Mount Gerizim or Mount Ebal

Psalm 119: 17-24 Gimel ג 17 Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.19 I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.20 My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.22 Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.23 Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.24 Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors.

The Psalm for this week deals with an uncomfortable truth in our covenant with God; that it is those who are called, that receive His word and understand it. Beyond humbling ourselves to ask for His guidance, and then, obeying the guidance He imparts, we have no control. We cannot take credit for being called to receive the Gospel, we can only respond in gratitude for receiving it.

In Mathew 13 we see Jesus explaining this truth:

10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

In short, Jesus explains in the above passage that the blessing of understanding is God’s to give or withhold. And the people whom He blesses cannot take credit for it in themselves, but it is a gift of God to receive it. The parable of the Sower and the Seed, the very parable that prompts this discussion between Jesus and His disciples, provides further illumination on this discussion, and I highly encourage you to read this in your own time this week.

It is important to note that God had a purpose for why He withheld understanding from the people He is referring to in the passage, and we can understand this better in connect with the reference to Issiah provided to us by Jesus. The prophecy Jesus is referencing is in Isaiah 6. In Isaiah chapter 6, Issiah is experiencing a great cleansing from God. He is forced to recognize His own imperfection and failures. We witness Issiah experiencing a life changing moment of humility, not unlike the reflections we have considered in both the Aleph and Bet devotionals. On the other side of this awakening to His own condition, God commissions Him to express a message to Isreal. That, as a result of their continual defiance and idolatry, despite God’s patient and faithful longsuffering with them, He will now turn them over to their own desire to be deaf and blind. Yet, the ultimate goal of God is not turning His back on them, but rather allowing them to, as we might say, “learn the hard way.” He decides to give them what they have proven to want, and that was a life void of God.

“Make the hearts of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes, an hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and convert and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:10)

However, in the end, the result of Him growing silent over them, will be a generation that rises up and returns to Him in purity of heart and love for him; a “holy seed” that will spring forth from the desolation.

The letter Gimel is known in Jewish culture to represent a generous benefactor running towards those who are poor with help. However, it also represents human free will to do evil or good. To receive the help or to reject it. In our scripture references this week, we can observe just that. God is running after us, however we will reap what we sow; in either humility or pride, we will be rewarded or punished.

The Psalm for this week perfectly encapsulates this message. God deals bountifully with us by opening out eyes and ears, by allowing us to understand and receive His word. It isn’t just about how He protects us, or how He provides for us; before all of these things, He gives us clarity and an ability to understand Him and commune with Him. Without His invitation we cannot and will not ever be able to reach Him. He initiates the invitation; it is on us how we chose to response to it.

10The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Rev 4:10-11)

In the book of revelation the elders cast their crowns at Jesus’ feet because they are fully aware they have no credit in and of themselves for the crowns they received upon judgement, all that is good in them is due to what was given to them in generosity first. is We give God all the Glory, because the foundation of everything we have done or will do for Him is only possible by Him, through Him, and because of Him. Can you surrender that glory to Him? The psalmist illustrates this. They give God the credit for opening their eyes, for allowing them to behold wonderful things. They beg God to not hide His commandments (i.e. voice) and understanding from them. They are desperate for God to the point of breaking, because they are aware of their desolation without Him.

A shift comes after this moment in the Psalm. Perhaps it is what spurs the psalmist to express their desperation. They shift their attention to the confrontation between the godly and the wicked. The demonic witnessed within people surrounding us, as well as with what we wrestle against in our own minds and selves. The battle that brings us up to the choice to do evil or good. Our mount Gerizim or mount Ebal moment. (Joshua 8:30-35)

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“See I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil.” (Deut. 30:15)

The psalmist has a weapon for this battle. To remains intentionally focused on God’s word. To remind themselves that the proud are cursed and led astray, and asks God to remove the reproach and contempt from them. You can interpret this request in two ways, that they are asking God to remove wicked people from around them, or that they are asking God to remove wickedness from inside of them. I believe the context is the latter. The psalmist describes the “ Princes” that sit and speak against them. A reference to the demonic forces that come against God’s voice in our lives. The psalmist’s solution is to meditate on God’s “statues”. What are God’s statutes? They are His orders, the tasks He gives us, the directions He asks us to take and follow.

Lastly, the psalmist explains that they will delight in the testimonies of God. The things they have observed God do in the world around them, the blessings that follow those that abide in the Lord, the workings of God in their own life. The combination of following God and meditating on the rewards for doing so is an impenetrable armor against the voice of the enemy. The psalmist uses this as an anchor of truth within themselves. It is in this that will silence the waves and noise of the enemy that comes against us. The fears they throw at us, the temptations that seek to pull us from Him. The answer is to discipline the mind to focus on His voice and His goodness through the noise.