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Category: Personal Study
Thread: Battling Depression in Scripture
Post Topic: The Most Chronically Depressed Man in the Bible – Heman
Post in Thread: #1
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Scripture: Psalm 88:1-18
Key Verse:
Psalm 88:18
You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
Observations
Context
We think of the Psalms as being written by King David, and a majority of them are. But some Psalms are written by other authors, such as Psalm 88. This is one of the darkest Psalms in Scripture. It was written by a man named Heman.
I’ve never heard of Heman. Who was he?
- Heman was the grandson of the last great prophet and judge, Samuel.
- Samuel’s was a great man of God, but his sons were the opposite. Because of the corruption of Samuel’s sons, the people demanded a king.
- Heman was the son of one of these men (Joel, as mentioned in I Chronicles 6:33).
- Heman was called the king’s seer (I Chronicles 25:5), known for his wisdom. I Kings 4:31 compares Solomon to Heman, saying that Solomon was even wiser than Heman.
- Heman was a great musician.
- He was one of the three primary musicians appointed by King David (I Chronicles 25:1) for the ministry of prophesying with harps and such. Did you know that prophesying could be performed with music?
- Heman was listed as a music leader during the celebration of the event of the ark of the covenant being brought to Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 5:12).
- His huge family of 14 sons and 3 daughters served under the supervision of Heman, producing the music of the temple of the Lord (I Chronicles 25:4-6).
Psalm 88
- Heman starts by acknowledging that the Lord is the God who saves him, but the rest of the Psalm is distressing.
- He begs God to hear him.
- He is overwhelmed with troubles. His life itself is in jeopardy.
- He compares himself to the dead, buried in a pit, who are beyond God’s care.
- From his youth, Heman has known despair and felt close to death.
- He feels overwhelmed by terrors, surrounded like a flood, completely engulfed.
- He has no friends. His closest companion is only darkness.
Interpretation
Author
Heman, the grandson of Samuel, the seer of King David, a famous musician.
Genre
Poetry
Imagine
What could have put a man like Heman in such a state of despair? He seemed to have it all – a huge family, a successful career, a prominent position in the king’s court, fame, a relationship with God… and yet he writes this dark Psalm with no hint of a solution?
Takeaways
- Heman had suffered from depression since his youth (Psalm 88:15). It sounds like he’d been suicidal all his life.
- Those of us who don’t suffer from chronic depression struggle to understand the depth of this affliction.
- It doesn’t seem that there was a single event to trigger this bout of depression. If so, Heman doesn’t specify.
- Possible alternative explanation – Heman was using exaggeration to get his point across. I disagree with this, given Heman’s potentially tumultuous childhood.
- Heman cries out to God in his angst. He questions God, asking why God rejects him.
- Heman is not afraid to express his anger with God.
- He compares himself to the dead, saying that this is how God treats him.
- He says that God has taken away his closest friends, making him repulsive to them.
- He says that God’s wrath lies heavily on him, and has swept over him, engulfing him like a flood.
- He practically attacks God, saying that darkness and death would be a better friend.
- There is no happy ending to this Psalm.
- There is no positive takeaway at the end of this lament, like are found in most Psalms of lament.
Deeper Takeaway
God did not exclude Psalm 88 from Scripture. This Psalm would have been sung in the temple with other, happier Psalms. God does not prevent us from crying out to him during our times of despair; during those times when we just can’t comprehend what He is doing.
Correlation
Traumatic Family Tree – I Samuel 8:1-5
- Samuel was a great prophet, but his sons did not follow in his footsteps.
- They accepted bribes and perverted justice. Because of their corruption, the people demanded their first king, who became King Saul.
- One of these sons, Joel, was the father of Heman.
- Thankfully, Samuel’s influence over Heman outshined Joel’s. Heman walked with the Lord. But his childhood must have been painful. Perhaps trauma from Joel’s wickedness contributed to Heman’s depression. In verse 15 of our passage, Heman complains that he’s suffered and been close to death since his youth.
Pain of the Prophets – Jeremiah 20:7-8; Micah 7:1-2
- Prophets expressed their pain to God in a similar fashion to Heman
Wrestling with God – Genesis 32:24-32
- Jacob wrestles with the Angel of the Lord, refusing to submit until he receives a blessing.
- His physical wrestling with God is analogous to the spiritual wrestling with God that we all do.
- God did not condemn Jacob for this; God gave him the blessing he sought.
New Testament Instruction – 1 Peter 5:6-7
- We are to come humbly before God.
- We are to cast our cares and anxieties on him, because he cares for us.
- Note that there are plenty of other warnings against grumbling and complaining, which is why the humble context is important.
Application
Generic Applications
- When despair engulfs us like a flood, we can turn to God. We can express our feelings to him. Just the fact that this Psalm is included in the Bible is encouraging.
- Why does this Psalm not cross the line into complaining? It is about Heman’s spirit. It is about turning to God rather than away from God.
- Heman is crying to God in prayer, begging for relief and understanding. He is honest with God about the crushing despair he feels.
- He is not complaining that God got it wrong, like the Israelites did in the wilderness.
- He is wrestling with God, as Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord.
- Those who suffer from chronic depression like Heman may never find permanent relief from it on this side of heaven. But consider all that Heman accomplished. God can use our afflictions to his glory, like he used Heman’s afflictions.
Personalize it
- Introspection – When it feels like darkness is my only friend; when the flood is about to engulf me:
- Am I able to express my pain to God? To cry out to him for relief? Beg him to turn his ear to my cry, as Heman begged in verse 2?
- Do I acknowledge, as Heman did in verse 1, that I am talking to the God who saves?
- Do I turn to God or away from God?
- Therapeutic Expression – I wonder if writing Psalm 88 was a form of therapy for Heman. When darkness closed in, he didn’t simply wallow in the pit. He wrote down what he felt. And he shared these words with others.
- Reaching out – Is there a family member or a friend who suffers from chronic depression that I can reach out to? Perhaps just a quick note to let them know that darkness is not their only friend?
Summary
In this series about Bible characters who experienced depression, we are adding a bonus section that summarizes each person’s affliction.
Cause, false expectation, remedy
Cause – Unknown. The depression existed since childhood, so it is possible that childhood trauma triggered a lifelong battle for Heman.
False Expectation – Heman dove into everything – his career, service to God, his music, and his family. But he came to learn that worldly achievements and acts of service are not enough to bring peace to the soul on their own.
Remedy – God wants more than acts of service – he wants our hearts. In this Psalm, Heman bares his soul to God, begging for the peace that Heman could not grasp on his own. David’s three lead musicians, of which Heman seemed to be the leader, wrote many additional Psalms together. This indicates that Heman managed to keep the depression at bay and sing God’s praises.
God revitalized Heman’s darkness. God used Heman’s suffering to mold Heman into a great musical artist whose words will inspire forever.
Bible study methodology adapted from Searching the Scriptures with permission from Tyndale House:
Swindoll, Charles, Searching the Scriptures. Tyndale House Publishers, 2016.
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