Rabbi’s Reflections – Thursday, April 18, 2024
Shalom,
The Psalms
Psalm 5:9(8) – Part 7
Psalm 5:9 Lead me, Adonai, in Your righteousness, because of my enemies. Make Your path straight before me.
On the surface, this is a little hard to understand. Why should it make any difference to “my enemies” if Adonai leads me in His righteousness? First, it is important to understand that if the Lord is leading me in His righteousness and making His path straight (In Hebrew, “Yashar” which is euphemistic for “righteous.”), then I am standing with the Lord for truth and my enemies are His enemies.
Our responsibility is to stand as witnesses of God’s goodness. This is only possible as He leads us into His righteousness. One of Yeshua’s Hebrew names is “Yeshua HaMashiach Tzid’kaynu Adonai,” meaning, “Yeshua the Messiah, our Righteous Lord.” He is the righteousness of God.
The “leading” of the Lord has much to do with our ability to “Shema.” This means listening in obedience. John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. 28 I give them eternal life! They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. This is in sharp contrast to Yeshua’s enemies… John 10:26 But you don’t believe, because you are not My sheep.
BTW – What is righteousness? Is it whatever we say it is? Some people (especially secular humanists) believe it is. How do we know the difference between right and wrong? Not knowing the correct answer to that question is much of what is wrong with the world today. We have instruction from God to know right from wrong. His righteousness, especially as expressed in Scripture, is our objective standard. Period!
There are too many people with bad judgment. Psalm 19:10b The judgments of Adonai are true and altogether righteous. 11 They are more desirable than gold, yes, more than much pure gold! They are sweeter than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 12 Moreover by them Your servant is warned. In keeping them there is great reward.
Keep God’s righteous judgments and receive your “great reward.” In the process, may God’s enemies also come to a knowledge of the truth.
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
10 Nissan Thursday 18-Apr-24
Leviticus 14:54-15:15 Isaiah 38-39 Proverbs 19 Matthew 7 1 Peter 3