As I studied this passage, this one small verse, the Lord opened
my eyes and my heart to something. I pray that it will be food for you, too.
Psalm 119:1 Joyful are people of
integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. (NLT)
Also, I want us to read this in the King James Version
and I will give the transliterated of the Hebrew. There is a descrepancy here.
Psalm 119:1 Blessed are the undefiled
in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. (KJV)
Transliterated from the Hebrew:
Psalm 119:1 Asheri
tamyim-derek hahalekim btorah YHWH.
I believe it's important to look at this verse in this way, because as
I stated above, I believe it is possible that there is another way to translate this passage, a way that is meat and bread
for the hungry soul.
We are going to dig for the meat here, and have honey with the Bread!
There are several
bits of bread here that we want to have with our meat and honey. We will be diggin deep this well of knowledge and ask you
to please stay with me to the end. Some of the bread we will eat: Joyful, people, integrity, follow, instructions, Lord, and
"the way".
If you are a Christian then you might recall that Jesus' followers were called people
of "the way". Some translations leave "the way" out of Psalm 119:1. But, it is there in the Hebrew. Why?
Well, perhaps because to them it did not seem to fit. But, we will seek meat.
We've looked briefly at the
Hebrew word, "asher or esher" which can be translated "happy" or "blessed", but let me challenge
your hearts and your minds a little. Take this word out of the English and just put it side by side with the Hebrew, where
it belongs. This is the same word in Exodus 3:14a.
NKJV Ex. 3:14a And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM."
Now the Hebrew Transliteration, watch for that little word "ashr". Where does it appear?
3:14a
"uiamr aleim al mshe aeie ashr
and-he-is-saying Elohim to Moses I shall be who
aeie
I shall be."
So, is Psalm 119:1 meant to say, Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.
Or, is Psalm 119:1 meant to say, "Who are the undefiled in the way? He who walks in the law of the Lord."
Is it a question of assurance of blessing and happiness, if we walk in the way of the Lord, or, is it an answer to
how to be undefiled? With the answer being, the one who walks in the law of the Lord."
I guess one could
take it how ever they wanted to. If you are seeking to be blessed, then you can look at it as an assurance that the blessed
ones walk undefiled in the way of the Lord.
If you are searching for how to have integrity, then you can see that
it is he who walks undefiled in the way of the Lord.
What does "integrity" here mean. Well, according
to the Hebrew Lexicon at Crosswalk.com, the word for integrity, which is transliterated, "tamyim", means:
1. complete, whole, entire, sound
1. complete, whole, entire
2. whole, sound, healthful
3. complete, entire
(of time)
4. sound, wholesome, unimpaired, innocent, having integrity
5. what is complete or entirely in accord
with truth and fact (neuter adj/subst)
Going back now to the previous argument: we can now read VS 1 to
say: "Who (ashri) is healthy, complete, whole, innocent, unimpaired, has integrity, entirely in accord with truth and
fact(tamyim-)..."
Now, let us look at the word transliterated, "-derek" and which was combined
with the word "tamyim" (tamyim-derek). "derek"
If you are familiar with the Strong's numbering
system, this word is #01870. It is translated in the Bible as:
1) way, road, distance, journey, manner
a)
road, way, path
b) journey
c) direction
d) manner, habit, way
e) of course of life (fig.)
f)
of moral character (fig.)
So now might we add to our understanding that this simple verse could be saying, "Who
is complete (whole),in the journey (the way)? The one who walks in the law of the Lord. In other words, in the journey, who
is complete? The one who walks in the law of the Lord!
Why are we always seeking to be "blessed"? Is
it better to be blessed or to be whole? Is it better to be blessed, or "happy" or to be "Righteous"? I
believe that this word, "asher" is extremely important, because it is the "middle" of God's Name..."I
will be "who" I will be"
Let's look at the next word, and see if there is meat there to be
had, "hahalekim"
Strongs #01980 "halek"
1) to go, walk, come
a) (Qal)
1)
to go, walk, come, depart, proceed, move, go away
2) to die, live, manner of life (fig.)
b) (Piel)
1) to
walk
2) to walk (fig.)
c) (Hithpael)
1) to traverse
2) to walk about
d) (Niphal) to lead, bring,
lead away, carry, cause to walk
In the Hebrew, "ha-" in front of a word means "the", so we
have "hahalak" which means "the ones who walk, come, go, proceed, live, die. Now, the "-im" at the
end of "hahalikim" means it is plural. That is why we would say, "the ones who walk, live, die, proceed"
rather than simpley "he who walks, lives, dies, proceeds".
May I also suggest, that "derek"
is the way or manner in which we "halak" or walk or live!
Now, lets recap what this verse could be saying,
"Who is complete in the walk (or the way, the journey)? The ones who live (walks)the law of the Lord.
To
me, it has so much more meat than to "Blessed is he who has integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord."
I may not know how to be blessed! That to me is subjective. What does it mean to be blessed or happy? One might
say that to be blessed means to be healthy. But, isn't health relative? Aren't we all dying from the moment of conception?
That doesn't sound to "healthy" to me!
Perhaps blessed might mean to have all that we need! But,
my needs may be diffent than yours. I'm a widow, and you may be a husband with a wife and six children! Your needs are
certainly going to be diffent than mine.
My youngest daughter has four wonderful children. There are times when
she "needs" a break from the daily demands of having four little ones under foot. It might mean for her an uninterrupted,
un-timed, luxurious bath! While for me, a break might mean that I have the four children come and liven up my home a bit!
Perhaps being blessed might mean having more, but yet again, that is subjective to what a person already has!
And, I have no control over being blessed! Being blessed is not something I can earn, or even evaluate logically.
Yes, there are some who would rather think of being blessed as opposed to being righteous. Being righteous immediately puts
me into relationship with God! I'm not speaking here of being "religious" or "self-righteous". I'm
speaking of walking in the way of the commandments of God.
Let's move on to the next word, which is transliterated
"btrh" and can mean "in-law", or better put "in the Torah"
Strongs #08451
1)
law, direction, instruction
a) instruction, direction (human or divine)
1) body of prophetic teaching
2)
instruction in Messianic age
3) body of priestly direction or instruction
4) body of legal directives
b)
law
1) law of the burnt offering
2) of special law, codes of law
c) custom, manner
d) the Deuteronomic
or Mosaic Law
note that the word used in the Hebrew here is not just "torah" it is "in-torah".
The Hebrew letter, "beit", the second letter of the Aleph-Beit (alphabet), is also the preposition, in, with, by
when attached onto a word.
So, it's not just studying the Torah, or "doing" the "Torah".
A lot of times Christians think of the "law" as "for the Jews", but not for them. Yet, Jesus said that
He came not to banish the Law, but to fulfill the law, or to complete the Law". There is nothing said about abolishing
God's Law, God's Torah! Oh, there is so much more that could be said about that, but we must stay focused on Psalm
119:1 for there is truly meat and bread here.
Let me recap what I am saying to you. There is a different way,
a way that is logical and makes every sense to one who would have ears to hear, to translate 119:1.
"Who
is complete in the journey? The ones who live in the Torah of the Lord"
"Who is healthy in the walk?
The ones who walk in the Torah of the Lord"
If you want to have a complete and healthy relationship with
God, live in His Torah! He will live in you, as you are the Temple that He prepared, and you will live IN HIM!
Pastor,
if we are to serve God with all that we are, we must not only serve Him, we must live in Him or ABIDE in Him. Jn 15:4 Jesus
said: "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can
you, unless you abide in Me". Jesus completed the Torah. We are made complete when we live in Him. Truly, this is Happiness,
this is Blessing!
