01/02/2009 Psalms 30:1

01/02/2009

Psalms 30:1 - 3 (HCSB) ¹I will exalt You, LORD,
    because You have lifted me up
    and have not allowed my enemies
    to triumph over me.
²LORD MY GOD,
    I cried to You for help, and You healed me.
³LORD, YOU BROUGHT ME UP FROM Sheol;
    You spared me from among those
    going down to the Pit.
===

On the south side of the old city of Jerusalem, there is a sharp valley. It has for ages been used as a garbage dump. It was a ghastly, horrid place of putrid rot and odor. All kinds of human waste, spoiled food, bodies of dead animals and various other refuse all in one place. Slime, worms, maggots, flies, wild animals and birds picking at the nauseating brew. Just imagine the odor coming from your own garbage can after a few days. Now imagine that multiplied thousands of times. Even today, that same valley is littered with refuse from the city.

This is Sheol also known as Gehena. The Jews used this imagery to portray the place for those who reject God. Now, read verse 3 above with this new information. Although “Sheol” and “the Pit” were also used to reference “the realm of the dead” or perhaps a simple grave, their imagery in this Psalm was clear; that is was a place of nauseating filth. Contrast that with the Judaic laws of cleanliness and you will understand better how reprehensible this place was.

This psalm, perhaps unwittingly, has beautifully portrayed what God has done for us. The natural place for us is the pit; Sheol, a place of rot and filth. Our sin, compared with God’s glory is so utterly disgusting to Him, that we belong with the rotting, stinking refuse of all mankind. Yet, God has lifted us up. Through His son, He has given us a way out of the place we rightfully deserve. He has lifted us up and cleaned us so that we no longer bear any of the traces of that detestable place. The smell is gone, the filth is gone, our clothes are clean, our hands are clean, and most importantly, the penalty our sin has been removed – paid in full by the blood of Jesus Christ. He has lifted us up to a place we are unfit, undeserving, and unable to achieve on our own.

“Lord, you brought me up from Sheol; you spared me from among those going down to the pit. “

How can we consider our deserved state (Sheol) as compared to what He has done, and not acknowledge His Grace?

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