Burn, Baby, Burn

Though I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget Your statutes.  Psalm 119:83  NASB

In the smoke – What is a wineskin in the smoke?  If we don’t understand this metaphor, we won’t understand why the psalmist connects it with obedience.  So, in order to comprehend his phrase, we need to know something about the verb qāṭar.

The verb qāṭar is used only in the Hiphil and Piel, and their passives. qāṭar means “to cause to rise up in smoke.” It is generally used cultically, . . Our verb is a technical expression denoting not only the burning of incense but all other offerings as well , . .^[1]

Not only does qāṭar suggest a relationship with sacrifice, the metaphor itself expresses what happens when we forget the ḥuqqîm. You’ll recall that ḥuqqîm are literally the engraved markings signifying a decree (cut in stone).  “ḥōq occurs in sequences with other words for law: dĕbārîm (words), tôrâ (law), mišpāṭ (judgment), ʿēdût (testimony), and miṣwâ (commandment).”^[2]  Now we can ask, “What happens to a wineskin in smoke?”  And we can answer, “It becomes rigid.”  Wineskins must be flexible to be of use.  They need to expand and contract.  But if you smoke the material, it hardens.  It loses its ability to adapt to the size of the liquid it contains.  It can still hold the wine, but its usefulness is seriously compromised.

The metaphor isn’t just about the loss of flexibility.  It’s also about sacrifices without sanctity.  The sacrifice still looks the same on the outside, but the heartfelt devotion is gone.  What remains is the religious shell of a spiritually empty life.  When the poet exclaims his concern about inner emptiness, he recalls the soothing balm of obedience.  What makes that rigid cultic shell return to joyful devotion?  God’s ḥuqqîm, the indelible marks of God’s handiwork in the devotee’s life.  What brings that ossified ritual back to life?  Remembering the subtle soothing of God’s devotion to His people.  When we realize that our vital experience of God’s presence had faded and we are going through the rituals without the vitality they need, when smoke fills the Temple without the sweet smell reaching the Almighty, we must remember who He is and why we serve Him.  The rituals are just that—rituals.  Performing them without burning devotion is like sacrificing a blemished lamb.  It might look good to the neighbors but the truth is that we are far from the connection we desperately desire. We should think of ḥōq as the full range of God’s desires.  Everything He has done to bring us to the place of our full human experience.

“Even though I have become a religious shell, I haven’t forgotten Your desires for me.” What did Heschel say?  “To believe is to remember.”  Start there.

Topical Index: ḥuqqîm, statutes, desires, qāṭar, smoke, sacrifice, ritual, Psalm 119:83

^[1] Coppes, L. J. (1999). 2011 קָטַר. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament(electronic ed., p. 796). Moody Press.

^[2] Lewis, J. P. (1999). 728 חָקַק. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 317). Moody Press.