HEBREW WORD STUDY – GOD’S DEPUTY – SAMEK – סמך  Samek Mem Kap

Psalms 3:4-5: “I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. (5) I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.”

“I’m just a little lamb

Who’s lost in the woods

I know I could, always be good

To someone who watches over me.  Gershwin – Someone to Watch Over Me

In the heading for Psalms 3, we learn this is a Psalm written by David when he was fleeing from his kingdom with a price on his head after his own son Absolam created a revolt against him. Overnight David went for the king of one of the most powerful nations in the world to become a fugitive running into the wildness for his very life. Not only that this whole revolt was instigated by his beloved son Absolam.   He must have felt like a total failure, not only as king but as a father.

So naturally, he would cry unto the Lord with his voice. Say again? What else would you cry unto the Lord with if not your voice?  I mean it stands to reason he cried unto the Lord with his voice. Why not simply say he cried unto the Lord. Having studied the Psalms and David for a lifetime, I am very comfortable with the rendering that I am about to give.  The word voice is qol which has a wide range of meanings.  One usage of the word qol is the bleating of a little lamb that is lost. Considering the context that David wrote this in and the fact that he was once a shepherd, I am very comfortable in using this rare usage of qol as the bleating of a little lost lamb. The word cry is qara’ which is to summon, to call for help.  God heard. The word heard is ‘anna in Hebrew which means to not only hear but to give a response as well. This response came from the Holy har – mountain. This is the place where God is conducting his business, yet He was not too busy to not hear the cry of a little lost lamb. 

Hence, I would render this as “Like a little lost lamb bleating to the Lord,  He was not too busy to hear my cry from far away.” We tend to think that God is way off there in heaven and billions of people down here on earth, surely He is just too busy and too far away to hear our cry.  But soft, we are not the only ones listening for that still small voice. God too is listening to that still small voice and cry coming from us. 

Oh, but we cannot stop here, we must move on to the next verse: “I laid me down and slept: I awaked; for the Lord sustained me.”  This is just so beautiful in the Hebrew.  The word to lay down is shakav which is either laying down to rest or sleep,  laying down to die, which he did not do, or laying down to be intimate with one’s mate. The word shakav alone would suggest he slept, but by adding the verb yashen which means sleep it would suggest something in addition to laying down to sleep. Also, note it is in an imperfect form and the word to lay down is in a perfect form.  Definitely, something more is taking place than just laying down to sleep. I believe this is a grammatical indication that shakav means he is sharing an intimacy, in this case with God. God is right beside him sharing intimately with him, God is whispering comfort and encouragement to Him and stroking Him to sleep.  Have you ever had God put you to sleep when you were under great stress such that sleep would not come? I know I have and so has David.

Then David said he awakens.  Well, I should hope so, he surely didn’t die in his sleep.  But this word awaken is heqitsoti which is in a Hiphal Perfect form.  Those in my Hebrew class should know what that means.  He is awakened by God.  God wakes him up because He sustains him. 

David was on the run, not sure who he can trust.  You know how your mind works; “Can I really trust all these men with me.  How do I know one of them might not turn me in for the reward?” Sleep certainly would allude him but for the fact that God was sustaining him. That word sustained is samak which means to support, but it also means to deputize. You saw the old Western movies where the sheriff grabs a guy off the street, gives him a badge and makes him take an oath.  That old boy just received all the authority of the sheriff, to arrest and enforce the law. David is made God’s deputy so that if anyone evil force comes against him, they have to face the fact that they are not messing with any ordinary victim coming down the pike, they are messing with the Sheriff’s deputy even if you are a Barney Fife knock-off, they will back off.

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