Vav -- Advent Blog Day 6 -- Psalm 119:41-48

The sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the letter "Vav".  You may also find it pronounced as "Waw" depending on which Hebrew grammar you look at, but the most recent grammars pronounce this letter as having a "V" sound.  The letter Vav represents the Hebrew word "and" and is attached to words as a prefix to introduce a sentence, thought, etc.  Vav is also a word that is used once in the book of Exodus to denote a hook, peg, or pin of some kind for which to hang various things in the tabernacle (Exodus 26:32, 37).  So we may think of this letter as a hook specifically for hanging things in service to the Lord.  The text reads as follows:
        
         May Your steadfast love reach me, O LORD, Your deliverance, as You have promised.
         I shall have an answer for those who taunt me, for I have put my trust in Your word.
         Do not utterly take the truth away from my mouth, for I have put my hope in Your rules.
         I will always obey Your teaching, forever and ever.
         I will walk about at ease, for I have turned to Your precepts.
         I will speak of Your decrees, and not be ashamed in the presence of kings.
         I will delight in Your commandments, which I love.
         I reach out for Your commandments, which I love; I study Your laws.

     Each line of the Hebrew text begins with the use of Vav meaning "and": and let your love reach me, and I shall have an answer, and do not take the truth from my mouth, etc.  I think the necessary thing to do is to look at the preceding verse for this stanza and see what the fuss is all about, so-to-speak!  Verse 40 reads, "See, I have longed for Your precepts, by Your righteousness preserve me."  One way to think about this stanza might be to look at it in terms of asking a question: "What will longing after God's precepts and being preserved in God's righteousness do for me?".  In order to answer this question put the word "and" in front of each verse in this stanza and you will have your answer.  The startling truth is there is incalculable value in longing for God's Word and His righteousness.  Jesus Himself said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." (Matthew 5:6 ESV).  I would admit to purchasing a large amount of musical equipment and never finding what I was looking for; in actuality, I am still on the hunt if I was truly honest with you.  Now think about what it is in your own life that you are after and then realize: the Bible says that NOTHING will ever satisfy us except God's Word and Jesus Christ (see the conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4)!  The astounding thing is, the only thing that can satisfy you REALLY WILL satisfy you in a big way!  This is a truth you can hang your life on!
     I really like verse 45: "I will walk about at ease, for I have turned to Your precepts!"  Wow!  There is another truth one can hang their life on.  It reminds me of Jesus saying, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work" (John 4:34) and also "The Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees His Father doing.  For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise" (John 5:19).  How often do we truly walk about at ease?  90% of the time?  50% of the time?  2%?  The Bible says that we will be able to carry on our life journey with 100% ease (mentally and spiritually speaking) if we completely turn to God's Word and make it the sum total of who we are.  That is a pretty amazing statement indeed and something I desperately need!
     My last thought involves the final verse of this stanza: "I reach out for Your commandments, which I love; I study Your laws."  The Holy Spirit reminded me this morning when I read this verse that this verse is illustrating a physical position of worship.  But look at the direct object of our worship in this verse: it is the Word of God!  Another Wow!  I have never seen another statement like this in the Bible.  The Bible says that the ideal frame of mind is that in which we clamor for with outstretched arms trying desperately to catch a grasp of God's commandments--which we are to ideally love (nay, we are commanded to!).  I have seen footage of people trying to catch just a touch of a rock star, a car, a celebrity, a politician, and on and on.  How many of us are like that for God's Word?  See what Paul had to say in 2 Corinthians 5:13: "for if we are beside ourselves it is for God; if we are in our right mind it is for you." (ESV)  Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to develop within us a longing for the Word of God like this idealized picture!  Let us hang our lives on the Word of God to this extent and embrace the "ands" of hungering after God's Word and His righteousness.

Here is a song to accompany this entry. Enjoy!

Jewish Publication Society, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1985), Ps 119:40–48.