As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? (Psalm 18:30-31)
The thoughts and deeds of man, even those conceived by good intentions, are always flawed — as it is written: “There is a way that seems right to man but the end is destruction.” It can be no other way because, since Adam made the decision to partake of what was prohibited, mankind is inherently flawed. In contrast, God’s ways are without any flaw or imperfection. The Hebrew word translated as perfect is תמים tammim which means “to be whole, blameless and without any stain.” This is the word often used to describe the sacrifices that were brought to the Temple — they were to be without any physical imperfections. In other words, everything about the Almighty is pure, holy and perfect in a way that is difficult for us to comprehend.
In that same line of thought, His Word reflects His perfection — as it is written, “Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever” (Psalm 119:160). The word translated as proven actually means “refined” as in refined silver. That is not to say that the Word of God contains any dross or imperfection; to the contrary, the Word of the LORD has been put to the test, just as silver is subjected to the fire, and has been found to contain no flaw. Hence it is written: “Your word is very pure; therefore Your servant loves it” (Psalm 119:140).
Having the confidence that His Word never fails means that we can rest assured that He will keep His promises, and in Him we can find refuge with Him as our shield. These truths are already evident to us and, frankly, don’t have to be proven to those who have served God for any length of time. We know His way for us is perfect, which is to say, in our best interests whether we see it that way or not. We know that His Word is pure, true and never fails even though we struggle with it at times. Interestingly, it is these same imperfections on our part that serve to amplify God’s perfection in our sight. We more readily see His unique and unmatched holiness as we consider our own human frailty.
That being said, the Godly attributes that we speak of — that He is tammim or perfect; that His Word is tested and pure — are the very things He calls us to be. To Abraham He said, “Walk before Me and be perfect (tammim)” (Genesis 17:1). This is the same challenge, more or less, that Messiah placed before the rich, young ruler when He said, “If you want to be perfect, follow Me” (Matthew 19:21). Also, that we might come into perfection, He subjects us to the fire of affliction in order to remove the dross that is entrenched so deeply within us as fallen creatures: as it is written, “You have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined” (Psalm 66:10).
All of this is to say that, as a redeemed people, our God calls upon us to be conformed to His image — to be without spot or wrinkle (tammim) and to endure the testing that comes our way that we may be purified and cleansed with “the washing of water by the word.”
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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