With Malice Aforethought
For they speak against You wickedly, and Your enemies take Your name in vain. Psalm 139:20 NASB
Wickedly– What does it mean to speak against God wickedly? Hebrew poetry often employs parallelism in order to provide elaboration of one idea with another. In this verse, mezimmâ (from zāmam, “to plan, devise, consider”) is equated to taking YHVH’s name in vain. So we know that speaking against God wickedly is the same as making His name worthless, empty or inconsequential. Of course, the allusion is to the Commandments. Unfortunately, most Western religious believers think that taking God’s name in vain is the equivalent of using foul language or swearing, but the prohibition is much greater. The true meaning of the third commandment is about speaking or acting in such a way that God’s name is made insignificant or without proper respect. TWOT comments:
That the primary meaning of šāw ʾ[“in vain”] is “emptiness, vanity” no one can challenge. It designates anything that is unsubstantial, unreal, worthless, either materially or morally. . . The evidence points to the fact that taking the Lord’s name (i.e. his reputation) “in vain” will surely cover profanity, as that term is understood today, or swearing falsely in the Lord’s name. But it will also include using the Lord’s name lightly, unthinkingly, or by rote. Perhaps this is captured by the LXX’s translation of laššāwʾ as epi mataiō “thoughtlessly.”[1]
David’s use of zimmâ extends the prohibition further. Zimmâ is no longer restricted to verbal and volitional insults. Zimmâ brings the entire realm of human disobedience into view.
When referring to men, both the verb and noun usually speak of evil plans and schemes. In Gen 11:6 the extent of human scheming is seen in the plan to build the tower of Babel. The only other occurrence in the Pentateuch is in Deut 19:19, where a false witness earns the punishment he had intended another to receive. In Psalms and Proverbs the wicked plot against the righteous man, gnashing at him with their teeth (Ps 37:12) or scheming to kill him (Ps 31:13 [H 14]; cf. Prov 30:32). Pride drives an evil man to persecute the godly partly because in his thinking (mĕzimmôt) there is no God (Ps 10:4). Job complains about the thoughts of the comforters who are ruining his reputation (Job 21:27). . .
Twice, the noun is linked with the verb “to do” (Ps 37:7; Jer 11:15) implying that an “evil deed” may be the meaning intended. Yet the idea may be that the wicked are “carrying out” evil schemes, thus preserving the basic mental frame of reference behind zāmam.[2]
Did you note that David’s use extends the meaning to actions toward the righteous? In other words, every time someone behaves in a way that diminishes the status of God’s righteous people, that person has acted with malice aforethought toward God. Needless to say, on this scale the world is filled to the brim with mezimmâ. We must note that this Hebrew word is almost always associated with God’s judgment. It is truly a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God despite the fact that nearly all human kind fail to grasp that fact.
David’s poem has now taken a decided turn toward godly alignment. David is now defending God’s honor, something he seemed to question when the poem began. What changed his mind? The presence of evil in the world. There is little point in stressing over God’s watchfulness over me when the whole world seems consumed with malice toward the Creator. Better to deal with the bigger issue first: justice and honor for God.
Topical Index: zāmam, malice, wickedness, Psalm 139:20
[1]Hamilton, V. P. (1999). 2338 שׁוא. 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.) (908). Chicago: Moody Press.
[2]Wolf, H. (1999). 556 זָמַם. 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.) (244). Chicago: Moody Press.
When we were created vicegerents of this world, God purposed that He would accomplish His will through us. Somehow, we seem to think that that design changed with the Fall (thus feeding our self pitiful excuse that we somehow cannot obey our design as stewards) but in the discourse with Abraham before the S&G nuking I believe we can see that nothing changed.
I used to think evil was all-powerful and that the good had to ‘fight’ it; however, when it came down to brass tacks and I found myself seemingly surrounded with evil, I ended up merely tilting at windmills because I never could figure out what I had to fight or with what to fight it with. In the end, I found myself fighting myself, and gave up. (Good move.)
Now I know for a fact that evil does not have as much as a single leg to stand on: it is a total parasite looking to stand on the feet, backs and blessings of the good. All it asks is that the good look the other way while it picks its pockets, or, failing that, try to engage with it directly (the Bible calls all such engagements “witchcraft”) either through negotiating with OR attempting to ‘fight’ it (you will always lose, like I did). Better yet, convince the good that it either doesn’t ‘matter’ if it co-exists, or, best of all, that evil is actually either not evil, or that good is actually not that good (effective). With all these scenarios, good will lose and/or give up. Evil takes the prize.
The only safe way to live with evil is to not live with it: to totally disagree with it and “overcome evil with good”. We cannot do this without hating it with “perfect hatred”, however, for hate gives us the impetus to stomp it under our feet where it belongs (even if it bites our ankles when we do). This is the only engagement with the enemy that it is safe for us to do; however.
How do we hate evil? Stop actively feeding it, for starters; either by agreeing with it in some large or secret way, or by ‘tolerating’ it (which still gives it the only legitimacy it will ever have). Next, stop letting it use us as an excuse, which means that we have to clean up our own acts. Finally, we have to directly oppose evil (which is HOW we obey) once we have quit the disobedience listed above.
How do we oppose it? We name it by its own name (instead of allowing it to use ours by letting it pretend that we are the cause of it or by letting it masquerade under our terminology: “calling evil good”). Then we overcome it by cutting off OURSELVES FROM IT; whereupon it collapses onto the floor and disappears (or hops another ride on some other unsuspecting good). Until we can do this well, we are still codepending evil, and it still exists BECAUSE OF US; and only because of us.
I think if the good ever got together and singlemindedly (as a single unit) opposed evil, we would see the end of the world as we know it, for we would have figured out how to cast the Ring into the fires of Mount Doom. I am convinced that the only reason evil still exists is because the good has not cut off the pipeline yet.
144,000: “atten-hut!”
“it is a total parasite looking to stand on the feet, backs and blessings of the good. All it asks is that the good look the other way while it picks its pockets”
“it collapses onto the floor and disappears (or hops another ride on some other unsuspecting good).”
“the only reason evil still exists is because the good has not cut off the pipeline yet”
Hi Laurita, your good ole southern Georgia/Carolina gal metaphors never cease to boggle my tiny little structured foreign mind, but isn’t the topic using God’s name in vain?
Forgiven. Stand easy. Dismissed, with love.
Yes Laurita! Amen.That 144,000 is either still in preparation mode or still in the loins.
One of the verses that came to me in contemplating what you’re saying is Psalm 29:2. “Give the Lord, the glory due His name”. The word “common” comes to mind . He is not being held in esteem, not only by our words but more so by our deeds, we are not honoring Him. The hatred of the world for God has affected or infected the body of Christ, slowly but surely, gradually. Like the story in the New Testament where the enemy came in during the night and sowed tares among the wheat. Could it be the strategy of the principalities and powers and the rulers of darkness?! Just saying …..
With Malice Aforethought. January 27, 2019
What came to mind while reading this TW was the verse ‘I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you’ which I have come to think affects people who curse other people and not just Israel. I have had questions in my mind —-certainly can’t prove it—but things have happened to others I know personally who were against me or could have been even though I wasn’t directly aware of it. Just for my beliefs mainly. One example: One night I had a terrible dream of a boss who treated me unfairly die of a heart attack. I told my daughters about it in the morning. I thought and maybe said that I hoped I wouldn’t hear that he has had a heart attack. Later I did find out that he was having chest pains and was encouraged to go in to have it checked out. Just in time possibly. It was just strange being that I had had a dream about it. One story regarding a family member is too hard to talk about but it took years before I related the verse to what happened. It just left a huge question mark in my mind.
Of course, I expect others to scoff at the possibility of the curses being related but it does seem to be what this TW is saying.
As for Israel as a country, the huge earthquake and tsunami in March of 2011 seemed like more than a coincidence being that on the 11th of March one year before, the government of Japan issued their stand against Israel. The government always issued (issues) their statements on the 11th of month regarding Israel I think which they had done before 2010. I have screenshots of them in English and in Japanese. You can read Maoz Israel’s article titled ‘Of Tragedy and Punishment: Why Japan?’ if you are interested. I don’t agree with everything in the article but otherwise it was very interesting.