“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your Law” (119:18)
Psalm 119 is filled not only with exclamations of delight over God’s teaching, instruction – His Torah, but it’s also filled with prayers for help in understanding it. The Psalmist didn’t want to just read the Scriptures. He wanted to ingest it, take it in and let it permeate his mind and his world view, his actions and emotions.
The psalmist earnestly desired to understand God’s Word.
This reminded me of a passage in Scripture that Bryan and I have been looking into recently. Matthew chapter 13 has the parable of the farmer who sows seed in four different kinds of soil. Now all four soils have the same seed, and according to Jesus all four represent people who have heard the Word.
But, the seed that falls on good soil and produces a crop yielding one hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown is the one who ‘hears the word and understands it.’ (13:23)
Understanding His Word apparently matters to God.
Have you ever asked Him for help? Do you ever wrestle with the text?
When you come to a difficult place are you quick to shrug your shoulders, admit some things are beyond our understanding and move on?
OR, maybe you do actually try for a couple mins to figure it out but when nothing comes, well, this is just a difficult book hard for anyone to understand and you move on.
OR, do you actually sit, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth and grant you understanding? Then you actually stay, study, and search the text.
According to the Rabbis we are suppose to be like detectives working with the Holy Spirit to search out the treasures and truths in the Word of God. We have a responsibility when it comes to the Scriptures. We can’t just sit back and expect it to be opened to us. Like anything truly worth having – it takes time and effort and you reap what you sow. And you will be blessed beyond measure for every moment, every minute, every hour you spend in this book!!
Do you understand the Word of God?
Do you understand its themes, it movements?
Do you understand how the books work together?
What’s the purpose of each book?
What’s the purpose of the Old Testament and the New?
Do you understand the Word of God?
Are you even trying?
Believer, may you not be content to sit and be spoon fed each week. May you bloody your knees and make dirty the pages of your Bible as you sit and wrestle with the text. May the Holy Spirit truly lead and guide you as you try to understand the Word of the Living God.