Psalm 22:15
15 My strength [koach] is dried up [yabesh] like a potsherd; [cheres]
and my tongue [lashown] cleaveth [dabaq] to my jaws; [malqowach] and
thou hast brought [shaphath] me into the dust [`aphar] of death. [maveth] KJV-Interlinear
15 My
strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And
Thou dost lay me in the dust of death. NASB
A potsherd is a broken
piece of pottery. It is dry, cannot hold anything, no longer a complete vessel
and not capable of holding anything, much less life, and is subject to further
shattering with little effort.
The dryness of the mouth
comes with great stress, dehydration, and indicates terrible thirst and need of
moisture.
The dust of death
indicates the nearness of being fully expended, total exhaustion, being on the brink
of death.
These are further
descriptions of Jesus as he hung on the Cross, very near death, barely alive,
dying slowly, painfully, uncomfortably, totally helpless.
And so Jesus went to the
cross for you, but then do you deserve what He did?
Look at yourself in the mirror
and answer the question, just why should Jesus have gone through all of this,
for you? You won’t even obey His very
simplest of commands, ‘Study to show yourself approved [mature], rightly
dividing the word of truth [your daily study].
What is fair in life?
Most folks complain over
the smallest of things, or they just complain because they have nothing better
to do in life.
They come up with excuses
for not being responsible or accountable, or people just want to feel sorry for
themselves. They come up with all sorts
of reasons that God is punishing them for something that occurred years ago,
when the truth is simply that they have never been obedient or consistent in their
daily studies, and so all of their problems are of their own doing.
But taking responsibility
for that is sort of difficult, when it is easier to just say God is punishing
me for cheating ten years ago. Kind of
deflects your responsibility onto God. A
subtle way of blaming God, rather than self.
In all of these verses,
did Jesus ever say anything negative, blaming anyone, complaining about His
situation?
Or, did He know His
responsibility, and fulfill His obligation, for saving your sorry life, even
when you refuse to be responsible toward Him, in the smallest of things? A daily study is such a huge burden in life!
Too many people look to
the poor me view, or just being greedy at getting more and more of this world
at the expense of everyone else, and ignoring the blessings that God has been shoveling
out, free of charge.
And yet, Jesus was
responsible, had a mission, and did not hesitate for even a second, to do that
which had to be done. What are you
willing to do, that has to be done, in order to grow up and complete yourself
as God intended for you?
