The Genesis of David
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 NASB
Create – First let’s correct the syntax. The emphasis of this verse is not “create.” It is leb tahor, a “heart clean.” But even this needs a bit of explanation. The root taher is not about “spiritual” cleanliness. It is about ceremonial, ritual purity. Yes, David has already asked to be washed, but here he is not pleading for guilt relief. He is pleading for the right to enter into YHVH’s presence undefiled. The opposite of taher is “profane,” something that cannot come into the Temple. David, the man who wishes only to be able to sit in the entrance of the Temple, knows that his present state will not even allow this, so he asks for a ritually pure heart, a heart that does not defile him in order that he may once again come into the presence of the Lord. We often read this verse as if it were about the forgiveness of sin, that is, as if it were about atonement. But that isn’t what David is asking. He is asking for acceptance within the priestly arena where only the pure may enter.
How is this possible? The answer is this: “Only God can bring about the ritual purity that you seek.” That’s why David uses the verb bara’ rather than yatsar (to make, to fashion, to form). Only God is the subject of this verb, bara’. This is not something any man can do. If YHVH does not accede to David’s request, no ritually clean heart will ever be produced. This is an amazing statement for it suggests that all those required purification rituals, while absolutely necessary, are not the sufficient cause of ritual purity. Do men and women still need to follow the priestly requirements of cleanliness? Yes, of course. Does following the requirements necessarily result in ritual purity? No. YHVH must “create” in conjunction with the actions of human beings in order for true ritual purity to result. David needs more than a mikvah. More than a few days outside the camp. More than a sacrifice. David needs purification renewal and that does not come by remodeling. It comes by demolition and rebuilding.
YHVH made Man in His image. The verse from Genesis 1 uses the verb bara’. David knows this. The original constitution of Man required the active (and only) exercise of YHVH. David needs to be reborn, to have the breath of YHVH animate the dust left over from the grinding process of the previous verse. Then, and only then, will David be ritually clean, undefiled, able to re-enter the presence of the Lord. The only appropriate verb for what David needs is bara’ because only YHVH uses the verb bara’. To put it simply, David needs genesis.
So do I.
Topical Index: bara’, yatsar, create, make, ritual purity, clean heart, leb tahor, Psalm 51:10
Oh! Born again! And again! And again! Not just once (or, at most, twice), but as many times as it takes for me to fall and learn. Right action does not make the man (or woman); no indeedy: a pure (umm, that would have to be new born, for us) man (or woman) is the only way to be free to act right (be restored to rightly relating (love) again)! But, not a problem! Can do! Whoo hoo! Genesis done right is a continual loop (or, in Hebraic thinking, would that be considered a spiral of some sort?). Life is only found in the present, but only purity (new born baby?) can return us to that present. I would say purity is important! Its the only way we have access to life, for life is something that only can happen in the present tense, but only purity allows us access to that present. Life is also a continual spiral; meant to go on and on and on, but this evil fracture stuff keeps cutting the line, and we need to be reset. Sin kills my present, and only by grace is my Placeholder holding it for me to show back up in it, by repentance. It is His life in that resurrection, and His right relating (the imputed righteousness of Christ), too, that gets handed to me over and over, as I continually avail myself of it, by that repentance, or, turning away from death. Pagans can only copy; we have the real deal. Rebirth? Pure as a newborn babe? No problem! For us repenters, that is. Halleluah!
And do i…….
Being a house “flipper” (what a moniker) the demolition and reconstruction neccisity hits home….while remodeling can appear easier, many times it is better just bulldoze and begin again….some stains cannot be painted over. Some damage cannot be sensibly repaired…demolition however is often only seen as a solution after attempting repair…and a waste of time and resources that creates an emotional reset.
When one is emotionally committed to a cause he will not allow facts against that cause to dissuade him!
So true regarding the demolition and reconstruction. We’ve been re-doing our home for quite some time now. Ugh. What a chore. What energy needed. What angst accompanies it all. The emotional commitment is definitely a strong force. And creation, bara, is certainly out of my field of ability. It’s so difficult to simply redo some things and rearrange somethings in a reconstruction. The prep work can get outrageous.
I tto need genesis…..
Thank you for all these thought provoking and soul examining lessons. By the way, your lessons are all perfectly times.
The TW has created a bundle of confution. I could answer myself saying this is the old but now I am a new creation re-borned in Jesus Christ; so, why would I need genesis again?
Because the “new” man is not a STATE of BEING but rather a dynamic relationship. As such, it needs constant renewal. Your connection to God is not a once-and-for-all certificate you get one day and keep to show your admittance on another day. It is not a passport. You connection is like a marriage, not a marriage license. It requires continuous interaction, and, as anyone married knows, a lot of effort on a daily basis to keep the relationship flowing.
I am not (unfortunately) a hebrew scholar or expert in the language, but i have learned that many of the Scriptures in the NT where it references ‘become’, i.e., II Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
The word ‘become’ is a ‘present progressive’, meaning it’s an ongoing, dynamic thing. It could more accurately be stated as ‘are becoming’…a work in progress.
Secondly, the moon is a ‘new’ moon roughly every 30 days. Not really new, but Renewed, and active state of ‘are becoming’, as soon as it is new we watch it become old and then new again. (as an example only).
Yes, indeed. Imagine what your life would be like if, after your experience of deliverance, you were expected to act as the perfect new man, that is, you were given ONE MORE chance to get it right. How did you do? I am pretty sure most of us require many, many second chances, and even as we progress, sometimes ever so slowly, we still need constant renewal and re-genesis. The new man is the direction, not the requirement.
I love the ways you worded things here, scientifically and grammatically. God is everything. In other words he has created everything from science to language and everything in between.
This is an area where the modern church is so confused. I prayed “the prayer” so I am good. Once saved…always saved. WHAT??? How can that be?
Where did this doctrine get started Skip?
I love the reference to the “new” moon every 30 (or so) days. Exactly!
Just like my marriage evolves so my relationship with Y-H is evolving right now.
If I had had only ONE MORE chance to get it right, I would have ceased to exist long ago.
I have a new thought provoking reply to this now…
“The new man is the direction, not the requirement.”
Thank you Skip.
You are not alone. The older I get, the more I know my need of genesis
Thank you
Indeed, we all need constant renewal and re-genesis.
Thanks, Skip, for the wise word, “The new man is the direction, not the requirement.”
It is written, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Note that I just talked to myself.
We so need a re-generation, renewal and ‘make over’, on a daily basis.
So thankful for Yom Kippur when we can fast, reflect and seek repentance for the continuous errors, faults and transgressions against YHWH, every year, not presuming we are perfect and have no need for cleansing/pruning to be in His Presence.
My heart is so full of joy after reading this. Thank you Skip, without understanding the words in the right context in the Bible things can be misconstrued or only half understanding what is being said. Thank you for your time in explaining Hebrew Words.
God bless you.
“David needs to be reborn . . . Then, and ONLY then, will David be ritually clean, undefiled, able to re-enter the presence of the Lord.”
This sounds pretty absolute. Does it apply to everyone else?
The Evangelical stance is that once you come to Jesus, repent, and get baptized, you are forever saved. You’re salvation is guaranteed and secure. But the downside is this may promote a certain lax attitude in one’s relationship to God and even one’s morals going forward.
Skip’s position above requires that one must endeavor to maintain their good relationship with God and continually renew it. But I must then ask, does this mean that one can never feel secure/assured in their salvation? It would seem not. How does one ever know, in absolute certainty, that they are one of the few, called by God, to be in His grace and peace?
Or, is it much easier to get saved than what I am imagining? Once again I ask, do the billions of people who have never heard of Yeshua, or His Law, have the same equal opportunity as me to get saved? Is TW superfluous and do they NOT need to continually renew their relationship with a God they have never heard of?
Is there not something missing in our equation? Neither side seems balanced. Do we write off most of mankind, or, is getting saved fairly easy and available to everyone?
But perhaps you missed something. I wrote that this request is NOT about forgiveness or repentance. It is about RITUAL purity in order to come into the Temple, or in our case, into God’s presence, and that, furthermore, this is not something David (or any of us) can actually achieve. It is something God does. We can go through the steps but a clean heart is not something human beings can construct. So, this isn’t about “salvation,” although the Church would like to think it is. It’s about presence, and being saved does not always guarantee God’s presence (cf. Job). My point is that it takes continuous effort and renewal for RITUAL purity. That doesn’t actually say anything about the “billions of people” who never heard of Yeshua. That’s a different issue.
Thanks for this Skip. while David “was a man after Gods own heart” Yeshua was a man with it. David requested the pure heart that would allow him to enter into the presence. Yeshua had that heart and I might be so bold as to suggest he was that presence, at least while he walked on this earth with us he was the closest thing we will see outside of the throne room. I have for at least the last 3-4 years been praying this prayer of David. It is perhaps the most important prayer a man can pray. However be prepared, once you start praying it, perhaps Yehovah will start answering, and one best be able to bare the price of this prayer..