Psalm-73
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*The Ketuvim - Includes, Poetical
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Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of Thy Law!
Tehillim - Psalm 119:18..
(JPS-1917 version
of the Tanakh).
Please Note: Some alterations or (additions) have
been made relating to ‘Names’ and ‘Attributes’ of אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim, having been corrected like it once was pre the “Masoretic Text”.
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Remember the following truth from our beloved
Torah!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD
which I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE
DIMINISH FROM IT, that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the LORD your Eloleichem,
which I command you”. Davarim -
Deuteronomy 4:2.
However, sadly both the later priests as well as our rabbis of long ago have shamefully disobeyed this command of אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim, בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם קָדוֹשׁוֹ - ‘Baruch Shem Kadosho’ – ‘Blessed be His Holy Name!’
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With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Foreword:
Psalm 73 is a masterpiece of spiritual struggle. It addresses the “problem of the wicked”, the painful observation that those who disregard אֱלֹהִים - Elohim often seem to prosper, while the faithful suffer. We will see the journey of the psalmist, Asaph, from bitter envy to a radical, soul-deep clarity.
Introduction: The Crisis of Faith:
Psalm 73 is a “Wisdom Psalm” that begins with a conclusion and then backtracks to show how the psalmist arrived there. It describes a spiritual vertigo: the feeling that the world is upside down because justice seems absent. It is an honest look at the temptation to abandon righteousness when it doesn’t seem to “pay off”. Ultimately, it is a poem about the difference between temporary prosperity and eternal presence.
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Let us now read Tehillim - Psalms Chapter 73: (JPS-1917 version of the
Tanakh):
1. “A
Psalm of Asaph.
Surely אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim is good to Israel, even to such as are pure
in heart.
2. But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps
had well nigh slipped.
3. For I was envious at the arrogant, when I saw the
prosperity of the wicked.
4. For there are no pangs at their death, and their
body is sound.
5. In the trouble of man they are not; neither are
they plagued like men.
6. Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck;
violence covereth them as a garment.
7. Their eyes stand forth from fatness; they are gone
beyond the imaginations of their heart.
8. They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression;
they speak as if there were none on high.
9. They have set their mouth against the heavens, and
their tongue walketh through the earth.
10. Therefore His people return hither; and waters
of fullness are drained out by them.
11. And they say: 'How doth אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim know? And is
there knowledge in the Most High?'
12. Behold, such are the wicked; and they that are
always at ease increase riches.
13. Surely in vain have I cleansed my heart, and
washed my hands in innocency;
14. For all the day have I been plagued, and my
chastisement came every morning.
15. If I had said: ‘I will speak thus’, behold, I
had been faithless to the generation of Thy children.
16. And when I pondered how I might know this, it
was wearisome in mine eyes;
17. Until I entered into the
sanctuary of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, and
considered their end.
18. Surely Thou settest
them in slippery places; Thou hurlest them down to
utter ruin.
19. How are they become a
desolation in a moment! They are wholly consumed by terrors.
20. As a dream when one awaketh,
so, O יְהוָה
- LORD, when Thou arousest Thyself, Thou wilt despise their semblance.
21. For my heart was in a ferment,
and I was pricked in my reins.
22. But I was brutish, and ignorant; I was as a
beast before Thee.
23. Nevertheless I am continually with Thee; Thou holdest my right hand.
24. Thou wilt guide me with Thy counsel, and
afterward receive me with glory.
25. Whom have I in heaven
but Thee? And beside Thee I desire none upon earth.
26. My flesh and my heart faileth;
but אֱלֹהִים
is the rock of my heart and my portion for ever.
27. For, lo, they that go far from Thee shall
perish; Thou dost destroy all them that go astray from Thee.
28. But as for me, the nearness of אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim is my
good; I have made אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim my refuge that I
may tell of all Thy works”.
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Let us once again look into the ‘verse by verse’ with commentary:
The Thesis (Verse 1).
v. 1: “Surely אֱלֹהִים - Elohim is good to Israel, even to such as are pure in heart”.
The psalmist starts with the end of his journey, the fundamental truth he nearly lost.
The Near Fall (Verses 2-3).
v. 2: “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped”.
He admits his faith was on the verge of collapse.
v. 3: “For I was envious at the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked”.
The root of the crisis: looking at others instead of looking at אֱלֹהִים - Elohim.
The Illusion of the Wicked (Verses 4–12).
v. 4-5: “For there are no pangs at their death ... They are not in trouble as other men”.
It seems they live and die without consequence.
v. 6-9: “Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck ... They set their mouth against the heavens”.
Their wealth makes them feel invincible, leading to blasphemy.
v. 10-12: “Behold, such are the wicked; and they that are always at ease increase riches”.
The psalmist summarizes the outward appearance of the ungodly: ease and accumulation.
The Internal Struggle (Verses 13-16).
v. 13: “Surely in vain have I cleansed my heart, and washed my hands in innocency”.
The most dangerous thought: “Why bother being good?”
v. 14-15: “For all the day long have I been plagued ... If I had said: ‘I will speak thus’, behold, I had been faithless to the generation of Thy children”.
He felt the pain of his struggle but kept silent so as not to stumble others.
v. 16: “And when I pondered how I might know this, it was wearisome in mine eyes”.
Intellectualizing the problem only led to exhaustion.
The Turning Point (Verse
17).
v. 17: “Until I went into the sanctuary of אֱלֹהִים, and considered their end”.
The Pivot. Perspective changes only when he enters the holy place. He stops looking at their present and looks at their destiny.
The Fragility of Evil (Verses 18–20).
v. 18: “Surely Thou settest them in slippery places; Thou castest them down to utter ruin”.
Wealth without God is a “slippery place”.
v. 19-20: “How are they become a desolation in a moment! ... As a dream when one awaketh”.
Their success is a phantom; it has no substance when Truth wakes up.
The Realization of Folly (Verses 21–22).
v. 21-22: “For my heart was in a ferment ... I was as a beast before Thee”.
He realizes his envy was irrational and “animalistic”, lacking spiritual foresight.
The Ultimate Prize (Verses 23–26).
v. 23: “Nevertheless I am continually with Thee; Thou hast holden my right hand”.
The wicked have riches; the psalmist has the Presence.
v. 24: “Thou wilt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me with glory”.
אֱלֹהִים - Elohim provides the roadmap for life and the home at the end.
v. 25: “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And besides Thee I desire nothing upon earth”.
This is the peak of Hebrew devotion, total sufficiency in אֱלֹהִים.
v. 26: “My flesh and my heart faileth; but is the rock of my heart and my portion for ever”.
The body is temporary; the “Portion” (God) is eternal.
The Conclusion (Verses 27-28).
v. 27: “For, lo, they that are far from Thee shall perish”.
Distance from the Source of Life is the only true poverty.
v. 28: “But as for me, the nearness of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim is my good; I have made אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim my refuge, that I may tell of all Thy works”.
He ends with a mission: to share the story of how he found his way back.
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My Closing Message: “The Nearness of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim”:
Psalm 73 teaches us
that the greatest “blessing” is not what we have in our hands, but Who we have in our hearts. Asaph began the Psalm with a “slipped
step” because he was measuring his life by the world’s yardstick. By the end,
he discovers that “the nearness of אֱלֹהִים”
is the only “good” and that cannot be taken away.
When we feel the “weariness”
of seeing injustice, we are invited to follow Asaph into the “Sanctuary”, that place
of quiet prayer and focus, where we see that the wicked are on slippery ground,
while we are held by the right hand of the Almighty. Your “portion” is not your
bank account or your status; your portion is knowing and loving אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim, the Eternal Rock!
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This site was originally created, for those who desired to return to our blessed and wonderful faith. Thus be wise and work on your faith and pray at least two or three times a day (if possible) and always seek our beloved אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s guidance, for His love is always with us, especially when we seek Him, blessed be He! However this site has become very much a teaching site with hundreds of studies!
Remember what אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be
He, said the following via several of our prophets...
“Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה- the LORD
of hosts”. Mal’a’chi - Malachi 3:7. (JPS).
And Remember ...
Enjoy your Sabbath Rest, Shabbat Shalom!
אֲנִי
יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, בְּחֻקּוֹתַי
לֵכוּ; וְאֶת-מִשְׁפָּטַי
שִׁמְרוּ, וַעֲשׂוּ
אוֹתָם
וְאֶת-שַׁבְּתוֹתַי, קַדֵּשׁוּ; וְהָיוּ
לְאוֹת, בֵּינִי
וּבֵינֵיכֶם-לָדַעַת, כִּי
אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם
“I am אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה - the LORD your Eloheichem;
walk in My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances,
and do them; and hallow My Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between Me and
you, that ye may know that I am אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה
- the LORD your Eloheichem”. Yechezkel - Ezekiel 20:19-20. (JPS).
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“The More Torah, the More Life”
For אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD
Elohim, Blessed be His Sanctified Name,
He is
the one who gave us our Life!”
May the שָׁלוֹם - Shalom = Peace of צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה= the LORD of hosts.
be with you, and please always uphold our blessed שַׁבָּת - Shabbat, as
well as the מוֹעֲדִים - Mo’a’dim - Feasts, and continue saying your
daily תְּפִלָּה - Tefeelah’s (Prayers) and regular בְּרָכָה - Be’ra’chah’s (blessings) before food and drinks,
etc!
שָׁלוֹם
עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom Aleichem - Peace be with you!
Rabbi,
Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens,
PhD.
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