2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
This morning’s passage is PS 119: 161-168, which is a statement of our Psalmist’s dedication to the law. It reveals the spiritual meaning of the twenty-first Hebrew letter, shin. There is a great significance to this letter, because it is the first letter of God’s name, El Shaddai, God Almighty. Read the words of this faithful writer about God’s power and provision. “Powerful men attack me unjustly, but I respect Your law. How happy I am because of Your promises-as happy as someone who finds rich treasure. I hate and detest all lies, but I love Your law. Seven times each day I thank You for Your righteous judgments Those who love Your law have perfect security, and there is nothing that can make them fall. I wait for You to save me, Lord, and do what You command. I obey Your teachings; I love them with all my heart. I obey Your commands and Your instructions; You see everything I do.”
By now, you may be coming to the conclusion that our Psalmist is being too repetitious, but in actuality he is pleasing God. We know that God is omniscient, all-knowing. One might ask, if He knows it all, why do we have to pray? The answer to that is that He wants to see how mankind will exercise his free agency when we respond. That is why He wants us to seek Him out in prayer, acknowledging His place in our lives and our understanding of His teachings. He knows the desires of our hearts before we pray, but wants us to pray anyway. You might also ask, how does the Psalmist know that “we have perfect security in God’s law? It has to do with the meaning of the letter, shin, the first letter in the name, El Shaddai, God Almighty.
Devout Jews have a small item called a mezuzah attached to the door posts and/or gates of their homes. It is a rectangular, often decorated, cylinder containing two prayers on parchment which are rolled up and inserted inside it. These prayers are from DT 6: 4-9 and 11: 13-21. The first prayer, DT 6: 4, is known as the shema, a statement of monotheism. “Here O Israel, the Lord our God. The Lord is One.” The rest of the first citation goes on to say, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Never forget these commands that I am giving you today. Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working. Tie them on your arms and wear them on your foreheads as a reminder [refers to the practice of praying with tefillin, also known as philacteries, boxes containing prayers worn wrapped around one’s forehead and weaker arm & hand]. Write them on the door posts of your houses and on your gates.” DT 11: 13-21, “So then, obey the command that I have given you today; love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart. If you do, He will send rain on your land when it is needed, in the autumn and in the spring, so that there will be grain, wine, and olive oil for you, and grass for your cattle. You will have all the food you want. Do not let yourselves be led away from the Lord to worship and serve other gods. If you do, the Lord will become angry with you. He will hold back the rain and your ground will become too dry for crops to grow. Then you will soon die there, even through it is a good land that He is giving you. Remember these commands and cherish them. Tie them on your arms and wear them on your foreheads as a reminder. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working. Write them on the door posts of your houses and on your gates. Then you and your children will live a long time in the land that the Lord your God has promised to give to your ancestors. You will live there as long as there is a sky above the earth.” These are beliefs and practices that our Psalmist was raised with and which underpin his spiritual life.
An interesting fact was brought to my attention the other day. When one looks at an aerial photo of the topography of Jerusalem, the land is laid out in the rough shape of the three-pronged Hebrew letter, shin. That same letter is always marked on a mezuzah and on the batim (pleural of bayit), which are the boxes of a tefillin. God has truly put His mark on Jerusalem and on the hearts of those who accept Him as their God Almighty, their El Shaddai.
It is significant that our Psalmist thanks God seven times a day for His righteous judgments. Seven is God’s number of perfection and completion. It is the same number of times that a Jewish bride circles her bridegroom in a Jewish wedding ceremony. All of this foreshadows the great wedding feast of the Lamb discussed in REV 19: 5-10, that is the wedding of Christ and the church. That reminds us that there will be a time in our future when the purpose of putting up a mezuzah will be fulfilled; sin with be entirely overcome and will no longer exist. The Lord Almighty will have put His permanent stamp on the hearts of the people, and we will dwell with Him in eternal joy and fellowship. This is the deepest desire of our Psalmist, our Abba, and anyone Who has faith. We should meditate today on the desires of our hearts and on our own understanding of El Shaddai’s place in our lives. When we lift up the Lord manifesting our faith in Him, we too can repeat the Psalmist’s words, “How happy I am because of Your promises-as happy as someone who finds a rich treasure.” Then, we can rejoice in the words of God’s angel in REV 19: 9, “Happy are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb. These are the true words of God.”
PRAYER: O Lord, the spiritual meaning of the Hebrew letter, shin, is perfection in Your word. It is no accident that it is the first letter of Your name, El Shaddai, God Almighty. You are the source of all that we are and all that we have. When we are faithful and obedient, You shower us with Your love, provision, and protection. You grant us joy, rest, and comfort when we seek You out in prayer. Too often, we forget to say thank You, You are to be praised, because we put our own supplications first. Help us, Dear Lord, to never forget that our first priority should be You. Lead us to express our adoration and confess our weaknesses as well as our faith in You. The lessons we must endure seem hard to us, but we should always remember that You are righteous, wise, all-knowing, compassionate, and loving in everything You do. When we allow You to put Your mark on our hearts, You bless us abundantly. We honor, praise, glorify, magnify, worship, thank, and adore You. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look into the spiritual meaning of the twenty-second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, tahv, as revealed in PS 119: 169-176. We are blessed and loved when we open our hearts to the Lord. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn