Streams of Water

See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it.  Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people."  What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?  What other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as the body of laws I am setting before you today?  (Deut. 4:5-8).

 

Blessed is the man

who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked

or stand in the way of sinners

or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law, he meditates day and night.

 

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers (Ps.1:1-3).

 

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I just love it when science catches up to the wisdom of old as given in the Bible.  The nation of Israel was given revelation of just laws and decrees not given to other nations.  They were supposed to be 'the head, and not the tail,' the leader of justice in the pagan world.  What God taught them was supposed to lead to the abundant life in a land flowing with milk and honey, where they could dwell safely without fear from their enemies on all side -- an absolutely unheard-of-achievement in a world ruled by absolute power and dominion, fear and conquest.

 

When Joshua took over leadership of the nation after Moses, the Lord said to him, Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it night and day, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful....for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go (Jos. 1:8-9).

 

As Moses instructed the people before his death, he told them that after they had settled in the land, they would want a king, like the nations around them:  When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, ....It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life....and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left.  Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over the kingdom in Israel (Deut. 17:18-20).

 

In today's paper, Dr. Oz writes about the new surge in meditative practice, "fueled by the incredible new information about how meditation helps make you smarter -- and wiser -- and keeps you that way.   (Is this not exactly what God had been telling His people for 4000 years now?)  Dr. Oz says that meditation will strengthen our focus and improve our health -- i.e., "his leaf does not wither," from Psalm 1.  He reports that when people meditate for 30 minutes a day for 8 weeks, they have "more gray matter in the areas of the brain that handle learning, memory, emotional regulation and the ability to take a clear look at what's going on."  These people can handle multi-tasking and pay more attention to incoming sensations -- but here's the most surprising finding to me:  Meditation makes genes that produce inflammation-triggering proteins less active.

 

Dr. Oz says that regular meditators in their 40s and 50s have areas in their cerebral cortex that are as thick as 20-to-30 year olds.  His conclusion:  Meditation keeps your reaction time, thinking, retention, and memory younger.  (Whatever he does prospers -- Ps.1.)

 

What other nation and people is so wise and understanding as [the one that listens to revelation and does the law of the Lord?]  If rulers had been instructed according to the words of Moses from the beginning, we would never have had kings and princes who considered themselves above the law and above the people; we would have had wisdom all the days of our lives, and we could have lived peacefully with one another.

 

Given this information, I wonder if it might be a good practice to copy out portions of Scripture for ourselves every day so that the words would not depart from our mouths.  Even better, what if we taught our children this practice from the beginning and did it with them?  "Whatever he does prospers" -- who would not desire this outcome promised by God Himself.?