ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

Tusite Me 16, 2023

Words between Your Eyes  טוטפות

KO E NGAAHI LEA ‘I HO VAHA‘A MATAA

DEUTERONOMY 6:6-9

"AND THESE WORDS THAT I COMMAND YOU TODAY SHALL BE ON YOUR HEART. YOU SHALL TEACH THEM DILIGENTLY TO YOUR CHILDREN, AND SHALL TALK OF THEM WHEN YOU SIT IN YOUR HOUSE, AND WHEN YOU WALK BY THE WAY, AND WHEN YOU LIE DOWN, AND WHEN YOU RISE. YOU SHALL BIND THEM AS A SIGN ON YOUR HAND, AND THEY SHALL BE AS FRONTLETS BETWEEN YOUR EYES. YOU SHALL WRITE THEM ON THE DOORPOSTS OF YOUR HOUSE AND ON YOUR GATES.

TEUTALONOME 6:6-9

6 Pea ko e ngaahi fo‘i folofola ko eni ‘oku ou kouna atu he ‘aho ni ‘e fuesia ‘e ho loto: 7 pea te ke uhu‘i ki ho‘o fānau, pea te ke lea ki ai ‘i ho‘o nofo ‘i ho fale, pea ‘i ho‘o ‘alu ‘i he hala, pea ‘i ho‘o tokoto hifo, pea ‘i ho‘o tu‘u hake. 8 Pea te ke no‘o ia mo‘o faka‘ilonga ‘i ho nima, pea te nau tu‘u mo‘o failaketeli ‘i ho vaha‘a mata. 9 Pea te ke tohi ia ki he ngaahi pou matapā ‘o ho fale, pea ki ho ngaahi matanikolo.

God wants the lives of his people to be so permeated with his Word that everywhere they go or look, his words loom large before their eyes. Sitting or lying down? Yes. In between their eyes? Yes. On their doorposts? Yes. Our lives are to be awash with God-words. Many Jews interpret these verses lit-erally. They write select verses on tiny scrolls and place them in black leather boxes called tefillin, which they wrap around their arms and forehead during daily prayers. What Jews today call tefillin, the Bible calls totafot ("frontlets").

Our ears are ever to be open to our Father, so that we live "by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD" (Deut. 8:3). Every word is from the Father's Word, the Logos, who has bound his very nature and life to our own and has written our names with crucifixion ink in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Blessed are you, O Lord, King of the world, who has enriched us with your Word.