{Disclaimer: these are my rough teaching notes I use in my Mishkan Katan weekly broadcasts. There will be "typos". Proceed at your own risk, lol.You can find all my Mishkan Katan video teachings on my YouTube channel: genahood2818 . Look on the playlist called Messianic LAMB TV Network.}
Allright, let me invite you to grab your Bible and turn to 1 Samuel 24. Yes, I know, we are in a study of the Psalms, and we will be focusing on Psalm 57 through 59 today. However, you can’t adequately study the psalms unless you study the stories of the writers’ lives which inspired those psalms to be written. As 1 Samuel 24 is the backdrop of Psalm 57, we are going to look at that in just a moment.
Let’s begin reading with verse one. I’m paraphrasing from the CJB version.
24 (23:29) From there David went up and lived in the strongholds of ‘Ein-Gedi. 2 (1) When Sha’ul returned from pursuing the P’lishtim, he was told that David was in the desert at ‘Ein-Gedi. 3 (2) Sha’ul took three thousand men chosen from all Isra’el and went searching for David and his men on the cliffs where the mountain goats are. 4 (3) Near some sheep pens along the way was a cave, and Sha’ul went inside to relieve himself. It happened that David and his men were sitting in the recesses at the back of the cave; 5 (4) and David’s men said to him, “Look! The day has come that Adonai told you about when he said to you, ‘I will turn your enemy over to you, and you will do to him whatever seems good to you.’” Then David stole over unobserved and cut off the corner of Sha’ul’s cloak. 6 (5) But after doing this, David felt remorse over cutting Sha’ul’s garment. 7 (6) He said to his men, “Adonaiforbid that I should do such a thing to my lord, Adonai’s anointed, as raise my hand against him! After all, he is Adonai’s anointed.” 8 (7) By saying this, David stopped his men and would not let them do anything to Sha’ul. Sha’ul got up, left the cave and went on his way.
9 (8) Then David too got up and went outside the cave, where he called after Sha’ul, “My lord the king!” When Sha’ul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself. 10 (9) David said to Sha’ul, “Why do you listen to people who say, ‘David is out to harm you?’ 11 (10) Here, today you have seen with your own eyes that Adonai put you in my power there in the cave. Some of my men said I should kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I won’t raise my hand against my lord, because he is Adonai’s anointed.’ 12 (11) Moreover, my father, look! Here in my hand you see the corner of your cloak. By the fact that I only cut off a piece of your cloak and didn’t kill you, you can see and understand that I have no plan to do harm or rebel, and that I haven’t sinned against you — even though you are seeking every chance you get to take my life. 13 (12) May Adonai judge between you and me, and may Adonai avenge me on you! But I will not lay a hand on you — 14 (13) as the old saying has it, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness, but I will not lay a hand on you.’ 15 (14) The king of Isra’el has come on a campaign — after whom? Whom are you chasing? A dead dog! A single flea! 16 (15) Adonai be the judge; let him decide between you and me. May he take my side and rescue me from your power!”
(16) After David had finished speaking to Sha’ul, Sha’ul said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” Then Sha’ul cried out and wept; 18 (17) and he said to David, “You are more righteous than I, because you have treated me well, while I have been treating you badly. 19 (18) You have made it clear to me today that you have done me good; for when Adonai put my fate in your hands, you didn’t kill me. 20 (19) A man finds his enemy and lets him go unharmed?! May Adonai reward you well for what you did to me today. 21 (20) Now I’m certain that you will indeed become king, and that the kingship of Isra’el will be established in your hands. 22 (21) So swear to me by Adonai that you will not kill my descendants after I die or blot out my name from my father’s family.” 23 (22) David swore to Sha’ul, and Sha’ul went home, but David and his men went back up to the stronghold.
Psalm 57 is the first of three successive psalms which refer to Saul’s pursuit of David. Of these three, psalm 57 is the first of the three which begins with the exclamation “Al TashCHAYT!”, which means “Do not destroy!” David then tells the reader the specific context of this psalm, which I find so helpful that he did that! He was a detail-oriented man who had an eye for the future. He wanted his work to endure.
Now, when I first read this “Do Not Destroy” command, I assumed it meant that David did not want Saul to destroy him. However, the sages say that this is the imperative David gave his men when they encountered Saul “taking care of business” inside the cave. Saul was distracted with other things, and David could have easily killed him. In fact, his men urged him to do so, but his stern command was “Do not destroy!” In modeling this righteous behavior, David was giving a godly example to his followers, imploring them to not fall into the moral decay which had already infested a great portion of the nation during Saul’s rule.
Let’s look at the first three verses of this short psalm.
(1) Show me favor, God, show me favor;
for in you I have taken refuge.
Yes, I will find refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the storms have passed.
(2) I call to God, the Most High,
to God, who is accomplishing his purpose for me.
(3) He will send from heaven and save me
when those who would trample me down mock me. (Selah)
God will send his grace and his truth.
In verse 1 there is a double request: “KhahNAYnee, Elohim, KhahNAYnee!” Translated as “show favor”, this is actually the same root as what we say in English as “grace”. Give me grace O Elohim! Rashi says David is asking this to go two ways: 1) strengthen me to not kill others; 2) don’t allow others to kill me either. In the case of Saul being the foe, he posed a double threat - - physical harm and moral corruption.
Also in this verse, the word translated in the CJB as “storms” is better translated as “treachery”.
I love verse 2. David affirms that Elohim Elyon, God Most High, is who he calls out to because it is HE that is accomplishing His purpose for me.
Imagine you had become the arch-enemy of POTUS, through no fault of your own, and our American laws were not in place to protect you. This supreme ruler of the land was marshaling all his military forces to find and kill you. What recourse would you have against such power? But, David points out that El Elyon’s power and authority were much greater than even those of the king.
In verse 3, David affirms that, if necessary, God will send down His heavenly army to save and rescue him. David evidenced remarkable faith!
Let’s read on. In verse 4, David describes his enemies, Saul & Co.
(4) I am surrounded by lions,
I am lying down among people breathing fire,
men whose teeth are spears and arrows
and their tongues sharp-edged swords.
What about this reference to lions? A man who was an esteemed Torah scholar was referred to as a “lion”, and it is interesting to me that Yeshua is called “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah”. Also, the emblem of the modern-day nation of Israel is a lion. Gotta love it, right? The sages say that Saul’s generals, Abner and Amassa, were great Torah scholars, and hence David’s use of that descriptor. Another interesting thing is that David described himself as being “b’toke” them, Hebrew for “among them”, in spite of the fact they were pursuing him to the death. Another rabbinic opinion is that this verse referenced the men who were with David, on his side, who were goading him to kill Saul when he had the opportunity.
Other descriptors of these men follow. Verses 5 and 6.
(5) Be exalted, God, above heaven!
May your glory be over all the earth!
(6) They prepared a snare for my feet,
but I am bending over [to avoid it].
They dug a pit ahead of me,
but they fell into it themselves. (Selah)
The sages say that the reference to “a snare for my feet” is to 1 Samuel 23:22, where Saul commands his men to “observe the place where his {David’s} foot treads. A more literal reading of the Hebrew in the next phrase of this verse where we see in the CJB “but I am bending over [to avoid it]” is “they bent down my soul”. Two rather different meanings. The sages say that David’s should was bent down in shame over the fact that so many of his fellow Israelites were hunting him to the death.
The latter part of verse 6 is rather “famous” as it has been transformed into a common saying, along the lines of “be careful that you don’t fall into the pit you dig for someone else.” I doubt many of you will remember from when we studied Psalm 7, verse 16 of that psalm contains similar verbiage. Over the years of adversity, Saul had dug several such pits for David. Here are a couple of them: 1) 1 Samuel 18:25 - - when Saul had commanded David to bring him the foreskins of 100 Philistine warriors. 2) Another is when Saul had David surrounded at the rock of division (1 Samuel 23:28).
This section ends with a Selah. So, let’s understand that this prompt to “stop and ponder” marks a turning point in the psalm. The remaining verses are almost identical to the opening verses of Psalm 108, which we will study later. We will read them here, but wait until later to delve into them.
(7) My heart is steadfast, God, steadfast.
I will sing and make music.
(8) Awake, my glory! Awake, lyre and lute!
I will awaken the dawn.
(9) I will thank you, Adonai, among the peoples;
I will make music to you among the nations.
(10) For your grace is great, all the way to heaven,
and your truth, all the way to the skies.
(11) Be exalted, God, above heaven!
May your glory be over all the earth!
Ok, now, let’s move on to Psalm 58. I’d like to deal with both Psalms 58 and 59 as we head into the 2nd half of today’s teaching, because these three - - 57, 58 and 59 - - are a trio.
Psalm 58 chronicles the abrupt end of Saul’s expressed affection for David and acknowledgement of his eventual kingship, at the end of 1 Samuel 24. Unfortunately, Saul’s minions/advisors, destroyed this good will, by counseling him to distrust David. Abner, Saul’s best general, played a key role in this change of attitude. According to the Yerushalayim Sotah 1:8, Abner went so far as to claim that David had not even gotten close enough to snip off a corner of Saul’s garment (some say this was a tzittzit). But, that instead, what had happened is that the garment caught on a thorn bush and that David had happened by, seen the torn piece of fabric, and “fabricated” this tall tale he relate to Saul at the end of 1 Samuel 24.
Accordingly, in 1 Samuel 26, we read in verse 3 that Saul rose up and with 3000 of his most choice warriors, descended to the Wilderness of Ziph to renew his hunt of David. Psalm 58 is based on David’s recollections of that pursuit.
Again, as in Psalm 57, Al TashCHAYT is in the superscription. In the story, David for a second time had to warn/command his men to not destroy King Saul. Let’s look at the story. I’m not going to read it to you, but turn to 1 Samuel 26 and follow along as I paraphrase, for the sake of time.
So this chapter in first Samuel opens with the Zefim coming back to Sha’ul/Saul in Gibran and telling him, verifying for him, that David is again hiding in a place called Hakhilah Hill near Yeshimon. So, Saul takes off and goes down to the desert and starts searching for David. He pitched camp in that area. David was staying in the desert and he saw Sha’ul coming. He sent out spies and the spies verified that, “Yes that was definitely King Saul.” So, David went out where Saul had pitched his camp and where Shaul and AvNER, that’s who we call Abner, were sleeping and the sages say that the Lord God had caused a deep sleep to fall upon all these men of King Saul so that David and his men were able to walk among them without any problems. So, David said to Achimelech, the Hittite, and Avishai, “Who will go down with me to Sha’ul in the camp. And Avishai said he would go. So, at night they went down and here Avishai says to David: “God has handed your enemy over to you today; so, now please let me pin him to the ground with just one stroke of the spear. I won’t strike him a second time.” And in verse nine, we get the command Al TashCHAYT from David. “Don’t destroy him! Nobody can raise his hand against Adonai’s anointed without becoming guilty.” We’ve looked at this before, so you’re familiar with this story and as I said a moment ago in verse 12 we see that the deep sleep from Adonai had come upon all of Sha’ul‘s soldiers. After leaving behind a “calling card”, David crossed over to the other side and climbed up to the top of a ridge there where there was a lot of space between his men and Sha’ul’s men. Then, he called out to the troops. Abner heard him and answered. “Who are you calling to the King?!” The sages say in the Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni) that Abner was the tallest man in King Saul’s army and that because of this he was overconfident in his own strength.
David and Abner had this antagonistic conversation where David told Abner that he had come into the camp and had the opportunity to kill the king. He also told Abner that he deserved to die because he didn’t keep watch over King Saul well enough. As proof, he referenced where the kings spear is and the jug of water that was next to his head. At this point, Saul had apparently woken up during the shouted conversation. He shouted out to David and said, “Is that you, David?” And David said, “yes it is me, my Lord the king, and why are you chasing me? What did I done? What am I planning?” You know it’s the same conversation all over and over again as before. And again as before, in verse 21 Shaul says, “I have sinned. I repent. Come back my son. I won’t harm you any longer.” So, you know, he admits that he’s behaved like a fool and that he was in the wrong in all of this. David, who had taken the spear sent the King’s spear back. He sent one of the men over to return it. We have a similar situation that we had at the end of first Samuel 24, and so, you know, it’s kind of like, “Here we go again.”
Verse 1 and 2 of Psalm 58
[Rulers,] does your silence really speak justice?
Are you judging people fairly?
[No!] In your hearts you devise wrongs,
your hands dispense violence in the land.
The sages say that this is David challenging the men, such as Abner, who had been pursuing him. Now that he had been vindicated in his refusal to harm King Saul, he should have been free to live in Israel until such time Adonai placed him on the throne. But, he goes on to say that his accusers are seemingly incapable of justice, of giving David a fair shot or of judging others with equal weights and measures.
This verse 2 hearkens to what Yeshua said about committing adultery, that if you do so in your heart then you might as well have done the actual deed, because it is just as bad. The English word “wrongs” is “olot” in Hebrew, which is literally the plural of “olah”, which means burnt offering. The sages say that a person should bring such an offering even for the atonement of sinful THOUGHTS, and that this is why we need to take such thoughts seriously.
Let’s read verses 3-5.
From the womb, the wicked are estranged,
liars on the wrong path since birth.
Their venom is like snake’s venom;
they are like a serpent that stops its ears,
so as not to hear the voice of the charmer,
no matter how well he plays.
David’s argument here is that Saul’s commanders and justices have perverted minds, to the point that they are incapable of discerning between truth and falsehood, right and wrong. It is for this reason they are able to ignore or dismiss the clear-cut evidence of David’s innocence.
The reference to “from the womb” was perhaps thought of by the prophet Jeremiah, some 450 or so years later when he wrote these words Adonai spoke about himself: chapter 1, vs. 5: “Before I formed you in the belly I knew you, and before you came out of the womb I sanctified you.” Really speaks to the sovereignty of God, does it not? The sages go on to say, however, that no one has a pre-ordained fate beyond each individual’s choices, that everyone is endowed with free will to choose between good and evil. Let’s look at some more verses, 6-9, where David’s anger and frustration continues to be evident.
(6) God, break their teeth in their mouth!
Shatter the fangs of these lions, Adonai!
(7) May they vanish like water that drains away.
May their arrows be blunted when they aim their bows.
(8) May they be like a slug that melts as it moves,
like a stillborn baby that never sees the sun.
(9) Before your cook-pots feel the heat of the burning thorns,
may he blow them away, green and blazing alike.
David was a master of picturesque language. In verse 6 of Psalm 57, he spoke of his enemies’ teeth, referring to them allegorically as spears and arrows. Here, in Psalm 58, he asks Hashem to destroy the power of their poisonous, slanderous teeth, likening them to the fangs of a snake.
The word translated “slug” or “snail” in verse 8 has an uncertain meaning. Because a snail/slug leaves a nasty trail of mucus behind it as it moves, this is the most common interpretation. Rashi also hypothesizes that the word could refer to a wave of ocean water, which seems to melt and slither away. If you go with the more common interpretation, it is highly descriptive of slander. Long after the actual words are spoken the nasty residue endures; the damage caused still remains.
Now for the remaining verses, 10-11.
(10) The righteous will rejoice to see vengeance done,
they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked;
(11) and people will say, “Yes, the righteous are rewarded;
there is, after all, a God who judges the earth.”
The righteous have always rejoiced to see the good triumph over the evil. The sages say that this gruesome mental image generated by the latter part of verse 10 is not meant to be taken literally, but rather allegorically. The lesson the righteous should learn from the fate of the wicked is that they should be inspired to avoid evil even more than they previously did.
In real life, the wicked do not always seem to receive their “just rewards”. This is frustrating to morally upright people. But, in the latter days judgments, most assuredly the wicked will receive the punishment they have earned, and the righteous will be rewarded.
Let’s move on now to Psalm 59, the third psalm in this triumvirate of Al TashCHAYT psalms. You are about to see that these three psalms do not lie in chronological order, because Psalm 59 is based on the very first time Saul pursued David, who narrowly escaped. He began early in his life to create beautiful poetry and music, even in the midst of the worst adversity. Such was the case in this situation. With a father-in-law who, oh, just happened to be the king of the land, trying to kill him…. as a result and while on the run, David composed this beautiful psalm of both entreaty and thanksgiving. The story is recorded in 1 Samuel 19. Let’s take a look, beginning in verse 8. Once again, for the sake of time, if you will turn there I am going to paraphrase.
Again, this is rather early in the relationship between David and Saul. David had married Saul’s daughter Michal, and David was fighting the Philistines furiously, for the sake of his king and the kingdom. At some point during this time the Lord saw fit to send an evil spirit to torment Saul. David who was also a gifted and skilled musician, was playing his lyre in the presence of the king, who sat listening, spear in his hand. Suddenly, he tried to kill David by pinning him to the wall with the spear. David maneuvered out of the way, but he fled the presence of the king, in order to save his life. God then inspired Saul to execute a very foolish plan for apprehending David. In his demented mind, perhaps because of consideration for his daughter, Saul told his men NOT to storm the home, but rather to surround it and wait David out. For David’s part, when he got home, his wife, Michal had to make a key decision, whether to side with her father the king or her beloved husband. She chose well. As David was sneaking out of the house to make his escape, she took the “household idol” dressed up to resemble a life-like representation of David and installed it under the covers of their bed. As long as she could, she stalled Saul’s men by telling them that David was there, but that he was sick in bed. Saul continued to be adamant that Da id be brought to him, even on a sickbed. By the time the ruse was discovered, David was far away. Michal then lied about what had happened, telling her father the king that David had forced her into the deception. She no doubt feared for her own life, at the hands of her maniacal father.
Let’s look at Psalm 59:1 and 2
My God, rescue me from my enemies!
Lift me up, out of reach of my foes!
Rescue me from evildoers,
save me from bloodthirsty men.
For there they are, lying in wait to kill me. {{The enemies and foes, the sages say, refer to the men who were pursuing David and surrounding his home, whereas the evildoers and bloodthirsty men is a reference to the men assigned to kill David in the eventual ambush.}
Verse 3 and 4 a - -
Openly they gather themselves against me,
and not because I committed a crime
or sinned, Adonai.
For no fault of mine, they run and prepare. {The sages point out Saul’s motivation was pure jealousy, not because of any malfeasance on loyal David’s part.} Going on with the rest of verse 4 - -
4b - - Awaken to help me, and see! {Of course, David knows that the Protector of Israel never sleeps on the job, it seems He does, when He does not immediately rescue or react to His people’s persecution.
You, Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot,
God of Isra’el,
arouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those wicked traitors. (Selah)
The name of God used here is usually translated “Lord of Hosts” or “God of Angel Armies”. David is making a rather abrupt shift and broadening his pleas out to include the pagan nations of the world, most notably at this point, the Philistines. He realizes that, if he is on the run, who is going to protect the nation? Saul and his armies have certainly proven to be less than effective. So, David appeals to the foremost battle general, the One who leads the armies of Heaven, to contend for Israel. Also, at this point, Saul and his judges, magistrates and armies have come to resemble the Gentile nations. The civil leaders, responsible for enforcing order and civil law, are doing nothing to restrain the evil, crazy behavior of their king. So, in David’s estimation, since they are all behaving like Gentiles, they deserve the same fate.
Verses 6 and 7 - -
They return at nightfall, snarling like dogs
as they go around the city.
Look what pours out of their mouth,
what swords are on their lips,
[as they say to themselves,]
“No one is listening, anyway.”
Here, as well as in verses 14 and 15, David compared his pursuers to dogs, because they stood guard ‘round David’s home “round the clock”, they repeated slanderous tales to Saul’s ears in dark secrecy, snarling and howling.
But you, Adonai, laugh at them,
you mock all the nations.
My Strength, I will watch for you,
for God is my fortress.
God, who gives me grace, will come to me;
God will let me gaze in triumph at my foes.
Verse 9 is interesting in that the Hebrew word/verb translated here as “watch” and elsewhere as “wait” is actually “I shall guard”. David is declaring that, drawing his strength from His all-powerful Hashem, he, David, will guard against immoral acts against Saul, whom Hashem had ordained would be king as long as Hashem ordained. Then, referring to himself as a “guard”, he affirms that Hashem is HIS fortress. He was determined to defend himself only passively against Saul’s onslaughts, despite great personal risk to himself. David is confident that eventually he will triumph over his foes, that eventually, because Hashem keeps His word, he will sit on the throne of Israel. “A Mighty Fortress is our God, a Bulwark never-failing”… as the grand old hymn says. David knew that he was well-protected.
Don’t kill them, or my people will forget;
instead, by your power, make them wander to and fro;
but bring them down, Adonai our Shield,
for the sins their mouths make with each word from their lips.
Let them be trapped by their pride
for the curses and falsehoods they utter.
Finish them off in wrath,
finish them off, put an end to them,
and let them know to the ends of the earth
that God is Ruler in Ya‘akov. (Selah)
A lesser, more rash man would have salivated to see his enemies crushed in one fierce blow. Not David, however. He took the long-view, the long-game. His chief concern, showing himself to be the true sovereign of Israel, was that the nation learn from the sordid actions of Saul and his men. He realized that if they were suddenly vanquished with one quick blow, the incident would be hardly noticed and quickly forgotten. David is asking that the Lord God bring these men down gradually, reducing their power incrementally, so that the people would marvel at both their irreversible decline as well as at their utter helplessness. A key to this was David’s request that these men have their wealth taken away. David, like all righteous people, realized that all material wealth (or wealth of any kind for that matter) is a gift from the One, benevolent, righteous God, our Father. These prideful men, who trusted in their own riches, would soon find out just how powerless they were to maintain their own rich circumstances.
They return at nightfall, snarling like dogs
as they go around the city.
They roam about, looking for food,
prowling all night if they don’t get their fill.
As previously mentioned, verses 14 and 15 revisit David’s allegorical reference to his enemies as dogs. The Talmud says {Shabbos 155b} that the dog is a symbol of extreme poverty. In most of recorded history, dogs had a very limited food supply. It was not like it is today, when dogs substitute for children and are treated as such, or in many situations are treated even better than some parents treat their children.
Finishing up now - - -
But as for me, I will sing of your strength;
in the morning I will sing aloud of your grace.
For you are my fortress,
a refuge when I am in trouble.
My Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for God is my fortress, God, who gives me grace.
I love that phrase, “But as for me….”
I was reading this morning online about how one of Israel’s foremost influencers is being harassed, slandered and {if you’ll pardon the pun} HOUNDED by a journalist, if you can call her that, who is hell-bent on ruining him. He has done everything he knows to do to deal with her in a righteous manner, but she is not letting up. In such a situation, when an enemy is threatening one’s personal safety, family and livelihood, the righteous person must earnestly seek the face of God in how to respond righteously.
Verses 9 and 10, 16 and 17 show us David’s response. “But as for me”… He stood guard, trusting in the salvation His God would eventually bring him. And, then? He sang. Yes, he sang praises to the only sure Deliverer, his only true Refuge, his Strength, knowing most assuredly that he would receive the supernatural grace of his God and King.
Perhaps you are in such a situation today. I pray that, if you are, you will draw near to the only One who can deliver you, either out of your circumstances or through them. To His name be ALL glory and honor and praise!
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