Beth, the second alphabet of Hebrew language means “house”.
Our body is sacred, it is known as the “temple of the Holy Spirit” 1 corinthians 3:16-17 and we belong to God’s household, where Jesus himself being the cornerstone in our body. As God is the spirit, we cannot see our body as the temple through our physical eyes. But our spirit within us knows that our body is where the living God dwells in.
We all take care of our physical house that requires much maintenance such as cleansing, fixing, repairing. For most people, house is more than a shelter and people often store their treasures in their houses.
When I read the second stanza of Psalm 119, 9-16, I have an image that the house in like our heart full of His treasures that give us sanctification and delight.
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes!
13 With my lips I declare
all the rules[a] of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
God’s word can sanctify us. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17
I am still trying to grasp the mystery of the truth. Truth is a person, that is Jesus, and Jesus is “the Word”. I know when I read the bible, it is not just about words, symbols or literal meaning to satisfy for my head knowledge, I deeply understand that the spirit of God transcends through the word of the bible. It points us to Jesus and the word has power.
The verses 9-12 demonstrate the 4 Right attitudes towards the word:
Verse 9 asked a question “how can a young man stay his way pure?” the direct answer is “guarding the word”. It is like we do the security measure to guard our treasure at home, but before guarding the treasure, we have to see God’s word is like a treasure. It is often that we have wrong attitude towards God’s word, We see it as the mundane words, and reading god’s word like throwing away an old magazine to a trash bin. We are literally throwing gold and pearls away if we don’t see His word as a treasure in the first place.
The second attitude is, “With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!”
we have to seek God with our whole heart, if we don’t seek Him whole heart, the obvious consequence is that, we will be drifting away. We cannot deny the strong force of this world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of the world. There’s no neutrality, whether we are of God or of the world. If we have the love of this world, the father love is not in us. It is an all or nothing condition, we cannot serve two masters at the same time. So we need to follow God whole heartedly, otherwise, we will easily walk away from His commandments.
The third attitude is, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
we fear God so we treasure His word. God is a both savior as well as our judge. Even the lord has forgiven us all sins, but if we commit the sins without repentance, there’s a blockage between us and God. And sins are like garbage piling up in our house, if we don’t clean up and sanctify our house, the garbage is getting rotten and it will attract the uninvited guests. God words can purify our hearts.
The forth attitude is, “Blessed are you, O Lord; each me your statutes!”
It’s humility. Every time when we read the bible, we have to humble ourselves and have a teachable attitude. For the Holy Spirit will guide us all truth. If we read the bible from our own intellect, it is like looking at the jewel in the window shopping, without acquiring the jewel to store in our house.
From verse 13-16, it is our action towards the word.
“With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth.” Word has power. It can bless or curse and the declaration of God’s word is mighty weapon to speak the blessings in our lives and also our praise is an effective weapon to demolish the devil’s attack. We need to use our treasure effectively, that is proclaiming God’s word, Use our lips to proclaim His word and pray according to His word. God’s power will release through our lips.
Take delight in His testimonies. “In the way of your testimonies I delightas much as in all riches.” The bible has countless of God’s testimonies and they are all precious. The bible is an amazing book that sums up the weakness of human but how the lord redeems us through His power. I often pray this over myself, “I want to have faith like Abraham, Zeal like Peter, Favor like Joseph, Meekness like Moses, Courage like Jousha, Wisdom like Solomon.” The book of Hebrew chapter 11 records many wonderful testimonies of faith and God takes delight in our testimonies. I am sure most of us have amazing testimonies that can remind ourselves of God’s goodness and faithfulness
Thirdly, “ I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” we need to stay focus on God’s word. The world is full of distractions and the cares of life give us anxieties and worries. The best way to focus is to meditate His word and fix our eyes on Jesus. Meditate on His words, and feed on His faithfulness.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. Philippians 4:8
Lastly, “I will delight in your statutes; will not forget your word.” let us take delight in reading the God’s word. For the bible is the gift of the lord. We only have this lifetime to study and exercise what we learn from the word. Take it as delight and memorise the words. For it is the treasure of our heart.
Prayer: Thank you Lord for giving us the bible. We are so blessed in this time that your bible is so available and we can read and listen easily. Lord, forgive us when we lack the zeal to read your word. We humble ourselves and give us the Holy Spirit to guide us to understand the bible, and let our hearts stay pure and hide your words deep inside in our hearts. Praying the word will sanctify us and guide us to the truth. For it is the riches of our lives. Build up our faith through your word. In Jesus name, Amen
Roll your works 