Text Study for Ash Wednesday

The Rev. Joseph Winston

March 9, 2011

Commentary
The prophet speaks of an upcoming battle between an insignificant force and a
well trained army that has never lost a single skirmish, much less a war. The
people know how to react in this situation. Decide what is important to take and
abandon the rest when you leave. The author makes an unusual request that should
never be considered during an evacuation. Stay, he says. Change your ways. Pray
instead of eating. Bring everyone together to remind God of His promises. Maybe
then certain destruction will be delayed or even replaced with an unexpected gift.

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

Joel 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion – The watchmen have seen what is coming and
they are warning the people to prepare for the worst.

Joel 2:2 a day of darkness and gloom – The forces that they will have to face
are only known in epic tales. They are so strong that they have never been
defeated in battle. These are the ones who are bearing down on the people
and nothing will stop them.

. . . Missing is the allusion to being able to see paradise but not enter in. Also left
out of the lectionary lesson for the day is the confusion of the people as the
disciplined army marches toward the people.

Joel 2:12 return to me with all your heart – Make a reasoned choice, says the
L ORD to the people. You can either be totally forgotten or your God can
remember you.

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 Joel 2:13 rend your hearts and not your clothing – Destroy your previous way
of thinking. This is what the L ORD wants. He desires people that in their
innermost being follow His way and not just put on show for others to see.

Joel 2:14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent – The L ORD’s army is
at the city walls. There is always a chance that He might change His mind
and not totally destroy the people.
This pattern is seen in our death. We pray that the L ORD grant us another
day and if we are completely honest with ourselves, we often want that day
to keep coming forever. The day of death comes to all. That does not change.
What happens is that the L ORD remembers His people and after their death,
He gives them life.

Joel 2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion – The warning from the watchmen still is
valid. What has changed is the attitude of the people. They are not fleeing.
Instead, they are changing how they act.

Joel 2:16 gather the people – Now they are “sitting ducks” for the attacking army.
Instead of eating, they are fasting. Rather than fleeing, they are coming to-
gether in worship. No one at all is exempted from their duty. The old must
come. The children that would rather play must come. The infant that does
not know one hand from the other must come. Even those celebrating must
be there.

Joel 2:17 let the priests, the ministers of the L ORD, weep – Consider what has
happened and show the people what will come. Weep for pain that is in-
flicted on the young and the old. Cry for the death that is given before its
time. Shed tears for the lost opportunities.

Psalm 51
Speaking in the most general sense, the confession of sins has three primary pur-
poses: acknowledging sin’s power in our lives, stating that God’s power is greater
than sin’s influence, and reorienting our lives towards God. Psalm 51 contains
each of these ideas.

Psalm 51:1 blot out Blotting, erasing, or obliterating away sin is found in the

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 ĹĞ̂Ő̂ ŚĄ́Ń̂`
ŸĎ̄Ő̂
verb .1

Psalm 51:2 Wash me – The verb wash ( ) is used fifty-one times in the Old
Testament. The primary use of this verb is associated with the cleaning of
clothes by walking on them in water.2 The use of this verb to indicate wash-
ing in the psalm is only figurative.3 The use of wash in this psalm indicates
the speaker’s desire to have sin’s depravity removed (Psalm 51:2, 7). The
psalmist also uses other phrases for removing sin’s stain. In verse 2 along
with the image of washing clothes, we have another verb , which car-
4
ries the idea of being pure or of being made ritually clean. Before that in
the first line, the author speaks of obliterating marks. These three different
verbs all bring slightly different meanings to the concept of sin’s removal.
Sometimes sin might be easy to remove, just like wiping up a spilled drink
and at other times, the removal of sin’s stain might require a more work.

Psalm 51:3 my sin is ever before me – Sin is our condition.

ĂĹ̂Ď̂
In the fifty-first Psalm, the author uses poetry’s power to portray thee dif-
ferent images of sin.5 The first image of sin found in verses 1, 3, and 13
is one of rebellion. The psalm’s inscription gives us the background of that
revolt. King David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. When she re-
ported her pregnancy to the king, he devised a scheme to have Bathsheba’s
husband killed on the battlefield. The king thought that he had gotten away
with murder, but the prophet Nathan told David of his sin.
The second picture of sin is located in verses 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 13. These verses
use the Hebrew word that can mean either to miss a mark or to sin.67
This ambiguity is useful in the poem since poetry can hold both ideas to-
gether. David not only lost his way when he had an affair with Bathsheba
but he also did something that was against God’s law.
1
F. Brown, S. Driver and C. Briggs, editors, The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew And English
Lexicon, (Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999), p. 562.
2
Ibid., p. 460.
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid., p. 372.
5
James Limburg; Patrick D. Miller and David L. Barlett, editors, Psalms, (Westminister John
Knox Press, 2000), Westminister Bible Companion, p. 172.
6
Brown, Driver and Briggs, BDB, p. 306.
7
Limburg, Psalms, p. 172.

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 The third concept of sin is found in verse 2, 9, and 15. Sin is also perverse.
It goes against God’s laws whether they are found in the Decalogue or the
Torah. Sin bends us out of shape so that we no longer fit in God’s creation.

Psalm 51:4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned – The great Jewish teacher
Abraham J. Heschel clearly tells us that when we sin we have sinned against
God.8 The psalmist clearly agrees in verse 4.
The danger of a naı̈ve interpretation of verse 4 is obvious because when we
appear to say that sin is a personal matter between the sinner and God we
dramatically limit sin’s power. In other words, we make sin “cheap.” The
idea that sin is only against God is completely “inconceivable in the Old
Testament” because each and every sin damages the community in one way
or another.9 . One concrete example of this understanding can be found in II
Samuel 12:13. When David states that he has sinned against the Lord, this
assertion does not mean that David did not sin against Uriah and Bathsheba
but instead David is acknowledging that it is God who calls us to account
for our sin.10

Psalm 51:5 I was born guilty – Christians have traditionally interpreted this verse
in a way, which assumes sin is transmitted from parent to child through re-
production.11 According to Mays, the view that procreation is sinful appears
to be impossible to support using the Old Testament.12 Even when support-
ing this point, Mays and almost no one else would deny that the Old Testa-
ment tells us that humans are prone to sin. We hear in the flood story, found
in Genesis, that all are sinful (Genesis 6:15; 12). The Bible also informs
8
Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets, Volume I, (Harper Torchbooks, 1975), p. 217.
9
James Luther Mays; Idem, Jr. Patrick D. Miller and Paul J. Achtemeir, editors, Psalms, In-
terpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching edition. (John Knox Press, 1994),
p. 200.
10
Ibid.
11
Ibid., p. 201.
12
Ibid.. The view that sin is a sexually transmitted disease is problematic today since we are in
an age that humans can be reproduced in new ways that do not require one male and one female
parent. Currently there is an embryo that has DNA from three humans. Will this child have more
original sin? We now have the ability to clone individuals. Would a cloned child have less original
sin since it only has one parent? In other words, do all humans have “original sin” or is this sin
only transmitted in the act of sexual reproduction. Adding to this confusion is the mad rush to
patent huge portions of our genes. In this rush to make money, has anyone thought of cornering
the market on sin by patenting the gene that causes sin? I know if I had this patent, I would only
want a fraction of a cent from everyone who sins.

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 us that no one can be viewed as righteous when compared to God (Psalms
143:2, Job 14:4; 15:14-16; 24:4).13
It is true that the prophets in exile have some references that associate sin
with birth or a parent (Ezekiel 16; 20; 23; especially Ezekiel 16:3; Isaiah

ĄĚ`ĘĽĂ̄
43:27, 48:8, 50:1).14 However, the underlying message from these prophets
seems to be that sin is a constant problem from birth to death and not just an
artifact that is introduced into life at a specific time or location. Thus, verse
5 in Psalm 51 is making a statement about the human’s sinful condition not
how sin is transmitted from parent to child through reproduction.15

Psalm 51:6 You desire truth in the inward being – Confession of sins is present
only in a very small percent of psalms of individual lament.16 Even rarer is
making confession the psalm’s central focus.17

Psalm 51:7 Purge me with hyssop – The word translated as hyssop ( ) is

only used ten times in Old Testament (Exodus 12:22; Leviticus 14:4, 6,
49, 51, 52; Numbers 19:6, 18; 1 Kings 4:33; Psalms 51:7). BDB notes that
while the exact plant is not known, this herb is associated with cleaning.18
The first and arguably most important use of this herb is found in the Exodus
story. Here the Israelites are commanded to dip a bunch of this plant into the
lamb’s blood and then throw the blood on the door’s lintel (Exodus 12:22).
This blood was a sign that an Israelite lived in the house and death did not
stop there to kill the first born males. The use of hyssop in Leviticus is for
cleaning the skin disease often translated as leprosy (Leviticus 14:4, 6, 49,
51, 52). Hyssop is mixed in the burnt offering of the red heifer (Numbers
19:6). Specifically, the heifer’s ashes are mixed with water and sprinkled on
the tent using hyssop (Numbers 19:17-18). The herb is also used in cleaning
a tent where a man has died (Numbers 19:18). In 1 Kings 4:33, Solomon
speaks wisdom to the hyssop, a little cedar, the cedars, and other plants. The
use in Psalm 51 then should remind the listener of two ideas: how death
passed over the houses of the Israelites and how the unclean are made clean
13
Mays, Psalms, p. 201.
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid.
16
Claus Westermann, The Psalms: Structure, Content and Message, (Augsburg Fortress, 1980),
p. 67.
17
Ibid.
18
Brown, Driver and Briggs, BDB, p. 23.

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 in the L ORD’s eyes.

Psalm 51:8 let the bones that you have crushed rejoice – There is real pain and
suffering caused in the world by the sin. This occurs because God continues
to let sin exist. Despite the problems that we cause, the psalmist asks for joy
to come into his life. So much happiness in fact, that he sings about it.

Psalm 51:9 Hide your face from my sins – The L ORD cannot stand the sin we
create. The psalmist asks the L ORD to turn a blind eye to what he has already
done.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God – The confession of sin and
God’s forgiveness brings us this dramatic change because in the psalm,
the psalmist asks God to do something that only God can do, create a new
heart.1920

Psalm 51:11 Do not cast me away from your presence – The reality is that the
same One who created existence itself can also both stop reality and re-
move every trace of any individual. That is frightening. The psalmist asks
for God’s grace by remaining in the L ORD’s house.

Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation – For the psalmist, the actions
of teaching, singing, and praising all occur because of God’s forgiveness.21
and put a new and right spirit within me – The transformation continues
with confession seeking renewal.22

Psalm 51:13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways – With forgiveness comes
the possibility of a new day, one where the psalmist can instruct others in
the way of life.

Psalm 51:14 Deliver me from bloodshed – Actions in this life can cause the death
of others either directly or indirectly. The author realizes this fact and prays
for deliverance.

Psalm 51:15 O L ORD, open my lips – The only way that any individual can praise
the L ORD is through God’s prior work.
19
Mays, Psalms, p. 202.
20
Limburg, Psalms, p. 173.
21
Ibid.
22
Mays, Psalms, p. 202.

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 Psalm 51:16 For you have no delight in sacrifice – A true sacrifice restricts a per-
son’s future by removing income or children from their financial equations.
God does not like to see anyone suffer. That is one of the reasons why the
psalmist states that God takes no pleasure from the pain of another.

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit – While the sac-
rificial system is in place during the Old Testament, a correct attitude are
enough for forgiveness.23

Psalm 51:18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure – The author’s attention
turns to the people of Israel and asks that its defences be stronger than that
of any attacker.

Psalm 51:19 you will delight – If the L ORD gives forgiveness, then there will be
a change in the land and this will make God happy.

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
It appears that Paul is rationalizing, both to himself and to his audience the rea-
sons why he continues as an apostle. Paul first does this by saying that Christ’s
proclamation is clear. Anyone who does not see Jesus has been blinded by the
powers of this world. Next, Paul acknowledges his suffering. He rationalizes this
pain in two different ways: suffering is one way of showing Jesus to the world and
the eternal reward is worth the cost.

2 Corinthians 5:20b We entreat you on behalf of Christ – Paul begs the audience
to come to terms καταλλάσσω with God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 he made him to be sin who knew no sin – There is much that
could be debated in this verse. While making (ποιέω) Jesus into sin does not
call into question when Jesus did not exist, it does ask how much influence
Jesus had on the decision. Bringing sin into the Trinity divides the Trinity
into two parts: one with and the other without fault. Paul is not concerned
about theological niceties here. He is simply presenting a method whereby
Jesus removes the sin from believers.
23
Terence E. Fretheim, The Suffering Of God: An Old Testament Perspective, (Fortress Press,
1984), p. 138.

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2 Corinthians 6:1 As we work together with him – The underlying force that
moves Paul is Jesus and not something that Paul might want to accomplish.
we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain – Even in this life,
one can come up with examples that show the misuse of gifts (χάρις). A
person is given money to go to school but instead spends it in the market.
Paul is making the same request here. Do not take what is given you if all
you plan to do is to make a mockery of the person who presented you with
something you wanted.

2 Corinthians 6:2 I have – By using this verse, Paul emphasizes the action of
God in a person’s life. The ruler makes the conscientious decision to allow
the inferior person to speak. Then without any pressure from the outside,
the king offers aid and the ruler does not expect any replayment.

2 Corinthians 6:3 We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way – Paul asserts that
he and the others did nothing at all to cause scandal to any members of the
church.
so that no fault may be found with our ministry – The conclusion Paul draws
from this sounds amazing to twenty-first century ears. Paul and his fellow
coworkers did everything perfectly.

2 Corinthians 6:4 we have commended ourselves in every way – Paul makes the
case that suffering is what is making the ministry team even stronger.

2 Corinthians 6:5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labours, sleepless nights, hunger

– Some of the pain cames from outside the person.

2 Corinthians 6:6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit,

genuine love – Other parts of the suffering are actions that Paul and the
others take.

2 Corinthians 6:7 the power of God – Even having God work through you is
away that you set you wants and desires to the side.

2 Corinthians 6:8 We are treated as impostors, and yet are true – Paul cannot
believe the reception the group is receiving in Corinth.

2 Corinthians 6:9 as unknown, and yet are well known – Those people who wel-
comed Paul and the rest of his group now are treated as outsiders. In a
society concerned with honor and same, this behavior hurts.

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 2 Corinthians 6:10 yet possessing everything – Paul argues that what has hap-
pened does not take anything of value from anyone in the group.

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

This section from Matthew is part of the “Sermon on the Mount.” Included are
teachings on the proper use of piety, the “Our Father” removed from the assigned
lesson, along with instructions of focusing on the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 6:1 piety – The Greek word translated as piety δικαιοσύνη is translated
elsewhere as righteousness.
Matthew 6:2 you give alms – The term translated as alms is from the Greek
ἐλεημοσύνην can mean either alms or mercy (see Matthew 9:13; 12:27).24
The context demands the translation of alms.
The Old Testament tells us that we must aid the poor and it also contains
methods for feeding those in need (Deuteronomy 14:28-29; 24:19-22).25
trumpet before you More than likely this statment is nothing more than hy-
perbole and not what actually happened.26
the hypocrites – This is an actor who plays behind a mask. In Matthew, it
also carries a sense of having a greater importance than others and using
different means to attract attention to yourself.27
Matthew 6:3 do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing –
There is no record of this saying in any collection of proverbs.28
Matthew 6:4 your Father who sees in secret will reward you – When this reward
is only taken to be sometime in the next life, Christianity degrades into a
gambling match that pays out when you die.
Matthew 6:5 they love to stand and pray in the synagogues – The section may
instead indicate that Christians should not make private prayer into a public
spectacle.29 Of course, what distinguishes public from private prayer?
24
Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.; Idem, editor, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1, Sacra Pagina
Series, (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1991), p. 94.
25
Ibid.
26
Ibid.
27
Ibid.
28
Ibid.
29
Ibid.

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Matthew 6:6 go into your room and shut the door – There seems to be an con-
cern about the proper separation of public and private life but this is not
uniformly applied in Matthew. This does not stop Jesus from praying in
public with children (Matthew 19:13). Nor does it prevent Jesus from call-
ing a public portion of the temple as a house of prayer (Matthew 21:13).
The disiples in Matthew 26 are asked by Jesus to pray together.

Matthew 6:7-15 Missing from the lectionary section is the direction on how not
to pray (do not make sounds like babies) and how to pray (Our Father).
The missing verses also have a warning that forgiveness is contingent on
forgiving others.

Matthew 6:16 And whenever you fast – The only required fast in the Torah is
on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:31; 23:26-32).30 Fasting also oc-
curred at other times of the year. Some examples would include national
emergencies or when these times were remembered.31

Matthew 6:17 put oil on your head – This means that one should anoint your
head ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν. The pouring of oil indicated richness and
happiness.32 This practice appears to make you an actor that is deceiving
the audience. How is this any different from the actions of the hypocrites?

Matthew 6:18 may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and
your Father who sees in secret will reward you. – This is the third and final
repetition of the concept that a wall separates public and private matters.

Matthew 6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth – The point of
this command is to find something that lasts. This begs two questions. The
first is, “Who needs these resources?” If God provides all that is needed,
then why take the time to make this sort of investment. Next, “What is the
return?” If Jesus is being an observant Jew, then compound interest cannot
be the reason why followers put their investments away.
The kingdom of heaven does not need what we possess nor does it hand out
compound interest. Instead, this is a way of life where followers think and
reason about what is to come.
30
Harrington, The Gospel of Matthew, p. 96.
31
Ibid.
32
Ibid.

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 Matthew 6:20 treasures in heaven – See 4 Ezra 7:77; 8:33; 8:36; 2 Baruch 14:12;
24:1; Tobias 4:8-9.33

Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. – People
pay attention to where they put their investments.

References
Brown, F., Driver, S. and Briggs, C., editors, The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew
And English Lexicon, (Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999).

Fretheim, Terence E., The Suffering Of God: An Old Testament Perspective,

(Fortress Press, 1984).

Harrington, S.J., Daniel J.; Idem, editor, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1, Sacra
Pagina Series, (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1991).

Heschel, Abraham J., The Prophets, Volume I, (Harper Torchbooks, 1975).

Limburg, James; Miller, Patrick D. and Barlett, David L., editors, Psalms, (West-
minister John Knox Press, 2000), Westminister Bible Companion.

Mays, James Luther; Idem, Patrick D. Miller, Jr. and Achtemeir, Paul J., edi-
tors, Psalms, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preach-
ing edition. (John Knox Press, 1994).

Westermann, Claus, The Psalms: Structure, Content and Message, (Augsburg

Fortress, 1980), Original German edition published in 1967 under the title
Der Psalter, copyright Calver Verlag Stuttgart.

33
Harrington, The Gospel of Matthew, p. 101.

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