Dismayed...Yet...

 

“…but when You hid your face, I was dismayed. To You, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness? Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help.” (Psalm 30:7b-10, NIV)

Upon reading Psalm 30:7b-10, wonder arises about what David dealt with when he wrote this psalm. Could it come from a difficult time he had before this psalm’s writing? Why did David beg for God’s mercy? What did David mean when he wrote these words? Effective Bible study involves reading the entire chapter from which a passage comes and its surrounding chapters. Let’s study this passage and Psalm 30 in its entirety.

Whether a devotional guide gives these memory verses to read and meditate upon or you find Psalm 30:7b-10 on your own, the depth of David’s dismay is obvious. David perceived, though erroneously, that the Lord departed from him, leaving him to handle his hard times alone. He said it seemed like God hid His face from him (vs. 7b). For that reason, he experienced dismay and fear. Without the Lord, who chose, anointed, and protected him throughout his life, David knew his adversaries would have defeated him. He also realized God would not have used him as His king to unify His people, Israel.

Verse eight shows the depths of David’s despair. David considered God had ignored him. He felt like God’s mercy had left him and he was alone. To this, David pled to God in verses nine and ten. He reasoned with God in verse nine. David reminded God, as if God needed reminding, that if he was silenced by death, he could not praise God and proclaim His faithfulness. In verse ten, David begged God for mercy and help.

If a person reads just verses 7b-10, despair could overtake him. A reader facing difficulties would gain no strength or trust in a faithful God. Instead of gaining strength to endure, the person might experience discouragement and hopelessness. Yet, readers must consider the whole chapter.

When reading the whole chapter from its beginning, the introduction to the chapter should be read because it gives the reader a first impression of the intent, topic, or scope of the chapter. The introduction to Psalm 30 shows David wrote the psalm as a “dedication of the temple”. This introduction causes a question to arise since David did not build the temple. David’s son, Solomon, built it. How can this psalm be for a dedication if it has a dismayed David pleading with God at its center? Remember, a Bible passage must be read in context with the entire chapter.

After reading the chapter at least once, a student of this psalm should consider a Bible commentary or other scholars’ teachings on the text. Samuel Barth of the Jewish Theological Seminary studied and wrote about this psalm in his article titled Psalm 30: Dedication of the ‘Inner Temple’ (Psalm 30: Dedication of the “Inner Temple” - Jewish Theological Seminary. Barth gave two possibilities for how this psalm, that includes David’s dismay, could be a dedicatory psalm for the temple. He first stated that Psalm 30 leads the reader to go from the mental study of God’s word to soul praise of who God is and what He has done throughout the ages.

—From mental study to soul praise—

For today’s particular study, Barth offered a second possible reason for the Psalm 30 introduction: a dedication of the temple. He stated the “temple” in the introduction is not a physical earthly structure. Barth wrote, “The psalm is not about dedicating any earthly structure, but that each individual might be seen as a bayit (the Hebrew word for vessel.) that can, if we so choose, be dedicated to the service of God.” This means each person who sees himself as a vessel God can use gives his life to God to become a temple dedicated to Him.

--not an earthly structure but a bodily structure--

Barth’s second thought about the introduction to the psalm is what we will consider today with this study of Psalm 30. David’s dismay in verses 7b-10 is not intended to discourage a person, but to lead a person to God and cause the person to worship Him. How can that be since the middle verses, usually considered the main point of a chapter, cause discouragement in people? How does David’s dismay lead a person to dedicate himself to God for His purposes?

How does a reader shift from feeling discouraged by Psalm 30:7b-10 to worshiping God, as David’s introduction intends? Consider the verses before and after verses 7b-10. With verses 1-7a, David praised God for redeeming him from situations and enemies. He recited as a reminder for himself and his readers who God had been in his life. David praised God for who God is and for His faithfulness to and favor upon him. He reminded himself and the readers that he never needs to fear; his life was a testimony of who God is and what He had done: He is good, faithful, almighty, and provider. By recalling what God had done for David, it would lead people to recall for themselves who God had been in their lives and what He had done in their lives. These people could praise God for redeeming them, like David did. People could dedicate themselves as God’s temple for Him to use, like David did.

Transitioning from verses 1-7a onward into verses 7b-10 enables David and his readers to carry the joy from the first section of the psalm into the challenging days. With the joy and reminder of God’s faithfulness and mercy to them, they would feel more able to endure whatever hardship they would meet. Verses 7b-10 also become reminders to the readers and hearers of God’s redeeming David from his dismay and distress. They would be enabled to remember and rejoice because of God’s faithfulness to them. God, through this psalm, reminded David of His own great mercy, faithfulness, and favor towards him. He also reminded His children over many millennia since David’s time. From the first part of Psalm 30, God brought to mind His triumph over His children’s struggles so they would remember to trust in and praise Him. Because of God’s victorious triumph and who He is, a child of God can praise God more readily and choose to dedicate himself to Him, to be His living temple.

Psalm 30:11-12 tells of what God did inside of David. God changes not only circumstances; He changes the heart, mind, and spirit of each person who calls on Him. In this psalm, David went from wailing to dancing with joy when remembering God’s great favor, faithfulness, and mercy towards him (vs. 11). He sang praises to God and reminded himself never to stay silent, but outwardly to praise God. God’s redemption of David from his dismay caused his heart and mind to praise God, his body to dance, and his spirit to be renewed in faith. God can and will effect this change in His children's hearts, minds, spirits, and bodies when they call upon Him, like He did in David. David cried out to God and God heard and responded with His presence, help, guidance, and strength. When any of God’s children cry out to Him, He will respond to them similarly so that they dance with joy in praise to God. God’s redemption of His children from struggles can cause that person’s heart, mind, spirit, and body to praise God and dance with joy. They can experience a renewed faith in Him.

David did not intend the middle section of Psalm 30 to cause dismay to its readers and hearers. He meant for it to tell of God’s goodness to him and to all who seek Him in humility. This psalm’s purpose is to lead hearers and readers to recall God’s faithfulness, favor, and mercy even when times seem dark. David’s psalm causes each person to renew hope in God and praise Him—to renew his dedication to God as His temple.

The temple of God within each of His children is what they dedicate to God whenever they praise Him or pray to Him. From this temple within each of God’s children, the psalm elicits hope as they remember God’s faithfulness to David and themselves. Remembering God’s love, mercy, favor, and faithfulness to them may cause them to dance with joy and lift their hands in praise, too.

This leads us to agree with Barth. Barth is correct on both his points about Psalm 30; the introduction to Psalm 30 does both possibilities, not one of the other. It causes a person to go from mind study to soul praise. It also causes the person—child of God—to renew his faith and trust in God by recalling from the past who God has been as He helped him. This latter will cause soul praise that leads to bodily praise, such as dancing with joy. Both of these, David experienced in God’s inspiring him to write Psalm 30, like we each may have experienced as we read of David’s struggle in the middle part of this psalm.

David’s psalm should cause two things to happen. The psalm, as a reminder and as a song to and about God, causes us to go from the study of our circumstances and God’s word to the rededication of ourselves as God’s children—His temple—to whom He is ever faithful. This dedication of ourselves will take us beyond ourselves and circumstances to soul praise to God and dancing with joy.

The psalms are to lead us to worship God in easy and hard times. David shows us how to praise God in hard times and praise Him later as we recall God’s actions towards and for us. Today, remember when God was by your side during tough times, and how His faithfulness helped you overcome challenges; then praise and thank Him.

If you have not become a child of God, today is the day to seek His mercy and grace. You do this by believing in Jesus as your Lord and your Savior and by confessing and repenting of your sins (Romans 10:9-10). Today, will you choose to live with God now and forever?

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. (Psalm 107:1, NIV)

 

 

Reveler or Robber

 

And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? But you have made it a ROBBERS’ DEN. (Mark 11:17 [NASB])

Jesus “began teaching them.” This word “teaching” (didasko) most often refers to the teaching of Scripture (the written word of God) from the Bible. In this passage, Jesus was in the outer court of the temple. The outer court was part of the temple. This outer court is where the non-Jew believers in YHWH could take part in worship with the Jews. It had also become the place where people could buy their sacrificial animals for their worship. This was especially helpful to people who traveled from afar to worship at the temple. They would not have to carry, cart, or lead the sacrificial animal as they traveled to Jerusalem.

If these merchants offered something necessary for worship, then in their minds, it was okay to sell the animals to the worship attenders. So, why was Jesus angry with them in this passage? The merchants were selling the animals for a price greater than they required in every other day of the week. The people could have bought an animal at the market any other day for less. In addition to this, these merchants received permission to sell the animals and to sell them for a higher price from the temple leaders—the priests. Why would the priests allow selling within the temple walls and for a higher price? Because the priests received part of the receipts from sales and the merchants had to get approval for each animal. The chief priest determined if the animal met the standards God required according to His law. (Remember, people often willfully misinterpret God’s laws for their own purposes.) The merchants and priests made money in the outer court instead of aiding the travelers to prepare their hearts, minds, spirits, and bodies to worship YHWH.

What did Jesus teach the people in this passage? He used an Old Testament prophecy about the temple to compare what it had become to what God intended it to be. In Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. God spoke through these two prophets. In Isaiah 56:7b, God said through Him, “Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” God made promises to everyone who obeyed Him and came to Him in worship. When people—Jews and Gentiles—came to God’s house to worship Him, then He would accept their sacrifices and people would know His house is a house of prayer. The worship of YHWH by people would be known and told to people everywhere so that they, too, would want to worship God in His house (Vs. 8b). Though these first eight verses sound like Isaiah prophesied about God’s promises and joy for the people of Judah, verse nine bursts that bubble. He wrote, “All you wild animals, all you animals in the forest, come eat.” God told the people they could have had the promises of their covenant with God and could have had joy in worshipping Him. Instead, they would become prey to their predators. God would allow other nations to overtake His people because they forsook their promises to Him.

God spoke through His prophet in Jeremiah 7:11. He said, “‘Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I Myself have seen it,’ declares the LORD.” Before this verse, God did not couch His condemnation of the people in lovely promises, as Isaiah had done when He wrote what God told Him. Jeremiah prophesied to Judah about the people turning their backs on God.

When Jesus spoke to the people in the outer court of the temple—the merchants, priests, and people buying or using the outer court as a shortcut instead of walking around the outside of the temple wall—He used Isaiah’s and Jeremiah’s prophesies. These prophesies are the ones about which people would have heard taught and read, that God judges people who distracted others from the purpose His temple. That purpose is to worship YHWH. God said His temple is to be “a house of prayer.” A house of prayer is where a person intentionally goes seeking God by praying, listening for His voice, listening to Scripture readings, meditating, listening to the teaching of His word. Being with God begins with intentionality. It requires a heart seeking God, one praying and seeking Him, His will, knowledge, understanding, and direction, and seeking to worship Him with confession, repentance, praise, and thanks.

Jesus spoke to the people in the outer courts of the temple before Passover week. His purpose for entering Jerusalem then was to fulfill prophecy (Zechariah 9:9) and to make public His claim to be the Messiah and the King of Israel. Jesus rode into Jerusalem as a king, but on a humble donkey’s colt and not a war stallion like earthly warrior kings. He accepted the homage of the people for the first time in His ministry. Jesus did not tell them to be quiet about who He is. After that day, of people acknowledging Him as the Messiah, Jesus left Jerusalem. The purpose of His entry happened.

The next day, when Jesus returned to Jerusalem and the temple, He did so with the acceptance and acknowledgement by the people of who He is. When He entered the temple, Jesus challenged the priests, merchants, and moneychangers about what they were doing in the outer court of the temple. The authority by which He did this and the peoples’ recognition of Him as King of Israel made His actions more potent and caused more alarm in the religious leaders’ minds and hearts. Instead of the temple of God being called a “House of prayer,” the King of Israel called it a den of robbers. Jesus did more than that; He proclaimed that they, these three groups of people, had turned the temple into a robbers’ lair—a place where robbers felt relaxed and secure in what they did. This implied the religious leaders’ consent of these merchants and moneychangers in the temple flagrantly extorting the temple worshippers.

Whenever Jesus speaks, people need to listen. Matthew 21:13 records this same episode in Jesus’ ministry. Matthew wrote the chief priests and scribes became indignant after Jesus sent the “robbers” out of the temple court (Matthew 21:15). Mark wrote the chief priests and scribes were afraid of Jesus and began seeking a way to kill Him (Mark 11:18). These religious leaders, by their permission, also were robbers. When Jesus spoke, people responded. Some fled. Some fought. Some feted. Even now, Jesus calls to each person. He speaks to them in the person’s context, whatever is happening in his/her life and whatever he/she needs. A huge number of people run when they feel Him convicting them or calling them to Himself. They flee. Some people try to disprove Jesus as the Christ or that any God exists. They fight. By doing this, they rob other people of the chance to hear about Jesus then. Other people knew a God had to exist and waited with longing in their hearts for there to be more to life than what they see and experience. When these people feel the Spirit convicting them and hear Jesus calling to them, they turn to Him with open arms and then tell everyone they meet about Him. These people fete Jesus; they revel, rejoice, and celebrate.

Today, we each get to decide for ourselves who Jesus is for us. People have told us of His story of love for us. We have heard His voice and felt His conviction in our hearts. Each of us in our own way has been robbers. We have taken our lives to live for ourselves. We have refused to acknowledge who God and His Son are. Some of us may have even slandered God. Those are the actions of the priests, scribes, merchants, and moneychangers. Today, Jesus is right in front of you—in your heart, mind, and spirit. He calls you to acknowledge Him as your Messiah and King—your Savior and Lord. Instead of fighting or fleeing, join others and fete Jesus. Rejoice in Him and because of Him and what He did for you.

Who do you choose to be—reveler or robber?