As I get ready for the last Lifeway “How to Study the Bible” small group for this summer, our homework is to take a verse you are familiar with or presently studying and use the skills we have learned in the past weeks to “O-I-A”: Observe, Interpret, and Apply. We’ve been looking at both Hebrew and Greek languages and their morphology, learning about tenses, cases, and moods.
A good way to practice this is to take a word of interest in a verse, look up the Hebrew or Greek word or phrase using an analytical lexicon and discover the root words and morphology.
I’m still looking at Psalms 30:11-12:
Psalm 30:11-12 NASBS
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, [12] That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
The word that the Holy Spirit is pointing me to is the word “soul” in verse 12. In Hebrew, it’s “kabod“. Some translate it as “glory“.
I didn’t understand its meaning to me. The word itself evokes the idea of “make weighty” and “abounding”. Some use the word “copiousness”, defined as “the state or quality of being abundant, plentiful, or large in quantity.
I really enjoyed playing bass with the praise team a few weeks ago, something I haven’t done for years. I knew this was my way of “not being silent” (v.12).
That’s when it hit me. This was God’s promise to me of “turning my mourning into dancing”, and “girding me with gladness”. This “kabod“, this “glory” was not of me, but was given to me by a loving God. It’s not my glory, but God’s.
It’s amazing to me that God sometimes reveals the meaning of scripture when you are ready to receive it. In order to understand and overcome grief, you can have joy in Him and praise the Lord. He can see you through hard times, but you have to be willing to let him.
Peace and Joy.
Consider God's Word 