Who is speaking in this verse? To whom is this verse addressed?
Can I apply it - To Israel? To the prophet? To the Anointed? To self?
אֲדֹנָי יְהֹוִה נָתַן לִי לְשֹׁון לִמּוּדִים
לָדַעַת לָעוּת אֶת־יָעֵף דָּבָר
יָעִיר בַּבֹּקֶר בַּבֹּקֶר
יָעִיר לִי אֹזֶן לִשְׁמֹעַ כַּלִּמּוּדִֽים
Lord יְהֹוִה has given me a tongue of those who are taught
so I may know how to assist the weary with a word
he wakens morning by morning
he wakens for me an ear to hear as those who are taught
I think this verse applies as a microcosm of faith for anyone who is in the role of servant. For me it redefines life away from the need to know the right things about God or about his servant and away from the need to be dominant and towards the simple action of being still and listening.
It is a curious beginning – Adonai YHWH – often translated Lord God – because they had to write something and Lord LORD would look strange.
I (prophet, servant, Israel, Christ, anyone who is anointed, you – me personally) am given a tongue – words to encourage fellow laborers – not copying someone else’s words but my very own – a creative language, not a descriptive or derived language.
To get the tongue I must have an ear – it is a slow process to open an ear. Hearing and obedience are so tightly tied together that the ear can be seen as the obedience of faith itself. Is the whole body an ear? Sometimes yes it is. Listening is the human’s hardest problem when one is concerned with being right or being strong rather than being servant. So the first commandment on Sabbath is Hear – O Israel…
1 comment:
I agree absolutely. This verse applies to every person of faith. We are all challenged to have "a tongue of those who are taught" so we "may know how to assist the weary with a word."
I also greatly appreciate your emphasis on listening. There is no true teaching that is not preceded by deep listening.
I would also want to emphasize in this verse that there is no true teaching without waking up. I think waking up was a strong theme in Jesus' teaching. We need to have our eyes open to reality if we are going to have "a tongue of those who are taught."
Post a Comment