Taught by the Master
The LORD’s counsel is for those who fear Him, and His pact He makes known to them. Psalm 25:14 Robert Alter translation
Makes known – God keeps secrets. He just doesn’t keep them from those He calls His own. The counsel of YHWH is the Hebrew word sod. You will recognize it as the last of the words in the PaRDeS. Sod is the “mystical” level of interpretation. Really? The word simply means “confidential speech.” This is private, personal communication between the Master and His servant. These are “Eyes Only” messages. But that doesn’t mean it is mystical. “Mystical” in religious experience is usually associated with claims of understanding beyond human comprehension, or hidden knowledge, of esoteric secrets that only the initiated may know. In this sense, gnosticism was a major enemy of biblical revelation. It claimed that only those who were “chosen” could truly understand the divine mysteries. The Bible never claims God keeps those kinds of secrets. God’s “secrets” are plainly obvious to all who have ears to hear and hearts to obey. Nevertheless, God does have secrets. His personal advice to each of us is not available to those who reject His covenant or disregard His instructions. A heart after God will hear Him. A heart turned away will not.
David uses the common Hebrew verb yada’ in “makes known.” The verb is the Hiphil form of the infinitive in the construct state. What this means is that the verb is causative, that is, God makes something happen, and what He makes happen is knowledge of the relationship between the covenant and those who fear Him. In other words, God instructs His children in private communication about their relationship to His promise. God does more than issue proclamations on tablets of stone. He does more than provide the words of the Prophet. He speaks to us! Personally. Individually. Confidentially.
People often ask, “What is God’s will for my life?” The answer is written in His book. Go do what He instructs us to do. Keep the precepts of the covenant. Ah, but also keep your ears open. God is speaking to you if you are listening. Does that mean you can simply wait for His confidential communication while failing to keep His written instructions? I don’t think so. What is the point of the instructions written for the community if God did not intend you to keep them as the foundation of your obedience? They are there to show you the way. But there will be times when keeping the instructions as they are written will still not be enough. After all, those instructions were given to a culture thousands of years ago in a land different from ours and a time that most of us can never recapture. We need updates. God provides them. We need contemporary applications. God provides them. We need personally relevant direction. God provides it. Just don’t think that God replaces the written ones with personal whispers. What does God speak about? The berit, the covenant, the basis of our relationship with Him. Nothing He says will ever contradict what He wrote, but it’s nice to hear Him say so.
Topical Index: makes known, yada’, covenant, berit, counsel, sod, Psalm 25:14
LISTEN!
Then, you’ll
SEE!
OBEY!
Then, you’ll
KNOW!
REPEAT OFTEN!
Thanks, Skip, for sharing your personal insights.
We know where you’re getting them from!
The Death of a Disciple
“For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mark 4.22-23)
~ My sheep hear My voice,and I know them and they follow Me ~ and I give unto them eternal life..~
“Whoever has ears to hear, let (allow,permit) them hear.”
David knew it. ~ The LORD is my Shepherd..~ May we, ages and generations later, know this as well?
This was the heart’s desire of Rabbi Sha’ul- “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection”… (Philippians 3.10) Sounds good, so far.. but then we hear “the rest of the story..”
– and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.. (Why, Paul?)
– “in order that I (too) may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
In our way of thinking, life precedes death, but in God’s order of things, death, then life. ~ Verily-verily, (truly,truly- amen, amen) I say unto you- except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone, – but..- (I assure you, I tell all of you emphatically, I tell you the solemn truth) if it dies, it bears much fruit ~ (John 12.24) First, the cross..- then the crown.
“To live- *Christ*, ~ and to die is gain ~” (This is total Victory!- either way we win!)
~ I have been crucified with Christ ~ (if we notice the tense “have been”- we won’t be so tense!- this, dear friends, has already occurred!- when He died, we died with Him!) and the “good news?” *nevertheless* “I live!” Yet.. not “I” but Christ. Buried with Him in the likeness of His death; raised in the likeness of His resurrection.. – “raised to walk in newness of life!” ~ Behold, I make all things new! ~
This, my family, is our life: *not I, but Christ!* DON’T look at me!- LOOK at Him! ~He must increase, but “I” (the one who has been crucified) must decrease).
I hear the Savior say,
Thy strength indeed is small,
Child of weakness, watch and pray..
Find in Me, thine “all in all.”
Jesus paid it all.
All, to Him I owe..
Sin had left a crimson stain.
He washed it white as snow.
LORD, nothing good have I
whereby Thy grace to claim-
I’ll wash my garments white
in the blood of Calvary’s Lamb.
Jesus paid it all-
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.
LORD, now indeed I find
Thy power, and Thine alone,
can change the lepers spots
and melt the heart of stone.
Jesus paid it all-
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain..
He washed it white as snow.
~ Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool”~ (Isaiah 1.18)
-Is yours, a “settled faith?” ~ If we confess our sins, He is Faithful and Just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness ~ (1 John 1.9)
Truth Incarnate, the One who is incapable of a lie has spoken. His invitation? ~ Come unto Me.. all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest ~
To believe is to do. To do is to obey. We have learned that. It’s encouraging when we hear about others learning this, too. Skip’s message for today is an excellent follow-up to something I read online a couple of days ago. I highly recommend “Lesbian Professor’s Fall to Grace.” Go to http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/16688/
What a testimony. Praise God for this woman’s honesty and her willingness to go public with her story. Thanks for sharing it.
”A heart after God will hear Him. A heart turned away will not.”
This is so true.