Asap Looks Back from Psalm 83:9-18

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/7/2012 8:44:58 AM

My Worship Time                           Focus:  It is good to look back when we are in need.

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 83:9-18

            Message of the verses:  In yesterdays SD we began looking at Psalm 83 by looking at a couple of introductions to the psalm and then looking at the first main point from the psalm in which Dr. Wiersbe called “Lord See What is Happening.”  Dr. Wiersbe wrote at the end of his introduction these words, “As he saw the enemy armies surrounding Israel,Asaph lifted three heartfelt requests to the Lord.”  We will begin this SD with the second heartfelt request to the Lord that Asaph made.

            “Lord, Do What is Necessary!” (Vv. 9-15):  “9 Deal with them as with Midian, As with Sisera and Jabin at the torrent of Kishon, 10 Who were destroyed at En-dor, Who became as dung for the ground. 11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb And all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12 Who said, "Let us possess for ourselves The pastures of God." 13 O my God, make them like the whirling dust, Like chaff before the wind. 14 Like fire that burns the forest And like a flame that sets the mountains on fire, 15 So pursue them with Your tempest And terrify them with Your storm.”

            “9 Do to them as you did to the Midianites  and as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River. 10 They were destroyed at Endor, and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil. 11 Let their mighty nobles die as Oreb and Zeeb did.  Let all their princes die like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12 for they said, “Let us seize for our own use these pasturelands of God!’’  13 O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind! 14 As a fire burns a forest and as a flame sets mountains ablaze, 15 chase them with your fierce storm; terrify them with your tempest.”  (NLT) 

            Asaph is going back to a victory that is found in the book of Judges in his prayer to the Lord, and asks that the Lord do the same to the enemies of Israel at this time.  We read the story of Gibeon’s victory the Midianites in Judges 6-8 where the Lord defeated the Midianites using just 300 men that were led by Gibeon.  We also read about the victory of Deborah and Barak against Sisera and Jabin in Judges 4-5.  Dr. Wiersbe writes the following on who the other names in this section are: “Endor is not mentioned in Judges 4-5, but it was a city near Taanach (Judges 5:19), which was near Endor (Josh. 17:11).”  “Oreb and Zeeb were commanders (princes) of the Midianites army, and Zeba and Zamunna were Midianite kings (Jud. 7:25-8:21). 

            The great victory over the Midianites stood out in the history of the Nation of Israel because like other great victories it was brought about by a miracle of the Lord.

            We see some disturbing images in this section that may seem a bit harsh, but we must remember that Israel was who the Lord was going to use to bring Messiah into the world, and Israel was also responsible to write the Scriptures, and to tell others about Jehovah.  I am not going to go into the details of what some of these images mean, for one can read them and understand what Asaph is asking the Lord to do to the enemies of Israel.

            “Glorify Your Name!” (Vv. 16-18):  “16 Fill their faces with dishonor, That they may seek Your name, O LORD. 17 Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever, And let them be humiliated and perish, 18 That they may know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, Are the Most High over all the earth.”

            16 Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O LORD. 17 Let them be ashamed and terrified forever.  Let them die in disgrace. 18 Then they will learn that you alone are called the LORD, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth.”  (NLT)

            We see in this section that Asaph prays that the enemies of Israel will be ashamed and dismayed before they were destroyed by the Lord.  That they would know that Jehovah is the Lord of all the earth. 

            It seems that nations in the day when the OT was written did realize that Israel’s God, the God over all the earth, was truly God.  They realized this when they were defeated by Israel even though their army was much greater than that of Israel.  That was how it was suppose to work. 

            I remember hearing an account of the six day war that was fought in 1967 in Israel.  Many thought that Israel would be defeated, but Israel ended up capturing control of Jerusalem and still has it today.  During the fight for the city of Jerusalem that was a high ranking army official involved in the battle who said that when they were attacking Jerusalem all of a sudden there came a great wind storm that lasted for a while.  This completely stopped the battle.  When the wind storm stopped the officer could see many land mines that the storm had uncovered.  He stated that he did not believe in God until that happened.  Yes God is still fighting for Israel even today.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Asaph looked back at some of the victories that the Lord had given to Israel and prayed for the same outcome over Israel’s enemies then.  It is good to look back and see what the Lord has done for me, especially looking back to that day in 1974 when the Lord saved me and changed my life forever.  Whenever I am facing troubles I know for sure that I am loved by the Lord and that He is good and can only do good.  I can remember that one day the Lord will come in the clouds to take His church to be with Him forever.  It is good to look back.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to cause me to remember the two sermons that I heard yesterday at Church and apply them to my life by the power of the Holy Spirit using the Word of God.

5/7/2012 9:30:19 AM   

Praying for Israel from Ps. 83:1-8

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/6/2012 7:32:20 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Praying for Israel

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 83:1-8

            Message of the verses:  In today’s SD we will begin to look at Psalm 83.  This is the tenth psalm in a row that is credited Asaph, as this was mentioned when we looked at Psalm 73 that the next ten psalms would be written by Asaph.  We will look at several different introductions written by different Bible commentators to get a better idea what this psalm is about and then we will begin to look at the psalm.

            “Title:   A Psalm or Song of Asaph.  This is the last occasion upon which we shall meet with this eloquent writer.  The patriotic poet sings again of wars and dangers imminent, but it is no godless song of a thoughtless nation entering upon war with a light heart. Asaph the seer is well aware of the serious dangers arising from the powerful confederate nations, but his soul in faith stays itself upon Jehovah, while as a poet preacher he excites his countrymen to prayer by means of this sacred lyric.  The Asaph who penned this song was in all probability the person referred to in #2Ch 20:14, for the internal evidence referring the subject of the Psalm to the times of Jehoshaphat is overwhelming.  The division in the camp of the confederate peoples in the wilderness of Tekoa not only broke up their league, but led to a mutual slaughter, which crippled the power of some of the nations for many years after.  They thought to destroy Israel and destroyed each other.

“Division:  An appeal to God in a general manner fills #Ps 83:1-4; and then the psalmist enters into details of the league, #Ps 83:5-8.  This leads to an earnest entreaty for the overthrow of the enemy, #Ps 83:9-15, with an expression of desire that God’s glory may be promoted thereby.”  (Charles H. Spurgeon) 

“This psalm, a national lament which includes prayer and imprecations, may be best studied with a map since several individual national enemies of Israel are noted.  Second Chronicles 20:1-20 may record the specific historical event prompting this psalm, though some Bible students believe that the nations mentioned are only symbolic of all Israel’s enemies.  The psalmist begs God to rescue Israel from its enemies as He had done so many times in the past.”  (The John MacArthur Study Bible)

“This is the last of the psalms identified with Asaph (50, 73-83).  It describes a coalition of ten Gentile nations that attempted to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.  Some students connect this psalm with Jehoshaphat’s great victory over a smaller coalition (2Chron. 20), although it’s possible that the historian did not list all the nations involved.  Second Chronicles 20:11 parallels 83:12, and 20:29 parallels 83:16 and 18, but these similarities are not proof that the psalmist wrote about the same event.  Israel has been the object of hatred and opposition since their years in Egypt, but God has kept His promises and preserved them (Gen. 12:1-3).  Pharaoh, Haman (The book of Ester), Hitler, and every other would-be destroyer of the Jews has ultimately been humiliated and defeated.  This reminds us that the church of Jesus Christ is likewise hated and attacked by the world (John 15:18-19; 17:14), and like the Jews in Asaph’s day, our defense is in prayer and faith in God’s promises (Acts 4:23-31).  Commenting on this psalm, Alexander Maclaren wrote, ‘The world is up in arms against God’s people, and what weapon has Israel? Nothing but prayer.’  But is there any better weapon?  As he saw the enemy armies surrounding Israel, Asaph lifted three heartfelt requests to the Lord.”   (Warren Wiersbe)

Lord, See What Is Happening!”  (Vv. 1-8):  “1 A Song, a Psalm of Asaph: O God, do not remain quiet; Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still. 2 For behold, Your enemies make an uproar, And those who hate You have exalted themselves. 3 They make shrewd plans against Your people, And conspire together against Your treasured ones. 4 They have said, "Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, That the name of Israel be remembered no more." 5 For they have conspired together with one mind; Against You they make a covenant: 6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites; 7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8 Assyria also has joined with them; They have become a help to the children of Lot. Selah.”

We see from this psalm that there is a collation led by Moab and Ammon that would fight against Israel.  We must realize that these nations were actually fighting against God for Israel is the apple of God’s eye, and God’s chosen people.  God promised Abraham in Genesis 12:1-2 that He would bless those who blessed Abraham and that He would curse those who cursed Abraham (Israel).  There have been many people and nations who have tried to wipe Israel off the map, but Israel has always stood at the graves of those who has tried to do this.  Verses 6-8 tell who these nations that are involved in the collation are.  In verses 1—5 we see a wonderful prayer prayed by the psalmist in which he names two names of God, Elohim and El and in the end of the psalm he will mention two other names of God, Jehovah and El Elyon  (God Most High).  This name reminds us of when Abraham was fighting against the kings who had taken Lot and after the victory Abraham meet with Melchizedek.

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  God will keep His promises is something that I have been reminded of in this section of Scripture, for God will defeat all the enemies of Israel even today as we see that just a couple of days ago that Israel celebrated its 64 anniversary of being back in the Promised Land.  Many believe that Israel going back to their land was a fulfillment of Ezekiel chapter 36-37.  In chapter 38-39 we see what will happen next for Israel.

I also see the importance of prayer from these verses, as Asaph prayed wonderfully to the Lord in a great time of trouble, trusting that the Lord will care for Israel.

           

            My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust in the Lord with all of my heart and lean not upon my own understanding.  In all my ways acknowledge Him and He will direct my path.

5/6/2012 8:22:11 AM

The judges and the Judgment from Ps. 82:2-8

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR  5/5/2012 9:21:51 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  The judges and the judgment

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 82:2-8

            Message of the verses:  We looked at the introduction and the first verse of Psalm 82 yesterday and in the introduction that Dr. Wiersbe wrote he stated the following:  The psalmist speaks in verse 1 and announces that the Judge will speak, and in verse 8, Asaph prays that God will bring justice to the whole earth.  Between the statements, the Lord Himself speaks to the judges.”

            The Judges (vv.2-7):  “2 How long will you judge unjustly And show partiality to the wicked? Selah. 3 Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. 4 Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. 5 They do not know nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken.  6 I said, "You are gods, And all of you are sons of the Most High. 7 “Nevertheless you will die like men And fall like any one of the princes.’”

            2 “How long will you hand down unjust decisions by favoring the wicked?  Interlude 3 “Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. 4 Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people. 5 But these oppressors know nothing; they are so ignorant! They wander about in darkness, while the whole world is shaken to the core.  6  I say, ’You are gods;  you are all children of the Most High. 7 But you will die like mere mortals and fall like every other ruler.’’’  (NLT)

            We will begin to look at this section by quoting a wonderful verse found in the book of Micah chapter six and verse eight:  “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”  As we compare this verse with the verses above we see that these judges did not do justice and they did not love kindness, and they did not walk humbly with God. 

            Dr. Wiersbe points out that the pronoun “you” in verse two is plural “for the Lord is addressing all the guilty judges.”  There are many verses in the Law of God that speak of how judges are to rule in a proper way and not be influenced by the rich or their own beliefs, that is to say that if a judge has a personal preference, but it differs from the law then he has to judge according to the law.  It was in 1973 the Supreme Court brought down a decision and its affects have been responsible of killing over fifty million unborn babies in the United States.  In this decision the Supreme Court over stepped their boundaries by not interpreting the constitution, but legislating law.  They will have to answer to God for every baby that has been aborted since their decision.  What the psalmist is writing about in this psalm speaks to all of the wrong decisions that judges have made and one day these unjust judges will have to answer to the Judge of all the world.  Genesis 18:25b says “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following on verse five:  “Does verse 5 describe the evil judges or the abused people?  If the judges, then it is a terrible indictment against people who are supposed to know the Law and walk in its light (Isa. 8:20; 59:1-15; Rom. 1:21-22).  But it’s possible that the pronoun ‘they’ in verse 5 refers back to the weak and needy people described in verse 4.  The priests and Levites did not always do their jobs well, and the common people did not know the Law well enough to defend themselves.  ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge’ (Hos. 4:6)  When the Law of God is ignored or disobeyed, this shakes and threatens the very foundations of society (11:3; 89:14; 97:2), for God’s moral Law is the standard by which man’s laws must be judged.” 

            The Judgment (vv. 6-8):  “6 I said, "You are gods, And all of you are sons of the Most High. 7 “Nevertheless you will die like men And fall like any one of the princes." 8 Arise, O God, judge the earth! For it is You who possesses all the nations.”  “6 I say, ’You are gods;  you are all children of the Most High. 7 But you will die like mere mortals and fall like every other ruler.’’’  8 Rise up, O God, and judge the earth, for all the nations belong to you.”  (NLT)

            Verse six is quoted in John 10:34-36.  The Amplified version of the Bible reads as follows “34. Jesus answered, Is it not written in your Law, I said, Ye are gods? [Psalm 82:6] 35. So men are called gods—by the Law—men to whom God’s message came, and the Scripture cannot be set aside or cancelled or broken or annulled.  [If that is true] do you say [to Me], 36 The On Whom the Father consecrated and dedicated and set apart for Himself and sent into the world, You are blaspheming, because I said, I am the Son of God?”  I have to admit that this Scripture has always been a problem for me to understand, but maybe the light will come on after looking at it in Psalm 82:6.  Warren Wiersbe writes the following “Jesus quoted verse 6 (John 10:34-36) to defend His own claims to be the Son of God.  For, if the Lord called ‘gods’ the imperfect human judges chosen by men, how much more should Jesus Christ be called ‘the Son of God,’ He who was set apart by the Father and sent to earth! 

            These men who have been called ‘gods’ will die and then they will be judged for their sins even though they were called gods, God will judge them.  The word translated as “god’ is elohim and this word is seen in Exodus 21:6 “then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.”  Again I wish to look at the verse in the Amplified Version of the Bible:  “Then his master shall bring him to God [the judges]; he shall bring him to the door or doorpost, and shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him for life.”   I believe that Jesus is saying to those who are confronting him as seen in John 10 that if judges who are picked by mere man can be called gods (elohim) then Jesus can be called the Son of God because for one reason that is who His is, and for another reason that God the Father has consecrated, dedicated, and set apart Jesus Christ to come into the world.  These men who were confronting Jesus did not get it.

            Asaph now speaks again in verse eight and adds a prayer that God will bring justice to all the earth, and we know that this is a prayer that will be answered by God.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I realize that because I am a born again believer in Jesus Christ that I am to follow the commandments that are set forth in the Scriptures.  I see from this psalm that these judges who are called ‘gods’ have not always followed the Law, and will someday have to pay for their sins because they did not follow the Law.  In Jeremiah 31:31 and then brought into the book of Hebrews we read that God will put His Laws in our hearts.  I am to follow these laws. Jesus said that if you love me you will follow my commandments.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Love the Lord by following His commandments.

5/5/2012 11:30:27 AM

"The JUDGE" from Psalm 82:1

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/4/2012 1:04:35 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  The Judge

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 82:1

            Message of the verses:  We will begin this SD by looking at several introductions by different Bible commentators in order to better understand what it is that the Lord has for us from Psalm 82: 

            “A Psalm of Asaph:  This psalm was written for the use of persons in power, for the instruction of kings and princes, judges and civil magistrates; according to Kimchi, it was written about the times of Jehoshaphat, who appointed new judges throughout the land; those that were before having been very corrupt, to whom he gave a charge agreeably to the purport of this psalm, #2Ch 19:5-7, but it seems rather to be written by Asaph, in the times of David, under a spirit of prophecy, and has respect to the times of Christ, when there was a great corruption among the judges and rulers of the Jews, both civil and ecclesiastic. The Syriac version calls it, "a reproof of the ungodly Jews"; our Lord cites a passage out of it in vindication of himself from their charge of blasphemy, #John 10:34-36.”  (John Gill)

            “This psalm, like Pss. 2 and 58, focuses on the injustices of tyranny.  The psalmist pictures God standing in the assembly of earthly leaders, to whom He has delegated authority, and condemning their injustices.  The final prayer of the psalmist (v.8) is that God Himself will take direct control of the affairs of this world.”  (The John MacArthur Study Bible)

            “In the previous psalm, Asaph described the Lord judging His people during one of the feasts days, but in this psalm it is the judges of the people that He indicts.  (See also 50 and 75.)  The psalmist speaks in verse 1 and announces that the Judge will speak, and in verse 8, Asaph prays that God will bring justice to the whole earth.  Between these statements, the Lord Himself speaks to the judges.”  (Dr. Warren Wiersbe)

The Judge (v.1):  “1 A PSALM OF ASAPH: God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment.”  (ESV)  “1 God stands in the congregation of the mighty; he judges among the gods.”  (AKJV)

            As we begin to look at this psalm I cannot help but think of Job and in the book of Job we find that Job wanted to go on trial with the Lord, but the Lord did not allow that and instead the Lord showed Job that He was sovereign.  Job was a great man of God and when the Lord spoke to Him he listened which is unlike many of the earthly judges who will not listen to the Lord.

            Isaiah 33:22 says “For the LORD is our judge, The LORD is our lawgiver, The LORD is our king; He will save us.”  From this verse we see that God is not only the Judge, but also the Lawgiver, for He is the One who gave His Law to Israel while in the wilderness.  God does not need to have a jury for He is the ultimate Judge of all the earth and He also knows the hearts of all of the people who live on planet earth.  Let’s take a look at two of God’s attributes in order to help us out here.  God is love, and God is just, meaning that God’s justice is perfect.  It is hard for us humans to understand that God is love and just at the same time, for when someone does wrong to us we at times want to get even with them, yet because of God being just He does not get even with those who break His law, He uses His justice either by what happened to Jesus on the cross where the justice of God was fulfilled, or by those who do not accept this loving grace they will have to face the justice of God on their own.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following about the “gods” that is seen in verse one.  “The ‘gods’ (vv. 1, 6) are not the false gods of the heathen, for such nonexistent gods are not Jehovah’s judicial representatives on earth.  Nor are these ‘gods’ the holy angels, for angels cannot die (v.7).  The ‘gods’ (elohim) are people who have been given the awesome responsibility of representing the Lord on earth and interpreting and applying His Law.  Jesus made this clear in His quotation of verse six in John 10:34-46.  It is a great responsibility to represent the Lord on earth and seek to execute justice by applying the law correctly.  Civil servants are ‘ministers of the Lord’ and will answer to Him for what they have done (Romans 13).” 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think of a verse in Hebrews that states that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever and this gives me great contentment knowing that God, who is the Judge, and the Lawgiver will never change.  The unchangeableness’ of God is a something that surely gives peace to my heart, for I would not want to worship a God who changes His mind.

 My Steps of Faith for Today:  Praise the Lord for His unchangeableness.

5/4/2012 1:37:45 PM

PT-2 On Worship from Ps. 81:5b-16

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/3/2012 8:32:56 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  More on Worship

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 81:5b-16

            Message of the verses:  We began to look at Psalm 81 in yesterdays and we looked at the first five verses and also several introductions.  At the end of Dr. Wiersbe’s introduction he wrote:  “The psalm reminds us of three different aspects of true worship.”  We looked at the first aspect in yesterday’s SD.

Hearing God’s Word (vv. 6-10):  “I heard a language that I did not know: 6 “I relieved his shoulder of the burden, His hands were freed from the basket. 7 “You called in trouble and I rescued you; I answered you in the hiding place of thunder; I proved you at the waters of Meribah. Selah.  8 "Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen to Me! 9 “Let there be no strange god among you; Nor shall you worship any foreign god. 10  "I, the LORD, am your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.”

            “I heard an unknown voice say, 6 “Now I will take the load from your shoulders;  I will free your hands from their heavy tasks. 7 You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you; I answered out of the thundercloud and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah.  Interlude 8 “Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings.  O Israel, if you would only listen to me! 9 You must never have a foreign god; you must not bow down before a false god. 10 For it was I, the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt.  Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.”  (NLT)

            We see that the last part of verse five from both the NLT and the NASB95 versions says that they heard an unknown voice, and Dr. Wiersbe points out that this unknown voice is the voice of God and He speaks in verses 6-10.

            In the first five verses of this psalm we looked at one of the festivals that God had set up while the children of Israel were in the wilderness and Dr. Wiersbe points out that “at some point in the festal celebration, a pries received God’s message and declared it to the people.”  This reminds me of when Jesus came into the festival of booths and spoke to the people declaring “"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ’From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’’”  Jesus was speaking of the Holy Spirit when making this statement.  Dr. Wiersbe comments on this by writing “At the Feast of Tabernacles, the priests poured out water in the temple to commemorate these events.”  The events that he is speaking of are what happened at Meribah where the people had not trusted the Lord (See Exodus 17 and Numbers 20).

            One of the things we should be doing when we pray to the Lord is to listen to the Lord, and one of the ways that we can listen to Him is to meditate upon the Word of God, but we can also listen to Him by asking Him to speak to our hearts when we are praying.  I have always found this difficult to do because it seems that your mind never shuts down, you are always thinking about something and so I have to pray that the Lord will slow me down so that I can listen to Him.  We see many times in the book of Deuteronomy that the Lord desires His people to listen to Him.

            By speaking of God’s covenant to His people in this psalm He reminds them that they too are part of this covenant that their forefathers had made with the Lord.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes when commenting on the Lord reminding the people of His deliverance from the land of Egypt these words:  “Frequently the Lord reminded His people of their miraculous deliverance from Egypt (v. 6), the power of God that accomplished it, and the love of God that motivated it.”  These are two of the attributes that God possesses Power and Love.  

Obeying God’s Will (vv. 11-16):  “11 “But My people did not listen to My voice, And Israel did not obey Me. 12 “So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, To walk in their own devices. 13 “Oh that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways! 14 “I would quickly subdue their enemies And turn My hand against their adversaries. 15 “Those who hate the LORD would pretend obedience to Him, And their time of punishment would be forever. 16 “But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.’”

            “11 “But no, my people wouldn’t listen.  Israel did not want me around. 12 So I let them follow their own stubborn desires, living according to their own ideas. 13 Oh, that my people would listen to me!  Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths! 14 How quickly I would then subdue their enemies!  How soon my hands would be upon their foes! 15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him; they would be doomed forever. 16 But I would feed you with the finest wheat.  I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.’’”  (NLT)

            First we will look at two verses that show that worship and service go together:  “"You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name.”  (Deu. 6:13)  “Then Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, ’YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’"”  (Matthew 4:10)  We read in Psalm 81:1-16 that God’s people would not serve the Lord but wanted to go their own way and so the Lord let them do this.  Sometimes the hardest thing that God can do to us is to let us have our own way.  The children of Israel that came out of Egypt did not listen to the Lord and after Israel went into the Promised Land their children did not listen to the Lord either and in the book of Judges we see a decline of the spirituality of the children of Israel throughout that entire book.  If the children of Israel would have obeyed the Lord then He would have blessed them as He said He would in the covenant that He made with them.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “When we disobey the Lord, not only do we feel the pain of His chastening, but we also miss out on the blessings He so desires to give us.  The Lord gave Israel water out of the rock, but He was prepared to give them honey out of the rock (Deu. 32:13).  He sent manna from heaven, but He would have given them the finest wheat.  The word ‘if’ (v. 13) is small, but it carries big consequences (Der. 5:29; 32:29; Isa. 48:18; Matt. 23:37).

            “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,

            The saddest are these: ‘It might have been.’”  (John Greenleaf Whittier)

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I desire to listen to the Lord and obey what He tells me to do.  This is one of the things that I have been reminded of in these two sections from Psalm 81.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to be a better listener of God and obey Him.

5/3/2012 9:30:17 AM

"Learning More About Worship" from Psalm 81:1-5

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/2/2012 9:32:47 AM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus: Learning about Worship

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 81:1-5

            Message of the verses:  In today’s SD we will begin to look at Psalm 80 by first looking at a few different introductions from different Bible Commentators.

            “This psalm was intended to be used in the celebration of one of the feasts of Israel, most likely the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles.  After the call to worship (vv. 1-5), the psalm presents a message from God in the first person (vv. 6-16).  This oracle pleads with Israel to ‘listen’ to Him (v. 13), so that He might pour out on the nation the blessings of the covenant.”  (The John MacArthur Study Bible)

            “The psalmist called the people together to worship the Lord, but then the Lord’s messenger received a special message from God and delivered it to the people.  The occasion was a stated feast on the Jewish calendar, but we are not told which feast it was.  Passover is suggested by verses 5-7 and 10, but the mention of the new moon and the full moon (v. 3, NASB) suggests Trumpets and Tabernacles.  The Jewish religious year begins in the month of Nisan (our March-April), during which the Feast of Passover is celebrated (Ex. 12).  The civil year begins with Tishri (our September-October), the seventh month in the religious year, during which the Jews celebrate the Feast of Trumpets (first day, ‘Rosh Hashanah’), the Day of Atonement (tenth day, ‘Yom Kippur’), and feast of Tabernacles (days fifteen to twenty-two).  (See Lev. 23:23-44 and Num. 29.)  The first day would be new moon and the fifteenth day the full moon.  The trumpets mentioned here are not the silver trumpets (Num. 10) but the ‘shofar,’ the ram’s horn, as was used at Jericho (Josh. 6).  This argues for the occasion being the Feast of Tabernacles, although perhaps Asaph conflated Passover and Tabernacles, for they go together.  Passover celebrated the deliverance from Egypt and Tabernacles was also a joyful harvest festival.  The psalm reminds us of three different aspects of true worship.”  (Warren Wiersbe)

            Praising God’s Name (vv. 1-5):  “1 For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph:  Sing for joy to God our strength; Shout joyfully to the God of Jacob. 2 Raise a song; strike the timbrel, The sweet sounding lyre with the harp. 3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon, At the full moon, on our feast day. 4 For it is a statute for Israel, An ordinance of the God of Jacob. 5 He established it for a testimony in Joseph When he went throughout the land of Egypt. I heard a language that I did not know:”

            “1 For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument. Sing praises to God, our strength.  Sing to the God of Jacob. 2 Sing! Beat the tambourine.  Play the sweet lyre and the harp. 3 Blow the ram’s horn at new moon, and again at full moon to call a festival! 4 For this is required by the decrees of Israel; it is a regulation of the God of Jacob. 5 He made it a law for Israel when he attacked Egypt to set us free. I heard an unknown voice say,” (NLT)

            We see in this section a call to worship, a call to worship during the feasts, and it has already been discussed in the introductions as to which feasts are thought to be talked about in this psalm.  We see music involved in the worship of the Lord and we also see the paying of the “rams horn” involved in this worship.  As Dr. Wiersbe mentioned in his introduction there were certain times in the Jewish religious calendar where people came together to worship the Lord.  If my memory serves me correct this type of worship will again go on in the 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ upon the earth beginning shortly after the conclusion of the tribulation period, which will end with the second coming of Jesus Christ to the earth.  People who are living all over the world will be required to come to Jerusalem on different occasions to worship the Lord.  We can call this type of worship stated times for worship, but there also could have been spontaneous times for worship, such as when the army has defeated an enemy, and when that happened people could worship the Lord, giving thanks for the victory that He gave them.  Dr. Wiersbe writes the following as he comments on both kinds of worship:  “Both are essential to balanced worship, and both should focus on the goodness of the Lord.  If all worshiping were personal and spontaneous, there would be diversity but not unity; but if all worship only followed a schedule, there would be uniformity and no diversity.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  This strikes a chord with me as I think about worship and how it is done in churches today.  There seems to be different ways that people worship in different churches, some are full of mostly songs, and little preaching of the Word, some are very strict and have little singing, and mostly dry preaching.  Some are balanced by have both singing, and preaching with the emphases on balance as all parts of the service are to worship the Lord.  Then we can have our own worship everyday as we meet with the Lord in our own private worship service.  Parts of my SD’s have the words “My Worship Time,” and the study of the Word of God is genuine worship.  There are spontaneous times for worship when perhaps I have the privilege to lead someone to the Lord, or when a burden has been lifted by a wonderful answer to prayer.  The important thing to do is to worship the Lord for He deserves all worship that we give Him for the wonderful salvation He has provided for us.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. 

5/2/2012 10:17:10 AM

Pity For The People Along With Revival from Ps. 80:4-19

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/1/2012 7:41:38 AM

My Worship Time                              Focus:  Pity for the people along with revival

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Psalm 80:4-19

            Message of the verses:  We will continue to look at Psalm 80 in today’s SD.  “The refrain ‘Restore us’ (vv. 3, 7, 19) marks out the three requests Asaph made to the Lord for both kingdoms.”  (Warren Wiersbe)

“Pity Your People” (vv. 4-7):  “4 O LORD God of hosts, How long will You be angry with the prayer of Your people? 5 You have fed them with the bread of tears, And You have made them to drink tears in large measure. 6 You make us an object of contention to our neighbors, And our enemies laugh among themselves. 7 O God of hosts, restore us And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.”

“4 O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, how long will you be angry with our prayers? 5 You have fed us with sorrow and made us drink tears by the bucketful. 6 You have made us the scorn of neighboring nations.  Our enemies treat us as a joke. 7 Turn us again to yourself, O God of Heaven’s Armies.  Make your face shine down upon us.  Only then will we be saved.”  (NLT)

            We see in verse four that God is angry with His people and will not even listen to the prayers of His people.  I want to quote a passage that goes along with verse four from the NT book of 1 John:  “16 For instance, if we see a Christian believer sinning (clearly I’m not talking about those who make a practice of sin in a way that is "fatal," leading to eternal death), we ask for God’s help and he gladly gives it, gives life to the sinner whose sin is not fatal. There is such a thing as a fatal sin, and I’m not urging you to pray about that.”  (Message)  When we look at this verse, I think that it gives us a better understand of what Asaph is saying in verse four for God’s people were involved in sins that were about to lead to death for many of them especially those living in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

            Verse five goes on with the same theme as we saw in verse four, for God was angry with Israel and was causing them to feed on their tears because of their sorrow.

            Verse six speaks of what their neighbors were saying about them.  This verse kind of reminds me of what the Pharisees were saying to Jesus while He was on the cross dying for our sins, and they told Him that He had saved others, and wanted Him to save Himself.  Israel’s neighbors were taunting Israel because of their so called belief in the God of all creation, and wondering why He could not save them.

            We see in verse seven the refrain that is seen three times in this psalm, “restore us.”  Asaph is asking God to restore His people and he wants them to have the face of God shine upon them and then they will be saved.  In the NLT we see that it shows more accurately that Asaph is speaking of the God of heavens armies, the God who leads all of His armies, but His people were not marching with His army for they were sinning against the Lord.

            “Revive Your Vine” (vv. 8-19):  “8 You brought us from Egypt like a grapevine;  you drove away the pagan nations and transplanted us into your land. 9 You cleared the ground for us, and we took root and filled the land. 10 Our shade covered the mountains;  our branches covered the mighty cedars. 11 We spread our branches west to the Mediterranean Sea; our shoots spread east to the Euphrates River. 12 But now, why have you broken down our walls so that all who pass by may steal our fruit? 13 The wild boar from the forest devours it, and the wild animals feed on it. 14 Come back, we beg you, O God of Heaven’s Armies.  Look down from heaven and see our plight. Take care of this grapevine 15 that you yourself have planted, this son you have raised for yourself. 16 For we are chopped up and burned by our enemies.  May they perish at the sight of your frown. 17 Strengthen the man you love, the son of your choice. 18 Then we will never abandon you again.  Revive us so we can call on your name once more. 19 Turn us again to yourself, O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies.  Make your face shine down upon us.  Only then will we be saved.  (NLT) 19 O LORD God of hosts, restore us; Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. (NASB)

            God’s people are seen as God’s vine in different sections of both the old and new Testaments.  We see Jesus call Himself the “Vine” in John 15 and in Revelations 14:17-20 we read about the vine of the earth and this time we see this term being used of the corrupt Gentile nations during the end times.  We see in verses 8-11 Asaph is speaking about how the Lord brought His “vine” from Egypt and transplanted them in the Promised Land, removing the corrupt nations from the land, but then because Israel did not drive all of the nations out of the Promised Land they became a thorn in their side and Israel began to practice the very things that caused the Lord to remove those nations from the Land, and the “vine” began to produce corrupt fruit.

            Asaph prays that the Lord would return and have pity on Israel in the way that He had in times past.  This is seen in verse fourteen.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following as he concludes his commentary on Psalm 80:  “The final refrain introduces a third name for God, borrowed from verse 4:’O Lord God of hosts [Almighty, NIV]. ‘Lord is the name ‘Jehovah,’ which is the covenant name of God.  The psalmist appealed to the covenant and asked God to be faithful to forgive His people as they call upon Him and confessed their sins (Lev. 26:40-45; Deut. 30:1-10).  This is the Old Testament version of 1John 1:9.  Spiritually speaking, the roots of Israel are still strong (Rom. 11:1ff, especially vv. 16-24), and one day the vine and olive tree will be resorted, and Asaph’s prayer will be answered.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I will surely be glad when Asaph’s prayer will be answered, for at that time the Church will have been raptured and then returned to earth to help our Lord in the 1000 year kingdom on planet earth where that land will be filled with the glory of the Lord. 

            Restore and revive are similar words and we spoke of in the last SD, and I continue to pray for revival in a land that is in great need of it.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I desire to continue to learn contentment in every area of my life, and some of those areas are difficult now, so contentment is truly needed.

5/1/2012 8:48:17 AM