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Joshua 1
Constable’s Expository Notes
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Intro
I. THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND CHS. 1-12
The first half of the Book of Joshua records theologically significant events that occurred after Moses died and before Israel was able to settle in the Promised Land.
A. Preparations for entering Canaan chs. 1-2
The first two chapters provide background information that enable the reader to understand how Israel was able to enter the land and conquer it.
Verse 1
The first word of the book is a conjunction translated “now” or “and.” It shows that this book picks up where Deuteronomy ended.
“’Servant of the LORD’ is a title of honor shared by Abraham, David, and the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah. (It is used most frequently of Moses: Exodus 14:31; Numbers 12:7-8; Deuteronomy 34:5; and thirteen times in Joshua; ’my servant’ occurs twice.) The term ’servant’ was used to designate even the highest officials of a king. . . . Only at the end of his life was he [Joshua] honored with the title ’servant of the LORD’ (Joshua 24:29).” [Note: Madvig, p. 255.]
Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim (Numbers 13:8; 1 Chronicles 7:27).
Verses 1-9
1. God’s charge to Joshua 1:1-9
In one sense Joshua 1:1-9 are a preamble to the whole book. They contain the basic principles that were to guide Joshua and Israel so they could obtain all that God had promised their forefathers.
Verse 2
The nation had mourned Moses’ death for 30 days (Deuteronomy 34:8). Now God instructed Joshua to prepare to enter the land. The death of any of His servants never frustrates or limits God, though this causes Him sorrow (Psalms 116:15).
Verse 3
God had promised all the land that the Israelites would tread under foot to the patriarchs and Moses (Genesis 13:17; Exodus 23:30-31; Deuteronomy 11:24). The Israelites were now to claim it as their own by taking possession of it.
Verse 4
The area described here includes all that God promised to Abraham and the other patriarchs (Genesis 15:18; et al.). The writer apparently referred to the Hittites in a representative sense to describe all the Canaanite tribes (as in 1 Kings 10:29; 2 Kings 7:6; Ezekiel 16:3). This is a figure of speech called synecdoche in which a part represents the whole or the whole stands for a part (e.g., “bread” means food, or “all the world” equals all the Roman world [Luke 2:1]).
Verse 5
Many students of the book have called this the key verse. Here God promised Joshua His unfailing power and presence so that he might be completely successful in subduing the Canaanites. Joshua’s failure to be entirely successful was not God’s fault but the Israelites’.
“This text [Joshua 1:2-5] summarizes the book. Joshua 1:2 describes the crossing of the Jordan as found in Joshua 1:1 to Joshua 5:12. Joshua 1:3 outlines the ’conquest’ of Joshua 5:13 to Joshua 12:24. Joshua 1:4 implies the distribution of the land in Joshua 13:1 to Joshua 22:34. The emphasis on all the days of Joshua’s life in Joshua 1:5 is found at the end of Joshua’s life in the final two chapters of the book. These verses also introduce the character of the LORD God of Israel. He is one of the main actors in the book. Here he reveals himself through his promises on behalf of Joshua and Israel.” [Note: Hess, p. 68.]
Verse 6
God exhorted Joshua on the basis of this promise (Joshua 1:5) to be “strong” and “courageous” (cf. Deuteronomy 31:6). Ownership of the land depended on God’s faithfulness, but occupation of the land depended on Israel’s faithfulness (cf. Deuteronomy 30:20).
The writer stressed two major theological points in this book: Yahweh’s faithfulness in giving Israel the Promised Land, and Yahweh’s hatred of sin. [Note: Constable, p. 103.]
“The word ’inherit’ [“possession” in the NASB] used to describe the future possession of the land, is of rich theological significance. It has subsequently become a NT term for the enjoyment of the spiritual blessings of salvation (e.g., 1 Peter 1:4).” [Note: Martin H. Woudstra, The Book of Joshua, p. 61. See Joseph C. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings, pp. 43-91, for an excellent explanation of the Old and New Testament revelation concerning believers’ inheritance.]
The same Hebrew word (nahal [verb] or nahala [noun]) also appears in Deuteronomy 1:38; Deuteronomy 12:10; Joshua 11:23; Joshua 14:13; Joshua 16:4; and Joshua 17:6.
Verse 7
Joshua’s responsibility included unswerving obedience to the Mosaic Law. This would be the key to his success. Knowing the law was only the first step. Practicing it was what would make Joshua effective (cf. Deuteronomy 5:32-33).
“The important lesson which we hence learn is, that in nothing is there more scope for the display of the highest moral heroism than in daring, in all circumstances, to cleave steadfastly to the word of God as the rule of our conduct. It is in this chiefly that the fortitude of the Christian soldier is to evince itself.” [Note: Bush, p. 20.]
Verse 8
Moses had left Israel a written document that the Israelites regarded as authoritative law, namely, the Mosaic Law. The Lord commanded Joshua to keep this Word in mind constantly so he would remember his responsibilities under God and find encouragement to keep them (cf. Psalms 1:2; Isaiah 59:21).
“The phrase ’from your mouth’ refers to the custom of muttering while studying or reflecting. The Hebrew word translated ’meditate’ (hagah) literally means ’mutter.’ When one continually mutters God’s Word to himself, he is constantly thinking about it.” [Note: Madvig, p. 257.]
“. . . [Meditation] does not mean theoretical speculation about the law, such as the Pharisees indulged in, but a practical study of the law, for the purpose of observing it in thought and action, or carrying it out with the heart, the mouth, and the hand. Such a mode of employing it would be sure to be followed by blessings.” [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, p. 30.]
We should never view Bible study and memorization as ends in themselves. They are important methods of obtaining the end of being obedient to God’s Word. We cannot obey it unless we understand it and are consciously aware of it as we make decisions day by day.
“The higher any man is raised in office, the more need has he of an acquaintance with the sacred oracles, and the better will he be qualified by the study of them for the discharge of his arduous duties.” [Note: Bush, pp. 21-22.]
Verse 9
This was not just good advice. Joshua was receiving orders from his Commander. Trembling or fearing would betray lack of confidence in God.
Notice the chiastic structure of God’s charge to Joshua.
A I will be with you (Joshua 1:5).
B Be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:6-7).
C That you may have success (Joshua 1:7).
D This book of the law (Joshua 1:8).
C’ Then you will have success (Joshua 1:8).
B’ Be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9).
A’ The Lord your God is with you (Joshua 1:9).
This structure emphasizes the centrality of the book of the law of God as the key to Israel’s success, Joshua’s effective leadership, and God’s enabling presence with His people. With this challenge Joshua could advance into Canaan confidently.
This passage contains the principles necessary for spiritual success in every age. We must know what God requires, maintain perpetual awareness of that, and be consistently and completely obedient to it in our daily experience to gain victory over our spiritual adversaries. [Note: See Harry Foster, “Joshua, Walking into Battle,” Toward the Mark 11:6 (November-December 1982):116-19.]
Verses 10-11
Joshua expected to be able to cross the Jordan within three days.
“The Jordan River wanders about two hundred miles to cover the sixty-five mile distance from the Lake of Galilee to the Dead Sea, dropping an additional six hundred feet below sea level as it goes.” [Note: Trent C. Butler, Joshua, p. 17. Cf. The New Bible Dictionary, 1962 ed., s.v. “Jordan,” by J. M. Houston.]
Verses 10-18
2. Joshua’s charge to Israel 1:10-18
Having received his marching orders from Yahweh, Joshua prepared to mobilize the nation.
Verses 12-18
The concept of “rest” (Joshua 1:13; Joshua 1:15) is an important one to grasp to understand what the conquest of the land gave the Israelites. It also clarifies what the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews had in mind when he referred to the rest that we enjoy as Christians (Hebrews 3-4). [Note: See Dillow, pp. 93-110, for a good exposition of the promises of rest that appear in Scripture.] It was not rest in the sense of freedom from conflict but in contrast to journeying. Even after the seven-year conquest of the land there was still much land that the Israelites still had to take from the Canaanites and possess (Joshua 13:1; Joshua 23:1-13; cf. Joshua 24:1-28; Judges 1:1). Rather, this rest was the entrance into, and initial participation in, the inheritance the Lord had promised His people (cf. Deuteronomy 12:10; Deuteronomy 25:19; Joshua 21:44; Joshua 23:1; 2 Samuel 7:1; 2 Samuel 7:11; 1 Kings 8:56; Psalms 95). [Note: See Hess, p. 78, and especially Butler, pp. 21-22, for a fuller discussion of “rest.”]
“This theologically significant term [rest] . . . is one of the key words for understanding the book of Joshua as well as later revelation.” [Note: Woudstra, p. 65.]
In Christian experience the crossing of the Jordan does not just correspond to the believer’s death and entrance into heaven, which some popular Christian songs suggest. It also parallels the believer’s entrance into the enjoyment of his or her eternal life now through dedication to Jesus Christ (Romans 6:13; Romans 12:1-2) and through walking by means of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). The wilderness wanderings resemble the experience of the redeemed believer who has not yet fully committed himself or herself to God and is walking in the flesh. When the Israelites crossed the Jordan they encountered enemies and had to contend with their spiritual adversaries, just as a believer does when he dedicates himself to God and walks by the Spirit. The Christian’s rest is not the absence of hostility. It is the beginning of the enjoyment of some blessings God has promised us (i.e., eternal life, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, victory over our spiritual enemies, etc.).
“Entering the land does not parallel the believer’s entrance to heaven; it signifies his willingness to ’cross the Jordan’ and engage the enemy. In other words, it is a decision by a regenerate saint to submit to the lordship of Christ and trust God for victory in the spiritual battle.” [Note: Dillow, p. 79, n. 57. See also Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentery: Old Testament, p, 335.]
In another sense Canaan corresponds to the additional blessings that believers who follow God faithfully in this life will receive following death. [Note: Dillow, p. 57.]
Not all the warriors from the two and one-half tribes went with (not “before,” Joshua 1:14) their brethren across the Jordan. Only 40,000 of the 110,000 did (cf. Joshua 4:13 and Numbers 26:7; Numbers 26:18; Numbers 26:34). The remainder evidently stayed in Transjordan. We should understand “all” (Joshua 1:14) in this limited sense.
The attitude of the two and one-half tribes was commendable. They followed through with their commitment (Numbers 32:25-27). There were no significant instances of complaining or rebellion among the tribes during Joshua’s lifetime according to what the writer recorded. In this respect the nation enjoyed greater unity during the conquest than it did in its former or later history.
To be successful in our corporate task of overcoming our spiritual enemies, God’s people must unite behind the leaders God has raised up to lead us. We should not complain or rebel against them (Hebrews 13:17). Furthermore, as God’s people we must commit ourselves to entering into conflict with our spiritual enemies, rather than avoiding such conflict, to possess the fullness of God’s inheritance for us. The Christian’s spiritual enemies are the world, the flesh, and the devil (1 John 2:15-17; Romans 7:18-24; 1 Peter 5:8).
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Bibliographical Information
Constable, Thomas. DD. “Commentary on Joshua 1”. “Dr. Constable’s Expository Notes”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dcc/joshua-1.html. 2012.
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2nd Corinthians 5th Chapter
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2 Corinthians 5
A House Not Made With Hands
1For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 4For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. 5Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
6Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7(for we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
For the Glory of God
11Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. 12For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart. 13For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. 14For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
A New Creature
16Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Ambassadors for Christ
20Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
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Psalm 90
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Psalm 90
Psalms- The 5 Books • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago
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Introduction
I paid my life insurance bill a few weeks ago and it made me think more this time then usual
when i was young i never thought i would die.
well i have gotten older
i didn’t want to deal with things like high cholesterol
well i have high cholesterol
what hit me like a brick talking to Morgan was the realization i won’t always be with my boys
there will be a day when They will need me and i won’t be there
It made me really ask with some fear and hope
Will what i teach them last, Will my life count
i told Morgan i was heart broke and afraid
i told her i hated it
She looked at me and said “you should hate it. You are supposed to hate it“
I was facing fear and remembered the Gospel tells me God has done something epic about those very fears
Here is the question we all ask and the wisdom of Psalm 90
Do you long to achieve something worthwhile for Jesus? For your life to count for something? We all yearn for that. The big surprise at the end of Psalm 90 is that we are authorized to ask God to “establish the work of our hands” (v 17)—to make what we do last for eternity.
If you fear for the things I fear Psalm 90 is for you
Psalm 90 is a guided tour through all the hard reality we experience
we are going to see 3 things in psalm 90: knowing our place, knowing our greatest problem, the wonderful work of Christ
Knowing Our Place
Psalm 90:1–6 CSB
Lord, you have been our refuge in every generation. Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God. You return mankind to the dust, saying, “Return, descendants of Adam.” For in your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night. You end their lives; they sleep. They are like grass that grows in the morning— in the morning it sprouts and grows; by evening it withers and dries up.
We have been learning the 5 books of Psalms tell the story of Reality
The Psalms are the road map to God in the human experience we all know
Book 4 begins here
It begins with the people of God in the place I was talking about at the beginning
things do not go from cries of abandonment to praise in quick fashion. Book Four will end in praise, but it opens with a cry to God about a situation that feels as if it will never resolve itself
Longing for faithfulness bigger then their fears
Wondering if everything sad can come untrue when we all fall so much and the world is a mess
Here is the hope we can have right off the batPsalm 90:1–2 CSB
Lord, you have been our refuge in every generation. Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God.
How does that give me hope when I pay my life insurance
Before he made me he was who he is
The character of God was already there
The plan to save me and give me a hope and a future is the story of reality
Not my fears
A.W. Tozer said: Before we were. before God created a thing he wasn’t doing nothing. His mind was stirring with thoughts of you.
if that was who he was before he made you we can trust Him to get us home
And it means that my fears don’t get the last word
God does
If God who did not even spare his own son is the God reality centers on we can know his eternal faithfulness is our home
Not this world
If I think I am what will shape my sons into courageous men I will be paralyzed by every decision and word I say
But if God is my home he is the home I can point them too and know what I long for will be accomplished
So when we are faced with the reality of verses 3-6 we can stop running for the office of God because we remember our place Psalm 90:3–6 CSB
You return mankind to the dust, saying, “Return, descendants of Adam.” For in your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night. You end their lives; they sleep. They are like grass that grows in the morning— in the morning it sprouts and grows; by evening it withers and dries up.
Don’t worry Moses gets more depressing before it ends on an unreal hope
But this is the contrast that can make us realize running for the office of God is dumb
Psalms for YouSettled Affection and Sober Reality
We need this sober realism about our frailty, our mortality, our terrible transience
it makes us ask the central verse of this Psalm we will see later Psalm 90:12 CSB
Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.
Teach us in light that this life isn’t all there is to live in ways that really matter
There is so mush hope in that when we are loaded with the fear and regret of this life because we all are
None of this has gone how we thought it would
Who knows what Christopher Ash lays out?
We may be blighted by the great expectations loaded upon us, perhaps in childhood or early adulthood; perhaps our parents had hoped—and let us know that they had hoped—that we would succeed in particular ways. Maybe they wanted us to be the successes—in exams, or music, or sport, or jobs—that they had failed to be or never had the opportunity to be. How sad we feel when we begin to realise we shall never achieve what they have expected for us or what we hoped for ourselves.
Ever let yourself down?
Ever feel like you won’t live up to your own expectations?
We first find hope when we know there is a place where what we truly long for will be done
And it only comes when we realize he has the home where it wil all be accomplished one day
But it gets worse before it gets better
We have to know why we are in the mess we are in
Knowing Our Greatest Problem
Psalm 90:7–12 CSB
For we are consumed by your anger; we are terrified by your wrath. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. For all our days ebb away under your wrath; we end our years like a sigh. Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years. Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow; indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away. Who understands the power of your anger? Your wrath matches the fear that is due you. Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.
Not only are we transient we are in trouble
God hates things aren’t how they are supposed to be
And his hate for it is called his wrath and Moses will use that word alot in this Psalm
That can make us modern people shudder but its in here so lets talk through it
His wrath is not a lightning bolt
It is his right anger toward sin
And here is how this plays out
It is Him letting me have what I want apart from him to much
When we tell the God who made us and ordered this world to flourish is specific ways that we know better then Him he will tell us at some point your will be done
We think God is a bad guy for hell but here is the reality about hell C.S. Lewis says: Hells doors are locked from the inside
God hates we choose things and people other then him
Nto because he is some insecure being
But because he is a loving father telling the children he loves not to play in the street
But we love to play in the traffic like nut cases
God’s wrath is letting us pursue other loves that only steal kill and destroy
Wrath is God giving you too much of what you want apart from him anyway
Paul knew this in Romans 1 18 For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, 19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse. 21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools
When we realize the folly of our running from God we can reorder our lives and longings for what truly matters
Then we remember who we are and who He is …through the crushing of our falling
Moses pray’s in verse 12 : Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our longings, our perspective, how we interpret our world.
To get there he takes an honest road
You have probably heard somone say that for there to be good news there has to be bad.
this is the bad
5 times in as many verses the anger of God is laid out
It is the most brutal part of the bible I know
Paul says it in fewer words when he says in Romans 6: 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. No matter who you are
What you have accomplished
no matter if you have shunned God and become the most autonomous self or if you have told one lie and thought that good performance saves you we are all have the same problem
The haunt of death knowing we have all told God my will be done at times not His
I promise this ends on a note you cannot imagine of hope but this is the reality
Sin has brought God’s wrath against it
What does that mean?
He hates funerals so much he died to conquer them
But he hates that we die
He hates the self destructive ways we look for life apart from Him
Isn’t that good news?
We all hear God is love but you can’t have love without a right anger toward what hurts who you love
Do you love and care about Kids but just say I am love when they are abused
No there is a place for a right anger against what wounds us and breaks us because he loves us
When Jesus arrives at the tomb of his friend Lazarus in the book of John the language is intense
it says he was deeply moved
That word in the Greek is used to describe a bucking horse biting a bridle enraged
He hates it
Because creation was shattered we all will see our bodies give out in this life
You should hate it
He hates it
Because of what it has done and what it has cost
It costs more than we can imagine
Here is where the turn to unreal hope comes
The Wonderful Work of Christ
Psalm 90:13–17 CSB
Lord—how long? Turn and have compassion on your servants. Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days. Make us rejoice for as many days as you have humbled us, for as many years as we have seen adversity. Let your work be seen by your servants, and your splendor by their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands— establish the work of our hands!
If there is anything Moses wants us to know it is the truth that faithfulness drives out fear
Where is that faithfulness most shown
Where was his commitment to rescue us on full display?
The Cross
Moses was pointing to it like a flashing sign on a desert highway
Look at verse 16
Psalm 90:16 Let your work be seen by your servants, and your splendor by their children.
When was it seen?
His faithfulness was seen by the cosmos that day on the cross
It was there the Son took what we deserve and drank the cup of it dry
He knew the wrath of God poured out on Him so it would never darken our door
I say this often but we need to reimagine our savior
Popular pictures make him look so weak and passive
He was not weak on the cross he was the most epic warrior you can imagine
He was there to take the fight for your life to be made new right to hells front door
And he took the anger of God toward sin that day so all we will ever know is faithful love that will never leave you or forsake you
What he did was brought home for me 2 years ago
My baby boy Baker had to get a procedure when he was 3 weeks old at a pediatric urologist
They had to strap his little legs down and give him 2 local shots and do a procedure
i was allowed in with him
i had to let his little hands clasp my fingers as he wailed and screamed for 20 minutes
I spoke to him the whole time until i sweat
Its ok its ok its ok daddy is right here im right here
Im 6’3” 230 and i have been through some things
I can’t imagine how many people and what they would have to have done to me to get me away from him
It was so bad when it was done I went in the other room and cried so hard there was a puddle under my face
Because it hit me
Do you realize what he endured for us to make death a shadow.
What he did to take the stinger out of its horrible pain
The father wathced his son nailed to a tree
And in that moment he walked out of the room on his son so that he would never walk out on you
You want faithfulness that drives out fear ?
Tell me another reality better then that one
Jesus was abandoned so that you never would be
You can know God is still there
No matter what you have done
Whatever you fear the most
He faced the darkness of this wrath in the garden of gethsemane and didn’t run away
If he didn’t in his darkest hour he never will in yours
So learn to number your days in light of the Gospel
And learn your assurance is anchored in the wonderful work of Christ for us
Tim Keller said: “The central basis of Christian assurance is not how much our hearts are set on God, but how unshakably his heart is set on us.”
That is the wisom of Moses in Psalm 90
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Numbering Our Days
Faith • Biblical Reflections
Numbering Our Days: Psalm 90’s Paradoxical Way to a Satisfying Life
13 min read
Death, Life, Old Testament, Psalms, The Psalms
When was the last time you listened to music on the radio? A couple of weeks ago, my phone died on my drive to work, so I decided to give the radio a shot. I hadn’t done so for more than five years, and it only took me about thirty seconds to remember why. There are so many commercials. After about fifteen minutes I decided I’d rather just sit in silence. There were ads on all sorts of things—new vacation destinations, new investment plans, new medicines, new insurance providers—all trying to convince me of how short, miserable, and meaningless life is without the things they’re selling. So, it’s no wonder we prefer to just turn them off. Seriously, how many people pay additional money each month for services just to remove ads? Spotify? Netflix?
Ads are annoying, but more than that, they make us think about things we’d rather just tune out. We don’t want to be reminded of all the problems we face, we don’t believe these advertisers really offer the solutions they promise, and honestly, we’d rather just get back to distracting ourselves with music.
Maybe you would feel the same way about Psalm 90:
90 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You return man to dust
and say, “Return, O children of man!”
4 For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.
5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning:
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10 The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
12 So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!
This seems to be shoving a problem in our face, one we really don’t feel like dealing with right now. But really, we all know this: the problem Psalm 90 addresses cannot be ignored. It addresses explicitly what all the ads I heard on the radio touched on implicitly: we’re all living “on the clock.” Life is short. Time is so, so preciously scarce. Seventy to eighty years might feel long in the moment, but in the face of death and eternity, life is crushingly short. And just like those ads, Psalm 90 looks forward to a resolution—and it’s remarkable how similar that vision looks. A satisfying life, full of joy and wonder and meaningful work.
We all want that, right? That’s why companies spend spend billions of dollars annually on ad agencies. They recognize that the results they promise really are enticing to us; we all want a satisfying life. The question is, how do we get there? In Psalm 90, Moses gives us an answer. To arrive at a satisfying life with meaning and wonder and joy, we must learn to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Maybe that’s not the answer we expected or wanted, but it’s the only one that can really deliver on what it promises. Let’s work through this psalm together and see if we can arrive at that satisfying life. We have two questions for our very simple outline. First, what is the problem? Second, what is the solution?
What is the problem? We can’t get too deep into Psalm 90 without finding it. The psalm starts out in the same fashion many psalms do, with praising God:
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
The emphasis here is on God as eternal. His existence stretches forever in both directions, before the creation of the universe, now and forever. God’s eternality is a marvel; he is worthy to be praised. But Moses doesn’t stop at praise; pretty quickly he turns his attention to us, to humanity.
The picture he paints of us is sobering. God is eternal, but we certainly are not. The realization makes suddenly makes the praise feel like lament because we’re faced with the problem of our mortality.
At first the language here is poetic, but that doesn’t make it any less frightful. We return to dust: that’s our inevitable fate. Our lives will come to an end, our breath will cease, and our bodies will decay. Then the poetry pushes a step further, not just addressing the reality of death but also the shortness of life. Look at verses 5-6, we vanish like a dream and wither like grass. Maybe, just maybe, we could brush that off as sentimental, but then Moses really leans in. He drops euphemisms and gets as blunt as he can in verse 10:
The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
This is not a comfortable topic of conversation. Most of us wouldn’t bring up the problem of mortality at the dinner table with company or in the classroom with our friends. Yet, the reality is that death never asks permission to be included in conversation. The problem of death doesn’t wait for an invitation into our lives; it barges in and confronts each one of us. For many of us, the problem of mortality is right in front of us today. Some of us have a parent or grandparent who is declining in health. Some of us have recently lost a loved one. Some of us are facing a diagnosis which makes death feel all too close. Whether it’s ourselves or our loved ones, death inevitably comes close to us all and demands a response.
When the problem of mortality meets us face-to-face, how do we respond? I think we can all recognize both healthy and unhealthy ways of responding. The obviously unhealthy way to respond is to live in to the early 2010’s catchphrase “YOLO.” I’m probably dating myself with this one. Do you remember YOLO? Do you know what it means? “You Only Live Once.” This is the mindset that throws all caution to the wind: live recklessly, shirk all responsibility, seek as much pleasure as possible, don’t worry about the consequences. YOLO says, “Life is too short to not have fun.” That’s not a very healthy response. Life might be exciting for a while, until you end up with a long list of broken relationships, burned bridges, scars, and regrets. It doesn’t deliver a satisfying life.
What about the opposite approach? Instead of seeking as much pleasure as possible, we could seek as much success as possible. We can fine-tune our life and become a productivity machine; optimize every minute of our day. We can optimize our job, obviously, but also our commute, our meal planning, our exercise, our showers, even our toothbrushing. We now optimize our sleep and our vacation. We might even try to optimize our friendships, our marriage, and our parenting. We try to squeeze as much value as possible out of every second we have.
This is a pretty common mindset here in the DC area where I live and in many other urban centers—after all, this is a very important city and we all have very important jobs, which makes us very important people. (We think.) And that makes life really busy. This optimization mindset says, “Life is too short to not move forward.” If this is you, let me ask: you might be productive, but are you satisfied? Is your life satisfying?
I read an article in the Wall Street Journal some time back entitled, “Why High-Powered People Are Working in Their 80s.” In it the author writes this: “These workers joke about getting bored on the golf course or being pushed out of the house by a spouse who won’t tolerate idleness. Beneath the wisecracks is a sense of purpose that refuses to fade. They just can’t quit their careers.” Those interviewed expressed fear at becoming irrelevant, fear that they haven’t done enough to solidify their legacy, fear of loneliness in retirement and lack of purpose without work. Instead of delivering on a satisfying life, this optimization approach brings us to the exact same spot as a YOLO mentality: right at Psalm 90:10.
The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
Neither of these approaches manage to deliver on what they promise, neither offer satisfying solutions to the problem of mortality. Which are you? Are you the pleasure seeker or the optimizer? Most of us tend toward one or the other. Maybe you take a different approach or maybe like we said at the start, you just try not to think about it too much. But take a minute to really reflect: how are you facing your mortality problem? And how’s it working out for you? Do you feel satisfied?
Moses offers us another way, a different solution to this problem.
But before he offers his solution, Moses actually complicates the problem further. Did you feel this in reading the psalm? The problem isn’t just death; it’s actually much bigger if we could believe it. We’re not just living “on the clock,” we’re also “under the curse.”
Look again at verse 5. It begins, “You sweep them away as with a flood.” Remember, this is a prayer to God. Verses 7-8 state, “We are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.” Verse 9 follows: “For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh.”
For as much as people like to talk about the shortness of life, we like to talk about the wrath of God even less. But Moses is drawing a connection between these two things we can’t afford to miss: we face a mortality problem and a morality problem.
Whether you’re a Christian or not, you can agree humanity has a morality problem. A brief look at our history, our home life, and each of our hearts exposes that completely. For all the ways we address our mortality problem, we have just as many ways to respond to our morality problem. Maybe you try to write off morality as subjective or you make excuses for yourself whenever you’re in the wrong. Maybe you become as rigid as possible, you try to follow all the rules and justify every single decision you make. Maybe this is just another thing you try not to think about too much, and you simply do your best to make sure your good deeds outweigh the bad. But for all the wrong in our world, our homes, and our hearts, none of these approaches feel satisfying either.
Here’s the key insight Moses has for us: our morality problem and our mortality problem are integrally related. If you’re not a Christian, you probably don’t tie these two problems together. By the world’s measure, mortality is a matter of biology and morality is a matter of conscience. Christianity is actually more holistic; it recognizes the connection between body and soul. In fact, mortality and morality are two sides of the same coin. Both have been brought under judgment in a single event.
Verse three captures this the best. When Moses is describing death as a return to dust, that’s not just a comment on the physical state of our bodies. The image he’s using here is more shocking—it’s being ground to dust, crushed, pulverized.[1] This is a reference back to Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden of Eden. This is the judgment God lays on humanity: “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:19). It is only by recognizing that mortality and morality are one and the same problem that we can properly understand: the solution has to address both.
So what is the solution? If it’s not reckless abandon or precise optimization, if it’s not ignoring the problem, what is it? Let’s look at the solution in three places: in the psalm, in Christ, and in our lives.
First, in the psalm. Moses gives his answer in verse twelve: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” First, we see a request. Moses, still as a prayer, asks God to teach his people. That’s our first clue: the solution to our problem can only be found in God.
That might sound intimidating in light of the fact that it is God’s judgment which brings us to death; why would we want to get closer to the God who’s mad at us? But really, we all know this is how relationships work. If you wrong someone in a relationship, how do you make it right? By running away from that person and avoiding conflict for the rest of your life? By digging your heels in and refusing to reconcile? No, it’s by going to the person you’ve wronged and asking for forgiveness. Moses models that in this psalm. He recognizes his own sin and brings it before God in prayer, requesting for him to take action.
Let’s look at what Moses requests that God teach them: “number our days.” Again, nobody likes thinking about their own mortality and their own sin, but this is actually the first step in the solution. Numbering our days keeps this problem at the forefront of our mind. This is not a macabre preoccupation with death, but a proper perspective of our identity: we are sinners in need of grace, we’re both on the clock and under the curse. This problem is real, we have to understand it properly to keep our eyes out for the fitting solution.
Lastly, the goal of numbering our days is gaining a heart of wisdom. Wisdom can be defined as “skillful living.” It’s living life the way we were designed to, according to the intent and guidance of our creator. Moses recognizes that we need to realign ourselves with the life God means for us to live. And life itself is defined as being close with God, dwelling in the presence of God. Adam and Eve were driven from the garden and driven from God’s presence. Thus, Moses sees the need for reconciliation. Verse thirteen shows the turn, “Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants!”
Moses’ prayer is full of expectation. He looks ahead to a day when God’s people will be safe and satisfied. The days of hardship will be redeemed, and life will have rich meaning. See the ways he pleas for this to come. Verse fourteen says “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love.” Verse sixteen continues “Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.” He knows God has the solution, he trusts that God will do it, but the psalm doesn’t give a clear picture of what God’s answer looks like.
What Moses knew vaguely we know and see as clear as day: the reconciliation of our mortality and morality has been accomplished in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Rather than leaving us to our broken morals, our vices and hypocrisy, our sins against God, God comes to us. The truth is, we were no different than our first parents Adam and Eve. Rather than coming to God to right our wrongs and seek forgiveness, we ran away and hid. In Jesus, God came to us. He made his dwelling place with us so that he might be our dwelling place forever.
Later Paul writes, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal 4:4-5). Jesus came as a man to live in perfect alignment to God’s law—rather than living “under the curse” and God’s anger, he was the only one upon whom God could truly say “You are my beloved son, with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). Jesus numbered his days precisely, always paying attention to when his hour would arrive. And at last, it did: for our sake Jesus bore the burden of God’s wrath upon his own shoulders on the cross. His death satisfied the wrath of God against all his people’s sin, solving our morality problem.
But that’s not the end of the story. Three days later Jesus solved our mortality problem, too. Romans 6 explains it like this “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God” (Rom 6:8-10). This is the solution the people of God had been looking for since the time of Moses, even since the time of Adam. If you are in Christ, you have been saved by the steadfast love of our God, you have witnessed his glorious power and have been adopted as his child. That makes all the difference in how we live here and now.
Think about how this solution plays out in our lives. I am surprised when reading this psalm that Moses stays so grounded in our lives on earth. Often when I think about the Bible’s solution for death, I look forward to eternal paradise in heaven. Yes and amen, we can look forward to that life after death with great hope and expectation, but we’d be wrong to make this an either-or salvation. It’s not “Either we stay here on earth where life is meaningless and miserable, or we go to heaven and be at peace.” Instead, it’s a both-and salvation. Both the life we will enjoy in heaven and the life we have now has been redeemed and reformed by Jesus.
Look at Psalm 90:15. God has promised to make us glad “for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.” This transforms the way we think about suffering. Suffering is unavoidable in this life, whether you’re a Christian or not. For someone who responds to our big problem with the YOLO mentality or with optimization, suffering is the ultimate defeater; it’s what makes life feel so miserable and meaningless. But for Christians who take Moses’ path, even our suffering can be redeemed.
I was reminded this past week of an article Tim Keller wrote shortly after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He had just published a book titled On Death which helped people think through these things—and then, all of a sudden, he was his own target audience. His article reveals the challenge of really living out the advice he had given as a pastor for some fifty years, like a surgeon finding himself on the operating table. The experience was raw, but in the end his faith weathered—and actually grew—through his suffering.
He wrote, “For me as a Christian, Jesus’s costly love, death, and resurrection had become not just something I believed and filed away, but a hope that sustained me all day.” The cross of Jesus is the paramount example of suffering redeemed. In Christ, our pain is not meaningless; it points us ahead to our resurrected savior. That actually infuses suffering with joy. Tim Keller notes exactly that in his closing reflection:
I can sincerely say, without any sentimentality or exaggeration, that I’ve never been happier in my life, that I’ve never had more days filled with comfort. But it is equally true that I’ve never had so many days of grief. One of our dearest friends lost her husband to cancer six years ago. Even now, she says, she might seem fine, and then out of nowhere some reminder or thought will sideswipe her and cripple her with sorrow. I have come to be grateful for those sideswipes, because they remind me to reorient myself to the convictions of my head and the processes of my heart. When I take time to remember how to deal with my fears and savor my joys, the consolations are stronger and sweeter than ever.
The gospel frees us to fully embrace both joy and grief in a way that no other response to sin and death can. Tim Keller passed away in May 2023—and though his last three years were marked by pain, he had found satisfaction in God as his dwelling place. Now he is perfectly satisfied as he rests in the presence of God. That same satisfaction is open to you.
This is a small window into what it looks like to be a Christian: not living “on the clock” or “under the curse,” but “in the presence of God.” What would it look like for us to “number our days”? How might we make Psalm 90 our own prayer?
[1] Psalm 90:3 uses “dust” (דַּכָּ֑א, dakka) which is different than Genesis 2-3 (עָפָר֙, afar) “soil.” The one used in Ps 90:3 can be used in a literal sense of physically crushing or grinding something, or in a metaphorical sense of coming under divine punishment. Dan Lioy, “Teach Us to Number Our Days: An Exegetical and Theological Analysis of Psalm 90.” Conspectus 5 (March 2008): 89–112.
Patrick Quinn
Patrick is the Director of Community and Young Adults at Capital Presbyterian Fairfax in Fairfax, VA. After graduating from Christopher Newport University and spending two additional years there as an intern with Reformed University Fellowship, Patrick returned to Northern Virginia where he grew up, met and married his wife Erin, and is currently pursuing his MDiv at Reformed Theological Seminary.Meet Patrick
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