Chaff

Two things. First, to get blog posts by email, enter your email address in the space at the top of the page and click the "Submit" button. Second, apropros of nothing, here's a picture I took of the flooding:

This was taken at the end of the skybridge, and to properly place it in perspective, that's probably about a foot of water--when not moving, the water was up to the middle of those tires. Nothing runs like a Deere indeed...

In Psalm 35:5, David writes "May they be like chaff before the wind," and since one of my favorite metaphors is the separation of chaff and wheat, I'll describe what chaff is. Everything I know about chaff I read in Wikipedia, which states that chaff is the husk that covers the ripe seed, and is removed by threshing. Chaff has no value, and without the chaff removed, the seed has no value. There's no better description of something completely useless than chaff, even though it did serve a most important purpose of protecting the seed from the elements while it ripened. As soon as the chaff is removed, it virtually disappears, since it has little mass. 

The Chronological Bible suggests this psalm was written while David was fleeing Saul, and David characterized all who torment him as chaff, a minor irritant scattered to the wind at the slightest gust. In other words, David recognized that with the Lord beside him, nothing could harm him. It's the same today, and we only help our enemies when we inflate the value of the chaff that surrounds us in this world.

One last and very important point--consider how chaff is removed, realizing that the seed does nothing to remove the husk from it. While we like to feel otherwise, we can't remove the chaff from our own lives either--only God can do that. David knew it 3,000 years ago, and we would do well to remind ourselves of this when we feel like the world is getting the better of us. Our problems are indeed chaff before the wind--our challenge is to take these brave words and turn them into humble submission.

Scott