Regal Rules

I will delight in Your commandments, which I love.  Psalm 119:47  NASB

Commandments – Before we look at the word bemiṣvotĕ’kā, we should note the unusual verb for “I will delight.”  That verb is šāʿaʿ.  It’s unusual because here and in verse 16 it is a Hithpalpel.  What does that mean?  It means that the subject of the verb is both performing and receiving the action.  “I delight” is something I do which actually affects me, rather than something I do which has an effect on something else (e.g., I throw the ball).  The interesting implication is the “delighting” is a self-fulfilling action.  In other words, I choose to take delight and that choice creates the experience.

Of course, here we would apply the same vav-conversive that we’ve seen in every verse beginning with a vav, so I would translate this as, “I took delight” or “I was delighted.”  The action isn’t projected into the future.  It is already a part of the psalmist’s experience.

What is the focus of this delight?  It is bemiṣvotĕ’kā, “in Your commandments.”  The root is miṣwâ.  We should stop right here and ask the penultimate Greco-Roman question, “How can any free individual be delighted with rules?”  That’s really the issue, isn’t it?  We have inherited a Western paradigm where rules are viewed as restrictions of freedom and unfettered freedom is the ultimate goal of a satisfying life.  Therefore, any rules, especially those that curtail what I can do, are seen as hinderances to my goal.  Pause for just a minute and reflect on your emotional response to the psalmist’s statement.  Do you take extraordinary pleasure in God’s prohibitive commands?  Or do you have a visceral negative reaction that you overcome by rational theological acceptance?  If you really search your soul, how does it feel to think of yourself as a slave to God?  When the psalmist writes that he finds happiness, bliss, joy, ecstasy, and jouissance in God’s commandments, does he express your feelings as well?

Perhaps we need to know something about this word, bemiṣvotĕ’kā, before we can really understand the psalmist’s reaction.  The idea behind miṣwâ is “the instruction of a father to a son (I Sam 17:20), a farmer to his laborers (Ruth 2:9), a king to his servants (II Sam 21:14). It reflects a firmly structured society in which people were responsible to their right to rule by God’s command (cf. II Sam 7:7; I Kgs 1:35).”^[1]  “In a deed of purchase for a plot of land, miṣwâ refers to the terms of the contract (Jer 32:11). It is also the word used by the wisdom school for the instruction of a teacher to his pupil (Prov 2:1; 3:1). More frequently the commandments are the particular conditions of the covenant. It is used for the Ten Commandments in Ex 24:12.”^[2]  Hartley’s analysis demonstrates two critical elements of “commandment” which are often overlooked.  The first is that God acts more like a father to his children than a policeman in the heavens.  Commandments are fatherly, family instructions with the purpose of nurturing and protecting the child.  Any parent can immediately understand.  While a command might seem restrictive to the child, the parent knows that it is intended only for the well-being of the child.  “Don’t run into the street” is a restriction with a loving motive.  If we view God’s commands in this way, our initial emotional reaction to freedom limitation changes.

But that isn’t the only crucial element.  The purpose of commands is to bring about social order.  In other words, to eliminate chaos in our world.  Rules are the basis of a well-functioning society and societies that undermine the rules soon fall into chaos and disappear.  That, by the way, is the tragic fact of human history.  Ignore the rules at your own peril, both individually and collectively.  The psalmist delights in God’s commandments because they make living safe!  You can only imagine what life would be like without them.  Oh, actually you don’t have to imagine.  You just have to watch the evening news.

Now what is your emotional reaction to the Commandments?  Do you think we should add “gratitude” to the list of delight?

וְאֶשְׁתַּֽעֲשַׁ֥ע בְּ֜מִצְו‍ֹתֶ֗יךָ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אָהָֽבְתִּי

Topical Index: delight, šāʿaʿ, Hithpalpel, miṣwâ, commandments, Psalm 119:47

^[1] Hartley, J. E. (1999). 1887 צָוָה. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 757). Moody Press.

^[2] Ibid.