DELIVERANCE THROUGH RESTORATION OF HONOR: SHAME AND HONOR IN PSALM 22

Forsakenness/Abandonment

The word forsake connotes, in the context of this paper, that a relationship has existed between two parties. The relationship between the parties is so dear. However, when the relationship has been broken due to the breaking of the oath by one of the parties, the ensuing consequence to the breaking of the oath is the forsaking of the offendee by the aggrieved party. The following examples indicate that the gods forsake the kings or the people under them.

A piece of Akkadian text known as Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi, a text from an ancient wisdom literature sometimes called Babylonian Job, speaks of a person forsaken or abandoned by his/her gods and friends. The text dates back to around mid to late 1st millennium BC. The hero in the text is named Shubshi-meshre-shakkan. The text relates the hero’s simple prayer of about “four hundred to five hundred lines” written on four tablets. The tablets contain a hymn of praise; the description of his near-death situation in a lament form; the appearance of beings sent by Marduk, the Babylonian god; and the recounting of his restoration and deliverance from suffering. The text ends with the singing of praise towards Marduk.

Louis E. Newman states that “this composition presents the plaint of one Shubshi-meshre-shakkan, whose protecting god and goddess have abandoned him, leaving him prey to illness and evil omens, while his former friends gleefully anticipate his death. In this text, Shubshi-meshre-shakkan was sick, mocked, and rejected.” What is interesting in the text is Shubshi-meshre-shakkan’s claim that he “is a pious man who faithfully performs his acts of devotion.” Yet in spite of his piety, he still experienced suffering and pain. Noting that the god Marduk is angry with him, he believed that his personal deities abandoned him. He thought that he might have committed sin inadvertently so that he needed to appease them. Eventually, Marduk sent someone to deliver him from all his malady and suffering and restore him to health.

Another instance of a king being forsaken is the story in the Assyrian epic known as Tukulti-Ninurta I (1233–1197 BCE). The epic records the prayer of Tukulti-Ninurta I to Shamash, the god of judgement. It legitimizes and celebrates “the destruction of Babylon by the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I.” The record indicates why Tukulti-Ninurta I was able to conquer the Babylonian king Kastiliash IV. It portrays the Babylonian king as “the breaker of oaths and the violator of the parity-treaty that had been the basis of the relations between Assyria and Babylon since the time of the kings’ fathers.” Because he broke the treaty, the god Marduk abandoned Kastiliash, as Tukulti-Ninurta I claims in the epic.

The situation portrayed in the examples indicates that the gods may abandon the people who trust in them. The reasons may be that they have committed sin or have broken the treaty with the gods. In the case of the victors over those who are abandoned by the gods, honor comes to them. Conversely, those who are abandoned are put to shame.

Forsakenness in the OT is used with inanimate objects, with persons as object, and with abstracts as objects. For persons, “this sort of turning away or separation also generates juridical, economic, political, and emotional considerations.” The solidarity of the small group obligates a person to “being there” with others and “mutual help.” For personal relationship, it can refer to abandoning a wife or husband which may result in divorce. Some instances of forsakenness/abandonment happen between God and human beings, where God forsakes or abandons humanity because of sin and other reasons. In some cases, humanity appeals to God to not abandon him/her and hopes that God establishes a relationship with him/her again. When the word is used with Yahweh or God as the subject and humanity as the object, it suggests two things: God/Yahweh promises never to leave humanity (Gen 28:15) and God/Yahweh abandons his relationship with humanity (Ps 22:2).

The word forsaken where God and humanity are directly involved appears thirty-three times in the OT. In Gen 28:15, God promised that he would never abandon Jacob, who ran away from his family for fear of his life, until he returned to the land of Canaan. In the Mediterranean perspective, separation from the family brings shame to the person detached. By bringing back Jacob to Canaan (Gen 30:25–35:29) from his exile in Paddan-Aram (27:41–30:24), God indeed restored Jacob’s honor. Also, the restoration of Jacob’s relationship with his brother who had accepted him well brought him honor. The exchanging and receiving of presents is the culmination of the acceptance to the family (33:4–11).

Other examples show how God promised to the people of Israel that he would not fail nor abandon them (Isa 42:16, 49:14–16, 54:6–8). By routing Israel’s enemies, God shamed the enemies and honored his people (Exod 20:1–6, Deut 31:6–8) and kept them from shame. God’s people held the promise from generation to generation. In supplication, the people who trusted in God continued to plead with him that he would not abandon them (Pss 38:20; 79:9, 11, 18; 119:8). On the other hand, for reasons of disobedience and sin, God would abandon his people and leave them in a state of shame. The initiative of forsaking will not come from God, rather it will come from the people (2 Chr 15:2, 28:9; 1 Kgs 6:12–13).