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Many people live as if God doesn't exist and that death does not occur. Instead of soberly acknowledging that their days are numbered in this world, they act as if they will live forever, and they steadfastly ignore any idea of judgment to come. Yeshua warned us, however, that "nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light" (Mark 4:22). We should tremble before such words. Each of us will give account for what we have done with the time given us (Heb. 9:27; 2 Cor. 5:10; Matt. 12:36). Moses therefore prayed to God: "teach us to number our days," that is, help us understand how to make our days count for eternity, to have a "weight of glory" that will shine in the world to come...
Yet how many of us take all this to heart? How many of us "number our days" that we might attain wisdom? Do we appreciate the brief amount of time we are given in this life? When we are young we believe we will live forever. David prayed, "make me know my end and what is the span of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!" (Psalm 39:4).
Life in this world is called chayei sha'ah (i.e., ×—×™×™ שעה, "fleeting life") in Jewish thought. Chayei sha'ah is the life of "vanity of vanities" (הֲבֵל הֲבָלִי×), a vapor that soon dissipates into the winds and vicissitudes of time. In light of eternity, King David reminds us that our days are as a few "handbreadths." We walk as "shadows" through the byways and wasteplaces of this world (Psalm 39:5; Psalm 89:47).
God sometimes brings affliction and distress into our lives to help us regain a godly perspective. This is meant to shock us out of our lethargy. King David was at the point of death itself. He felt frail and alone. Like Solomon, he questioned the meaning of life. What good are riches or the esteem of others when everything is fading like a flower of the field? David realized that life itself is a kind of suffering. All of creation groans (Rom. 8:22).
The turning point came when David realized he was asking the wrong kind of question. Since the things of life are fleeting and empty, a mere change of circumstance is never enough to satisfy the heart's cry for lasting love. It is not a question of seeking a "what," but rather a "Who." Instead of focusing on external circumstances, King David inwardly accepted the Presence of God in everything: "my hope is for you."
The whole of creation was made subject to vanity, but it was done so in hope (Rom. 8:20)... Hope is the substance of chayei olam (×—Ö·×™ÖµÖ¼×™ עוֹלָ×), or eternal life (Rom. 8:24). Because God ordered creation this way, we must turn our attention away from the flux of life to discover the Rock of Israel. God alone is the Substance of our hope. He "hears the groaning of the prisoner and sets free those who are subject to death" (Psalm 102:20).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 39:7 reading (click):
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