Yodh (י) / Psalm 119 – December 20, 2024

I just finished the 7th episode of Band of Brothers, and was reminded of the impact of bad leaders, and the importance of good leaders.

It never fails. Every time I watch this series, there’s always something to learn and/or remember about the concept of leadership.

I employ the same observation when it comes to going through the Word. The one thing I appreciate about Scripture, though, is that on top of the lessons and/or reminders, I am assured that I’m not only learning, but I’m also being transformed by the renewing of my mind.

And oh, do I need a lot of that transformation. I’ve driven myself into a train wreck based on all the wrong decisions I’ve intentionally made throughout the week.

Psalm 119:73-80

YODH

73 Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.

74 Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word.

75 I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

76 Let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant.

77 Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight.

78 Let the insolent be put to shame, because they have wronged me with falsehood; as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.

79 Let those who fear you turn to me, that they may know your testimonies.

80 May my heart be blameless in your statutes, that I may not be put to shame!

I give thanks to the Lord, because by His Spirit I am reminded of how He made me, and therefore knows all there is to know about me. This is our Father who is able to give us understanding; and because He knows all there is to know, His commandments are absolutely trustworthy – reliable beyond our doubts and our senses.

We really ought to place our trust in Scripture – I feel as if it’s the next natural step to our placing our hope and trust in Christ, the living Word. I mean, in Christ we’ve already been made new – therefore, we’re able to see Scripture and much more of its value and relevance through our perspective, also made new.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Through Christ we see Life as we go through the Scriptures, and we are also reminded of Scripture as we navigate through life. This is the consistent cycle of learning and revelation we find ourselves in, as part of the body of Christ… and what’s more is that as we learn and as we receive revelation after revelation, again, our minds are renewed, and transformation (for the better) follows.

And is this a conceptual transformation? Well, we see in verse 74 that if we’re not able to recognize any change and transformation in our being on our own, our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ who fear the Lord in reverence – they’re more likely to see how we move from glory to glory, so that they themselves would see Scripture at work in their own lives (see verse 79).

That right there was a revelation I needed. I’ve said before that any time we spend meditating on Scripture and on Christ (the Word of Life and the Living Word) is never time wasted… But here, we’re also realizing that it’s actually one of the best, if not THE best uses of our time.

We’ve gone through verses 73-74 so far, and we even touched on verse 79. But I’ve needed to make some clarifications, or extra observations regarding verse 75, especially where it mentions here in the ESV, ‘in faithfulness You have afflicted me‘; Most other translations use the word afflicted, but the Amplified version does use the word ‘disciplined‘, and other versions that don’t use ‘afflicted‘ use ‘humbled‘.

Using the eSword app I pulled the following information up regarding the Hebrew used for the word ‘afflicted’: עָנָה / ‛ânâh / aw-naw’ / A primitive root (possibly rather identical with H6030 through the idea of looking down or browbeating); to depress literally or figuratively, transitively or intransitively (in various applications). (sing is by mistake for H6030.): – abase self, afflict (-ion, self), answer [by mistake for H6030], chasten self, deal hardly with, defile, exercise, force, gentleness, humble (self), hurt, ravish, sing [by mistake for H6030], speak [by mistake for H6030], submit self, weaken, X in any wise.

Putting all this together, I come to the same train of thought that Dr. Andrew Farley has us considering: Discipline from God is not punishment for our past, but preparation for our future. I suppose, with this in mind, we have a greater understanding, or a more precise approach to discerning what affliction or discipline comes from our faithful Father – it humbles us, but more importantly, it disciplines us.

Let’s keep on going here. The promises of God lead us to His love, ever steadfast in comforting us, even in said affliction. Through Christ, God’s mercies constantly come to us, that we are continually revived.

Yes, we delight in and meditate on where we are led – The Law of Spirit and Life (Romans 8) – That those who are with us in the body of Christ would turn to us, and also, for the insolent to be turned away in shame. From another perspective, the Word sustains us and brings others to see the value in the Truth, while at the same time, those who constantly push lies and all sorts of falsehoods are themselves pushed away.

Here we see how the Word, and how the Scripture sustains us, protects us – but most of all, it is the starting point for us to start and/or resume our being transformed by the renewal of our minds.

It’s through this that I say that I am thankful for the Word. Again, I haven’t actually been the best of people throughout this week, and I’m not about to keep on staying in this route of self-sabotage.

Indeed, my good Father, may we continue to intentionally meditate on You and Your precepts – May we seek to do this, may we desire to revel in Your Word, and in so doing, may we continue to see and appreciate Christ, no matter what.

Until the next post, may our Good Father continue to bless us all, greatly and mightily. Amen.

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