“The wild animals
Are better
Than the idols are.
They can flee
To shelter.
They can help themselves.
So we have no evidence
Whatever
That they are gods.
Therefore do not fear them!”
Once again, there is a comparison of the living wild animals with the dead wooden idols. Obviously, the living animals are better than these false idols because they can flee to shelter and help themselves. Thus, there is no evidence whatsoever that these idols are gods. Therefore we should not be afraid of them.
“Therefore hear the word of Yahweh!
You scoffers!
You rule this people in Jerusalem!
Because you have said.
‘We have made
A covenant with death.
We have an agreement with Sheol.
When the overwhelming scourge
Passes through,
It will not come to us.
We have made lies our refuge.
We have taken shelter in falsehood.’”
Isaiah wanted the scoffers who ruled Jerusalem to listen to the word of Yahweh. However, these arrogant rulers who had given up on Yahweh responded that they had a covenant with death, perhaps with Egypt against Assyria. They had an agreement with Sheol, the underworld afterlife place. They would be safe because of their deal with death. They were going to rely on lies and falsehood as their refuge and shelter.
“When Yahweh has washed away
The filth of the daughters of Zion,
When he has cleansed
The bloodstains of Jerusalem
From its midst
By a spirit of judgment,
When the cleansing
By a spirit of burning
Is complete,
Then Yahweh will create
Over the whole site of Mount Zion.
He will create over its places of assembly
A cloud by day with smoke,
By night the shining of a flaming fire.
Indeed over all the glory
There will be a canopy.
It will serve as a pavilion.
It will be a shade by day
From the heat.
It will be a refuge from storms.
It will be a shelter from rain.”
Many of these oracles of Isaiah may come from the period of the exile, when there was the hope for a future Jerusalem. Once all the filth of the daughters of Zion and all the bloodshed in Jerusalem had been cleared out by judgment and burning, then Yahweh could create a whole new site at Zion. This new place for a religious assembly at Jerusalem would have a cloud or smoke during the day. At night, there would be a bright burning flame. Over all this glory, there would be a canopy that would act as a pavilion to provide shade from the heat and shelter from storms and rain. This was obviously a less ostentatious undertaking than a whole new temple.
“The spirit of those
Who fear the Lord
Will live.
Their hope is in him
Who saves them.
Those who fear the Lord
Will not be timid.
They will not play the coward.
He is their hope.
Happy is the soul
That fears the Lord!
To whom does he look?
Who is his support?
The eyes of the Lord
Are on those who love him.
The Lord is a mighty shield.
The Lord is a strong support.
The Lord is a shelter
From the scorching wind.
The Lord is a shade
From the noonday sun.
The Lord is a guard
Against stumbling.
The Lord is a help
Against falling.
He lifts up the soul.
He makes the eyes sparkle.
He gives health.
He gives life.
He gives blessings.”
Sirach emphasizes the importance of fearing God with its consequences. Those who fear the Lord will live. They have hope that the Lord will save them. They will not be cowards or timid. The reason for their hope is that the Lord supports them. He loves them since he is like a shield. He provides shelter for them against the hot winds and shade against the hot midday sun. The Lord keeps them from stumbling or falling. He lifts up their souls as he makes their eyes sparkle. He gives them health, life and blessings. A lot of good things happen when you fear the Lord.
“Gain the trust of your neighbor
In his poverty.
Thus you may rejoice with him
In his prosperity.
Stand by him
In time of his distress.
Thus you may share with him
In his inheritance.
One should not always despise
Restricted circumstances.
One should not admire
A rich person who is stupid.
The vapor of the furnace
Precedes the fire.
The smoke of the furnace
Precedes the fire.
Thus insults precede bloodshed.
I am not ashamed
To shelter a friend.
I will not hide from him.
But if harm should come to me
Because of him,
Whoever hears of it
Will beware of him.”
Friendship happens in good times as well as bad times. If you trust your neighbor in his poverty, you can rejoice with him in his prosperity. If you stand by him in his distress, you can share with him in his good times. On the other hand, you should not admire a rich stupid person or despise those in poverty. Where there is a smell and smoke, there surely will be a fire. So too, insults often precede bloodshed. So be careful! Sirach was not ashamed to shelter a friend. However, if any harm came to him because of that friend, this would be a reminder to others to be wary about what his friend had done. Even this friendship is a little shaky, so that you should always be on guard against false friends.
“Woe to timid hearts!
Woe to slack hands!
Woe to the sinners!
They walk a double path.
Woe to the fainthearted!
They have no trust.
Therefore they will have no shelter.
Woe to you who have lost your nerve!
What will you do
When the Lord’s reckoning comes?”
Now we have a series of curses. The timid hearts, the slack hands, and the double path sinners will be cursed. The fainthearted without trust will have no shelter. If you have lost your nerve, you will be cursed. What are you going to do when the Lord comes to render judgment?
“She gave to holy people
The reward of their labors.
She guided them
Along a marvelous way.
She became a shelter to them by day.
She became a starry flame
Through the night.
She brought them over the Red Sea.
She led them through deep waters.
But she drowned their enemies.
She cast them up
From the depth of the sea.
Therefore the righteous plundered the ungodly.
They sang hymns!
O Lord!
To your holy name!
They praised with one accord
Your defending hand.
Wisdom opened the mouths
Of those who were mute.
Wisdom made the tongues
Of infants speak clearly.”
This explanation of the exodus from Egypt is based on the stories from Exodus, chapters 13-15. Once again, it is wisdom that is leading the way. Day and night, wisdom provided shelter and starlight. She had brought them over the Red Sea, so that their enemies had drowned, but they were safe. Then they plundered the Egyptian soldiers. After that they sang hymns (ὕμνησαν) to the holy name of the Lord (Κύριε, τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ἅγιόν σου). Wisdom (ἡ σοφία) opened the mouths of the mute. She made infants speak clearly.
“You live in the shelter of the Most High.
You abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
You will say to Yahweh.
‘My refuge and my fortress.
My God,
In whom I trust.’”
Psalm 91 has no title, unlike many of the other psalms. This psalm starts with 4 different names for God, which is unusual since normally only 2 or 3 names are used, God or Yahweh. First we live in the shelter of the Most High God that is El Elyon in Hebrew and gphyistos in Greek, the highest one. Next we abide in the shadow of the Almighty God that is El Shaddai in Hebrew and the more familiar Greek pantokrator, creator of all. Normally when the Israelites speak to God they call him with the more familiar Yahweh that is the proper name for the God of Israel, more commonly the Hebrew epigram YHW. He seems to be an Israelite warrior God who gets angry a lot. He could not be depicted with any statues or idols. Later Jewish prayer life changed the pronunciation of Yahweh with the word Adonai in its place. The common translation of Yahweh into Greek was kurios, or Lord. Thus many bibles use this term “Lord” for Yahweh. So what did he say to Yahweh? Yahweh is his refuge and fortress. However, then we have the 4th term for God, Elohim in Hebrew and Theos in Greek. Using Theos in Greek put God at the same level as other gods, but clearly Adonai or Yahweh was the monotheistic God in the later writings. Obviously this psalmist trusted in God.
“Lead me to the rock
That is higher than I.
You are my refuge.
You are a strong tower
Against the enemy.
Let me live in your tent forever!
Let me find refuge
Under the shelter of your wings!”
Selah
David wanted to be led to a high rock. God was his refuge like a strong tower against his enemies. He wanted to live forever in the tent of God. He wanted to find refuge in a shelter under the wings of God. This idea of the wings of God as shelter is quite common. The reference to a tent is probably a reference to the temple which is far away. This section ends with a musical interlude meditative pause, a Selah.
“‘I would hurry to find a shelter for myself,
From the raging wind and tempest.’
Confuse them!
Yahweh!
Confound their speech!
I see violence and strife in the city.
Day and night they go around it
On its walls.
Iniquity and trouble are within it.
Ruin is in its midst.
Oppression and fraud
Do not depart from its marketplace.”
David wanted to find a shelter for himself in the wilderness that would protect him from the raging wind and stormy rain. At the same time, he wanted Yahweh to confuse the speech of those in the city. Like today, he said that there was so much violence and strife in the city. Does that sound like the good old days? Violence in the cities has been around for over 2,500 years. So what is new? There was iniquity and trouble within the city both day and night, around the walls of the city. Ruin was coming to them because of the oppression and fraud of their marketplace. Those old fashioned business men were cheating in the marketplace. Wow! That is strange to hear.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 