David's harp

Shabbat Shalom

I found this reading very encouraging to me from my the Torah portion Mishpatim. According to an ancient Jewish legend, King David awoke each night at midnight and studied the Torah. This is why he wrote, "I have not forgotten Your Torah. At midnight I shall rise to give thanks to you because of Your Righteous ordinances" (Psalm 119:61-62). The Rabbis wondered about this. How did David know when it was midnight? If he was asleep, why did he awaken at midnight and give thanks?

According to one legend, God gently woke David at midnight each night. When he went to bed, David hung his harp in the open window of his bedchamber. Every night at midnight, a gentle north wind blew in through the window, vibrating the strings on the harp, playing it like a bow plays over the strings of a violin.

A harp was hanging above David's bed. As soon as midnight arrived, a north wind came and blew upon it and it played of itself. He arose immediately and studied the Torah till the break of dawn. (Berachot 3b)

We know in Hebrew the word for "wind" and "spirit" is the same. God played across the strings of David's harp. The sound would rouse the king from his slumber. He rose, blessed the Lord, and turned to study Torah.

We know from the Psalms how much David loved God's Torah. While David harp sang in his hands, the Spirit of God sang through his poetry. To David God's Torah was truth. David understood salvation was not to be found in works. Instead he declared his hope and longing for God's salvation (Yeshuah).

I hope for Your salvation, O LORD,
And do your commandments.
I long for Your salvation, O LORD,
And Your Torah is may delight. (Psalm 119:166, 174)

As King of Israel David is commanded to write out his own copy of the Torah onto a scroll. He is to keep it with him always, and he is to read and study from it every day of his life( Deuteronomy 17). Perhaps this explains David's delighted in the study of Torah. To David, each law was a small revelation of godliness, a clue about God's nature. Each commandment was a revelation of God's will. For King David, the study of the Law was the study of the Lawgiver.

Perhaps this explains why so many disciples of Messiah are turning back to the laws of the Torah. Has the Spirit of God been playing across the strings of your heart, awakening you to study His Torah?