Who Are You?
As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. Psalm 103:15 NASB
Like grass – David has just drawn a subtle but important link between “frame,” “dust” and the yetser ha’ra. We were made for struggle. Struggle is who we are. Life on earth is not heaven come down. It is the battlefield of the soul. The sooner we come to terms with this, the better we will be able to apprise our true state of being.
Now David employs another common Semitic simile that we must also fully embrace. We are like the grass. The Hebrew is kehatsir (with the definite article). We are like grass. Why? Because we are so temporary. “Because of its ephemeral nature, grass is often used as a symbol of the transitoriness of man’s existence: the wicked will soon wither like the grass (Ps 37:2); men are like the grass which flourishes in the morning but fades in the evening (Ps 90:5; cf. Ps 103:15). The fleeting nature of man, which is like that of the grass, is contrasted with the abiding character of God’s Word (Isa 40:6–8; cf. Jas 1:10–11). Inasmuch as it is the Creator who comforts us we are not to be afraid of mortal man who is like the grass (Isa 51:12).”[1]
But we already knew this, didn’t we? We just pretend it isn’t true. By the way, there is another Hebrew word, spelled exactly the same way, that means, “dwelling place” (cf. Isaiah 34:13). Not only are we like grass, we also dwell in the place of grass—completely temporary.
What does this really mean for you and me today? It seems to me that most of us live in the fantasy world of a hoped-for, constructed utopia. The etymology of the word tells us the truth; a truth virtually never acknowledged. “Utopia” is from the Greek ou plus topos. It means, “not a place.” In other words, the true definition of utopia is nowhere! There is no such place. It doesn’t exist. But that’s not what we want to hear, is it? We believe, because we want to, that “utopia” is just around the corner, just over the horizon, and with the right combination of spiritual discipline or education or political savvy, we will enter those pearly gates and life will be perfect. We think “utopia” comes from the Greek eu (good) plus topos (place). We are all hoping for our version of Paradise.
This kind of totally mistaken thinking governs our idea of heaven, or of the “new” heaven coming to earth. We forget that Gan Eden was a place of work and that Man was made for work! What does the prime directive imply? “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it.” Kabash, “to subdue,” necessarily implies struggle! “kābaš assumes that the party being subdued is hostile to the subduer, necessitating some sort of coercion if the subduing is to take place. Thus the word connotes ‘rape’ in Est 7:8, or the conquest of the Canaanites in Num 32:22, 29; Josh 18:1; I Chr 22:18. In II Chr 28:10; Neh 5:5; Jer 34:11, 16 it refers to forced servitude. Therefore ‘subdue’ in Gen 1:28 implies that creation will not do man’s bidding gladly or easily and that man must now bring creation into submission by main strength.”[2]
Was not Man made for work, for struggle, made for this earth, made for strife, directed toward kabash? How do we grow if there is no conflict? How can YHVH assign a task that requires kabash if His intention is for us to live in Paradise? Is our idea of “Paradise” anything like the true Hebraic idea or have we simply mistakenly believed that “utopia” will be ours someday. What do I really expect in the olam ha’ba? Perfect health, prosperity, happiness, peace, goodwill, no more conflicts or trials? No more work? Where do these ideas come from?
What is the biblical view of Man, even in the Garden? Work! Effort—in relationship management and in kabash. Discipline. Obedience. Is there any mention of happiness? Any hint of retirement? Isn’t Man designed for the task of finishing creation? When will that job be done?
I used to cringe at the idea of going to heaven. All that time and nothing to do. Boredom. Now I am pretty sure that the work will never end. Wonderful! Things to do that will last forever. Never being bored again. Ah, now that’s heaven.
Grass. We are grass. What makes us think that we deserve anything better or that we were designed for anything better? You won’t find the bloated concept of heaven as paradise in the Tanakh. What you will find is a life well lived—here, not in utopia. If I can only embrace the truth of my transitory existence, then perhaps I can fully concentrate on the task before me rather than become preoccupied and distracted by the constant fantasy of a better world to come. If I realize that my very being is the intersection of yetser ha’ra and yetser ha’tov, then perhaps I can accept the fact that the yetser ha’ra never leaves me. It is never extinguished. If it were, I would cease to exist. My battle is not to get rid of the yetser ha’ra. It is to finally domesticate it to the desires of the yetser ha’tov. And that kabash will not end as long as I am me, created in His image.
Topical Index: grass, hasir, dwelling place, yetser ha’ra, kabash, subdue, Psalm 103:15, Genesis 1:27
[1] Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. 1999 (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (315). Chicago: Moody Press.
[2] Oswalt, J. N. (1999). 951 כָבַשׁ. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (430). Chicago: Moody Press.
To subdue myself is to subdue the universe. The whole earth groans to be delivered. When I get delivered from this body of death, everything else does, too. My salvation is the salvation of all that I was given to be in charge of. “Give us this day OUR daily bread, and forgive US OUR debts, as WE forgive OUR debtors. Lead US not into temptation, but deliver US from evil”. It is given to me to pray down, because I represent the entirety of creation as the pinnacle of that creation, that completion for all else. When all else gets it, then so do I. The Shepherd goes in last, after the last sheep. and if one is missing, out He goes to find it. I don’t get tended until I make sure all else is, too. That is what I was given to be, and to do. What else could the word “steward” be?
Instead of thinking that I am held hostage on a hostile planet, a better way to think is that this planet groans with me in my captivity, and as soon as I learn how to pick the lock, we all get to get out of here. What is the prison? I made it. What is this prison? My insanity. I am lost inside my own swollen head. My cure is to go back to my definition, and my purpose. At the height of my insanity, when I was the sickest and the saddest, I was given a family to take care of. I then had to make a choice: do I continue to stay focused on my misery, or focus instead on trying to prevent the misery of others? I got out of my hole at the exact same rate that I learned how to take care of everything else around me. Conversely, my salvation has given all around me freedom, too. Halleluah! The insanity consisted of thinking that life was all about me. The cure has consisted of realizing that my life is about SO MUCH MORE than me, it is just unfathomable. Therefore, it is not just MY salvation, either. I represent the rest of it, and if I fail to obtain that salvation, a whole lot more than me is going to suffer. I was created to bear the glory of my Creator, but this is that glory (weight).
I may be born to perish like grass, but to remain like grass, ephemeral and without substance or purpose, is my choice. I have noticed that it is the lost heathen that are described as grass: here today, and tomorrow gone without being missed because their lives did not, in fact, mean anything. On the other hand, the saved are described as saints, which is always presented in the plural, by the way, which I think Skip pointed out once. There is no such thing as a singular saint. To the saints is given the weight of the Kingdom to bear and define. I can be a vessel, a dwelling place, a dominion, for a King (and, believe me, the entire universe is not enough to contain Him, so if I was given to be His dwelling place, I must represent at least that creation to Him), or I can continue being grass. To pick up my cross and follow Him, then, means so much more than just my personal salvation, for my salvation consists of turning around and participating in the freeing of everything else, as my fall consisted of the destruction and damage of all the rest of it, too. Not exactly a job for grass!
“It is to finally domesticate it to the desires of the yetser ha’tov.” Amein!
יֵצֶר הַרַע Yetzer ha’ra is a part of our degenerated, corrupted nature, unconformed to His ways, choosing to do our own thing, and until we become aware, identify, recognize this inclination, we will not, can not, be in control of such beastly feelings/emotions and thoughts, be they be against ourselves or others.
“Things to do that will last forever. Never being bored again. Ah, now that’s heaven.”
Indeed, no more weeding, but watching plants flourish, blossom and bear fruit.
No more fertilizing necessary, nor even watering to do! Just collect seeds to plant, trim to bring forth abundance, to control growth. Everything will be rich and abundant.
No need for pest control too; etc…etc…being heavenly.
We simply uproot to bury back into the earth as compost, no death, but new life.
Mankind live forever, never age, never die, those who have been transformed and thus incorruptible. This is the DAY that YHWH has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!
First, may we domesticate the yetzer ha’ra to yetzer ha’tov! Amein!
I’ve not been on here for months with the way life is happening. I’m so glad I went on today and read this. I heavily suspected this was true but can’t talk to anyone about it. PEOPLE JUST WANT TO FEEL AND BE HAPPY MORE THAN LOVING WHAT IS TRUE.