SPIRITUAL DIARY
FOR 10/22/2012 9:59:40 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm 129
PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 129:3-8
Message of
the verses: As we begin the second SD in the 129th
Psalm I want to quote what Dr. Wiersbe wrote at the end of his introductory
commentary, “The psalm gives three instructions that we should follow when we
find ourselves suffering for Jesus Christ.”
Benefit from It (vv. 3-4) “3 “The plowers
plowed upon my back; They lengthened their furrows." 4 The LORD is
righteous; He has cut in two the cords of the wicked.
As we look at verse three we will look at two ways in
which to understand this verse better.
First we will look at two verses from the OT that could help us better
understand about having plowers plow on a person’s or a nation’s back, and the
first is found in Joshua 10:24, “When they brought these kings out to Joshua,
Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of
war who had gone with him, "Come near, put your feet on the necks of these
kings." So they came near and put their feet on their necks.” This verse tells that if Israel would obey
the Lord that He would allow them to defeat their enemies. The second verse is found in the book of
Isaiah chapter fifty-one and verse twenty-three, “"I will put it into the
hand of your tormentors, Who have said to you, ’Lie down that we may walk over
you.’ You have even made your back like the ground And like the street for
those who walk over it." Now we
will look at verse three in a little different way as some Bible teachers have
said that this verse speaks of a person being beaten with a whip and thus
leaving the marks on their back, like furrows, from the whip. The first person that I would think of this
happening to is our Lord Jesus Christ and the prophet Isaiah had prophesied
about this, “I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who
pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.”
“Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being
dead to sins, should live to righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed
1Pe. 2:24 AKJV).” The Apostle Paul also
was beaten and he speaks of this in “2Co 11:24 Of the Jews five times received
I forty stripes save one.”
Dr. Wiersbe writes “The nation of Israel has been plowed
long, deep, and often, but what a harvest of blessing it has brought to the
world!” Israel did learn much from their
time of persecution in Babylon and when we look at the book of Nehemiah we see
that there was a great revival after they returned from their captivity. I realize that it did not last a long time,
but a day will come when after another long persecution of the Jews that all
Israel will be saved.
We as believers in Jesus Christ today can look at this
plowing in a different way for it reminds us of sowing and bringing in the
harvest. Paul tells the Galatians that
whatsoever we sow we will reap. We must
remember that we must plant the right seeds in order to have the right kind of
a harvest. Dr. Wiersbe concludes this
section by saying, “God permits people to treat us like dirt, and we must
accept it, but we have the privilege of transforming it by the grace of God
into character that honors the Lord.”
.
Before ending I want to look at a verse in Psalm 124:7 to
help explain verse four, “7 Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the
snare of the trapper; The snare is broken and we have escaped.”
Commit to the Lord (vv. 5-8) “5 May all who
hate Zion Be put to shame and turned backward; 6 Let them be like grass upon the housetops,
Which withers before it grows up; 7 With which the reaper does not fill his
hand, Or the binder of sheaves his bosom; 8 Nor do those who pass by say,
"The blessing of the LORD be upon you; We bless you in the name of the
LORD.’”
As we look at verse five in light of what is going on in
today’s world we can be assured that those who hate Israel will be put to shame
and they will be destroyed. There are
many who take the Bible seriously look at what is going on in the Middle East
today as it is ushering the world into the last days of human history as we
know it. Why do they look at it this
way? The main thing that causes many to
believe that we are in the “Last Days” is the rebirth of the nation of Israel
that took place on May 14th of 1948, and this happened in one
day. “"Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land
be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion
travailed, she also brought forth her sons (Isaiah 66:8).” As we now look at the rebuilt state of Israel
we see it surrounded by enemies for they simply hate Israel because they are
Jews, and this is something that God will not stand for as He told Abraham that
He would bless those who bless him and those that curse him He would curse, and
we can see this throughout history every since God formed the nation of Israel.
Ezekiel writes that there are a number of nations that will surround Israel in
the last days and that they will form an alliance in order to destroy them, but
God will destroy those nations. Let us look at a few verses from the 38th
and 39th chapters of Ezekiel, “Eze 38:8 “After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you
will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have
been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a
continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are
living securely, all of them.” “1 "And you, son of man, prophesy against
Gog and say, ’Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against you, O Gog,
prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal; 2 and
I will turn you around, drive you on, take you up from the remotest parts of
the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel. 3 “I will strike your
bow from your left hand and dash down your arrows from your right hand. 4 “You
will fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples
who are with you; I will give you as food to every kind of predatory bird and
beast of the field. 5 “You will fall on the open field; for it is I who have
spoken," declares the Lord GOD. 6 “And I will send fire upon Magog and
those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the
LORD. 7 “My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I
will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I
am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. “8 "Behold, it is coming and it shall
be done," declares the Lord GOD. "That is the day of which I have
spoken. 9 "Then those who inhabit the cities of Israel will go out and
make fires with the weapons and burn them, both shields and bucklers, bows and
arrows, war clubs and spears, and for seven years they will make fires of them.” (Ezekiel
39:1-9) We see in these verses
that God will have the last say as to what will happen to Israel, and what will
happen to those who hate them.
The psalmist goes on in this section to speak of the
enemies of Israel to be like grass that grows on top of the flat roofs of their
houses. Seeds would blow upon the tops
of these flat roofs that were composed of a mixture of mud and mortar, wood and
thatching, which would make it easy for them to grow and so the grass would
begin to grow but then the hot weather would make it so that the shallow seeds
would die very fast and this is what the psalmist says will happen to the
enemies of Israel. The question comes up
as to why should people hate Israel and the answer to this question is that
Satan hates Israel and because unbelievers are children of the Devil “"You are of your father the devil, and
you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the
beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.
Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and
the father of lies.’” (John 8:44) Satan hates Israel because the Lord Jesus
Christ came from the tribe of Judah and it was because of His death on the
cross that the world, the flesh, and the Devil have been defeated. Take a look at the 12th chapter of
the book of Revelations and you will be able to see the intense hatred that
Satan has for Israel, and then take a look at the different countries of the
world that have this same hatred and you will see where they get it from.
The Jewish people have trusted in the Lord to have Him
care for those who hate them and Paul writes about this in the book of Romans
as he quotes the OT in this section as part of what he writes, “17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.
Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, so far as it
depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge,
beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written,
"VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. 20 “BUT IF YOUR
ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO
DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD." 21 Do not be overcome by
evil, but overcome evil with good.”
(Romans 12:17-21)
As believers in Jesus Christ we owe much to the nation of
Israel, for they gave us the Word of God and they also gave to us the Savior of
the world and for that we can praise the Lord for the nation of Israel.
Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary on this psalm with
these insightful words, “When people treat you like dirt because you belong to
Jesus, remember the ABC’s of this psalm: accept it, benefit from it, commit it
to the Lord.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: When I look at
the situation in our country and around the world I know that eventually the
outcome of all this is written in the pages of the Scriptures, but there are
times when I desire to take matters into my own hands to hurry things up, but I
have to be patient, but one thing that I can do and that is to continue to pray
for revival and to trust the Lord to work out His perfect plan, for He is all
knowing.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to
seek to learn contentment and patience as I trust the Lord.
Memory verses for the
week: 1Cor. 13:8-13
8 Love never
fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are
tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part and we prophecy in
part; 10 but when the perfect come, the partial will be done away. 11 When I was a child I use to speak like a
child, think like a child, and reason like a child, when I became a man I did
away with childish things. 12 For now
we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I
will fully know just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these
three; but the greatest of these is love.
10/22/2012 11:24:45 AM
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