The Apple of His Eye

To be the apple of someone's eye, according to the urban dictionary is to be someone's 'favourite person' or the 'one you love the most'. The expression or saying is used a number of times in the Old Testament such as the scripture in Psalm 17 on the front cover of this issue. It appears to be an idiom or saying that would have been used in the Hebrew language too. A more literal definition of this is as a 'pupil' as in the eye. This ties up well with the old English expression where the pupil of the eye was called the 'apple of the eye'.

Israel and the progeny of Jacob are also 'the apple of his eye' (Deut.32.9-10). They were preserved and survived bondage in Egypt and the forty years they wandered the wilderness in Sinai. In later years they were protected like King David was and given hope for the future by prophets such as Habakkuk and Obadiah. They survive today in the lot of land we know now as Israel and that was in previous generations called Palestine and prosper there today despite the unfavourable circumstances they found themselves in 1945. Nowadays they export fruit as well as other goods and services.

The pupil of the eye is a very remarkable part of the body. Sight is one of the five senses. The eye is also vulnerable which is why there are eyelids and eyelashes to protect it at night and during the day. Perhaps this element of protection was in David's mind when writing Psalm 17?

It is also possible to see your own image in someone else's eye if you are close enough. Perhaps this is just coincidental. But this shows the closeness of the relationship one may have with the other. Men and women generally are not comfortable letting another person to invade their personal space unless they are emotionally close to that person. It would imply that there is love in the relationship whether that basis is as a family member or close friend. The twelve disciples of Jesus had a close relationship to their Master. John is usually mentioned at this point but there were others like Simon the Canaanite.

Proverbs 7.2 tells us to keep God's commandments and law as the apple of our eye. This may seem a surprising instruction unless it is related to God's attribute of love and reminding us that we are commanded to love the Lord our God, one another and our neighbour. This is an uplifting commandment in this day and age when we listen to and read reports of gun crime, terrorist attacks in all continents against foreigners and fellow citizens for many apparent reasons. Yet the message to keep close in this day and age is simply to love.