Psalm 112 - Praise the Lord!

Psalm 112 is one of a series of Psalms that begin with the phrase Praise the Lord. In Hebrew it is hallu – ya (הללו יה). Does this sound familiar? It should, we translate it Halleluiah. I have finally come across a word I have wanted to study for a long time. A word, as a vocalist I had sung for many years and never really knew what I was saying: Halleluiah! Quite often we pair it, especially in songs with Praise the Lord, Halleluiah. Kind of redundant isn't it? Maybe, unless you think more on it; we can't praise His name enough can we? So let's let the songwriters keep on praising His name more and more. I'll sure sing it!

This is a great psalm/poem about the blessings of knowing and keeping the Law of the Lord; but right now I want to focus on just the first verse of this great psalm because the psalmist really put the heart of the message in these three short lines:

Praise the Lord.

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who finds great delight in his commands. (Psalm 112:1 NIV)

Again the first line of the Psalm is hallu – ya. Hallu (הללו) is interpreted as praise, but can also be interpreted as glory, boast, or celebrate. Ya (יה) is one of the 72 names of God, the Lord of Israel.

The next line, of this verse, uses the word eshrei-ish (אַשְׁרֵי־אִ֭ישׁ), rather than the usual barukh (ברכה) to denote blessed. Eshrie can be also interpreted as happy, or be happy, especially when paired with ish, which is the male imperative –'the man'; essentially saying 'the man is happy',

The idea of a man being happy in fearing something is kind of counterintuitive to most of us. Fear in the English language has a greatly negative connotation; it is something we try to get away from. Some of us fear spiders or snakes and will do anything to get away from them, or kill them. Others of us are fine around spiders or snakes, yet if you put us on a ledge high above the ground our heart rate will skyrocket and we will do anything to get away to a more solid footing. So there must be some other explanation for this concept

The Hebrew word for fear is yare (ירא), which can also be interpreted as dread, or even reverence. The Jews have a three level concept for this concept of 'fear of the Lord' which goes back to the first time the congregation of Israel really met the Lord Elohim in Exodus 20:18-20. The first level is what they felt here in vs. 18

 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance (Exodus 20:18 NIV)

The word used here is viayau'nu (וינעו) which is translated as trembling, but could also mean tottering, or quivering. I figure we all have been there in fear. These people had just experienced something that shook them to their core. They were afraid of physical death or injury (Exodus 20:19), and for a good point, Elohim had already warned Moses that anybody who touched the mountain would die (Exodus 19:24-25).

The second level of yare can be seen in vs. 20:

Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." (Exodus 20:20 NIV)

Here Moses in telling them about a fear of Adonai to keep them from sinning, he uses the verb form yirah'tov (יראתו) which denotes a moral fear. This is the fear of moral consequences, for a breaking of a commandment of Elohim (אלוהים) the Judge of all people. This is the law of sin and death Paul wrote about (Romans 8:2) and is so evident here.

The third level of 'fear of the Lord' (yare et-Adonai -
ירא את־יהוה) can be seen in Paul's writings to Titus (Titus 3:4-8) where Paul exhorts his young talmidim (תלמידיו-student-disciple) to lead a godly life, conscious of Yeshua's sacrifice, and the prompting of the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh-רוח הקודש). The consciousness of Elohim in everything brings the 'awe' of yare into our lives, and we can truly 'know God'. Here, we can be Happy in the fear of the Lord.

The third line reads in Hebrew be-mitzvotav chafetz me'od (במצותיו חפץ מאד׃) which if strictly translated reads 'His commandments abundantly delights'. It's not as literarily smooth, but has the same feel of loving and being delighted in the commands (מצוות - mitzvot) of the Lord. The Hebrew word me'od (מאד) can also be translated as diligently, abundantly, we see a word meaning of great amount. Now some, I know, will wonder at the idea of being 'delighted' to follow laws or commands. We here in the U.S.A. greatly treasure our freedom. We chafe at the idea of 'being under law', to have our freedom restricted. Too often we forget that it is because of the laws we have, that we have our freedom. We don't have to worry about the guy down the block, or across the way who might just like my car, and decide to take it. Because he knows that action is called stealing, and if he takes my car without my permission, the enforcers of the law, the police, will restrict his freedom. So the balance here is to have laws that define correct action, without restricting us too much. The Jews knew from where these laws came, and were encouraged to remember them all the time.

Putting this together we have:

Praise the Lord

Happy (Blessed) is the man who fears (has reverence for) the Lord,

In His commandments he abundantly (diligently) delights.

Chaverim (חברים -friends), are you happy in your fear of the Lord, and do you delight (regularly) in his commandments?

Baruch HaShem (ברוך השם)

Romans 16:19

This morning, in my personal Bible study, I came across a verse at the end of the Epistle to the Roman Church. This one hit me squarely between the eyes (how often does He have to do that?) with an action I know I am guilty of. As I am guilty of it, maybe somebody else can relate to this too. So here goes.

 

I feel that too many times, we who have had the 'Lightening Bolt' conversion, like to hold on to a little bit of the 'old self' too much. We snicker about references toward our old sins, and maybe even roll our eyes when our brothers or sisters who have not experienced, praise the Lord, this lifestyle are so innocent about statements they, or others make. You know, those veiled references, or those blatant boasts we sometimes make. In this verse, Paul takes me to task about this 'Pride' of being bad.

 

In this single verse, Paul shows us what a great leader and mentor he is, he uses one of the greatest techniques of mentorship I have ever seen. He begins this verse with praise for the congregants:

 

Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you (Romans 16:19a NIV)

Anyone who has taken a course on management skills knows that the best way to counsel somebody is called the 'sandwich method'; you bring up the behavior you want changed between layers of praise on behavior done correctly. Here Paul is telling the Roman church that everyone in Jerusalem, Asia, etc has heard about the Roman Church, they are so obedient to the Gospel they have heard. On top of that, Paul the Apostle, (who has not visited this church) is full of joy (happy) over them. Rock Star time! Right now, these congregants, who either read or hear read this letter are feeling great about themselves, I know I would. Here is an Apostle, one who has seen the Risen Savior face to face, and talked with Him. Paul is praising us, WOW!

Next comes the gentle chiding:

but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. (Romans 16:19b NIV)

Isn't there always a but somewhere in the conversation with a boss or mentor? Here, Paul chastises us so gently, he begins by focusing on the good action he wants us to stress. Be wise in what is good; focus more on what Christ has done for you, learn more about Him, study Him, imitate Him. Here, Paul, enjoins us to strengthen our commitment to, and walk (הלך - halach) with Christ. And (there is a second part to this verse) be innocent about what is evil. Paul wants us to turn away from that which we did before. The Hebrew verb used for repent is (תשובה - teshshuvah) means to physically turn completely away (think walk in a different direction), the Greek word used here is mentonia, and means to change your mind. We can look at this as a turning of our mind from the direction of the evil we knew before to that which is good (the way of Jesus Christ).

 

Chaverim, why did Jesus say that the kingdom of Heaven belonged to the children? (Matt. 19:14) We must change our mind (mentonia) to that like a child, become more like our innocent brothers and sisters. Turn (שׁוב - shuv) and become that innocent, new man (2 Cor.5:17).

 

Baruch Yeshua Moshi'einu

 

 

 

 

Deuteronomy 18:13

Part of the Torah reading for this week, in my Hebrew study, is Deuteronomy 16:18 – 21:19, and is titled Shoftim (שופטים) or Judges. This is because the first part of the study talks about the setting up of the Judicial system for the people when they took over the Land of Israel. This court system consisted of a minimum of three Judges in the smaller towns that heard cases, if these judges could not come to a satisfactory conclusion; they took the case to a larger town with more judges. If these judges could not come to an agreeable answer, it was taken up to the K'nesset HaGedolah with the High Priest, who gave the final answer. Does this sound familiar? Ought to, this is what our present day Judicial system is based on, despite the so-called separation of Church and State.

But all of that is for some other time or post. The area that I want to focus on is in the 18^th chapter. This chapter begins with a discourse on the priesthood, their portion of the sacrifice and that they had no portion of the land or the residual or royalty from the flocks or produce of the land. Their only inheritance was Adonai (
יהוה הוא נחלתו כאשר דבר־לו׃ – Adonai hu nachaltov ka'asher diber-lov):

the Lord is their inheritance as He has promised them (Deut 18:2b)

This puts the onus of the support of the priesthood onto the people Israel, and they were enjoined to not forget the priests (Deut. 12:19). This portion of the text goes on to remind the people what they are to give to the Levitical priests as their portion of the sacrifices.

Then Moses moves on to warning the people about the practices of the people now inhabiting their land. They were practicing every kind of abominable art that the Lord detested (Deut. 18:9-12). The next verse (13) is the one that caught my attention; in many translations it is set apart from the other text.

You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. (Deut 18:13 NAS)

When looking at the verse in Hebrew, the first word is Tamim (תמים), this is the word that is translated as blameless, or perfect. As might be expected, there is more to this word that this quick translation. Tamim also implies finished, complete, or without defect, as in our 'walk' (halach - הלך) with God. Now, note that the Hebrew word does not imply ideal moral strictness as much as it suggests being thoroughly made, or brought to successful completion. Some have translated tamim as 'wholehearted', which gives a newer twist to the verse that I feel now talks to us in this time.

The Hebrew word that is translated before (im - עם) in the above verse, can also be translated as with. This gives us a stronger translation of the verse:

You shall be wholehearted with the Lord your God. (Deut 18:13)(emphasis my own)

Too often we find ourselves 'double-minded', essentially wanting two things at once. We desire peace with God, but we also insist upon our 'rights'. Or we try to do the right thing for the wrong reason: hope of reward, pride, or even patriotism. Such double-mindedness can cause a divided focus, an unclear condition of the sprit that results in a half-hearted conviction and dissipation of the will. If we turn this around, single mindedness concentrates the will and produces wholeheartedness, conviction and genuine character.

People live in despair because they are often double-minded. They are often trying to look at two different things at once. They seek their end in a world of finite things – good fortune, personal honor, worldly entertainment, etc.. At the same time they try to look to God for direction. Such a cross-eyed approach leads to disorientation and spiritual destruction. A divided house cannot stand.

Chaverim, those who are 'upright' (Tzadek – צדיק), or righteous, do not look away from the faithfulness and love of God. Despite the distractions of daily life and difficulties they endure; they retain their commitment and their earthly decisions reflect their faith; they have an undivided heart (Psalm 86:11-12). All this turns on the decisions to genuinely trust in God. As Yeshua said, 'If your eye is single, your whole body shall be full of light" (Matt. 6:22)

 

Baruch HaShem

Faith and Blessing

In the book of 2 Kings 4: 1-7 we find a story that I find as an excellent example of Blessing and Faith. In this almost easily looked over, quick, non highlighted story is, I feel, one of the deepest stories of how God blesses Faith.

The prophet of God Elijah had just been picked up and taken to Heaven in the fiery Chariot of God. Elijah's' student/servant Elisha has, literally, picked up the mantel of Elijah and continued as the Prophet of God for the divided Kingdom of Israel and Judah. There was a 'company of prophets', essentially a religious group, living together, a wife of one of the members of the group went to Elisha with a problem. Her husband had died, and their creditor was coming to take her two sons as slaves, to pay off their debt. She had nothing of worth to pay the man, and was asking Elisha for help. Elisha asked her what she had in the house, and all she had was a little oil. Elisha told her to go to her neighbors and ask for all the bottles she could gather, and not a little. He told her to take the bottles in the house, shut the door behind them, and pour oil into all the bottles, until all of them were filled. When she had done this, she went back to Elisha, told him what they had done, he told her to sell the oil to pay off the creditor, and they could live off the sale of the rest of the oil.

Faith: this woman had heard of, and probably seen some of the miracles that Elijah had performed throughout the land. Elisha had already performed several miracles; she knew that he was a 'man of God'. Elisha told her to gather all the small bottles, like those that were used to keep oil for lamps and other household uses, that she could get and borrow; and not a little.

Spiritual Check Up :How many would I gather? Would I go to my neighbors, friends, best enemies, anybody you could think of and borrow jars? What if they asked me what I needed them for? I know they would! How many is enough? How big a blessing do I believe God is going to give me? Is He really going to do something?

Blessing: this woman did as Elisha told her to do; she gathered the bottles, went inside her house with her sons and shut the door and began to pour the oil. She kept pouring the oil until all of the bottles were filled; when her son said there are no more bottles, the oil stopped flowing.

Spiritual Check Up: What if she had stopped pouring before she ran out of bottles because she was too tired, or felt she had done enough, or she didn't feel good? Would the oil stop flowing? What if she left the door open (did it in public), would the oil have begun to flow? What about me, would I keep pouring until there were no more bottles to fill? Would I do it behind closed doors or would I want to do it out in the public?

I feel that God blessed this woman abundantly, and to the extent of her faith. Because she followed the instructions Elisha gave her, she not only ended up with enough oil to pay off her husbands creditor, but she also ended up with enough oil for her, and her sons to live on.

So much to consider, from such a short story. Let us meditate and pray for enlightenment chaverim, shalom.