Riddles
What has roots as nobody sees,
Is taller than trees,
Up, up it goes,
And yet never grows?
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit
Things said plainly should plainly be left unsaid. As my son and I are reading Psalms and Proverbs in tandem, the artistry of the word flows over our breakfast table every morning. It is remarkable reflecting on the amount of time taken to compose and collect all of the verses. The author could have plainly written God’s truths in a simple manner, which everyone could easily understand and comprehended. Instead, the author chose to decorate and embed them in poetic riddles.
This morning, as we read through Psalms 111, I highlighted an easy verse, “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them”. Following it up with my usually dad question, “What does this mean?” The joys of fatherhood are numerous, but the perspective of a son’s answer is high on the list. “You poke it.” He says and I laugh. But, in a profound way he is not wrong. When a boy walks through the world and stumbles across something weird, the first thing he does is grab a stick and poke it. He wants to know what is it, is it alive or dead, is it useful or not? He only pokes things which spark his interest and bring him delight.
In the same way this is what we do with Psalms? On the surface some of the Psalms make sense, but the author does not keep it that simple. He wants us to poke and test the work. Take for instance Psalms 110:1, “The Lord says to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, while I make your enemies your footstool’”. What is this getting at? This Psalm seems like a scribe is recording God’s blessing on King David. Christians read this verse and Matthew 22:44 should come to mind, as Christ cited it in regards to His own divinity. Jesus ascribes these words to King David himself, illuminating a completely new truth. Both of these interpretations are mutually true. But think how many centuries went by before this single verse claimed its deepest meaning. Glossing over Psalms misses its incredible artistry.
The words of the scripture are to be engaged with. We should poke them, test them, and engage in their riddles. If we do this, then we welcome the Holy Spirit in our studies. If we merely read Psalms and move on with our lives, what difference has it made reading it. This is not to say that truth in the Scripture is only buried in riddles, rather that it speaks on many levels of truth. As the venerable St. Augustine wrote, “The Bible is shallow enough for a child not to drown, yet deep enough for an elephant to swim.”
Did you get the riddle? A mountain.
Dad Devotional 