Psalm 25:4
4 Shew [yada`] me thy ways, [derek] O LORD; [Yahovah] teach [lamad] me thy paths. ['orach]KJV-Interlinear
4 Make
me know Thy ways, O Lord; Teach me Thy paths. NASB
Show, ‘yada,’ means to make
known, to instruct, to acquaint with, to comprehend, to understand, to know.
Show me, is the cause of
learning as the result of a detailed study, allowing the believer to know
through a learning process. This knowing,
does not come to you automatically, does not come to you through osmosis.
You cannot learn anything
through a gradual process of unconscious absorption. You certainly cannot learn anything in the
spiritual life when you do not pursue a daily study as commanded by God. So why would anyone be surprised when they
reach the end of their life and discover their spiritual failure.
Thou good and faithful servant,
does not apply to people who are indifferent to Gods mandates for studying and
learning doctrine.
Consequently when people make
comments on studies, and have not read the studies, is it a wonder that their
comments are way out in left field or completely disconnected from the subject.
But then that is the sad spiritual
state that exists today. Too many people
simply presume that they know all there is to know. Too many people never get beyond the mothers
milk of the salvation concept, and into the meat and potatoes of growing up.
It is too easy to quote
scripture, to believe that your sincerity is enough, to float along with an
emotional sensation and never really figure out that you are going nowhere.
Show me, teach me. Teach me, ‘lamad,’ means to instruct by means
of expert and skillful methods.
So, when you pursue a
daily study by means of instruction, then God causes you to come to know, to
understand, to increase within your spiritual life, by means of that
method. Not from sitting on the porch,
in front of the living room television, while gossiping on the phone, while
texting or posting online. Those methods
are not instruction, are not means of causing knowledge.
Paths, ‘orach,’ is a
reference to Gods methods, Gods plan, Gods methods, how God does things,
orientation to life, orientation to God, orientation to people, orientation to
self.
These things and more,
are learned by means of receiving instruction.
And if you are not
learning by instruction, then you are not learning.
There is no such thing as
instant knowledge. No such thing as
being self-made. No such thing as figuring
it all out without some form of academic instruction, research, comparison,
categorization, or an organized approach to learning.
No approach, is not an
approach.
If you are not learning
as Gods mandates, then you are a fool. And a fool knows nothing.
