sappeh) — to watch closely, to observe, to spy.
Think of a spyglass; it brings distant things into focus.
Psalm 5:3 KJV:
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up (tsaphah).
Psalm 5:3 NET:
Lord, in the morning you will hear me; in the morning I will present my case to you and then wait expectantly for an answer (tsaphah).
Psalm 5:3 NASB77:
In the morning, O Lord, Thou wilt hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to Thee and eagerly watch (tsaphah).
In Old Testament times, cities had walls around them, and watchmen would be posted on the walls to keep watch—especially at night. That’s what we should be. We should be watchmen day by day, eagerly watching for God’s answers in every situation.
Micah 7:7 ESV:
But as for me, I will look (tsaphah) to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.
Micah 7:7 NET:
But I will keep watching (tsaphah) for the Lord; I will wait for the God who delivers me. My God will listen to me.
Our job is to do the listening and watching, the looking.
“Look” in the New Testament
There are many Greek words translated as “look” as well.
One Greek word that stuck out to me is skopeo. It means to look at, observe, contemplate, direct one’s attention to, or intensely focus.
2 Corinthians 4:17–18 ESV:
17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look (skopeo) not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
We should focus on the invisible things, not the five senses. We should focus on spiritual matters, things like love, kindness, and praise. When we focus on something, it brings it closer.
These verses also bring the hope into focus. The hope of Christ’s return, our new body, and so much more. But we also live every day in hope. I call these “mini-hopes.”
We have to have hope, or mini-hopes. Things we’re looking for but haven’t seen yet.
When you look expectantly, you wait.
Waiting
The Greek word dechomai usually means “to receive.” The word picture (from Aramaic) is “to take with the hand” or “take hold of.” When you take something, you receive it. But it’s not passive, it’s active.
We’ll look at three variations of dechomai that are helpful for our understanding.
prosdechomai — wait for something.
Luke 2:25 ESV:
Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for (prosdechomai) the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
Titus 2:13 ESV:
waiting for (prosdechomai) for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
ekdechomai — wait from … until
Hebrews 10:12–13 ESV:
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting (ekdechomai) from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
apekdechomai — wait it out
Philippians 3:20–21 ESV:
20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await (apekdechomai) a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
Romans 8:19 ESV:
For the creation waits (apekdechomai) with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
Romans 8:25 ESV:
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait (apekdechomai) for it with patience.
To sum it up, we eagerly watch (like spies), searching out the clues, and focusing on the promises. We eagerly watch for those mini-hopes now, and for the future hope; watching and waiting.
Also available on the Acts Now Fellowship website.
Scripture References
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked (NASB77) taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from The NET Bible® Copyright © 1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. www.netbible.com. All rights reserved.
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