Silence of the Lambs (6)
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” Lamentations 3:24 NASB
My portion – When everything is stripped away, what sustains you? That’s the kind of question Job had to ask himself. It’s the same question the people of Israel needed to ask when Babylon erased their world. Maybe it’s our question as well.
We live in a bubble world. At least most of us do. A world where we pretend that life will continue on the prosperity/wellness track as it has in the past simply because we don’t want to think of another kind of world, a world where life becomes tenuous, where death and destruction are daily encounters, and where we no longer feel safe being alive. Our bubble world is made up of government promises, political slogans, trust in an artificial monetary system, and the insidious desire for ease and comfort. But that bubble can burst—as it has countless times in the past. History is witness to the fragility of such bubbles, and those who experienced the pop when the surface tension broke were cast into nearly unimaginable worlds of terror and trauma. Not so long ago, this was familiar to families in the Western world, just as it has been familiar to people in the ancient world time and time again.
When that happens (as it inevitably will), what is your “portion”? The Hebrew term is ḥēleq. It means “allotment, piece, share, division” or “part.” Two important characteristics of this word must be noted. First, it has legal ramifications. It is used for dividing up the Land and for other divisions that sustain a society (food, shelter, security, etc.). It’s not about “fair.” It’s about “necessary.” Second, God is the one who makes the division. In its verbal form, this raises an issue. “The question is asked if it is he who ‘distributes’ pains in his wrath (Job 21:17) which ‘divides’ (KJV ‘scatters’ RSV) the wicked.”[1] Resolving this is the subject of discussions on sovereignty and choice. As a noun, ḥēleq “is used with a technical nuance of share of land given to all the tribes when they entered the land. In this use the term is parallel with ‘inheritance’ (naḥălâ). On the principle that ‘the land is the Lord’s inheritance,’ the land share came to be regarded as synonymous with ‘share of land’ (ḥebel) given out by lot to the tribes.”[2] So, while God makes the division (of all things), His people benefit by receiving a divinely-allotted portion.
Until the world falls apart. Then the poet declares the truly fundamental division of the world—God or nothing. What matters when it all comes crashing down is that “God is my portion.” I have a share in Him. I am allotted to Him. He is my safety and sustenance. If that isn’t the case, then the crash will destroy me. If it is the case, then the crash will hurt, but I will live.
Topical Index: portion, ḥēleq, division, Lamentations 3:24
[1] Wiseman, D. J. (1999). 669 חָלַק. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 293). Chicago: Moody Press.
