It is a little eerie, is it not? The details that are in this psalm predict
with such accuracy events that took place when Jesus was crucified. It begins in Hebrew, “Eli, Eli, lema tsebathani?” My God, my God, why have you forsaken
me?
I don’t know what David was going through
when he wrote this, but we do know what Jesus was going through when He said
these words. He was hanging on the
cross, dying for our sins. This is a
sensation, however, most of us have experienced at one time or another. The truth is God will never leave us or
forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) However, sin causes separation, and that separation
is what we sense as being forsaken. No
wonder Jesus, who had always had direct communication with the Father and had
perfect unity with Him in the Trinity, cried these words out as he bore our sin
to death. He was experiencing the weight
of our transgressions and it separated Him from the Father. The sensation of being forsaken by the Father
was the fruit of our failure.
What do we do when we find ourselves in such
a pit of despair? We go right back to whom
God is and what He promises. “Yet you
are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. 4 In you our fathers
trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. 5 To you they cried
and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.”
We are far from the first to feel forsaken,
and Jesus Himself knows how we feel. He now
sits at the right hand of the Father, His sacrifice accepted, and He is
interceding for us. He, too, reminds the
Father of all their promises, and claims us among those He has purchased with
His blood.
The psalm continues, “I am a worm and not a
man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. 7 All who see me
mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; 8 ‘He trusts
in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” Part
of the sensation of forsakenness has nothing to do with God’s attitude toward
us; which is always grace and love. The
world and people around us contribute to this lonely feeling.
As Christians we are God’s Children. We are adopted sons and daughters of the Creator
that much of the world has rejected. We remind
those who hate God that He is real (though they say He is not) and that they
are accountable to Him (though they claim they are not). Their disdain for God (or they might just say
“religion”) gets extended to us by association.
When that pressure upon us is great and we
feel dried up and lifeless, we remember God gave us life, “Yet you are he who
took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother's breasts. 10
On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my
God.” (Psalm 22:9-10 ESV) Not only that, but in Christ He has redeemed our
lives. And, if that were not enough, He
also gave us His Holy Spirit, a comforter, counselor, life-giver, and guide to
lead us in all truth to our eternal home.
No, we are not forsaken. “[H]e has not despised or abhorred the
affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has
heard, when he cried to him.” “The
afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD!
May your hearts live forever!” God is
with us. Indeed, he used his
God-forsaken Son on a cross to save us from all that separates us from
Him.
Father in Heaven, You never leave us or forsake us. Help me to always trust You and receive Your
gifts by faith in Jesus. Strengthen me
to be you witness, and never let me be intimidated to speak of Jesus. Amen.
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