Priorities
One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple. Psalm 27:4
One Thing – What is the most important thing in life? What must be the absolute goal if life is to be worth living? Before you quickly supply an answer about the relationship with God, consider what the world would say. If you asked the average person what’s the most important thing in life, what do you think you would hear? Undoubtedly, you would listen to the same list of priorities found in Ecclesiastes – with the same result. In the very end, it’s either God or a gun to the head. With Ecclesiastes’ observation in mind, let’s look once more at David’s single-minded focus.
“One thing I have asked from the Lord.” In Hebrew: akhat sha’alti meet-YHWH. The first word is from ehad. You’ll recognize it in the Shema. The Lord is one. Of course, if we were doing rabbinic exegesis, we would connect these two instances of the word. The one thing I ask is from the one Lord. In fact, I ask for the Lord’s uniqueness in me.
Sha’ul paints the pictograph of control, strength and what consumes. In other words, to ask is to control the strength of what consumes – to have authority over someone or something that can provide what you want. If you’re going to ask the Lord, then you better know what you really want. He can provide, of course, but you are presuming on His benevolence by asking, so you must be sure that what you ask is worthy of the request. David understands this, so he asks what the Lord cannot deny – he asks for time in the presence of the One. David desires one thing. He desires to be with the One true God.
Did you notice that the most important thing in David’s life is not the accumulation of stuff, the preservation of power or the reputation among peers? The most important thing isn’t even a relationship with a personal savior. David’s one thing is to be where the Lord is and to contemplate who the Lord is. There is nothing here about asking for me. The entire focus is on worshipping God in His presence.
Our age is defined by its passionate preoccupation with self. Even in our religion, the focus is often on what God can do for me. It might not be as naïve (or heretical) as the prosperity gospel crowd, but it is ever-so-subtle to turn even religious zeal into self-improvement. We want God to make us better servants for His cause or to improve our understanding of His word or to develop our spiritual gifts for the church. Even with God-language, the focus is still on us. But not for David! David just wants to be in God’s presence, to delight in God’s glory and to meditate on the goodness of the Lord. Don’t you suppose that God will honor such a request without delay? What could please Him more? I turn away from the frightening clamor of those deep, dark recesses within me by shifting my focus from me to Him. Want out of the dungeon? Follow the light.
Topical Index: ehad, sha’al, ask, one, Psalm 27:4
How true! It’s me, it’s Me O Lord! It must surely be nice to get to where David is and simply (but not so simply) focus on God.
Shalom Skip,
This is a very interesting take on this passage. 🙂 …. I am still absorbing it!
I have always viewed David’s rendering herein as representing the longing which he desires and not necessarily a plea for the tactical outcome. Let me explain:
David asks Adonai that he be given a spirit that seeks to be with Adonai always. David does not simply say …. “Lord let me give it all up just to be with you!”
It seems to me that David is well aware of the purpose which Adonai has entrusted David with …. to be King of HIS chosen people Israel. As such David is not asking Adonai to take away his purpose … David is not rebelling against Adonai’s will.
David wants Adonai to know his own heart’s desires … to be with Adonai. David wants Adonai to know that he understands the prize but knows he must submit to Adonai’s will. Its as if David is saying to Adonai …. “if it were up to me I would relinquish this King stuff in a heartbeat just to be with you …. but your will done Lord!”
This passage helps me personally get through the times when I also wish that my life could be just Him and only Him …. but then I realize that His purpose apparently entails me doing other things …. the things that suit His purposes!
Oh how many times I have begged The Lord to remove the nonsense from my life … only to recant knowing that we are not islands …. we must engage in the conflict …. the grand prize comes later. I at times forget that the title of “good and faithful servant” mandates my submission to His will.
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looking unto Carl.. er scratch that.. looking unto Jesus.. ah, that’s better. He (alone) is my Savior, my Source, my Supply, my Sovereign, my Shepherd and my Song. He is the ONE who is worthy. He has purchased us with His own blood and now He ever lives to make intercession for us. Praise His name. One thing. This (for me) would be “focused attention.” What does it take to get my focused attention? Usually something equivalent to a two-by-four upside the head or a hat-pin embedded somewhere in my tender body. Some sort of pain is usually involved in the process. We need to be Christ-centered. How is this possible? Is it possible to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ as is written in the Scripture? Is it possible to “walk among men” and be holy?Can we please G-d in the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart? Can we know the “smile of the Father”? The “will of G-d” used to be such a big mystery for me. Like someone was speaking a foreign language. Allow me to oversimplify- if someone were to give me a million dollars (thank you!), what would I do with all that moola? What would be “my will”? My desire.. my “good pleasure”? What would please me? Now returning to the mysterious “will of G-d”. The “one thing” is to do is the “will of G-d”. The “one thing” is to do what pleases Him. How do I know what pleases the Father? (helpful, household hint.. -all this is contained within a book).
FYI: Today is the Day of Atonement according to Lev. 23.
Yolanda,
I am not correcting or being argumentative at all; but just wanted to comment that on my large County TX Calendar, it is written on Sept 27, Yom Kippur (begins at sundown).
Are you still in Israel? Perhaps the International Date Line makes a difference.
When I started studying the Feasts and there dates, I noticed that there are several contradictions for various reasons over the very long history of the Jewish nation.
If you are still in Israel, and have the computer readily available, please let us hear some of the things you are experiencing with your new Jewish family. I know I would, and think others to, would appreciate some honest expressions from the life you have chosen there. How else will we know?—- Thanks, L.B.
The holidays are by the moon sighting in Israel as told in Lev 23. There are some people who argue over a new moon, but a new moon in scripture is a sighted new moon, not a NASA new moon. Some years the new moon is the same date as the “traditional” calendar, others it is not. I am not in Isreal but I do go by the new moon in Israel. There are many sites that give you the dates of the new moon over Israel, but a good one is http://www.karaite-korner.org as they have been keeping time to the new moon and the barley being “aviv” longer than any other group of Jews. This is the only criterion stipulated by YHVH for determining the first month of the year- the “aviv” barley. This keeping of time was for all the Feasts of YHVH during the first and second Temple periods. These are the appointed times of YHVH, not of man, and the more we understand these the more we understand His Word and the purpose of the appointed times, a rememberance of the past and the rehersal of the future. This sometimes causes some years to have 13 months; but don’t you know that YHVH has a reputation of doing things at the exact time needed, not by what we determine. The Sanhedrin was evicted from the Temple mount in the year 28 C.E. and exiled by Rome. In 359 the exiled Sanhedrin, specifically Hillel II, borrowed Babylonian mathematical calculations to determine the moment the moon was in conjunction with the earth and the sun, thus they devised a new calendar that was more convenient and predictable for their own convenience. But just as the people did not recognize Yahshua as The Passover Lamb, dying at the exact moment the sacrafice was killed on the alter, so many do not recognize the signs of the times now. The Feast of Tabernacles is October 4 at sundown till October 11 at sundown, and the Last Great Day October 12th. Personally, I believe YHVH knows how man has messed up his appointed times and the year He comes to tabernacle with us our traditional and lunar calendar will be the same. But that is my opinion. In the mean time I choose to follow Yah’s appointed times.
Yolanda, Thank you so much for taking the time to write the information above. I will keep it and study it.
Is there anyone that can tell me if it is possible to print such information as Yolanda just wrote?
Perhaps Patrick could. There are times like this one, that I would like to print to have in my hands where I can use the information. But I do not know if it is possible, or HOW to do it, IF it is. THANKS, L.B.