Salvation History
For You have delivered my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling, so that I may walk before God in the light of the living. Psalm 56:13 NASB
From death – Was David saved? He certainly thinks so. In fact, he notes that as a result of being saved from death, he has the ability to walk before the Lord in the light. That sounds very much like contemporary Christian claims about the transformative power of salvation. Let’s not debate the grounds of David’s awareness of deliverance from death. Instead, let’s look at what David thought he was delivered from, that is, what does “death” mean to David.
Smick notes that the word mot is present in most Semitic languages for death or dying. The Canaanites even had a god named Mot, the god of death. Since YHVH is the God of life, Mot is not mentioned in the Tanakh, but there were Canaanite rituals to appease him. Notice what Smick says about the Hebrew view of death, its consequences and its origin.
The normative ot teaching about death is presented in Gen 3:3, where God warns Adam and Eve that death is the result of rebellion against his commands. Since God’s purpose for our first parents was never ending life, the introduction of death was an undesirable but a necessary result of disobedience. The physical corruption of the human body and the consequent suffering and pain brought about by the Fall were only the obvious symptoms of death. Death is the consequence and the punishment of sin. It originated with sin. A grand theme of the ot is God’s holiness, which separates him from all that is not in harmony with his character. Death, then, in the ot means ultimate separation from God due to sin. And sin is any rebellion or lack of conformity to his holy will. [1]
Did you pay attention to that last statement? Death is the result of sin that is any rebellion or lack of conformity to the will of YHVH. Does that statement bother you? What are we to say about the rituals, practices and teachings of Christianity (in all of its organized forms) that deny, alter, replace or ignore the revelation YHVH gave Moses? Are you willing to say that death results from such a religion? That’s bold. Probably considered heretical by those who identify themselves with the Church. But how else are we to understand this? Smick, a conservative Christian scholar, puts the onus on the Church to explain how it can proceed with practices and theology opposed to the Sinai revelation and not see itself as a propagator of death.
What was David delivered from? He was delivered from the consequences of any action that stood in opposition to Torah. He implies as much in the rest of the verse. Is that what you think of when you claim you are “saved”?
Topical Index: death, mot, Torah, Psalm 56:13
[1] Smick, E. B. (1999). 1169 מוּת. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (497). Chicago: Moody Press.
Salvation is the healing of fracture: it is the setting of broken bones; the bandaging of wounds so that they can heal: it is the repair of hearts shredded and forsaken; the return of limbs that have been torn off, or even the growth of limbs or organs or functions that you were born without. What Body is this? It is the Body of Each Other, joined to a Head that is altogether lovely. It is the restoration of the forsaken back into a function that they never had: it is the revelation of identity that did not exist before the joining back together occurred. Salvation is a power jolt to a static Petri dish. It is dead bones in a valley walking: Frankenstein not just stitched together, but actually getting to be born from a real mother to a real Father; no longer a freaking monster. It is the reason for loneliness (we knew there had to be one!), for loneliness exists only to tell us the places that salvation was created for. There. In those unbearable cracks, the healing Light was formed to shine. And salvation was designed to give us to ourselves, also. The piercing Word that can divide the very joints from the marrow only cuts to repair what does not work: only divides to shatter the unholy alliances so that the many separate pieces can be given back to each other in the right way, at the right places. We exist like Christmas tree lights on a string: the reason for ordinate affection is that we have to be lined up right – in ORDER – before we can get the electricity to flow. Shining is a collective activity! We look best as a whole, in a Body! Then, and only then, can you even be able to tell what we are! How many folks can tell what a spleen is, or what it could possibly be for, if they just found one flopping around on the street? Get back in that Body! I mean: get saved; like yesterday, already!
Salvation is not just being saved FROM something, for sin is just fracture from the whole. To be saved from fracture, then, is just the front half of the coin of the Realm, for the back of that coin is what we are saved back INTO. The healing of fracture IS the restoration back into the one Body. Salvation, then, can never be a singular event, for it is the act of restoring a singularity back in to the collective. We may not be saved in groups, but we are saved back into the group. What group is this? The one that follows the orders of the Head. And what orders would those be? The Word can only say “It is Written”. Salvation rejoins us to the Pattern. It is up to us whether or not we “follow on to know (experience) the Lord”. It is up to us whether or not we stick around in that Body, and that action of deciding to stick around IS the action of relating (loving) the Lord our G-d with all our hearts, minds and souls, and our neighbor as ourselves. That action IS Torah, for Torah defines what that action IS. When the Word speaks, and says “jump”, His own are the ones who are answering “how high?!” That is how the Shepherd will know His sheep; the saved.
“NOW is the day of salvation”. “Harden not your hearts”. “Hear, and obey, so that you and your children can live”. We are saved INTO that obedience, that whole. Today is the first day of eternity for those that not only hear, but do.
Thank you Laurita. I am not a young woman and of course the older you get the more people you lose in life. It is always so hard. Separation is not the way we were created to live. It is the unnatural compromise.
I’m putting my mother to rest this coming Shabbat. I’ve never been hit so hard by death as this. It’s like being run through a juicer with the pulp in one container and the juice being drunk up from a different different one. I’m keenly aware that even when the pulp is reconstituted I will never look the same and as much as this hurts, there is confidence that it will be for the good of all who love God and are called according to His purposes.
You comment is water in my container of pulp this morning. May I post it (giving you credit of course) on my Face Book wall?
Pam, My condolences to you on the passing of your mother. May Elohim comfort you among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. Shalom, Michael
Dear Pam,
May the peace of YHVH and the comfort of His son, the Messiah, be yours and your family’s.
Sweet Pam, My heart hurts for you…I wish I could give you a big hug and cry with you…hard stuff you are walking threw…lifting you up in prayer, with tears… Shalom, sister.
You have defined sin as “And sin is any rebellion or lack of conformity to his holy will. [1]
“Did you pay attention to that last statement? Death is the result of sin that is any rebellion or lack of conformity to the will of YHVH. Does that statement bother you? What are we to say about the rituals, practices and teachings of Christianity (in all of its organized forms) that deny, alter, replace or ignore the revelation YHVH gave Moses?”
it seems to me that God’s holy will is for us to be in relationship with Him and since He is a righteous God no one will be in relationship with Him unless they are totally righteous and I do mean totally. The Torah was and still is unable to accomplish that level of righteousness and no one has met His standard practicing Torah. Torah was given to point to a more perfect form of righteousness and that is Jesus Christ. Those who follow god’s will are called Christians. He is the only way back to God because of sin and the separation caused by sin “lack of conformity to his holy will.” Christians have not denied or altered or ignored God’s will. The point that is missing here is God is a creating God in other words He has a plan and He is creating it even now. Those who are with His program are moving forward with His plan and his will. So you see Christians have been doing just that. Those who are not are the ones who are in rebellion and lack conformity to his holy will. Something to consider as we move forward in unity and with love according to God’s will.
Bob could you define what you mean by “relationship” and “righteousness” ?
In relationship I am talking about being in the presence of God and conversing with Him. So we will not be in the presence of God unless we are free from sin (having never sinned) in other words being righteous.
So none of us have “never sinned” and because of sin we have been separated from God UNTIL Jesus became our way back to God. He is the righteousness of God which we must accept by faith . It is a free gift of God accepted by faith alone and not by our works.
Hi Bob,
I think you missed a turn along the way. “Free from sin” is not the same as “atoned for.” We have all sinned. That’s why we need atonement. But having experience the atonement provided by Yeshua’s faithfulness and the sacrifices means that we do have relationship with the Father. We are not innocent, but we have been accounted “not guilty.” By the way, my book Cross Word Puzzles demonstrates that the idea that we had to wait until Jesus died is neither biblical nor culturally appropriate. Forgiveness was available on the basis of God’s atoning work from BEFORE the foundation of the world. The cross has little to do with the provision of atonement. Why not read it and see for yourself?
Of course i understand atonement and when it occurred but i disagree the cross have little to do with it as it was the manifestation on earth of what God provided before the foundation of the world knowing torah would not accomplish it.
Read the book, please. Then let me know where my analysis of this issue is incorrect.
Rob – Based upon scripture, I would state that your definition of “righteousness” is incorrect. There are several people in the OT who were considered righteous (Abraham, Noah, David). They were certainly not sinless. I think you need to re-consider what “righteousness” represents.
Rob, I am puzzled by most of your statements. The two most puzzling are “being in the presence of God and conversing with Him” & “So none of us have “never sinned” and because of sin we have been separated from God UNTIL Jesus became our way back to God.” In Christianity isn’t being in God’s presence having the Holy Spirit to speak to and guide you? If this is true, whose presence did David and all of those who followed God PRIOR to Jesus have and how? I mention David because as we all know he was a man after God’s heart, which indicates to me a deep, close relationship and you can’t have that without being in someone’s presence, yet we all also know he was a sinner, by his own admission. Also, who ate lunch with Abraham? I don’t believe anyone was saying that the Torah was able to accomplish any level of righteousness. Righteousness has always been by faith, which means even before Jesus came, even before Mt. Sinai & all the way back to the garden in which there were still instructions to follow.
Dearest Pam,
What good does my writing do me? If it is good for anybody else, then that is more good than it is doing! I am no published author: so quote away!
My heart bleeds for you. I lost my mama a while back, too. After almost 40 years of being a woman I did not recognize, she remembered who she was at the very last. The only words she said to me after she did were “Oh, Laurita, I am so sorry”. But, it was enough. I could have asked her to stay another month, and she would have, for me. But, it would not have been right. If there ever is a place where you have to put the focus on you, it is when you are dying. Dying is hard work, and it takes all you have to do it right. She did it right. That has to be enough for me in this world. I am praying for you and yours. May eternity be nearer to you at this time than the time that is around you. Forever is going to be long enough for us. Halleluah!
First of all, Pam, my heart goes out to you…having lost my mother almost 15 years ago I still feel and experience the deep, hollow emptiness without her. How I would love to spend another day..and yet I know we still have a future waiting for us.
Second….for some reason the old adage, “Fools rush in….” comes to mind- so “Hi all!” In Psalm 56, I seem to be drawn to “a whole nother” perspective of David’s prayer. David is in a real mess – his life is on the line..again..the stress level is way over the top – there’s no one – no human being who appears ready to intercede between him and his enemies. I don’t know about anyone else but it’s at times like this I can fall into depression, anxiety and stop trusting God. For others, with the right trigger in place, will abuse drugs, alcohol, their husband/wife or children or any other integrity we value during the “good times’…just to get past the fear and pain. David, however, chooses to trust God….”God is for me!” he insists. He is totally and accurately focused here because he realizes that even his ability to trust during this nightmare is because of God’s faithfulness to Him and NOT something he is able to pull off on his own. “For YOU rescued me from death, YOU kept my feet from stumbling, SO THAT I CAN WALK IN GOD’S PRESENCE, IN THE LIGHT OF LIFE.” I believe David realized God’s love and comfort over him prevented him from falling into sins that would give him momentary comfort. I don’t know…but that’s how I see it. Blessings!
Yes, Rob, I think you are correct in saying that the cross was the manifestation for us of our atonement, and that is not unimportant in the least! We need to see to believe, for sure.
But I also am convinced by other scriptures, and by Skip’s book, Crossword Puzzles, that the cross was about many other things, too; only some of which I think we have been told. This epic battle is most certainly not just about us; even the most neurotic and narcissistic of us would have to admit that. We may be Exhibit A, but we are only part of the evidence being presented in this cosmic courtroom. This is a huge battle between good and evil, and I believe that we are only part of the spectacle that even angels are a part of and therefore have a right to examine. That cross was about defeating the RESULTS, or consequences, of sin, which is death. It restores us back to rightly relating, or, righteousness because it removes the fracture, or, death, that separates us from G-d, from ourselves, and from each other. Just as a body that has been ripped apart cannot survive without reattachment back together, so we cannot survive unless and until we get put back together. Righteousness is that action of reattachment. When we have been freed from the bondage of death, we are then told to go sin (which is fracture), no more. Salvation is what stops the hemorrhaging, but that does not mean that we can just go back to the business of fracture from G-d, ourselves and others like a dog to vomit. When we have been restored to fellowship in all three dimensions, we are supposed to learn how to stay there. So where is there? The Law is what shows us where the points of reattachment are to be found.
The cross did not redefine sin, so therefore it is not a replacement for Torah, which does define sin, which is the cause of death. Fracture from G-d, ourselves, and others does not look any different before the cross than after. Love does not look any different, either. Nor do I believe that the devil invented any brand new ways to sin. Therefore, the Law that describes all of the above has not changed, either. The Law is the dictionary that defines the words, but people still have to speak those words. Not in the history of mankind has a dictionary ever spoken the words it defines. It just shows us how people speak them. Before the cross, the Law was not Love: it was never the source of Love: it just defined Love, just like it does now. G-d has always been love, and the Law defines for us His character for us to copy, which is righteousness. Love has always and will ever only have one Source, and that Source is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The cross just put us back in touch with that Source, which we were fractured from. Personally, I am glad Love is not something that is evolving! Now that would be scary!
ROB was not able to post this reply but he sent it to me so I asked if I could post it for him. Here it is:
I would suggest to you that the men you mentioned were considered righteous because they believed God and actually looked forward to Jesus work before they even knew of Him. They looked forward to that day, sin by the way is not conforming to God’s will as you said. I don’t think my definition is so ‘incorrect” . But I see things differently in the Holy Spirit……I do not believe anything I’ve said is not confirmed by scripture and God speaking to me thorugh it.
I know David et al had the Holy Spirit speak to them and were in relationship with God while on earth but i’m talking about being in His presence for eternity. you are not going to stand before God in His kingdom unless you are righteous. Torah cannot accomplish that…Jesus accomplished it and it is by God’s free gift.
All the Best
Rob Bethune
And then David’s son: “Whoever walks blamelessly will be saved, but he who is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall” Proverbs 28:18- NKJV
“He who walks blamelessly IS saved, but the perverted of ways falls at once” – ISR