I am shriveled like a wineskin in the smoke,
    but I have not forgotten to obey your decrees.

Psalm 119:83

• People in the ancient Near East practiced various rituals to try and figure out what their gods wanted from them. BUT, the Lord spoke plainly through His commands, and dwelt with His people, giving wisdom to His people for their benefit. Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters by Carmen Joy Imes
• God did not give Israel His commands for the Israelites to earn freedom; He freed them from slavery, from oppression, and then assured them of His covenant with them by speaking directly to them, helping them understand how to live in this relationship.
• The commands from God are always always always meant to point to and be followed within a relationship of love and safety.
• Performance-based theology causes anxiety and shame instead of connecting people to the deep love of Jesus. The wisdom of God is meant to protect us, and to help us live within the safety of guidelines that reflect God’s perfect nature.

• כָּלָה (kalah): to be complete, at an end, finished, accomplished, or spent
• Each section of 8 verses begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This section begins with a Kaph.
• A wineskin that hung in the smoke and heat above a fire would eventually become stained and shriveled.
• The word translated “smoke” could also mean “ash.” 
• It reflects a situation of low-level heat for an extended period of time. 
• Decree=binding. 
• Decrees aren’t a checklist of rules, they are utterances of God’s unchanging nature and character.
• Decrees reveal “This is who God is.”
• We do not hold onto decrees/statutes/laws for the sake of the decrees/statutes/laws, but for the sake of our dwelling with the God who communicates them.

Hold tight to God in the waiting.