The Seat of Scoffers

My oldest son's memory verse for the week is Psalm 1:1-2 which reads,

Blessed is the man
   who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
   nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
   and on his law he meditates day and night. 

What stands out is this idea of sitting in the "seat of scoffers." I am struck that I have no mental images nor references to the meaning of this phrase. What is the Psalmist illustrating? In this entry, I would like to share with you what I have discovered from this oft quoted but rarely understood portion of Scripture.

With the understanding of Hebrew parallelism, you might see the grouping of the blessedness of avoiding walking, standing, and then finally sitting with those in rebellion against the LORD. The first two involves movement: walking in the advise or plan of wicked people or standing in the pathway of sinners. When Jesus states, "I am the way," our Lord is telling us that He is the way of wisdom. We walk, not in the advice and planning of worldly wickedness, but that of the Word of God to inform our walk in life. We stand in the path of wisdom that is Christ, not the worldly way of sinners.

However, this idea of sitting down on a seat belonging to scoffers seems like an inaction. Looking closely to the Hebrew, however, reveals a more active avoidance. The word "sits" is יָשָֽׁב (ya'shab), which literally means to be settled. You might imagine someone settling down into a chair. Yet, the word translated "seat" is  וּבְמוֹשַׁ֥ב  (ube-moe-woe-shab) is an active sense of sitting in a group or assembly. The dynamic seems to me to read "nor settles down in the seat of an assembly of scoffers."

This leads to "scoffers" from לֵ֝צִ֗ים  (leh-tzim). This is an act of mocking. These are people in the act of mocking. I might imagine a group of people on a bench mocking someone (with or without that person present). Do not settle down with them on that bench! The Septuagint uses the Greek word λοιμῶν (loiphone), which literally means "plagued people" or "diseased people." Scoffers are a diseased people equal to those "in devotion to sin" and "wicked" in the previous parallels.

Lastly, notice the delight of people. There is not a neutral ground in this passage. Either your delight is in the law or instruction of YHWH and you meditate on His Word every hour of your life, or you delight in the wicked crowds. Living is daily action. The way of wisdom is not "to get better" or "try harder," it is having a delight in the Word of God. Christianity is not simply found in the doing of religion, but is found in the delight of God and His Word. You cannot come to this by force of will, but by being born-again. Divine joy comes to those who avoid joining the wicked crowds but delights in God and His Word.