Everything is Not About Cattle

I hate when scripture is misappropriated. Drives me bananas. Mainly because when people do this, they take away the real power of the scripture.

For instance, Psalms 50:10 is often misappropriated. It reads “for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” People often pray this prayer as God’s promise for provision, but that’s not what this scripture really means. We pray this scripture like cattle can solve our provision problems. Yeah, I’d like to see you try and pay your bills with a cow. Ridiculous.

The other thing that upsets me about the misappropriation of scripture is that it’s often very easy to figure out what the passage is talking about. This can be accomplished by doing one simple thing: reading the rest of the passage. Context is a beautiful thing.

If you go back to verse 7, it becomes clear that the Lord is rebuking Israel for their behavior concerning sacrifice, namely the right sacrifice. Basically, the Lord is saying that they perform the perfect sacrifice. But in verse 12, He says something interesting. He says “If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.” Basically I don’t need your stinking sacrifices.

So what is the Lord pointing out in this passage?
“Give Me what I really want.”
“What’s that, Lord?”
“True thanks and fulfill your vows. Specifically, gratitude and obedience.”

The children of Israel were putting so much focus on performing the rituals right that they forgot the real reason for the ritual. They forgot that all they did was to be in right relationship with Him. That’s the real power in this scripture. This scripture is not about God’s provision. And we fall into danger when we switch the polarity of this passage, making it about receiving and not giving.

When we make this about God giving us stuff instead of his giving Him what He desires, we miss out on the real promise in this passage, listed in verse 15: “…and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." Isn’t that so much better than getting some cattle?
~Terri J. Haynes