Expanding Horizons (Ephesians 1:5; Proverbs 16:30; Genesis 13:14-15)

PREDESTINATE

There is a word called "predestinate", derived from the Latin (praedestino), a compound of (prae), "before", and (destino), "to appoint", and therefore meaning, "to appoint before". [Noah Webster 1828]. This is a good word, when used in it's proper context; however, it is not a good word to be used to translate the Greek text in Ephesians 1:5.

GREEK

The Greek word (prohorizo), [4309, Strong's], is only used 6 times in the NT, (Acts 4:28; Rm.8:29-30; 1 Cor.2:7; Eph.1:5,11), and not at all in the OT; however, the root (horizo), [3724, Strong's], is used 16 times in the OT, and 8 times in the NT.

BOUNDARY

The word (prohorizo), is a compound from (pro), meaning, "prior"; "before"; or, "in front of", and (horizo), meaning, "to mark out a boundary", or figuratively, "to decree". Therefore, quite literally, the word means "to establish one's boundary, or one's limits, beforehand". What is interesting, is that the preposition (pro), means 'prior', 'in logical order', not necessarily referring to, or having any relation to, time.

SPECIFIC AREA

The word has a 'spatial force', and the root, is used in secular Greek, and OT usage, to describe the boundaries of land. In other words, 'a specific area' under consideration, and 'the marked out boundaries'; 'borders'; or 'limits' of that area.

SPORTS FIELD

To visually understand the meaning of the word, a person could imagine a football field; soccer field; or baseball diamond, with all the boundaries of the field marked out ahead of time, to limit and designate the playing area of the sport. It is not that the end result of the game is determined, or fixed; before the game starts, but the playing field is already drawn out, so the players know where the marked out boundaries are, so they can compete, within the boundaries of the field.

In the OT, there are two uses of the root word (horizo):

BOUNDARIES of INHERITANCE

(1) The one usage is predominantly to describe 'the boundaries of the inheritance' of the children of Israel.

NUMBERS 34:6, "...and as for the western border, you shall even have the Great Sea for a border; this shall be your west border"

JOSHUA 13:27, "...the Jordan shall define the boundaries, to part of the sea of Chinnereth, on the other side of the Jordan, from the east".

JOSHUA 15:12, "...and the west border was to the Great Sea and the shore line. This is the border of the children of Judah..."

JOSHUA 18:20, "...and the Jordan was the border of it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin..."

JOSHUA 23:4, "Behold, I have divided to you by lot, these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even to the Great Sea, in the west; you shall define your boundaries by the descent of the sun". [The last prepositional phrase is found only in the LXX].

EZEKIEL 47:20, "This part of the Great Sea defines the boundaries to before the entrance of Hamath, to its entrance."

PROVERBS18:18, "The lot causes disputes to cease, and it defines the boundaries among monarchs"

WORDS

(2) The second usage of the term, in the OT Septuagint (LXX) relates to words, and how they set or fix "boundaries" on our lives, by decreeing things.

NUMBERS 30:2-8,11 This whole passage, right to verse 16, deals with a daughter, or a wife, speaking words, that set limits on their lives, and the legal right of the father, or husband, to disallow the words, and the force of them; but it starts with any person, "...whoever should vow a vow to the Lord, or should swear by an oath, or set boundaries; a set of limits on his life, he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth" (30:2). [The same terminology is used in the remainder of the passage, whether a daughter or a wife, that by their words, in this case a vow, "... set boundaries; limits on her life.." (30:3-8)].

The only other use of the word is in Proverbs, again, related to words:

PROVERBS 16:30, "He shuts his eyes to devise perverse things; moving his lips, he brings evil to pass" (KJV).

The LXX is even more graphic:

PROVERBS 16:30, "Fixing his eyes firmly, he devises perverted things; and he sets boundaries with his lips of all the evils; this man is a furnace of evil"

[It is interesting, that in regard to words, the imaginations of the heart, can produce substance, in the physical realm, and determine the expression of one's life, positively or negatively].

SET BOUNDARIES

In relation to Ephesians 1:5, our Father, set out the boundaries of our inheritance beforehand, and His means of enabling us to enter into that inheritance, was by adoption, through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, the first of many sons and daughters.

HORIZON

Understanding the literal meaning of the word is even more enlightening, since the Greek word (horizo), is where the English word "horizon" is derived from; setting the boundaries of land that we can see.

ALL YOU SEE

There is an interesting parallel with the OT account of Abraham. (El), the covenant God, told Abraham, "...lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are now, to the north; and south; and east; and west. All the land that you see, I will give it to you and to your seed, for all ages" (Gen.13:14-15).

NO LIMITS

What is interesting about the "horizon", is that the closer you seem to move towards it, the farther it remains in the distance. In other words, you expand your "horizons", as you move towards the boundaries of your inheritance, that your Father has set out for you. There are no limits essentially, only boundaries of your inheritance, that continue to expand, as you venture out toward them.

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours