Psalms 16:5-6: “The Lord is my portion and my cup, you maintain my lot, the lines have fallen to me in pleasant places, indeed my heritage is beautiful to me.
“We are all made to suffer, it is our lot in life.” C3PO – Star Wars
We seemed to have picked up an old Hebraism in our language. Whenever someone finds himself in a situation which is unpleasant, he often will say, “Well, I guess it is just my lot in life.” This expression goes back to ancient times to a practice which still exist in some areas today.
In ancient Northern Israel every farmer would receive a portion of land to farm for one year. In order to be fair about the apportionment of land, as some would have land that was rocky or difficult to cultivate or even be located a distance away from his home, the priest would redistribute the land every year. On an assigned day each year, all the farmers would gather at a threshing floor and the priest would place small stones in a cup. Each stone had the name of a particular portion of land and a young child who would be too young to understand the significance of what was taking place, would reach into the cup and choose a stone and give it to a farmer. None of the farmers could read so no one knew what portion of land they received. They might have received a good piece of land or maybe a rocky piece of land. The land might be located four hours walk from his home. However, after all the stones have been distributed, the farmers would hold the stone up to God and say: “May Jehovah maintain my lot.” The priest would then read each stone and the farmer would accept his lot in life or at least his lot for the next year, without complaint. If he drew a bad lot, he would only hope for a better one the next year.
David is saying in this verse that Jehovah is his lot in life. Jehovah is his means of livelihood. Whether it be difficult or easy, David is dedicating it back to him by saying: He will maintain it. The word maintain is tamak which has the idea of making it smooth and holding it together. Whatever lot he has drawn in life one is no different than the other because what he has drawn is the Lord, not his circumstances.
Yet, David declares that his lot has fallen on pleasant places. The word pleasant is na’am which has the idea of agreeable or harmonious.
So what is your lot in life, poverty, sickness, wealth, power? It doesn’t matter what it says on that stone drawn from the cup, if you have given your life to Jesus, then He is your portion, not your circumstances. If He is our portion, then whether it be in poverty or richness, sickness or health, our portion will always be na’am pleasant and agreeable.
In 1905 songwriter Civilla Martin was visiting a couple, with the surname of Doolittle, in their home. Ms. Martin hesitated in the visit for she had heard that Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for 20 years and her husband could only move about and conduct his business from a wheel chair. Civilla Martin feared her visit would be very sad and depressing. Yet, she found the couple to be the most delightful, happy and Godly people she had ever met. She asked Ms. Doolittle what the secret of their joy was and she said: “His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.” Of course that was the inspiration for that famous song she later wrote by the same name which bears these lines:
Why should I feel discouraged
Why should the shadows fall,
Why should my heart be lonely
And long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion,
My constant friend is He,
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.
That song could have been written 3000 years ago by a man who also knew hardship and discouragement, yet rejoiced in the fact that his portion or his lot in life was God.
If Jesus is our portion or our lot, then it doesn’t matter if our lot in life is rich or poor, sickness or health, what matters is that Jesus is all we would ever need.
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