If someone called you simple, chances are you would be offended. Being that we are in the 21st Century, who could blame you for being offended. To be called, simple in the 17th century, when the bible was written, was a very nice complement.
The earliest use of the word ‘simple’, meant to be free from guile, innocent; upright, free from vanity, modest; to be of humble origins. These definitions still appear in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary.
Of course, time would have it, that another definition emerged for the word, ‘simple’ meaning, lacking in knowledge or expertise; lacking in intelligence; not socially or culturally sophisticated; lowly in condition or rank. Today, I’m sure this is what we all would hear, in a statement of that kind.
The Meaning of Life is so Simple, it’s Practically a Secret
We are not studying to obtain only the literal meaning of the words. God is Prophetic. His Perfect Will, was that His people would all be Prophets, Priest and Kings. To walk in the anointing, in HIS Image and Likeness, we must not be shy of the prophetic.
To walk alongside the prophetic is to become simple again…
And Being Simple, is not a bad thing. Simple can become for us, the meaning of Life in GOD.
Watch these 5 Key Words in Psalm 19:7—
The [law] of the LORD is perfect, [restoring] the soul, The testimony of the LORD is [sure], making [wise] the [simple].
I taught earlier, that the use of the word ‘law‘ as a translation for ‘torah‘ is a good example of missing the mark.
In that teaching, numerous examples of this were provided. In Psalm 19:7, once again, we find ‘torah‘ translated as ‘law‘.
Why the translators choose not to translate ‘torah‘ as ‘torah‘, instead of law, I do not know. This approach to scripture, has only served the purpose of putting more distance between the Christian Church and our Hebrew Roots.
Ultimately today, when our brains hear ‘torah‘, it is as if some Christians feel they are being subjected to something forbidden… information barred from the Church. Yet, GOD called His Word torah. It is my sincere hope that more of us can draw closer to Him through torah. Meanwhile…
Let’s restore this verse a bit, to another place and time…
The next word we want to look at in the verse is, teshuv (tah-shoove), translated, ‘restoring‘. teshuv means to return to GOD.
Additionally, ‘aman‘ is translated as ‘sure‘. Which is not wrong, it’s just more poetry than we need. aman means to trust.
Wouldn’t it serve our souls better to build upon the Word from a place of understanding, that the testimony of the LORD is to be trusted?
And finally, ‘wise‘ is from the word, chokmah (hoke-mah), In this case, it means the wisdom of GOD.
‘Simple’ as it was known, before our culture and times drained the beauty and anointing out of the word, used to be understood as ‘possessing GOD’s favorite characteristic’… humility, to be free from guile, or innocent.
Now, let’s put this verse and teaching, back into it’s proper place…
The torah of the LORD is perfect, returning the soul [to GOD], The testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise [giving the Wisdom of GOD to] the humble/the innocent.
Once more…
The torah of the LORD is perfect. Studying/learning/abiding in torah, returns the soul to GOD. The testimony of the LORD should always be trusted. When GOD’s testimonies are trusted, The Wisdom of GOD is transferred to the humble.
Torah Returns Our Soul to GOD.
Everyday, our souls desire to return to GOD’s presence. Torah, while NOT a system of laws, is greater than the sum of it’s teachings. Torah is formed from the raw materials of creation, the aleph-bet.
It is said that the torah, (Genesis through Dueteronomy), contains over 600,000 letters. One for each soul that came out of Egypt. One letter, for every soul.
When the day of Pentecost (Shavuot) had come, there were tongues of fire above every head, i.e., one letter for every soul.
The Torah Contains The Meaning of Life…
When GOD gave the torah, he was not giving us a bible story, or merely a list of teachings, instructions, and commandments.
Every letter, every word, accounted for every soul and every household, every generation and their seed.
The letters themselves contain life and purpose, they are the creative force behind the universe, often referred to as the building blocks of the universe.
The Letter Behind the Letter
Even as these letters are written on this page, the space around the letter allows the black ink to shine forth and be made visible, seen. In torah study, we learn that the visible shape of the letters (via the black ink) reveals a shape and form in the background, revealing the two dimensional form. Think of this as a letter behind the letter.
Our computers allow us to select one color for the background and one color for the ink. There is no point selecting white background with white ink, or black background with black ink. The result is unreadable.
The torah was written in such a way, that in order for any one letter to be made visible, it required another letter behind it. The background being as equally important as the foreground.
Each letter representing another soul. One soul supporting the other. Without each soul working in concert with the other, neither is visible.
One soul, allows the other to shine.
There are times in everyone’s life, when they feel invisible, unseen, unimportant. But we are never invisible. Each person has been given the creative power, the fire…to shine light on another soul.
Let Your Light So Shine!
God Bless You,
This teaching is dedicated to the Grand-Children. I pray I have imparted something simple to you…something innocent and without guile. I pray you will always receive the word untangled, so that you never have to start from scratch, relearning the Holy Language of GOD.
Stay humble. Your humility will keep you connected to GOD. Stay in torah. torah, will nurture your soul, everyday. May your lives always be a support to one another, separate but one, harmonious and yet, distinctive…
Your souls allow each other to shine!
In the Volume of the Book that is Written of You, You Are Lights, and An Answer to the World.
May All the Angels say, Amen!
Posts Included in This Series:
- The 611 of Torah 14 minutes
- A “Webster’s Dictionary” Kind of Faith 10 minutes
Resources:
In my last post, i provided a few scriptures for your review that demonstrated the need for us to go back in time for an understanding of the meaning of words.
When Matthew says go into your closet to pray (Matt 6:6), we have to consider that ‘closets’ may just be a modern convention and not a norm of the 1st century.
This means we do a little homework and find that Matthew is urging us to discover our secret place of prayer, which could be anywhere, as long as it is private and provides the solitude required for prayer.
An inter-linear bible is excellent for this part of our study, or if unavailable, use of an online equivalent like Biblehub.com is suitable to begin practicing.
An online resource to learn about the origin and development of words is etymologyonline.com.
However, my first love is a library! Libraries are the best source for researching words in detail, but a quick look online can be insightful. I use etymology online for quick reference and when I am out and about!
However, nothing can ever replace having a local or university library at your disposal. If you have access to either, I highly recommend it.
Some librarians will even look up information for you over the phone.
Enjoy!
Cover photo by Stefan Steinbauer, Unsplash.com
Copyright 2019, Rev. S. Madison, torahisteaching.blog All Rights Reserved.
Students/Subscribers have permission to print and share this information provided you do not use any of the teachings for profit or monetary gain of any kind. Please do not alter the material in any way. These conditions are subject to the additional term of giving full credit to torahisteaching.blog or Rev. S. Madison. Just send me an email to advise of your use of this material: torahbythesea@gmail.com Thank You.