Research the etymology of the word "Lean", its use in the Bible KJV, the spiritual applications and implications. List verses found. Report as a sermon.
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The Theology of Leaning: An Exhaustive Homiletic Treatise on the Etymology, History, and Spiritual Geometry of Dependence in the King James Bible
Exordium: The Spiritual Geometry of Dependence
The history of human spirituality is, at its core, a history of posture. From the rebellion of Eden, where Adam and Eve sought to stand independent of their Creator, to the Garden of Gethsemane, where the Second Adam fell on His face in submission, the orientation of the human frame relative to the Divine has been the defining metric of righteousness. We are accustomed to thinking of faith in terms of cognitive assent or emotional fervor, yet the Scriptures frequently employ the language of physical geometry to describe the movements of the soul. We walk. We stand. We sit. We bow. But perhaps no posture is as fraught with theological tension and promise as the act of leaning.
To lean is to confess structural insufficiency. It is a postural admission that the center of gravity has shifted outside of the self. In the architectural world, a leaning column is a liability, a sign of foundation failure or material fatigue. A building that leans is a building in distress. However, in the spiritual economy of the Kingdom of God, the act of leaning is often the supreme gesture of faith. It is the deliberate displacement of confidence from the self—the "I"—to the "Thou." It is the soul finding its equilibrium not in its own strength, but in the stability of Another.
Yet, the English language, in its richness, presents us with a profound homonym. "Lean" is not merely a verb of support; it is also an adjective of scarcity. To lean (verb) is to rely; to be lean (adjective) is to starve. This linguistic duality opens a corridor of profound theological inquiry. The King James Version of the Bible utilizes this word in both senses, weaving a tapestry that connects the famine of Pharaoh’s cows to the intimacy of John’s repose on the breast of Jesus.
This report serves as an exhaustive sermonic examination of this word. We shall excavate its philological roots, burying ourselves in the soil of Old English and Proto-Germanic origins. We shall traverse the arid landscapes of the Old Testament to witness the "leanfleshed" kine of judgment. We shall stand in the courts of kings to see monarchs leaning on spears and servants. We shall listen to the thundering of prophets who warn against leaning on the "broken reed" of the world. And finally, we shall enter the Upper Room to witness the ultimate theology of rest.
The thesis of this study is simple yet devastating: The trajectory of the human soul—whether it becomes fat and flourishing or lean and wasted—is determined entirely by the object upon which it leans. We are designed to lean. The creature is not self-existent. The critical question of human existence is not if we will lean, but upon what or upon Whom we will lean.
Part I: The Philological Foundation
To speak with precision about the things of God, we must first attend to the vessels of language He has chosen to use. The word "lean," as it appears in the King James Bible, is a convergence of two distinct etymological streams—one describing a state of being (thinness) and the other describing an action (reclining or relying). This philological convergence in English allows for a powerful homiletic interplay that, while distinct in Hebrew and Greek, offers the English reader a unique synthetic insight.
1.1 The English Etymology: A Tale of Two Roots
The English word "lean" acts as a bridge between the concept of scarcity and the concept of support.
The Adjective: The Vocabulary of Scarcity The adjective "lean," defined as "thin, spare, with little flesh or fat," traces its lineage back to the Old English hlæne. This term, dating back to before the year 900, connotes a lack of substance, a poverty of flesh, or a state of emaciation. It is linguistically linked to the Proto-Germanic khlainijan, and potentially to roots meaning "feeble" or "fragment". In the agricultural and survivalist context of the ancient world—and indeed in the text of the King James Bible—to be "lean" was to be near death. It represented a failure to thrive, a lack of resources, or the ravages of disease. The "lean" years were years of sorrow; the "lean" cattle were harbingers of doom. It is the absence of fatness, which in Scripture is almost always a symbol of blessing, abundance, and anointing.
The Verb: The Vocabulary of Reliance The verb "lean," meaning "to incline, to rest against, to rely upon," derives from a separate root: the Old English hlinian (or hleonian), which means "to recline, lie down, rest; bend or incline". This verb finds its ancestry in the Proto-Germanic hlinen and the Proto-Indo-European root klei-, meaning "to lean". This ancient root klei- is prolific in the Indo-European family, giving us words like "incline," "decline," "recline," and even "clinic" (originally a place where one reclines to be healed).
The verb carries a dual nuance of posture and trust.
Physical Posture: To deviate from the vertical.
Metaphorical Trust: To rely on a support structure.
The convergence of these two words in Modern English allows for a powerful play on words in our spiritual application: When we "lean" (verb) on the wrong things, we become "lean" (adjective) in soul. The King James translators, working in the early 17th century, utilized both senses of the word with precision, capturing the Hebrew nuances of scarcity and support.
1.2 The Hebrew Vocabulary of Leaning
The Old Testament, written in the concrete and vivid language of Hebrew, employs several distinct words that the KJV translates as "lean" or its derivatives. Each carries a unique theological shade.
A. Sha'an (שָׁעַן): The Theology of Support
This is the primary verb for "leaning" in the sense of reliance. It literally means to prop oneself up, to rest one's weight upon a support.
Literal Usage: Samson leaning against the pillars of the Philistine temple (Judges 16:26). Here, sha'an describes a physical transfer of weight to a structural column.
Implication: Sha'an is the leaning of necessity. It is the act of the invalid leaning on a staff, or the king leaning on a trusted advisor. It implies that the one leaning cannot stand alone.
B. Samak (סָמַךְ): The Theology of Imputation
While often translated as "uphold" or "sustain," this word is closely related to the concept of leaning. It refers to the placing of hands upon a sacrificial animal (leaning one's weight/guilt upon it) or God upholding the believer. In the context of "leaning," it implies a heavy press, a transfer of substance or guilt.
C. Raphwq (רָפַק): The Theology of Intimacy
Used famously in Song of Solomon 8:5 ("leaning upon her beloved"), this word raphwq is rare. It suggests an intimate, affectionate leaning—not merely for structural support, but for closeness. It implies joining oneself to another. It is the leaning of a bride, not just a cripple.
D. Raq (רַק) and Daq (דַּק): The Vocabulary of Emaciation
For the adjective "lean" (as in the cows of Genesis), the Hebrew uses raq (thin, emaciated, only) and daq (thin, small, fine). Raq suggests something that has been flattened out or wasted away. It describes a state of severe reduction. Raq also functions as an adverb meaning "only," suggesting a reduction to the barest minimum.
E. Razon (רָזוֹן): The Theology of Atrophy
Found in Psalm 106:15 and Isaiah 24:16, razon denotes a wasting disease, atrophy, or a diminution of vitality. It is the noun of scarcity. It is the antithesis of dashen (fatness/anointing). It describes a shrinking of the soul's capacity.
1.3 The Greek Vocabulary of Leaning
In the New Testament, the concept of leaning is often associated with the posture of dining or fellowship, reflecting the Greco-Roman triclinium culture.
A. Anaklino (ἀνακλίνω): The Theology of Repose
This verb means to lean back or lie down, specifically at a table. In the first-century culture, dining was done in a reclining posture, leaning on the left elbow. This word is used in the context of the Last Supper and the feeding of the multitudes. It signifies rest, provision, and fellowship.
B. Prosklisis (πρόσκλισις): The Theology of Bias
Used in 1 Timothy 5:21, this refers to a "leaning" of the mind or judgment—bias or partiality. It is a mental leaning that distorts justice. It warns us that the mind can lean in directions that are inequitable.
Table 1: Key Hebrew and Greek Terms for "Lean" in the KJV
Part II: The Concordance of Leanness (Historical Analysis)
To understand the spiritual implications, we must traverse the historical narrative of the word "lean" as it appears in the sacred text. The word is not scattered randomly; it appears in clusters that define specific theological eras: the Era of Famine, the Era of Judgment, and the Era of Reliance.
2.1 The Genesis Famine: The Law of the Leanfleshed Kine
The first occurrence of the word "lean" (adjective) in Scripture is found in the dream of Pharaoh in Genesis 41. This sets the law of first mention for "leanness" as a harbinger of judgment, consumption, and the insufficiency of the world.
"And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river." (Genesis 41:3, KJV)
The Context of the Nile: Pharaoh stands by the river Nile, the lifeblood of Egypt. In Egyptian theology, the Nile was the source of all fatness (Hapi, the Nile god). Cattle were sacred symbols of prosperity and fertility. To see cattle coming up out of the Nile was a natural image of provision. However, the vision twists into a nightmare. Seven "fatfleshed" cows are followed by seven "leanfleshed" cows.
The Paradox of Consumption: The horror of the dream is not just the presence of the lean cows, but their action and their condition after the action.
"And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke." (Genesis 41:4, KJV) "And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning." (Genesis 41:21, KJV)
Insight: The Law of the Lean Soul This presents a profound spiritual principle: The voracity of leanness. The nature of spiritual leanness is a voracious appetite that never satisfies. The lean cows ate the fat cows—a consumption of immense resources—yet they did not become fat. This illustrates the futility of worldly consumption. One can consume the "fatness" of the world—wealth, power, pleasure, the "seven years of plenty"—and yet the soul remains emaciated.
The "leanfleshed" condition (Hebrew raq) is one of perpetual hunger and unchanging emptiness, regardless of intake. The world can eat up the church's resources, the sinner can eat up the pleasures of sin, but "it could not be known that they had eaten them." There is no nutritional value in the husks of the world. This is the first biblical definition of "lean": a hunger that consumes but does not convert into life.
2.2 The Levitical Context: Leanness as a Witness of Disease
While the word "lean" itself is less frequent in the legal codes, the concept of physical wasting is prevalent in Leviticus 13-14 regarding leprosy and issues. The "rising" or "scab" that does not spread but indicates uncleanness parallels the "leanness" of Job.
Job’s Witness:
"And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face." (Job 16:8, KJV)
Here, "leanness" (Hebrew kachash, meaning failure or lies, often translated as leanness in the sense of wasting away) is personified as a prosecutor in a courtroom. In the ancient Near Eastern mind, physical health was often correlated with divine favor (fatness), and emaciation with judgment or guilt. Job’s leanness was a "witness" used by his accusers (Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar) to prove his secret sin. Job contests this, viewing his leanness as a trial from God, not a proof of wickedness.
This introduces a nuanced application: Leanness is not always a sign of sin, but it is always a sign of distress. It serves as a visible marker of an invisible reality. Job’s body was bearing the marks of a spiritual battle fought in the heavenlies. His leanness was a martyr’s leanness, a suffering for a purpose he could not yet see.
2.3 The Historical Narratives: The Politics of Leaning
In the historical books (Samuel, Kings, Chronicles), "leaning" shifts from an adjective of scarcity to a verb of support (sha'an). It becomes a technical term for the reliance of a monarch upon a subordinate, or a warrior upon a weapon.
A. The Dying King Saul: Leaning on the Instrument of Death
"and, lo, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him." (2 Samuel 1:6, KJV)
Saul, the first king of Israel, represents the arm of flesh. He was the people's choice—head and shoulders above the rest. Throughout his life, Saul relied on his military prowess. In his final moments on Mount Gilboa, defeated and surrounded, he is found "leaning upon his spear."
The irony is palpable. The spear was the weapon he had cast at David (1 Samuel 18:11, 19:10). It was the symbol of his aggression and his self-reliance. Now, at the end of his life, it is his only support. And it fails him. The spear cannot save him from the Philistines or from his own despair.
Theological Implication: When a man leans on his own violence or his own defense mechanisms, he will eventually die leaning on them. The instrument of your aggression becomes the monument of your defeat.
B. The Idolatrous Lean: Leaning in the House of Rimmon Naaman the Syrian, newly healed of leprosy, speaks of his master, the King of Syria:
"...when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand..." (2 Kings 5:18, KJV)
Here, leaning is an act of worship and intimacy, but misplaced. The king leans on the servant in the temple of a false god (Rimmon).
Theological Implication: This depicts the "leaning" of false religion. Idolatry is heavy work. It requires support. The gods of the nations cannot support their worshippers; rather, the worshippers must support their kings who support the gods. It is a chain of dependency that ultimately rests on human hands. True worship, by contrast, is leaning on a God who sustains the worshipper (Psalm 55:22).
C. The Skeptical Lord: The Danger of the Gate In 2 Kings 7:2, a lord "on whose hand the king leaned" doubted the prophet Elisha’s promise of abundance during the siege of Samaria.
"Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?" (2 Kings 7:2, KJV)
This lord was a literal "support" for the king. He was the pillar of the administration. Yet, he failed to support the word of God. His end was destruction—he saw the abundance but did not eat of it, for the people "trode upon him in the gate, and he died" (2 Kings 7:17).
Theological Implication: Those who are "leaned upon" by the world often crumble under the weight of divine reality. Human supports—experts, skeptics, administrators—are fragile when the floodgates of heaven open. To lean on a skeptic is to be trampled in the gate of blessing.
D. The Curse of Joab: Leaning on a Staff One of the most chilling uses of the word is found in David's curse upon the house of Joab for the murder of Abner.
"Let it rest on the head of Joab... and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth on a staff, or that falleth on the sword, or that lacketh bread." (2 Samuel 3:29, KJV)
Here, "leaning on a staff" is grouped with leprosy, discharge, violence, and famine. It is a curse of perpetual infirmity. It describes a line of men who are never strong enough to stand on their own legs.
Theological Implication: There is a "leaning" that is a judgment. While leaning on God is a virtue, being forced to lean on a staff due to weakness or judgment is a curse. It signifies the removal of vitality and strength. It is the physical manifestation of a "lean soul."
2.4 The Prophetic Denunciation: Leaning on the Arm of Flesh
The prophets, particularly Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Micah, utilize the imagery of leaning to expose false trust in geopolitics and religious hypocrisy.
A. The Broken Reed: The Treachery of Egypt
"Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him." (Isaiah 36:6, KJV) "And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand." (Ezekiel 29:6-7, KJV)
This is a vivid image of betrayal. A reed from the Nile looks like a staff. It grows tall, straight, and green. It appears to be a viable support. But it is hollow and brittle. When weight is applied—the true test of a support—it snaps.
The Splintering Effect: The prophet notes that it does not merely collapse; it pierces. The splintered shaft goes into the hand.
Theological Implication: The danger of the world (Egypt) is not just that it fails to support the believer; it is that it actively wounds the truster. When a man leans on money, and the market collapses, he is not just left standing; he is pierced—emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually destroyed. The splinters of the broken reed fester in the hand of the believer who sought support in the flesh. The "loins are made to be at a stand" (shaking/collapsing) because the external support proved false.
B. The Wall and the Serpent: The Danger of False Security Amos provides a terrifying vignette of the Day of the Lord, using the imagery of leaning.
"As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him." (Amos 5:19, KJV)
Here, the man seeks rest. He has fled the lion and the bear. He enters the "house" (a symbol of safety). Exhausted, he performs a natural action: he leans his hand on the wall to catch his breath. But the wall contains a hidden danger—a serpent in the crevice.
Theological Implication: This warns against the false security of domestic or religious structures that are not purged of evil. A man may think he is safe in the "house" (the church, the nation, the family), but if he leans on a wall that hides a serpent (sin, heresy, apostasy), his place of rest becomes his place of judgment.
C. The Hypocritical Lean: Presumption
"The heads thereof judge for reward... and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us." (Micah 3:11, KJV)
This is perhaps the most chilling usage in the prophets. It describes a religious presumption. These leaders were morally bankrupt, mercenary, and corrupt. Yet, they maintained a posture of "leaning" on Yahweh.
Theological Implication: This defines "presumption": leaning on God without walking with God. They claimed the security of the covenant while violating its stipulations. They used God as a prop for their own legitimacy, not as a Lord for their obedience. This "lean" is an abomination. It is the lean of the entitlement.
Part III: The Theology of the Lean Soul
We arrive now at the spiritual nucleus of our study: the condition of the soul. The Bible presents a frightening paradox in Psalm 106:15, referencing the events of Numbers 11.
"And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul." (Psalm 106:15, KJV)
3.1 The Context of Craving: The Quail Incident
This verse recounts the incident in Numbers 11, where the Israelites, bored with the miraculous manna, wept for the fleshpots of Egypt. They cried, "Who shall give us flesh to eat?" They despised the "light bread" of angels (manna) for the heavy proteins of the world (quail/flesh).
God’s response is terrifying: He grants the request. He sends quails, blown in by the wind, piled three feet high for a day's journey.
"And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague." (Numbers 11:33, KJV)
3.2 The Anatomy of Spiritual Leanness (Razon)
The Psalmist interprets this physical plague as a spiritual condition: "leanness into their soul." What is a "lean soul"?
Inverse Proportionality: It is possible for the body to be fat and the soul to be lean. Prosperity in the material realm can often catalyze atrophy in the spiritual realm. The Israelites were stuffed with quail, their bellies full, grease running down their chins, but their connection to God withered in that very moment.
The Curse of Gratification: Spurgeon notes on this verse, "The meat was poison to them when it came without a blessing... whatever it might do in fattening the body, it was poor stuff when it made the soul lean". Getting what we want, apart from the will of God, is a judgment. A lean soul is the result of feeding on the wrong food.
Wasting Disease: The Hebrew razon implies a wasting away, a consumption like tuberculosis. A lean soul is weak, frail, unable to bear the weight of glory or the burden of service. It is a soul that has lost its spiritual density. It is the spiritual equivalent of osteoporosis—the structure looks intact, but the substance is gone.
3.3 The Prophet’s Cry: "My Leanness!"
In Isaiah 24:16, amidst the judgment of the nations, the prophet cries out:
"From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously." (KJV)
Unlike the Israelites in the wilderness who were unaware of their leanness (thinking themselves blessed by the quail), the prophet is acutely aware of the spiritual dearth of his generation and his own condition.
A Personal Burden: Isaiah identifies with the condition of the people. He feels the wasting away of truth and righteousness.
The Secret: Some translations and marginal notes render "leanness" here as "my secret" (from the root raz, secret). This suggests that the wasting of the soul is often a hidden, secret affair. Outwardly, the nation may function; inwardly, there is a secret cancer of leanness eating away the vitals of faith. The "glory to the righteous" is heard from afar, but close to home, there is only the wasting away of the treacherous.
3.4 The Judgment of the Fat Ones
Isaiah 10:16 presents the counter-judgment:
"Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire." (KJV)
Here, leanness is the weapon of God against the proud (the "fat ones" of Assyria). God reduces their strength to nothing. This confirms the principle: Pride leads to Leanness. Those who fatten themselves on their own glory will be visited by the wasting disease of divine judgment.
Part IV: The Danger of the False Lean
If "leanness" of soul is the disease, then "leaning" on the wrong support is often the cause. The Bible provides specific warnings against misplaced reliance.
4.1 The Intellectual Crutch: Leaning on Understanding
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5, KJV)
The word sha'an here implies resting your full weight. The prohibition is not against using one's understanding, but against leaning on it as the foundational support of life.
The Structural Flaw: Human understanding is finite, fallen, and fragmented. To lean on it is to place the weight of the infinite soul upon a finite prop. It is structurally unsound.
The "Nothingness" of Self: As noted in Hebraic studies, the preposition el (unto) combined with the negative al suggests that leaning on one's own understanding is essentially leaning on "nothing". It is a collapse waiting to happen.
The Alternative: The verse contrasts "leaning" with "trusting" (batach). Batach implies a careless confidence, a bold security. We are to trust Yahweh and refuse to prop ourselves up with our own rationalizations.
4.2 The Theological Bias: Prosklisis
In 1 Timothy 5:21, Paul warns Timothy against "doing nothing by partiality" (Greek prosklisis - literally "leaning towards"). This is the intellectual or judicial version of the "false lean." It is when the mind leans towards a person due to favoritism, prejudice, or fear, rather than standing upright in the truth. A leader who "leans" in judgment creates a crooked house.
Part V: The Holy Posture – Leaning on the Beloved
We turn now from the tragedy of the lean soul and the danger of the false lean to the glory of the true lean. The Scripture offers three beautiful portraits of the believer’s dependence on God, each corresponding to a different stage of the spiritual life: The Wilderness (Salvation), The Table (Fellowship), and The Deathbed (Finish).
5.1 The Pilgrim’s Lean: Coming Up from the Wilderness
"Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?" (Song of Solomon 8:5, KJV)
This verse describes the Shulamite Bride (a type of the Church or the individual soul) emerging from a place of testing (the wilderness).
The Wilderness Effect: The wilderness is designed to strip us of self-sufficiency. You cannot stand alone in the desert; the heat and thirst are too great. The wilderness is the school of leaning.
The Posture of Intimacy: She is not walking behind him (servitude) nor in front of him (presumption), but leaning upon him. This word raphwq implies a mingling of selves. She borrows his strength. Her journey out of the wilderness is successful only because she has transferred her fatigue to his strength.
Application: We only survive the spiritual wildernesses of life by leaning our full weight on Christ. It is an act of exhaustion turned into an act of worship. It is the posture of the Rapture—coming up out of the world, supported by the Groom.
5.2 The Disciple’s Lean: The Bosom of Jesus
"Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved." (John 13:23, KJV) "Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?" (John 21:20, KJV)
At the Last Supper, amidst the tension of betrayal, John assumes the posture of absolute rest.
The Triclinium Arrangement: Historically, meals were eaten reclining on the left side. John was likely positioned to the right of Jesus, allowing him to lean back against Jesus' chest—the kolpos (bosom). This is the place of the Son (John 1:18, "in the bosom of the Father"). By leaning here, John enters into the intra-Trinitarian love.
Access to Secrets: Because John was leaning on Jesus, he could ask the question Peter could not ask directly: "Lord, who is it?" (John 13:25). Peter had to beckon to John to ask Jesus. The leaning position gave John access to the heartbeat of God and the whispers of the Lord. Leaning leads to listening.
Identity: John refers to himself not by name, but by this position and relationship: "the disciple whom Jesus loved." His identity was derived from his proximity to the Savior.
Rest in Crisis: While Judas was plotting and Peter was boasting, John was leaning. This is the antidote to anxiety. In the midst of the world's chaos, the believer leans back into the finished work of Christ.
5.3 The Patriarch’s Lean: Jacob’s Staff
"By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff." (Hebrews 11:21, KJV)
This is the final posture of a man who spent his life wrestling. Jacob, the "supplanter," spent his youth leaning on his own schemes (the birthright, the speckled sheep). But after God touched his hip at Peniel (Genesis 32), he walked with a limp.
The Staff: The staff represented his weakness (his limp) and his pilgrimage. It was the proof that he could not stand alone.
The Shift: At the end of his life, he is not leaning on his wealth, his sons, or his accomplishments. He is leaning on his staff—acknowledging his frailty—and worshipping.
The Septuagint Nuance: The KJV follows the Septuagint reading ("staff") rather than the Masoretic text which is often pointed as "bed" (Genesis 47:31). The "staff" highlights the pilgrimage and the reliance.
The Insight: The "holy lean" is often the result of a divine breaking. God weakens our natural strength (the thigh) so that we are forced to lean on Him. The limp is the trophy of grace that necessitates the lean. Jacob died as he lived—supported by the grace of God in the midst of his weakness.
Part VI: The Full Concordance of the Word "Lean"
For the diligent student of the Word, the following table provides a comprehensive listing of the occurrences of "lean," "leaned," "leaning," and "leanness" in the King James Bible, organized by usage.
Table 2: Exhaustive KJV Verse List for "Lean" and Derivatives
Part VII: Homiletic Synthesis – "The Choice of the Lean"
The following section synthesizes the research into a direct homiletic address, fulfilling the user's request for a "report as a sermon."
Title: Which Way Are You Leaning?
Beloved, we have traversed the Scriptures and found that the word "Lean" is a double-edged sword. It describes both the famine of the self-indulgent and the feast of the dependent.
You stand today like a tower. The laws of spiritual gravity dictate that you cannot stand perfectly upright forever. The winds of tribulation, the gravity of sin, and the weakness of the flesh ensure that you must lean. The question is not if you will lean, but where. The geometry of your soul—its inclination—will determine its destiny.
I. Beware the Leanness of Success Look at the cattle of Egypt. They were fat and flourishing, yet they were swallowed up by leanness. Look at the Israelites in the desert. They had the quail meat between their teeth—they had "success," they had "provision," they had "what they asked for." But God sent leanness into their soul.
Are you prosperous? Are you full? Beware. If your prosperity has caused you to stop praying, to stop seeking the face of God, you are suffering from spiritual leanness. Your bank account is fat, but your soul is starving. You are suffering from razon—the wasting away of the inner man. It is better to be hungry in the wilderness with God than stuffed with quail and dying of a lean soul. Do not mistake the fatness of the flesh for the favor of God. The most dangerous judgment God can send is to give you exactly what your flesh craves, while withdrawing the sustenance your soul requires.
II. Reject the Broken Reeds Look at Hezekiah. The temptation was to lean on Egypt. It makes sense, doesn't it? Egypt has horses. Egypt has chariots. But God says, "It is a broken reed." What is your Egypt today?
Is it your Intelligence? "Lean not unto thine own understanding." It is a spider's web (Job 8:15). It will not stand.
Is it your Career? It is a broken reed. The market turns, the reed snaps, and it pierces your hand. You will be left with a wound where you sought a support.
Is it Politics? To lean on the "arm of flesh" is to invite betrayal. The very thing you lean on today will break tomorrow.
And beware the false security of the wall in Amos. You may flee from the lion of the world and the bear of poverty, and come into the house of religion. You may think, "I am safe now," and you lean your hand on the wall of tradition or ritual. But if that wall is not built on Christ, there is a serpent in the stones. Do not lean on the wall of self-righteousness. It bites.
III. Learn the Posture of the Beloved There is a better way. It is the way of the Shulamite bride coming up from the wilderness. She is tired. She is sun-scorched. She has no strength left. And that is exactly where she needs to be. Because she is leaning on her Beloved.
God is not looking for strong people. He is looking for people who know they are weak enough to lean.
Like John, lean on His bosom to hear His secrets. Stop trying to figure it out (Peter) and start resting in His love (John). The answers to your questions are found in the heartbeat of the Savior, not in the logic of the scholar.
Like Jacob, lean on your staff. Admit your limp. Your weakness is the secret to your worship. Do not hide your frailty; consecrate it. Let it drive you to the staff of faith.
Like Samson, who in his final moment, blind and broken, said, "Suffer me that I may feel the pillars... that I may lean upon them" (Judges 16:26). Even in the wreckage of a wasted life, one final act of leaning on God can bring down the house of the enemy.
Conclusion: The Everlasting Arms The ultimate promise of the Bible regarding this subject is found in Deuteronomy 33:27: "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms."
If you lean on yourself, you lean on nothing. If you lean on the world, you lean on a spear. But if you lean on Jesus, you lean on the Everlasting Arms. You cannot sink, for those arms are underneath. You cannot fall, for He is the Rock.
Let us, therefore, abdicate the throne of our own understanding. Let us confess the leanness of our own resources. And let us, with the full weight of our sin, our sorrow, and our hope, lean hard upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
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