Hagah

Last night our group, led by my dear wife, investigated being "double-minded.) (as in James)

This morning, as I began the book of Joshua, and my own "new day" (as all will later understand),
I came across, in Chapter One, this command:

"Do  not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth;mediate on in day and night, so that you may be careful to do all that is written in It."

The commentator whom I am reading in the "Fire" study Bible, a version used widely in the Third World, is Donald Stamps--not a theologian but an actual practicing missionary while he was alive--gives an interesting general and more specific definition of "meditation."

Hagah: Hebrew for: "means to read quietly or to talk to yourself as you think about something.  It implies studying and carefully thinking about God's Word in order to know and understand its principles and deepest meaning. The (teleology of that) is to apply those principles to every area of our lives."

My first thought on reading this is rather self-centered, to witless: Finally! Someone is recommending talking to myself!  I talk to myself a lot--not usually out loud--in fact, I think I mostly talk to myself:(

It does suggest however that the self- our basic bundle of body, soul, mind, and spirit as in the Shamah, is pretty important to God; only that our self-talk be based on God-talk. Stamps says earlier of the Joshua-era Hebrews, "They could not depend on human ideas, traditions, or religions."  And that the Promised Land could only be reached by faith. Their carnal weaponry would never be enough, nor would it even provide any impetus as Far as what God desired. They were specifically directed to occupy Hittite territory and the Hittites were among the first to forge large volumes of iron for weaponry and were well known for their "iron chariots" and fierce horses; whereas the weapons of the Hebrews did not include horses or chariots at all.  In other places, God actually forbids the kings of Israel to ride on, or import, or accumulate horses.  In fact, they were not to fear those with chariots, and the Red Sea certainly demonstrated both how and why. They were the Ultimate Footsoldiers who had to march by faith into the teeth of multiple technologically advanced societies actually stronger--but doomed anyway. As we see constantly; from WW2 to the  fast-moving marginalization of USA today.

I would recommend, as an aside, Dr. John Patrick's talk, "Why There Are No Hittites on The Streets of New York."  (but lots and lots of Jews!) I have it on tape if anyone is interested. It may be on the net in published form also. Dr. Patrick is a distant friend who introduced me to Robert Spitzer, and helps to run Augustine College, a prep school, in Canada.    

I actually wrote this in the fall...so before it gets too stale...