Psalm 119:31

Psalm 119:31

Do not let me be put to shame

The Hebrew word for statutes is “edut.” The tablets of the Law are referred to frequently in Exodus by the term, “edut.”  In Exodus 25:16 we are told that Yahweh commanded Moses to place the “edut” in the ark of the covenant, a box made primarily for this purpose. The ark travelled inside the tabernacle which is why this was called the “tent of the edut.” Many Hebrew words have more than one meaning and this one is no different, because “edut” can also mean witnesses. That’s why we sometimes read, in our English Bibles, of the Ark of the Testimony (or witnesses.) In other words, those stone tablets, carried so carefully by the appointed Levites, were a witness to God’s presence amongst His people and they were not only a testimony to Israel but also to the beings in the heavenly realms. Just as today, we bear witness to our Father when we carry our Bibles and are not ashamed to be seen holding them in public.

It's interesting that in this verse in Psalm 119, the writer states that he is holding fast to the statutes or “edut” of the Lord and he pleads that he might not be put to shame. The context is very different, but the implications are similar for us. We need to hold on to God’s truth and cling to His Word and as we do so to trust that we will not be ashamed. This plays out in a very practical way if we carry that Word in public, Christians who proudly cling to their Bibles in the presence of others may well suffer verbal taunts or, at the very least, suspicious looks. We should not be put to shame, we know that in our hands is the greatest book ever written and those who despise it, or us, do not have a clue who it is they are really holding in contempt! 

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