This week, a friend of mine reminded me of a verse describing the woman of valor in Proverbs 31:
“Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come” (Proverbs 31:25, KJV).
I’ve been thinking about this verse ever since. When life is uncertain, when I don’t know what the future holds, and when I cannot control circumstances, my heart becomes anxious. My thoughts run. I wake up in the middle of the night.
Rejoice in the future? Rejoice even when the future might not be too rosy?
His Salvation Gives Joy
“…May all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
‘YHWH be exalted!'” (Psalm 40:16).
When I read the word “salvation” in the Scriptures, my first thought is of my salvation from sin. I am so glad that Jesus loves me, and I thank Him for saving my soul.
And while I know I should rejoice in my salvation, sometimes it doesn’t seem to make sense how that applies to mounting bills or unemployment. Yes, He saved me as a young girl… but does that mean He will solve the problems that are making me anxious today?
I find it curious that in the Psalms, the word “salvation” is often used in the context of enemies. Let’s look at the context of the verse above:
“Be pleased, O YHWH, to save me;
O YHWH, come quickly to help me.
May all who seek to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
May those who say to me, ‘Aha! Aha!’
be appalled at their own shame.
But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
‘YHWH be exalted!'” (Psalm 40:13-16).
Suffering is from sin, right? A good God is not the cause of the suffering in our world. Suffering exists because of our sin, I’m sure you’ll agree.
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
“When tempted [or tested], no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:12-17).
So what about the trial that comes to a righteous person? What evil did he do?
I’m sure David the Psalmist felt like that often.
“I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips,
as you know, O YHWH.
I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and salvation.
I do not conceal your love and your truth
from the great assembly.
Do not withhold your mercy from me, O YHWH;
may your love and your truth always protect me.
For troubles without number surround me…” (Psalm 40:8-12).
David wasn’t perfect, but he was characterized by righteousness for much of his life. When King Saul pursued him, what evil had he done?
Joseph probably felt the same way.
“Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt; so he made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace” (Acts 7:9-10).
Surely God rescued Joseph. He gave him “salvation.”
Surely God rescued David. He gave him “salvation.”
Sometimes bad things happen to me, and I wonder why. “Father,” I pray, “I did nothing wrong to deserve this! Why did you allow it?”
For instance, when my seventh child was born by emergency c-section, two different doctors stitched up the incision. Somehow, deep infection set into the area stitched by the second doctor, even though the first part healed well. Three years later, I still struggle with the remaining pain from this.
I start to wonder, “Did the second doctor wash her hands properly? Did the nursing staff take proper precautions? Since she was an intern, had she been properly trained? Should I sue?!”
“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’
‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life'” (John 9:1-3).
Yes, somewhere along the line, someone sinned. Death and destruction entered our world. But it wasn’t necessarily the blind man or his parents who sinned. It wasn’t necessarily the doctor or nurses who cared for me after surgery. It wasn’t necessarily David or Joseph.
We all bear the fruit of living in a sinful world — but the work of God can be displayed in our lives as a result!
“I waited patiently for YHWH;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in YHWH” (Psalm 40:1-3).
God is our salvation! Just as He sent His only begotten Son into the world, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, He reaches into our “mud and mire” and lifts us out.
It took decades for the mud and mire to turn into firm ground in David’s life. He wasn’t just rescued instantly — one day a fugitive and pow! the next day a king.
So that’s where we must “trust.” We must have “faith,” faith in a faithful God who does not “change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17) and who always keeps His promises.
This is where we quietly acknowledge that our circumstances are “God’s will” for our lives. We wait to see how the work of God will be displayed in our lives (John 9:3).
“I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8).
His Law Gives Joy
Whoa, hode everything!
How can His law give joy???
“Great peace have they who love your law,
and nothing can make them stumble” (Psalm 119:65).
There it is again! Nothing can make them stumble? Simply because they love His law?
“However, if you do not obey YHWH your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you… YHWH will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. YHWH will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. YHWH will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. YHWH will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed. YHWH will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth” (Deuteronomy 28:15, 20-25).
Stumbling… confusion… wasting… running in terror.
This is the opposite of the woman of valor who is clothed with strength and honor, who rejoices in time to come (Proverbs 31:25, KJV).
But what makes the difference?
Great peace have they who love your 
?
(Is this the picture you have in your mind, because it’s certainly what I’m thinking of!)
Actually, the word translated “law” in our Bibles is the Hebrew word torah (Strong’s #8451). It means “instruction” and refers to the first five books of the Bible, where we are instructed. Yes, those books include the ten commandments and plenty of rules. But they also include stories, filled with accounts of God’s salvation!
Our Father is a teacher, a good one at that!
It’s something like this: Great peace have they who love your
or
or
.
Our Father is lovingly reminding us to remember His instruction. He wants us to remember that He has delivered His own before — and He wants to deliver us, too!
“The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4).
From the amazing power He shows in His creation, to the amazing power of delivering His people from Egypt, He stands ready to be our savior!
“As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.”
Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance YHWH will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. YHWH will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:10, 13-14).
As we read true stories like these, stories that happened and are as real as my bank account, we are taught. Rather than running in terror from our enemies or fainting from exhaustion, we learn that all we have to do is stand still. Our Father loves us and will fight for us. He will deliver us. He will give us salvation.
The [torah, instruction] of YHWH is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of YHWH are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The precepts of YHWH are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of YHWH are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
The fear of YHWH is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of YHWH are sure
and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward….” (Psalm 19:1-4, 7-11).
Oh, we have so much to rejoice about! 🙂
Anne,
Thank you so much for sharing what you’ve been learning as you walk with YHVH. This post made me think of Job, he was tested/tried BECAUSE he was righteous – to be an example for others. Sometimes the struggles we have are not because we need correction or purifying, but because someone else watching our lives needs to see us remain faithful in the midst of trials. Our lives are a witness and testimony to those around us, and by being faithful to YHVH’s instructions we bring glory to Him.
Blessings,
Karen
Thanks again, Anne. Keep studying! Be open to whatever the Father is teaching you…you may be surprised at all you have to unlearn and relearn. 🙂
Anne, I appreciate your witness and teaching about the Christmas Tree.
I have a question or two. As we know, there are many laws in the Old Testament. And then there are teachings that suggest what we should and shouldn’t do to uphold many of those laws. Let’s take the teachings that suggest what we are to wear, ( the tassles or fringe that hangs from the garments we wear,) and how we are to wear our hair. Does your family follow those as well. Is there a list somewhere of the laws we no longer have to carry out, and the ones we do fulfill. And who makes those choices. As one who wants to be obedient to the Torah, and not just someone else’s pereception, can you show me where these differences between still current laws and outdated ones are clarified?
Michael
Michael,
I’ll give you my short answer (because we’re moving, and I won’t have the time for a long answer for a little while yet).
First, remember that all 12 tribes of Israel were dispersed throughout the world because of their idolatry (Deuteronomy 28-29). This started when the northern 10 tribes were taken away by Assyria, and it was finalized in 70 AD, when Titus conquered Jerusalem.
While some Israelites (mostly Jews, of the tribe of Judah) have begun to return to the land, most are still in dispersion. In addition, people like me who are Gentiles, are being “grafted in” (Romans 11, Ephesians 2-3) to Israel. This has been happening since the time of the Apostles.
So that’s a lot of people who don’t live in the physical land of Israel. There are some commands that we just are not able to keep. For instance, we aren’t allowed to stone rebellious sons, because the governments of our countries frown on such things. 🙂
Jeremiah 29 gave some instructions to the Jews who were in captivity in Babylon, and I think we can learn a lot by reading and applying those principles to our own lives, as we are “dispersed” and citizens of nations other than Israel. See also Romans 14 for how we are to act as citizens of these countries, and also the book of 1 Peter (note the audience Peter wrote to, in the first verse).
Here’s another thing to ponder. Even if we lived in the land of Israel, the temple has not yet been rebuilt. Ezekiel (beginning in chapter 40) tells us that the Temple will someday be rebuilt. But until it is, we cannot keep commands such as sacrifices. Read through Acts and note how the apostles still offered sacrifices, even many years after Christ’s death. This is because the Temple still stood. The writer of Hebrews makes it clear that sacrifices never took away sins, but they DID serve as reminders of sin (Hebrews 10:1-4), much like our observance of Passover reminds of us the Messiah (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). The book of Hebrews also tells us that the priesthood changed hands from the Levites to the Melchizadekian line, but that was implemented before Abraham, so it’s not a “change” to Torah like we think of change. Both are valid priesthoods, both are established in the Torah, and the Levitical priesthood will be reinstated when the Temple is rebuilt.
So can you see how these two points make a huge difference? In our family, we try to observe clean and unclean laws, for example, but if I touch a dead animal, I can clean up and even stay away from other people until sunset. However, for some of the unclean laws, I would need to bring a sacrifice to be thoroughly cleansed, much as Mary brought a sacrifice to the Temple when Jesus was 8 days old. I cannot obey this law, because there isn’t a Temple to take a sacrifice to.
This is a curse, because I cannot fully obey God. Because of the dispersion, promised because of disobedience (Deuteronomy 28-29), all mankind is under “the curse of the law,” or the punishment for their sin that was promised in the law. However, I also have faith in the promises of God to bring His people back to the land and to restore all things (Deuteronomy 30). At that time, full obedience will be possible, especially with the Spirit of God writing His laws on our hearts and enabling us to obey in His power (Ezekiel 11:16-20, Jer. 31:33-34).
Finally, some laws were made just for priests, some were just for men, some were just for foreigners. Obviously, as a woman, I can overlook those laws. However, I learn about them, because over and above, the Torah means “instruction.” All of it points to the Messiah, and all of it instructs me and teaches me wisdom (Psalm 119, Romans 15:4, 2 Timothy 3:15).
And this was the “short” answer. 🙂 I wrote this quickly, so please forgive me if I haven’t worded things clearly. I’ll work on a blog post about this in the future, where I can be careful and thorough.