Copyright 2016 J. Neely
Psalm 39:5
5 Behold, thou hast made [nathan] my days [yowm] as an handbreadth [tephach]; and mine age [cheled] is as nothing before thee:
verily every [kol] man ['adam] at his best state [natsab] is altogether [kol] vanity [hebel]. Selah [celah]. KJV-Interlinear
5 Behold, you have made my days a few
handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind
stands as a mere breath! Selah ESV
In the previous
verses, the psalmist complains that life is miserable, and wants to know how
much longer life will be, for enduring that misery. And in this verse, the
psalmist complains that life is too short, that it is meaningless, that it is
so brief, making accomplishment virtually impossible.
Complaining,
typically contradicts itself. The complainer wants one thing, and then he wants
another.
And in this verse,
the word for handbreadth, is a reference to the width of the hand, or meaning
something that is very small in measurement.
The psalmist
complains that his age, meaning his life, is the same as nothing.
And the general
reference to man, meaning mankind on the whole, or the entire history of
mankind, is likewise, nothing.
The implication
is, why doesn’t God give longer lives, so that something can be accomplished.
But on the other
hand, life is full of miserable things, one after another. And if a person had
a longer life, then they would just have to suffer or endure, many more
miserable things.
And besides the
very first generations had lifespans of hundreds of years, and all it got them
was a flood.
This is the Devils
world, and as such, on a good day, the world can offer nothing more than
miserable things.
And at some point
in everyone’s life, the inconsistencies of complaining, will bubble to the
surface, and one can only think that God will smile, upon hearing the flip-flop
argument that a person generates by them self, while talking to them self,
while complaining to God.
If life is
miserable, and offers no meaning or purpose, then isn’t it possible that a
person would look to God, and doctrine, and the spiritual life, to discover
their real meaning and purpose?
After all, one who
is complaining to God, and in effect is speaking to God, then by default
recognizes that there is something beyond this life, and therefore something
better. So why not pursue it?
It’s
These studies are a part of the massive daily study web site at
DailyBibeStudy.Org, and are written, so that you can come to Christ if you have
not done so already, and therefore not be lost forever.
And
if you have already believed in Christ, then these studies are written so you
can learn and understand and grow in your spiritual life, so that you can come
to the full knowledge of Christ, so that you can fulfill your meaning and
purpose in life as God intended for you, and so you can qualify for a
phenomenal eternal reward which you will have forever. To ignore this opportunity to pursue a daily
study means you will be incomplete, unfulfilled and you will lose out, big
time.
The
Daily Bible Study is online, making it possible as never before in all of human
history, to advance in ones relationship with God, through Christ, and to
complete yourself beyond your imagination.
But
you have to decide to make that commitment.
No one else can study for you.
You have to do that yourself.
