Psalm 119 is about loving God’s Torah, His statutes, commands and precepts. It is broken up into sections with strange looking words or letters which are the Hebrew alphabet. In the Hebrew Scriptures, each line of each section starts with a word beginning with this letter. This is called an acrostic poem. Each Hebrew letter also has a word picture associated with it giving greater meaning and symbolism to each line of the specific letter-ed section.
ס Samech – A Prop
Support (like a plant being twisted and changed by a prop)
“I hate doubleminded people, but I love your Torah. You are my hiding-place and shield; I put my hope in your word. Leave me alone, you evildoers, so that I can keep my God’s mitzvot. Uphold me, as you promised; and I will live; don’t disappoint me in my hope. Support me; and I will be saved, always putting my attention on your laws. You reject all who stray from your laws, for what they deceive themselves with is false. You discard the wicked of the earth like slag; this is why I love your instruction. My body trembles for fear of you; your rulings make me afraid.”
I listen to a song in Portuguese by Mateus Zandona from Har Tzion called ‘Molda-me’. The words: “Mold me, conform me to your law, your commandments in my heart ….” The first time I heard the song, I thought, “Who says, ‘mold me and conform me to your law?” Those who follow Yeshua in Brasil are not affected by the western doctrine of ‘grace, grace, grace.’ The truth is each of us need to be conformed and molded into people who reveal God’s commandments to the world. By us living out His instructions, we become set-apart from the evildoers or lawlessness around us. Yeshua is our example; this is how he lived.
“Support me; and I will be saved, always putting my attention on your laws.” David talks about the Torah of God like the letter Samech, the prop that slowly twists us and changes us toward God while turning us away from those who reject God’s Torah. Paul says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” expressing this exact thought (Romans 12:1-2). We need to quit being double-minded and simply obey God’s commandments –– the example of His Son.
When those who are deceived question our faith or argue about how we express our faith, the Word of God is our foundation. When we are tested by the Adversary, the commands of God become our shield of faith. As God discards the wicked like the dross from refined gold, we should continue to fear Him, knowing that His rulings are just.
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