Take Two (rewind)
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope for His lovingkindness, Psalm 33:18 NASB 1995
Hope – “Take two aspirin and go to bed. Things will be better in the morning.” Have you ever heard that advice? It might be the most common home remedy ever offered. But let me ask you, “Are things really going to be better in the morning?” Well, if the problem is just a headache, maybe. But what if it’s considerably more complicated? What if it depends on the actions of others? What if it is out of your control? Then what?
“Those who hope” uses the Hebrew yāḥal. “This yāḥal ‘hope’ is not a pacifying wish of the imagination which drowns out troubles, nor is it uncertain (as in the Greek concept), but rather yāḥal ‘hope’ is the solid ground of expectation for the righteous. As such it is directed towards God.”[1] The Hebrew verb does not claim that things will be better in the morning. In fact, things might be worse. But YHVH is in control! And that’s what matters.
Paul Gilchrist makes an important point.
However, no greater testimony to such confident expectation is given than when Job cries out, “Though he slay me, I will hope in him. Nevertheless, I will argue my ways before him”(Job 13:15). However ASV and RSV render the verse, “Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope” following MT Kethib reading instead of the Qere which is supported by the LXX and other versions, in which case, Job’s impatience demonstrates his refusal to “patiently wait” for the Lord (cf. Job 6:11). Nevertheless, yāḥal, “hope” is a close synonym to bāṭaḥ “trust” and qāwâ “wait for, hope for,” as in Mic 7:7, “But as for me, . . . I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.” The last phrase clearly demonstrates the confidence of the righteous in God’s future action at a time when sin is being judged. But further, the verse reflects not only the ground of faith, the Lord himself, but the saving activity of his God. In short, that which is hoped for is not some desideratum arising from one’s imagination, but in God himself and whatever he should propose to accomplish.[2]
The Hebrew idea of hope, the same idea of expectant waiting, is not focused on our desires for solutions. It is focused on YHVH Himself. We hope in Him, not in what He might do or not do. That’s why yāḥal is closely connected to bāṭaḥ, “to trust.” If faith is perseverance, it requires patient, expectant waiting—and that is the idea of hope.
Today you can put all your troubles in the hands of the Lord. That doesn’t mean they will go away. It means they are not the final word. It means, in the end, that what we need is YHVH—and nothing else.
Topical Index: hope, wait, yahal, Psalm 33:18
