Prov 8:30 [ESV] then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight rejoicing before him always.
Fishing, I used to go fishing a lot. There were some favourite places, and the best of these always involved the approach to the place of fishing. Tramping on through the dense forest, in awe of the colours, the silence, the smell of the bursting sap bubbles, and the heaviness of the air, that seemed to carry the very colours of the season.
When it was not the forest, it was the mountain, climbing, lungs straining, wet with sweat, morning dew on my booted feet, and the blue of the sky calling me on. The ochre deer grass catching the first light of the morning and bringing its own mystery to the hillside.
Even once there, the eternity in the rippled water surface, the endless reflected mountains all around, and the moments when a sea-eagle would glide close by, or a rabbit would stop and stare. Once coming from upwind I almost stood on a sleeping stag, who within seconds was effortlessly stretching across the dipping ground and almost out of sight. Oh yes, I loved to go fishing indeed.
KNOWLEDGE – there is an undeniable sense of closeness in this short scripture. We have been reading in verse after verse up until this point of the companionship and the creativity that has been enjoyed in the relationship. Here we lose sight of the outcomes and focus on the heart of the matter, the love relationship that exists at the heart of God, and his nature. There is ongoing delight when we are caught up in God’s beauty, there is a dance of joy to be experienced in his presence, and there is eternity with him – just to be with him is to experience a taste of eternity.
UNDERSTANDING
Let’s pick one word from this verse to look closer at and see if that can help us gain a deeper insight into how God would love us to live?
The word used here for “delight” is pronounced as “sa’asu’tym” in Hebrew and has the clear meaning “delight” although it is also translated as “pleasant (Is 5:7)” and “darling (Jer 31:20)” [ESV]
The LXX uses αρμόζουσα [being in accord] – we see one mention of this in the New Testament in 2 Cor 11:2 where it is translated as “for I betrothed”.
WISDOM
Who do you love spending time with and what does that time produce?
STRENGTHS THOUGHT: Arranger as a Gallup Strength has the inbuilt capacity to multi-task and maintain clarity and sensitivity. Take others on the journey with you, even when it’s not your natural thinking.
Allan’s Unauthorised Version – Then I was near his side like a craftsman and each and every day I was his delight, laughing, celebrating and rejoicing in time.
Then I was beside him – Then I was near his side
like a master workman – like a craftsman
and I was daily – and each and every day
his delight – I was his delight
rejoicing before him – laughing, celebrating and rejoicing
always – in time.
PRAYER: Father, thank you for today. Help me to seek your presence every day, in all I do, for all my days.
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