Leadership Video
Slow Down and Behold!
‘Behold’ is used 1,298 times in the King James version of the Bible. It is derived from the Greek word ‘eido,’ which has the literal translation of: be sure to see. Or as I like to think of it — don’t miss this.
Bob Lonac I challenge you to slowdown and BEHOLD the moments of your life. I’ve found the more I behold what I’m experiencing right now, the more I’m able to see things and the better leader I become.
Open Your Heart
I was reading an old book that quoted the King James Bible. I read the word “behold” and it got stuck in my brain. It is a word we do not use much anymore. It's almost completely missing from modern English translations of the Bible.
As a comparison, “behold” is used once in the NIV translation. In the King James version, it appears 1,298 times in the Old Testament and 234 in the New Testament.
My curiosity got the best of me and I started looking into what “behold” means. I am not a Hebrew or Greek scholar, but to the best of my understanding “behold” is defined as the following:
In Hebrew: to perceive through sight or apprehension; to gaze upon; to observe.
It was a pleasure to behold the beauty of the sunset
In Greek (eídō): to know; to see; be sure to see.
Behold. Don't miss this! It is an observable, objective fact!
I like the, “don’t miss this...be sure to see,” definition. The modern use of “see” does not communicate this same sense of importance and urgency.
The following passages tell me the human race can see everything it needs to see to find God and have a personal relationship with him. They just don’t want to look close enough, nor do we want to look with the eyes of our heart:
But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.
Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?
Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
So the lesson for me has been:
Open your eyes. Behold what is in front of you right now, this very moment. Don’t miss it because it is plain to see. Just open your heart and ask God to give you eyes to see and ears to hear.
