Psalm 119:1-8; Luke 24:13-34

I think this may be the longest chapter in the Bible. At least it's one of the longest. We will break it down into sections of 8 verses each because that is how it is written. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and this psalm is divided into 22 sections of 8 verses each. Each verse in a section begins with the same Hebrew letter. For example, in the first section each verse begins with "aleph" which is the first letter of Hebrew alphabet; the second section begins with "beth" which is the second letter. Of course, we are reading a translation so the letters are different.

The theme of the psalm is the Word of God. I'm sure there are many ways to approach this psalm, but I will try to pick out at least one advantage or positive thing about the ministry of God's Word in our lives.

Psalm 119:1-8
Blessed or joyful are those who search for God and seek Him through His Word. This is not a quick fix for the blues, but a consistent searching for God through His Word as well as obeying it. I love v. 8, where the psalmist readily admits that he struggles to obey what he knows to be right when he prays, "Please don't give up one me!"

Luke 24:13-34
A few days ago we looked at vv. 1-12 and saw that the women who went to the tomb had forgotten what Jesus told them. In the next few verses we see two of Jesus' followers who were walking from Emmaus to Jerusalem. Like the women, they had either forgotten or had failed to understand what Jesus had taught as well as what the Old Testament had predicted about the Messiah--that he must suffer and die before He would reign in His glory. Jesus Himself joined them on the walk, though they didn't recognize Him, and He reminded them of all that was written in the Old Testament. This incident reminds me that we are all like those disciples in that we often fail to internalize what God has taught us. It also tells me that this is apparently part of the human condition--at least we see that it's nothing new. As we go through Psalm 119, let's try to focus on the importance of God's Word in our lives.