2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
God has a very important agenda for all of us. He wants His law written in our hearts, so that it will never be forgotten and so that we will live according to it. A cynic would conclude that God is on some kind of ego trip and simply wants to have more power. A faithful believer knows that God wants us to be victorious over the adversary and that he wants the process of perfecting us (our sanctification, readying us for glorification) to move forward. God wants His children to be with Him, having eternal joy and fellowship with Him in heaven. While God’s power is very real, the cynic doesn’t see that it is for totally righteous and just reasons. Nor, does the cynic see that it is in our best long-term interests. PS 119: 9-16 is the next section, representing the Hebrew letter “beit.” It is about cleansing by the word. The issue it takes up is the purification that comes from obedience to God. Now, read its wonderful words.
PS 119: 9-16, “How can a young man keep his life pure? By obeying Your commands. With all my heart I try to serve You; keep me from disobeying Your commands. I keep Your law in my heart, so that I will not sin against You. I praise You, O Lord; teach me Your ways. I will repeat aloud all the laws you have given. I delight in following Your commands more than having great wealth. I study Your instructions; I examine Your teachings. I take pleasure in Your laws; Your commands I will not forget.” How God wishes all of us had the heart of this Psalmist! To really understand the will of God, let me share with you some of God’s words given by Moses to the Jewish people. DT 4:1-2, “Obey all the laws that I am teaching you, and you will live and occupy the land which the Lord, the God of your ancestors is giving you. Do not add anything to what I command you, and do not take anything away. Obey the commands of the Lord, your God that I have given you.” DT 4: 9, “Be on your guard! Make certain that you do not forget, as long as you live, what you have seen with your own eyes. Tell your children and your grandchildren.” Later in DT 5: 29, “If only they would always feel this way [referring to the Jewish people desiring to listen to God and obey]! If only they would always honor Me and obey all My commands, so that everything would go well with them and their descendants forever.” Those are hardly the words of a God on an ego trip. What underpins them is profound love! DT 6: 5 is the great commandment, “Love the Lord you God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
A mezzuzah is a small (usually metal) piece of Judaica in the shape of a scroll which contains a piece of parchment rolled up with the words in Hebrew of DT 6: 4-9 and DT 11: 13-21 on it. This is attached to the door posts of a Jewish home. If you will read these words, you will know the deepest desires of God’s heart. The Psalmists prayer in today’s section of PS 119 reveals to us the heart God wants us to have. His acknowledgment that God can keep him from disobeying His commands is a demonstration of his acceptance of God’s sovereignty and his humility. It is also his willingness to learn from God the Lord’s ways and to put what he learns in his heart. This is not a strictly OT issue either. You will note that in PS 119: 14, the Psalmist said, “I delight in following Your commands more than in having great wealth.” Once again look at what Christ said to the people in His sermon on the mount. MT 5: 6, “Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires; God will satisfy them fully!”
Let me repeat a citation from James that applies here: JAS 1: 12, “Happy is the person who remains faithful under trials, because when he succeeds in passing such a test, he will receive as his reward the life which God has promised to those who love Him.” The apostle, John, was inspired to write Christ’s words on this subject. JN 14: 21, “Whoever accepts My commandments and obeys them is the one who loves Me. My Father will love whoever loves Me; I too will love him and reveal Myself to him.” The connection between man and his Creator is really made clear in JN 15: 5, “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Whoever remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without Me.”
The word “beit” is more than just the second letter in the Hebrew alphabet. It means “separation or divergence.” That is significant because there is a separation that will eventually come between those who obey God and are thus purified and those who reject God and suffer condemnation. In MT 25: 32, Christ referred to this as the separation of the sheep from the goats. A person blessed will meet the challenges of a path which diverges. I would like to think it is like a person who comes to a fork in the road and isn’t sure which fork to take. The person who has a road map, in this case the teachings of God learned through study of the Scriptures and prayer, is the one who takes the path that leads to eternal life. The other person without a map (an unbeliever) or with one that isn’t accurate (the cult member or one steeped in some form of idolatry) will take the wrong path and will be lost. We are asked to examine our lives to determine which of these people we are.
PRAYER: O Lord, Your word cleans us when we obey it. You give it to us, because the desire of Your heart is that we should move forward in the process of sanctification. How blessed we are that You desire for us eternal life and fellowship with You. By the examples of people in the Scriptures like Abraham, the Psalmist who wrote PS 119, Daniel, Ezekiel, Paul, James, John, Matthew, and, of course, Christ, You show us that our lives are blessed when we obey You and live by the principles of Your word. The Psalmist who wrote PS 119 reports taking delight in following Your commands. The peace he feels is given to him by You and is available to all of those who live in obedience to You. When we open our hearts to You, You write your law on them. Our lives are blessed even in the face of the temptations of this world and the dangers we might confront. Words cannot express how grateful we are that You are there to teach, protect, bless, and provide for us. We meet the love You choose to show us with praise, adoration, worship, honor, and glory for You. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at discernment by the word in the “gimel” section of PS 119. Until then, keep in mind that God showers his love and grace on us every day. Be comforted in your trials and uplifted in sharing your faith by that. Peter and I also send you our love in Christ.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn