English Category

apple of your eye part 1

peggywelch851

                                    apple of your eye (part 1)

            Keep me as the apple of your eye… (Psalm 17:8 NIV)

I recently came upon this expression during a Bible study in a Sunday school class.  I thought, Why would David ask to be “the apple” of God’s eye?

And furthermore, what part of the eye is the apple?  My curiosity got the best of me and I discovered that the “apple of one’s eye” actually refers to the pupil of the eye.  In ancient times, the pupil was believed to be a round, solid object comparable to an apple.

We now know that the pupil is not a solid object; it is the opening in the iris, the colored part of your eye.  The muscles of the iris control the amount of light that passes through the pupil by controlling its size and shape.  Since light is essential to vision, the pupil was held to be something precious.

So in Psalm 17:8, when David asked God to “Keep me as the apple of your eye” he was asking that God would look upon him as His cherished child, the object of His abundant affection.

Did you know if you look deeply into your friend’s eyes, you will see, as in a mirror a tiny reflection of yourself? The Hebrew words for “apple of the eye” are translated as “the little man” in the eye – an affectionate term of endearment.

The same is true of our relationship with God.  Just as you see a tiny version of yourself in the eyes of your friend, God sees a tiny reflection of Himself when He looks at you.  Do you know that you were created in God’s image?  You are His cherished child, His precious possession.  You are the apple of God’s eye!

                     

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Published by peggywelch851

I am a retired high school biology teacher. Retirement has given me the opportunity to have more time to spend with my family, travel and help others though volunteering.

24 thoughts on “apple of your eye part 1”

  6. Hi, Peggy! This is Wakako. Thank you for inviting this site.
    I read this story about Apple in God’s eys, first in English and next in Japanese.
    I understood the meaning of it. Thank you!

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  8. Yay!! I loved reading your first post and look forward to more! Thank you for sharing insight into the Word from a science perspective! I’m thankful for this!

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    1. Thank you Jan! And thank you for giving me opportunities to travel to India and Portugal and mentoring and encouraging me through your ministry and our friendship.

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  11. Wonderful! I’ve heard the expression “apple of one’s eye” countless times but had never stropped to consider what a curious expression it is. Nor did I know its origin. That God should see a tiny image of Himself when he looks at us – that’s what we should live for!

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  12. What I think is so great is that God doesn’t need to keep 6 feet away from us, but even if He were, He could still be reflected in our eyes!

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