{Disclaimer: these are my rough teaching notes I use in my Mishkan Katan weekly broadcasts. There will be "typos". Proceed at your own risk, lol.You can find all my Mishkan Katan video teachings on my YouTube channel: genahood2818 . Look on the playlist called Messianic LAMB TV Network.}
Boker Tov! Today marks the 50th teaching in our Psalms series. Wow! I knew when we embarked on this Psalms journey together that it would be an ambitious endeavor. We will dive into Psalm 111 in a few moments, if you would like to go ahead and turn there.
But first, a housekeeping matter. If you tuned in last week you knew that I mentioned the temporary shortening of my weekly broadcast from 60 minutes to 55. Well, it turns out that there has been no resolution to the streaming problem the LAMB platform has been having with live shows like mine. So, this shortening by five minutes looks like it is going to be permanent, rather than temporary. It’s just 5 minutes, not a huge deal, but I wanted you to be aware that Mishkan Katan is probably going to be a 55-minute broadcast, for the foreseeable future. I am just so very grateful to be able to teach here on LAMB at all! It’s a tremendous blessing in my life, and I hope that Mishkan Katan has been a blessing to you also. Today, as we study together, we will be looking at four psalms. That’s more than I usually teach in one broadcast, but the thing is that these are relatively short ones.
Let’s get started now, with Psalm 111.
I would venture to say that if you watch this program, particularly if you watch it weekly, that you are a serious student of the Bible. The sages say that this psalm is written to the “everyday believer”, who is largely untaught in how to understand the Scriptures. Many do not study the Word of God on their own time, say, outside of their weekly congregational meetings, because they are afraid that the subject matter is too difficult for them to understand. And, I get that it can be intimidating! I can also say with great confidence that there has never been a time in history where there have been more tools at the Bible student’s fingertips, as there are today. The internet has revolutionized Bible study. I am old enough to remember studying in the library at Bible college, with books piled in stacks on the library table. Today, though, several decades later….many of those same resources can be lined up as browser tabs on my computer’s browser. Looking at the latter part of that sentence I just wrote - - I could not have even accurately comprehended the meaning of those words when I was in college!
I received a text yesterday from my dear friend, Jaye Roth, whose husband is the eminent Andrew Gabriel Roth, world-renowned Aramaic scholar. Andrew has been accepted as a visiting scholar-in-residence at the Lanier Theological Library in Texas. They will be living there on site for the next 3 months, as he researches and writes his next big project. Please pray for them if you will. There are books at this library that can’t be found anywhere else. Recently, last Fall, one of the most acclaimed scholars on the Dead Sea Scrolls came to study at Lanier for a month. He lives in Israel. This gives you an idea what an incredible resource this library is and what an honor it is to be able to get to study in residence there. But, again, most resources for folks Ike you and me, the “everyday believer” are available now online.
Another argument put forward by believers in Yeshua HaMashiach as to why they do not spend time studying and meditating on God’s word is that they do not have the time. Now, if we are being honest, we know that there is a certain amount of baloney to that argument. There are very, very few adults who do not manage to find time for some “entertainment” in their day-to-day lives. Honestly, if we did not make time for some “down time”, we could certainly lose our mental health. But, my point is that if we can find time for recreational activities, such as TV, soduko, knitting, exercising, playing computer games, “doom scrolling” on social media, etc., then we can surely find a time between weekly congregational services to get into the Bible on our own.
Similarly, the Psalmist cuts through the malarkey arguments to remind God’s people that one of the sincerest forms of thanking Hashem for all His goodness is to study God’s word in order to discern His ways and his will.
Psalm 111 is not directly quoted in the New Testament. It’s most famous verse is the last verse, verse 10. Who wrote this psalm? There appears no superscription at the top. Therefore, we really do not know the author of this psalm of praise. This psalm is a song of praise from A to Z, you might say, or more accurately from aleph to yod, because each line of the psalm begins with a different Hebrew letter. The first line begins with an aleph, which is the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and the last line ends with yod, which is the 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
The first word in the psalm is a word that sounds very similar in both Hebrew and English. It is our English word “hallelujah”. In Hebrew the last syllable most often receives the greatest pronunciation emphasis. Hah-Leh-Loo-YAH! Literally, it means “Praise YAH!” It is both a command and an exclamation. “Yah” is, of course, the shortened form of the Tetragrammaton, which many modern-day Jews and followers of Yeshua who keep Torah pronounce as Hashem (Hebrew for The Name). Hashem refers to the most sacred name of God, Yahweh, the name deemed too sacred to pronounce on a regular basis or to treat lightly.
For years, there has been much debate as to whether this exclamation should be one Hebrew word, Hallelujah, or two. Hallelu YAH! The thinking is that if it is one word, then the entire word has an elevated level of sanctity, because it contains God’s most personal, sacred name. If one word, it cannot be separated onto two different lines in the Torah scroll, as there are no hyphenated words in the scrolls of Scripture. If two separate words, then only the sacred Name is sacred, and the two words of the exclamation can be written on two separate lines. Ok, I’ve nerded out on you guys. Let me course-correct here, to keep your eyes from glazing over!
The Talmud points out that, throughout the book of Psalms, there are 10 different terms used to express praise for Hashem. Some of these are:
Tehillah
Shir
Mizmor
NeeGOON
NeeTSOOakh
But, HalleluYAH is the most potent of these terms of praise, because it is composed of both the most personal, divine name, the most relational divine name for Hashem, which is also paired with a term of praise.
Allright, let’s read this psalm together. I will be using the Complete Jewish Bible translation.
111 Halleluyah!
I will wholeheartedly give thanks to Adonai
in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
2 The deeds of Adonai are great,
greatly desired by all who enjoy them.
3 His work is full of majesty and splendor,
and his righteousness continues forever.
4 He has gained renown for his wonders.
Adonai is merciful and compassionate.
5 He gives food to those who fear him.
He remembers his covenant forever.
6 He shows his people how powerfully he works
by giving them the nations as their heritage.
7 The works of his hands are truth and justice;
all his precepts can be trusted.
8 They have been established forever and ever,
to be carried out truly and honestly.
9 He sent redemption to his people
and decreed that his covenant should last forever.
His name is holy and fearsome —
10 the first and foremost point of wisdom is the fear of Adonai;
all those living by it gain good common sense.
His praise stands forever.
Over the days I was working on this lesson, I woke up one morning and thought about how this little psalm would be a good one to memorize. It covers so much theological ground. I love especially the last verse in this translation. Want to be a person who has “good sense”? Then have reverence for, worship the Lord. This will bring you wisdom, from following His precepts. You will then gain good common sense and be a successful human being. His praise will endure forever, and we should praise Him in all things with our whole hearts, not with divided loyalties. Awesome!
Let’s move on to Psalm 112, which continues on with the theme of how the way to gain wisdom is to reverence and worship the Lord. In the Midrash (Kohelet Rabbah), the sages tell of how important King Solomon believed the fear of God to be. So important that he concluded two of his books of Scripture with admonitions to fear God. Proverbs 31:21 ends the book of Proverbs thusly: “a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” Similarly, Ecclesiastes 12:13 ends that book like this: “”fear God and keep His commandments, for that is the whole duty of man.” Unlike Psalm 111, Psalm 112 is not a psalm of praise; rather, it describes the person who fears the Lord appropriately.
Like Psalm 111, Psalm 112 begins each line of the poem with a sequence from the Aleph-Beit, the Hebrew Alphabet. Also, like Psalm 111, it starts with a HalleluYAH! Here is verse 1: (CJB)
112 Halleluyah!
How happy is anyone who fears Adonai,
who greatly delights in his mitzvot.
In verse 1, the psalmist uses the most personal, most relational name for God, the Tetragrammaton. If you have been studying with me very long, you are well aware what that is. It’s the Yod-Hay-Vav-Hay name for God, which is usually translated Yahweh. Rabbi Eliezer Rokeach of Worms says there is a reason the God-name Elohim was not used. The name Elohim, in contrast to the intimate, relational name of Yahweh, indicates a God who dispenses strict justice. Because the more personal, relational name was used, this indicates that a righteous person’s “fear” of God does not come from fear of punishment, but instead from the realization that he or she is greatly loved by Father Yahweh. In return, in response to that love, the person loves God back and this causes him to greatly desire God’s commandments, to greatly delight in the doing of them. The righteous person’s greatest cause for concern is that his sins might create relational distance between himself or herself and Hashem, Father Yahweh, that is.
Verses 2 through 9 - - as we read them, listen for additional characteristics of a righteous person.
2 His descendants will be powerful on earth,
a blessed generation of upright people.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness stands forever.
4 To the upright he shines like a light in the dark,
merciful, compassionate and righteous.
5 Things go well with the person who is merciful and lends,
who conducts his affairs with fairness;
6 for he will never be moved.
The righteous will be remembered forever.
7 He will not be frightened by bad news;
he remains steady, trusting in Adonai.
8 His heart is set firm, he will not be afraid,
till finally he looks in triumph at his enemies.
9 He distributes freely, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness stands forever.
His power will be increased honorably.
To me personally, there is nothing that shows the Lord’s favor like being blessed by Him with godly offspring. Some other verses that attest to this are:
Isaiah 29:22-24
Isaiah 44:3-5
Isaiah 54:13
Isaiah 58:11-14
Isaiah 59:21
Isaiah 60:2; 65:23
Deut. 31:31
Proverbs 14:26
Jeremiah 32:17
In verse 3, some translations translate the word “righteousness” in the CJB as “charity”, because in the mind of the upright Jew, charity goes along with wealth. Performing charity with one’s wealth is expected. Similarly, in verse 5, how one does business is important. Fairness in business is the righteous thing to do. A godly businessman has mercy and is compassionate. People will remember how you treated them, especially when there is a power imbalance present. This is stated in verse 6. The ArtScroll translation says “an everlasting remembrance will the righteous man remain.” Verse 9 also talks about giving freely to the poor.
Both my father and his father were businessmen in our small community. I can remember so well how the church was filled with flowers at both of their funerals. At the time my grandfather died, I was only 12, but I was stunned by the number of floral arrangements given to the family in his memory. I had never seen so many flowers in all my young life! Not only was he a businessman, he was a friend to many. He visited the sick and the shut-ins on a regular basis. My father was both the local postmaster as well as running a heating, air and refrigeration business. If someone could not pay right away for his services, he would give them extra time. And, on many occasions, if the person was really down on their luck, he just did not charge his usual, customary fees.
Psalm 15 also speaks of the businessman who is ethical and fair. The last two verses of that psalm, verses 5 and 6, say “Who lends not his money at interest…Whoever does these shall forever not falter.” The Bible warns of lending money at interest rates that break people, rendering them never able to pay back what they have borrowed. This is called usury, a contemptible act.
What does this mean in verse 5, “to conduct his affairs with justice or fairness? The Talmud says that a man should always spend less than he can afford on his food and clothing. However, he should be sure his wife and children are fed and clothed in a dignified manner, because they are dependent on him for their sustenance, whereas the man is dependent on God alone. Before his wife and children should suffer lack, the man should. In many lesser cultures around the world, the man that leads the home is the proud peacock, who treats his wife and children as second-class citizens. That is not what the Bible instructs followers of the one, true God.
Jews and Messianics will often say of a righteous person who has died, “May his or her memory be forever a blessing.” That custom comes from verse 6 here, and is spoken of also in Proverbs 10:7.
Verses 7 and 8 point out that the one who fears Hashem and keeps His commandments stands firm during dark, hard times. Basically, when you fear God, you don’t have to fear other people or adverse circumstances. Whereas money, family and friends may fail you, the tzaddik knows “the One who holds tomorrow” and trusts in Him alone.
One more Torah point about charitable giving is hidden in verse 9. In that verse, you have two words side by side, which seem to be in opposition to each other. The first one to appear is pee-ZAHR, which means to “scatter wildly”, immediately followed by “naTAHN”, which means to give carefully. What is the psalmist trying to say? The Talmud, in Chullin 84b, interprets this admonition to mean that when giving to the poor, it is better to spread your generosity out over many and over time, in order to form the righteous character trait of being open-handed, because a small action, repeated often, forms a strong habit. By contrast, if a rich man gives a pauper 100 gold coins, that act alone does not make him a generous person.
Often in this country of America, cities have been named after prominent citizens, usually some man who was instrumental in getting the town started, and usually the person was prominent because he was a man of some wealth, at least compared to his fellow townspeople.
We now find ourselves at a line of demarcation in the psalms, similar to when we encountered the 11 psalms of Asaph, earlier. Our next psalm is Psalm 113. But, it is the first in a set of six psalms called “Hallel”, numbers 113 through 118. Then, we have the massive and magnificent Psalm 119, followed by what are called The Psalms of Ascent, psalms 120 through 134. I find all of these very exciting, and am looking forward to exploring them with you.
The word, Hallel, in Hebrew means “praise”. We see this in the Hebrew word, Hallelujah, which means, “you guys praise God!” It is an imperative command, which is why you may see an exclamation mark in your English translation after those words in verse 1 of psalm 113. These Hallel psalms recount essential events in Jewish History. Sometimes, the six Hallel psalms are called by the nickname “the Egyptian psalms”, because some of the events mentioned are associated with the Exodus from Egypt. This title also distinguishes them from Psalm 136, nicknamed The Great Hallel.
These psalms figure prominently as a set in Jewish liturgy. They are recited in their entirety on all the days of Sukkot, on Shemini Atzeret, on all the days of Hanukkah, on the first day of Passover (at the Seder and at the service the following morning), and on Shavuot. Parts of the Hallel psalms, the portion called the Half Hallel is recited on every Rosh Chodesh and on the remaining days of Passover (which I imagine is the Counting of the Omer is what is being referred to here). Some of you who are more scholarly than I can correct me if that is not right. The point is that this group of psalms is some of the most well-known in all of Jewry. Most observant Jews of Yeshua’s day and even through history to today, would have had them committed to memory.
Allright, on to psalm 113. Let’s start with verses 1 through 3.
113 Halleluyah!
Servants of Adonai, give praise!
Give praise to the name of Adonai!
2 Blessed be the name of Adonai
from this moment on and forever!
3 From sunrise until sunset
Adonai’s name is to be praised.
In Judaism the numerical value of the Hebrew letters is imbued with meaning. The word for praise, hallelu, has a numerical value of 71, if you add up the values of the letters. The commentators say that this alludes to the Egyptian exile because Jacob and his family numbered 70 people when they went to sojourn in Egypt. However, since God went with them, that number became 71. The Midrash Shocher Tov adds that in all the 26 generations that passed from Creation to the Exodus, no man every combined the word Hallelu with Yah, but that at the redemption of the Exodus, the words became used together. It is said that after the last plague, the people sang Hallel.
The authorship of the Hallel psalms is uncertain. Various rabbis have put forward various opinions. Some say Moses, some say Joshua, and others say that these psalms continued to grow through other significant events as the prophets added to them. This was done so that the people could recite Hallel on occasions of great danger and redemption. One example of this is the story of the prophetess Deborah and her assistant, Barak, upon their victory over the pagan king, Sisera. Although the basic framework for Hallel was established by the early patriarchs and heroes of the faith, David, the master psalmist, put these verses into their final form here in the book of Psalms.
Verse 3 is reminiscent of Malachi 1:11, where the author (probably the prophet Ezra) records Hashem speaking: “Because from the rising of the sun to its setting, my Name is great among the peoples.” In the Exodus, God’s mighty wonders amazed not only Egypt, but the entire known world at the time. The sages say that praise for Hashem was heard from pagans and idolaters from the furthest corners of the earth! One last aspect of this metaphor. The rising of the sun symbolizes good and easy times, while sunset symbolizes decline. We have all experienced both these in our lives, but the love of God for us remains constant. So, we bless His name in every situation.
Verses 4, 5 and 6 now.
4 Adonai is high above all nations,
his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like Adonai our God,
seated in the heights,
6 humbling himself to look
on heaven and on earth.
We have seen earlier, in Psalm 99, this theme of God being high above the nations. This illustrates the gap between the pagan nations and the purity and holiness of Hashem. The pagans tend to view their distorted concept of God’s character as Him being removed from what goes on on the Earth, aloof and remote. This is inaccurate, of course, and not the true meaning of verses 4 and 5. His glory cannot be grasped by any mere human, because it is beyond comprehension. Even the celestial legions cannot fully comprehend it. The Rabbis explain that while it is true that the true essence of Hashem, the Holy Presence, is concentrated in His throne room which is “above the heavens”, His Divine glory radiates throughout the whole earth. Furthermore, as verse 6 says, He “condescends” to us, by bending down low to see the earth. He involves Himself in the affairs of mankind.
Verses 7 and 8
7 He raises the poor from the dust,
lifts the needy from the rubbish heap,
8 in order to give him a place among princes,
among the princes of his people.
The general principle is that if you work hard you will get ahead. And, generally, that is true. But, some people just seem to have the special favor from the Lord in being financially successful. You may have heard it said “he has the Midas touch”, or some similar expression. We need to always give God the glory for how He blesses us, for the influence He gives us. It is all to His honor and glory, not to ours. He “gives grace to the humble”, as James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 say.
In relation to verse 7, there is an interesting tale in the Midrash about Sultan Suleiman, who ruled over Jerusalem in the mid-16th century. I recall on my first visit to Jerusalem, our Arab tour guide spoke of him with great pride….At any rate, this Muslim ruler sought to find the remnants of the Holy Temple. It had been nearly 1500 years since the Romans “left not one stone upon another”, as Yeshua prophesied. Suleiman charged the “archeologists” of his day to search all over the holy city to try and find it. No success. One day, one of the excavators noticed an old woman who was carrying a container of refuse and garbage, which she dumped deliberately in a certain spot. When he asked her about this behavior, she told him she was from Bethlehem. Now, you could walk from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. It’s less than five miles. But, still, the man asked her why on earth she would tote a container of human waste and other filth so far to get rid of it. She said that her religious leader claims that the spot where dumped is where the Temple of the Jews once stood and that it would be a holy, meritorious act to show contempt for the spot by defiling it with additional waste. The excavator relayed this info to Suleiman, who commanded that thousands of coins be scattered throughout the area. He then invited the people of the city to dig there to search for the coins. In so doing, the people cleared away tons of refuse until the Western Wall and other remnants of the Holy Temple complex were revealed. The Sultan then had the area thoroughly cleaned and deodorized to get rid of the foul stench.
If this legend is true, who could have come up with this except Hashem? He truly does lift from the trash heaps the destitute, according to His perfect plans. On to verse 9 - -
9 He causes the childless woman
to live at home happily as a mother of children.
Halleluyah!
Some of you watching know this about me, because I have mentioned it before. But, I did not become pregnant with my first child until I was 35 years old. There were times I was afraid I would not be able to conceive. From the time my husband and I were married, we did not try to prevent pregnancy. We were both getting on up in years! And, it took nine months for me to conceive.
This verse illustrates Hashem’s complete control over nature, including the conceptions by human women, as the human species has more trouble conceiving than just about any other member of the animal kingdom. I could elaborate on possible reasons for that, but won’t, other than to say that the greatest majority of women through efforts to control when they conceive have wrecked entire countries with now historically-low birth rates. At any rate, the Bible tells us of several women who were famously barren - - Sarah, Abraham’s wife, Rebecca, Leah, Rachel, Samson’s mother (Tzlalphonis, according to the Talmud’s Bava Basra 91a) and Hannah, mother of Samuel the prophet, Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist in the New Testament, to name a few.
Allright, we will finish up today with Psalm 114, which continues the theme of praising God, which was begun in the previous psalm. Psalm 114 begins by referencing the nation of Israel, who was lifted by Hashem from the rubbish heap of history, as they were enslaved in Egypt, to become His chosen people (as referenced in Exodus 19:6). When the Jews left Egypt, they displayed tremendous faith in Hashem, by obeying His command to leave in the middle of the night and to step foot into the waters of the Sea of Reeds, which then parted miraculously to allow them to cross over safely. The nation of Judah is referenced in the second and third verses, distinct and apart from the nation of Israel. This foretells that the kingdom would, not long after David’s lifetime, become divided. The reference to the sea turning and fleeing is to when the Jordan River parted as the nation was crossing over from the wilderness into the Promised Land.
It is said that the tribe of Judah distinguished itself at the Sea of Reeds. The head of the tribe was the ancestor of Boaz, the same Boaz in the story of Ruth. This man’s name was Nachshon ben Aminadav. It is said he was the first man to, by faith, put his feet into the water of the Sea of Reeds, and that his tribe then followed his example. The sages say that Hashem’s name was lifted up and made holy by Nachshon’s willingness to face martyrdom. If you will quickly look back at Ps. 68:27, you will see a reference to the small tribe of Benjamin. The sages say that this tribe tried to usurp Judah’s leadership by jumping into the sea first, but that the leadership of Judah threatened to stone them if they did so. Centuries later, the first king of Israel chosen by Hashem was from the tribe of Benjamin, King Saul, although he was pretty much a disappointment so that Hashem could prove a point. The real kingly line of the Jews runs through the tribe of Judah. Both Benjamin and Judah and the Levites made up the nation of Judah.
The commentators interpret verses 3-8 as further evidences of what happened when the Lord split the Sea of Reeds. Apparently, it was a cataclysm of nature so great that, not only did the Sea split, but the Jordan River ran backwards, mountains “skipped” and the earth trembled (references to severe earthquakes). It is said the entire world convulsed, both on that occasion and also at Sinai, when the Lord God made His fearsome “light show” and “sound show” on the top of that mountain.
There are several interpretations of verse 8. Some say it is a reference to how the Israelites were provided water in the wilderness wanderings, that is, through Miriam’s rock well. Others say that it refers to when God told Moses to strike the rock of Miriam so that water would flow out of it. (Exodus 17:6). Still others say it refers to how the Sea of Reeds was turned to flint under the feet of the Hebrew people, but when they and their livestock got thirsty while crossing over the sea, they merely had to strike the walls of water, which then gave up streams of refreshing water so that they could refresh themselves and their cattle.
Allright, let’s close by reading Psalm 114.
114 When Isra’el came out of Egypt,
the house of Ya‘akov from a people of foreign speech,
2 Y’hudah became [God’s] sanctuary,
Isra’el his domain.
3 The sea saw this and fled;
the Yarden turned back;
4 the mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like young sheep.
5 Why is it, sea, that you flee?
Why, Yarden, do you turn back?
6 Why, mountains, do you skip like rams;
and you hills like young sheep?
7 Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Ya‘akov,
8 who turned the rock into a pool of water,
flint into flowing spring.
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