Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
It feels like it's been a month since we last had a look at Heart/ Hearts...but it's only been two weeks. We had a great visit with family last week and we're starting off this week with one of the most poignant of all the psalms...number 51. The psalm David wrote after Nathan confronted him about the worst series of choices he'd made in his life...which resulted in adultery, betrayal, murder, cover- up...
David didn't back pedal or try to justify himself, as his predecessor Saul had done when Samuel confronted him about HIS errors. No, he owned his sin and repented, and penned Ps. 51. Two verses, both often quoted, mention 'Heart'
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Ps. 51:10; 'Heart' is the common Strong's H3820, leb)
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Ps. 51:17; 'heart' is, once more, H3820).
Ps. 51 is a wonderful example of repentance...which is something of a lost art among moderns, I fear. We have forgotten how to own our errors...both honest mistakes and deliberate acts of disobedience. There's always a reason, always someone or something to blame. But, at the very core of it, there is a choice made. David made the choice because he wanted something that was forbidden to him...his friend's wife. But he wanted it! Why shouldn't he have it? ...and thus the same temptation, albeit in different form, trips us all up, from Eve right up to you and I. Never mind that the all-knowing, benevolent Father of us all, who knows us to the number of hairs on our head and knows what giftings, talents, passions and callings he has given each of us, has given us commandments for our good, that contain, horror of horrors, Forbidden Things. Things under the ban. The enemy twists those bans around to make it seem that God is deliberately keeping us from being our best selves, when, in fact, those commandments are there so, by following them, with his grace to empower us, we can become the man or woman he intended...our very best self. But we WANT...so we TAKE...and horrible things happen. Things...both tangible and intangible... are broken.
The ONLY way to move back to restoration is repentance. Read Ps. 51 slowly and carefully and see how David completely admitted to his fault and threw himself on the mercy of God.
Also notice, from the two verses quoted, the importance of this being done from the very core of one's being. This is not just a prescribed prayer to recite when one falls into error; this is an expression of true remorse and repentance. It's also worth noting that, while David certainly wasn't without error and sin in the rest of his life...he never fell into that one again.
The next verse containing 'Heart/ Hearts' is Ps. 53:1, which is a repeat of Ps. 14:1 -
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good. ('Heart' is H3820 again).
I won't repeat all of what I said on the post that included the discussion of Ps. 14:1, but I will point out again that 'fool' here doesn't mean one lacking intelligence...it means someone who is morally deficient. And I will also repeat that this is not something spoken out loud...it is an inner belief.
I'll let the reader contemplate the significance of those two things and move on....
Ps 55 is a lament from David concerning friends who had betrayed him
My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. - Ps. 55:4; 'Heart' is H3820 agin.
There is nothing that stings and cuts like betrayal, misunderstanding, or other falling out between folks who were once friends, whatever the cause of the dispute might be. Sometimes it's just a parting of ways, with pain and hurt...and sometimes that person who had such intimate knowledge uses it as a weapon, which appears to be the case here. Not only is David grieving, but the damage that can be done from a friend - turned - opponent or rival can be deep and devastating.
His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords. -- Ps. 55:21; 'heart' is H3820 once more.
David recognizes the ulterior motive of his once-friend...and, if you read the rest of the psalm, declares his trust in God to deliver him. At this point, he's wise to the plotting and can take appropriate action but he knows that, ultimately, God will deal with the situation.
The next verse is from Psalms 57, which was written when David had fled from Saul into the cave. I'm not sure if this is the cave at En Gedi, or the cave of Adullam, although I suspect it was the latter becuause he used that cave as a base for a bit....and I doubt he was in the cave at En Gedi long enough to write poetry.
But David does describe his situation, then as in other psalms, declares his absolute trust that God will deliver him.
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. -- Ps. 57:7; 'Heart' is, once again, H3820.
Another reason I don't think this was En Gedi...David certainly didn't have any opportunity to sing while the events passed there. And the song of the rest of the psalm is a glorious praise to God. Evidence of a heart that is steadfast even in trial.
One more verse in this week's list...Ps. 58:2...but it needs verse 1a for context. This is also one of David's psalms:
Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge uprightly among men? No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth. ('Heart' is, yet again, H3820)
The research tool I uses is based off the King James, which renders 'rulers' in verse 1 as 'congregation'. Whoa, I thought, that's a pretty big difference. So I looked up the reference there and found that it is H482 - elem, which appears nowhere else in the Bible and actually is a singular masculine noun for 'silence'
So I went down the list of words and...here's what I came up with for that bit of verse 1, with 'silence' being the subject of the first sentence:
[does] Silence truly speak righteously? Do you judge uprightly, sons of men?
Y'all. That is staring me down. For whatever reason (and maybe there is an idiomatic thing happening here that Hebrew scholars recognize but of which I am ignorant), the NIV translators threw the focus on rulers. Now, I don't know if that means rulers of nations, rulers of the tribes/ clans/ families/ local assemblies/ cities/ whatever, so lil' ol' plebian me is, like, yeah, you tell those rulers, David. BUT. No. It doesn't look like that verse is focused on rulers at all...but all of us.
Do we speak righteously by keeping silent?
Are we assessing things from a pure heart when we hold our peace?
Now, I am not saying That Is What That Verse Means. I am saying that it's one aspect of that verse I wouldn't have considered had I not looked up the original language.
But...if the silence of the people is the issue, then verse 2 also reads a bit differently... as in, your silence is from selfish motives, and it is increasing the violence on the earth.
Whoa. That's worth a selah. Gonna chew on that for a while...
No comments:
Post a Comment