Opus 2024-274: Baking Bread

Recently at church we were discussing the providence of God.  One of the people came up with a rough paraphrase of this verse,

Psalm 37:25 (KJV) I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

His paraphrase made it seem like we had a promise from God that we would never lack bread.  We contrasted that with other scripture that seemed to indicate that we would be persecuted and all that involved.  We did not resolve the seeming contradiction.

There is an important consideration that was missed by not actually looking up the text being quoted and studying it.  If you read it over it is not God making a promise.  It is David the king saying that he had not seen any such thing.

First consider the life of David and what you know about it.  When he says he has never seen the righteous forsaken that does not mean they were never persecuted.  Think about how many times Saul tried to kill David.  Remember him hiding in the cave.  Think of his son rebelling and driving him out of Jerusalem.  He was persecuted but he was not forsaken.  That would be consistent with the teaching of the New Testament.  

(2Co 4:9 KJV)  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

As for begging for bread.  If you have time look at chapters 20 and 21 of I Samuel.  David was on the run from Saul and stopped at the tabernacle.  He and his men were hungry.  He asked, or begged, for bread.  After telling a few lies and pressing his luck he was given the shewbread.  Not only would I call this begging but I would point out that the bread was consecrated and he was not supposed to eat it.  

The first issue I have an answer for, the second, not yet.  Maybe you do.

homo unius libri