Life By The Drop
They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delight. Psalm 36:8 (NIV)
Feast – Hebrew poetry rhymes concepts, not phonetics. We might say, “What is true is often blue,” but Hebrew would describe the idea in two different ways. For example, we find this kind of poetry in Proverbs 30:2-3. The concepts in verse 2 are reiterated and elucidated in verse 3. This is especially important when we find interpreters who try to make one part of the rhyming Hebrew poem independent of the other part, as though each thought were distinct. When you ignore the poetry, you often get a completely different understanding.
In this verse, the Hebrew word rawah is really the first part of a poetic couplet. Unfortunately, the metaphor has been translated without this perspective. We end up with a verse that looks like it is about eating. We imagine that David is proclaiming a great banquet at God’s table. But how is that possible when rawah is a verb about liquids? In its fourteen occurrences, it describes blood-soaked land, tears, waters and moisture. Perhaps the most recognized example is in Psalm 23, verse 5 (“my cup is filled to saturation”). Once you ignore the poetry, the whole picture changes.
They drink their fill from your house. That’s the first thought. But now look at the second, complementary idea. “You give them drink.” We see that the poetic form clarifies what is really happening. God provides them with drink (the verb form tells us that this is a continuing action). They are filled to overflowing, not once, but continuously, by the God Who abundantly satisfies. Of course, we could think of a banquet, but we would miss the theological impact of this verse. This is living water that God gives – and it not only quenches thirst, it satiates me. When God supplies, it is from a river of delight.
Just as the idea (rawah – drink) is paralleled in the second part by shaqah (to cause one to drink), so the idea of “abundance of your house” is paralleled by “river of delight.” Of course, now that we know this is all about drinking, we see that the word translated “abundance” (literally, “fatness”) is really a metaphor for exceeding provision. God does not fill me with a 32 ounce soda. He provides me with a river. The imagery of David’s poetry paints God’s provision with such magnitude that it is more than I could ever need. That’s what I must see in this verse. In the desert of Palestine, God brings a river of living water to satiate me.
We often wander the deserts of life. Even a drop of refreshment would be welcomed. But God doesn’t give us life by the drop. He brings a flood of refreshment, a river of life to our parched existence. You and I can drink and drink and never exhaust His provision. We can drown in God’s goodness; there is so much of it. Look! The mighty Tigris and Euphrates cannot compare. Jesus knew exactly what He was talking about when He said, “Come and drink.”
