Were Considered as Sheep for the Slaughter

 Were Considered as Sheep for the Slaughter

 

Romans 8:35-36 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, For your sake we are put to death all day long; we are considered as sheep for the slaughter."

This passage is a quote from Psalm 44:22, which says, "For your sake we are put to death all day long; we are considered as sheep for the slaughter."

Psalm 44 is a song sung by the Korahites, following their leader. Maskil means instruction. Korah did not acknowledge Moses’ leadership and tried to enjoy more than God had allowed him, which led to his death. Knowing this, this psalm reminds his descendants that they must trust God to the end, even in times of crisis. This psalm is a prayer of appeal to God offered by the Korahites when the southern kingdom of Judah was invaded by an external enemy (Sennacherib) and faced a national crisis, such as the fall of Jerusalem during the reign of King Hezekiah.

Psalm 44 can be divided into three parts. The first part, from verses 1 to 8, is a confession of faith about what God has done in the past. The second part, from verses 9 to 22, is an appeal to God about the suffering and grievances His people face in reality. The last third part, from verses 23 to 26, is a prayer asking God not to forget their situation and to save them.

The Israelites begin by giving thanks to God for allowing them to live and settle in the land of Canaan. However, verse 9, which begins the second part, says, "We were forsaken, insulted, plundered, taken captive among the nations, and we were an object of ridicule and laughter." However, what made it even more difficult and painful for them was the words in verses 17-18. "We have not forgotten the Lord, nor broken his covenant. Our hearts have not been forsaken, nor have our feet turned from his ways."

Nevertheless, it says that their situation was as in verse 22: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." Although they had not sinned against the Lord, they were killed every day, like sheep to be slaughtered and eaten.

The answer to this earnest and fervent prayer of the psalmist is in verses 1 to 8. Verse 1 says that he had heard with his ears what God had done for the Israelites. Those acts are described in verse 2. This psalmist had heard with his ears what God had done for his ancestors. He had heard with his ears that God had defeated their enemies and saved them. When Abraham went to Canaan, the land promised by God, a famine struck. So he went to Egypt and almost lost his wife Sarah there. Isaac saw his two sons, Jacob and Esau, become enemies and part ways in his old age. The same goes for Jacob and Joseph. David was also chased by Saul for no reason and lived a miserable life as a fugitive.

However, the psalmist says that God made their ancestors prosperous and defeated their enemies. This is because as time passed, the suffering and hardship they experienced began to be understood from the perspective of God’s providence. After time passed, their ancestors looked back on the suffering, trials, and events they experienced, interpreted them, and told their descendants about them. When their ancestors lived in that era, they must have experienced a series of suffering, trials, and hardships. However, when time passed and they looked back on their lives, they realized that God was their help, their strength, and their savior.

They know that they are clearly going through pain, trials, and difficulties, and that this is not happening without the Lord, but is happening because the Lord is intervening. However, it is so painful, so unfair, and so hard that they ask the Lord for help. They are not separating their lives from God and living without Him, but are trying to face their reality with the eyes of faith and resolve it. The pain and trials that attack them will end someday. When this psalmist looks back on his life after time has passed, he will know that God’s salvation will be passed on to his descendants. He confesses that the Lord has permitted all of this.

The reason why God allows such suffering and dark trials to exist for His people is explained by the apostle Paul in Romans 8:35-36. Quoting Psalm 44:22, the writer says that the difficulties he experienced, such as being abandoned, insulted, plundered, taken captive to many nations, and being mocked and laughed at, cannot separate us from the love of Christ. It is not that we are powerless to endure, but that in all these things we overcome through Him who loved us. It is not that we simply overcome, but that we are more than conquerors.

A sheep is powerless. If a sheep is about to be slaughtered, who will protect it, who will help it, and how will it defend itself? However, such a situation occurs in the lives of saints. It means that a situation comes when one feels like a sheep about to be slaughtered. God allows such a situation. However, through it, God shows and allows the saints to experience that such a situation cannot separate them from God’s love.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation (thelphis) or distress (sthenochoria) or persecution (diogmos) or famine (limos) or nakedness (gymnotes) or danger (candynos) or sword (michaera)?”

Deulipsis (θλῖψις) means that the saint is pushed into the heart (pressed). The Revised Version translates it as tribulation, so you might think that the saint experiences tribulation from the Gentiles, but this deulipsis does not mean that. It refers to the criticism and pressure from other believers in the church community when the gospel of the cross and resurrection that the saint preaches is not well-received. Therefore, because of this pressure, the saint prays to God.

Stenochoria (στενοχωρία) means a narrow room and refers to the Holy of Holies, the temple in the soul. Matthew 6:6 "But you, when you pray, go into your room (eis to tamerion) and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is unseen; and your Father who sees in unseen will reward you." Eis to tamerion (εἰς τὸ ταμεῖόν) means entering the Holy of Holies. The closet is expressed as prosuke, a place to pray alone and quietly. Prosuke is contemplative prayer, talking to God with His will.

Diogmos (διωγμὸς) expressed as persecution is to pursue. What is pursued in the sanctuary is to stay (hypomone) at the throne of God. If we translate Romans 8:35-36 again, "Who shall separate us from the one who belongs to Christ? Shall oppression, or a narrow room, or pursuit, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?"

Just as the psalmist prayed to be willing to endure any hardship in order to become one who follows God's will, so the saints, as heirs of God's kingdom, will endure and persevere in difficult and challenging situations in order to spread the gospel of truth in the church community and fulfill God's will.