CHIASM, 1 SAMUEL 1:3-11
CHIASM 1 SAMUEL 1:10-12
Explaining Prayer and the Chiasms
- The Purpose of Man–when God created the heavens and the earth, they were formless and void (tohu va bohu). From this state of chaos, God ordered the universe by a series of utterances–“God said” (vayomer Elohim, 7 times), “God called” (vayikra Elohim, 3 times) and “God made/created” (vay-yaas Elohim; vay-yibra Elohim; 5 times). In verse 1:26, God said “Let us make man in our own image, according to our likeness.” The “image of God” is “tselem Elohim.” Tselem in Hebrew is a “representation” of someone or something, and is often translated into English as “idol.” It is spelled tsade-lamed-mem which pictographically means “the desire to control chaos.” Likeness in Hebrew is demut, spelled dalet-mem-tav. Pictographically, it means a door through which truth enters in the midst of chaos. We were created in the image and likeness of God so that we could serve as representatives of God, doors through which truth enters the world. And Scripture links this immediately to a purpose in verses 1:26 and 1:28 whereby man will have dominion (radah) over all creatures of the earth. This is the purpose for which man was created in the beginning. God works through man, as His representative, to bring and maintain order upon the Earth. As God’s representatives on Earth, we align to His purpose for us. Since God does not change, His purpose for mankind does not change. As we will see, this has an interesting connection to our understanding of prayer.
