"Where Could I Go?"

01-11-2022

I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing - Psalm 34:1-10 (ESV)

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” - Matthew 5:1-3

Of all the words you want to read about today we would be willing to wager a large sum of money (pun intended) that poverty is not one at the top of your list. The word poverty has such a negative connotation, unfortunately, that our immediate response is to NEVER want to be impoverished…in any way.

And who could blame us? We certainly don’t want to go without food, clothing, shelter, health care, educational opportunities, employment…these are “things” that enable us to care for ourselves and those we love. Furthermore, the Bible speaks of the horrors of economic poverty and the troubles those who experience it suffer. But, what does the word poverty mean actually - biblically speaking?

The word "poor" has a wide variety of meanings and applications in both testaments. The Old Testament uses five different words from the Hebrew language, while the New Testament uses two from Greek. However, as is common when translating from one language to another, these are translated into a large number of English words. English is so complicated!

The term poor, besides describing a destitute state, also appears in the scriptures indicating oppression, humility, being defenseless, afflicted, in want, needy, weak, thin, low, dependent, and socially inferior. Whew. That’s a lot of definitions for one word!

Yet, that is not the term used in Matthew 5:3 when at his first public message Jesus issues an astounding statement: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The word translated as “poor” in his beatitude is from πτωχοὶ (ptōchoi), which literally means "to crouch or cower as one helpless." It is translated as poor, destitute, or even spiritually poor, either in a good sense (such as a humble devout person) or bad (has lost everything). It signifies the beggar, the one in abject poverty who is totally dependent on someone else for help. Think of the people who you have looked at and said, “They just need to get a job. There are plenty out there! Bums! Get your finances in order. Quit taking my tax money!” Ouch.

And yet, Jesus says - in his opening statement - if you are in abject spiritual poverty, if you are a spiritual beggar, you are blessed. Wow. So, what does that mean for you and I?

Poor people recognize their utter helplessness. Whatever the cause, the impoverished realize that they have nothing within themselves to solve their weak state. Therefore, they reach out to others for help. There is no more pride. There is only humility and exasperation. Dependency.

It is the same spiritual poverty which led King David to realize he had no refuge but God. David, certainly a person we would not consider as defenseless, looked to God to deliver him. He literally cried out to him. "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.”

JB Coates understood it when he penned the following chorus:

Where could I go? Oh, where could I go seeking a refuge for my soul?

Needing a friend to save me in the end, where could I go but to the Lord?

At the end of Psalm 34 David utters these words…words of a spiritually impoverished man who knows what God’s response will be to him: 

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry. But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to wipe out all memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.

We don’t know about you but we should never make fun of the poor. We should not make rash judgmental statements about people whose situation we have no idea about. What we should be speaking about - being truthful about - is that we who follow Christ Jesus, who love God, and are filled with his Holy Spirit, we are all living in poverty without Heaven’s love. No amount of treasure on earth can compare to that from above.

In my (Steve) Bible I have the following quote: “Human beings do not readily admit desperation. When they do, the kingdom of heaven draws near.” We think it’s time to admit we don’t have it all together. We are exasperated. We are defenseless. We are weak. We are desperate..for God.

If we admit our poverty then surely we can reread David’s song and place ourselves within it:
The eyes of the LORD are on us, and His ears are inclined to our cry. But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to wipe out all memory of them from the earth. We cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers us from all our troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers us from them all.

Missy and Steve