Psalm 119:4

Psalm 119:4

Precepts to be obeyed

We hinted, at the beginning, that it will not always be possible to embrace the full meaning of each of the 8-9 words that are used to describe the regulations laid down by the Lord. For instance, it seems that the Hebrew word for precepts (Piqqudim) describes covenant rules, but the inference here is that they are rules that come from the One who oversees or governs us. In human terms, an overseer is a person with a supervisory role. In divine language, God watches over our activities, and He gives us guidelines in His Word to help us perform to our best. He is an encourager but also the One who says, “There is a better way. Do it my way and you will succeed. Do it your way and things will go wrong.” 

It is abundantly clear that disobeying our supervisor’s instructions can only end in trouble, trouble with Him and trouble for ourselves. For the Israelites, the long list of detailed regulations that governed activity in the Tabernacle / Temple was extremely onerous, they had enough trouble simply believing in God, especially when taunted by the gods of their pagan enemies. So, keeping the overseer’s code of conduct was always difficult. For ourselves, we could start with the 10 Commandments, given to help us to obey the One who watches over our daily journey. We should not dismiss these commands for they will help us to honour Him who loves and protects us, and they give clear and simple guidance about what does or does not please Him. These are precepts to be obeyed. 

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