Verse of the Day (November 19, 2019)

Verse of the Day (November 19, 2019) #BMSeminary – Blessed. Hebrew ʾašrê; often translated “happy” or “fortunate.” It refers to how true happiness comes to those who refuse to identify with the way of the wicked but who instead are rooted in God’s word. (For the other main Hebrew word for blessing, see note on 3:8.) walk in step . . . stand . . . sit. These verbs of bodily motion are metaphors for the progressive internal attitudes and external behaviors of God’s enemies. The progression moves from casual identification (“walk in step”) to complete association (“sit”). The single righteous individual of vv. 1-3 contrasts with the many wicked ones in v. 1; that is, the righteous person is to stand out and away from the crowd. The key to the psalm: success in life depends on saturation in God’s word. delight. The righteous person takes joy or pleasure in God’s word because of the inherently valuable qualities in it; this word elsewhere speaks of a person’s delight in other valuable objects, such as gold, a secure dwelling place, or even a man’s delight in a woman. law of the Lord. Some take this to refer to the law of Moses given in Deuteronomy, others to the larger body of Mosaic laws in Exodus to Deuteronomy, and still others to the entire Pentateuch. meditates. Here, one who delights in God’s law “meditates” on it day and night. Such an attitude is also at the heart of what the ideal Israelite king should display (Deut 17:18-20) as well as the key to Joshua’s leadership (Josh 1:7-8). The underlying idea is something audible. In the ancient world, reading was done aloud, so to “meditate” meant to read aloud and ponder. (Zondervan Study Bible)