HEBREW WORD STUDY: SHELTER IN PLACE – TSOD צוד Sade Vav Daleth
I Samuel 22:3 “And David went thence from Mizpeh of Moab and he said unto the king of Moab. Let my father and mother, I pray thee, come forth and be with you until I know what God will do for me.”
David was a fugitive running for his life from Saul who sought to kill him. Yet, David had a promise from God that he would be the next king. That promise seemed pretty far off and remote at this stage of the game. He was now forced to seek the help of the king of Moab who hated Saul but had no fight with David. After all, it was David’s great grandmother who came from a royal family in Moab. Her name was Ruth. So, David was sort of akin to the Moabites. Still, he planned to park his parents, who were logically also related to the Moabites through Ruth, with this King of Moab while he waited around in the fortress at Moab to find out what God was going to do for him.
That phrase for me (what God will do for me) raises a question. The word contains the preposition Lamed which could be rendered as to or as for. In this case, it makes a big difference in which preposition we use here. Consider the present pandemic. Are you quarantined in your home, unable to work, unable to make a living, and facing a possible infection of the virus? Perhaps you are like David waiting to know what God will do for or to you.
If you find yourself in exile or a quarantine situation, you will find this preposition (to or for) to be very important. Like David, you are sitting back waiting for the next move from God. David was in one of those situations where he was not getting that response from God that he once knew or had hoped. So while waiting for God to reveal his next move, David hid away in a tsod or a place of refuge, a fortress, a secure place. David was hoping and praying Saul did not know where he was as you are hoping the coronavirus will not find you. Admittedly you are finding some measure of comfort or security.
Then along comes a prophet, Gad, who tells David to leave his tsod (place of security) and go to Judah. You’ve got to be kidding? At least in his tsod he was flying below the radar. To move into Judah he would suddenly put himself right in the crosshairs, which is exactly what happened. Once he left his comfortable tsod and went into Judah, almost immediately he was spotted and his whereabouts were reported to Saul. The end result is that Saul orders the priests, who sought to protect David, be put to death for giving aid to David.
Maybe in a way you can relate. You feel God has you in a tsod (place of security) where you can rest and not live in fear. But then, maybe in a couple of weeks, the government calls an all clear and your boss calls you back to work. You wonder if it really is all clear, the news media will be full of doomsayers reporting it is too early, you will be exposed to the virus if you leaven your tsod. Are you really safe entering into those crowds. Yet, you need to work to support your family. You are forced to trust your government.
If I were David being ordered to leave my tsod (place of security), I would seriously wonder if this Gad fellow were really a true prophet. You build up a zone of comfort and then you find yourself back into the crosshairs. Thanks to his prophecy David found himself again living one day to the next, not knowing if he would live to the next day. On top of that, because he listened to the prophet Gad, all these priests got killed. Now how can that be God’s will?
Actually, it was God’s will. It doesn’t make much sense, but God ordered this so that David could eventually reach God’s perfect will and become king. In this case, I would suspect that the preposition in I Samuel 22:3 should be to rather than for, that is what God will do to me rather than for me.
There is an old song written by Andre Crouch called “My Tribute.” It starts off by saying: “How can I say thanks for the things you have done for me.” As I look back over my life I find myself saying: “How can I say thanks for the things you have done to me.”
Can you imagine a testimony service where the preacher says: “Can anyone give a testimony as to what the Lord has done to you?” Rather than saying: “for you.” All testimony services seem to focus on what God has done for us. “Oh, he has given me a new job, new house, new car….” But if we were to ask for testimonies on what God has done to us, we might get responses like: “Well, I lost my job, my house is in foreclosure, I have tested positive for the virus.” You will not hear too many “Praise the Lords” or “Amens” for those testimonies. Yet when God seeks to work His perfect will in your life, he may just do things to you as well as for you.
If I were to translate that last part of I Samuel 22:3 I would consider the ambiguity of the Hebrew language and render it as “…until I know what God will do for/to me.” I believe David had both prepositions in mind and when Gad gave his prophecy for David to go to Judah, David probably said to himself: “Well, I guess God is going to do something to me, blessed be the name of the Lord.”
You may be living in a ’tsod (place of security) right now. That may be God’s will, but it also maybe just rest until He puts you back in the crosshairs.
chaim,
as usual a great piece of work and very timely.
thanx and keep it up!
mike olin
I am one who appreciates being home being able to study and create rather than feeling guilt for not being at every event. But when I can reinvolve with my outside activities, they will be much more focused on what brings glory to God. He healed my husband from COVID and protected me from getting it even while I lived with him unprotected through it all. Your daily readings gave my mind a place to “shelter” when my fears of the virus and my husbands condition overwhelmed me. Thank you for challenging me to focus on God’s Word, not on fear .
Chaim , As we move forward and even backward as we all face uncertainties during this time of trial and testing; I too am reminded of that song ” My Tribute!”!and currently face a medical trial that is causing me deep physical pain and discomfort as I am having tests to determine the seriousness and results! I too wonder what God has been doing to me! I continue trusting him; walking in obedience to revealed truth ; and crying out my heart to him. Yet in this season of intense pain I am filled inside with peace ; his peace he Shalom that passes all understanding. I have a sense that my condition is serious as I am a senior in my sixties and currently have Kidney disease and bone disease but there is a settled assurance in me of God’s faithfulness as he has shown me through the years in his long suffering towards me as I continued living double minded and in bondage to the sin that so engulfed me. It was in that moment of grace and there have been many but that one special moment when Jesus showed up again the veils from my eyes were no more and I knew that I would stay faithful to my first love Jesus tho stumbling and muttering over Mc reader electric charges and the like; I am so blessed to be alive have a home; having been the sole live in caregiver of my Godly mother while she battled dementia until she went to heaven to live with Jesus. I have been facing persecution from ” friends” for my now totally soled out faith” ; rejected by some family; live alone but refuse to be captured by this pandemic and be defeated. I press on-as a believer connecting with others; sharing the gospel with those the Lord leads and directs me to and occupying my days with purpose without any blueprint. But I talk to the Lord about everything! I know so am growing in faith and love for my Savior because I know I am justified by grace; through faith; in Christ alone. I used to hide my feelings and pain from God now I willingly share intimately them with him. Late bloomer I am ; licensed psychotherapist and newly trained singer but it all ; everything makes sense only in the will of God ( still unknown in many respects) and trusting in knowing him and who He is. His character and name make all the difference to me. 🙏for your diligent study and sharing your heart with us Chaim; I chose today to do the same.
Yes, the crosshairs are coming in range.
I am currently in my tsod with my family and 4 kids below 12. Actually came back for the school holidays as usual without knowing that a lockdown was to be implemented. I believe God foreknew my tsod would be a better place for us – my kids get to run around, I have a room to work in, the food is of much better quality- compared to our 1000sf apartment. Not really looking forward to returning to the big city, but I suppose may not really have a choice – until God shows and leads me otherwise.
Interesting family ties. I was aware of Ruth was from Moab and was in the genealogy of both David and Jesus, but had never thought of that connection when reading about David in Moab.
I am very curious about Ruth being royal. Scripture says Boaz was wealthy and implies that Naomi’s family wasn’t. I don’t see anything about Ruth’s behavior that would imply any significant status. Am I missing something?
Would you provide some background and sources?
This is a tremendous truth as usual. Thank you for digging out the gold.
Tsod is an apt word for our times. Both those that are in isolation and those that are not have to trust the Lord and “rest in the shadow of the Almighty.“ I do not, however, believe that God did “to” the priests “for” David in order to accomplish His will. Scripture clearly states that Doeg and Saul are responsible for the deaths of the priests. David even takes responsibility at the end of the chapter. David was prompted about Doeg’s presence with the priest but failed to act. There have been many times in my life that I ,too, didn’t listen to that still small voice and therefore experienced dire consequences. It is very difficult to trust someone who may kill loved ones if you obey.
Very timely and well done,!!
I would point out that God did not will those priest to die, Saul did in his own tormented way… God does such a good job of making good out of a bad situations that too many people blame him for the bad…. I go with that David took the risk of a “to” happening but knew the Lord loved him enough that a “for” him would occur as well… I never put (evil) “hurtful influence” to God’s blame ever
I just discovered your teachings a couple of weeks ago. I have been truly blessed by your word studies. God has done some awesome things to me. Many things have been excruciatingly painful but the result has been a remarkable transformation into a better person. I can truly relate to the pain and suffering of Davis wilderness experience. But I also believe it was God’s way of preparing him to become a king.