Grow Guide | July 24, 2022
Grow In Faith, Scripture
Psalm 119:9-16
Connecting Questions
Imagine that you want to learn to do something that you have never done before, like playing the guitar, learning a new language, etc. Do you think you would be good at it right away? What types of things might you have to do in order to become good at that thing?
If you were to interview some average folks in our culture who were not involved in a church or not religious types and ask this question, “What is the Bible?” what answers do you think you might receive? Why?
Context
This week we begin a new worship series called “Grow In Faith.” We will spend the next seven weeks focusing on one faith practice per week: Reading scripture, prayer, fellowship, giving, service, worship, and sharing faith. This week we focus on reading scripture.
The main text is Psalm 119:9-16. There are two important things to keep in mind when reading this passage. First, it is important to note that a Psalm is a poem. Hebrew poetry is not built on rhyme. It is built on a structure called parallelism, where two lines play with each other. Sometimes the second line repeats the idea of the first line, sometimes it contrasts the idea of the first line. It may sound repetitive to our ears, but pay attention to the way the lines build on each other.
The second thing to keep in mind is that when the author speaks of God’s word it is referring specifically to the first five books of the Bible (Genesis-Deuteronomy), known to the Jewish people as the Torah. It is tempting for us as disciples of Jesus to immediately apply this passage to the sixty-six books that we call the Bible. Hold off on that impulse. Remember that the Torah contains the story of how God delivered the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt and gave them guidelines for how to live a holy and healthy life before they entered into the land of Canaan. The Psalmist wrote Psalm 119, centuries later, for the Jewish people who had just experienced the horror of exile in Babylon. Think of why it might be important for them to reflect on the importance of the Torah for daily living.
Look at the Book
Read Psalm 119:9-16. Read it again, slowly, pausing after each verse. Take a deep breath, let the previous verse sink in, then read the next verse.
What is the goal of the author expressed in verses 9-11?
Make a list of all the attitudes/emotions the author has about God’s Word.
Read verses 15-16 out loud again, slowly. What might this look like in every day life?
Taking it Home
The practice of meditating on the Torah reminded the Jewish reader of God’s story of salvation from Egypt and the way of living that leads to life. We are disciples of Jesus and our primary stories are found in the Gospels and the book of Acts. There we see and hear Jesus’ teachings and the way the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus’ first disciples to interact with their own context. Why would it be important for us to meditate on these stories today?
The term meditate can mean many different things. The Hebrew culture saw meditation as a focused concentration on something. What are ways that you could meditate on scripture this week?