HEBREW WORD STUDY – PROSPEROUS – SHALAH שלה  Shin Lamed Hei

Psalms 30:7-8: “And in my prosperity, I said I shall never be moved. Lord by thy favor thou has made my mountain to stand strong; thou did hide thy face and I was troubled.” 

I remember hearing a Christian Psychologist tell the story of a man who came into his office.  This man was an Admiral, dressed in full uniform with all his medals and ribbons.  He was in the prime of his life, successful, handsome, financially secure with many prosperous years ahead of him.  When the Psychologist asked him how he could help, this man, a big, strong, powerful man said: “The doctor told me I have just six months to live.”   This man who had everything anyone could want in this world then broke down and cried.  After telling this story the Christian Psychologist said: “You know when a doctor tells you that you have only six months to live, somehow all your prosperity, wealth, achievements, your medals, and ribbons, don’t mean anything anymore. It is really amazing how quickly your mind can turn to eternal things.”  

David was a king, rich, powerful, famous, a war hero and in the prime of his life and suddenly he came down with a life-threatening illness, David knew he was at the point of dying. Suddenly all his wealth, power, fame did not mean anything anymore all of a sudden his mind turned to eternal things.

The word prosperity in the Hebrew is shalah which means ease, security, and prosperity.   When David was prosperous, at ease, feeling secure he said he would never be moved.  The word in the Hebrew for moved is a very curious word to use here. I believe it is a play on words. It is the word mot spelled Mem Vav and Teth.  He shall not mot or be moved, shaken, slip, or fall. But it is pronounced the same as the word mot spelled Mem Vav Taw. Yet, Teth and Taw both make a sound.  Mot with the taw is the word for death. It is almost as if David said that in the midst of his security he did not even think he would one day die, he did not even give death a thought.  

“By thy favor, thou hast made my mountain to stand strong.”  I agree with most commentators that this mountain refers to all David’s securities. All those things in this world that made him feel secure. He recognizes that it was God’s favor that gave him these securities, retirement programs, investments, secure job, etc.  He clearly recognizes now that whatever security he had it was only by God’s favor. The word favor in Hebrew is rason which has the idea of pleasure. It was only because God found pleasure in giving David all these securities that he had them in the first place. Job 1:21: “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” 

David is now faced with the question as to what is really the value of life.  As he pleads with God to spare his life, he must now come face to face as to the reason God should spare his life. Is it to continue enjoying his prosperity, his wealth or position? David says in verse 9: “What profit is there (if I die), shall the dust praise thee, shall it declare thy truth?”  David’s argument for living is that in living he can do something one can never do after they die.  He can praise God in the midst of prosperity and in the midst of loss. He can declare to the world that in richness and health and in poverty and sickness “God’s grace is sufficient.” Once in heaven, he will not know poverty or sickness so if he is to praise God in dire circumstances, he can only do it when can experience dire circumstance, for he will not have that opportunity in the life to come.

All my adult life I depended upon God to keep me financially solvent. I am now 68  years old surely by this time God would give me some financial security but no, I still live day by day, paycheck to paycheck. When things get really desperate suddenly there is a check in the mail or some “found” money I was not aware of. What a joy it is to see God come through again.  If he made me financially secure I would not know the joy of an insurance agent calling me telling me I can save $130 a month and see God’s perfect timing. I will not know that joy in heaven. 

It’s easy to praise Him in the good times but a whole lot more fun to praise Him in the bad times when He comes through at that eleventh hour.  However, at my age, that gets to be a little hard on your heart. 

There is the story of two soldiers fighting in the European Campaign during World War II.  As they laid in the cold muddy filthy fox hole, freezing, hungry and fearful of every bomb that fell the one soldier looked at the other and saw a smile on his face: “How can you smile is a situation as horrible as ours?”  The smiling soldier just said: “I was thinking of all the stories I will have to tell when I get home.”   

Times get tough, just think about the stories you will have to share when you get to your heavenly home.