The Turning Point
“And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.” Psalm 39:7 NASB
For what – Remember the punctuation. Hebrew doesn’t have any. So the phrase, ma(h)-q-qiwwiti, could be a question or it could be a statement, like, “I wait for.” Or it could be, “Now, Lord, what. I wait.” The verb is qāwâ, here in the Pi’el, an intensive action. Whether a question or a statement, this is deeply emotionally involved. Given what comes before this verse, we are hardly surprised. But maybe we should be.
How would you react in the face of extermination? What would you think about all your accomplishments if you knew they would all be swept away? Would you resign yourself to sheer survival? Would you give up? Would you cry out to the lead-lined heavens? These questions aren’t so theoretical when we consider the Holocaust. What happens to people when they stare into the darkness of sheer evil and they know they will be erased, their families will be erased, their efforts, their accomplishments, their very existence as a people will be erased? What do they do? What would you do?
David pens hope, but not hope in restoration or deliverance or justice. David’s hope can only be fixed in one thing: God Himself. Nothing else lasts. Nothing. So, what does David wait for? He waits for tôḥelet, “hope,” a word derived from the verb yāḥal, meaning both “wait” and “hope.” Gilchrist’s analysis is crucial:
This yāḥal “hope” is not a pacifying wish of the imagination which drowns out troubles, nor is it uncertain (as in the Greek concept), but rather yāḥal “hope” is the solid ground of expectation for the righteous. As such it is directed towards God.[1]
Once more we are reminded that faith is perseverance. Faith is continuance despite all the transitory conditions of life on earth. Faith is persistence, tenacity, determination; the steadfast will to believe in a God of goodness, mercy and justice no matter what life throws at us. In this sense, faith is truly unimaginable and inexplicable, because left to ourselves Ecclesiastes is the only answer. But David refuses. And in the end, perhaps that is the true center of faith—to refuse; to refuse the inevitable, the inescapable, the destined. To not bend to the will of this realm but to stand against the night. To reject the tsunami of purposelessness and shout, “My waiting is for You!”
Is this who you are, a protestor against the dark, a warrior who will not surrender even when defeated? Are you the one who struggles with God and men and perseveres? Or is life just too much to bear and so, like David’s audience, you pretend you control your fate?
Topical Index: fate, qāwâ, wait, tôḥelet, hope, perseverance, Psalm 39:7
[1]Gilchrist, P. R. (1999). 859 יָחַל. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament(electronic ed., p. 373). Chicago: Moody Press.
A READER’S NOTE: Recently a reader sent me this link to a quotation from Andy Stanley. If you thought for one moment that Replacement Theology was waning in the Christian world, think again. The idea that “Jesus” replaced the “Law” is just as strong today as it was when it was invented centuries ago. CLICK HERE to view the video and article.
Regarding your READERS NOTE: Take heart, these preachers will never really throw out all of the OT–its what they point to each November/December when preaching about the duty to tithe!
You are undoubtedly right.
I have heard it said and I fully agree, that the choices are, to either read the New Testament to an Old Testament lens, or read the Old Testament through a new testament lens, many don’t see the obvious choice, I asked them which came first?
This is an excellent way of defining the paradigms, Brother Brett. I love it, and will share it. Thank you!
I know Christians who don’t tithe. I even know Christians who don’t give as they are able (1 Cor 16). And, bless me, I can’t find Deut 35:32 in any of the Bibles I have… can any of you? Tongue in cheek, I doubt he meant 32:32, but…
We struggled our way through the article. It is so incredibly sad, grievous to our hearts, this blindness. This prophesied blindness.
“Whether through disdain or neglect, Christian history tells us that many Christians have not found the OT a “treasure” to their faith.” – Robert Foster, in the article linked to Stanley’s article.
Hope, like any other spiritual muscle, can only be built in the gym of life. I think we put our hope in whatever (or whoever) we are already putting our trust in, but because trust is also only built in that gym of experience (and NOT on cognitive assurance), most of us remain unaware of where we actually stand until life sweeps away all those other possible grounds for our faith and hope. In that day, we can find ourselves grasping a rope of sand built out of reliance upon things of earth. This is not the end of all things: I suspect that this is the only possible beginning, for only where we feel the true weight of our NEED FOR trust; our need for hope, is it possible to build such muscles.
Faith is built in places where we have no other possible grounds for trust, for if there are any straws of knee- jerk reaction possible floating around, we, sure as God made little green apples, are going to try grasping them! Only in the truly stuck places, where we can see with our own eyes (experience) that NOTHING ON EARTH can possibly ‘save’ us, is it possible, I believe, for us to truly believe (trust) that only something (One) else can. Only in that place, where we experience our true frozen, dead condition, can we understand that we are going to need Someone else’s faith, for our flesh faith fails us. It is not faith IN Christ that saves us: the verses tell us that it is His faith: His faith in us, Himself, His Father: His perfect trust, the “faith OF Christ”, that we must hold onto for dear life. That is a rope that our hand is only free to grab when we have already dropped (or had it torn out of our grasp) all other hope of all other sources we thought we could trust. This is where it begins. Halelluah!
Amen….
“Relax – nothing is under your control”……I saw this on the wall at the coffee shop the other day, and your comment, Laurita, reminded me of the child-like faith that Jesus spoke of: – to stop grasping for “straws” an be held by the hands of the Father. Thank you!!
To my mind, to hope is to stand settled in the guarantee of God’s promise manifesting. That period of time from promise given to promise completion is filled with distraction and attempted distraction, the temptation to provide a solution myself, even the experience of telling myself I misunderstood the promise.
The picture of a woman carrying a child to her fullness of time in delivery is my example. Doubt, worry, anxiety, fear, are they part of that period of waiting? Comes the birth and the labor, that period of time while the body prepares to bring forth the promise, the pain of that, all necessary and pronounced just prior to birth. The realization that in spite of the pain, this is going to happen. And the joy that follows when His promise has brought forth the fruit of that promise.
All I know is once I was dead but now I live, and through these promises, guarantees, I’m being conformed to the likeness of the One true Living God. And I thank Him for that.
Your suggestion of a pregnant woman carrying to term as picture of hope may be better than what you think. The Hebrew word is most often translated “hope” in the KJV but I believe, especially in modern English, “hope” gives us a poor understanding of what is trying to be said.
It is true that a mother may be “hoping” for either a boy or a girl, but she is not said to be “hoping” for a baby. No, we say, she is “expecting” a baby. And this goes exactly to my point. Strong says the word, tiqvah, literally means, “a cord, as an attachment, but figuratively it means, expectation”. And even the KJV, in a number of verses, does translate it as “expectation”.
The same goes for the Greek equivalent in the N.T. Strong also includes, “anticipate” and “confidence” in its definition, so, we should always be thinking, “expectation” when we read, “hope”, as in, our faith does NOT give us some kind of hopeful hope in our resurrection, but instead, our faith generates a firm expectation of our resurrection.
The following verses express such an expectation, – in power; God promised; full assurance; anchored; sure and steadfast; – Be assured we are not participating in a gamble.
King James Version
Rom_15:13 in hope, THROUGH the POWER of the Holy Ghost.
2Co_1:7 our hope of you is STEDFAST
Tit_1:2 in hope of eternal life, which GOD . . . PROMISED . . .
Heb_6:11 . . . FULL ASSURANCE of hope . . .
Heb_6:19 hope . . . as an ANCHOR . . . both SURE and STEDFAST
Often I am drawn to consider this war between the Kingdoms in conflict. The only true and complete reward for our struggles is in the world to come. While we can yet maintain (if we are mindful of it) a victory in our spirits, we suffer loss daily. This is why I subscribe to burials rather than cremation. If with nothing else, when I depart from this earth suite, I can maintain with my bones a few square feet belonging to the kingdom of Yehovah.The rest is up to him.
I read the article. Yes, very straightforward replacement theology. It would be nice to have someone counter the argument point by point so a layperson could understand. I try to read sentences with thirty words using five syllable words to make their point, but it does get tedious for someone who is not a scholar. And one of my questions is if YHVH hates human sacrifice how does that come into play. Is it a matter of words? Yeshua is not a “sacrifice” but He did give up His life for us so that we might have life.
Did you not read the link to the original Oct. CT Robert Foster critique? I think it answers your comment re “point to point counter.”
Anne Lamott said: “Hope begins in the dark.”
To me, the problem is that most people (myself included) are too quick to flee the darkness because it is uncomfortable, scary and lonely. So rather than incubate we hatch ourselves prematurely. And we think that because we have made a mental assent and decision to follow Messiah and do all things right according to “the light we have received” we somehow mystically or magically become “light” or are “in the light” or have become “the light on the hill”. We then go merrily on our way to convenience, complacency and captivity. We forgot, or were never taught, that death, darkness and desolation are not detours, but destinations. We happily skip over the dreaded dark and head right to the resurrection and glory goodies. But YHWH will not allow anyone to “cut in line” or “skip a grade”. Some, more than others, experience the dim darkness and know daily the desperation of desolation and the destruction of death. Maybe these are the meek who inherit the earth, but I have discovered that I am not “blessed” simply because I am in the dark, desperate and desolate. I am beginning to understand that it is not just the cross of Messiah that determines my destiny, but also MY cross and how well I bear it. It is two crosses, not one, that leads to life. My cross was given to me at age 5 with a TBI (and another at age 11 for good measure). I didn’t carry it. It carried me. For six decades I have been in a fog (or a bog) and I never really realized reality or participated in society. I have incessantly complained about its brutality and injustice. Therefore both crosses were not just diminished, but dammed up. I have cursed the darkness and dreaded the desolation and therefore death never came, nor the resurrection. May it be that I begin to carry my cross bodly rather than drag it begrudgingly. How? I truly don’t have a clue. I am both unsure and immature, but the rest of the Anne Lamott quote that “Hope begins in the dark” ends with ” the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.” I have made it 67 years, so perhaps I should hang in there another few. Maybe this darkness will have a light at the end of the tunnel and this despair a delight at its demise. Hopefully I will not just be “a protestor against the dark”, but “a warrior who will not surrender even when defeated”.
I rarely ask for prayer, perhaps pride prohibits it, but depression at times calls for desperate measures. I am depressed, dispirited and desperate (but also determined). Please pray for me. Thanks.
I will absolutely pray for you, brother. Best way to go about in the dark is by holding Someone Else’s hand who already knows the way. Peace be with you.
I’ve known you for awhile now, and I must say, you’re steadfast. Perseverance is the Hebrew term for faith. I will also offer prayers.
Dear Michael,
I’ll be praying for you.
Remember, the heavy lifting was done on HIS cross.
How amazing it is that we’ve been invited to carry our
own cross as we discover we do so with an immense
inner peace that can only come from Him. As we “deny
ourselves”, we experience His living waters flowing through
us, allowing us to release our notion of self reliance.
Give Him time . . . give yourself time.
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for me will save it.”
Shalom and many blessings!
Thank you brother for sharing your heart in need. I to have known you long enough to now you on the other side of the dark night . May this night be different from all other dark-nights. We pray you are victorious even if you do not know it. May you know you are not in a position to judge. May you faithfully walk through the dark into the unimaginable dawn. May cracks in the darkness let hope leak into your heart, something pure and powerful. I remember even if you do not your other side has shown through with light, hope, faith and wisdom. Know that this moment, this experience this dread shall past. The dark night of the soul is followed by the dawn of the new day. Night inevitably followed by half light and dawn. This is the way of things. Know you do not go alone, we walk beside you in spirit with the great cloud of witnesses those who have gone before and we who know the dark night but still remember the dawn- pray for you now. {this is mark}
Kathryn, Mark’s wife posting: I saw something years ago when I worked in the jewelry business. One of the jewelers liked to refine his own gold from the scrap metal he received. It was a complex process involving many steps, and each one (if the metal had been alive} pretty brutal. The metal needed to be cleaned, crushed, subjected to deadly chemicals to dissolve the various alloys and impurities originally present (nothing wrong with the metal, just not 24 karat). I never saw the whole process, but one day I happened to come to his shop when he was about to do the last step. In a large flask I saw small pebbles of coal black. I asked him what it was and he said ” Pure gold”, then he lit his torch and lightly waved it across the black pebbles and instantly they shone pure deep yellow reflecting the light all around. And I instantly saw God was showing me a secret of His ways with some of us. Until that last soft flame transformed the gold no one but God could imagine what was really there was the finest 24 karat gold. He will not let you be tested beyond what you can endure. Scrap pot metal is just thrown away. You are clearly NOT pot metal.
Kathryn thank you this is exactly how YHVH works with many of us. I’m half way through a part-time jewllery making course. What amazed me was that each time you wanted to work the metal silver/gold/brass etc you have to anneal it. Then you ‘work it’ beat/hammer/incise etc. It hardens up…you can repeat this process over and over till you have the finish you want and it gets polished etc. It jumped out at me that this is what it is to walk with our maker…annealing/hammering etc and…….one day the final polishing! Ah…..I gues that will be when Messiah comes again!
Shabbat shalom
Christine
Kathryn and I worked this analogy out a few years back. I call it the pounding. Kathryn btw is a world class master carver (of wax for molding into fine jewery) and nationally recognized jewelry designer who has studied with some of the indusrties best. She’s to modest to mention her credentials but I’m not. Posting this will likly get me in truble if she finds I shared her history, but I do know the gift and power of silence..
https://worksofwords.live/2015/08/16/the-pounding/
Thank you……wish I could take a few classes with her!
Blessings
Have a good week
She does not teach but I am sure she would be willing to talk with you contact me through my ideastudiosdotcom contact page and I’ll connect you two…
I join the others in prayer for you. It is clear in your post that sharing your present state was an act of courage. You wrote … “Hopefully I will not just be “a protestor against the dark”, but “a warrior who will not surrender even when defeated”.”
Said another way, we are more than “protestors against the dark” we are LIGHT sent to open eyes… to turn folks from dark to light … from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance (Acts 26:16-18). Keep your light on! The stars show best against a dark canvas and truly the stars of courage, confession and community are shining bright for you. May patience overtake you as you wait on the God of peace to restore you.
Praying for you, Michael.
A thought for our friends on T.W. …https://worksofwords.live/2018/12/20/season-of-light/
This is so weird. Today, before I read your Dec 21 Today’s Word, I watched a discussion from the Torah Club (which I came across for the very first time today) on Andy Stanley’s new book, “Irresistible…”. I was so saddened how Replacement Theology is alive and well in Christianity; to “divorce” from the Tanakh and more so the people whom The Father appointed. As for your reading for 12/21/18, Thank you so much. Your article reminded me to actively wait on The Creator of the Universe, when things get dark and lonely and you can’t find your way out.