{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.}
Boker Tov! Good morning! Welcome back to Mishkan Katan, where we have been for over the past several months studying the Psalms. Today, we begin the fourth of the five books of the Psalms, beginning with Psalm 90. Psalm 90 is the first of 11 consecutive psalms (#s 90 through 100) attributed to Moses by the sages. It is said that King David found an old manuscript containing these 11 psalms, and that their authorship had been attributed to Moses. Therefore, David incorporated them into his book of Psalms.
One commentator, Rashi, explains that each of these 11 psalms corresponds to one of the 11 blessings Moshe pronounced over 11 of the tribes, as enumerated in Deut. 33. Do you know which tribe was excluded? It was the tribe of Simeon, because they had led the infamous orgy which resulted in the death of thousands of the Hebrew nation. This is recorded in Numbers 25:1-15, if you want to look that up later.
Psalm 90 is said to correspond to the tribe of Reuben, the firstborn, because of verse 3, which speaks of repentance. Reuben was the first tribe blessed by Moshe, when Moshe said “Let Reuben live and not die!” Reuben had sinned grievously as recorded in Genesis 35:22, when he had slept with his father’s concubine, Bilhah. But, later, Reuben sincerely repented and showed great remorse. In so doing, he became sort of a symbol of repentance to the world.
I think Psalm 90 is a spectacularly beautiful psalm.
Vs. 1 - - 1) Adonai, you have been our dwelling place
in every generation.
2 Before the mountains were born,
before you had formed the earth and the world,
from eternity past to eternity future
you are God.
Remember that the literal translation of Adonai means “my masters”, the Godhead in all His fulness, in all His manifestations. This verse speaks about how Adonai throughout all generations who have known Him has been the ultimate place to dwell. It makes me think of when you get wonderful new mattress, and you just feel like you are lying on a cloud! It is so restful. Oh, the peace that comes to the believer who “dwells” with Adonai! Of course, in this day after the ministry and glorification of Yeshua, He draws all men to Himself through the power of His Ruach HaKodesh, who INdwells the soul of each believer in Him.
Verse 2 is beautifully stated here, but what it literally says in the Hebrew is “oo-may-oh-lahm ahd oh-lahm” - - “and from eternity until eternity” or “and from infinity until infinity” - - that is, completely outside of the bounds of time, YOU ARE EL, You are God.
Again, verse 3 is the one that most specifically is said to point to the patriarch Reuben.
3 You bring frail mortals to the point of being crushed,
then say, “People, repent!”
The Hebrew word that is translated here as “repent” is “shuvu”, from the Hebrew verb “shavav” - - a command that is better translated as “to return”. Return to the ways of righteousness, in other words, sincere repentance includes a returning to the ways of Hashem. Being crushed, or as one translation puts it, being reduced to pulp, is a blessing from the Lord, because such afflictions can turn a person’s reliance on his own strength and his own arrogance into both frailty and humility.
Reading on - - verses 4-6
4 For from your viewpoint a thousand years
are merely like yesterday or a night watch.
5 When you sweep them away, they become like sleep;
by morning they are like growing grass,
6 growing and flowering in the morning,
but by evening cut down and dried up.
These three verses speak of the insignificance of the human lifespan in light of Hashem’s view of Time in general. The sages say that even if a person were to live a thousand years, it would be insignificant in the eyes of the Almighty, to whom a millennium is akin to a single day. We saw this thought already in Psalm 39:5, which says, You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah.
We’ll revisit the theme again when we get to Psalm 103. And, you know what? I feel that more and more as I age. It really goes by fast, doesn’t it?
I’ve been slacking off on telling you which psalms are quoted in the New Testament, but this verse is quoted in 2 Peter 3:8.
Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
Verses 7 through 10 now.
7 For we are destroyed by your anger,
overwhelmed by your wrath.
8 You have placed our faults before you,
our secret sins in the full light of your presence.
9 All our days ebb away under your wrath;
our years die away like a sigh.
10 The span of our life is seventy years,
or if we are strong, eighty;
yet at best it is toil and sorrow,
over in a moment, and then we are gone.
This is beginning to sound a bit like Ecclesiastes to me. Is it to you? “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity,” and so on.
In verse 7 we see the fury as well as the wrath of God. Well, in English, there does not seem like there’s a lot of difference between the two. In Hebrew, the word translated here as fury is “off”, which is also the same word for “nose”. The reason the Hebrew language expresses fury this way is that when a person is furious, his nostrils often flare and heavy nasal breathing ensues. The sages say that, in contrast, “wrath” in the Hebrew language means a hostile, violent feeling that is kept inside, kept in check.
Humans can tend to forget their sins, but God does not forget. There is a flimsy and false belief system in the modern world that somehow God will just overlook the guilt of a sinner when he stands before Hashem in judgment. “Oh, I’ll get into Heaven by the skin of my teeth, but I’ll get there somehow.” Nonsense. Satanic deception. Sin must be paid for, by Someone. And, the only Someone who can pay each person’s sin debt is the utterly sinless, one, unique Son of God, Yeshua. It is only through Him one gains right standing with God.
Verse 8, if you are watching this in real time, reminds me of what Torah-observant households are doing this week, which is to cleanse their homes of the leaven. Leaven, in Scripture, is representative of sin, because once it gets into a dough, it replicates and multiplies until the whole lump of dough is affected. Same with sin in our lives. Verse 8 talks about secret sins. Leaven in a household can often “hide” in places like crevices of couches, on the floors in corners, in kitchen drawers where crumbs fall, etc. The practice of removing leaven from a home should be accompanied by searching our own souls to confess and repent of any “leaven” we have hiding in dark corners too. By the way, Yeshua cleansed his own house of leaven the week leading up to Passover. See Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-47; John 2:14-16. Yeah, the cleansing of the money changers and other thieves out of the Gentile court of the Temple.
Verses 11 and 12
11 Who grasps the power of your anger and wrath
to the degree that the fear due you should inspire?
12 So teach us to count our days,
so that we will become wise.
The truth is that none of us fully understands the attitude Hashem has toward sin. It must be the most visceral kind of hatred anywhere in existence. He hates sin so much that He was willing to clothe Himself in flesh, in the person of a human male, dwell among us for about 33 years and then die the most horrible of deaths in order to redeem us from the clutches of sin. Another translation of verse 11 says “as You are feared, so is Your anger”. The sages say that to the extent a person fears Hashem, His anger over that person’s sin is aroused against the person, because Hashem scrupulously disciplines those who are close to Him. He does this out of great love.
Verse 12 is a very well-known verse in the Psalms, and godly advice for sure. “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” The famous Rabbi Eliezer used to admonish his disciples, “Repent one day before you die!” They would respond, “But, Rabbi, no one knows the exact day of his death!” To which the rabbi would reply, “Exactly! Therefore, repent each and every day!” The rabbi was right. Many a soul will be in Hell for eternity, because he or she believed tragically that he or she had all the time in the world to make his/her heart right with God. This sentiment is also echoed in Paul’s writings (2 Corinthians 6:2) when he quotes Isaiah 49:8 saying, “Today is the day of salvation!”
The remaining verses now, 13-17
13 Return, Adonai! How long must it go on?
Take pity on your servants!
14 Fill us at daybreak with your love,
so that we can sing for joy as long as we live.
15 Let our joy last as long as the time you made us suffer,
for as many years as we experienced trouble.
16 Show your deeds to your servants
and your glory to their children.
17 May the favor of Adonai our God be on us,
prosper for us all the work that we do —
yes, prosper the work that we do.
Verse 13 is another reference to the future exiles, according to the sages. Remember that this psalm is attributed to Moses, who was a long way from any exile, but who did wander in the wilderness with the Hebrew nation for 40 years.
The remainder of the verses are said to be Messianic in nature. In the Talmud, referring to verse 15, there are many opinions expressed as to how long the Messianic Era will be. But, the New Testament tells us it will last on earth for 1000 years, and that then the “forever” will begin, with the coming of the New Heaven and the New Earth.
The last verse is misappropriated by a lot of well-meaning folks who use it to ask the Lord to bless their efforts, whether they be career-wise, or relationship-oriented, or whatever. But, again, these verses are thought to apply to the Messianic Era, and asking Hashem to bless the work of our hands there.
Let’s go now to Psalm 91, one of the very most beautiful in the collection.
It is said that Psalm 91 was dedicated by Moshe to the tribe of Levi, the tribe that was not given any land allotment when the Promised Land was carved up among the other 11 tribes. Instead, within each tribe’s area there were certain cities designated as Levitical cities, and the Levites lived in those. Furthermore, the Levites above all other tribes can be said to have “abided in the shadow of the Almighty” (vs. 1), because they would serve in the insulated, sacred environment of the Temple.
The Midrash teaches that Moses composed this psalm on the day that the construction of the Tabernacle was completed. It is further taught that the last verse of Psalm 90 was also composed on this same occasion, if you want to flip back or look over at that verse. It speaks of “handiwork”, and the Tabernacle was “handiwork” of the highest order, a microcosm of the Temple in Heaven.
This psalm is recited as a part of the individual Jew’s evening prayers before going to bed. It is also recited at the conclusion of the evening service at the conclusion of the sabbath, except when a festival occurs in the week about to begin. This psalm is sometimes called The Song of the Plagues or The Song of the Demons, because it has been recited historically to cleanse un-sanctified areas of impure and evil spiritual forces.
Throughout this psalm, we read of the devout person of faith, who never leaves God’s shadow, who treasures God is his heart always, and who is therefore rewarded with God’s favor.
I can never read this psalm but that I think of an old friend, who has now gone on to be with the Lord. She was a former boss. Some of the years I was an assistant principal, I worked for her; she was my principal. She told me once that every day, before the work day began, she would pray Psalm 91 over our school. That made such an impression on me! May your memory be forever a blessing, Carolyn Thomas Hall.
91 You who live in the shelter of ‘Elyon,
who spend your nights in the shadow of Shaddai,
2 who say to Adonai, “My refuge! My fortress!
My God, in whom I trust!” —
3 he will rescue you from the trap of the hunter
and from the plague of calamities;
4 he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his truth is a shield and protection.
In verse 1, we find 3 (really 4) different names of God used. The first is El Elyon, which is usually translated “God Almighty”. The next is Shaddai, which means “nurturer”, as the name invokes the imagery of one who holds you close to his breast. The third is Adonai, which means “my masters” and which is a translation name used whenever the Tetragrammaton name is encountered in the Scriptures, the Tetragrammaton name being often pronounced, transliterated as Yahweh. So, when you consider all three of them in this context, Moses was trying to emphasize three things about God in using these names. The Tetragrammaton is God’s most personal name, His most intimate name. Shaddai emphasizes God’s care and concern for his most beloved. Generally speaking, it is not good form to hug someone tightly to your breasts unless you are very “close” to them emotionally. Babies nurse at their mothers’ breasts. It is a very intimate space for two humans to interact. When a person is scared, they can be comforted by someone holding them tightly to the rescuer’s breast, such as when a parent hugs tightly a distressed child. The third name, Almighty, conveys that Hashem is powerful to save, to BE that refuge mentioned in verse 1. He can be relied upon, depended upon. Abiding with such a One is not just a safe bet; it is the only truly “secure” place to dwell.
The human architect, who built the Tabernacle according to the plans Hashem delivered to Moses was named Betzalel. His name literally means, in Hebrew, in the shadow of God. Isn’t that something?
The Midrash goes on to say that Moshe went up onto Mt. Sinai three separate times, for 40 days each, which most of you knew, but that this psalm was composed when he ascended the mount and literally “dwelt in the secret refuge of the Most High”.
Allright who knows what a pinion is? I had to look at the commentary to find out, I confess! A pinion is another name for the wing of a bird. A bird uses its wing to shelter its young or to fly its young to safety.
5 You will not fear the terrors of night
or the arrow that flies by day,
6 or the plague that roams in the dark,
or the scourge that wreaks havoc at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand;
but it won’t come near you.
8 Only keep your eyes open,
and you will see how the wicked are punished.
9 For you have made Adonai, the Most High,
who is my refuge, your dwelling-place.
10 No disaster will happen to you,
no calamity will come near your tent;
11 for he will order his angels to care for you
and guard you wherever you go.
12 They will carry you in their hands,
so that you won’t trip on a stone.
13 You will tread down lions and snakes,
young lions and serpents you will trample underfoot.
This sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? But, think back to the experiences of the Hebrew nation in the wilderness. They had it made, in many respects. This is how Hashem interacted with them!
First of all (verse 5), Hashem gave them a “night light”. There was a pillar of fire which shown over their camp and when it was necessary for them to move by night, it led them.
Second, (verse 5), they faced no enemies in the wilderness, because no one else was out there. The sages say that Hashem’s leading them to Sinai through the wilderness area initially was by design. He could have taken them a more direct route; but, it led through the Philistine territory, which they were not yet equipped to face. No “arrows” came near them out there in the middle of nowhere.
Third, they were largely a healthy people, (vs. 6 and 7) other than when they angered Hashem and sent a plague or pestilence to punish them. Such was the case with the golden calf idol aftermath, for instance. What the Midrash Shocher Tov has to say about the left hand and the right hand is interesting. It is said that the left hand is designated for the performance of only one mitzvah, Tahoe donning of tefillin and phylacteries; therefore its power is very limited. The right hand, however, is the preferred one for all other mitzvot. Therefore, its strength is greater, is enhanced, making it capable of felling ten thousand, as was the case with Samson, for instance. The Almighty’s “right hand” is referenced many times in Scripture, as His strongest arm and hand, in a similar manner.
Fourth, (vs. 8) the Hebrew nation saw how Pharaoh and his army were drowned in the Sea of Reeds. The wicked were punished, decisively.
Vs. 9 - - Moshe confesses that the Most High is HIS dwelling place, HIS refuge, and he is rejoicing that the nation has made Hashem their dwelling place also. Keeping in mind that this psalm was likely written upon the completion of the Tabernacle, Hashem then filled the structure with His glory. In other words, because the people “dwelled” with Him in their hearts, HE came to “dwell” (albeit episodically) with them.
Verses 11-13 speak of how Hashem used angelic intervention in dealings with the chosen nation of Hebrew children. Sometimes, He appeared to them as the Malakh Yahweh, the Angel of the Lord. Other times, he sent angelic messengers who were not of the divine godhead to help His beloved, chosen ones. These verses today are used to bolster the “guardian angel” theology. I don’t know if each of us has a “guardian angel” or not, but I can’t find anything in Scripture to substantiate that. I DO know that often, we are protected from our own nonsense by angelic intervention, most of which we cannot see or discern in our natural world. We likely have NO idea how often we get rescued from our own foolishness, according to the tremendous mercies of our loving God. As it goes on to say in verse 14 - - -
14 “Because he loves me, I will rescue him;
because he knows my name, I will protect him.
Verse 12 was used by Satan as he tempted the Mashiach in the wilderness, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
Verse 13 is used by some obscure Christian denominations commonly called “snake handlers”, to justify the handling of snakes during corporate worship. I have never attended such a service, nor do I ever intend to. A New Testament passage that these groups use is in the book of Mark.
GotQuestions.org has this to say, “Snake handling, as practiced by some misguided churches, is not a biblical endeavor. Mark 16:17–18 is used by some as a basis for handling snakes: “These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will . . . pick up snakes with their hands.” Churches that practice snake handling have special services in which people actually handle venomous snakes, supposedly giving evidence that the church members are true believers who are empowered and protected by God. It’s true that Mark 16:17–18 says Jesus’ followers will “pick up snakes,” but there are several problems with the modern practice of snake handling.”
I am not going to go off on this rabbit trail. Suffice it to say this practice is wrong because it puts God to the test, as Jesus warned us not to do when He was being tempted by Satan in the wilderness.
Similarly, Psalms 91:13 does not command followers of Hashem to go out and handle snakes or to confront and agitate snakes in the wild. It does say, in both the Psalms and in Mark that if a believer encounters such a harmful creature the person can be supernaturally delivered, although we know that this does not happen 100% of the time.
Verse 15 and 16 - - -
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him.
I will be with him when he is in trouble.
I will extricate him and bring him honor.
16 I will satisfy him with long life
and show him my salvation.”
What beautiful, general promises are these! Not everyone who loves the Lord dearly gets to live a long life, of course. I am thinking of a college roommate, one of the most devout believers I have ever known. She died of an aggressive breast cancer at age 37. Broke my heart. I figured the Lord Jesus just loved her so much He could not stand another moment in Heaven without her there. He did not save her from dying an “early” death from cancer, but He did show her His salvation, beginning with when she trusted Him and began her walk with Him, but ending victoriously when her soul left her troubled, diseased body, to find herself in His glorious presence forever. Salvation in verse 16 has a double meaning, for those who are upright of heart, for those who have put on Yeshua’s righteousness.
We can be secure in God’s promise that if we call on Him in times of trouble, He will be there for us, whether or not He rescues us out of the time of trouble. He won’t always take away the trouble, but He will never leave or forsake us in the midst of it either. As our Mashiach promised right before He left this earth for His appointed place at Hashem’s right hand - - “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
As I was writing this lesson there were 2 missiles that landed in southeast Israel. Amir Tsarfati had this to say about the event: “The mercies of the Lord! Two missiles with hundreds of kilograms landed in the south, the city of Arad, with direct hits in the heart of populated areas. Unfortunately, there were over 120 injured, but by a great miracle - - 0 fatalities! Security forces from the scenes testify that in each of the events, if the missile had landed just a few meters to the ight or left, it would have ended completely differently.” Wow. Verse 14….
14 “Because he loves me, I will rescue him;
because he knows my name, I will protect him.
I will share that in the midst of formulating this lesson I received a phone call from a friend who had just witnessed a murder and who had narrowly escaped becoming a victim. It was a horrific tale she shared, and it broke my heart for her, for the deceased’s family and loved ones. A young person, cut down in the prime of life, through no fault of her own. Such pain! Such loss!
The juxtaposition of learning of this tragedy, while studying and preparing to teach Psalm 91 was harsh and jarring. How DO we reconcile Psalm 91 with terrible tragedy? Is it like when the antivirus programs fail, and a virus slips in? Is it like when the protective military systems of Israel, David’s Sling, the Iron Dome, the Arrow… aren’t enough, and a missile gets through? How to explain the unexplainable, in light of Psalm 91? I mean, was Moses SERIOUS?!
The Jewish “main idea” in the commentaries is something along the lines of, “If you live a righteous enough life, study Torah deeply enough, bad things won’t happen to you.” For instance, in commentary to verse 11 of this psalm, Shebos Rabbah 32:6 says, “A man performs one mitzvah and God sends one angel to protect him….A man performs two mitzvot and God sends him two angels. If a person performs many mitzvot God gives him half of His own escort {of angels”. And, in commentary to verse 12, Zera Raakov comments, “The angels created by the mitzvot that you perform with your palms will raise you above all dangers that lurk in your path. I could cite more, but won’t for the sake of time. So, you see, the general notion from the Jewish sages is that if you “work” hard enough, you can avoid peril in this life.
There is some truth to that, of course, such as if you wear a helmet when you go snow skiing, there is a much greater likelihood you won’t die by splitting your head open when you ski into a tree. But, by and large, this way of thinking does not always “hold up”. If you are like me, you have known very, very godly people who have not avoided extreme, life-altering, sometimes life-ending accidents, illnesses in their youth, etc. I mentioned earlier my college roommate, who was one of the most godly women I have ever known. And, she came down with a very aggressive breast cancer that took her life in just a few short months, at age 37. Believe me, if anyone “deserved” to live a long life, to inherit these promises in Psalm 91, it was her!
Some theologians attempt to explain the riddle of Psalm 91 by saying, “Oh, it’s all just figurative. You know, the Bible is full of figurative language!” There IS figurative language in the Bible, even some in this psalm, but if you say that the meaning of Psalm 91 is just figurative, then you have completely neutered it, rendering it useless, and that is unacceptable. So, we reject the figurative language explanation.
Then, some will say, “Well, these promises apply only to Mashiach, to Yeshua.” There is no doubt that they do apply to Him, as evidenced by HaSatan using Psalm 91, twisting its meaning, to tempt Yeshua in the wilderness. But I don’t think the promises apply ONLY to Him. Besides, if you are going to ride that theory out to its last conclusion you are left explaining why Yeshua died very young, at age 33. I would not call that “long life” as promised in verse 16.
Here’s the thing. We can’t divorce the promises of Psalm 91 from the sovereignty of God. Think about that for a moment. It’s another one of those situations in Scripture where two seemingly contradictory truths are BOTH true. God’s sovereignty is the theological foundation upon which Psalm 91 rests.
Let’s examine this incongruity in light of the life of the greatest man to ever live, the God-Man, the Mashiach, Yeshua. Have you ever considered how many times Father Yahweh delivered His Son from death? In John 5:16, we read that the religious leadership of the Jews tried to kill Him, about a year and a half into his public ministry. Then, in Luke 4:29, he was saved from being thrown off a cliff to die. He was saved from arrest in John 7:45-52. And, in John 8:59 we find he was saved from stoning. So, it is clear that Abba protected Yeshua, until the time was right for him to fulfill the Messianic prophecies through His orchestrated death, burial and resurrection.
At that point, the redemption plan that was formulated before the worlds were created began to unfold. The most perfect Tzaddik, the sinless One, underwent the direct opposite of the protective promises of Psalm 91.
Why? Because of the sovereignty of God. Because in withholding His protection of His one, unique Son, Yeshua, He achieved eternal spiritual protection for everyone who believes on His name. And, that is a much higher, greater work of God. And, that is how ultimately, the promises of Psalm 91 apply to you and me, 100%, if you, like me, are a follower of Yeshua HaMashiach, trusting in His glorious grace for your eternal destiny.
That does not imply we will always be protected from physical suffering and death in this life, no matter how many times we pray Psalm 91 in faith, believing. The promises of Psalm 91 are not 100% guarantees! The sovereignty of our Heavenly Father will always dictate. One of our brothers, John Paton, a fellow believer, said “we are immortal, until God is finished with us.” Again, we look to the example of the great saints (including the spiritual giants of the Tanakh) who, as described in Hebrews 11:35-40 suffered greatly IN SPITE OF, perhaps BECAUSE OF their great faith! If you want some Scriptures applying to Yeshua’s example, there are many. Here are some: (Mat 10:34-39; 16:24-26; Mark 8:34-35; Lu 9:23-24; 14:25-33; John 12:24-26; 15:18-20; Philip 2:1-11; 3:10-11)
Furthermore, like Yeshua and like the Hall of Heroes mentioned in Hebrews 11, we who follow in Yeshua’s footsteps are likewise promised outright persecution and trouble in this world. We find these “promises” in (John 15:18-21; 16:1-2; 1 Thess 3:3-4; 2 Tim 3:12).
It is said that Moses wrote down the story of Job, as well as writing Psalm 91. Let’s look at Job’s testimony in Job 19:25-27.
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
26 And after my skin is [f]destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
27 Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my [g]heart yearns within me!
This is the heartfelt testimony of a true Tzaddik, one who sat in the refuge of the Most High, who dwelt in the shadow of the Almighty, yet who underwent horrific pain and suffering.
Well, we are nearly to the end of our time together today. I’ll bet that many of you have your Pesach preparations well-underway, if you are watching this video in real time. Next week, on the eve of Passover, I will be doing a Passover special here at Mishkan Katan. I look forward to seeing you then. And, until then, shalom, shalom, l’hitraot!
No comments:
Post a Comment