01/06/12

Selah

Psalms 66:13-15
13 I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,
14 Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah


We read the word 'Selah' often in the book of Psalms. This word occurs 75 times in the Bible - 71 times in Psalms, 3 times in Habakkuk and once in 2 Kings. Everywhere it is given the same Strong number except for one place which is 2 Kings 14:7 (for those who do not understand Strong number - it is numbering system given by Strong to Hebrew and Greek words for us to know which Greek or Hebrew word was used in the scripture and thus with the help of Lexicon we can study the meaning of the word, even without having knowledge of the Hebrew or Greek languages - 'Strongs' is a book which can be got at Christian book shops and is very necessary for the 3rd stage of Bible word study, the first being commentaries and second cross-reference study).

Only in 2 King 14:7 Selah has the Strong number <05554> which holds the meaning 'the rock' and elsewhere the strong number <05542> (which is used mostly) has the root meaning 'to be valued'.

Many of the commentaries try to translate this word saying it means 'caution', which is not the case. In the Hebrew language there was no means of emphasis in the typography of the Hebrew characters. Therefore they would use the word Selah at the end of the sentence or paragraph to note that the previous sentence or paragraph is of importance.

The writer of Psalms 66 uses the word Selah for today's message telling us the set of scriptures 13-15 are of great importance. He says he goes to the temple and offers burnt offering of rams, bullocks and goats for the Lord to listen to his prayers. But later in verses 16, 17 & 18 he realizes it is not the burnt offering that caused the Lord to hear his prayers but the fear of the Lord, his praising Him and his hate towards sin.

We all think when we do God's work of proclaiming His Name to the world, that the Lord will hear our prayers. The Lord is telling us no doubt as Christians we are called to and is our duty to witness Him to the world, but more important is having the fear of the Lord in us, spending time worshiping Him and overcoming our sinful nature. Most Christians hate the last part and to avoid it they keep themselves totally busy offering their burnt offerings.

The Lord is not telling them to stop their burnt offering but telling them, they need also build their personal relationship with Him and it is that personal relationship that lets things like answering of prayers happens. The scriptures tell us people who walk in the way of the Lord will not even need to open their mouths to ask, they will only desire and the Lord will answer. We see this with Jesus; His best prayers where He did the greatest miracles were just simple thanking the Father (Psalms 21:1-6).

Jesus followed Psalms 37 which tells us to dedicate ourselves also to the Lord, not just dedicate Him to the world and then alone will the Lord give us the desires of our hearts.

Let us not be an eagle to the world and an ostrich to our personal relationship with the Lord. Let us concentrate on being overcomers as we witness the Lord to the world so that we do a better job of witnessing the Lord by our own life example. That we struggle not telling the world about Christ but let them know Christ in us.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, help us realize being Christian is not about being a newspaper but is about being a model, an example to the world. We are called to showcase the power of the Holy Spirit to the world like Jesus did. Lord, we call ourselves Christians - followers of Christ / little Christ, so help us work within ourselves as we go out to work in your Vineyard...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scriptures ]
Psalms 66:13-20
13 I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,
14 Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.
16 Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
17 I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
19 But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

Psalms 21:1-6
1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2 Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
3 For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.
5 His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.

Psalms 37:4 - Delight [be delicate] thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others. (All rights are with God)