Torah is LIGHT...
The last night of Chanukah!!! Tonight we spoke about self control. We also finished reading the book of Zechariah - a great book to read during this season. A reminder of what was prophesied about days still to come.
I chose to do my FB live video from Proverbs 6:23. It was a verse we read last night and I thought it fit well with self-control.
For the mitzvah is a lamp, Torah is light,
and reproofs that discipline are the way to life. (CJB)
First, let me explain what mitzvah means… It basically means commandment. The first line then is that the commandment is a lamp. Most of us would understand this to be true. Without commandments we would not have good direction for life. Without commandments and laws the world would have chaos.
The second line might also confuse some. Most verses use the word, “law” is light. ESV says, “the teaching a light.” NIV says, “this teaching is a light.”
Why use the word, “Torah?” Torah is what the people knew. Torah is the first five books of the Bible and that is what the people were taught, and what they read. They did not have the whole Bible like we know it today. The prophets came along later too. However, Torah contained the instructions that GOD Himself had given Moses for the Children of Israel to follow.
So, when the Proverbs were written, they did not know it as “law.” They did not call it “teaching.” It was Torah, and it meant the Words that God had given them to live by.
Torah was LIGHT because God was LIGHT.
Torah has so many teachings outside of the “laws.” Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Passover… So many lessons to be learned from the first five books of the Bible. It truly brings us light if we stop to think about ALL that God packed into them. It doesn’t mean we forget the rest of the Word, but we should not neglect these if we truly want to understand God’s teachings.
Focusing on the word, “light” we can see that once again this verse points us back to God. All week long this word has taken us to the fact that GOD is LIGHT. Everything we do should point people back to HIM.
The last line is where self control comes in. “Reproofs” is not something we like to hear or deal with. But, God’s reproof is true discipline that teaches us self control and without good self control life is not easy. If God’s Word brings correction and discipline to us, it truly does lead us to LIFE!
As Chanukah comes to a close this year, may we all be reminded that HIS LIGHT needs to shine through us and that LIGHT always comes from the FATHER and CREATOR of LIGHT. HE is the LAMP to our feet and LIGHT to our path.
Love and Blessings,
Rose
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