Psalm 119:34

Psalm 119:34

Understanding and obedience

The emphasis in these verses is not so much on the nature and content of God’s laws but on the writer’s response to them. He has already assured us, and the Lord, that He holds His Words in very high esteem. He recognises their significance. He understands their value and purpose. He sees in them the handiwork of God and treasures their content. But he also recognises his own inadequacies and inabilities. How he longs for understanding, it’s not enough to just know these laws and commands, he wants to understand their deepest meaning and why it is that the greatest Being in the universe should offer such instructions to us humans. It is true, if we understand the thinking behind the instructions that we are given, we are more likely to obey those instructions. When dealing with God, we know that His reasoning is beyond challenge, it is always for our best, but we don’t want to be robots, we need to understand His ways so that we can see the cause and the outcome of following His directions. When that happens, we can seek to obey the law of God with all our hearts. 

As children we were all instructed and commanded by our parents; in the early years all that was required is that we should obey. As our intellects and minds grew in understanding we started to question the rules, to even rebel at times, because we reasoned that we knew better! With maturity came understanding and we saw what we thought were petty obligations, were actually for our good, mum and dad were trying to protect us and to guide us in the right paths. Our heavenly Father is no different!

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