“Cease from anger and abandon wrath;
Do not get upset; it leads only to evildoing.
For evildoers will be eliminated,
But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.
Yet a little while and the wicked person will be no more;
And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.
But the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.”
~~Psalm 37:8-11~~
When I first read this passage, I was a tad overwhelmed when I filtered it through how I normally go about studying a passage. but then the Spirit spoke, directing me to break it down into a list of “what’s” and “why’s”. That seemed more manageable. So here we go.
“WHAT” – MANAGE YOUR EMOTIONS!
Cease from anger
The Hebrew word for “cease” <râphâh> means to slacken; refrain; let alone; and anger <ʼaph> properly refers to the nose or nostril – from the rapid breathing in passion; intense and usually openly displayed anger. So I see anger as something that is experienced physically and displayed outwardly. What is coming to mind is “in your anger, do not sin”. It’s the idea of having a feeling without the feeling having you.
Abandon wrath
The Hebrew word for “abandon” <ʻâzab> is used in the imperative here; and it means to loosen, i.e. relinquish; leave unexercised.
PAUSE TO PONDER what happens to a body part or a person who is left unexercised. It gets weaker. It gets smaller. Wow…
The word wrath here <chêmâh> means heat and is used figuratively here to denote strong vengeful anger. It is also used to describe poison (from its fever).
PAUSE TO PONDER the concept that when you allow anger and wrath to go unchecked, it’s like poison, but rather than the person or situation you are emotional about being affected by the poison, YOU are the one that is poisoned.
Do not get upset
Upset <chârâh> means to glow or grow warm; figuratively, to blaze up, of anger, zeal, jealousy; to heat oneself in vexation (the quality or state of being irritated; to provoke impatience, anger or displeasure in).
PAUSE TO PONDER. In the definition of <chârâh> what impacted me was the phrase “to heat oneself”. Being vexed, irritated, provoked is something that you do to yourself – you allow it. Someone can’t make me upset unless I give them the power to do that. Woah…now THAT’S a painful dose of truth right there?!
“WHY” – THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES TO YOUR CHOICES
(Getting angry and wrathful) leads only to evildoing
What comes to mind, when I marry the “what’s” of the last section with this first phrase of the “why” section, is James 1:19-20, “You know this, my beloved brothers and sisters:. Now everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for a man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God.”
The word leads <ʼak> in Hebrew means: surely (with a restrictive force), emphasizing what follows. “With a restrictive force” – denotes that what you are doing (getting angry and being wrathful) can only lead one direction and end at one destination.
You’ll never end at the destination of righteousness if you take the “angry road”.
Evildoing <râʻaʻ> means to spoil (literally, by breaking to pieces); figuratively, to make (or be) good for nothing, i.e. bad (physically, socially or morally)
PAUSE TO PONDER what all can be <râʻaʻ>. If food spoils, it is no longer good for consumption, which is the purpose for which it was created. And that flows right into the aspect of “to make good for nothing.” In Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus taught, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
If something is deemed “bad” for you physically, it negatively impacts health. If something is “bad” for you socially, it will divide you from, rather than unite you to, others. If something is “bad” for me morally, it will negatively affect my spiritual health. So the outcome of the “what’s” is pretty extensive thus far.
Evildoers will be eliminated
The word eliminated <kârath> means to be cut off. It’s important to note that this verb is in the Niphal tense, which denotes that this is something that the subject allows to happen to himself, or to have an effect upon himself. It’s like when a parent says to a child, “You brought this on yourself.” You make the choice; you automatically get the consequences of that choice. They go together.
Those who wait on the Lord will inherit the land
Wait, <qâvâh> in Hebrew, means to bind together (perhaps by twisting), i.e. collect; (figuratively) to expect:—gather (together), look, patiently, tarry, wait (for, on, upon). In this passage, <qâvâh> is used as a participle – it is in “-ing” word – those wait-ING on the Lord. It is a continuing action.
We are to <qâvâh> on the Lord <Yᵉhôvâh> the Self-existent, Eternal One. Waiting on the Lord is trusting that the treasure you lay up in heaven will be there when you get there. Those who wait in patient faith expect their portion in another life.
Will inherit (the land) <yârash> means to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place); take possession of, especially by force, have as a possession, often with the collateral idea of taking in place of others, succeeding to, inheriting.
“Passion, according to Bunyan’s parable,
has his good things first, and they are soon over;
Patience has his good things last,
and they last forever.” – ~~Spurgeon~~
In a little while, the wicked person will be no more
There is coming a day when the wicked person <râshâ>, the morally wrong person; the actively bad person, will be no more <ʼayin>. They will become a nonentity. They will vanish.
The humble (will inherit the land)
The humble <ʻânâv> person is said to be gentle in mind, or needy in circumstances. It seems so opposite to the way of this culture that the way up is down. If we want to “inherit the land”, we must lower ourselves in humility. It’s like you can choose temporary riches now, or eternal riches in heaven, but your treasure can only be in one place ~~ choose wisely.
The humble will delight themselves in abundant prosperity
The word delight <ʻânag> means to take exquisite delight. The fact that it didn’t just say “take delight” but said “take exquisite delight” piqued my interest. When I looked up the word exquisite in the dictionary, I saw things like: flawless, beautiful, pleasing, intense, and carefully selected.
The next part of the phrase “in abundant prosperity” was a huge WOW!! Check it out! In abundant <rôb> means abundance in any respect; lavish, extravagant and prosperity – ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?!! The Hebrew word for prosperity is <shâlôwm> – PEACE!! Completeness, soundness, welfare.
PAUSE TO PONDER what extravagant peace would look like in a person’s life. The dictionary defines “extravagant” as exceeding the limits of reason or necessity. The obsolete definition is strange or curious. What is coming to my mind is John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; MY peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
The world’s peace is from the outside in. It’s circumstantial.
The peace Jesus gives is from the inside out. Peace in spite of circumstances.
As we humbly endure whatever circumstance in which we find ourselves, knowing that the circumstance has passed through God’s hands before it entered our lives, we will experience extravagant peace. And there is a double blessing in Jesus’ peace. WE experience peace, and OTHERS observe us being at peace in circumstances that aren’t naturally peace-producing. To the world, the peace Jesus gives would exceed the limits of reason, a “strange” or “curious” thing. If even one person observed and then inquired as to how you are so peaceful in a trying time, you have been given an opportunity to share Jesus with them.