Wealth Does You No Good in the Grave

Day 49.

10  For he sees that even the wise die;
the fool and the stupid alike must perish
and leave their wealth to others.
11  Their graves are their homes forever,
their dwelling places to all generations,
though they called lands by their own names.
12  Man in his pomp will not remain;
he is like the beasts that perish.

13  This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;
yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah 
14  Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.
Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
15  But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will receive me. Selah (Psalm 49:10-15)

The Psalmist points to man’s preoccupation with the acquiring of wealth as though somehow wealth can be used to buy immortality, to pay the ransom for his life.

Truly no man can ransom another,
or give to God the price of his life,
8  for the ransom of their life is costly
and can never suffice,
9  that he should live on forever
and never see the pit. (Ps 49:7-9)

Everyone dies, rich and poor alike. There is no advantage, in the end, to wealth. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t any hope. Verse 15 explains, “But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.” While no man can ransom another, God can and will ransom the man who trusts in Him. Here we find the hope of the resurrection in the Psalms. There are not many other places in the Old Testament that speak about resurrection. It is the Psalms, the prayers to be sung in the sanctuary, where we find this hope given expression. It is a theological truth, but more than that it is fruit of the Lord’s presence.

Where are you warmed by the hope in the resurrection?

Chronological Reading Plan plus Psalms: Lev 16-18, Ps 49