RR Psalm 57:5,6 Part 3

Shalom,

Psalm 57:5 My soul is in the midst of lions. I lie among those breathing fire—sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongue is a sharp sword. 6 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let Your glory be over all the earth!

The psalmist, who is also a poet, (using just a few words to paint a “word picture” that would take a novelist an entire book to explain) is taking us through the spectrum of civilization.  He starts with this phrase, “My soul is in the midst of lions.”  

Rabbi Trail:  I believe the period here, in the English translation, is misplaced.  There is nothing to suggest “among” in the Hebrew, but it is necessary to infer it if you put the period after lions.  The Hebrew is punctuated as “My soul lies in the midst of lions.”  End RT.

This was our beginning, as cave dwellers, we lived among wild lions.  We were in constant danger then.  The psalmist now makes a contrast.  Now that we live among people, nothing has changed.  We are still in constant danger.  In fact, there is some lament in his words.  He seems to be longing for “the good old day” when he only had to protect himself against the ravages of lions.  People (the sons of men) have both sharp teeth AND sharp tongues.  

It is the sons of men who “breathe fire.”  The Hebrew word is “Lahat” from which we may have our English word, “hot.”  According to Strong’s, the meaning is, “to blaze -- burn (up), set on fire, flaming, (and to) kindle.”

Jacob 3:6  And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is a world of evil placed among our body parts. It pollutes the whole body and sets on fire the course of life—and is set on fire by Gehenna.

Yet, when all is said and done, just like in the beginning when we lived among lions, we look to God for salvation.  Only He is supreme and over all.  Psalm 57:6 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let Your glory be over all the earth!  Only God will be victorious over every enemy, both beasts and man.  By sending His Son to restore the earth to Himself, God has rescued us all from both beasts and each other.

Isaiah 11:1a  Then a shoot will come forth out of the stem of Jesse,… 2 The Ruach of Adonai will rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and insight, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Adonai…. 4b He will strike the land with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked…. 6 The wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the kid, the calf and the young lion and the yearling together, and a little child will lead them.

Shalom shalom.

Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Thu9-July 202624th of Tamuz, 5786
Nu 33:50-34:15Ez 20Neh 13Eph 6 (Lk 18)