HEBREW WORD STUDY – LONELINESS – ‘AR’AR  ערר  Ayin Resh Resh

Psalms 102:17: “He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.”

There is something unsettling about this verse.  God will only regard the prayers of the destitute? I hear the word regard and in my mind, I am thinking that God will at least listen to the prayers of someone who is destitute, He will give it due respect and make a ruling on it. Consider yourself lucky that He will give the destitute that much attention.  After all, there are the rich and prosperous that He has to deal with, and likely they are His priority.  The destitute, well, He’ll give a fair hearing. 

Ok, that is just me when I hear the word regard.  Webster defines our English word regard as to consider or think of someone or something in a specific way.  In Hebrew, the word used for regard is panah which the same root word as pani speaking of God’s presence.   In its Semitic root, it has the idea of turning towards someone or something.  However, in the Akkadian where this word evolved it has the idea of turning in a direction and moving forward in that direction to actually overcoming that someone or something. 

That speaks much more to me than just regarding someone’s prayer.  Panah has more of the idea of God turning His attention to that prayer and moving forward to overcome and encompass that prayer. Here we have the idea of His presence.  God will encompass the prayer of the destitute with His presence. 

It doesn’t say he will answer that prayer, just that He will make that prayer a part of Himself and respond according to His nature and plans. Maybe that prayer will not be answered the way you want but at least He will be a part of that prayer and you can expect something. That is probably why the rest of the verse says: “Not despise their prayer.”  

The word despise in Hebrew here is bazah which means to despise but it also means to scorn, hold in contempt or reject. Most modern English translations walk in lockstep with the KJV and use the word despise. But why would one think that God would despise or outright reject the cry of someone who is destitute? 

When I think of being destitute I think of someone who has completely run out of resources, I think of that homeless person on the street corner with a McDonald’s extra-large plastic cup seeking spare change from passersby.  The word in Hebrew for destitute is arar which means to strip naked.  In our Western modern culture that might be a little hard for us to understand.  If you were attacked by a robber on a dark street, he would take your wallet and credit cards.  He would not strip you of any of your clothing.  I mean why would he do that? He has no interest in what you are wearing.  Clothing is probably the easiest thing we can acquire.  However, in ancient times clothing was often a person’s most valuable material possession.  At best the average person might have two sets of garments. One for everyday use and one for special occasions, you know “meetin duds.” Jews would have two garments, one they wear every day and one they wear on the Sabbath.  However, many could not even afford a second set of garments in which case on the Sabbath they would have to fold their one garment in a way that makes it different from the way it looks during the week. 

You may remember the story of the good Samaritan who found a man that was overtaken by bandits and he was bloodied and naked. In those days the motivation of a robbery was not so much for your wallet as few actually carried money. The bandits would go for the most valuable thing you had, your clothes. 

If you saw someone naked on the street, you would do something for that person, at least call the authorities to care for that person.  How could one imagine that God would look down on someone so destitute that they could not afford a set of clothes and despise that person? 

I believe there is a better English word to use here for arar rather than destitute.  Rabbi Samson Hirsch the nineteenth-century linguist and Hebrew master uses the word lonely and isolated.  Now there is something we can all relate to. Very few of us have experienced poverty to the extent that we could not even afford some clothes.  But many of us know what loneliness is like. The loss of a loved one will leave you feeling lonely, having to make an unpopular decision will leave you feeling lonely. Being in a prison or hospital will bring on loneliness.  Sometimes a disability will leave you feeling lonely. Having Asperberger’s Syndrome leaves one feeling lonely as they cannot relate to others very well yet the longings for social interaction are just as strong in them as in someone with great charisma.  

Many lonely people get that hated, dreaded advice: “Well, you can’t expect to have friends if you don’t make yourself friendly if you don’t get out there and make yourself known.”  Never, I mean never tell a lonely person that because you are bazah(ing) them or despising them. God will never tell a person who cries out to Him in their loneliness: “Well, it’s your own fault, you never try to make an effort to make friends.”  Or “What do you expect, after the way you have acted, after the way you have treated others, you deserve to be lonely.”  There are many reasons for loneliness and yes sometimes it is our fault, but you know what, whether it is your fault or not God will not bazah you. He will pani you, surround you with His presence, that is hug you and weep with you.  Even if you are a drug addict who stole from the ones you loved, who hurt other people and are despised by others and abandoned by everyone, God is still right there ready to hug you.

You see, He will not reject you in your loneliness for He knows what loneliness is like. He created a little universe with just you and Him so He could give you full and absolute attention without attending to anything else, without anything distracting Him from you. Them when you spend your lifetime ignoring Him or even hating Him, it can get pretty lonely for God in your little universe that He shares with you.

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