What Does The LORD Delight in, Find Pleasurable, Favorable and Approve?
“He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.
11 The Lord favors those who fear Him,
Those who wait for His lovingkindness.”-{Psalm 147:10-11}
“FAVORS” is the Hebrew word,”ratsah” which means “to be pleased with, accept favorably.” It is a verb... to continually be pleased with, to be continually favorably accept. How wonderful, they did not have to “guess” what was it that God approved of, or found favorable, He has revealed to them, so they can align their thinking, trust up with Him!
While God does not, will not, accept or finds no delight in or takes no pleasure in people trusting in military power represented by” in the strength of the horse,” or “…in the legs of a man,” which is speaking of trusting in the strength of a “warrior” for their hope, security, rather than Him! He does reveal what He does find favorable, approves of and desires for the people to know and not to yield to the temptation of false hope, which is idolatry, the displacing of Him with something or someone else.
The Hebrew word “LORD”speaks of Him as the Self- Existent One, “I Am That I Am.“- {Read exodus 3:14}. Some way we see Him reveal Himself by this name with accompanying characteristics to make Himself known to people at different times in The OLD Testament are, He is spoken of as the “LORD God- {Genesis 2 }; Provider- {Gen 22 }; Promise Keeper; Self-Existing-{Exodus 3:14}; Holy-{Isaiah 6;1-3}; Sovereign- {Isaiah }; Unchanging– {Malachi 3:6}; And it is Him who is referred to in this chapter who is worthy to be continually praised, thanked, and it is Him who reveals what is acceptable, favored and pleasing to Him. And it is is not self-sufficiency or displacing Him with false hopes, but what He does find favorable, acceptable is …
A. -“Those Who FEAR Him.”-
“For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31). For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer’s fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 is a good description of this: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ’God is a consuming fire.’” This reverence and awe is exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe.
“Proverbs 1:7 declares, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Until we understand who God is and develop a reverential fear of Him, we cannot have true wisdom. True wisdom comes only from understanding who God is and that He is holy, just, and righteous. Deuteronomy 10:12, 20-21 records, “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.” The fear of God is the basis for our walking in His ways, serving Him, and, yes, loving Him.”-{gotquestions.com}
The Hebrew word “Yare,”is translated “afraid, frightened, awesome acts, reverence, honor, respect, to stand in awe,” depending on the context.
The word is used in these verses to speak of being afraid terrified
“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid {“Yare.”} because I was naked; and I hid myself.”-{Genesis 3:10}
“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear,{“yare,”}, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.” -{Genesis 15:1}
” Lot went up from Zoar, and stayed in the mountains, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid {“Yare”} to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters.”-{Genesis 19;30}
“So Isaac [h]lived in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid {“Yare,”} to say, “my wife,” thinking, “[i]the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is beautiful.”-{Genesis 26:7}.
” Do not fear {“Yare,”} them, for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you.’ “-{Deuteronomy 3:22}
Contrast the above, to be afraid, terrified with the verses below which speak of to stand in awe, honor, respect reverence,…
“Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear {“Yara”} of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.”-{Gen 20:11} .
“Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear {“Yare,”} Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!”-{Deut 5:29}.
“You shall fear {Yara} only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name.”- {Deut 6:24}.
“So the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear {“Reverance,”} {“Yare”} the LORD God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today.”- {Deut 8:6}.
“Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear { “Yare,”} the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,”-{Deu 10:12}
Hopefully you can see how the word “Fear” {Hebrew word, “yare,”} is used in two different ways and it all depends on context, the “fear “of dread, to be afraid, terrified versus the “fear” of reverence, to stand in awe, respect, honor!
“Fearing” Him is more than a “to do,” list of “do’s and don’ts based on being terrified by Him that He is out to get you if you do not keep a perfect standard and perform perfectly, and that is your motivation to “serve” Him, because you wrongly believe He is out to get you if you mess up, or sin. Jesus has taken care of the sin issue. The motivation for serving Him is not being terrified He will hurt you, but that you might offend and hurt Him out of trust and reverential love for Him!
Sometimes we believe that it is our performance that is needed for us to somehow impress Him, and earn and force Him to accept us. That is not His desire or design for us. His is a call to a relationship, a love relationship with Him and our loving Him, respectfully. It is not a fear or terror but a fear of respect, admiration, honor, reverence, out of Love for Him who has loved them, loved us and does love us. It is a desire to obey Him not out of dread but not wanting to sin against Him out of reverence, respect for Him, and to obey Him out of reverence, appreciation, great admiration to stand in awe of Him and find Him awesome, and in Honor to Him so the choice to respect, trust and “fear” Him!
When Pitiphars wife tried to seduce Joseph he refused.”…Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.“-{Genesis 39:6-10} .He refused to sin against the LORD and ended up in prison. He “feared” the LORD. He values, esteemed Him above sinful temporal pleasure. His admiration, reverance, respect which He held the LORD in was what swayed His choice!
B. -“Those who WAIT for His LOVINGKINDNESS.” –
The word, “HOPE ” Some translations say “WAIT,” it is the Hebrew word “Yachal.” It means to “wait expectantly, to hope for, expect, trust!” It is a verb…continually “hope in confident expectation.” Hope is not that of a gambler, which is a hope of uncertainty but God’s hope is one of certainty! Hope expectantly in the certainty of who He is, His character, Word, promises! ” It is not cross your fingers, or wish with no real expectation, assurance, but to know He will do it! Hope is the absolute assurance of a future good!
“Hope (03176) (yahal/yachal) conveys the idea of tarrying, of confident expectation, of trust. The central idea of this verb is to wait as Noah literally did in Ge 8:12 (cp 1Sa 10:8, 13:8, et al). Wait means to stay or rest in expectation, to remain stationary until the arrival of some person or event…It has the idea of confident expectation, trust.” “-{Preceptaustin}. To look forward with confidence in anticipation and expectation of something good!
Consider from these verses how the Hebrew word {Yachal} is used. Context determines…
- ” Then he waited yet another seven days, and sent out the dove; but she did not return to him again.”-{Genesis 8:12}
“And you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings. You shall wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you should do.”-{1 Samuel 10:8}
“Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope {Yachal} in the LORD.”-{Psalm 31:24}.
” Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope {Yachal} in God, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence.”-{Psalm 42:5}
“Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.”-{Job 13:15}
“LOVINGKINDNESS “- “Chasade”
“Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and [a]truth; 7 who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; ” -{Exodus 34:6-7}
“Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps [n]His covenant and [o]His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments”-{Deut 7:9}
“When viewed within the context of God’s history of dealing with His covenant people, “hesed” has a deeper and significant meaning. Despite the obstinate rebellion of His people, God’s covenant commitment portrays a love that is steadfast, sure and reliable. Though unfaithful, the nation of Israel could not do anything that would invalidate God’s unilateral and unconditional covenant He made with Abraham. Against God’s “hesed,” the nation of Israel’s “hesed” is contrasted and is translated as “devotion” or “loyalty.” In this contrast, man’s shallow temporal faithfulness to the covenant is noted.”-{helpmewithbiblestudy.org}
“Lovingkindness is a word found in older, more traditional versions of the English Bible, such as the King James (KJV) and the New American Standard (NASB).The Hebrew word most often translated “lovingkindness” is checed, which literally means “covenant loyalty.” Most newer English translations of the Bible substitute more common English words such as faithfulness, unfailing love, mercy, or good favor. All of these are viable substitutions, but, as with many Hebrew words, checed has no exact match in English.”- {gotquestions.com}
The word means, “Goodness, kindness, mercy unchanging love.” “great loving kindness” His covenant love for His people. His unmerited kindness.
“Hebrew term “hesed” has a range of meaning: “loyal steadfast love”, “mercy,” “goodness and great kindness.” Because there is no English equivalent to this Hebrew term, Miles Coverdale created the biblical word “lovingkindness” to convey the depth and meaning of “hesed.” Translators of the Septuagint saw that the contextual meaning of “hesed” included mercy and translated accordingly with the Greek term “eleos” (mercy).”
“Lovingkindness is part of who God is; He delights in showing lovingkindness (Micah 7:18), and we praise Him for it (Psalm 138:2), but this specific word seems to imply a slightly different character trait than His basic goodness and compassion for all His creation (Psalm 145:9).
Checed or lovingkindness, as it relates to the character of God, is most often used to describe God’s heart toward those who are His own. Lovingkindness is God’s kindness and steadfast love for His children, especially evident in His condescending to meet our needs. In Scripture, God shows His lovingkindness in saving His children from their enemies and delivering them from their troubles (Exodus 15:13; Jeremiah 31:3; Ezra 7:28; Psalm 6:4; 33:18; 119:149). His lovingkindness comforts us (Psalm 119:76), redeems us from sin (Numbers 14:19; Psalm 25:7; 51:1), and assures us of His promises (Deuteronomy 7:9; Nehemiah 1:5; 2 Samuel 7:15; Psalm 18:50).
God’s lovingkindness is abundant (Numbers 14:18), great in extent (Psalm 33:5; 145:8), everlasting (Jeremiah 33:11; Psalm 100:5), and full of goodness (Psalm 69:17). God’s lovingkindness, His steadfast, loving actions on our behalf, knows no bounds: “Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens / And Your truth to the clouds” (Psalm 57:10, NASB).” -{gotquestions.com}
The English Standard Version translates, “but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His steadfast love.” Some translations say, “Mercy.” He favors, is pleased with those who hope in His mercy! He is not concerned with strength but with humility of heart, that values, cherish’s, fears Him respectfully, reverently, and Hopes in confident expectation in the certainty of His goodness, kindness, mercy. This He finds acceptable, favors and commends! To hope in “His steadfast love” is to Hope in Him, His eternal unconditional, irrevocable gracious promise to love us! It is a promise, vow He makes, dependent on no one but Him to carry it out. Not my works, your works but His Word, His Work towards us and it should draw out a heart of love, work humility in us, as we consider His greatness, goodness, graciousness and unloose our heart and lips in a crescendo of reverential Praise to Him, who is worthy!
So we see what He approves of and takes pleasure in and commends, namely those who;
Fear Him; living with respect for Him in learning to live more and more obediently to Him…The Fear of the LORD is not just a respect, reverence, awe of Him but includes submission to Him, as it was in Joseph’s life.
Hope– trust in dependence upon His Loving-kindness, mercy!
And in this verse we are told clearly what He does accept and find favorable… To continually be pleased with find favorable, namely.
“ The LORD favors those who fear Him,
Those who wait{Hope} for His loving-kindness.”-{v 11}.
“steadfast love. God’s covenant love for His people.” Some translations say, “Mercy.”