GOD’S “LOVERS”
Psalms 25:14 NKJV
[14] “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.”
Psalms 25:14 NLT
[14] “The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant.”
Psalms 25:14 NLT
[14] “The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant.”
Two Hebrew words in this statement…”sod”, meaning “secret” or “intimate”, and “yada” meaning “to know” as in “sexual intimacy”, are the words that imply the intimacy of a husband and wife in a marriage relationship.
It’s no wonder translators differ in the way they render this verse. Could they be afraid to be as a bold and explicit as David was when he made this riveting statement? So, they tamed it down somewhat, reducing the thought of marriage intimacy between God and His most adoring worshippers, to “friendship”!
The intimacy between two people in a marriage implies both trust and transparency… a willingness to bare one another’s hearts as well as bodies, and a joining together of two souls to become one.
Have you ever wondered why God wants intimacy with His people? Like the intimacy between two people in marriage that produces new life, God has “seed” He desires to plant in the hearts of those who share intimacy with Him. God’s seed is His Word. He shares the secrets of His Word with those who fear Him to produce new life.
Amos 3:7 NIV
[7] “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”
God delights to draw us into His plans so that we can incubate the seed in our spirits through faith, and add our “amen” to what He has spoken.
Did David deliberately choose these words to describe his own relationship with Yahweh? His words are an expression of a union with God that few knew in the dispensation of the Old Covenant. Yet, there were those who came close to the kind of intimacy God yearned to have with His people.
The secrets God shared with David are scattered throughout his psalms. These are prophetic messages about the Messiah that flesh out the word picture of Jesus so accurately fulfilled in His first coming.
First, the operative condition for an experience of closeness with God is “The fear of the Lord”. David used this phrase in many of his songs, calling God’s people to express their fear of the Lord by living lives that honoured Him.
Psalms 34:11-14 NLT
[11] “Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the Lord. [12] Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? [13] Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! [14] Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.”
Psalms 25:8-10, 12 NLT
[8] “The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. [9] He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. [10] The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.
[12] Who are those who fear the Lord? He will show them the path they should choose.”
These were not only David’s words. Isaiah discovered and wrote the same truth…
Isaiah 33:5-6 NIV
[5] “The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness. [6] He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.”
One great theme of the Bible is God’s marriage to His people, concluding, in Revelation 19, with the description of the bride and the wedding of the Lamb. Like Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, who was sent to find a bride for Isaac, so the Father sent His Son to earth to seek a bride. The Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sent in His place, finds and prepares her for her marriage to the Lamb, the bride He bought with His own blood.
Revelation 19:7-8 NIV
[7] “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. [8] Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people).”
So, dear children of God, don’t be afraid to seek this intimacy with the Father, through Jesus the Son, that allows you access to the secrets of His covenant. Not everyone enjoys this privilege…only those who love Him enough to live within the boundaries of His covenant. These alone will enjoy the delights of His love… the rich bounty He provides for those who fear Him. They will receive the seed of the Word and share in the unfolding of God’s purposes.
Psalms 36:7-9 NIV
[7] “How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. [8] They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. [9] For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”