The Topography of Blame
“Deliver me from all my transgressions; make me not the reproach of the foolish.” Psalm 39:8 NASB
Reproach – David’s song reaches a crescendo. It starts with silence, then proceeds to murmur, explodes in what appears to be judgment, but swiftly turns into an indictment of humanity and a personal disclosure. The audience is kept off guard, reeling from one emotional interpretation to another. And now the king falls to his knees. “Deliver me,” he writes, but not “Deliver me from my enemies.” No, this king is acutely aware of another kind of failure. The blame does not fall on others. It falls on him. “Deliver me from my transgressions.” In fact, “from all my transgressions” (kol peša-ay) is much stronger than “my transgressions.” We think of transgressions as individual acts of disobedience. But this isn’t what David has in mind. pešaʿis the word for “rebellion,” manifest in the breach of relationships, both civil and religious. The king accepts responsibility for the sins of his people. His obstinacy in the face of a Holy God has led to the mistaken belief that God overlooks disobedience. His people have been deluded, perhaps even seduced, into their own rebellion. And David says he is to blame.
Confusion washes through the audience. Each one is confronted with his own misdeeds—and the misdeeds of those whom he influences. Can it be true? Can the king’s behavior really be held accountable for the choices of his subjects? We are propelled back to Deuteronomy 1:37, “The Lord was angry with me also on your account, saying, ‘Not even you shall enter there.” The leader is accountable for the behavior of the followers. Doesn’t Yeshua intimate the same, “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them . . .”[1] The Messiah takes responsibility for his flock. Doesn’t Moses acknowledge God’s similar expectation? Doesn’t David accept the same conditions?
Then who is to blame? Perhaps the rebellion that David has in mind, the rebellion that requires personal forgiveness, is much more public than we thought. Does David speak of his rebellion as a precursor, as a rebellion that set the stage for enemies to attempt a coup? We say “Like father, like son,” but David ups the ante. The “sins of the fathers” is at play here. We need a revision: “Like father, like all under the influence.” Moses, David, Yeshua—all responsible for the ones who followed. And so are you!
“Make me not a reproach,” writes David. The word is about public scorn. To “impute blame or guilt to someone in order to harm his character.”[2] Who would have thought the king could admit to such a crime? But then, who in the audience isn’t just as guilty?
Like us.
Topical Index: pešaʿ, rebellion, accountability, blame, Psalm 39:8
[2]Mccomiskey, T. E. (1999). 749 חָרַף. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament(electronic ed., p. 325). Chicago: Moody Press.
“But then, who in the audience isn’t just as guilty?”
It is highly likely that we all are guilty. Isn’t that why we pray that none of our errors bear fruit, nor be found in our descendants? It is helpful to me to remember the ones who came before me and showed me the way. It causes me to be grateful and helps to restore hope in my heart.
I’ve often heard it said, and I have repeated it. If teachers aren’t willing to be taught, teachers should not teach. The same goes for leaders it says somewhere that teachers are double trouble for messing up. I think David is humbling himself so that others will learn from their example, also deacons and elders are watched highly as a lead the flock with the pastor because they are the one setting the same example to follow even Paul said follow me as I follow Messiah
Would this apply to a leader of a congregation? If a member ever falls into some type of transgression or sin: this would mean the leader is just as accountable ?
Yes, it would. 🙂
It seems like in our culture today, failure is only limited to the individual. Once a person fall we seem to write them off and cast them out of the community. Instead of asking, “ what did I do to allow my brother or sister to fall? Should I have spoke up when I seen the red flags ?
Good point.
Just as there is no such thing as goodness – righteousness – love – in solitary, so sin likewise affects the entire web of relationships. Sin IS the worsening of life for others: is “transgression” of boundaries. What we do affects those around us. You might say that sin is darkness on a hill, and that “by beholding” all “become changed”. We are responsible for that forced change of others. That responsibility is what restitution represents: we need to make it up to those that we damaged by either our example, or by emboldening them in their sin, or by causing them to commit the sin of unforgiveness (bitterness) that hurt people employ to ‘protect’ themselves against the trespass of others.
“Make me not the reproach of the foolish”. When we sin against others, I believe we put ourselves under their power – their power of choice. As in nature, for every spiritual action I believe there is also an equal and opposite reaction in the unrenewed flesh of those we affect by our sin. Now their reactionary choices have the power to limit us back. Now we can be damaged by their judgment and reproach. We have set off a chain of events in which we all share culpability through bitterness or through other sin, for sin breeds more sin. Now we have become answerable to that copy cat behavior or unforgiveness of others. Now is the time to take responsibility back again through repentance and restoration so that others can no longer ‘hide’ themselves or their sin behind us. I think David shows us what that looks like.
I’m fairly certain the lone believer in a communistic or pagan country would take issue with you statement ‘there is no such thing as goodness – righteousness – love – in solitary’.
I must, therefore, disagree.
I’m sorry. The ones you love complete the other part of the circuit. There is no love in the abstract might be a better way to put it? Thanks for the correction.
Just a consideration, while a believer in such a culture may be isolated in their faith, they are far from alone. Circumstances cannot determine love, while love (or the lack of it) can determine circumstances.
I have been thinking about your comment for a few hours and it absolutely makes no sense to me.
May I recommend a book, “”My Unforgettable Memories” by Dr. Lily Hsu
Her experiences conflict with your comments.
Sorry for the confusion. My comment wasn’t intended to be in conflict with what you stated, only a further consideration.
Well, since you brought it up, would you mind expounding? I have no idea what you are attempting to say.
I’ve read your comments, you are quite ‘deep’, but sometimes you go over my head.
Thank you.
Simply said, we often think that love or a lack of love is the consequence of certain activities. We’ve put the cart before the horse. More often than not, it’s those believers who live in “pagan or godless” societies who are experiencing what it means to truly love in a biblical or Godly sense. “what is it if you love those who love you”….. (consequential love) True love expressed in spite of the circumstances has a compassion that sees the potential of others and experiences the pain in it being unrealized. I don’t know about the phrase that love stinks, but it sure hurts. If it doesn’t, at least at some times, it probably isn’t love. 🙂 Hope that helps you understand what I was trying to express.
Much better, thank you.
Walking in Truth (Love, as we are learning it) is extremely painful. and exhausting, i might add. You know you just described what it is to love in an abusive relationship, where one person is loving/responding according to Truth and the other person is responding to their level of – whatever.
In the book i suggested the woman describes what it is like to live in an environment void of, and in fact steadfastly set against Torah (Love). Each person is forced to live in a life cocoons where they do not look at anyone or speak on any level on anything.
Even a glance could be misinterpreted and reported as ‘anti’ something that would result in prison work camps or re-education camps. She talks of how she lost her faith for a number of years due to the pain of events that culminated in the exposure of a spiritual leader whose name most american believers would recognize.
In such an environment (and yes, there are certainly going to be people who loudly tout that they would not falter, that they would stand strong and proclaim YHVH no matter what) but my contention is that in such an environment, the field of life and the experience of ‘love’ is greatly altered.
If Scripture is true, and i believe it IS, then our walk and our ‘love’ stream, first and foremost is between ourselves and YHVH, everyone else’s opinion, judgement and perception of me is a huge secondary.
Most often, in my experience, group think takes over in a community where a person’s ‘reputation’ is based on what they allow others to see and their true motive (heart) is never on the table because people judge (accuse) according to their own level or righteousness or personal expectation (personal history/experience).
Flattery is an extremely efficient mode of manipulation and it can take on all kinds of disguises.
My opinion.
Thank you for your response and my apologies for the length of mine. I prefer brevity, but sometimes i fail.
Brevity has its place but usually not in issues concerning the heart. While abusive relationships are a form of this issue, I contend that western society as a whole is heading this direction. That translates as those we know and love, the divisions are happening on a massive, very personal scale. While I’m not so sure about the dying as a martyer part, a broken heart seems a more likely cause. ?
We agree.
The american church, on the whole, has taken to seeing their ‘christian’ Scriptures through the view glass of some very, very deceitful, abusive authors and the trickle down effect on the community that is touched by such teachings, in the church as well as out of the church, non-church community is profound.
As is this series that Skip is laying out.
I find this Psalms break-down to be exquisite in it’s application to today’s believing communities.
How are we put under one power of choice when we sin against them? Do they really rights in the kingdom of God? The right to choose if they want to forgive or not ? Or is forgiveness required ?
The following is just what I think.
Anyone we offend has the right as a creature of YHVH’s creation, under His Law, to accuse us of that offense. That accusation has power over us: it has the ability to condemn us and can leave us open for destruction. The widow and the orphan – those who have no ability to accuse their trespassers under the laws of earth – still have the ability to stir heaven in their defense. It may not look like the trespassers will ever meet the back side of justice, but there will be Judgment Day. In that day, all those we wronged will have a case against us.
Until then, we are told that a curse hangs over the head of all those who have not repented and restituted. The very ground, according to Genesis, has the right to plead a case, for it gets polluted with the blood of murder.
If those we wrong do not forgive (which is much more difficult to do with someone who is not repentant!), then their sin of unrepentance (and other sins they may go on to commit because of our sin) are now included in our sin, which I suspect gets heavier and heavier the further down the chain of repercussions it goes. This is why we must repent and restitute as soon as possible, before the fire spreads and the crime hurts more and more others. Heaven forbid that we leave it long enough to damage the next generation! There is nothing more grievous than the case of an innocent child’s harm crying before the judgment throne of heaven. I suspect that the children have the most power to charge (demand justice of) others.
May we all be careful not to “put ourselves into subjection” (lose our freedom) to others by sinning against them. The bondage of sin is very real, and all we sin against (most of all heaven) hold the other end of the chain of that bondage (which offense causes) which only repentance/forgiveness can break.
As scary as this all sounds, it’s actually among the greatest gifts that God has given to mankind. The idea of being the “head” or chief is contained in the Hebrew term rosh and while it has the idea of chief, it also contains the concept of influence, as rosh is termed as venom or poison which is an outside influence imposed. Genesis 2 tells us that the plants were held in suspension until the “man” showed up. It isn’t about the plants inability to grow, (that’s God’s job) but about the direction, or how the plant grows that is the issue. The term we translate as in the beginning is also the same root.
Here’s the blessing. Although we only have a handbreath of years, we can “influence” other’s toward righteousness, not only in our time, but for generations to come by our influence of love and obedience. In this sense, it also contains the idea of repairing the world we live in (that’s why bereshit (in the beginning) has the idea of an auto correct contained in it) through the given dominion we posses. The question we have to ask ourselves is, with every word spoken and deed done, what authority are we adding too? The authority of chaos will crash the system and the auto correct will kick in, but the authority of love, through love of God and true obedience to Him will repair the damage.
“where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly.” and there’s a time for silence and a time to speak.
I love this, Robert. In other words, just like the plants were put here to be in conjunction with us, we are here for others; not ourselves. If we fulfill that function, our correct placement in the larger picture will be blessed: will be maximized.
I think this may probably be why the example of the widow and her two mites is held up as something that has large benefits. This is more like a bucket brigade and less like Superman, after all. David had large influence, but aren’t we all called to be “kings and priests” (large influencers and interceders)? How does that happen? Plug into the bucket brigade Body and find out!
One of the reasons I love genesis so much. I find myself far to often concerned with the details without understanding the basic structure first. It’s not that details aren’t important, ( words, intent, etc.) but a solid grasp of the fundamentals, enhances the understanding of the “why” of the details. Learning to love God, and not base it on what He does. (Consequential love) What He does is good, God is “gooder” than that! ?
Robert, don’t little kids know this better than we do? They know love is spelled t-i-m-e; or, just being WITH them. That’s better than anything we ‘do’ for them or to them, right? After all, God is the great I AM; not the great ‘I do’. I think goodness is not something He invented to throw at us, because what love gives is itself. Nor does He ask that we generate ‘goodness’ to throw back at Him: what He wants is US.
Further, I believe He imparts and imputes His goodness to us by giving Himself to us in the form of His Son. All the goodies come from heaven in the form of gifts. Sin, I think, consists of trying to generate the good stuff ourselves instead of accepting, like faithful Abraham, the righteousness (love) of God enacted – by means of that same trust he had to let Him do that – through us, too.
Thank you for your Genesis work! I already am anxious to read your book.
What book is that?
I’m “attempting” to write a book on Genesis 1ish. To be perfectly frank, the actual pen to paper process is at least 8 mo. down the road if not longer. Much I have to do before than as, Genesis 1 isn’t a light subject. Not just research, but heart adjustment is primary. I really desire for the “layman” to be able to understand the significance of what is written down for us there, without the theological imprints that seem so prevalent. My personal belief is that it is the most important book we can read.
You must look at the two books by Avivah Zornberg before you go any further.
What are the names of the books?
The Beginning of Desire and The Murmuring Deep
Thank you, I’ll check them out.
We live in an atmospher thick with blame, shame and guilt. Most avoid recogenizing their own guilt by blaming others with the resultant shame both parties then experiance. Refreshing that David is not engaging in the exchanges but rather takes to heart his own coupability. Thanks for that example David. One great leadership oportunity is to hold bsg free zones. It can be done standin up for grace in truth can change the atmospher.
My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. James 3:1 KJV
“Like father, like all under the influence.” Moses, David, Yeshua—all responsible for the ones who followed. And so are you!…
This also has a flip side… The Father waited approximately 14 generations between each and every input to recover His people. We are lucky to maybe live 3 generations. I doubt if it is about saving others. It is more about reminding others…
Yeshau was sent to save the lost sheep. Indirectly he seemed to have failed according to the scriptures. 5000 down to 72 being tasked, ending with 11 remaining. Then adding the 12th again. Let’s learn from this. Were these 12 the only lost sheep? Or were they representing the 12 scattered tribes and how each would be saved. Through the correct sending or annointment…
A prophet or teacher is not accepted in his own town… Why were we left with these thoughts. Yes, we need to remind, intercede and as recorded in Rome 15 carry the infirmities of the weak. Help those find salvation for their concerns or sins. That is keeping in His name. It is not using scare tactics such as hell etc. It is teaching that when God’s words take on flesh and we become obedient that we find salvation.
Let’s apply this to today. Using whatever means available to teach that through loving and caring deeds we actually serve God’s purpose. In David’s time he was the anointed through a life of preparation to reveal when the time was right. But no one taught him what self centred deeds are sin. If they did he would not have needed to repent and we would not have the teachings to learn how humiliation and repentance is the only way salvation is found.
And now the catch 22. Are we guilty for not sharing what we know or are we guilty for sharing uncertainties… A Wiseman once said “The most beautiful compensation in life is that we cannot really help someone else without helping our self.”
Are the words of the prophets only for the audience or are they first and foremost for the learning experience of the prophet, teacher of apostle…
Yeshua gave a very valid and sound advice. Do not carry two sets of clothing, purse or food… But eat what is placed on the table. We teach and share little when we do this prepared and fail to first listen to the prayers of those we want to teach. I think this may be the intent of David’s message. He lived and experienced first hand for that reason he could associate and plea to God for his audience by providing an example. As did all those called and empowered by God in the scriptures.
So will the true teacher do today. Lead not by popularity but through example…
As exquisite a description of corporate/generational sin as I have ever encountered.
“Then who is to blame? Perhaps the rebellion that David has in mind, the rebellion that requires personal forgiveness, is much more public than we thought. Does David speak of his rebellion as a precursor, as a rebellion that set the stage for enemies to attempt a coup? We say “Like father, like son,” but David ups the ante. The “sins of the fathers” is at play here. We need a revision: “Like father, like all under the influence.” Moses, David, Yeshua—all responsible for the ones who followed. And so are you!”
What does this mean, Skip?
And did anyone else read it different than how he intended?
It means we aren’t islands in the stream. It means we carry communal responsibility. It means we have a share in the lives of those who follow us. It means it’s very hard.
That’s exactly how I took it. Thanks!
This was just conformation of why I should be more like Jesus. In the bible, I believe it says that if you fall, it causes your brother to stumble (Romans 14:21). If we keep this in mind, we will be able to do a little better each day.