2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Today we will look into the spiritual meaning of the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet, gimel. This is revealed in PS 119: 17-24. Depending on which version of the Bible one uses, this section has been characterized as “Happiness in the Law of the Lord” or [my favorite] “Discernment by the Word.” Now, let me cite it. “Be good to me, your servant, so that I may live and obey Your teachings. Open my eyes, so that I may see the wonderful truths in your law. I am here on earth for just a little while; do not hide Your commands from me. My heart aches with longing; I want to know your judgments at all times. You reprimand the proud: curse are those who disobey Your commands. Free me from their insults and scorn, because I have kept Your laws. The rulers meet and plot against me, but I will study your teachings. Your instructions give me pleasure: they are my advisers.” It might be helpful here to look at the word, law. When it is capitalized (which it isn’t in this passage), it denotes the ten commandments. Later, Jewish writers added another 603 laws to them for a total of 613. Because of the impossibility of obeying that many laws at the same time, GA 3: 13 speaks of Christ’s Atonement as “redeeming us from the curse the Law brings.” When it is not capitalized, it denotes the totality of God’s teachings; teachings which apply to the age of grace, just as they have from the time of the creation.
The more I study PS 119, the more I love the example of faithfulness demonstrated by the Psalmist. His heart is a heart that puts God first in his life. He understands what truth is from his study of God’s word, showing us that we also can have this same understanding from studying it. In saying, “Open my eyes, so that I may see the wonderful truths in your law,” he is acknowledging that the discernment available to him here comes from God and God’s righteousness. Because of opening his vessel to God, the Psalmist feels like a child in a candy shop, eagerly awaiting any insight God is willing to give him and taking great delight in every delicious word of the Scriptures. Believe me, I relate to his feelings! God wants us to seek Him out. He initiated the invitation for us to do this. We, who have accepted Christ as our Savior, have also been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s Spirit which gives us the hunger we have for His Word [MT 5: 6; JN 6: 35]. JN 1: 1-4, which I hope you will read, describes Christ as the Word. Verse 4, “The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to the mankind.”
The plea the Psalmist makes in verse 19, “I am here on earth for just a little while; do not hide Your commands from me,” is poignant, because we are reminded of the ephemeral nature of our physical lives. Because we understand that the word brings life, we can see how important it is to us, thus fueling us to feel hungry for it. The Lord led me to read the words of Agur, who introduces himself in PR 30: 1 as the son of Jakeh. Nothing else is known about this man, except that some think Agur, son of Jakeh, is another name used by Solomon. PR 30: 1-6 reveals God’s omnipotence as well as identifying God’s Son as the Messiah. They also give us insight into God’s wisdom. “God is not with me. God is not with me, and I am helpless. I am more like an animal than a man; I do not have the sense a man should have. I have never learned any wisdom, and I know nothing at all about God. Who has ever mastered heavenly knowledge? Who has ever caught the wind in his hand? Or wrapped up water in a piece of cloth? Or fixed the boundaries of the earth? Who is He, if you know? Who is His Son? God keeps every promise He makes. He is like a shield for all who seek His protection. If you claim that He said something that He never said, He will reprimand you and show that you are a liar.” Once we accept our subordinate position to God, then we can open the way to eternal life with Him. As for catching the wind, who else but the Son quelled the windstorm that frightened His disciples in the boat on the Sea of Galilee [MT 14: 22-32]?
The Psalmist’s prayer for freedom from insults and scorn in verse 22 may not be granted during his earthly life, but our faith tells us that after the final separation of sheep and goats [MT 25: 32], it will be, as long as he held fast to his faith. Peter explains these insults in 1 PET 4: 4, “And now the heathen are surprised when you do not join them in the same wild and reckless living, and so they insult you.” I have to believe that those people who physically died in faith before Christ’s Atonement, will be given the chance to accept Him as their Messiah and will thus be granted the opportunity for eternal life with the Father. Otherwise such good men as Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, et al would be condemned to the lake of fire. That condemnation would not be the act of a loving and just Lord. It would also fly in the face of the revelation before Peter, James, and John at the Transfiguration in MT 17:3.
God’s kindness in revealing the truth to those who seek it, as our Psalmist does, will go on throughout their physical lives. In fact, it is my belief that those who remain in faith and inherit the Kingdom will never be without the truth. The pleasure the Psalmist feels in receiving God’s instructions to advise him is the same peace that the example of the man with an accurate road map has in yesterday’s example to help him take the correct fork in the road. The road map God gives us is the Scriptures; the road my example is taking is the one that leads to eternal life. The gift of the discernment we and the Psalmist receive from knowing God’s law, His word [or should I say in our case, His Word] is advice for how to make Godly decisions, how to know what is the truth and what is a lie, how to know who has genuine faith and who is a hypocrite, and much more. Since God is the Source of that truth, we can better appreciate His love for us.
PRAYER: O Lord, You show us that by learning Your commands through prayer and studying the Scriptures, we can find the happiness that discernment brings. That is a marvelous gift that You give us, demonstrating your patience, compassion, and love for Your children. You know our physical lives are not easy, that we must face persecution, ridicule, humiliation, and sometimes, even martyrdom to live faithfully according to Your teachings. Yet, You equip us to do this by granting us courage of faith, pleasure in Your word, the promise of eternal life with You, and the guidance we need. What a great and awesome God You are! By the sacrifice of Your only begotten Son on the cross, You open the way for our salvation and eventual glorification. We eagerly await the Day of the Lord when You will take us to Your bosom as an eagle takes its young under its wings. Meanwhile, we praise, honor, adore, worship, glorify, and thank You for being the Lord of our lives. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at the next section of PS 119, representing the spiritual value of the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, dalet. In the meanwhile, revel in the love your Abba has for you and take pleasure in His commands and words of advice as the Psalmist does. Our lives are truly blessed by the Lord’s presence in them. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn