📊 Psalm 73:26 | Original Hebrew: Heart & Flesh

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📧 In today’s email…

• 🤓 The original Hebrew for heart and flesh

• 🤔 A reflection question

• 📊 Tuesday Trivia

 🧠 Memorize

_{see if you know what words go in the blanks}

My flesh ___ __ heart may ____,

but God __ ___ strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:26

Passage Context & Original Hebrew 🤓 

First let’s understand the broader context of Psalm 73.

Yesterday, we learned that this is a song of lament, aka a passionate expression of deep sorrow and grief.

In Psalm 73, the psalmist (Asaph) expresses the internal struggle and doubts he’s experiencing.

What is the cause?

The prosperity of the wicked - aka people who live without God and seem to be experiencing worldly success.

The psalm opens with Asaph acknowledging that God is good to the pure in heart, but that his own feet "almost slipped" when he saw the arrogance of the wicked prospering (v.1-3).

Then:

• He describes how the wicked seem free from troubles, healthy, and increasing in wealth and pride (v4-12)

• This causes him to question if living an upright life before God is worthless (v.13-14)

• However, he realizes that having such thoughts is offensive towards the people of God and in verses 16-17, the psalmist makes a turn:

After seeking God’s presence, Asaph gains understanding —

— that the prosperity of the wicked is fleeting and they are set on slippery ground headed for destruction (v18-20).

Finally, Asaph affirms his desire to remain near God (v23-28).

So Psalm 73 expresses common human doubts about injustice -

— that despite despite temporary inequality in this life, we have the hope of having God as our refuge forever.

Original Hebrew 🤓 

Now, let’s dig into a few Hebrew words found in verse 26.

Today, we’ll look at the first part of the verse:

A few notes about the original Hebrew:

• In v26, the Hebrew word used for "my flesh" is šᵊ'ēr (good luck pronouncing that one!), which is used throughout the OT to mean the body or blood relative.

• The word translated "heart" is lēḇāḇ (pronounced lay-vov) which means the inner man. It’s also translated as the mind or understanding throughout the OT.

The use of these in combination - outer man (flesh) and inner man (heart) - emphasizes the whole person.

Our bodies and our minds fail.

But we have a God who doesn’t!

Apply & Respond: Reflect 🤔 

God is not just the source of our strength - He is our strength.

Oftentimes, the moments when we are most able to experience God’s strength is when we are made painfully aware of our own weakness.

Reflect 🙏 

Can you think of a time in the past when your body and/or your mind have failed?

Engage your mind and try to remember the details of how God carried you through that season.

Once you have something in mind, share the following with 1 person:

• How was your body/mind fail?

• How did God show up?

• How has that affected your relationship with God?

🗣️ Bonus: Invite 1 person to share their answers with you.

Tuesday Trivia 📊 

Click one of the options below! Let’s see how you do..

Answer key ✅ 

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:26