Contentment
04/07/10 07:28 AM
For my daily devotional reading, I’ve been making my way through the Psalms. These two verses from Psalm 16 particularly caught my attention this morning:
When Israel went into the Promised Land, each tribe was given a section of the country as their inheritance. The “boundary lines” refer to the surveyor’s lines within each tribe’s territory which determined the particular parcel (or “lot”) for each family. Obviously, some areas were better than others.
While the Israelites cast lots to see what which particular division would be theirs, the psalmist is making the point that in reality, God determined the lots where each tribe and family would live.
I love the notes on this passage from the ESV Study Bible: Contentment with My Chosen Portion. The psalm now describes the psalmists satisfaction with the Lord and His provision. The terms portion, lot, lines, and inheritance evoke the allocation of the land into family plots... the song promotes contentment with the arrangements of one’s life, seeing them as providentially ordered.
Indeed. Proverbs 20:24 says, “A man’s steps are directed (NASB: ordained) by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?”
God used these two verses to underscore the importance of contentment. More to the point: “Am I content with what God has given me?”
Commenting on this passage, David Guzik aptly observes that a mark of our age – especially with the Baby Boom generation and perhaps even more with those following – is discontentment, boredom, and restlessness. A generation with short attention spans, the constant need for excitement and adrenaline rushes, and 24-hour a day entertainment needs to know by experience what David knew.
So do I.
- LORD, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
When Israel went into the Promised Land, each tribe was given a section of the country as their inheritance. The “boundary lines” refer to the surveyor’s lines within each tribe’s territory which determined the particular parcel (or “lot”) for each family. Obviously, some areas were better than others.
While the Israelites cast lots to see what which particular division would be theirs, the psalmist is making the point that in reality, God determined the lots where each tribe and family would live.
I love the notes on this passage from the ESV Study Bible: Contentment with My Chosen Portion. The psalm now describes the psalmists satisfaction with the Lord and His provision. The terms portion, lot, lines, and inheritance evoke the allocation of the land into family plots... the song promotes contentment with the arrangements of one’s life, seeing them as providentially ordered.
Indeed. Proverbs 20:24 says, “A man’s steps are directed (NASB: ordained) by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?”
God used these two verses to underscore the importance of contentment. More to the point: “Am I content with what God has given me?”
Commenting on this passage, David Guzik aptly observes that a mark of our age – especially with the Baby Boom generation and perhaps even more with those following – is discontentment, boredom, and restlessness. A generation with short attention spans, the constant need for excitement and adrenaline rushes, and 24-hour a day entertainment needs to know by experience what David knew.
So do I.
