Psalm 49 A Rich Riddle

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
Psalm 49[a]
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who live in this world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor alike:
3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:
5 Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me—
6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?
7 No one can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for them—
8 the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough—
9 so that they should live on forever
and not see decay.
10 For all can see that the wise die,
that the foolish and the senseless also perish,
leaving their wealth to others.
11 Their tombs will remain their houses (b) forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had[c] named lands after themselves.
12 People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
they are like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.[d]
14 They are like sheep and are destined to die;
death will be their shepherd
(but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
far from their princely mansions.
15 But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
he will surely take me to himself.
16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
when the splendor of their houses increases;
17 for they will take nothing with them when they die,
their splendor will not descend with them.
18 Though while they live they count themselves blessed—
and people praise you when you prosper—
19 they will join those who have gone before them,
who will never again see the light of life.
20 People who have wealth but lack understanding
are like the beasts that perish.


a. Psalm 49:1 In Hebrew texts 49:1-20 is numbered 49:2-21.
b. Psalm 49:11 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew In their thoughts their houses will remain
c. Psalm 49:11 Or generations, / for they have
d. Psalm 49:13 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 15.

This came from bible-studys.org.

This psalm reads almost like a passage from the Book of Proverbs, with its bold contrast between the destinies of wicked and righteous. It addresses an age-old question: the prosperity of the wicked. The psalmist lived in a day when many evil men were boasting of their wealth (verses 5-6). The psalm was therefore written to enable God’s people to rise above the ungodly drive for riches. There is first an invitation to listen (verses 1-4): the poet calls on all men because the psalm has a universal application. Second, he demonstrates how woefully inadequate riches are (verses 5-12): on the day of one’s death they cannot redeem (verses 6-7). Finally, the divergent destinies of the wicked and the righteous are vividly stated (verses 13-20): the wicked man has no hope beyond this life (verse 14), but the righteous man will be resurrected to eternal life (verse 15).​
Psalm 49 deals with the most real thing about life – the certainty of death. One of its major lessons is that “you really can’t take it with you”. Continuing these kinds of very practical lessons about life and death, it falls neatly into the category of a didactic or wisdom poem. In places, it sounds very much like portions of Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. It contains warnings to the rich and famous and words of comfort for the poor. These timeless Old Testament messages undergird many New Testament passages, such as the accounts about the rich fool in (Luke 12:13-21), or the rich man and Lazarus in (Luke 16). After a fairly lengthy introduction the body of the psalm falls into two parts as indicated by the climaxing refrain (in verses 12 and 20). The wisdom poet of Psalm 49 developed his somber theme in two stages, focusing one death as the universal experience of all men.
The second witness this morning... is from the easy English site.

We call the person that writes a psalm "the psalmist". We do not know who this psalmist was. Bible students think that he lived when many people in Israel and Judah were very rich. These people were not kind to those that were poor. They exploited them, which means that they made them work but did not pay them much. These poor people thought that rich people could buy a long life on earth, but that poor people could not. The psalmist tells them that rich people cannot buy life. It is only God that can stop you from dying.
We are not sure if this psalmist believed in life after death with God in heaven. But he did believe in Sheol. This was a dark place under the earth where people went when they died. In a corner of Sheol was the Pit. That is where very bad people went.
When Christians read Psalm 49 they remember that there is life after death. Not just in Sheol, but with God in heaven! So, Christians say that the psalm means more than "rich men cannot buy life". We believe it says that money cannot buy you a place in heaven. But God can! He did this when, as Jesus, he died on the cross of Calvary. There he paid the price to buy us life in heaven. All we have to do is accept this life as a gift. So while the psalmist thought that God could stop him from dying (verse 15), Christians believe that God can stop them going to Sheol. They go to heaven instead!
There's been a lot of talk lately about those parents who "bought" a place for their children in prestigious schools. They were rich... and it also appears... the price for that prestigious seat at the prestigious school was also set according to their wealth. One parent spent a couple thousand dollars... while another paid half a million dollars.

I bet those same parents require a receipt for every can of soup they donate to the local food bank so they can deduct it from their taxes. Oh and now that the tax laws have changed and the high cost of taking that charitable donation may make it less cost effective.... giving little or no return on the dollar... the accountant will have to decide whether to continue with that "investment". As a matter of fact... now that the new law requires a higher threshold for charitable deductions.... that tithe issue has to be checked out by the accountant as well.

Sure... have a glorious life here.... then try to jump through the eye of that needle.

And the answer to the riddle is......

What can wash away my sin..... Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.....

☕
 
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