Studying God's Word is like searching for buried treasure. When you want to dig deep into Scripture one of the best tools is a Hebrew-Greek concordance. This week I uncovered some Hebraic nuggets hidden in Psalm 19:7 – "The law (Torah) of the Lord (YHVH – the name that represents pre-incarnate Yeshua and His infinite mercy) is perfect (tamiym – without blemish, complete), converting (shuwb – restore, rescue, circumcise, bring back home again) the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple (pthiy – seducible, foolish, silly).
Isn't this basically the plan of salvation? Yeshua, the living Word, restores us when we repent and receive His gift of grace freely. The Torah is written on our heart and its light guides us on the narrow path. God's Word even has the power to make the foolish wise.
I thought of that passage after watching "prophetess" Juanita Bynum minister on TBN. She stomped back and forth on stage and worked the studio audience into a frenzy. As she taught on spiritual warfare, she made the absurd statement that Christians should act like Indians of the Old West. Bynum said warriors prepared for battle by doing war cries through the night while their enemy – the cowboys – slept. Didn't Native American culture embrace other gods? Paul says in Ephesians 6:10-13 to put on the whole armor of God and, having done all, to stand. Paul also instructs believers to conduct their meetings in order. The TBN studio was in chaos. People in the audience allowed themselves to be seduced because of their lack of Biblical knowledge and understanding.
During my Psalm 19 study I found another little gem in verse 14. The Hebrew word for redeemer is ga'al, which can mean to be the next of kin, as in buying back a relative's property, or marrying his widow. It also can mean to ransom, deliver and avenge. Like the Hebrew word for convert, it expresses God's desire to be in restored fellowship with His children, who are undeserving subjects of such love and grace.
Posted by Jeff King at July 1, 2003 03:00 AM