The Way To Happiness


Photo by Mat Reding on Unsplash

We often find ourselves at crossroads during our life. Which way should we go? What is the way to happiness? 

Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm in the Bible and it has funny words starting each paragraph. This is because it is an acrostic poem where each of the stanza starts with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Granted those of us who are not fluent in Hebrew miss the structural impact of the flawless beauty of this Psalm. 

My goal in exploring Psalm 119 is to write very short pieces in which we make this Psalm and the Hebrew Alphabet a tool for praying and connecting with the Father. 

I thought this was interesting "The Hebrew word for "letter" is ot (אוֹת), which can also mean "sign" or "wonder." Each letter of the Aleph-Bet, then, may contain signs that point to wonderful truths about life.

According to midrash, the LORD God Himself taught the alphabet (along with the numerical values, mathematical relationships, etc. for the letters) to Adam ha-rishon, who then transmitted this knowledge to his sons, and they passed this to their sons, and so on, until it was taught to Jacob at the School of Shem in Salem (later renamed Jerusalem). Jacob taught the secrets of the alphabet to Joseph, who used it to decipher dreams, etc. "~ John J Parsons of Hebrew for Christians. 

The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Aleph א 
In the earliest Hebrew each letter was a picture of something. Aleph was a picture of an Ox. Aleph and words that begin with Aleph remind us of the beginnings of things. It took an ox to plow your field to make a crop begin. It took an ox to pull a cart from one place to another.  An Ox was strong and could break through things which reminds us of the mighty strength God used to create and sustain the universe. 

This first verse in the Aleph section of Psalm 119:1 tells us the way to happiness. It is like a big sign post pointing us in the right direction. The Message says it this way. "You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.”

Prayer: Father help me to understand your path for me. Help me to stay on course and be faithful to do and be all that you imagined when you first thought of me. Speak to me and teach me about this first letter Aleph give me isights that will empower me to accomplish your plans and purposes. 

 This is a fun little song that had oxen in it and we don't sing it at Christmas.  

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