Indelible Ink
Be gracious to me, O God, according to your loving kindness; according to the multitude of your mercies blot out my transgressions. Psalm 51:3 Hebrew World
Blot out – Technology has changed our conception of forgiveness. In a world where we can simply backspace or press the spell-check button, we don’t think of any word or deed as indelible. Everything can be erased. In fact, this consequence of technology has led the world to the brink of economic collapse because the world believes that debt can also be erased with the same expediency. When it comes to guilt and God, our modern technological advances have nearly destroyed any hope of understanding the enormity of sin.
David knew differently. In the days when letters were written with permanent ink on animal skins, erasing was simply impossible. If a scribe made a mistake in copying the text, the entire scroll had to be destroyed. There was no such thing as a “do-over.” Sin is a permanent stain on the human character. That’s why David pleads to have his sin blotted out, not erased. The verb is mahah. It is associated with some pretty terrible actions like God wiping out all life in the flood or destroying Jerusalem (see 2 Kings 21:13). But it is also used in a significant uplifting sense in Isaiah 25:8. God will wipe away the tears of sorrow. Compare this with Jeremiah 17:1 which suggests that the sin of Judah cannot be blotted out (written with an iron pen).
One particular element of mahah is important when we attempt to understand David’s distress. That is the relationship between sin and curse. When a sin is not forgiven, the result is the removal of the person from the book (Psalm 109:13) and the potential annihilation of descendants (Deuteronomy 29:19). Curses are visited upon those who do not have their guilt removed. David is certainly aware of this potential calamity and for that reason he must find favor with God.
But notice that David has no moral ground of his own to stand on. He can only appeal to God’s hesed and raham, words that each of us should know only too well. There is a way to wipe the slate clean but it doesn’t come from hitting the “delete” key. It comes from the agony of repentance, the acknowledgment that a curse is the inevitable result of moral transgression. The sinner deserves to be wiped out but instead of annihilation, God can wipe out the sin and not the sinner. Existence hangs in the balance. This is about serious mistakes.
God is gracious. God is merciful. God does forgive. The blood of His own Son wipes away transgressions. Serious mistakes require serious remedies. “Acute problems cannot be handled with bland solutions.”[1] If you are depending on a “delete” key, you need to rethink your view of sin – and your view of God.
Topical Index: mahah, wipe out, blot out, sin, curse, Psalm 51:3, Psalm 109:13
“This is too good to be true,” she replied when I told her that if we confess he is faithful and righteous to forgive. “How do I know?” she ask. I am afraid that she had trouble understanding that my answer, “because he says so.” was how it is. Some times I just do not have the words to express the depth of His willingness to forgive, wipe out the transgression. I will keep trying to get it across to her.
No, I’m not thinking this morning of a “delete” key, I am thinking of (and always need to be thinking of) the blood of the Sacrificial atonement. “Without the shedding of blood there can be no remission of sin.”-In fact, the Torah (how we have come to love this word) requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. How many times must this be repeated before it starts to ‘sink in’. What thick-headed, hard-hearted, ignorant, wandering sheep we are. It is the blood (and the blood only) that (constantly) ever makes atonement (a covering) for our sin.
I have been saved. Deliver from the penalty of sin and welcomed to the family- ‘child of YHWH.’ Now that I may properly, officially call the ONE who formed and fashioned me in my mother’s womb- “Father.” We (now) have a Father-son relationship- and it is wonderful indeed.
My Father (and yes I am referring to G-d as my Father-for friends- it is true- He is. Should I step out of line He will now guide me with His (ever-watchful) eye and remind me (gently-always) how to return to right-relatedness (righteousness).
“Eternal life” is just that. Eternal. Not for fifteen minutes, not for fifteen days, or even years. Eternal life is “forever.” Now, (once again) – “shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” jAnd the answer is? “G-d forbid.”
Do I want to return to the very things that led not only to my defeat and downfall but worse than that- sin that is a stench in the nostrils of G-d and sin that caused Christ to be nailed to the cross? G-d forbid.
No, I have a new life now. – I hate sin, -just as my Father hates sin. I hate sin with a holy hatred. And yes, -just as my Father does- I love sinners- for I am one of them. A ‘saint’ is but a saved sinner. It is true- “But for the grace of G-d, -there go I..
Not only are we ‘saints’, we also are sons (and daughters!), not only are we sons, but we are also servants and stewards- employed in the service of our Master, for we have all been bought with a price. We (the sheep) belong to the Shepherd. We (who are under new management and ownership) may say it and know it: ‘the LORD is my Shepherd”. It has gone from words in a book to become an incarnated reality in our daily living and friends..- -“the LORD is good.” So good. Yes, -all the time- and to every one.
Skip, or anybody else,
I’ve always taken this word to mean exactly as you described here. When I read in Rev. 3, how He will not “blot out” the overcomers names from the book, I get a different sense of the meaning. In the Greek it seems to have to do with smearing (because the word is associated with oil) and it fits with the passage insofar as they have “stained” their garments. I don’t know how to get from the Greek to the Hebrew in a passage like this, and ultimately I was wondering if my sense of the verse is off, or is there another Hebrew word that translates better to that passage. I would appreciate it if someone could aford me some insight into this. Thx and Shalom Shabbat.
The guilt of sin is like the marrow deep inside a bone. In order to get at the marrow, the bone must be broken. Thus the guilt of sin is removed after a brokenness; yet the sinner has been allowed to survive this drastic measure.