meditation

Hagah, To Meditate

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“But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.”

Psalm 1:2

Meditation has gotten a bad rap among some Christians, largely due to a connection with Eastern mysticism. This is really unfortunate for it has a critical place in the development of your discipleship. I believe it’s vital (and maybe even mandatory?)

Hagah is the Hebrew word for ‘meditation’ and it fascinates me.

It literally means to “moan, growl, utter, muse, or mutter.” Some have suggested that it contains the idea of ‘rumination,’ like a cow who chews a cud. The grass goes in, and it’s regurgitated several times, extracting every bit of nutrients and vitamins.

Hagah, or to meditate is the way we assimilate God’s Word into our lives. It’s critical that we do this in our walk as disciples that belong to Jesus.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate [hagah] on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Joshua 1:8, ESV

It’s an interesting command isn’t it? Joshua’s ministry is to lead God’s people and requires his deep connection to God’s promises. He needs to hagah God’s words, to purposefully think about them over and over and over.

It’s interesting to me that when Joshua meditates and carefully responds to the Word then he will receive success in his life and ministry. The word ‘success’ means “wisdom, comprehension, insight with prosperity.” I need that desperately.

And if Joshua needed to do this, might not we?

Start small and simple. There are over 8,000 promises in the Bible–pick one and ruminate on it. Hagah on the Word and try to extract the spiritual nutrients that it contains. You will grow, bless others, and walk in victory, defeating your enemy.

“The amount of time we spend with Jesus – meditating on His Word and His majesty, seeking His face – establishes our fruitfulness in the kingdom.”

    Charles Stanley

Bryan Lowe

alaskabibleteacher.com

Walking With Him in The Garden

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“When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.”

Genesis 3:8

I honestly have never had the wonderful experience of strolling a lush garden with my Father. At least not totally. But when I’m engaging the Word, pressing in to comprehend a passage, it’s as if I’m truly walking in His orchard with Jesus.

But there is something more to this.

This word “pardes” is also an acronym. The rabbis taught that there are four levels of understanding as we peer into a passage.

  • P’shat–the surface or literal meaning of a verse or passage.
  • Remez– the symbolic or applied reason of the Word. How it connects with my daily life.
  • Drash–how it fits into other parts of the Bible, forming a purposeful teaching.
  • Sod–a hidden meaning that resides “underneath” the verse. This seems when the Holy Spirit gets really involved in the way I live. (Some would say “mystical.)

Now I’m not sure that every passage reaches the “sod” level. (Maybe we’re not really aware?)

When we truly study God’s Word it’s as we walk in the garden. He reveals Himself to us. The Genesis story shows us where we can find Him. The important thing I suppose is trying to hide from God’s presence. We can’t.

We must come to our Father, and learn to walk with Him. The Bible is the best way to fellowship with Him.

“Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

Genesis 3:9

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Ponder the Word

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“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

Psalm 1:2

In Psalm 1:2 the Hebrew word for meditation is hagah. In this Psalm we have a contrast between the blessed and the “not-so-blessed,” and it commands that as Jesus’ followers that we process the reality of this to become blessed by our Father.

In Psalm 1:1 the word blessed is used, and actually just in the book is Psalms alone blessed is used 51 times. The word has a very simple and concise meaning: “to be happy.” I really don’t think we can minimize how important it is to be happy.

In 1:2 we read hagah or meditate. That Hebrew word is a little bit more complicated and it seems more nuanced than “blessed.”

Hagah, or meditate means:

  • to chew a cud like a cow
  • to growl like a lion who is eating an antelope
  • to moan or groan
  • to talk to oneself, or mutter or whisper
  • finally, it can mean to muse or imagine

Yeah, it’s an interesting word and I suppose all of these meanings are to be factored into meditation [hagah]. It seems that these five definitions shape the different meanings that go into our understanding.

Using the above definitions, this is how it might look:

  1. sometimes I regurgitate the word like a cow chewing its cud
  2. at times I attack it like a lion
  3. I moan and groan as I wrestle with it, seeking for a handhold
  4. thinking about the passage I talk to myself about its meaning
  5. I imagine being there, sometimes it’s like I’m a “fly-on-the-wall”

When we come to God’s words, the Bible, we are required to assimilate all that the Holy Spirit graciously gives. When He gives us something from the Word we must apply it to ourselves. You can do this through any of the 5 definitions I’ve given.

The Holy Spirit is the One who ignites His Word into our hearts.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Joshua 1:8, ESV

alaskabibleteacher.com

Braided Up With God Himself

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“Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.”

Isaiah 40:31

The particular word “wait” is a force to be reckoned with. It’s not used passively in the Scriptures. It does not mean to be apathetic or lazy. Sometimes we wait in line at the grocery store, or maybe we’re waiting for a phone call. We regularly wait all the time, we don’t even realize it.

The Hebrew word for ‘wait’ is special. It’s qāvâ. It means, ‘to bind together by twisting.’

It will sometimes mean to work like a fisherman who repairs his nets to get them ready for tomorrow’s task.

(There are always holes to mend after a long night’s work.)

When I truly wait on God, I realize that I’m actually repairing myself for His heart and for His work.

  • Seeing His face
  • Hearing His voice
  • Keeping pace with Him, whether He moves or doesn’t

It’s a fascinating way of describing something, isn’t it? Sometimes, when we think of waiting only in the context of the English language, it can become a frustrating delay. This often causes us to miss out on the true meaning of ‘wait’.

I strongly believe that the Holy Spirit wants us to understand this. Sadly, we are often held back by our own definitions, rather than embracing the definitions found in God’s Word.

“The LORD is good to those who WAIT for him,
to the soul who seeks him.”

Psalm 27:14

For those of us who are sick – in body or mind – being told to “wait on the Lord” can be difficult to accept. It’s common for us to feel frustrated with this because we don’t fully grasp the true meaning of ‘waiting.’ We get close to understanding it, but we never quite reach that simple word.

“WAIT for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
WAIT for the LORD!”

Psalm 27:14

He is now the strong cord I am braided into. (Perhaps this is how He imparts strength to His people?) We need this, and the Lord is quite eager to lead us into this new kind of intimacy.

“The LORD is good to those who WAIT for him,
to the soul who seeks him.”

Lamentations 3:25

The promise in Isaiah 40:31 talks about getting new strength, like an eagle’s wings, a holy energy. This verse is important for us, we need this kind of strength right now. I just want to inspire you during your prayer time to become consciously and purposefully connected to the Lord.

It’s only then can we can put our nets back together again.

“Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given.”

    G. Campbell Morgan

alaskabibleteacher.com