July 22, Day 203 – In Precarious Proximity with Death
- Dr. Eric Stricker
- Jul 22, 2025
- 3 min read
I am thankful for the truth of Psalm 88:1-9. It begins with a cry for salvation which is provided only by the One Who can save us – our God. The Psalmist – a son of Korah – writes, “My soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave” (verse 3). In all honesty, who among us cannot say this? Everyone’s soul experiences trouble, “as surely as the sparks fly upward” (cf., Job 5:7). Like the psalmist, I often feel “overwhelmed with troubles” (verse 3). As my life draws ever nearer to “the grave,” I wonder and marvel about how often God has protected me and preserved my life when I had no idea that my life may have been in serious danger. Every day, often without knowing it, people come invisibly and precariously into proximity with death, but God’s protective love, mercy, and grace intervene to preserve us all alive on this earth. Sometimes, in fact, He actually uses nothing more than “the lowest pit or the darkest depths” (verse 6) to protect us, but instead of blaming God, we ought to thank and praise Him. I thank God that He allows us the privilege to call on Him for help “every day” (verse 9).
Yesterday in Hosea, we saw that, by decree, God would no longer show His love to the house of Israel because of its spiritual departure from Him. He would bring Israel down, but we pointed out that this was not to be the end of the line for Israel. In Hosea 3, God told Hosea to go back and “love your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites” (verse 1). This portrays God’s future restoration of Israel. Hosea told the people that they “would live many days without a king, but afterward … then they would return and seek the LORD” (verses 4-5). This scene anticipates the coming Jewish exile and dispersion in the short term, but in the distant future, they will “seek the LORD.” Here, in this section, the truth of Psalm 88 is clearly illustrated in Israel’s history. The Israelites were shackled by their “disgraceful” sins (cf., Hosea 4:7), – many of which are similar to the sins of our day. However, in the same way that Hosea loved his wife, Gomer, God loved Israel and did not give up on her, nor will He ever give up on us. He purchased us, and He desires that we seek Him and His blessings. I praise God for these incredible truths from Psalm 88 and Hosea 3-5! And … they continue in Romans 6 …
In Romans 6:15-7:6. Paul asks, “Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?” (verse 15). Paul answers, “By no means!” (verse 15). Whatever we do, “we become slaves to that which we choose to follow or to obey – either to pursue sin which leads to death – or to pursue obedience which leads to righteousness” (verse 16). Paul draws a practical comparison when he asks, “What benefit did you reap from the things of which you are now ashamed? Those things result in death. But now, the benefit you reap leads to holiness and eternal life” (verses 21-22). Essentially, from this we see that sin is messy and filthy, but “the blood of Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness” (cf., 1 John 1:7). What a joy is ours to receive “the gift of eternal life in Christ” (verse 23), and, as a result, to be clean and to enjoy by choice the blessings of “freedom from the law so that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit” (cf., Romans 7:6). God has set us free from our bondage to sin which allows us the freedom to choose to love and serve Him – something we could never do – under the law of sin. We are to love, as the LORD loves.
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