Psalm 119:64

NASB	NLT	VOICE
64 The earth is full of Your goodness, Lord; Teach me Your statutes.	64 O Lord, your unfailing love fills the earth; teach me your decrees.	64 The earth is filled with Your unfailing love, O Eternal One; teach me to observe what You require

God’s Love is Everywhere

God’s loving devotion is found through his ever-present love and mercy. It reflects God’s commitment to His people, showing how faithful and kind He is to His creation. The idea of the earth being filled with this devotion shows that his love and mercy to us is shown through His creation. Different translations will have Lord capitalized – this shows the Hebrew name of “YHWH”, which is the personal and relational name God gave to Moses in Exodus 3:14.YHWH is a reminder of God’s personal relationship with and his role as the powerful ruler of the universe. The ask of the psalmist to have God teach his status shows a willingness to have this divine guidance and understand the law of God. In the New Testament, Jesus is seen as the fulfillment of the law, and we are encouraged to seek wisdom and understanding through the Holy Spirit. 

From Law to Love – A Journey Through Covenants

Christians, from what I’ve seen, still have a struggle of discerning between the laws from God and God’s law. Now, I know that sounds confusing, but they are two different things – at least to me. The laws from God are what I considered the Old Testament levitical laws. These 613 laws helped the Israelites become a new holy community, distinct from their former lives in Egypt. This encompassed everything under the son from purity laws, sacrificial laws, cleansings rituals, and more. God’s law, which we see more prominently in the New Testament, was shown through Jesus. Jesus actually came to fulfill the law, which simplified everything for us to two basics, but powerful laws: love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength (varies depending on the translation) and love your neighbors as you love yourself. Through these two commands that Jesus highlights, we can reflect how all the 613+ levitical laws are fulfilled. The Ten Commandments, for example, are broken down this way. Commands 1-4 reflect loving God and Commands 5-10 reflecting loving your neighbor. 

Learning Through the Spirit

Most people don’t fully comprehend that our relationship with God is based on the new covenant. When we read through the Bible, we are the Gentiles in that story. We are not a part of the original Jewish lineage (unless you are, which is pretty cool). We are people who were taught the Gospel story and were invited into a relationship with God. Through the acts of Jesus, we are a part of the family of God and receive our share of the eternal inheritance that God promises to his children. Learning about the Gospel message is learning from Jesus on how to live a godly life. It’s recognizing lessons that were taught from God’s chosen people in the Old Testament, understanding how they fit into God’s moral law in the New Testament, and seeing how we can apply it to our lives today. It’s not an easy process. However, we receive the Holy Spirit through our relationship with Christ and we can rely on the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to what God wants us/needs us to see. We can rely on the wisdom spoken through God’s word and trust by faith that the Holy Spirit will help us apply it to our lives in whatever way necessary. God’s word is alive and well in our world today, and our community shows us that. It’s up to us to put that word into action.

Reflection Questions:

1. What is one part of God’s law that you’ve struggled to comprehend?
2. How does reframing the laws through Jesus’ two greatest commands change your perspective?
3. In what ways have you seen God’s love lately?

Call to Action

Reflect on the world around you. Let each moment remind you that God’s love fills the earth. Ask the Spirit how you can live out God’s law through love. 

Next slice of manna: Manna for the Mind #266