The True and Better Heman

January 24, 2008

As I wrote earlier this week, one of the resources which God has recently used to minister to my soul is a message that Tim Keller delivered at the Gospel Coalition conference called ‘Gospel-Centered Ministry’. One of the points he made in it was that Gospel-centered ministry is Christological, meaning that it focuses on Jesus Christ at every point. In the message he went on for a few minutes about how all the Old Testament points to and finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. ‘Jesus is the true and better Adam…Jesus is the true and better Abel…Jesus is the true and better Abraham…’ He went on and on, and I loved it. He spoke of this being an instinct as you come to the Bible, that you can just see Jesus in all the characters and stories.

This morning my first reading in the Word was Psalm 88, which is written by a man named Heman the Ezrahite. As I read, my soul was stirred in considering Jesus as the true and better Heman. If you’ve ever read Psalm 88, you know that it is possibly the darkest, most depressing psalm (with Psalm 39 as another possibility). And as I read his most depressing prayer this morning, my heart leaped for joy as I pondered Jesus being the true and better Heman, who didn’t just feel utterly forsaken by the Father, but really was forsaken, so that we would never be utterly forsaken.

Heman’s soul was full of troubles, and he was counted among those who go down to the pit (88:3-4). What a picture of Jesus, who bore the full measure of His Father’s wrath yet remained unwavering in His calling out to the Father. Because the Father’s wrath has swept over Jesus (v.16), because darkness became His only companion (v. 18, Matt. 27:45), I can have meaning and hope when I feel forsaken. Because Jesus experienced in my place the full sorrow and alienation from God’s presence, I can rise up from the dead and praise Him for His steadfast love and faithfulness (v.11). Because darkness was Jesus’ only friend, I can know that in my seasons of darkness, God is still with me as my friend.

About a year and a half ago, I came close to preaching a message on Psalm 88 as I did a series on worship in the Psalms. But I’m glad I didn’t preach it then, because I have a feeling that when I do preach it some time, it will be a lot more powerful than it would have been by focusing on the true and better Heman revealed in Jesus Christ.

Keller concludes after his tour through redemptive history, ‘The Bible’s not about you…it’s about Jesus.’ That means we should be on the lookout from Genesis to Revelation seeking to see all that is revealed of Him.

How grateful I was this morning for Jesus, the true and better Heman. Because He endured the darkness, I can walk in light.

Larry

Posted by Larry | Filed Under Scripture Meditation, Seeking Him