Change of Venue
By Your favor do good to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem. Psalm 51:18 NASB
Do good – What is this verse doing in this poem? For the last seventeen verses, David has been dealing with personal confession and the agony of his own sin. Suddenly, without warning, the text shifts to a statement about showing favor to Zion and Jerusalem. This seems completely out of context. It is as if David could no longer handle the depth of his distress and decided to change the subject. Or did he? Maybe there is something else happening in this apparently disjointed addition.
Robert Alter comments, “The poem until this moment at the end has been entirely concerned with the remorseful confession of an individual, so this prayer for the rebuilding of Jerusalem looks suspiciously like the conclusion added by an editor.”[1] Yes, it does look like an addition by someone else—unless we investigate further.
Who is Zion? Not “What is Zion?” We know what Zion is. It is the city of Jerusalem. But who is Zion? Isn’t Zion personified in the king? Isn’t the king of Israel who sits on the throne in Jerusalem the representative of YHVH, the figurehead of the Zion of Elohim? In the previous verse David declares that YHVH will not despise a broken and contrite heart. But how will we know? What is the sign that YHVH has accepted our pleas and restored us to fellowship? If you are the king of Israel, how will you know that you have been forgiven? The answer is this: Zion and Jerusalem will prosper. The kingdom will not suffer violence for the sins of its king. There is an objective, physical indicator that Elohim has heard the plea for mercy. The kingdom will continue.
In the ancient Near East, the sins of the king are revealed in the judgment on the kingdom. The seat of power falls. The kingdom is overrun by enemies. The walls come tumbling down. If these things do not happen, then forgiveness has been granted. So David prays for the prosperity and continuance of Jerusalem because if this prayer is answered then it follows that his confession has also been heard and answered. What seems like the addition of an editor is actually the signpost David will use to determine God’s verdict. It might appear to be disjointed from the personal confession, but it isn’t if we think in terms of communal responsibility and recompense.
What do we learn from David’s change of venue? Confession and forgiveness require a sign, an unmistakable sign. It is not just an inner feeling of peace or calm. YHVH demonstrates His acceptance in tangible ways, observable events and clear signals. Your broken heart and personal grief are resolved in an outward display of grace. Look for it!
Topical Index: sign, forgiveness, Zion, Psalm 51:18
[1] Robert Alter, The Book of Psalms, p. 183.
The Status of a Servant
One Thing Leads To Another
“Make me one of Your hired servants..” (Luke 15.19) ~Humble yourselves before the LORD, and He will exalt you ~ (James 4.10) – the LORD takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servants..(Psalm 35.27) – Moses, My servant..I Paul, I James, a “servant of the LORD”.. – You are slaves of the One you obey–whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness.. (Romans 6.16)
David, Servant-King.
David’s greater Son —Yeshua HaMashiach, Servant-King.
The Way Up is Down
~ But Jesus, [the Son of Man] called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. “It is not [to be] this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave ~ (Matthew 20.26)
~ The greatest among you will be your servant ~ (Matthew 23:11)
Change of Heart
~ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many ~ (Matthew 20.28)
~ Serve one another humbly in love.. ~ (Galatians 5.13)
~ Let this same mind be in you which also was in Christ Jesus ~ (Philippians 2.5)
~ The entire Law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ~ (Galatians 5.14)
“How may I serve you today?”
What precipitates healing? Repentance. To heal is to restore a fracture. This restoration results in shalom, or peace and harmony. We must repent, or turn around and head directly BACK through the misery of our mess to reach the resolution of that mess. How many times do we attempt to do an end run around our mess, or pray to be forklifted out of it, or pray for it to be zapped, not realizing that suffering has been appointed to us as an integral part of the solution? Suffering is not punishment, per se, because the punishment for sin is death, but suffering is like a placeholder curse that affords us time to choose again. Suffering points to a fracture, and suffering gives us motivation to find the fracture and do our part of the fix, which is repentance for our part of the fracture. If I suffer from a burn, I remember not to touch the stove again. When I suffer from a break in relationship, I can remember that break, and remember why I must not allow it again. Suffering is essential if the result is repentance, but suffering is also essential if the result is also revulsion for the sin that caused it. Suffering leaves a very bad taste in the mouth! Suffering is where I learn who my real enemy is, and how and why I hate that enemy. Sin, on the other side of suffering, is no longer my friend. Healing is a side effect, if you will, of shalom, of peace. I was created for peace in all directions and in all dimensions. Dis-ease is a breakdown of that peace, that harmony. Stress is a killer because of the way we were designed. Stress fractures are the ultimate cause of all suffering. The wicked rage because they have no peace, but how often do we turn around and recognize that our suffering is also because we have no peace?
So often we do not realize that heaven views us the way we were created, which is in relationship. We may look around and just see ourselves, but heaven looks around and sees us still in those relationships, which is to say that grace holds those relationships FOR US, waiting for us to turn around and embrace them again. This is what makes sin sin, for sin is simply all the breaks in that continuum. I think that suffering that comes from the fractures in those relationships is felt not only by us, but also by heaven, for heaven is holding the other end of the stick for us until we can do something about it again. All heaven is involved in our pain, and is therefore interested in the resolution of that pain. There is a larger context to our suffering than we could ever imagine, and it extends in all directions. I suffer from all the breaks of relationship in my life, and the others in my life are suffering, too, but so is heaven! When I turn around and decide to fix the problem, and reconnect with heaven, myself and others, my health springs forth speedily (Is. 58:8), and all those around me sigh a big sigh of relief – but so does heaven! So, also, when the king, who is intimately connected with all his realm, gets it right, Zion rejoices, too. I wonder why!
My first grandson has been born yesterday, healthy and well… what a profound sign!
Pieter! Congratulations! That is wonderful!
Thanks
It is all about the bigger picture! Everything is tied to one another.
Everything is affected by our attitudes and behaviours.
It is YHWH’s grace when somethings are right. It is self examination and thankfulness that really matters.