Law

“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” Joshua 1:8

Law – Don’t be discouraged by a verse this long.  In the next few days you will discover some inspiring truths here.  A few extra words make a big difference.  The first thing we notice about this verse is that the “law” is not to depart from our mouths.  Doesn’t that seem a bit odd to you?  It can only mean one thing – this law was to be memorized and repeated, not written and stored away.  This law was designed to become a part of the way you spoke.

The Hebrew word is torah.  This word is all about teaching and instruction.  But the Hebrew view of teaching and instruction is not the view that we have today.  We are a Greek based culture.  For us, teaching is about education and education is about information.  We accumulate knowledge because we believe, just as the Greeks believed, that the solution of life’s problems is found in applying information.  The Hebrew view is quite different.  The Hebrew view is about wisdom, not information.  God’s perspective is that knowledge simply piles up facts.  It does not solve problems.  What solves problems is obedience.  The torah is instruction in obedience.  It is not a collection of regulations.  It is directions for living.  It is the divine owner manual of life.  And that is why it covers so many different situations.  God wants us to know exactly how we should live.  He is not interested in what we know.  He is interested in what we do with what we know.

When Moses instructed God’s people, he gave them God’s way of behaving.  He told them, “Memorize and repeat until this way of thinking becomes your way of speaking.  When God’s torah is constantly on your lips, it will become your way of behaving.  Then your life will be aligned with the order of creation – and things will be good.”

The law brings blessings and curses.  If you make the tora your operations manual, life fits together.  If you decide that you don’t need God’s manual, you will soon discover that you are swimming against the current.  You can do it for a while, but in the end the river flows without you.

Speak the words of God.  Turn your information into wisdom and your wisdom into obedience.

Today:  When God prompts me with a small thought today, I will obey first.  If I want to negotiate or reconsider, I will do that after I obey.

(verse continued tomorrow)