Teach me good [y]discernment and knowledge, for I believe in Your commandments. Psalm 119:66 NASB Discernment – Do you like broccoli rabe? How about onion ice cream? Maybe something a bit more palatable like lambrusco? Everyone’s tastes differ. A lot of the time what we like is acquired through family recipes, traditions, cultural exposure, and just…
The earth is full of Your goodness, Lord; teach me Your statutes. Psalm 119:64 NASB Goodness – There’s hardly a more insipid translation of ḥesed than the crop of English expressions in Bible translations. We have “love, unfailing love, steadfast love, loving devotion, mercy, goodness, lovingkindness, faithful love, mercies, constant love, kindness.” None really capture the…
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1 NIV Teach – Do you know how to pray? Do you know the purpose of prayer? Do you understand the importance of prayer? Great, you’re…
And He will judge between the nations, and will mediate for many peoples; And they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not lift up a sword against nation, and never again will they learn war. Isaiah 2:4 NASB Learn war – “Giving birth to one child is…
You favor man with perception and teach mankind understanding. Grant us knowledge, understanding and intellect from You. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Grantor of perception. Amidah (Ashkenazi version) Teach understanding – da’at is gifted. bina is taught. What’s the difference? First, the verb. You’ll remember that the verb for da’at is nātan. The first sequence is…
Make me know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, Psalm 25:4-5a NASB Know/teach – “The whole of Torah, writes Sefat Emet, is a complex of hints, allusions to the unattainable.”[1] The rabbi’s statement shocks us. Don’t we need to know the truth in unambiguous ways so that we can properly follow God and…
but they mingled with the nations and learned their practices, Psalm 106:35 NASB Learned – In this verse, David described Israel in the 10th Century BC. He might as well have penned this line 3000 years later. Haven’t we mingled with the nations and learned their practices? Aren’t we in the same place as Israel…
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You. Psalm 51:13 NASB I will teach – Are you saved? Have you been restored to relationship with the Most High? Then you are obligated! Your rescue did not come without a personal price tag. You didn’t pay for the action that…
He opened his mouth and began to teach them, saying, Matthew 5:2 NASB To teach – “The test of a true sermon is that it can be converted into prayer.”[1] Are you a preacher? Do you lead a Bible study? Do you teach your children or grandchildren the texts of Scripture? Are you an elder…
Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Psalm 25:4 NASB Teach – God wants you to be an apprentice, not a master craftsman. An apprentice is more than a student. A student learns the words, the principles, the ideas. An apprentice puts all these into practice. An apprentice copies the journeyman until…
