The Christian Is -- The Apple Of His Eye

Deuteronomy 32:10-12 KJV He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. (11) As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: (12) So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.

There are some things that do not change. For this I am most thankful. Our lives seem to change as the flutter of a butterfly in the ever shifting currents of uncertainty in our 21^st century lives. In the midst of this turbulence our hearts reach for an anchor that assures us of our meaning in this universe. It is here our loving Savior meets fallen man with a message of hope and love.

John 3:16-17 KJV For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Moses received such a revelation of God’s infinite care in the Old Testament when nearing the end of his journey in the wilderness. He is guiding God’s people to Canaan, the land of promise. The reigns of leadership were already being handed to Joshua. Moses’ time was nearing an end.

Such moments are generally sad and uncertain, but the Bible says that Moses broke out in song. In this recitation God reveals His care for His people by relating that they were the “apple of his eye.”

This is most curious to our modern mind’s eye. We picture the apple as that popular luscious fruit of salivary delight. The apple is sweet and pleasant and surely this is what he meant by this term. However, this is not at all what God was relating through Moses. It is true that we are as sweetness (sometimes) to Jehovah, but this expression means so much more!

He kept Jeshurun (God’s people) as the apple of his eye; this King James translated term dates back to Old English.

The Hebrew word transliterated is ee-shone, and meant “the little man of the eye”, or “the middle of the night” or the “blackness” of the eye. The reference here is no doubt the pupil of the eye!

In a most watchful and tender manner: the apple of the eye is the aperture in it, which lets in rays of light into the retina where the images of things are formed. The LORD says that he cares for us as we guard the pupil of the eye! This is wonderfully protected in nature. Consider:

1. The orbit of the eye – strong and bony.
2. The eyelids of the eye – keeping dirt and unwanted light out.
3. The brow of the eye – fringed with hair to catch debris and too strong rays of light.
4. The many layers surrounding the pupil.

(See – the Anatomy of the Eye)

In like manner did the Lord keep and guard Israel, while passing through the wilderness, from fiery serpents, scorpions, and the nations, that none might hurt, and in like manner we are as important today! He cares and preserves us.