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…
Blessed are those whose way is [a]blameless, who walk in the Law of the Lord. Psalm 119:1 NASB Walk – It really doesn’t matter what you think. It’s what you do that counts. In the Hebrew worldview, it’s not necessary to understand why you should do the things you are asked to do. It’s nice when they…
“And it shall be, if you truly heed the voice of the LORD your God to keep to do all His commands that I charge you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.” Deuteronomy 28:1 Robert Alter All His commands – Keep them all! That’s the…
God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 NASB Rule over – One of the reasons Christianity…
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:5 NASB Shall love – How are we supposed to express our love toward God? You will notice that I did not ask, “How are we supposed to express our love for God?” That is the…
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8 NASB Word of our God – Yesterday we discovered the awful truth that there was no such thing as “the Bible” until the Christian Church, and particularly the Protestant Christian Church, created a sacred book. In the first century,…
You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Deuteronomy 4:2 NASB Not add/ nor take away – How flexible are your ethics? Do you hold hard and fast to your own moral commandments? Are…
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:15 NASB Commandments – We want to follow the teaching of the Messiah. We want to be called good and faithful servants. But that means we need to know what he wants, and that means we need to know what his commandments are. Now, we…
You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5 NASB Enclosed– There’s not much wiggle room here. ṣûr, the Hebrew verb used in this expression, is related to words meaning, ‘besiege, bind, tie down’ and ‘encircle.’ The psalmist’s choice seems to make it abundantly clear that God Himself puts restrictive fences around our…
I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments. Psalm 119:176 NASB Do not forget– What does it mean to be lost? Our common assumptions probably arise from the evangelical interpretation of the state of the lost, that is, the condition of those who do not know God, have no…
