Does It Really Matter?

I am Your servant; give me understanding, so that I may know Your testimonies.  Psalm 119:125  NASB

So that I may know – What is the job of a servant: to understand or to obey?  Of course, it’s nice to know why you’re asked to do something, but it certainly isn’t necessary.  Your job as a servant is to do what you’re told to do, not to ask why the master wants you to do it.  This is the general approach of the whole Tanakh.  God doesn’t explain why you should keep His commandments.  He’s God.  You should just do it.  The story of the serpent in the Garden is, in fact, a story of the fallacy of asking why.  The serpent beguiles the woman into thinking that she needs an explanation in order to decide to obey.  The result is catastrophic.  If the poet really wants understanding, it isn’t for the sake of obedience.  It must be for something else.

In order to understand why the psalmist asks for understanding, we’ll start with the word he uses to describe his request, i.e., bîn.  You will recall that:

The background idea of the verb is to “discern,” and this lies behind the derivative nouns and the close relation derived from the substantive bayin (see below) from which comes the preposition bên “between.” The combination of these words, “discern between” is used in I Kgs 3:9, “That I may discern between good and evil.” bîn includes the concept of distinguishment that leads to understanding.  The verb refers to knowledge which is superior to the mere gathering of data. It is necessary to know how to use knowledge one possesses (Pirke Abot3:12).^[1]

Perhaps we need to modify our understanding here .  If the poet is asking for insight, that does not necessarily mean he’s making the Garden mistake.  He’s only asking to be given the ability to correctly discern how to obey.  He’s not asking for justification of God’s commandment.  He wants to be sure that he obeys properly, and therefore he needs to know the difference between alternative ways to be compliant.  You might think, “Well, that’s stupid.  How else can you obey a command not to lie.  Either you lie or you don’t.”  But perhaps it’s not quite that easy.  When the Nazi guards come to your door and ask if you are hiding Jews in your closet, and there are Jews in your closet, what is proper obedience?  To tell them the truth or to lie?  It is an unfortunate condition of this world that ethical decisions are not always straightforward.  I am sure you can think of many personal examples.  If I ask God for insight or discernment, I’m not making the Garden mistake.  I’m actually demonstrating my willingness to obey.  I just need to know how.

And that helps us see why the psalmist chooses yādaʿ as the second verb.  If bîn is discernment, yādaʿ is applying that discernment in living situations.  It’s not just fact gathering.  It’s relational involvement.  We might say that it’s knowing how to connect.  And what is it that the psalmist wants to connect with?  ‘ēdōtê’kā, “Your testimonies,” that is, all the ways that You, Lord, apply  Your bîn in the history of my community.  All the witnesses, laws, legal provisions, practical purposes, appointed signs, etc.  In other words, give me the insight to be able to act like You.  It’s a nice alliteration.  If you read this in Hebrew, it would sound something like: ve-ed-ah edo-te-cha.  Helps us remember the phrase, doesn’t it?

There’s a big difference between asking God to explain why He wants you to do something or asking God to make clear what He wants you to do.  The life of a servant hangs in the balance.  Wouldn’t you agree?

Topical Index: bîn, understand, yādaʿ, know, ēdōtê’kā, Your testimonies, servant, Psalm 119:125

^[1] Goldberg, L. (1999). 239 בִּין. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 103). Moody Press.