Here's some discussion as we look at SHREWD and how it's used in Psalm 18:25-27:

• Carlos wrote: "i got this quote from this website: A person's idea concerning God is a fair index of his relation toward God. "To the pure He will show himself pure, and to the froward He will show himself froward." (Ps. 18:26.) does that make sense to you? it does to me!"
  
• I wrote back: "Makes sense, but I don't like it. So nyaah. The passage doesn't say that God looks like He's shrewd, but that He *shows Himself* shrewd to the crooked. It doesn't look quite as passive as the quote above would lead."
  
• And Ailina replied: "I'd have to agree with you, Rick. I don't believe God's as passive in His action as the quote would lead. This would mean His appearance is dependent upon us human beings, and that doesn't seem right to me."

Continuing on, I think "He shows Himself" in a way that He'll be understood, and in that it's almost like the quote, but like we said, not as passive. Just doing some wordsearching this morning, and I found this word usage in Young's Literal Translation:

25 With the kind Thou showest Thyself kind,
With a perfect man showest Thyself perfect.
26 With the pure Thou showest Thyself pure,
And with the perverse showest Thyself a wrestler,
27 For Thou a poor people savest,
And the eyes of the high causest to fall.
-- Ps 18:25-27

Showing Himself as a wrestler is definitely not passive (caught part of WWE Raw last night, so this is fresh). In the NAS, it is rendered "show Yourself astute", which has a more intellectual quality to it than the other two. The Hebrew word here is "PATHAL", meaning to twist, to wrestle - to the crooked, God will show Himself "twisted"?

The next question, if this isn't a passive thing concerning how we see Him though our own preconceived notions, is to ask WHY God would want to be shrewd or "twisted"? My first thoughts are that He wants to be recognizable to people with that bent, but what about this: can He out-shrewd the shrewd? Would it be within His character to be able to outwit someone who lives by his/her wits, a schemer and conniver? I don't think God would "trick" anyone, but would He be able to maintain truth, mercy and integrity while "wrestling" with someone who just wouldn't get it any other way?
- posted by Rick @ 10:09