Psalms 22:1–18 1M”My God, my God, why have you left me?” How come you’re so far away from saving me and hearing my groans?
16 A group of bad guys has surrounded me and pierced my hands and feet. Their names are the dogs.
18 They give my clothes to different people and draw lots to decide who gets what.
This song was written by the shepherd king David a thousand years before Jesus was born. We don’t know all the specifics about it. Such as when King Saul tried to kill him, was he going through something similar? As he lay on the grass and watched his sheep, did the Holy Spirit come upon him and make him start singing this song? We have no idea.
We do know that Jesus would be nailed to a Roman cross a thousand years from now and start to quote this song, which is so full of events that time. If God could move a shepherd to write down what happened, then God must be in charge of everything. Even though Jesus didn’t feel God’s presence, His Word told Him that the Father knew everything that was going on and what was going to happen.
Jesus was left by God because He took on the sins of the world. The Father has eyes that are more pure than to see evil (Habakkuk 1:13). Christ already knew the answer, but the psalm read it out loud for us. This was what Jews called non-Jews: “dogs.” In typical Hebrew fashion, David said it again but this time in a different way: “a band of evil men.” Roman soldiers who were not Jewish circled the scene. The idea of crucifixion, in which the hands and feet are pierced, came up not long before Jesus was born. This word from the prophet really did show us what the future holds.
It cost a lot to buy clothes in the first century. A lot of people only had one main robe and a cloak for when it got cold. The fact that Jesus’ robe was made from a single solid weave makes it even more valuable. The troops split up the smaller pieces of clothing, but they chose not to split up the robe because it was valuable. Instead, they put their names on a stone, put the stones in a jar, and shook the jar until one of the stones fell out. The person whose name was on that stone won the robe, but he didn’t know that he had just come true an old prophecy.
God Knows Every Trial
“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle.” — Psalm 56:8
No hardship is hidden from God. He knows what you’re carrying, even when you can’t find the words to explain it. That doesn’t mean every difficulty will end quickly, but you can bring your pain to Him and ask for strength, comfort, and help for the next step.
Think about this: If God knows everything about every trial, We can trust that He will see us through hard times and to a greater victory than we can think, just like He did with His only Son. Believe Him! Your future is clear to him.
Prayer: God, You know every trial I face. Stay near to me, give me strength for today, and help me receive support and hope. Amen.
