Perfect Passion
I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies. Psalm 139:22 NASB
Utmost– So you hate what God hates? If you’re with David on this, then you hate those people who malign God’s reputation. You want nothing to do with them. You avoid them at all costs. In fact, you hate them perfectly. That’s the meaning of this term, taklît, that is, to bring a process to completion, to finish the job, to make it perfect. This is so important to David that he places it first in the sentence. “With complete hatred I hate them,” he says. Oswalt comments: “It is not that a person simply came to a certain point in the process and stopped, but that he or she carried it out in full. An example is found in Ruth 3:18 where Naomi tells Ruth that Boaz will not rest ‘until he has finished the thing.’”[1] In fact, one of the derivatives of the Hebrew root is “annihilation.” There could hardly be a stronger term for “complete.”
How does this make you feel? Are you ready to stand with David and declare your utter and complete hatred for all who oppose God? You’d better start making a very long list.
Or is there something else going on here? Doesn’t it seem as if David is going over the top? It’s almost as if David is trying to make amends for his previous complaint against God’s oversight by accentuating his perfect devotion to God when it comes to God’s enemies. In other words, it almost feels like David is making a very big point of his affiliation with God (at the expense of the wicked) in order to make sure God doesn’t get angry at him for raising those previous questions. After all, who can really walk away from everyone who ever insults God’s honor? Are we to adopt the lifestyle of the desert fathers and flee to solitude in order to maintain our pure faith? What would that mean if all the righteous left the rest of the world behind? Is that really what God wants? Maybe David didn’t have a chance to listen to God’s instructions through Jeremiah (chapter 29). But David did know the story of Noah and of his great-grandmother, Ruth. Do you suppose that David seriously desires to flee the scene, or is this hyperbole to make a point? How you answer these questions will have a lot of influence over your exegesis of the next few verses.
And what about you? Is your hatred of all that opposes God perfectly complete? Or have you reached a certain stage and then stopped, not yet willing to finish the job? Perhaps you and I resist taklît because we know that it also involves us. We are, in some places and spaces, God’s enemies. So if we really sought perfect hatred toward everything and everyone who at any time opposes Him, where would that leave us? Still standing with David?
Topical Index: taklît, completion, perfection, Psalm 139:22
[1]Oswalt, J. N. (1999). 982 כָלָה. 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.) (439). Chicago: Moody Press.
Hello, could it be the standard that Paul has it? Beginning with the I ,me , and mine . The selfish person? Time changing to it’s all about the one who saved me by his grace. Observation. We can do it on our own by ourselves. Then only with God can I overcome this..More than conguerors. the application here would be… We can walk within this world come up with all its hatred and vile actions, yet we walk righteously among them who are our adversaries, in unity together., in Victory. And in complete control, with God as our King. The indwelling. Spirit leading us all in the same Justice and motives.
For effect, now mentally posted to my bathroom mirror…”And what about you? Is your hatred of all that opposes God perfectly complete?”
David could be at the point of completely emptying himself. Is this a desperate call to be one with God at any cost?
Let’s wait and see how the Psalm finishes.
I had several thought triggers after reading this post. My thought is the way I hate these things, dispositions that oppose God, beginning with me of course, is to “not love”’ that which opposes. This looks like to NOT give it life, feed it, strengthen it, connect to it, encourage it, be a source for it. I believe that as individuals we are not always clear that God hates what we hate for the reason we hate it. The Bible does become confusing when we lose the overall message and goal by hanging on a word. It’s less confusing when we keep in mind there’s a “time” for everything … there is a time to destroy, dismantle, annihilate but the reason for doing it makes the difference.
Our battle is not with flesh and blood and the weapons we use are not carnal. This warfare is spiritual. So to seek perfect hatred would follow the belief that this warfare is and always was spiritual at its root. The box is created when we think we have words that perfectly describe spiritual freedom and fluidity. I am what I am says it best. Like David we do our best but David is not God and mostly God is not a man.
It’s interesting if you look at all the forms involving the term S-N (s-n-a, to hate). To change, alter, oppose, second, tooth (as opposed or opposite to the other tooth) and to hate. It also is the term (s-n-I) used of the anti (?) messiah. Perhaps the issue of perfect hatred has more to do with opposing and or altering with the intent of destroying all that has changed or altered from God’s original design in myself and those who I engage with. (or not) If it’s intentional,( and I’m pretty sure it is) it’s a brilliant word play.
I believe that returning to God’s original design is key. It has to my intent to destroy that which alters as Robert shared. When a parasite begins to live off our bodies, disturbing the flow, we call that dis-ease or disharmony… Our goal becomes eliminate and evict so that we may return to the path of health and wholeness. Dis-ease works against the original goal of health and wholeness.
Another thought from Roberts Lafoy’s comment is that Messiah appeared to destroy the works of the devil – ultimately destroying, opposing, coming against, the violation of God’s law of love.
1 John 3:8 The one who practices sin [separating himself from God, and offending Him by acts of disobedience, indifference, or rebellion] is of the devil [and takes his inner character and moral values from him, not God]; for the devil has sinned and violated God’s law from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
Amen!
I liked a point that Cloud9 made In regards to the fact that we are not fighting flesh and blood, and our weapons are not carnal. We are not involved in physical warfare, at least not here, like David was. He was a man of war. He had blood on his hands. The gentle,tender Shepherd boy became a lean mean fighting machine. He got his first human experience of it with Goliath. It had to affect him. Maybe that’s what we need to become more like in our own spiritual warfare. Have we become too easily adjusted to being friends with the world? Have we given place to the Devil in our own lives? Do we too easily cohabitate with those who do evil? Are the lines blurred? Who really belongs to God? Are we worshiping the one true God or have we created a God in our own image and this are worshiping ourselves ?
James 4:8; II Corinthians 6:17. Our hearts become separated unto God. We are still in this world but we belong to Another.
In going back over that passage that I mentioned in II Corinthians 6, I would have to include verses 14 through the end of the chapter. He’s talking about making agreements with the world system. Being involved in their worship system. It happens so easily and gradually that we barely notice. We certainly haven’t hated like David spoke of hate. We haven’t recognized or paid attention to the dangers of playing with a snake…. in so many ways we have become desensitized maybe because we have a barrage of television, radio, Internet, Facebook, you name it. Just a thought. We might be guilty of making love to the world…. just a thought. Wouldn’t want to get too extreme ……
I like that, Larry. the current world religion of Me starts with an alternate ‘source’ of power: namely, money, and is practiced with the congregation of the Tolerant. We all implicitly agree on the evolutionary bedrock of ‘survival of the fittest’ (even though there is no corollary for that in reality) and then race each other to the top of the crab heap in the money hole we all jumped in. It’s a rat (or crab) race out (um, in) there!
Try jumping off that train: none of the crabs are going to like it! Laws of the world, conventions of society; norms of ‘getting along’ and not ‘rocking the boat’ (the religion of Tolerance decrees that no one can make anyone else uncomfortable); not to mention the economic ‘punishment’ implicit for anybody trying not to play the game; all of it works together to scare us (there’s the fear all religion has as a base) into compliance.
Look at Daniel & friends in Babylon as a pattern to follow. They bucked the food offered to idols (modern corollary could be any food-like substance where quality was ‘sacrificed’ for monetary gain), and refused to bow down to the norms of the time. Do we make decisions based on economic ‘reward’, rather than on love(obedience)? Hmm. Babylon may have crept into the middle of my house!
Thanks for enlarging on what I was saying Laurita. So well said and helpful. It’s good to get a focus on what is actually happening in our society, in our churches, and our homes and in our hearts. It seems to be playing out right in front of our faces but we are somewhat asleep and in many cases in a deep slumber. Remember, the enemy came during the “night time“ And sowed the tares among the wheat.
This is important. Feel like the Holy Spirit is saying the night is far spent the day is at hand…..??
David, a man after God’s own heart. Is God’s heart full of hate for those who do not revere Him or is the same God who desires that none should perish for lack of knowledge. Is He the same God who says to pray for our enemies and those who persecute us. If we flee then who will demonstrate what being a God fearing person lives like. Oh those strange people, who would want to be like them. We already are seen differently but to hate those so much that we distance ourselves does not seem very much what God would ask of us.
I agree. It doesn’t seem much like what God wants us to do — NOW! But we are looking at the scene from 3000 years after David, who, by the way, was called a man after God’s own heart BY PAUL, not by any specific verse in the tanakh. So, exegetically, are we imposing our 3000+ year view on David, or are we going to try to understand David’s words in their own context?
Skip,
Rav Shaul certainly helps us to understand King David. Trying to put myself in Davids shoes I would think David would understand the commandments of God in the OT- specifically love thy neighbor. David also understands that vengeance is the LORD’s to take (Deut. 32:35) and not his. David knows the commandments and would rely on them to justify his feeling towards others. Since David knows the heart of God I think he would understand grace and mercy as well.
Sorry Skip: I don’t stand with David. He was a great example, but lived by the OT, we are suppose to be living NT.
You have been safe, for the last month or so because of computer ‘down in the dumps’ But “too churchy” is back. Since Jesus ‘work’ on the cross and is now sitting on the right hand of God. We are living in/under a new, perfect covenant. And if we let condemnation of sins destroy our joy that were forgiven 2000 years ago prevent us from approaching God — when He is already in our Hearts, mind and soul, the body is a slow learner. WE are saying Jesus didn’t do it all The condemnation comes from our own conscience, not God. Rabbi Eric you shouldn’t try on David shoes –you have better ones. But Shaul/Paul told us we can’t live in both covenants, pick death or life, old is death, because you can’t live perfectly, in the new covenant were all winners, we already have what can’t ever earn, eternal life. Yes we gain wisdom from the Torah.and Prophets, and Psalems, but not salvation, that comes from/through Christ alone.(Jn 14:6) One of my pastors stayed in Acts. every Saturday Night. for 3 1/2 years. Word by word, or two or three words. vs-vs, maybe sometime a chapter..
Living with Paul, Peter John ,James etc walking on/in their paths opened up a new view of what they were doing. Which is the same thing Jesus calls us to do. The New Testament is like a modern picture, you look at it and it doesn’t make sense They tell you their’s a bird or one I saw they said Jesus was there, But I couldn’t see Him..Stared for long time and suddenly there He was. Then everytime I look at the picture I couldn’t see anything but Jesus. In life that all I see now. But you have to ‘walk it’ Shalom P.S. As Andrew Wommack say’s “God is not mad, so stop struggling with sin and judgment.” It’s all taken care of on the cross.
Oh my friend, the Bible is but one book not two. The Old is the foundation for the New. Without the OT the New Covenant would not only make no sense but it would never have stood the test of time. Yeshua, Shaul (Paul) and all of the writers of the New Testament were Jewish followers of the Old Testament and Torah. They learned Torah and observed Torah not because it brought them salvation but taught them the difference between sin and righteous living. I agree salvation comes though our confession of Yeshua as our LORD and savior and not from Torah. Only then can the Ruach HaKodesh guide our paths and help us to understand God’s Word. Keep in mind the Ruach did not just appear in the NT but was always in existence, just as grace and mercy have always been a part of God’s character. I pray you ask God to open your eyes and ears to see the role of His entire Word. I send this in love, no judgement or condemnation whatsoever.,
Your brother in Messiah,
I know it’s one story from beginning to end(Gen –Rev.)) but you’ll noticed God always had us in His love before there was any Jews. He love Adam and Eve even before He chose Abraham.The reason kick them out of the Garden was fear that they would eat of the tree of life and live a sinfilled life for eternity As Paul said, to the Jew first then the Gentile. God did respond differently toward mankind for the first approx 2000 years, It was with Moses, where God did get a little
tougher, because mankind had taken love as a sign to keep sinning. With Christ all things became new.(As the Prophets told us). Yes the Spirit was present in the “OT” but he selected who He talked to. Now he lives in our hearts. Moses could talk to God but the people were afraid of Him. I really don’t disagree at AT ALL with you, but as Paul says over and over Jesus gave us a better covenant. a better way of life; He dosen’t impute our sin on us as under Moses, the Cross took care of that.
Love you, Shalom. I’m your brother in Messiah. I enjoy the conversation the only way I learn. I’m also connected with a Messianic here in Tacoma, Rabbi Brent and I really enjoy our times together.
Another P.S. If God is silent, it’s not God that is silent—I just didn’t turn on my ‘Hearing Aid’
This is a challenging and thought-provoking word from Sugar Ray. Sometimes in order to be free from previous ways of thinking, maybe even a bit of brainwashing, a person might sound a little “ churchy”. For we who are attempting to come out of the box we have been in, how we sound and what we say may just be our clumsy attempt at being free! Despite the truth of the finished work of Christ, I still struggle with condemnation and guilt from the past. As hard as we may try it is not possible for us to set ourselves free. I pray that my thinking becomes more like a son and less like an orphan!
Anne Lamott said: “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”
Does that mean if we hate all the same people God hates that we are created in His image? Apparently some buy into this BS (Belief System)
I am beginning to see David as very human; flawed, limited and a product of his time and culture – just like me, but I don’t believe my hatred is something that either impresses YHWH or curries me favor with Him. Love, on the other hand, may…though it is hard to find and harder to do.
LOVE LOVE LOVE that quote. It speaks volumes to the human condition. I might add that, your right, if you assume that everybody should like the things you like as well, and we could go on……still can’t find that “popular opinion (not majority) area” where everyone walks about in harmony with me. Ughhh!!!!
Hate – one aspect of God’s many functions.
If I understand Rabbi Friedland correctly he teaches that we have two souls, one Godly and one human.
There are ten functions of God as Creator. They are;
Godly/Human;
1./2 Knowing/Intelligence +emotion
3./4 Love/Hate
5./6 Understanding/Reason
7./8 Strict+severe/Justice+judgement
9./10 Anger/Stubborn+determined
During life the role of the Godly soul is to teach the human soul how to be the former instead of the latter until they are re-united in the resurrection as one.
Works for me. In Wateroo County Ontario Mennonite culture there is a saying, “too soon we get old, too late we get smart.”
Maybe not smart, just more knowledgeable in God’s ways.