Re: Psalm 84:1-7 - Passing Through Baca
Posted by: gigmgeorge <gigmgeorge@...>
Dear pastor, Glory to God for this blessed words about passing through valley of baca, I myself enjoyed a lot through this message. Thank you so much for encouraging me with the word of God. May God be with you always in your life, family, church and ministry. Pray for my life and ministry which is in the Baca.this is George from India. Nice fellowship with you. Praise the Lord.
Passing Through Baca
TEXT: Psalm 84:1-7
AIM: To show how to make blessings out of trials & troubles
INTRODUCTION:
Perhaps the Bible you brought today may refer to “Bochim” in vs. 6 instead of “Baca.” If it actually reads “Bochim,” I must point out you it is wrong, if it says “Bochim.”
Bochim refers to an actual physical place on a mountain W. of Gilgal (Jdg. 2:1, 5).
It means “the weepers.” God warned Israel in Jdgs. 2:2 – “ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land [Gilgal to Bochim]; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?”
· It was here that Israel wept, after being rebuked by “the angel of the LORD” (Jdgs. 2:4)
· They disobediently sinned by making league, i.e. uniting with the nations around them in rather than driving them out and off the land.
“BACA,” on-the-other hand, is the root word of “Bochim.”
Though similar in thought, it literally refers to the “ACT of bemoaning, expressing great sadness and lamentations with tears.” The Valley of Baca, rather than being an identifiable PLACE on a map, is actually an EVENT or EXPERIENCE of sorrows / lamentations – “a Valley of Tears.” It is like, as if, one would “walk through the valley of the shadow of death” in Psalm 23:4, which is an experience that is NOT limited to a particular place as it could happen at anytime and in any place.
These “Valley of Tears” are a result from a distress or a multitude of agonising misfortunes, trouble or unhappiness, which comes our way in the events that make up every day life. Unlike the “weepers at Bochim,” these tears are NOT necessarily caused by sin.
This Valley of Tears is one of Desolation, Despair and Heartache!
“BACA,” in the singular, is an Arab word for a family of trees whose species is believed to be the “Balsam Tree.”
· These trees ooze white gummy drops of resin, which have a pungent (sharp/biting) taste.
· The VALLEY OF BACA is probably called the “Valley of Tears/Weeping” because the word “Baca” is also used in reference to camels that are giving little milk and when they do, it comes in drips or drops like tears.
For you and me, The VALLEY OF BACA or “Valley of Tears”
could be ANY place where we face heartbreak or hardship in this life.Psalm 84 is the song of a pilgrim expressing his PASSION for God’s house (vs. 1-4), his PILGRIMAGE to God’s house (vs. 5-8), and his PRAISE once in God’s house (vs. 9-12).
· While on his way to the holy city of Jerusalem this pilgrim faces a desolate, sterile, waterless valley – “the valley of Baca,” which he must cross to complete his journey.
· Each person who endeavours to make this journey of faith DOES NOT necessarily enter this valley at the same time or same point of entry. More than likely each enters at a different time and place, as their journey to Jerusalem had a different starting place.
· Once having entered this dry & thirsty land, many a traveller has fainted from thirst. Some lose their way in search of refreshment, while others have slipped and fallen on the rugged rocks in his valley’s terrain, too week to continue—they just give up.
· BUT those who find their “strength in God” – vs. 5 – to whose holy sanctuary they are making their pilgrimage are people who have the mindset of those who long to be in Jerusalem.
· Their heart beats in step with the drummer who leads the marchers onto ZION, “beautiful, beautiful Zion – the city of God!”
It is those, whose hearts of are set upon the person of God, God’s house and the sweetness of fellowship with their Saviour, who are determine to reach that blessed city no matter what it takes.
· Such folks learn to make those parched, bone-dried “Valleys of Tears,” which every life, sooner or later, crosses—A WELL of refreshment and strength >> Read Vs. 6
· The psalmist is telling us that such a godly pilgrim will turn his troubles into blessings, from which others may benefit.
These folks, instead of seeing their troubles or trials in life as the end of hope, they dig a well – not just one, BUT many of them, which become springs to sustain and refresh themselves.
The eyes, which can see the springs through the tears, can also see Zion’s God!
Their motivation to go on, the thing that drives them — is a love for their Saviour.
· They are determined to keep their eyes on their Lord!
If these folks are ever going to make it through the “valley of weeping,
it will be as a result of having made Jehovah God their FOUNTAIN OF LIFE!· These folks have learned to trust God explicitly and look to Him, as their SOURCE of help, to get them through this life’s struggles.
· The path to God is only ONE WAY and it is straight and plain, BUT often the journey has many VALLEYS of difficulties, many PLACES of hardships and despair.
· Having dug a well, by faith, with no knowledge if there will be water below, they trust God to provide a spring and if that proves waterless, God mercifully pours out blessings that come from heaven and these heavenly rains fill the dugged holes making them pools of refreshment.
· After having been revived, and strengthened at these wells, the pilgrim continues his journey. They go from pool to pool — “from strength to strength” (vs. 7). They proceed from one degree of grace to another, gaining Godly character & virtue through all the steps of their trial.
· The well filled that is left behind was not dug in vain, for so often, it becomes a fount of blessing to others who are yet to follow making this journey in pilgrim’s footsteps.
As we walk towards our heavenly Jerusalem, and when we enter that Valley of Baca, through which there is no visible water, no visible wells of refreshment,
God wants us to look to Him, determine to be faithful and dig a hole. Several holes, if need be, not only for ourselves, but also for those who are yet to follow!
An old man travelled a lone highway
Who came to the evening at the end of day,
To a chasm vast and deep and wide
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim
For that sullen stream had no fear for him,
But he paused as he reached the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Good Friend!” said a fellow traveller near,
“You are wasting your time in building here,
Your journey will end with the passing of day,
And you must never again come pass this way.
Why cause you build a bridge vast and wide?”
“Good Friend” said the old man lifting his head,
There cometh after me, he said,
“A youth who also must pass this way
He too must pass in the ending of day
He too must cross in the twilight dim
Good Friend, I’m building this bridge for him.”
If you have not yet journeyed into the Valley of Baca – you will!
You will undoubtedly enter into the valley, weeping, BUT, while you are in this valley of sorrow, lamentation, and tears, there is to be found fount of eternal strength!
There is something else to think upon while in that valley, others will be coming after you and the wells you build will be pools of refreshment and strength for them also.
ALL OF US sooner or later will face the Valley of Tears, the Valley of Sorrows.
1. He who danced before the Lord when the Ark of the Covenant was brought back to Jerusalem – cried from the depths of Psalm 51 for the lost of his son concerning his sin with Bathsheba.
2. He, who rose from the dead in 3 days & 3 nights, also cried from the depths of His soul —”My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” (Psa. 22:1 cp. Mat. 27:46).
3. He who said, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” (Ps. 23:1), ALSO said in Psalm 142:4 – “I looked on my right hand and beheld, but there was no man that would know me, refuge failed me, no man cared for my soul.”
4. He who saw the Christ on the Damascus Road in His glory, also sat alone in Rome, writing from prison, while waiting for his execution! (Paul Acts 9)
5. He who prayed fire down from heaven in a glorious defeat of the prophets of Baal also sat depressed and fearful for his life under a Juniper tree requesting to die (1 Kgs. 19:4).
6. He who leaned on Jesus’ loving breast was also exiled to the Isle of Patmos, where he was left alone to rot & die.
WE ALL WILL face our “BACA” at one time or another!
1. Sorrow of the death of a loved one.
2. Anxiety of the surgeon’s knife
3. Lonely pacing of the halls of a hospital, wondering if life is still there – waiting for the next 5 minutes when you can get into the intensive care room.
4. Experience the heart brake of a wayward child.
5. Feeling the barbs of a friend’s betrayal – the sting of false accusations – or the fiery darts of some other affliction from Satan.
· If you have never had your face to the wall and wondered if life is worth living – my friend, sooner or later YOU WILL!
· If tears have never fallen like streams in a desert from you cheeks – unfortunately THEY WILL!
· If your heart has never had that funny feeling as if it would break in two and you wonder if you can stand alone – YOU WILL!
There should be no doubt — Baca is going to come!
· It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are or how you live, YOU are going to have heartache.
· YOU will face death and look a dying loved one in the face.
· To YOU, or from the lips of someone very near and dear to you, you will hear the word CANCER!
When BACA comes and it will come, we must face a decision.
1. We either can be SELFISH or
2. We can be SELF-LESS.
We can say:
“Nobody appreciates me; I have it rougher than anybody else; my load is more than I can bear.” We can feel sorry for ourselves, believing no one else has ever had it so bad.
OR we can say:
“Thank God for His strength, His presence / grace and mercy / for it was at BACA that I met Jesus
§ It was THERE at the graveside
§ THERE in the operating theatre
§ THERE at the time of my broken heart in the all the confusion of my trials, I met Jesus THERE!
§ It was THEN in all that chaos and uncertainty of my trials – when there was a tremendous problems in my life – it was THERE I met my Lord!”
We can spend all our lives, just living for ourselves or with the purpose for somebody else.
· Oh, how MISERABLE is the person who lives just for himself.
Wretched is the life that wonders, “What is in it for me?”· HAPPINESS and true satisfaction of life, is not found in serving self. BUT, as a pilgrim making a journey to heaven’s gate finds refreshment in digging pools, he leaves encouragement for those who come later, long after he has entered those pearly gates.
Please consider with me a few thoughts from this passage.
I. how you fair in the valley depends on your walk with god NOW
– vs. 1-4The person who loves to spend time in the presence of God is one who uses adverse circumstances as an opportunity for finding God’s faithfulness afresh.
A. Vs. 1-2 – The Psalmist REALIZED it is a never ending delight to be in God’s House
“How amiable, [i.e. how lovely] are thy tabernacles.”
1. “Tabernacle” is in the plural, apparently including all the places in or near the temple where acts of Divine worship were performed. The holy of holies, the holy place, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt-offering, etc.; ALL called here God’s “tabernacles” or dwelling-places; for wherever God was worshipped in the Temple, there He was supposed to dwell.
2. How much are we in love with where and when we worship? Do we long for the courts of the Lord? Do ALL the desires of my soul and body – every appetite and wish – long to be in my God’s presence?
3. How is our obedience to His commands? I.e. baptism, church membership, holiness, giving, witnessing, service.
B. Vs. 3-4 – The Psalmist REJOICES –
1. He notes how blessed are the birds that are privileged to build nests in the many structures of the temple.
2. He compares their good fortune with those who seek and desire to remain in God’s care and provision—”they will be still praising Thee” (vs. 4).
C. The Psalmist RECOGNISES the privilege of the believing heart who has a home in the House of God.
BUT greater is the privilege of the believer today who has God at Home comfortably resting in his heart!
D. The Psalmist’s RELIANCE was not just being in the House of the Lord, but being in communication with the Lord of the House.
Vs. 2 – “My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.”
E. This ROMANCE with God and the things created by this relationship with God are the motivation to want to go through Baca – The Valley of Tears.
II. the second though – one day we ALL will enter the valley of weeping, but it will be crossed! – vs. 6
A. It is by faith we do pass through Baca for NO ONE lives in Baca
1. No right-minded person would attempt to settle there – We are just passing through Baca!
2. The whole life of some people might be lived in the shadow of Baca –
But in the end, we are just passing through.3. It is unwise to live for this world – we are warned not to fall in love with it!
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world” (1 John 2:15).“This world is not my home, I am just passing through,
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from heavens golden shore
and I can’t feel at home in this world any more.”2. Unwise is the person who lives for today – he is a fool who thinks he’ll never face a tomorrow before God!
C. Happy is the person, who in this life, lives for others and prepares for his inevitable future. Looking at things this way, only two things matter in this life:
1. Whom you send ahead.
2. What you leave behind.
iii. THIRD thought – Blest is the CHRISTIAN who is walking with god for he is given strength to pass through baca
A. There are three blessed men in this Psalm found in vs. 4-7
1. Vs. 4 – Those who DWELL in communion with God
2. Vs. 5a – Those whose STRENGTH is found in trusting the Lord –
3. Vs. 5-6 – Blessed is the person who makes their trials the stepping-stones of life. It is those whose hearts that are set on the “WAYS of them” i.e. those who pass through Baca that sacrificially live for others as they pass through the valley of tears or weeping.
B. NOTE: “The Ways of them” – Vs. 5-7
1. “The ways of them” are the various roads, which from every corner of the land leads others to God.
a. “The Ways of them” in vs. 5 can be understood as “ways” which otherwise would have been deserted from the lack of accommodation, were made into highways abundantly furnished for the travellers’ needs, because the great annual pilgrimages led in that direction.
b. Christians today can share their experiences rejoicing in their united worship therefore making many duties easy and delightful which else would be difficult and painful.
2. “The ways” are also the attitudes one has as they journey through the trials, problems, and the dark times of this life.
3. The way we handle our Valley of Tears NOT only effect us, but it will either build up or tear down a life of someone else.
Missionary who lost 3-yr. old daughter.
For years the natives politely listened to the message of the Gospel, but no one ever got saved. After his baby girl’s death the chief asked to listen to the message again and almost the whole village followed the chief in salvation. When asked why did you wait until now? “We knew Jesus was good enough to live by, but not until now did we know He was good enough to die by.”
4. Our experiences in the valley are to be left as wells for those who follow the same path we have trod. Proverbs 4:18 – “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
a. How we go through trials and testings often does not go unnoticed by this world. Many years ago, it was how friends of ours – Lloyd & Virginia Stanley – dealt with the death of their little girl that taught us of a wonderful God who we did not know like these dear folks.
b. Our experiences in the valley may surely be wells of salvation to those who follow us to heaven and who need all the grace they can get along the way.
c. It is a wicked person who would purposely fill in these wells –WELLS, which would sustain the needy traveller.
1) Likewise, it is thoughtless, unloving and selfish people who live only with their own interests at heart.
2) TURN >> Philippians – Note Paul’s use of the word “rejoice” and “joy” – Phil. 1:4, 18, 25; 2:1-5, 14-18.
a) As Paul rejoices over his ministry, so the Philippians must do the same over theirs, demanding and sacrificial though it may be.
b) NOTE: The joy Paul was expressed was from prison.
c) He rejoiced in knowing the sacrifices he made in his life helped others for the present, as well as for eternity.
C. Let’s not forget, it is The Valleys of Tears that makes the pilgrim dig wells in the first place – Vs. 6
1. If the chief aim of our heart is to get closer to God, then our sorrows and our tears become sources of refreshment and growth.
a. Adverse circumstances give us the opportunity for finding God’s faithfulness, allowing Him to conform us in the image of His Son.
b. NOTE: Going through BACA will be a difficult time for one who is not loving to spend time with God – i.e. BEFORE he enters the Valley of Weeping.
2. Troubles take on a different perspective when we walk and work with God in what is His purpose in giving us life! WHAT PURPOSE you ask?
a. The moulding of us into His likeness.
b. The spiritual enrichment we acquire having gone through the process.
c. Providing the assurance of His watch care and presence. John 10:10 – Jesus said. “I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.”
1) These thoughts when understood, take the sting out of sorrows
b. It makes it possible to gather our tears into reservoirs – sources of grace, blessings and thankfulness.
3. Ps. 56:8 tells us that God puts our tears into His bottle; WE on the other hand have to put them into our wells.
a. If we fully grasped the meaning of life and our purpose in it we would be more able to wring out of problems all the rich honey, which is stored in them for us.
b. The most blessed thing a pilgrim can do is to transform his tears into wells – that others may benefit.
c. Tell me, do you look upon your disappointments, anxieties, sorrows and losses in this light?
d. Have you learned to look upon trials as the means of making one godly?
4. Vs. 6 – “the rain also filleth the pools”
a. God gives to his people the supplies they need while traversing the roads, which he points out for them.
1) Where there were no natural supplies from below, the pilgrims found an abundant compensation in waters from above, and so also shall all the host of God’s elect here below.
2) If we have the right attitude towards our sorrows, God’s Holy Spirit will fall upon our hearts with enabling grace and cause us to grow and be fertile.
3) Pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem found refreshment even in the dreariest part of the road. Around a well folks meet and converse of their joys and heartaches, with the result of refreshing each other.
4) It seems natural in sharing experiences of their pilgrimage men forget the discomforts of the road and are given strength.
b. Because we pass through our BACA God can use us in a greater capacity to bring glory to Himself, as well as, help to others.
D. Vs. 7 – “They Go From Strength To Strength”
1. Two applications:
a. 1st go from pool to pool / one camp of security to another, completing their journey in safety.
b. 2nd these pilgrims don’t get worn out on their journey, as each stopping place enables them to face the next stretch of land. They gain more vigour and confidence the closer they get to the end of their journey.
2. Here is a truth prevails in either application: the closer we commune with God the more we conform to the life of our Lord and Master.
a. Also, the stronger we become spiritually – day-by-day we grow in strength.
b. The journey of this life does not weaken us, but invigorates our walk with God, the closer to end we get.
3. In other words, our Valleys of BACA strengthens our faith, as we learn to lean on Jesus in the trials of life, as He takes us on our way to God TURN > James 5:7-11.
a. Are you growing?
b. Are you further along in your Christian life than you were last year?
Iv. Lastly, pilgrims arrival – vs. 7
“…Every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.”
A. Two Applications
1. “They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion…” God, who is the One sought at their journey’s end appears in their behalf, as often as they shall petition him in Zion, i.e. Jerusalem; in consequence, they shall increase in spiritual strength.
2. Everyone who endures the Baca valley of weeping, acquiring strength as they travel will arrive in Zion and get to be in the presence of God in the Temple.
a. Motivation to pass through is the reward at the end of the journey – Vs. 10
b. The pilgrim’s arrival is the result of his total dependence upon God’s grace and provision – Vs. 8-9, 11-12.
B. There is but one road on which whosoever will travel that he or she is sure to reach heaven – and that way is Jesus!
1. All other travellers who take another way and depend on their own resources to get though this life get lost, are blinded in sandstorms, or slain by robbers.
Their bleached bones are scattered across the sands of time.2. The pilgrim who take the way of the cross of Jesus Christ is always brought to their proper destination.
a. For no man ever wanted God who did not possess Him. How much do you want Him?
b. Have you chosen the right way? If so, the secret to your arrival with joy into the heavenly Jerusalem is to look for it, long for it, and live as one of its citizens.
c. Are your eyes fixed on the east, focused on the horizon, looking for the Christ’s return and city of God?
conclusion:
(READ the Poem again from pg. 3)
God has not allowed us to long after Him, to exert our efforts after Him, only to let it to pass into oblivion in this life. He will perfect our earthly communion with Him in His house in the heavenly Zion. Are you coming?
Question:
1. Will you be responsible for anybody else there? Why not take others along with you?
2. Have you left anything of yourself behind that others may follow?
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