How Can We Possibly Bless the Lord at ALL TIMES?!

Here's another one that has had me stumped for a long time: David says, in Psalms 34, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth." People always take this scripture and run with it saying that we are to condition ourselves to praise and bless the Lord at all times: even when we don't want to. My question, though, is How is that even humanly possible?

Part 1: To answer this question, I started by going to the Hebrew Interlinear Bible. The Old Testement was originally written in Hebrew and the Hebrew Interlinear Bible gives us its literal translation.

Psalms 34:1 (Literal Translation from Hebrew) states:

I shall bless Yahweh in every of season. Continually praise of Him in mouth of me.

The literal translation from Hebrew, the Old Testement's original language, uses the words "every of season" instead of the phrase "at all times". With this original version of the Psalm we get the idea that David was declaring he will bless the Lord throughout every phase of life; not that he will bless the Lord 24/7.

Part 2: Now in most versions of the bible, the heading that reads at the top of Psalms 34 states:

"A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimilech; who drove him away, and he departed."

This is referring to 1 Samuel 21. (Even though 1 Samuel 21 speaks of a man named Ahimelech, not Abimelech, the title of this chapter in The Message Bible is David Pretends To Go Crazy. We don't know whether the name Ahimelech got accidentally misspelled during translation or if it is the same name as Abimelech in Hebrew, but we can't count it a coincidence that this is a story of David acting "crazy" or "mad", being driven away, and then departing from a man with a strikingly similar name to the man described in the heading of Psalms 34: A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimilech; who drove him away, and he departed). Now, if you read this Chapter (and know its context), this story takes place right after David finds out that Saul is trying to kill him. It is an account of the first encounter David has after his initial decision to go on the run from Saul. 

So now we see at which point of time Psalms 34 was written. And it now makes sense to us why David would say, "I will bless the Lord in every season" or "I will bless the Lord in every phase of my life". He was writing this Psalm at a time when he first went on the run from Saul who was trying to kill him. He was preparing himself to praise God before entering a tedious phase in his life. But why?

Part 3: Now when David says "I will bless the Lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth", the Hebrew word he used for "praise" is the word "tehillah" which literally means to "sing boastfully". In order for someone to sing boastfully about a subject they have to have experienced something praise-worthy that causes them to be able to boast. So David was not saying he will condition himself to praise God continually even when he doesn't feel like it. He was saying he would continuously boast in song about the goodness of God as a result of God's praise-worthy deeds. Here, the word praise is not an action as much as it is a reaction to God's works.

So much so, David spends the rest of Psalms 34 talking about the works of God; the good things God has done and the character of who he knows God to be. He was reminding himself of the strength, power and mercy of God in order to help himself stay encouraged while entering a negative phase in life. Here are some examples of the reminders about God's goodness that David mentioned (but you can read the full Psalm 34 to see all of how David repetitively talks about the good things God has done and the character of who he knows God to be):

Verse 4: I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.

Verse 6: This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.

Verse 10: The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

Verses 17-19: The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Of all the verses of Psalms 34, the ones that stands out as being most relevant to David's situation; being chased by Saul who is trying to kill him, are verses 17-19. Specifically, verse 19 where he states "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all".

We see here that David used his knowledge of God's good deeds and good character as a means of encouragement while he was in a low point of his life. Now, we see why David said he would bless God in every season and continually praise him. He used meditating on God's character and blessings as a way to remind himself to trust in God even when he was in the midst of bad situations.

This reminds me of the constant motif we see in the bible that God will "keep them in perfect peace those whose mind is stayed on him". Paul even says, when trying to encourage the Philippians in Philippians 4:8-9:

"whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."

We see David do exactly that in Psalms 34 as he makes an account of the goodness of God while he is in the beginning phases of a conceivably terrible situation. Now we understand that the phrase "I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth" is not a scripture that was meant to be emulated in order for us to force our selves to praise God just to try to make God happy. It is a scripture that can be emulated in order for us to encourage our selves in God and keep our faith burning even in the midst of bad situations like David did when he first ran away from the man who attempted to murder him.

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Issue of Blood Story explained (Part II)

PART 2

Reference Text: Luke 8:40-53

The story about Jairus' 12 year old dying daughter

And the story of the woman with the 12 year old issue of blood.

So now that we know the number 12 in the Bible stands in representation of the people of God, we can apply that knowledge to the story of the woman with the issue of blood.

First and foremost, the story of the woman with the issue of blood is literally placed in the middle of the story of Jairus' dying daughter. So much so, that it becomes a part of the story of Jairus' dying daughter (it was while Jesus was talking to the woman with the issue of blood that it was reported to him that Jairus' daughter had died).

So, while the 12 year old girl is dying, we become aware of a problem that started around the same time as her birth: the woman with the issue of blood is struck with her condition which she, now, has had for 12 years (once again, we know the number 12 in the Bible is symbolic of Gods people/God's church).

This woman's blood was with issue for 12 years. Blood in the Bible represents the passover of death. It was Abel's blood, afterall, that took on life-like characteristics and communicated with God after he was already murdered by his brother Cain in Genesis 4:8-10. Also, during the plagues of Egypt, the children of Israel were instructed to put blood on their doorposts in order for death to "pass-over" their homes and spare the lives of their first born sons (Exodus 12:23). In the old testament, people were instructed to sacrifice and shed the blood of lamb and other animals to escape the punishment of sin; which ultimately is death (Leviticus 14:25, 2 Chronicles 29:22). And of course, in the new covenant, Jesus is the worthy Lamb whose blood washed away the sin of God's people so that they may not perish, but have everlasting life (Revelation 12:11).

In the Bible blood is supposed to have life-like qualities that takes dominion over death. However, in our text the blood that is taking "dominion"/interrupting the story of the death of Jairus' daughter happens to be with "ISSUE".

The story of Jairus' dying daughter is interrupted by this story of the 12 year long issue of blood (12 which represents God's people). Here the issue of blood parallels with the fact that  Hebrews 8:7-9 states God found fault in the old covenant/system of being forgiven of sins through the continuous shedding of animal blood (issue of blood):

"For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—  not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt"

Here, we see the old covenant's method of continuously sacrificing blood was with issue in the sight of God. As a matter of fact, God found so much fault with the old covenant (issue of blood) that the Bible even describes this covenant, in 2 Corinthians 7-8, as the ministry of death to God's people. This parallels with the dying state of the 12 year old girl (The number 12 represents God's people):

"But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?"

Notice that in our text, the story of Jairus' dying daughter does not continue and she is not healed or brought back to life until after the 'issue of blood' is cured. Likewise, when the old system of the blood of the lamb was in place it led to death and everlasting life was not bestowed upon God's people until after the 'issue of blood' was rectified with the new covenant. 

Abundant life was bestowed upon the people of God after the old covenant was done away with just as the 12 year old girl was brought back to life after the 12 year old issue of blood was cured. Note that for as long as there was an issue of blood the 12 year old girl was on her way to death, but after the 12 year long issue of blood was cured, the girl continued to live; her life exceeded the length of the issue just as God's people lived through the faulted old covenant and lived past it into the new covenant.

So this answers my questions about why the story of the woman of the issue of blood interrupted the story of  Jairus' dying daughter and opened my eyes to the significance of the number 12 in both the story of Jairus' daughter and the story of the woman with the issue of blood.

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Issue of Blood Story Explained (Part I)

PART I
Reference Text: Luke 8:40-53

The story about Jairus' 12 year old dying daughter

And the story of the woman with the 12 year old issue of blood.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NUMBER 12:
For a very, long time I wondered 2 things about these two Bible stories:

• #1- I wondered why the story of Jairus' dying daughter was interrupted by the story of the woman with the issue of blood.
• #2- I wondered if there is any significance in the fact that Jairus' dying daughter was 12 years old and the woman with the issue of blood suffered with her condition for 12 years.

So, I decided to dig a bit deeper in the Bible for answers, starting by understanding the Bible's usage of the number 12.

***The first thing I came across was the fact that there were 12 tribes of Israel. There are many stories in the bible about the Chidren of Israel (Under the leadership of Moses they were freed from slavery in Egypt, crossed the parted Red Sea, etc). Come to find out, when the Bible talks about the children of Israel, it is not referring to 'Israel' the place; its referring to 'Israel' the man (Abraham's son was Isaac. Isaac's sons were Jacob & Esau. Jacob wrestled with an angel, and as a result, in Genesis 32:28, God changed his name to Israel)

Now Jacob (or Israel) had 12 sons. Before Israel died he told each of his sons of things which would happen to them in days to come (Gen. 49:1). Right after citing Israel's sayings to each of his 12 sons, the Bible sums up his words by saying "All these are the 12 tribes of Israel"-referring to Israel's sons.

Therefore, Israel's 12 sons were the "fathers" of the 12 tribes that made up the children of Israel. In Exodus 24:4 as Moses is the appointed leader of the children of Israel, the Bible states: "Moses... built at the foot of the mountain an alter and 12 sacred stones for the 12 tribes of Israel". Here we see Moses laying down stones to represent the 12 tribes of the children of Israel, the term used to describe these people is the same term used to describe Israel's 12 sons in Genesis 49.

***The next thought-provoking fact I came across while researching the Bible's usage of the Number 12 was the fact that there were 12 apostles (or 12 disciples) who ministered with Jesus. Not only that, the Bible links the 12 apostles with the 12 tribes of Israel when referring to the church in Revelation 21. Here, when the city where God's people dwell is described, Revelation 21:12,14 states:

"It had a massive, high wall, with 12 gates where 12 angels were stationed and on which names were inscribed, [the names] of the 12 tribes of the Israelites. The wall of the city had 12 courses of stones as its foundation, on which were inscribed the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb"

CONCLUSION ABOUT THE #12 IN THE BIBLE
Therefore, we see the usage of the number 12 throughout the Bible shows symbolism of the church of God and it's synonyms:

• the people of God/God's people
• the children of God
• the children of Israel (who is also the children/descendants of Abraham, Father of all nations)
• the tribes of Israel
• The Bride of Christ (which is the church, 2 Corinthians 11:2)

Read on to Part 2 of this Blog Post for info. on how this relates to the woman with the issue of blood.

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