Gird (328) anazonnumi by Greek Word Studies

Gird your minds for action (328) (anazonnumi from ana = up ~ stresses lifting up of long robe + zonnumi = bind about especially with a belt) is used only here. Anazonnumi means to bind up, gird up, and was used literally that of a robed man, tucking his skirts under the belt, so he can be free to run (literally) Then the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel." 1Ki 18:46; Elisha said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins and take my staff in your hand, and go your way..." 2Ki 4:29, Now Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, “Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead." 2Ki 9:1). This was apparently a well known Hebrew expression indicating readiness of mind or preparedness. The Jews at Passover were supposed to eat the Passover meal in haste, "with (their) loins girded", ready to move Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover Ex 12:11 God commanded Jeremiah Now, gird up your loins, and arise, and speak to them all which I commanded you. Do not be dismayed before them, lest I dismay you before them” (Jer 1:17). Here the phrase is used metaphorically to suggest needful preparation for the fierce and intense conflict to come. This figurative use of girding of the loins presents the picture of courage or resolve that would be necessary, for the task he was called to do was not a pleasant one and would bring persecution. How did Jeremiah do? Jeremiah obeyed God's command and as a result became one of the most unpopular prophets in Jewish history! Measured by human standards, his ministry was a failure, but measured by the will of God, he was a great success. Jeremiah was called to difficult tasks to stand alone, to resist the crowd, and to be out of step with the world view and values of his day, a "girding of his mind" which Jeremiah maintained for over forty years! God challenges Job to gird up his loins Now gird up your loins like a man; I will ask you, and you instruct Me” (Job 38:3; cf Job 40:7) This use is figurative referring to Job's mental outlook and not to his physical clothing. The point is that all of the uses constitute preparation necessary to makes a person ready to take action and move about freely without hindrance physically or figuratively. To fail to do so is to invite trouble. Paul using a similar metaphor tells the Ephesian church to Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH" (Ep 6:14-note) So the truth is what we are gird our minds with. The Roman soldier. He would pull his tunic through his belt so his garment wouldn’t be in his way when he was in battle. Girding the loins was a mark of preparedness, and the soldier who was serious about fighting was sure to secure his tunic with his belt. Paul like Peter is telling us that we must be prepared and committed for spiritual battle. A Jewish person preparing for to run, to fight or to apply themselves to any business requiring rapid motion, wouldn’t leave with his garments loose but would put on a belt and pull his garments through it. He was then ready to move. The same thing was true of a Roman soldier. He would pull his tunic through his belt so his garment wouldn’t be in his way when he was in battle. The apostle Peter is telling us that we must be prepared and committed for action. The aorist tense pictures a past once-for-all completed action in preparation for a course of activity, a strenuous life of obedience. They were to have their minds in constant preparation to discharge the duties, or to endure the trials of life - like those who were prepared for labor, for a race, or for a conflict. Middle voice indicates the action performed is for one's own benefit and conveys a reflexive sense - "Gird up for YOURSELF the loins of your mind”. The middle implies that the person does the girding in his own interest. The mind ought to be free from any hindrance (for example, fear or worry) to serve the Lord. Jesus uses a similar figure in Luke to call His listeners to preparedness saying (KJV) "Let your loins be girded about" NASB - Be dressed in readiness NIV - Be ready for service (Lk 12:35NIV) Jesus like Peter is saying let all hindrances be removed out of the way and to be active, diligent, determined and ready to do business. Peter calls us to the mental discipline of right thinking and one of the best passages to facilitate right thinking is to let your mind dwell on" "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise". (Php 4:8-note) Don't allow your thoughts to "roam about" and to harbor thoughts of lust or worldliness. Don't allow thoughts that corrode and corrupt our moral, godly fiber. Pull your thoughts together! Roll up your sleeves! Obedience and a life of holiness is not produced from passivity but demands that we each individually make an active choice to cultivate the attitude and initiate right thinking (reading and meditating on the Word) and right actions that lead to holy living. This charge is similar to Paul's call to discipline ourselves for godliness (1Ti 4:7, 8-see notes 1Ti 4:7; 4:8 cf 2Pe 3:11- notes 2Pe 3:11; 12; 14; 2Cor 7:1-note Titus 2:11, 12, 13, 14- notes Titus 2:11; 12; 13; 14). This is a call to bring all of one's rational and reflective powers under control by cutting off vague "loosely flowing" thoughts and speculations that lead nowhere and only hamper obedience. It is an essential preparatory action to the man who would live a life of holiness and successfully resist the dangers confronting the believer both then and now. Gather your thoughts because "Loose thinking" will lead to "loose living". Mental slovenliness issues in moral disorder. (cp Pr 29:18). A disciplined mind is vital to a holy life. One way to "gird your minds" is to take "every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2Cor 10:5 ). The believer is to grab hold of his mind and take charge of his thought life. Is my mind an open manhole into which anything can fall? Is it a drain that indiscriminately sucks in everything? An “open mind” can be a virtue—but a mind open to whatever a godless world has to dump into it is not a mind under the lordship of Christ. In Martin Luther’s terms You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair. This is each believer's responsibility and if we don't carry it out we are in danger of becoming "dull of hearing" (He 5:11-note) and forgetting that "solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil." (He 5:!4-note) In order to "realize the full assurance of hope until the end" (He 6:11-note) we need to maintain "diligence" (eagerness, zeal) so "that (we) may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." (He 6:12-note) So girding up your mind involves removing anything that would hinder the free action of the mind in relationship to spiritual growth or progress. The recipients of this letter are reminded by the apostle in 1Pe 1:1 (note) that they are strangers, those who have temporarily settled down alongside of a pagan population and later as pilgrims (1Pe 2:11-note). As such they should always be ready to move. As the traveler, the racer, the warrior, and the laborer, gathered in their long and loose garments, that they might be ready in their business, so Christians should do in their minds and affections. The image is one of preparing for battle or rugged travel. The believer is to grab hold of his mind and take charge of his thought life—to bring it under obedience to Christ (2Cor 10:5-note). It is not physical exertion that Peter has in mind here, but mental. If the purpose of girding up the clothing was to put out of the way that which would impede the physical progress of an individual, the girding up of the loins of the mind would be the putting out of the mind all that would impede the free action of the mind in connection with the onward progress of the Christian experience, things such as worry, fear, jealousy, hate, unforgiveness, impurity. These things harbored in the mind prevent the Holy Spirit from using the mental faculties of the Christian in the most efficient manner, and impede growth in the "grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2Pe 3:18-note) Prior to entering his public ministry Jesus had been fully prepared by laying up the Scriptures as treasures in his heart. When tempted (Mt 4:1), Jesus relied upon the authority of God’s Word to ward off Satan’s attacks (Mt 4:4,). Your ability to withstand trials and temptations also depends upon how well you appropriate the Scriptures into your life. Have you, like Jesus, “girded your minds for action” (cf Josh 1:8, 119.9" class="scriptRef">Ps 119:9, 11, Job 23:12-note) The mind that is girded up and redirected by the Scriptures, will begin to think in a new way. However threatening the present, the fully girded-up mind will set its hope “perfectly” on God’s grace. The redirected mind will focus on God’s priority, holiness. Fronmuller writes that now Peter... exhorts to girding up the loins. Peter thinks doubtless of the words of Jesus, “Let your loins be girded about,” Lk 12:35KJV and with a view to avoiding all misunderstanding, adds, “the loins of your mind.” Perhaps he alludes also to the significant commandment, “With your loins girded” Ex 12:11; and in that case the explanation of the addition is more simple and evident, cf. Je 1:17; Ep 6:14-note.—The loins were girded by gathering the long folds of the wide undergarment in a girdle in order to supply the body with a firm stay and to remove all hindrances, when the object was to work, to set out on a journey, to run, to carry a burden, to wrestle or to go to war. So the Christian should gird the dianoia, gather up all distractedness and fickleness, and be astir and ready, that is, his thoughts and his will should be alive and concentrated when there is a call for work, for fight and for suffering. Beware of distractedness and idleness, but also of irritation, morbid excitement and exaggeration and eccentricity. Sobriety is to be the preventive of the latter. Both the girding and the sobriety are to be taken figuratively, although sobriety of the body is taken for granted. Compare the exhortation at Lk 21:34, and Ro 13:14-note. Elsewhere sobriety is joined with vigilance that shall ward off all sleepiness and indolence, 1Th 5:6-note; 1Pe 5:8-note; sometimes it occurs, as here, alone, 1Th 5:8-note; 2Ti 4:5-note; 1Pe 4:7-note. (1 Peter 1:13 Commentary Lange's Commentary - Online)

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Gird (328) anazonnumi

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