Good morning Yamon Ki Yesepar:
“Psalms 112:9-10: “He hath given freely to the poor; His mercies endures forever; His horn will be exalted in honor. The wicked will see it and be vexed; he will gnash his teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked will perish.”
There is an old rabbinic story of a son who caused his father to lose a significant amount of money. The father was seeking some way to punish his son. He did not want to beat him nor did he want to scold him. What he did was to go out and purchased a suit of clothes that the son was so desirous to own. But instead of giving it to his son he ordered the son to give the suit of clothes to the lowest servant. The father punished his son by not striking at him physically but by hitting him where it hurt the most, his pride.
To translate the word “rasa’” as wicked is correct but misleading. In English the word “wicked” tends to so much harsher than the word “rasa’” really intends. Rasa’ has the idea of being impious, or having an unjust cause. The application is broad, broad enough to include you and me in that category of “wicked” or “rasa’” I would tend to translate the word as “self centered” or “self seeking.”
The word translated as “poor” is also misleading. We tend to think of poor as like – no money. The word “poor” here is “avah” which means “desirous” or “willingness.” In it’s primary state the “aleph, beth, he” shows a desire or willingness to be filled with the presence and power of God. This is followed by those sacred words “tsedekath ‘omedeth la’ad” (his mercies endure forever). These are words which touch the heart of God. David, Jehosaphat, and others often invoked these words. It is the equivalent of a child saying: “Daddy,help me.” Just as such words will drive a father to express all the power he can muster, so too such words will bring the Heavenly Father to release His power. He is always ready and willing to release his mercy to those who desire it or are willing to receive it.
Jesus said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for their’s is the kingdom of heaven” To the Jews listening to Jesus, the kingdom of heaven represented God and a deep knowledge of God. If Jesus was speaking Hebrew in his teaching he would most likely have used the word “avah’ for poor. In other words, those with a willing and desirous spirit will be filled with God and the knowledge of Him.
“His horn will be exalted in honor.” The word “horn” is “karan” which literally means beams or rays of light. It also means strength and power. God will exalt this vessel that he fills with His power and light with honor (kavad) respectability and/or recognition. The word in the Hebrew for exalt, meaning to be high, is very easy to remember, it is pronounced “rum.” I noticed, however, that it has a “taw” in front of it. I automatically figured that put it in a Hiphil form. This would make sense as God would have honor or respect for such a person. But the Davidson Lexicon says it is a Qal imperfect. This is rather shocking. It means that God will give that person honor or recognition in the eyes of others. If pride is such a sinful thing, why would God put a person in a position to be proud? The answer lies in the next verse.
The wicked will see it and “be angry…the desire of the wicked will perish.” By bringing someone else into the honor that the wicked or self centered person desires, it is his way of punishing this person.
So next time you look at someone and say: “Why does he get a book published, or gets to be on TV or get the big church etc.” Maybe God is bringing that person the honor you so covet to destroy the selfish desires in you. Or if you happen to be that person who gets those honors, don’t let it go to your head. God may be using your position to help straighten out another fellow traveler.
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