Where Rust Does Not Corrupt

I have treasured Your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against You. Psalm 119:11  NASB

Treasured – Do you have some treasure?  Want to keep it safe?  You’ll have to put it where thieves can’t steal it, where moths can’t eat it, and where the elements can’t corrupt it.  Where do you suppose that will be?  According to the psalmist, the only really safe place for the most valuable things is in the heart.  What gets locked away there is real life-savings.  And the most important thing you can put in that vault is God’s word, the only truly eternal treasure.

Now that we’ve identified the safe haven, we need to know the reason why we’d want to be so careful with the treasure.  The answer is a bit surprising.  It’s not because we expect a return on the investment, or because we’re concerned about its integrity if exposed to the world.  It’s not because it offers positive benefits, long life, or material gain.  It’s because it protects us from mistakes.  This is defensive treasure.  We put God’s words in our hearts in order that we might not sin.  It’s important to know the full umbrella of ḥāṭāʾ, the word translated “sin.”  TWOT notes “The basic meaning of the root is to miss a mark or a way.” ^[1]  It doesn’t only mean a violation of religious practices.  It implies a failure to live up to expectations whether those expectations are civil, legal, or religious.  Of course, it means a failure to conform your life to God’s commandments but it goes beyond that.  It includes “a failure to respect the full rights and interests of another person . . .”^[2]  It also describes the travesty of leading someone else to violate God’s ordinances.

Thus like other words related to the notion of “sin” it assumes an absolute standard or law. But, whereas pešaʿsignifies a “revolt against the standard,” and ʿāwâ means either “to deviate from the standard” or “to twist the standard,” ḥātāʾ means “to miss, to fall short of the standard.” The Greek word anomia “sin,” consists of the privative prefix with the word for “law,” thus “without law.” Therefore judgment is implied, for the law in fact is binding even if the sinner thinks himself to be “without law.”^[3]

We can summarize this broad concept with the idea that ḥāṭāʾ means a lack of wholeness in life.  What the psalmist tells us is that our well-being is more than a matter of outward conformity to God’s standard.  It must include the safekeeping of God’s word in the heart as a protective shield against the inevitable forces of a broken world.  Didn’t Paul say the same thing with his analogy of Roman armor?  If we want to protect the treasure of a relationship with God, that most valuable of all good things, we need a protective vault and the psalmist tells us that this safe is found in the internalization of God’s word.  “Think on these things” means more than rational consideration.  It means whole-person memorization and incorporation into the way of life.  Lock it away for the rainy day.

Topical Index: treasure, memorize, ḥāṭāʾ, sin, Philippians 4:8, Psalm 119:11

^[1] Livingston, G. H. (1999). 638 חָטָא. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament(electronic ed., p. 277). Moody Press.

^[2] Ibid.

^[3] Ibid.