by Jason Tsaddiq
As I considered what to call these little snippets of ponderable truths, these ideas came to mind: “Bible Bites”; “Tiny Truths”; and “Verse Vittles.” None of those titles gave enough weight to the concept of meditating, thinking deeply upon, mentally digesting, and estimating the worth of. Then “Points to Ponder” struck. Pound, pond, and ponder all come from the same root word. Pound is a weight. Pond is an enclosed area, usually of water. Ponder is the verb form that means to give weight to, to think deeply of a particular idea or concept.
As a Christian ponders Bible truths, he is giving weight to an enclosed, exclusive area – truth. What else is worth pondering?! “For in His law doth he meditate day and night.” (Psalm 1:2) Strongs declares that this word meditate by implication means to ponder. According to Psalm 1:1, the blessed man delights and meditates in His law.
Who doesn’t want to be blessed? Let’s ponder.
(Sources include eSword/Strongs and various online dictionaries.)
Points to Ponder #10
James 5:11 “Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.”
Ponder:
Behold – to see, pay attention to
Happy – to beautify, to pronounce fortunate (favored, prosperous, comfortable), blessed, felicitous (apt, well-chosen, fitting, suitable, appropriate)
Endure – to stay under, have fortitude, persevere, abide
Patience – cheerful or hopeful endurance, constancy, waiting
End of the Lord – the conclusion, the point aimed at as a limit (the goal, the purpose)
Is – remaineth, consisteth, comes
Pitiful – extremely compassionate, denotes action
Tender mercy – compassionate, merciful
What is the “end of the Lord”? What are His goals and purposes of my trials through which I must endure cheerfully? For me to realize my deficits; to see His provision; to see His power (His ability to change me and others)….all which lead ultimately to His glory.
Points to Ponder #11
Psalm 145: 8-9 “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion; slow to anger and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works.”
Ponder:
The Lord – the self-existent One, Jehovah
Gracious – courteous, kind, pleasant
Full of compassion – compassionate (sympathetic, empathetic, understanding, caring), merciful
Slow – long suffering, patient
To anger – ire, suffering, wrath
Great – exceeding, high, long, loud, mighty, much, noble
Mercy – kindness, beauty, good deed, pity, favor
Good – beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, fine, glad, gracious, joyful, kindly, loving, merry, pleasant, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth
To all – the whole, any or every, ye altogether, every one/place/thing
Mercies – compassion, by extension the womb (as cherishing the fetus), tender love, pity, womb
Over – above, upon, against, after, beyond, through, touching
All – the whole, any or every, ye altogether, every one/place/thing
His works – an action, generally a transaction, by implication a product or property, deed, labor, thing made, thing offered, possession.
Mercies – by extension the womb: nothing gets into the womb without going through the mother. Satan could not get to Job without “going though” God Almighty. “. . .and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.” (John 10:28)
Using synonyms, the Lord is caring; suffers long before He has wrath; has high and long and loud kindness and good deeds; is bountiful, cheerful, and wealth to those and to that which are His by His transactions (Creation, the Cross).
Points to Ponder #12
Psalm 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”
Ponder: Delight – contentment, glee, pleasure, joy, make happy
Thyself – same root word of a word that means soft or pliable, luxurious
In – above, over, on, against, of
Lord – the self-existent one, eternal Jehovah
Give – add, apply, appoint, lift up, make, ordain, pay, perform, recompense, render, requite, willingly
Desires – request, desire, petition
Heart – feelings, will, emotion, the center of everything
If I make myself happy in Him – His life, His truth, His being, His goals, His love, His mercy, His will – He is in the place to add my mind/will/emotion petitions to my center of everything.
What is His life? His truth? His being? His goals? His love? His mercy? His will?
Points to Ponder #13
Habakkuk 3:17-18 “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
Ponder:
Fig tree shall not blossom – the least of these 3 fruits, sweetness, usually very common so if figs are rare, it’s an extremely destitute time
Fruit [not] be in the vines – vine and fig together a picture of peace and rest, gladness, fruit of the vine was used in sacrifices to God, was a common drink for man
Labour of the olive shall fail – crucial to their diet, cheerfulness
Fields shall yield no meat – “staff of life” produces nothing (no wheat for bread, no plants for weaving into cloth or housing)
Flock shall be cut off – driven or carried away by enemies, no protein or milk
No herd in the stalls – no animals for plowing or clothing
Yet – a turning point conjunction, a contrasting connection
I will – decisive, action, personal, definite
Rejoice – jump for joy, exultation, not quiet and private, energetic
In the Lord – not in my intellect or my wealth or my connections to solve the problem but in the self-existent One, the eternal Jehovah
I will – decisive, action, personal, definite
Joy – to spin around under the influence of a violent emotion
In the God – Elohim, supreme magistrate
Of my salvation – liberty, deliverance, prosperity
Peaceful confidence. Sweet submission. Human circumstances waiting for God’s timely deliverance. Joyful trust. "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him" (Job 13:15).
“Destroy the “vines” and “fig trees” of the carnal heart, and his mirth ceases. But those who when full enjoyed God in all, when emptied can enjoy all in God. They can sit down upon the heap of ruined creature comforts, and rejoice in Him as the “God of their salvation.” Running in the way of His commandments, we outrun our troubles. Thus Habakkuk, beginning his prayer with trembling, ends it with a song of triumph (Job 13:15; Psalm 4:7; Psalm 43:3, Psalm 43:5).” These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text scanned by Woodside Bible Fellowship.
*This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-Brown Commentary is in the public domain and may be freely used and distributed.Jamieson, Robert, D.D.; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on Habakkuk 3:17". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/habakkuk-3.html. 1871-8.