Psalm 119 is a love poem for God’s teaching, law and commandments. Using synonyms and poetic parallelism, Psalm 119 goes through each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, naming some challenges that bedevil us in life and extolling the goodness and remedy of God’s law. In this psalm, God’s word and teaching are an invitation to live the good life.
It’s a bit like receiving a text message from someone: Call me tonight! Would you see this as a command, or as a new world of possibility? Well, it all depends on the relationship. If the message comes from someone with whom you’ve been in conflict, your heart might sink. If it comes from someone at your workplace, you might feel resentful about this demand on your time. But if it comes from someone you’d love to have a deeper relationship with – a friend, favorite niece or potential romantic interest – then you might consider it a gift, not a chore, to “obey” the command, and you would eagerly call!
This message is excerpted from the Bible study “The Ten Commandments: Reviving the soul” by Christa Von Zychlin in the January/February 2023 Gather magazine.
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