I have treasured Your word in my heart,
so I might not sin against You. Psalm 119:11, TLV
Sound Familiar? One of my favorite chapters in Psalms is the longest chapter in Psalms. It is unsure who wrote this particular book of the Bible. Most believe it was David, but others believe it was Ezra. Whoever wrote this powerful and insightful psalm, I wonder if they knew the prophetic nature of this verse?
“Treasured Your word in my heart . . . ” for what reason? “So, I might not sin against You.” Sound familiar?
“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”
—it is a declaration of ADONAI [the LORD]—
“I will put My Torah [Law] within them.
Yes, I will write it on their heart.
I will be their God
and they will be My people.” Jeremiah 31:32, TLV [Emphasis mine]
Writing our Heavenly Father’s word — His Law — in our heart would be part of the New Covenant/New Testament (Jeremiah 31:30). Wow!
How about this:
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets! I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. Amen, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or serif shall ever pass away from the Torah until all things come to pass.” Matthew 5:17-18, TLV [Emphasis mine]
That’s Jesus talking there. So, He’s giving His listeners more insights into His Father’s word, which isn’t being abolished, but fulfilled all the way into His heart. See? He’s showing us HOW to engrave His Father’s word into our heart.
He then proceeds to give the “You’ve heard it saids.”
- Murder doesn’t have to be committed physically, it can be committed in the heart with just a cruel remark (Matthew 5:21-26).
- Adultery doesn’t have to be physically committed, it can be committed in our mind and heart just by looking at someone with lust (Matthew 5:27-30).
- Divorce isn’t just sending a wife away with a legal document just because a husband tires of his wife, it is not justified and the husband causes the wife to sin if she remarries (Matthew 5:31-32).
- Swearing an oath of commitment to ADONAI proclaiming our hope to fulfill it, and then not fulfilling it, is swearing falsely against God. He doesn’t need it. Just let our “yes” be yes, or “no” be a no (Matthew 5:33-37).
- Revenge with “an eye for an eye” or a “tooth or a tooth” is no longer acceptable. Yeshua has come to redeem. Our enemy one day could see the light and become our family. Our hearts must be opened to that possibility (Matthew 5:38-42).
- Loving our neighbor becomes more than those we care about. Our neighbor could be anyone, even an enemy (Matthew 5:43-48)
See the pattern?
What we read of the Law and Prophets they can now be more than words, they can become part of us. They can be written in our hearts so that our hearts change — be sanctified.
Simple concept? Yes. Easy to do? No.
It will begin with reading His word, regularly. Meditating on it. Studying it. Living it.
Something to think about, yes?