photo by Mike Powell - hand lands a punch in a boxing match
"Blessed be Yehovah, my Strength, who teaches my hands to war - Psalm 144:1"
It is ALWAYS good to "ask questions of the text".
Skip This Section if you are already good at several Bible Study Methods
Here is a simple way to "hear" the text say more, have the text of Scripture give you more information than when you first read it...
Play the role of "investigating journalist" - exploring the text to see what it is truly saying... and reporting on what you find!
Ask - "Who" is the text talking about? "What" is happening? "When" is this occurring? "Where" is this taking place? "Why" are these words being recorded, "Why" are the reported events unfolding? "How" are things being accomplished?
Take the story of John the Baptist preaching and ministering by the Jordan River and the Pharisees coming to his location to check out what is going on.
Just as brief examples -
"Who" is John the Baptist? He is the son of a priest and therefore is a priest of Israel himself, but it is notable he is not ministering in The Temple where ALL the other priests are doing their priestly duties.
"What" is happening? People are truly repenting and turning back to the God of Israel. Is that happening in the ministry of the other priests? Apparently not. That seems significant.
"When" is this occurring? Well before the ministry of Yeshua gets started. Its almost as if John is "preparing the way" for The Messiah's ministry. (Hmmm... isn't there Biblical prophecy about that? YES!)
"Where" is John doing his ministry? At the Jordan River. As the crow flies, it is 18 miles from The Temple to the Jordan River. Walking up and down the terraine (remember The Temple was on the Temple MOUNT?) and NONE of the roads from Jerusalem to the Jordan River were straight ... This means that for the priests to come and check out what John was doing in their ministries they had to walk TWENTY MILES ... ONE WAY. (Uhhh, at 3 miles an hour that is nearly 7 hours of walking!)
What's the last thing YOU walked 7 miles to see because you were curious?
"Why" were the priests THAT curious to put THAT much effort into checking out what John was up to? They must certainly have had a "bee in their bonnet" to walk 20 miles ONE WAY to see what he was up to.
Another avenue to understanding Scripture, now more available to everybody - not just people who graduated Bible College and Seminary, is Word Study... what did the words mean in the original Hebrew or Greek. Our translations are good, but many times the translations are concise (so as to be readable) and the word choice does not communicate the whole sense of what the word meant in Hebrew or Greek.
Today you can use free on-line tools such as BlueLetterBible.org or BibleHub.org to help you look into the full meaning of the words in the original Hebrew of Greek Text of Scripture.
Word Study is going to very much inform our meditation today, plus a little investigative journalisism.
Today's Meditation on Psalm 144:1- "Jehovah...teaches my hands to war"
So, let's ask ... WHO?
Who is training people's hands to war?
YEHOVAH! THE GREAT "I AM"! THE CREATOR AND LORD OF ALL! THE AUTHOR OF SCRIPTURE AND THE HOLY GOD THAT DECIDES WHAT SHOULD BE AND HOW IT SHOULD BE!
But isn't He also called the "God of All Peace."
Yes... but NOT here.
Apparently, at certain times, and certainly at HIS direction "there is a time for war." - Ecclesiastes 3:8
Let that sink in - the God who made everything and put the universe in perfect working order - HE says there are times that WAR is supposed to happen.
And not only that, HE provides to us the training on how to war!
For those times, and at HIS direction ... He must actually APPROVE of war.
Remember in Revelation 19:11 it says that Yeshua "wages war" but NOTE CAREFULLY - He "wages war IN RIGHTOUSENESS". ONLY at HIS direction, following HIS plan can war be conducted in a way that is right before Almighty God.
Now a couple Word Studies ...
The Hebrew word for "trains" has with it the idea of getting "accustomed" to something, being conditioned to operate in a certain way in a certain atmosphere.
Many of us are "accustomed" to doing work via our computer screens, sitting all day long. Get up at the end of the day and take a long walk up and down steep hills and your body says, "I'm not used to this!!! I'm accustomed to sitting and sitting and more sitting."
Not only does The God of Israel want us be CAPABLE and SKILLED to wage war (what most people would read/understand by the word "trained") ... He wants us to be practiced at being "on a war footing" or in a "waging war" mode ... accustomed to the fact there is battle that we often need to engage in.
Taking a closer look at the word "war" also gives some insight. The root of the Hebrew word used here for "war" means to "advance until you get near." The idea is that you can not engage in war if you are not close enough to grapple with the enemy.
That means when we battle in prayer, it can NOT simply be a list of requests ... our heart needs to be close in spirit with the heart and life that has the need for which we are praying. Are we not told to "weep with those who weep" - Romans 12:15 and "bear one anothers burdens, as so fulfill the law of The Messiah." - Galatians 6:2
His law, of course, is love.
WHY (to investigate further) does Paul talk of bearing burdens in verse 2 of Chapter 6 in Galatians? In verse 1 he says, "If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted."
A good "investigative" question to ask here - HOW MANY battles does Paul mention here? Two! One is the person "caught in transgression" - evil wants to pull that person away and down to someplace NOT good. We, if we are of a heart to "bear one another's burdens" (see the connection now?) will help that person in their battle to leave the wrong behind and turn to walk with Yeshua once again.
The second battle is among "you who are spiritual" - Paul warns that if we don't help that person from an attitude of humility, remembering how gently The Redeemer forgave us, then we are in danger of being damaged by the enemy ourself!!!
One final Scriptural tie-in from Yeshua - speaking to the meaning of "war" - being close enough to grapple with the enemy... Didn't Yeshua say "Be IN the world, but not OF it"? Yes - it's recorded in John 17:15-16. The enemy in this battle isn't the PEOPLE of the world, but the SPIRIT of the world. People are under the influence of the evil one who is called the "ruler of this world" - John 16:11 and elsewhere. The war is to see them set free.
That what "Yeshua" means in Hebrew - someone who breaks the chains off of a captive and brings them out of bondage into an open and pleasant place.
So here is the Scriptural thought to consider, turn over in your mind and heart and pray concerning -
Are you in WAR mode?
The Great I AM HIMSELF says that there is a war to be waged. He HIMSELF wants to train you to be both SKILLED at waging war in HIS righteousness, and ACCUSTOMED to engaging in battle. And He tells us that we need to advance toward where the battle is happening so we can be close enough to care and accomplish what HE wants through us.
Hallelujah! The Captain and Lord of the Hosts of Heaven promises that as we are obeying His instructions, all that He has said, He will "never leave us or forsake us." - Matthew 28:20
PRAY - YESHUA - YOU ROSE FROM THE DEAD CONQUORING SIN AND DEATH AND HELL. WHAT HAVE I TO FEAR AS YOU LEAD ME TO ENGAGE IN THIS WAR? TEACH ME HOW TO BE CLOSE ENOUGH TO GRAPPLE WITH THE ENEMY AND TEACH ME HOW - IN YOU! - TO WIN EACH OF THE BATTLES YOU ASSIGN TO ME.
PLEASE GIVE ME MORE OF YOUR HEART OF LOVE FOR LOST AND DAMAGED SOULS SO I HAVE A DESIRE TO ENGAGE IN THIS WAR. PLEASE HELP ME YIELD TO YOUR INSTRUCTIONS SO I BECOME SKILLED IN WAR THAT IS RIGHTEOUS IN YOUR EYES.
AND PLEASE HELP ME LET GO OF OTHER COMFORTS. MAY MY COMFORT BE ONLY IN YOU, AND IN YOU, HELP ME TO BE WILLING TO LIVE LIFE ON A "WAR FOOTING," EVENTUALLY BEING ACCUSTOMED TO REGULARLY PARTICIPATING IN THE BATTLE TO SEE YOUR LOVE RULE IN PEOPLE'S LIVES, YOUR KINGDOM COME AND YOUR WILL BE DONE IN PEOPLE'S SOULS.
PLEASE DO THIS IN ME AND IN ALL WHO FOLLOW YOU, YESHUA, SO THAT YOU ALONE WILL BE EXALTED AND ALL PEOPLE WILL BE DRAWN TO YOU. AMEN!
Steve Camp got it right 43 years ago when he wrote and released - RUN TO THE BATTLE
Video immediately below.
Lyrics below the video frame
Some people want to live
Within the sound of chapel bells
But I want to run a mission
A yard from the gates of hell
And with everyone you meet
I'll take them the gospel and share it well
And look around you as you hesitate
For another soul just fell, let's run to the battle
Run to the battle
Do you have your armor on?
We're in the middle of a raging war
We've been training for so long
Have we learned to use His sword?
We may not be ready but we serve a mighty Lord
And He's made us more than conquerors
So what are you waiting for? Let's run to the battle
We got to run, run to the battle
He has trampled down the enemy
And has given us the victory
When we pray we learn to see that His army
We are marching on our knees
There'll be times when we grow weak
Let's keep our faith alive
Let your faces shine with glory
For He's helped us to survive
And in that final hour when you feel like you're ready to die
Will you hear the trumpet sound
Will you hear the warrior cry, run to the battle
We got to run, run to the battle
Some people want to live
Within the sound of chapel bells
But I want to run a mission
A yard from the gates of hell
And with everyone you meet
I'll take them the gospel and share it well
And look around you as you hesitate
For another soul just fell, let's run to the battle
Run to the battle