Day 18: Our Redeemer
of The Heart of God: Through David’s Eyes
Below is Day Eighteen of the study, but there is an introduction to check out which gives context and sets the tone, and previous weeks to look at below. If you would like the full content all in one place, this book is now available for purchase on Amazon. Week 1 - He Longs for Us to Know Who We Are
Week 2 - He Longs for Us to Respond
Week 3 - He Longs for Us to Know Him
Day 15: Psalm 51
Day 16: Our Judge
Day 17: Our Benefactor
Day 18: Our Redeemer
When I get my hands dirty with dirt or even food, I have an urgency deep within me to clean them. Regardless of the reason, if I am in danger, or if I simply want to get the substance off, my body sets off an internal alarm that notifies me that solving this turmoil urgently is necessary. In a similar way, I long to get rid of the guilt and responsibility I feel when I sin or disobey God. I often have a focused intention to cleanse my soul of the grime that lingers within me. In the book of Exodus, God connects this inner feeling of sinful grime with a physical solution.
Moses, a man who God chose to deliver the Israelites, is instructed to require all of God’s people to use hyssop, an herb in the mint family, to wipe the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a flawless lamb. Hyssop has significant medicinal properties which are used to treat afflictions when brewed in tea or to alleviate bruises externally. A stem or bunch of hyssop was used by the Israelites to spread the lamb’s blood on the door frames to signify that God should pass over the home during the tenth plague. .
The tenth plague was by far the most significant one. While the others were very problematic menaces, none were lethal. Before the tenth plague, Moses visited the Pharaoh hoping for him to relent and let God’s people go. Even with the threat of impending consequence, Egypt’s Pharaoh refused to release the Israelites from bondage.
For decades the Israelites had been enslaved. After hearing the people cry out to Him, God sent Moses to deliver them out of their circumstances, and the hyssop was part of the process of protecting the people of Israel and demonstrating their safety (Exodus 12).
Several centuries later when David wrote Psalm 51, he likely was referencing the protective uses of hyssop from the Passover Moses and the Israelites had experienced. When he was requesting God to cleanse him, he was aware of his sinfulness and realized he needed to be rescued from the death he deserved (2 Samuel 12:5-7).
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7)
Even after the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, where hyssop is used to cleanse the homes of the Israelites, it is also mentioned in Leviticus as a vital part of several cleansing rituals. In Numbers it is mentioned as a part of the sacrifice practice for the purification of sin (Numbers 19:1-9) Even Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, was offered a hyssop stalk with a sponge to drink from when he was on the cross before he “gave up his spirit” (John 19:29).
David knew the significance of hyssop was part of the purification process of his sin. He knew that he wanted to be right with God again and was repenting to God as the one who could complete the process he started. Like the Israelites during the exodus and since, he had needed God’s promise to come to fruition. Not only could he do his part of the cleansing process, he needed God to pass over him, to forgive his sin, and deliver him.
Here, David’s voice shifts from confession to anticipation of what God will do next. You’ll notice this tone remains steadfast through the rest of the Psalm.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. (Psalm 51:7-9)
David trusted God to redeem him. He believed he would be made new and restored to a valuable person after his deliberate disobedience came to the light. There is a mutual awareness of his complete brokenness and his value to God that simultaneously exist within him. The confidence with which David spoke, knowing God would cleanse him, is such a testament to the faith he had. Remember, this is the same guy who, as a teenager, put himself in harm's way by offering to combat a giant in a war he wasn’t even trained to fight in.
Why do we forget that we can be completely broken and incredibly valuable all at once? Not only are we worthy of being redeemed, God painted the picture of our redemption story over centuries, repeatedly, so we would see his consistent love and pursuit of those He loves.
Write about a time someone you know apologized or did something extreme after realizing they had done something wrong or sinned.
Can you relate to what David’s boldness about God’s ability and willingness to purify him reflects about his trust in God?
What does David’s awareness of his need to be cleansed tell us about his character?
Which sins do you need God to cleanse?
How has God shown you His ability to redeem and make things new?
An excerpt of The Heart of God: Through David’s Eyes by Jill Ng