Blessed is the one who follows the instructions of the Lord
Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8. March 4, 2023 - Saturday, 1st Week of Lent
Psalm 119 is the longest in the Bible and it presents God’s Law as the source of happiness, wisdom, and life (Ps. 119:1, 93, 98). The psalm has 22 stanzas, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet and there are eight lines per letter. This is the longest psalm in the Psalter and it contains one of the most quoted passages from the Bible: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps 119:105).
The psalm in our English translation begins with the statement that blessed are those who “walk in the law of the Lord”. For many of us the word “law” evokes rules and regulations that must be obeyed. But, the Hebrew word used here is “Torah”. The primary meaning of this word comes from a word to teach and in the Hebrew Bible refers to the first five books of the Bible ascribed to Moses as their author. Those books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. There are indeed filled with many rules and regulations but that is not their primary focus. They tell us the story of God who chooses a people for himself to bless them abundantly.
There is one more meaning associated with the Torah, namely to shoot. The image comes from archery. Among many books by Paul Coelho, there is one titled “the Archer”. It tells a story of a famous archer who retired and passes his wisdom and skillfulness to a little boy. At the beginning of the story, the archer is challenged to a contest by another man. To impress the famous master, the man chose a faraway target that was barely visible and shot perfectly into it. But, the master was not impressed. He takes him to the mountains enters a bridge that hangs over a deep ravine and stops in the middle of it. From that position, he perfectly shoots at a chosen target. But, when the other archer tried to do the same he missed the mark. The fear of standing on a swaying bridge paralysed him.
Blessed is the one who walks in the instruction of the Lord. Blessed is the one who knows the story of the Torah. Why? Because it is our story. We have been created by God and given a place in the garden in Eden. We have listened to the voice of the snake and lost the way to the tree of life. But the Lord has not abandoned us. He calls us to a relationship with him, he liberates us from our slavery, gives us instruction for the right living, and leads us to the Promised Land.
The story of the Torah also speaks about a mysterious offspring of the woman who would bruise the serpent's head, a mysterious priest and king Melchizedek, and a mysterious prophet like Moses. Thus, the Torah points us to Jesus Christ, the one who fulfils the Torah. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is our Torah and blessed is the one who walks in the way of Christ the Lord.