Today
I cried out to You, O Lord; I said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Psalm 142:5 NASB
The land of the living – We bandy about the biblical phrase, “land of the living,” as if it were quite familiar. Perhaps the words are, but I wonder if we truly understand the impact of this idea. David is absolutely not crying out for eternal salvation. He is not interested in heaven, the here-after, or even tomorrow. None of those are the land of the living. The land of the living (‘erets ha-ḥayyîm) is today. That’s it! That’s all there is. Now. Today. This moment. That’s where we live. The double Yod present tense. There is no point in having a god who will rescue you tomorrow, or that day after, or in the next life. If God is not the God of now, then He is of no use to me. “Today is the day of salvation” is not merely an evangelical exhortation. It is an ontological reality. I don’t have any other day. Neither do you. And, by the way, neither does God. If He is going to be my God, then He must be present today. There are absolutely no guarantees that ḥayyîm will be here for me tomorrow.
Certainly Semitic thought recognizes the fragility of life. We would have noticed this immediately if we paid attention to the uses of ḥāyâ. TWOT notes that this verb means, “live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live forever. Also be quickened, revive from sickness, discouragement, or even death.”[1] Surprisingly, the verb for “life” can also mean “death.” Hebrew is about continuum, not categories. Today is the day of life in the land of the living. But tomorrow ḥāyâ can mean the end of life in the land of she’ol. If God is the God of those in the land of the living, then He is God today.
Perhaps we have overused the evangelical emphasis on the afterlife. We put more weight on heaven and hell than we do on the land of the living. This has serious consequences. First, it enables even religious people to disrespect the earth. If the real goal of existence is somewhere else, then it doesn’t matter what I do where I am now. So burn the forests, strip the hills, pollute the oceans, kill the species. Who cares, really? We’re all leaving anyway. Second, it allows us to rationalize compassionless morality. That’s the kind of moral behavior that says, “Well, they aren’t going where I’m going so I really don’t have to be concerned about them.” The only people that matter are the ones on my train. All the rest are doomed anyway. Third, loss of present consciousness for the land of the living produces a theology of death. Heschel is entirely correct when he notes that Christianity is fixated on death. Death is the center of its understanding of God and Christ. You might meditate on this a bit. Ask yourself how your life would change if the death on the cross were not the focal point of your faith.
David cries out for a living God in life today. Does anything else really matter?
Topical Index: land of the living, ‘erets ha-ḥayyîm, today, Psalm 142:5
[1] Smick, E. B. (1999). 644 חָיָה. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament.
As the saying goes, sort of, “when I have one foot mired in the past, and the other in the future, it is impossible to walk in ‘today’. “
The God of the Here and Now
Jesus is LORD. Not just the LORD of the “then,” but LORD of the “now.” Not just LORD of the “here and now,” but LORD of the “yet to be.” LORD, my dear friends of ETERNITY. When did we ever get the [false] idea “forever” starts when we (or I) die? No, no and no.
Eternal life is not only a “quantity” – it is a “quality” as well! Not to worry kids, we will not be siltting on a cloud one day, strumming a harp, and “wishing” for something to do! Oy! What feeble folk we are! Friend, “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man [including btw, our “wildest imagination”] of what God has “reserved in Heaven” for us! What will Heaven be like? lol! I can describe it in just one word: “better.” Or, as my English professor might say: “more gooder!”
Ahh, but what about “right here and right now?” What about Jonah, in the middle of a fish, and deep beneath the surface of the ocean waves? How did God {both] hear and answer Jonah’s plea for rescue?
And what about those three Hebrews who were thrown into the midst of the [perfectly heated] furnace?
Who [sumdumguy inquired] was that “fourth man?” Could it possibly be – “the LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty?” El Elyon Himself in the “likeness of a man.” Abraham foretold it: “God will provide Himself the Lamb,” and Yeshua HaMashiach Himself fulfilled it.” God did provide Himself the Lamb, – [just as He said!].
Did we forget to remember His words? ~ And lo, [take a good, long look at this] ~ I AM with you – [when?] – ALWAYS!!! May I? Hallejujah!
His Name? EmmanuEl. “God [is] with us.” – ALWAYS! Friends, we serve a risen Savior.
Lord of every thought and action,
LORD to send and LORD to stay;
LORD in speaking, writing, giving,
LORD in all things to obey;
Both now and evermore to be.
While Heschel is certainly entitled to his opinion that ‘Christianity is fixated on death’ I would not go so far as to say that ‘he is entirely correct’. I would not be fixated on death if it had not first been fixated on me! In the grip of death I gasped for life and grasped for Christ. Thus I don’t agree that “Death is the center of its (Christianity’s) understanding of God and Christ”; it is RESURRECTION that is at its center, but of course, you can’t have one without the other. Throughout the Scriptures the theme of death and life are co-joined and celebrated.
Amen! [lest we forget,] – “He has risen, just as He said!” (Matthew 28.6). If Christianity has a center, it has to be the resurrection of the Messiah. He lives!
~ But this Man, [the Man, Christ Jesus] because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them ~
May be G-d will text you answers or the loving kindness, your heart needs .
Maybe the messiah will come in text..
Isn’t Time, Love, Compassion Kindness, Forgiveness ,
Time is blessings is what we can do here while there is still time, It is holiness is a human thing, there is a noticeably difference. .
This morning I awoke with the random thoughts of what is swirling around in my life….those around me that are fixated on hearing a ‘spiritual word’ .. getting a ‘spiritual revelation’ or ‘mountain-top experience’…..all well and good. But then another thought overtook that and I wondered….is that simply a ‘spiritual’ justification for avoiding dealing in the ‘physical’??
Should not that spiritual information from the realm of the Holy One transferred to my finite mind BE the catalyst that enables me to walk in the natural? To fix the things that I, myself, have broken? Should not that ‘spiritual’ download give me the insight to heal those broken relationships, forgive the unforgivable, and run to the wounded?
If not….what good is it?
Pam, I think I am riding with you. One of the most unfortunate things I think we have done to ourselves is that attempt to divorce the spiritual from the physical. Can’t be done. The physical is but a manifestation of where we ALREADY ARE spiritually. What I believe defines how I choose and act. If I act differently than what I say I believe, it is proof that I do not actually believe it, and my Master will say “I never knew (experienced) you”. I think James said that, first…
Amein v’amein, Laurita!
Hello, “Today is all I have and so do you.”
This thought came quite real to me when involved in a 12-step program of recovery in the late 80’s and 90’s. G-d provides the gift of rest so belaboring the past or overt concern with the future are two phenomena that don’t weigh me down mentally and emotionally. I am glad to know Hebraic thought also supports this!
-Death on a cross? I am wrestling with this theology where the “cross” seems to become a near-idol than Yeshua being worshipped and glorified from our core! I once heard a Messianic writer on Michael Brown’s Line Of Fire program assert the cross is the dumping ground where I realize without G-d, I can do nothing and have done nothing. Similar to the reflections that were here several weeks ago on Yacov at the point of his crossing over. Thanks!
David R
This absolutely resonates with me. Today is what matters. The past we can learn from and tomorrow may never arrive. Why fixate on that we do not know when there is so much living to be done today?
Theologian N.T. Wright makes exactly the same points in his books Surprised by Hope and Simply Good News. In fact he is very concerned about the way ‘Evangelicalism’ so often emphasizes the “we’re outta here” mentality Skip refers to. Just yesterday I read something to the effect that we should concentrate on the ‘sweet bye-and-bye’ while ignoring the present bad, bad world. Sigh!
“Today” is a good word on exhortation.
Today while we have breath-
we shall live the way we are instructed to by His word…..
we shall keep Shabbat no matter how tired/busy we are….
we shall keep His appointed Times….
we desire His life manifested in us…..
“Certainly Semitic thought recognizes the fragility” and the value of life.
Meshiach “died for you and me”, has to be changed to -Meshiach resurrected for you and me!
Don’t put off Today, just live it! But, according to His ways! 🙂
Shalom!
You seem really happy. 🙂 I guess you’re living according to His ways! Shalom to you!
Yes, Pam. It’s been a long journey, though a narrow and strait one, but filled with JOY, and excitement as we seek His ways, to be so blest with the reality of Him throughout my life, and walking the Hebraic way. (Thank you, Skip) No doubt there are as many ups as with downs, but seeing the chaos, misery and destruction of lives around the world, it is a priviledge to be on this path!! HalleluYAH!
Shalom and blessings to you!
God’s makes the statement He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God of the living not the dead. This message is reiterated throughout biblical records. How confusing this was for me for all the three individuals mentioned are dead and buried many eons ago. Then it dawned on me the implication must be something different – Abraham a covenant on faith. Isaac the manifestation of the covenant. Jacob the progression duplication of the faith covenant…
Is this maybe the land of the living David is referring to a covenant life duplicating the promise of redemption or rather a multitude witnesses testifying this “A cloud of witnesses around us…”
As my boss has the motto “Bringing together is a start, Working together progress, Growing together success.” For me the practical interpretation of God’s statement and a land of the living in reality.
Shalom Seeker, “Bringing together is a start, Working together progress, Growing together success.”
That is a motto towards a community/Kibbutz lifestyle for Torah keepers that Skip is targeting online here- getting together, encouraging, strengthening, and inspiring each other to move on, to press in on this often disheartening journey, due to the spiritual weather surrounding us, keeping our focus on ABBA, who will surely restore all things in His time!
That last paragraph describes the evangelical church to a T. So many alter calls are based on death, using the fear of death and hell to get you to give your life to Yeshua.