My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
176
GOD AT HAND
Jeremiah 23:23 “Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away?
I used to go to a church where the general attitude was that the sanctuary was a bit holier than the hallway leading up to it. I bought into that for years, mostly out of well meaning peer pressure.
I can hear myself telling my kids that they need to be quiet, not run around, or chase their friends in the sanctuary. Of course this was appropriate during the church service, but even when I went in that area after church, or before prayer meeting, I naturally spoke softer, tried to sin less, and generally figgered God was watching, even in the room.
My adjusting of my actions due to being in the sanctuary is something similar to what Jeremiah is speaking of with the Jewish folk of his time. Many of the prophets, those lying prophets, who were contemporary to Jeremiah, spoke of God being more influential in the Temple, that the Temple was the center of God’s influence and the farther from the Temple, the farther from God. Convenient for these prophets if they could control where the influence might be found! And maybe set up shop, or a little knickknack stand. But I digress!
Jeremiah needed to fix this thinking!
Jeremiah agrees with the teaching of God being at hand, but he expands the idea to describe a God who is afar off, a God who is not restricted to a temple, or a sanctuary.
As a God at hand, those of us in the New Testament church realize even this description has been expanded, redefined and deepened. For God is not only a God at hand, who is with us in our trials and tribulations, in our joys and victories, but for us modern believers, He is a God who is within us, always ministering to our concerns, our hopes, our needs, and our fears.
He is a God at Hand, and for that we are thankful, and yet He is so much more. Thank you Jesus!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Balaam
First Temptation
Numbers 22:13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.”
Matthew 4:4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Balaam was a non Israelite prophet that is reknown as a man with an evil (greedy) eye, of a prophet who forsook the way of righteousness, and that loved the wages of unrighteousness. His greatest failing was that of providing Balak cousel to cripple Israel though committing fornication and to eat things sacrificed to idols. Revelation 2:14.
Peter also has some very harsh things to say about this man.
In all of Balaam’s moral failings and apostacy, he remains a type of Christ in a number of surprising ways.
In Numbers 22 & 23, we find a prophet of God by the name of Balaam being approached by the king of Moab. It seems the people of Israel were causing Balak, the king of Moab some concerns as they camped in the plains of Moab. That Moabite king needed to take care of those Israelites before they became to powerful. The entire nation was in dread of the Israelites! What could be done?
The Israelites had dominated the Amorites, and the Moabites realized they needed an alternative approach. Enter the prophet Balaam, a non Israeli who was known as a prophet of God, and that Balak hoped he could hire for service.
Three times Balak tempted Balaam to curse the nation of Israel. Three temptations, three refusals. In the final temptation, Balak took Balaam to a high place to look down on Israel and curse them. Each time Balaam blessed them. (sort of)
First temptation
Numbers 22:6 Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.” Numbers 22:12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” Numbers 22:13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.”
The portion of Scripture I want to draw your attention to is the response Balaam has for Balak. Balaam was not allowed to go anywhere with the servants of Balak, for God directed him to stay back. The message Balaam provided the men of Moab was directly from God.
At this point in the story, Balaam is looking better than average, and has rejected the temptation of the king of Moab. The tempters Balak had sent had the fees of divination in their possession to assist Balaam in making a positive decision, yet he stood strong.
Numbers 22:7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak’s message.
Jesus, as He was tempted by the Adversary to change a rock into food, also rejected a self serving temptation, but note the difference.
Balaam only referred to himself, of God’s refusal to allow him to go with them. Nothing about the reason for not going, or that Israel was blessed unconditionally. Just that he can’t go. Nothing regarding the reason for this denial of service.
Not so with Jesus. His rejection of temptation provided no “out” for the tempter, no opportunity to find a crack to leverage for the next temptation.
Jesus referred to the written Word of God in rebuking the devil. Balaam, on the other hand, provided a message to Balak, the tempter, couched in terms of refusal, as if Balaam wanted to go, but had to stay back. He also provided a somewhat modified message of God from the message he received.
This difference provides insight for our own victory over temptation. Jesus did not mince words about His rejection of the temptation, but referred to the spoken and written Word of God. Balaam, though victorious over the temptation, seemed to be destined to allow some wiggle room.
Thankfully this was not the attitude of our Savior!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
175
GOD ALMIGHTY
Genesis 35:11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.
Granted this name of God is essentially the same Hebrew word construction, but with the English equivalent name being reordered, I simply couldn’t resist considering it one more time.
In our passage this morning, God appears to Jacob, renaming him Israel, and speaking to this newly named saint that he was to be fruitful, that he was to multiply his seed throughout the land. Not only was Israel to have abundant offspring, this offspring would become a nation, with other nations splitting off from the core. To top it off, kings would be produced through Israel’s family.
Let’s remember that Jacob was a shepherd, a man who worked with his hands, and schemed with his mind. Was he not a man of the fields, using a stone for a pillow, and watching over his sheep?
He was a man who had done some nasty things to those closest to him, and had lost contact with his family due to his selfish decisions. Had he not been on the run from a brother who had committed to killing him?
Now the Lord shows up and tells him he is of royal lineage, that his family will become a nation. Of course, as he grew up under his father Isaac, he must have heard of the promises given to Abraham, and he had been personally visited by God. This word from God should not have surprised him. God is faithful, but Jacob had not been a stellar fella!
Nevertheless, God was present and He identified as God Almighty. Not as the God who had great ability, or that He was stronger than most, but that He was almighty. He had all might, and His resources could not be depleted.
Consider that when you sense you have asked for too much from God, or that you are too much of a burden on God, or that your situation is too difficult to solve for God.
Jacob, by this time had advanced in years, had raised a family, had renewed his relationship with his only brother, and was about to visit his father Isaac for the last time. The command to be fruitful was given to the patriarch Israel as a reminder to continue to grow, to advance, to increase in size and impact upon the world. He would be the father of a nation that would be led, and rescued by God, and that would produce the Savior.
He is God Almighty, and for one elderly man who had stumbled through life with dubious decisions and poor lifestyle choices, God was still on the throne and able to perform great and mighty, dare I say Almighty things.
For He is God Almighty.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:22 Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. Psalm 69:23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. Psalm 69:24 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. Psalm 69:25 May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents. Psalm 69:26 For they persecute him whom you have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded. Psalm 69:27 Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from you. Psalm 69:28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.
Difficult. This passage is simply very difficult to understand. How can we understand this passage that appears to be praying for vengeance, pain, judgement and suffering on those who are the psalmist’s foes. This passage just seems to be so human, so judgmental, so full of seeking God to punish others.
Let’s consider verse 26 first, try to understand the reason for this prayer, and then return to this general understanding of the passage as a whole
Psalm 69:26 For they persecute him whom you have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
A long time ago, a Bible teacher I listened to would always remind me to ask the question, “What is the “therefore” there for in a passage? A similar question can be applied for verse 26. What is the “for” there for?
When a sentence starts with “for”, it indicates purpose or reason for the statement to follow. We could replace “for” with “because’, or “since” or “seeing”. The psalmist is giving us the reason for his complaint, for the seeming vicious judgement he wishes would pour down on his adversaries.
Ok, grammar lesson over, and let’s consider why the psalmist is praying for judgement to be unleashed on others.
Two reasons
1. They persecute him whom you have struck down
The first reason for this judgement to be sought after was that the enemies persecuted the author who was already at a low point, one who was under difficult times.
Per Strong’s concordance, this term of persecution may principally communicate a chasing after the victim, hunting the victim down, pursuing him and causing him no rest. The enemy is chasing the psalmist, even while he is at his weakest point, with God having struck him down.
Let’s be clear here. Two actions are being described here.
God has “struck” this saint down. The term speaks of being smitten, beaten, scourged, destroyed punished, even killed. This is no slight inconvenience on the psalmist!
On top of this, the enemy, seeing advantage in the psalmist’s weakened condition, continues chasing him, persecuting, harassing him.
No relief! Constant pressure!
2. They recount the pain of those you have wounded
Beyond this physical suffering of the saint, the second reason for our psalmist to seek judgement on his foes is that they speak of his pain, of the action of God on his life, on those who are under the hand of God.
After understanding our first reason, the persecution of man and smiting of God, this recounting of suffering seems to be somewhat insignificant. It is simply the telling of a condition the saint is under.
But consider. Being under the hand of God, and having everyone know about it due to someone speaking of it, only doubles the pain. There have been times where I have been the topic of gossip, the recounting of a “truth” that was not very positive about my life. The sting, the embarrassment, the hanging of my head, only helps me to identify with this reason for vengeance. In my heart and head, I have to admit I sought damage on those spreading “truth” about me, about God’s displeasure of me.
Consider this condition in a shame based culture like the Old Testament saint lived in. Multiply the sense of dread and embarrassment many fold, and then the effect may approach the truth of this saint’s condition.
Ok, so we have considered why the psalmist is praying this prayer regarding his enemies, and throughout this short study, I have implied that the psalmist wishes (or prays for) judgement to fall on those who persecute him and speak of his troubles. This may very well be true.
Yet a possible approach to this difficult portion of Scripture may be that the psalmist is recounting what he expects to happen as the just recompence of the outworking of the law on his enemies.
Let me explain.
Yes it appears the psalmist has evil intent, that his heart is full of hatred on his enemies, and this may be the correct interpretation. There are many times in the Word where we see the sinful side of man being exposed, recorded for our learning (and warning).
But I do pause on this way of approaching this passage, only due to the way the apostles considered verse 25.
Psalm 69:25 May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents.
Luke writes of Peter reaching back into this psalm in referring to Judas end condition.
Acts 1:20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’
Therefore, let’s recount the end of Judas.
Judas, by all accounts, took his own life, shortened his life, and caused his “camp” to be desolate. He left this world with no descendants, and the prayer of the psalmist found fulfillment in a disciple of Jesus.
This action of Judas was self inflicted, for the last thing Jesus did towards Judas was call him “friend”.
Matthew 26:50 Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.
Might the psalmist be speaking of the decisions and lifestyle of the enemy causing the judgement of God to be passively worked out in their lives?
Maybe. Maybe not. Simply a thought experiment for my reader to consider.
Yet this passage does speak of the judgement rightly deserved on those who persecute the Righteous One, the One who was smitten and struck down, wounded for our sakes. Verse 26 speaks of One who suffered, of One who was weakened and gossiped about, Who was taken advantage of, persecuted, smitten and scourged. He suffered, accepting this suffering, taking the pain, the shame and the judgement. He was placed in a tomb, by Himself, under the social stain of the “truth” of his legal conviction by the state.
Judgement should rightly fall on those whose heart and mind would have joined those who condemned Him. Judgement should rightly fall on me.
But He is a Savior like no other, and His substitution on my behalf is a fact I cannot get over, nor wish to. May His name and not mine, be honored today.
His name is Jesus, and He is beyond all explanation and understanding.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
174
GLORY OF THEIR STRENGTH
Psalm 89:17 For you are the glory of their strength; by your favor our horn is exalted.
Let us consider this phrase, this name of God and what it is communicating, at least to this ol’ believer.
The psalmist is speaking of the saints strength, and that this strength they have is due to the might of God in their lives. In all the saint’s life, all is due to God, the very breath we breath and the ability to trust Him. all is due to the Living God.
But this phrase is not speaking primarily of the strength of the people, the sustaining might provided to the saint to walk properly though crippled. That is a truth that is known to the psalmist, for he is drenched in this truth.
No, for the psalmist goes further, speaking of the glory, the beauty and the honor of this strength granted to the saint. The strength provided to the saint is not brute force, nor a violent dangerous, and hurtful strength, not a careless and uncontrolled strength, but a strength that is exhibited in a glorious life, a life that is adorned with a beauty and splendor.
The strength of the Lord in the saint’s life is that which exudes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It is a life that is full, gracious, forgiving and bountiful with thanksgiving.
The glory of the saint’s strength is Jesus.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
ABIATHAR
REJECTION
1 Kings 2:27 ESV – So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the LORD, thus fulfilling the word of the LORD that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
Matthew 21:42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
I would like to return to Abiathar for one more post, for though he reflected Jesus as a survivor, (Jesus in the Old Testament – Abiathar – 01) he also reflects the Lord’s experience as one rejected.
Remember that Abiathar was a priest that had narrowly escaped the wrath of a crazy king, but in his latter days, he made a decision that was not in his own favor. In the last days of David’s reign, Abiathar decided to break away from his king to follow Adonijah. The rebel son who sought to become King Solomon’s enemy. The son of David who saw his brother Absalom succumb to the hand of God in protecting the reign of David, also tried to wrest the kingdom away.
David’s reign and dynasty was to be extended through Solomon, but Adonijah saw opportunity, and Abiathar got caught up in the possibility of a King Adonijah
All of this history speaks of Abiathar’s mistakes, his ungratefulness, his treachery to the reign of God through David, yet he was rejected by the king, rightfully so, but rejected!
A priest rejected by a king. How shameful!
Jesus, as a priest above and beyond the mere earthly honor of Abiathar, performed no self serving lining up with an earthly political flashpoint, but served God only in His faithful life. He is nothing like Abiathar in this priest’s efforts to gain office through treachery, yet they both suffered rejection, shame and dishonor.
Only how much greater shame the Son of God experienced, for though Abiathar deserved the shame, Jesus only deserves honor, glory and splendor. For His name to be associated with shame, rejection and dishonor only reflects on us, a people who truly do not understand the greatness of the Son!
Honor and accept His ways, for He is beyond our imagination in the goodness He will guide us into.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
173
GLORY TO YOUR PEOPLE ISRAEL
Luke 2:32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
In a post in this series, the Name of God we considered was “Glory of Israel”, and Samuel was addressing King Saul, trying to get through his head that he wasn’t the glory of Israel, he wasn’t the strength or supreme eminence of Israel, and that his throne was not perpetual – As a matter of fact, his kingdom had been taken from him.
Flash forward over 1,000 years into the future from the rejection of the earthly reign of King Saul to the birth of a young peasant girl’s first born.
Mary and Joseph arrive at the temple, with the child being 40 days old for his presentation before the God of Israel when Simeon first laid eyes on this baby. Now it seems God had somehow communicated to Simeon that he would see the salvation of the “Lord’s Christ”. This is no small event that Simeon had been privileged to enter into. The focus of all the prophets, seers, priests and faithful of Israel and beyond had waited for this day, the day when the Savior would be revealed to the world.
Did Simeon have preconceptions? Was he informed by God that he would recognize the Messiah in the form of a baby? Might he have thought that the Messiah would be a man of power that would rise up in the nation, with God providing verification to him at the right time? Even anointed as David was, though somewhat in obscurity until the right time?
All conjecture, but for myself, to think that Simeon would make such a statement over a baby as he did, after waiting to see the “Lord’s Christ”, the Anointed of God, is remarkable.
Jesus spoke no words. He provided no message. He had performed no miracles. He was a helpless baby, dependent upon his parents, held close to his mothers heart. Mary had treasured up many things, pondering truths revealed to her in her heart. Joseph had been spoken to, and now Simeon comes out of the woodwork, speaking of the person of this baby.
Even at His birth, those of the nascent church recognized truth without any argument, without any “evidence” required. They heard the voice of God and knew this baby was the One.
He was, and is, the glory offered to the nation of Israel. Even as the nation of Israel was in the throws of it’s deepest idolatry and legalism, God’s greatest gift was provided to the nation, and not only the nation, but to the world. And one more voice, the voice of an elderly man, was added to the list of witnesses that spoke of salvation from God in the form of a baby.
To those who have yet to trust Him, His person, His words, and His works, glory has also been offered. To those who know not God, glory is offered.
Yet note that Simeon spoke of glory being offered to “your” people Israel. Simeon spoke of glory being offered to Israel, the people of God. They had no idea of the explosive, blinding glory they would experience as His life was lived before them.
Beyond His life, His resurrection only multiplied and magnified the glory they experienced during His life amongst them. Glory upon glory to a people who rejected Him, and yet were offered greater glory than they could have ever imagined!
He truly is good, and He is truly good all the time!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:19 You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you. Psalm 69:20 Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. Psalm 69:21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.
It has been said that this passage is amongst the deepest pleas for mercy in the Old Testament. David is hitting rock bottom, and expressing a complete helplessness and hopelessness, a condition that repeats the first few verses but has the sense of a deeper exposing of the grief and despair of the subject.
Reproach
Reproach is a common refrain in this psalm.
Psalm 69:7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. Psalm 69:9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. Psalm 69:10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. Psalm 69:19 You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you. Psalm 69:20 Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.
The Hebrew term is חֶרְפָּה cherpâh and includes the concepts of disgrace, rebuke and shame.
Shame
This is the only occurrence of shame in this psalm, and the Hebrew term is בֹּשֶׁת bôsheth. This term includes the concepts of confusion and shame, and is associated sometimes with idols, the object of shame for an Israelite. Shame, for the modern world is such that it is ignored, an emotion that is considered to be rejected as opposed to accepted and trained from. How often has our modern society taken a topic that is shameful, even just decades ago, and turned the topic into a discussion of those brave to enter into a shameful life decision. This rejection of the painful emotion of shame is not to anyone’s benefit. We, as a modern society have lost much honor by rejecting shame in our society.
The Hebrew culture was a shame based culture, and to be inflicted with shame was to enter into a condition that may effectively remove you from the social order, from business associations, from family and loved ones, who sought to uphold the social fabric of their community.
Shame, when accepted due to sinful activities performed by the subject, should produce repentance and possibly allow for reentrance in to the social order. At the very least, right living after repentance would be the fruit of accepting and responding to shame in a godly way.
On the other hand, shame laid on a person due to libel, gossip, slander defamation and lies is not something that can be responded to by the victim. Repentance is not necessary, or even available as a tool to repair the damage. The lies and vilification of the enemy stick to the victims character, and even in the best situations, some of the slander will never be removed from the social conscience.
Dishonor
Our third term is the Hebrew word כְּלִמָּה kᵉlimmâh, and it is mentioned twice within our Psalm.
Psalm 69:7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. Psalm 69:19 You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you.
This term includes the concepts of insult, reproach, shame, confusion and ignominy.
As you have read through this short study, I am sure you have recognized the three terms we have looked at all describe the basic concept of shame.
David was experiencing a depth of shame in his condition that bared repeating in three different shades of meaning. For a king of Israel, the man after God’s own heart, to experience shame within the culture should speak volumes to the modern believer. It is not always the way of the Christ to walk in apparent honor within the social order, though we are not to bring the shame upon ourselves or family, or the church by willful sin and rebellion. Yet our enemy may fling accusations and slander to create the illusion of dishonor on our lives. Let us remember the counsel of Peter in regards to suffering, even of undeserved shame.
1 Peter 3:14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,
1 Peter 3:17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
Of course, we are to look to the Master in all areas of our life, and as David poured out his heart, helpless in his circumstance, we too may also cry out to the One who hears, and can restore in His time. For of all those who have walked this earth, He alone has suffered the greatest undeserved shame.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
172
Glory of Israel
1 Samuel 15:29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.
Samuel, the great prophet of God, the king maker of Israel is facing Saul, Israel’s first king. Samuel is not a happy camper, for Saul has ignored the Word of the Lord by not completely destroying the enemy of Israel. Saul has decided to be religious instead of righteous, for instead of obeying, he sacrifices animals that cost him nothing, in an effort to appease the God who had given him everything.
Nothing good is coming from this decision of Saul’s. Samuel lets him know that the kingdom will be taken from him, that the Lord has rejected him as king over Israel.
Samuel had to tell the man he anointed as king over Israel that his time of authority over Israel, and under God was over. Not only has Saul lost the kingdom, God had already found a replacement.
This has to be a mistake. Saul was desperate and sought to find a solution, yet Samuel makes the statement we are considering this morning declaring God’s unchanging will in this matter.
This is the only time this name of God shows up in the Word, and the term “Glory” in this verse is the term נֶצַח netsach. Of the many Hebrew words that are translated as glory in the Word, this particular word is inclined to the meaning of strength, or eminence, even perpetuity.
An interesting word to remind Saul that he is not the strength or eminence of Israel, and that his reign is not perpetual.
God is the perpetual strength of His people. He is the eminent One, the King of all. He is the Glory of Israel!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Balaam
A Stranger to the Jews
Deuteronomy 23:4 … because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
John 6:42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
Balaam was a non Israelite prophet that is reknown as a man with an evil (greedy) eye, as a prophet who forsook the way of righteousness, and who loved the wages of unrighteousness. His greatest failing was that of providing Balak counsel to cripple Israel though committing fornication and to eat things sacrificed to idols.
Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.
Peter also has some very harsh things to say about this man.
2 Peter 2:15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,
Jude reiterates the rebuke of Peter.
Jude 1:11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
In all of Balaam’s moral failings and apostacy, he remains a type of Christ in a number of surprising ways.
Our first picture of Christ in Balaam’s life was that He was a stranger to the Israelite. Now before you start to fear that I will seek to argue that Jesus wasn’t a full Jew, let me explain. But first let me establish that Balaam was a stranger to the Jews.
Deuteronomy 23:4 … because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
Balaam was neither Israeli, nor of the Moabites, yet a prophet that spoke to God and that listened to God (sort of).
Jesus was THE prophet of God, yet His origin was not Israeli, nor of any near neighbor to the Israeli people. He was from far, far away, a Stranger that was brought to the region to prophecy. He spoke to others the Word of God, and we shall see in the following posts that Balaam also spoke the Word of God though in this case Israel’s enemies.
Balaam turned out to be Israel’s greatest enemy of the time, simply by providing counsel of their weakness to the enemy. Thankfully in this regard, Jesus is the Savior of those who are victims of this teaching, bringing holiness, purity and contentment to His followers.
In relation to their origin as related to those who benefitted from their prophecy, both were strangers. One a failed prophet from Mesopotamia, and One a faithful and True prophet from Heaven
Jesus is the Stranger to the Jews who brought salvation and not sin!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
171
GLORY OF THE NATIONS
Isaiah 66:12 For thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees.
To determine the glory of the nations may take many forms. It may be the fantastic roadway systems developed for the safe travel of the nations population. Remember I am a highway engineer so trust me – the highways are incredible – but enough of that.
Other characteristics that might be considered a glory of a nation may be the massive buildings built, the wealth generated for it’s people, the stable social order established, the religious fervor of the people, the integrity of the political process, the righteous laws established, the fair and equitable enforcement of those laws, the societies attitude towards life, both in the womb and next to the grave, the freedom of the citizen to express their thoughts freely. We could go on and on in how some may describe the glory of a nation.
Each of these are valid characteristics for a nation to be judged by in our world.
Note that in Isaiah, as he is describing Jerusalem, representing the new Israel, he speaks of the Glory of the Nations being extended over Israel like an overflowing stream.
Incredible. Thinking in earthly terms, the message may be understood that all the valuable characteristics, possessions and attributes of the greatest nations will impact Israel like an overflowing stream, that Israel will be inundated by the greatness and glory of each of the gentile nations characteristics! She will be elevated to her greatest position. How wonderful!
Yet let us consider an alternate view, a view that may honor God from a different point of view.
Two millennium ago, an itinerant Rabbi taught of God, of the love and care the Father had to those who would repent and follow. The following He attained became threatening to the powers that were, and eventually, all fell away. Yet after His murder and resurrection and within the next 40 years, the new, true Israel flooded the populace of the existing Israel with a new life, with a new understanding of God and His saving nature, and the Glory of the Nations, the One who is the Savior of the world inundated the physical nation of Israel.
The true Israel exploded in life, and while the political/national/religious life of the established Israel faded and eventually ceased to exist, the true Israel continued to grow exponentially, covering all the known world.
The Glory of the Nations is Jesus, and as the resurrected One, He has led the overflowing stream of life and righteousness not only over the people of Israel, but over all the nations.
The nations of the world, including Israel today, have one true Glory in God’s eye.
His name is Jesus!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:16 Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me. Psalm 69:17 Hide not your face from your servant, for I am in distress; make haste to answer me. Psalm 69:18 Draw near to my soul, redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies!
David has bared his soul, revealed his troubles, the threat on his life and kingdom and admitted to his inability to find strength in himself. He has spoken of his humbling in front of his enemies, and the apparent success they bore over him. How it looked for all watching that he had trusted in error. His faith had been directed towards a God who was not able to answer.
How terrible for a saint to go through the appearance of One you have boasted of, and yet experience the appearance of His failing to save. The sting of disappointment cuts to the core, along with the raising of questions in the mind, the self doubt in the heart and the “lostness” the saint may experience.
David has but one thing to say to His Master.
Answer me. The boldness of this saint to demand an answer is beyond my experience. Yes, I have been through difficult times, but I fall into the “Why”, category of prayers. In reflection, this response to difficulty be asking “Why, why why” is the sign of a self indulgent prayer, concerned with my life as opposed to the honor of God!
David needs answers, and he is speaking to God from the most inner core of his being, demanding a response, knowing even in this apparent failure, that God is steadfast in His love, and that He is good. This is foundational for David, an unshakeable truth that he depends on and reminds God of, as he struggles through this prayer.
He hinted in his appeal to God’s nature in a previous verse.
Psalm 69:13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
By the time we are three verses later, David has dropped the acceptable time option and is simply appealing to the Lord’s steadfast love and mercy.
He repeats similar demands throughout this small portion of the Psalm
Answer me
We have spent a moment on this demand, yet a moment more. To speak “answer me” is to demand an accounting from One of their inactivity, to direct One to pay attention to the state of the situation, and is to imply that the One spoken to has lost focus, is distracted, and possibly has lost interest.
David is so bold before God, yet his appeal is to the Lord of all creation, and not some vengeful, arrogant, sensitive, insecure cultural deity. He knows to whom he is speaking!
Hide not your face
For God to hide His face is a study that needs to be addressed at a later time, in a separate post or series of posts, for my readings have provided amazing implications.
For the purposes of this posting, and as a generality, God would hide His face due to His people forgetting Him. It was a way of expressing the discipline of God on His people, especially in times of prosperity for the people of God.
But let us consider the modern day believer. For the saint in the New Testament, God has provided the promise of never hiding His face.
Ezekiel 39:29 And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.”
Yet we know that the believer is sometimes disciplined by God.
Hebrews 12:5-6 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
He has promised to not hide His face, and yet we turn from Him.
We turn from Him. His face is towards us in the Savior Jesus, and yet we turn from Him.
Draw near to my soul (Redeem me)
David, after all his confessions, his admission of weakness, his declaration of the trials he is going through, the injustice that he recognizes, in all of this whirlwind of distractions and tribulations, he calls on God to draw near to him.
What?
Are we not to draw near to God? Are we not the ones who are to initiate the process of closeness to God, of repentance and confession? Yes James makes that abundantly clear.
James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
David has spent the previous verses drawing near to God through confession of his sin and inability to solve his trials. He has admitted he is not in control, and that he has no other hope than in God.
Now, he is only expecting that which a millennium later James so succinctly put together for us.
But get this – David speaks in the imperative. For those like myself that aren’t grammar nerds, that speaks of a command, even an order. David may be telling God …
I am broken before you. I am helpless. But You are of a constant and steadfast love. It is who You are O Lord! Now your faithful response O God, is to draw near to me, to my very soul.
David knew his Master. He knew his God and His nature in that He is abundant in mercy, steadfast in love, that his God is a saving God, and that His love is good.
Yes – He is good!
May those who know the Lord confess always and only that He is good!
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
170
GLORIOUS NAME
Nehemiah 9:5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
We spoke of the term Glorious in our previous post, and of my surprise of the original way this Hebrew term began to describe glory.
For this post let us consider that the very name of God is glorious, not that we call God Glorious, as though people call me Carl, but that His name is glorious.
So, what is a name at it’s core?
A general name is to define a person place or thing as someone, something different than an other. A general name is simply a designation of convenience to identify someone or something.
For a personal name, (for God is personal), the name may describe or identify an individual in his or her most intimate manner, in an effort or manner to designate that person from all others by way of a personal relationship.
When I am in a crowd, and I hear my personal name “Carl”, one head turns to the direction the voice came from. My personal name is used by those I work with, those I have the honor of being friends with, those who relate to me in business matters and the such.
Now, from my personal name to my familial name, there is a filtering of those who apply. When I hear one calling me Dad, (or Daddy), there are few that this applies to, and when I hear it, I come a running.
Then there is the name that I respond to because of who speaks it. When the love of my life says my name, whether it be Carl, Sweetie, Hon or other, I recognize it and respond. She is the only one who may say any of my names and I respond singularly to her because of who she is.
All this rambling about names is my weak effort to describe the reality of relationships in how we relate to one an other.
For God, in the context of this passage, the name that is glorious is “LORD”. For a quick review of LORD, see Names of God – JEHOVAH (LORD) – 2.
He is the One who depends on no-one, is self existent, all powerful, all knowing and never changing. The name “LORD” is glorious in and of itself, for it describes the indescribable.
How my reader would like to consider His glorious name (general, personal, familial, spousal )in his or her life is dependent on their relation with the Savior Jesus, for He revealed the name of God in it’s fullest sense, and provided us the avenue of knowledge to know the LORD.
How glorious is His name to you?
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
It was a good day, a day when things were getting accomplished, when I was finding success in connecting with people, coordinating actions and discussing ideas for the near and far future.
Yes I was enjoying my day, thinking I have it good – which is the truth! I have a beautiful family, having fathered five great children, and now the happy grandfather of nine more living souls. I am feeling healthy, having lost weight and having my doctor report that my blood pressure is down. I have a great job and so many multiple blessings have showered on my life, I feel it would be boastful to express them all.
Yes, I was having a great day. Nothing was at odds, until I took a bio-break, as as I was leaving the restroom, and washing my hands, I looked up into the mirror and noticed my pink shirt has a small stain on it. Just a small smudge, in the left side of my right pocket. A small discoloration, nothing to drastic.
And I became self aware.
Now, when I would enter into someone’s office to discuss an action item, I thought of my appearance. Although I have never thought of my self as a “clothes horse”, this small stain impacted my ability to freely discuss openly with my peers items related to work. I found myself using alternate methods of communication instead of simply walking to a peers desk.
Before I noticed the stain, I had relatively no hesitation to be with people. After, I was reluctant, withdrawn and quieter.
And this got me to thinking. Nothing in my experience regarding all the blessings God has showered down on me had changed. I still had a wonderful wife. My family hadn’t changed in the least. My job was great. Why the inner change with relating to others?
I became self aware. I was concerned with my appearance. I was focused on ME. This inner adjustment happens to all of us at different times in our lives, some more than others. Of course, some are consumed with this self awareness to the point they think of nothing but of themselves.
I suppose I should take note that when I think of myself, when I am consumed with ME, I am not purposedly thinking thoughts of how to please God, of what I should do in my life, how to think and act to reflect the mercy of God I have experienced, of how to relate to others and to be a servant to those I work with.
Am I advocating wearing spotted and stained shirts to work? I think you may be missing the point.
To be concerned with me, myself and I is the antipathy of walking the Christian life. It is not that I should be thinking little of myself, but that I should not be thinking of myself. To think of myself is to start to hollow out my life, to become a shell, a bit lonelier than I was a moment before.
Romans 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Paul tells us not to think of ourselves more highly that we ought to think, but to think with sober judgement. In this context he is speaking of the reception of gifts from God, and even in the receiving of gifts from God, we are not to think of ourselves, other than in a sober judgement.
One last passage to dwell on for this topic of self awareness and its unfruitfulness. (Trust me, there are multiple passages that speak this truth!)
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Paul speaks of thinking on attributes of God and of His nature, and of these attributes being exhibited amongst us as we walk this earth. At no time do I see him addressing me as being worthy of thinking on, but the attributes we are to mimic.
Sometimes in my foolish walk, the Lord uses various ways to “”knock me on the head”. Something to take my attention off myself. I am sure His ministry in my life has greater challenges than simply redirecting my thoughts, but I am thankful I have a Savior that will continue to teach and direct me in my day to day walk with Him.
To think of His teaching His child by a stain on a pink shirt! He is so capable to communicate, and as believers, we need to be open to listening to some possibly surprising incidents, always checking with the truth of God’s Word to filter truth from mundane experiences.
A pink shirt. I think I may wear that shirt to work next week! And just forget about that stain!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
169
GLORIOUS SPLENDOUR OF YOUR MAJESTY
Psalm 145:5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
To meditate is to dwell, to settle the mind on a subject or topic and reside on that topic. To consider the topic, to review the topic, to ask questions and to accept the message, to understand how the topic impacts your life or to realize how little you know of the topic.
Or name of God in this post is the double description of the King.
Let’s try to dig into this name of God and find a thought to carry into our day to dwell on, as the psalmist dis in his day.
MAJESTY
Majesty speaks of authority and dignity, of royalty, nobility and elegance. To be majestic was to imply that the majestic one was higher, better, greater, stronger than those he reigned over. To be majestic did not allow for a democratic choosing of a leader, but of the right to rule due to bloodlines, to lineage, to the identity of the one ruling.
This was the picture provided in the Old Testament of the earthly kings, that the dynasties had the right to reign. God actually strengthened this thought by promising the eternal reign of David’s Son on the throne. David’s Son, who was faithful to God would reign eternally. Not only through a bloodline, but by actually being higher, better, greater and stronger than those He reigned over.
He is the only One deserving of Majesty as He sits on the Throne of the Kingdom of God, and over all of creation He is the King.
Yet this name includes two superlatives that are attached to majesty.
GLORIOUS
When I first found that this Hebrew word spoke originally of weight, I lost my bearing. Yet I dug a bit and found that during the establishment of this word meaning, a majority of those in authority also ate well, thereby associating weight (glory) with awe, magnificence, wonder or astonishment.
To be glorious implied a “weight” of being, an otherness from the ordinary, different than those around them, separate and of greater (implied) value.
Of course, as this term is brought into the discussion of God, this implied meaning becomes absolute, for He is different, sinless, without weakness, ignorance or foolishness. He is completely and without argument other than us, and yet He has bonded with our lives in the Son.
He has taken on our flesh (Hebrews 2:14) , that He may die to bring us to God.
SPLENDOUR
Splendor describes beauty, carrying the idea of beauty associated with glory, majesty and honor. All three of the terms we are looking at in this passage have much overlap, as though the psalmist could not find the words to completely describe the object of our worship.
The combination of splendor and majesty is common in the Old Testament, with both the Hebrew words being found in 8 different verses of the Old Testament.
But as mentioned above, the psalmist can’t hold back from his description of our God in this passage. The combination of these three terms are found only twice in Old Testament verses, with the second verse being
Psalm 21:5 His glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
Although the words are found in Psalm 21:5, the combination of these three terms in relation to the name of God may only be found in our verse today.
As you meditate on the name of God today, consider our Savior, for He is the GLORIOUS SPLENDOUR OF MAJESTY.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness. Psalm 69:14 Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. Psalm 69:15 Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me.
The psalmist turns to prayer for deliverance. After describing the pit of trials he is experiencing, he draws his attention to the only One who can provide deliverance.
After describing men in the earlier passage as those who disapprove of him, as those who throw reproach and shame upon him, David now looks to the One who rightly may show disapproval. Yet David knows the God he serves. He emphasizes the impossible when he writes of God and His
..abundance of His steadfast love
Recall that for God to have steadfast love is to describe His faithfulness in the midst of rebellion. Steadfast love was often translated in older versions as mercy or even pity. The term used is חֶסֶד cheçed and is closely equivalent to our term grace in the New Testament. Also embedded in this term is the concept of commitment, of covenant keeping. I am sure when I mention that God is the ultimate keeper of covenant, my reader will heartily agree!
And yet David goes beyond simply speaking of the cheçed of God, but adds the superlative of abundance. He appeals to the abundance of mercy, faithfulness, love and commitment of God in this prayer. He is looking to the One who is NOT like the men he has just described, throwing reproach and shame on his life. No – God is different, and to that difference, David appeals!
David prays for deliverance. He has described those who are against him previously, and now uses pictures of mire, of the deep, of a flood and of the pit (grave) to emphasize his hopelessness.
Each of the pictures he uses are overwhelming situations that provide no hope of self rescue. Only an outsider could provide the deliverance required, and thankfully David knew His God as One who was fully committed to His cause, including his own life and kingdom.
How much more for the greater Son of David, and how this prayer may have contained the same spirit of desperation for Him as He prayed in the garden. God exercised an abundance of steadfast love to the Savior in delivering Him up from the grave, and shedding the salvation to the world.
Are you in a place where there is no self preservation, no way to find strength or rescue within yourself. Be it known that in this condition, you need to reach out to the One who is abundant in steadfast love.
His name is Jesus, and to follow Him is to know the love of God.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
168
GLORIOUS ARM
Isaiah 63:12 who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name,
As New Testament believers, we have the privilege of understanding the Old Testament from the standpoint of being in Christ. The entire Old Testament open up for us as we have found the key of understanding, the Person who is the focus of all that happened in the former days.
I previously pictured verses like our topic passage, exhibiting a massive, literal and muscled arm that Isaiah describes in this verse. I am way too literal at times but I fear that we sometimes interpret the Old Testament as 21st century believers and not as the ancient Hebrew recipients.
So how would an ancient Hebrew believer, contemporary to Isaiah understand this passage? How would the Old Testament Hebrew understand Isaiah’s use of “glorious arm?”
Throughout the passage, Isaiah is speaking of the Lord’s mercy to the nation, and uses word pictures, even metaphors of strength to describe God’s saving work for the nation.
I understand the Hebrew prophets to write in a poetic form, and to make use of figures or images that provide dual meanings for those reading the message. The prophets of old would also use a form of poetry called parallelism. This form of poetry would be developed by repeating the same message as the previous line, but with greater force, or with a richer picture to wedge itself in hearer’s mind.
When Isaiah started the portion of Scripture for our verse, He mentioned the Holy Spirit (twice) and of course God the Father was the subject of the deliverance of the people of God. When the deliverance was attributed to God’s Glorious Arm, it seems obvious to my understanding that Jesus is the subject.
He is the One who executed the deliverance, who completed the work, who was the One who accomplished the feat of rescue, who fulfilled the work planned. To further identify the Glorious Arm in this passage, the Savior is referred to in verse 8, and the Angel of His Presence in verse 9.
Consider the One who compared Himself as meek and lowly, as the Glorious Arm, the One who is able, and has performed the work of our salvation.
He is the Glorious Arm.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Amos
Knowledge of God’s Secrets
Amos 3:7 “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.
Ephesians 3:5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
There is an element of Christianity that claims God almost requires their permission to act, that they are the creators of their own prosperity. One of the verses that this group rely on is our passage above, wresting it out of context and using it for their own benefit. The leadership of this group claim privilege beyond any saint or prophet of old. God is looking to warn His people of the judgement coming, and with this intent, Amos speaks of God revealing this secret to his prophets. Nothing more than that for Amos.
Ephesians 3:5 speaks to this limitation of the Old Testament saints and prophets. For the New Testament era, Paul does provide teaching regarding the knowledge revealed to His apostles and prophets. This greater revelation though is of the mystery of Christ, but Paul defines this mystery. This mystery is of the combining of the Gentiles and Jews into the Body of Christ.
For us who have readily accepted this truth, to call it a mystery seems to be dated since it is such an established truth. Yet even in the era we live in, God has not revealed everything to His people. The Word has provided revelation beyond anything we deserve, yet there are many things God is still holding close to the chest from us.
We are to be thankful for His revealing of the One who can and does share in the knowledge of God’s secrets. for He is worthy, and rightly to be considered the One who is the Knowledge of God’s Secrets.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
167
GLADNESS OF YOUR NATION
Psalm 106:4-5 Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.
Psalm 106 is a psalm in which the author recounts the many instances of Israel’s rebellion. In verse 6 and continuing for 40 verses, the psalmist speaks of Israel’s failure. Psalm 105 speaks of God’s mercy and mighty acts for 40 verses, and this chapter speaks of the many times Israel has forgotten God wandering into sin.
Psalm 106 is a psalm that speaks of the nation’s weakness and tendency to wander. The psalmist knows his content and cry of admission, but before he recounts the failed history of the nation, and his own life, he begins with verse 4 &5. He cries out to God in verse 4 for national help, for a national salvation and for favor to be shown to His people.
The psalmist cries this out for three reasons in verse 5. He is asking for the favor of the Lord that he (the psalmist) may…
1. look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, 2. rejoice in the gladness of your nation, 3. glory with your inheritance.
He knows that though God has been offended by their rebellion, the only hope they have is the mercy of God. Once granted by God, the psalmist will take part in experiencing the prosperity, gladness and glory of the nation, of the people of God.
Hundreds of years after the psalmist passes, God provides this mercy in the person of the Lord Jesus. He is the personification of all of God’s mercy towards Israel, in the midst of their sinful behavior, and as believers today, we know that in His coming and dying for the nation, He is, for those who will see, the very Gladness of Your Nation.
He is the Gladness of His Nation, the church spread throughout the earth!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. Psalm 69:10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. Psalm 69:11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. Psalm 69:12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
In the last post, I apologized for getting a bit long winded with my time in verse 9. Dang it, I tripped and fell into verse 10 last post, but I refuse to apologize. I am enjoying this time in Psalm 69 more than expected.
Let’s try to look at verse 11 & 12 in this post.
Psalm 69:11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
To be considered a byword is a strange concept. What is David speaking of? The Hebrew word is מָשָׁל mâshâ, and is typically translated as parable or proverb. A definition byword likens it to be similar to a pithy maxim, an adage, a saying describing some wisdom.
This makes no sense to me. In the midst of this trial, when he was in sackcloth, denoting repentance and sorrow, his enemies considered him to be but a parable or proverb. A byword.
Might this proverb, spoken by the enemy, be describing the failure of the life of faith, the disappointment that seemed so obvious at the time of David’s suffering? His life of faith led to his loss of the kingdom, his own son seeking his head. Surely in the eyes of the enemy, this occurrence in David’s life proved God couldn’t be trusted, or that God didn’t care, or that there was no God. This could be huge news for those who hated God.
Psalm 69:12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
For this period of apparent failure, David’s enemies surely spread the story of his downfall, of how his God had failed him, and of his deep reproach and shame he went through. All from the city leadership, those who sit in the gate, repeat the story, spreading the news.
This byword (or saying) would surely find ample audience to receive it, repeating the mockery of David’s life, the shame he experienced, the failure of his God. The rumor mill was on high alert, gossipers waiting for then next juicy nugget of misinformation, chugging out the news they wanted to hear!
For David, the spreading of this byword of failure surely damaged his reputation.
Mark 15:31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.
Jesus also experienced the appetite of the gossip monger, the rumor mill, even at His lowest time, hanging on the instrument of death, with the killers at his feet, spreading the slur that He could not save Himself. You do understand why that is a slur, that what the priest’s said for the rumor mill was incorrect? It is not that he could not save Himself but that He would not save Himself.
And the rumor continues throughout the ages, that Jesus is not powerful enough to save.
Both David and Jesus were the subject of a rumor mill, both men claiming to experience the failure of their faith, of their God, of their lives. At each of those times in these men’s lives, all appearance supported the rumor. Men could surmise their understanding of the situation and make statements that would seem to be true.
But we know better don’t we? Trust in God when all the world is spreading untrue rumors about you. God is the God who saves us, even from rumor mills!
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
166
GIFT OF GOD
John 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
Can Jesus raise a curious mind? Can He bring interest to the forefront. Does He not draw people out of their self involved little world to see bigger pictures?
The Samaritan woman is one of my favorite characters in the early chapters of John, only for the sake of Jesus choosing her to openly confess His Messiahship. Dang – He hadn’t even told the disciple as yet, though they openly expressed their suspicions.
A question for my reader. Is Jesus asking her one question or two? Is it the same question?
Is it equal in intent to say that the gift of God is He that is asking for water? Is He equating in this verse that He is the gift of God? I realize He uses the word “and”, expressing commonly the addition of a thought.
But might He be a Hebrew prophet (and much more) and follow in the tradition of speaking one truth, and then clarifying that truth with another statement. It is very common in the proverbs, and in the prophets.
I had a chance to discuss this form of communicating in a post a few years back called Did Jesus go to Hell? When you arrive to that post, do a quick search for poetry and the paragraph will pop up.
Nevertheless, as we know from passages later in John, and throughout the New Testament, and Old, Jesus is the gift of God to undeserving saints and sinners.
This woman was simply the first to hear it from His own lips. What a fantastic story of her redemption and release from bondage.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Amos
Tradesman
Amos 7:14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs.
Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
Amos had no qualifications for the position of prophet, at least in the eyes of the ruling class. His message to Jeroboam, the king of the Northern Kingdom had been relayed to king Jeroboam by Amaziah the priest of Bethel. See Amos 7:10-13. The message contained harsh judgment on the king and that the northern kingdom would be taken away captive.
Amaziah, the priest then took the position of protecting the apostate king, and warned Amos off to Judah, the Southern Kingdom. Go cause trouble to the south, for that is where you come from. Don’t bother us in the north!
Amos response? I’m a nobody Amaziah. A simple herdsman, and a picker of fruit. A farmer, not professional priest with all the adornment and pomp. A simple man, who has been called by God to head north, to provide a warning to this nation, to supply a Word of the LORD to the people who have walked away from Him. I am no danger to you! How dangerous can a farmer be? I am here to provide a message of deliverance from doom!
How like the Master, who until He took on His ministry of warning and providing the Word of the LORD to His generation, was a simple carpenter, a builder of “things”, a man who worked with His hands.
He acquired no institutional learning other than the mandatory training of all Jewish boys. He learned of the Torah, the Law and Jewish history from His family, and some formal schooling where He may have learned the three “R’s”, that is reading writing and ‘rithmetic.
Other than that, Jesus was untrained (thankfully) of any institutional process. His training came from time with the Father. Copious focused times with the Father, receiving His mission, not unlike Amos, to provide warning and the Word to a nation in trouble.
Amos and Jesus were untrained tradesmen, who heard the call of God and did not let some man made requirement for earthly education stop them from fulfilling their God given ministry.
Are you a highly trained professional Christian? Be thankful for your training, for God can use it, but understand from the example of Amos and Jesus, the crucial training for ministry is directly from the Lord.
Are you a tradesman, possibly a layman in the church? Be thankful for such an example as we see in Amos and our Lord. Be careful in dwelling only under the LORD’s direction. For we also need to understand from the example of Amos and Jesus, the crucial training for ministry is directly from the Lord.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
165
GENTILES HOPE
Romans 15:12 And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.”
I have developed a listing of names to pull from as I write this series and last night as I glanced at the next name to consider, I saw our topic – Gentiles Hope. For some reason I was thinking of the mystery made known to the Gentiles, found in Colossians.
Doh.
Maybe it was that the term “Gentiles” may be a mysterious word to some of my readers. To be a gentile is to be a non-Jew. I’m a Gentile – at least I was. (Biblically, there are three types of folk on earth. Consider 1 Corinthians 10:31 )
You may be a gentile. If so, and we had been born over 2,000 years ago, we had no direct link to God Almighty unless we submitted to the Jewish faith. Some Gentiles knew nothing of the Jewish faith, being so distanced from the land of promise. (Somewhat like today, with so many lost unknowing of the Christ and His church). So to be a Gentile was to be a non-Jew. And Jesus is the Hope of the Gentile.
Paul, as the Apostle to the Gentiles, begins a portion of Romans 15 developing the Old Testament promise of God bringing in the Gentiles into a living relationship with Him.
Let’s get the flow of Paul’s message in the previous verses.
8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,
9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.“
10 And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”
11 And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.”
12 And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.”
Our name this morning is the capstone verse of Paul’s argument, after tripping off many Old Testament verses that speak of Jesus being the answer to God’s promise given to the patriarchs regarding the Gentiles.
Hold up. The Gentiles were always in God’s plan, even within the promise to the patriarchs?
Let’s go way back in time to Genesis, and see what Paul is speaking of.
When God chose Abraham, the promise of the Gentiles Hope was provided.
Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
That promise refers to the Gentiles, even before they were separated from the Jewish nation. All of the families of the earth!
Consider also, that God narrowed down to One Man the Gentiles Hope, that through the verses above, God doesn’t mention that the Gentiles will have hope in a religion, or a system of approaches to God, or a law, or even a specific lifestyle. The Hope of the Gentiles is a Man, and that Hope has been realized for many Gentiles.
Thank you Jesus for providing not only the Hope of the Gentiles, prior to your arrival, but Hope for the Gentiles even as we have come to know You.
From one Gentile to my fellow Gentiles. Hope in Jesus, for He is your only hope of eternal life!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. Psalm 69:10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. Psalm 69:11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. Psalm 69:12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
My apologies – I got carried away with the last post, and will pick up where we left off previously. Verse 9 was just too much for me!
As mentioned in the previous post, it seems every verse in this portion of Psalm 69 speaks of the human experience of Jesus. Verse 9 was directly linked to the Lord’s life by way of the apostles, and we can rest assured their interpretation is worth trusting. For the next three verses, I will provide suggested links, understanding that I offer these thoughts to the reader for their consideration.
Psalm 69:10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.
David, in the midst of this trial that he is recounting for us, surely wept and fasted, looking for relief from his God. Even in his sorrow and weakness, his enemies attacked him, bringing further shame and disgrace on the king. Might he be recounting the time Shimei cursed him and his men as he was leaving the City of Jerusalem?
2 Samuel 16:5 When King David came to Bahurim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera, and as he came he cursed continually. 2 Samuel 16:6 And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. 2 Samuel 16:7 And Shimei said as he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man!
Shimei cursed continually, throwing stones at David, along with all his cohorts, cursing the king, calling him a worthless man! David had to take this in front of his men, those whom he had known for decades and that respected him. Men that he led into battle, and that brought victory to the nation for over three decades. In a shame based society like ancient Israel, this was the deepest of cuts!
David is recounting a time when he truly went through a very deep and painful experience. Can you imagine David being called a worthless man, in front of his closest allies and friends, even at his lowest point in life? Yet David accepted the reproach.
2 Samuel 16:10 But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’”
Was it an undesired shame he accepted? I think. Yet for Jesus, though a reproach was planned for Him, He considered the reproach to be of greater riches than all the treasures available to Him. David may have accepted it as a disciple of God. Jesus turned to it, He chose the reproach and chased after it, turning to the cross and the shame, knowing of the glory to come.
Hebrews 11:26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
During the ministry of Jesus, He is pictured in the gospels as a friendly, approachable, accepting, challenging and kind man. Though at times he gets perty dang ticked off at religious people, His person seems to be very social, welcoming, willing to interact with people, not out in the middle of the desert avoiding interaction. His time of rubbing shoulders with those he knew did not consist of evident reproaches.
Yet the time would come when it would become obvious that He would willingly accept reproach. Note that David also accepted the reproach of Shimei as he states a few verses after Shimei shows up.
Truly, the picture of the Savior in His accepting the reproach and shame, when compared to David, shines out as Savior that again is beyond any human expectation. He is more than we could imagine, so much more than we deserve, and such a great Savior!
