Psalm 22:21
21 Save [yasha`] me from the lion's
['ariy] mouth: [peh] for thou hast heard [`anah]
me from the horns [qeren] of the unicorns. [ra'em] KJV-Interlinear
21 Save
me from the lion's mouth; And from the horns of the wild oxen Thou dost answer
me. NASB
Unicorn, ‘raem,’ is a
reference to wild bulls or oxen with horns that are used to tease and prod and
poke and rip apart and torment their victim.
The lions mouth is the
description of a hungry ravenous lion or beast that is never satisfied, wanting
only to eat away or rip apart its prey, caring nothing for who or what the prey
might be. Certainly the interests of the
prey are of no concern for the lion.
The hunger is selfish and
self-centered only. The prey is totally
defenseless and of no value but for the satisfaction of ones own hate and use.
But in this verse there
is a change of attitude, ‘have heard.’
Whereas the meaning that has
been conveyed from the previous verses, has been one of terror and fear that nothing
or no one would come to help. And that is from the perspective of the world in
which there is no rescue from the agenda of evil. But now, there is God, who is always there to
help and to rescue even in the face of harsh and violent adversaries in the
heat of their onslaught.
There is now confidence
and comfort, even in the face of death or disaster, that God will be there and
rescue is certain.
And you certainly have to
understand that this is the devils world.
Some things must occur. Jesus could not have said that this is too much,
too much pain and suffering, so I’ll pass for now. Because he came on a mission for this very
purpose, to pay the price for sin and pave the way to save humanity.
Likewise, you have to
face life with all that it is.
The Israelites were in
slavery in Egypt, which is a picture of spiritual death as unbelievers.
The parting of the sea is
a picture of faith and salvation. To
cross over between the walls of water took faith.
The wandering in the
desert, is a picture that people have to struggle with learning and growing up
in their spiritual life. They have frustrating times. They rebel. They complain. They come up with their own
ideas like the golden calf. But sooner
or later, after a sufficient time of learning and growth, they learn and are
ready for spiritual maturity. For some
this takes a bit longer than for others.
Then the crossing of the
Jordan river, with one wall of water on one side only signifies the passage to
spiritual maturity. But the blessings of milk and honey still require
strengthening of ones faith and so there are difficulties even in the promised
land. This is still the devils world and
genies do not come in six-packs.
Even spiritual maturity
has its struggles but they are designed for accelerated growth and accelerated
faith. And then the ultimate goal
remains in heaven, not from his earth. This
earth will pass away, and eternity will present the ultimate objective for our
life, and that is the final goal.
But this life is the
preparation, in its many phases. You just need to recognize them, and pursue
them. And try, try, try to stay on
task. And why?
Because God is always
there. The objective is always
there. This world, no matter what it
throws at you, cannot derail Gods plan and that is probably the biggest hurdle for
a person to get over, which is focusing on Gods big plan and not on the little problems
of the moment.
