Teach me Your way, O YHWH, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Psalm 27:11

Teach – Did you ever take a class in archery at summer camp? It isn’t as easy as it looks, is it? You have to learn about holding the bow and the arrow correctly. If you don’t have the right grip, when you let the arrow fly you might end up with an injured finger and a missed target. If you’re going to hit the bull’s eye, you’ll need some instruction. “Teach me,” says David. The Hebrew verb he uses is yara, a verb about shooting arrows. But David isn’t asking for archery lessons, so why does he choose this verb?

Yara has two verb constructions in the Tanakh. The first is called the qal structure. It is close to our idea of present tense active. In this form, the verb means “to cast, to throw, to shoot.” It’s used for casting lots, throwing stones and shooting arrows. The emphasis of the verb is on the control of the action. But yara is also found in the hiphil, a form that changes the present to the causative sense. Now it means something like “to cause to shoot or to cause to throw.” Since it is still about the control of the action, the hiphil of yara takes on the sense of teaching. That’s the way David uses it here. Lord, cause me to learn Your way. For a man who knew a lot about weapons, yara is the perfect verb. Take my skill with the instruments of death and convert it into instruments of life. Let me shoot straight according to Your intention. This concept of hitting the target is also found in the Hebrew idea of sin because sin is literally missing the mark.

But this isn’t quite the end of the story. You see, yara is the verbal root of another Hebrew word, torah. You can be sure that David was well aware of this connection. When he asked the Lord to teach (yara) him, he is at the same time expressing his desire to know torah, God’s “teachings.” David isn’t asking God for a personal revelation or a mystical insight into heaven. He is asking God to illuminate Torah so that he might know the smooth path of living in harmony with the Lord. David isn’t demanding a special “word from the Lord.” He is acknowledging his need to understand God’s already-revealed instructions.

The Scriptures tell us that David was a man after God’s own heart. In spite of David’s sins, God considered David a friend. In fact, David’s relationship with the Lord was so firm that God deferred punishment on many generations after David for the sake of David’s faithfulness. Clearly, David’s appeal to be taught the way of YHWH had significant results.

Isn’t that what we want? Don’t we want to aim right at the center? Then join David. Let the Lord teach you His torah. Practice doing what He says and your aim will get better and better. One day you’ll shout, “Bull’s eye!” with a big smile on your face.

Topical Index: Topical Index: yara, torah, shoot, teach, Psalm 27:11