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Digest it. |
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"This
Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but
you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe
to do according to all that is written in it. For then
you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have
good success."
JOSHUA
1:8 (NKJV) |
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What
comes to mind when I say the word "meditation"?
When
many of us hear the word "meditation",
a picture immediately comes to mind — a
dimly lit room, incense burning in the background,
and a turban-clad hippie sitting on pillow, legs
crossed, eyes closed, humming softly and rocking
back and forth. For many believers, Eastern religion
and New Age philosophy have distorted the Biblical
meaning of meditation, so we must make the effort
to clear up our misconceptions.
Whenever
clear, accurate, Biblical definitions are needed
to clarify a word's meaning, Bible
dictionaries 
are
the perfect place to start. Here's what I found
in a couple of the dictionaries in my PC Study
Bible library: |
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PC Study Bible helped this portion of my study:
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Wherever you see this icon, click
it to view a screen shot from
PC Study Bible of the item described. |
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To
find out what it means to "meditate" on
God's Word, I went right to my Bible
dictionaries. |
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For
even more depth, I linked over to two
of my original language study helps: |
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Vine's
Expository Dictionary |
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Theological
Wordbook of the Old Testament |
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NEW
UNGER'S BIBLE DICTIONARY
MEDITATION: A private devotional act, consisting
in deliberate reflection
upon some spiritual truth or mystery, accompanied
by mental prayer and by acts of the affection and
of the will, especially formation of resolutions
as to future conduct...It should be deliberate,
close, and continuous..." (emphasis
mine) |
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HOLMAN
BIBLE DICTIONARY
MEDITATION:
Most references to meditation occur in the Old Testament,
especially in the Psalms. The Hebrew words for meditation
primarily were derived from two separate roots.
The first (hagah)
literally means "to utter in a low sound."
The word is used to denote the growling of a lion
(Isa 31:4) or
the cooing of a dove (Isa
38:14). Therefore it has been suggested
that, in ancient Hebrew meditation, Scripture frequently
was recited in a low murmur. The second root word
(siach)
has the basic meaning of "to be occupied with,"
or "concerned about." Thus meditation
is the repetitious going over of
a matter in one's mind because it is the chief concern
of life. The constant recollection
of God's past deeds by the hearing of Scripture
and repetition of thought produce confidence in
God (Ps 104:34; 119:15,23,48,78,97,99,148;
63:6-8; 143:5). (emphasis
mine) |
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From
these entries, it becomes clear that true
meditation is more than drifting into
an ultra-relaxed, contemplative state —
in fact, it is the exact opposite! Meditation
as the Bible defines it is deliberate,
focused thinking that requires time,
effort, and commitment, and which results in a
life completely transformed by God's Truth! Better
than a bunch of fuzzy feelings of "enlightenment",
don't you think?
One Step Deeper:
A Look at the Hebrew Roots
The
two Hebrew root words mentioned in my Holman
Bible Dictionary, hagah
and siach,
sparked my interest to dig a little deeper and
check out what some of my Hebrew
word study helps
had
to say. Here's what I found: |
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VINE'S
EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY OF BIBLICAL WORDS
hagah
OT:1897, "to
meditate, moan, growl, utter, speak." This
word is common to both ancient and modern Hebrew.
Found only 25 times in the Hebrew Old Testament,
it seems to be an onomatopoetic term, reflecting
the sighing and low sounds one may make while musing,
at least as the ancients practiced it. This meaning
is seen in its first occurrence in the text: "This
book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth;
but thou shalt meditate therein day and night..."
Josh 1:8. Perhaps
the most famous reference "to meditating"
on the law day and night is Ps
1:2.
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THEOLOGICAL
WORDBOOK OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
siach
OT:7742 —
The basic meaning of this verb seems to be "rehearse,"
"repent," or "go over a matter in
one's mind." This meditation or contemplation
may be done either inwardly or outwardly. Since
English differentiates these two notions, the word
is usually rendered "meditate, " or "talk."
In the first instance it is used of silent reflection
on God's works (Ps 77:8
[H 7]; Ps 9:12
[H 11]), and God's word (Ps
119:15,23,27,48,78,148). In the second
instance it is used of rehearsing aloud God's works
(1 Chron 16:9; Ps 105:2;
145:15). Read
entire entry |
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What
have we learned?
We
can see from our brief study that God's definition
of meditation can involve a number of different
elements: |
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Focused
thinking. Deliberate, repetitive reflection
upon God's Word and works. |
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Speaking
God's Word verbally. Rehearsing Scripture
out loud. |
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Consistency.
Making time for meditation in your daily life. |
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In
the coming year and beyond, if we want to do more
than "sample" the taste of God's Word,
but truly digest its contents
and allow it to transform
us from the inside out,
consistent and quality meditation on God's Word
is an absolutely necessity.
This
week, let me challenge you to choose a Bible verse
to meditate on for the next 7 days (see Action
Step), and set aside time every day to implement
what you've learned. |
| ACTION
STEP: Memorize |
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| Choose
one scripture verse that you want to
memorize, then write it down on three
or four different index cards. |
| Tape
these cards wherever you'll see them
the most: the bathroom mirror, your
computer at work, etc. Repeat the process
every week or so! |
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New Century Version. Copyright © 1987,
1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, a division
of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. |
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The
New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published
by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright
© 1988. |
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Holman
Bible Dictionary. Copyright © 1991 by
Holman Bible Publishers. All rights reserved. |
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Vine's
Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words. Copyright
© 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers. |
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Theological
Wordbook of the Old Testament. Copyright ©
1980 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.
All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
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What it really means to meditate on God's Word. |
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