John 10: “You Are Gods”

Today’s reading is John 10.

Once again, the Jews pick up stones to kill Jesus. This time, instead of just slipping away from them, He asks a question. “For which good work are you going to stone me?” Pretty sure I wouldn’t have taken the time to ask such a question, but that’s our King: guts galore. The people declare they are going to stone Him for making Himself out to be God. Of course, let’s pause to notice once again those who declare Jesus never claimed to be God are simply wrong. The Jews hear Jesus claiming deity. And Jesus doesn’t respond by saying, “No, no, no! You all misunderstood me.”

Instead, He asks about Psalm 82:6. Which in the Septuagint, often quoted by Jesus, reads:

I said, “You are gods,
and all are children of the Most High” (LES2)

Opinions abound on whom the psalmist calls “gods.” However, Jesus gives us clarity. He says, “If he called them gods to whom the word of God came…” (John 10:35, ESV). The Word of God came to Israel. Psalm 82 spoke of the judgment God was going to bring upon Israel because they allowed partiality against the weak, needy, fatherless. They did not love their neighbors as themselves and would be judged for it.

But what is Jesus’s point? How does this transfer into a defense of His claim to be the Son of God? Jesus is not merely making a play on the quote’s context, which includes the notion of being children of God. Rather, if God can call all Israelites His children, what should they have expected the Messiah to say of Himself when He arrived? If all Israelites are children of God, would we not expect the Messiah, the ultimate Israelite, to be the ultimate child of God? Would we not expect Him to come in and proclaim Himself God’s Son? Keep in mind, Psalm 2 calls Him that:

The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.”

Psalm 2:7 (ESV)

Jesus is not saying to the crowds, “Hey, guys, I’m not saying I’m divine, I’m just saying what these verses said.” Jesus is saying, “Hey, guys, have you considered what these verses really mean about the Messiah? What did you expect the true Messiah to come in and say? Who did you expect the true Messiah to actually be?”

Jesus caps off the argument with this: “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father” (John 10:37-38, ESV). This really drives it home, doesn’t it? Jesus is doing what only someone from God could do. More than that, Jesus is doing what only God can do. Jesus is claiming to be what only God promised to be. He is the New Moses. He is the New David. He is the One Shepherd. He is the Messiah. He is the LORD.

Praise the Lord! That’s our King!

Tomorrow’s reading is John 10.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
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How does John 10 prompt or improve your hope in God?

Psalm 106: Standing in the Breach

Today’s reading is Psalm 106.

Paul doesn’t specifically quote Psalm 106, but read the psalm and then read Romans 1 and tell me whether or not Paul had this psalm in mind.

They made a calf in Horeb
and worshiped a metal image.
They exchanged the glory of God
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
They forgot God, their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt…

Psalm 106:19-21 (ESV)

For although they knew God, the did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Romans 1:21-23 (ESV)

First, perhaps this should cause us to reassess whom we think Paul is talking about in these verses in Romans 1. Second, this will help us find Jesus in this psalm. At least, it will help us find the foreshadowing that points to Jesus.

Our psalmist goes on to say…

Therefore [God] said he would destroy them–
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

Psalm 106:23 (ESV)

Over and again, Israel escaped judgment because Moses interceded for them. He stood in the breach.

Then the psalm tells us about Phinehas when Israel yoked themselves to Baal at Peor.

They provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was stayed.

Psalm 106:29-30 (ESV)

Do you recall how Phinehas intervened and staid the plague? He executed the Israelite Zimri while he was committing immorality with the Midianite Cozbi (Numbers 25:10-18).

Between these two types, we see the shadow of Jesus stretching back into the events of the Old Covenant. After all, we too have exchanged the glory of God. We have all sinned and fallen short of His glory. We deserved to die. But instead, Jesus interceded on our behalf. He stood in the breach for us. Not only that, He stood in the breach, not by executing someone, but by allowing Himself to be executed. Thus, in Romans as Paul continues his argument, he says:

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die–but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8 (ESV)

Jesus stood in the breach for us. Praise the Lord! Let us bow our knee before Him and confess Him Lord. Let us repent. Let us follow in His footsteps, dying to sin and being buried for the remission of our sins, raised up to walk in new life (see Romans 6:5-11). If we can help you die with Jesus Christ in baptism and rise to walk in a new life, let us know.

Next week’s reading is John 1.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
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What do you want to share with others from Psalm 106?

Psalm 106: Remember Me When You Save Us

Today’s reading is Psalm 106.

I think my favorite verse in Psalm 106 is vs. 4:

Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people;
help me when you save them (ESV).

The psalm essentially ends with a request in vs. 47:

Save us, O LORD our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise (ESV).

As we said on Monday, this is a meditation for exiles capping off a book of meditation for exiles. This particular exile expects God to deliver His people and restore them to the Promised Land. His special request? “Please, include me.”

I can’t help but also tie this notion to the repeat prodigal we talked about yesterday. To me, this psalm comes off as the psalmist making a case for why God should include him in the communal deliverance. Because God is the kind of God that delivers even when the sinner has sinned over and over again. In other words, it is almost as if the psalmist is saying, “I know I don’t deserve it. I know I’ve messed up over and over again. I know I’ve sinned and rebelled repeatedly. I need your mercy. Please, give it to me.” Then he tells the story of Israel as a case study in why God should include him in the restoration. And how amazing the case study is. The psalmist doesn’t say, “Please, save me when you save Israel because my sins weren’t really my fault.” He doesn’t say, “I know I committed that first big rebellion, but can you blame me? Did you meet my parents?” He doesn’t tick off his repeated sins with excuses or explanations for each of them. He doesn’t ask God to remember him because of anything residing in the psalmist himself. Rather, the entire reason the psalmist believes God should save him with Israel resides in God.

The psalmist is saying, “Remember me, Lord, not because of anything about me, but because of everything about You.”

What a great Lord the psalmist had. What a great Lord we have. Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 106.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
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How does Psalm 106 prompt or improve your trust in God?

Psalm 106: Prodigal Again

Today’s reading is Psalm 106.

A friend of mine once talked to me about the parable about the prodigal son. On the one hand, he said, the parable was one of his favorites. It let him know that despite his own sins and failings, he could turn to the Father and find forgiveness. On the other hand, he said, he struggled because what he needed was the story of the prodigal who returned home, found forgiveness and welcome, then demanded his inheritance again and went off to the foreign country again, and wasted the inheritance again, and then came back again. AND found forgiveness and welcome again. But not only that, he needed the story in which it happened a third time and a fourth time. He explained, that had been his life. At some point, he expressed, he began to think surely God’s forgiveness would not be extended again.

May I suggest we find the story of this repeat prodigal in Psalm 106? The story of Israel is the story of a repeat prodigal. They sinned in Egypt. They rebelled at the Red Sea. They forgot God’s works as soon as they were past the Red Sea. They were jealous of Moses. They made a golden calf immediately after God said they should not make idols. They despised the Promised Land and didn’t go into it. They attached themselves to Baal at Peor. They angered God multiple times over water in the wilderness. Once they got in the land, they didn’t bring God’s judgment on the inhabitants, but let many of them live and followed them in their idolatry. God judged them repeatedly in the period we call the period of the judges. But every time they cried out to Him, God brought forgiveness. He gave them mercy. He showed His steadfast love. They were prodigal again and again and again. This didn’t merely stumbling here and there again and again and again, but rebelled again and again and again. Every time they turned to the Lord, He turned back to them.

Please, don’t misunderstand. Nothing in this psalm permits sin. The psalmist does not invite us to turn to sin with the promise God will take us back when we are done. But the psalmist does remind you if you have gone back into sin again, you don’t have to stay there. Come back from the far country. Come back to be the Father’s servant and He will instead receive you as His child. He will welcome you again. Can we help you turn back to the Father?

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 106.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
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How does Psalm 106 admonish you?

Psalm 106: Meditations for Exiles

Today’s reading is Psalm 106.

Psalms is obviously not a narrative. However, the five books do loosely provide the story of Israel. In Books I and II, we see meditations under the monarchy. We begin with the King, God’s Son set on God’s holy hill in the second Psalm and get all the way to a psalm by Solomon at the end of book II. Book III, though short, gave an abundance of psalms demonstrating God’s judgment and destruction of His city and house. Book IV gives us meditations of people in exile. They have been taken captive but they look forward to restoration.

We’ve come to the final meditation in this book. Honestly, it surprises me because it, as much or more than any of the others in this book, explains why Israel was in exile. They sinned again and again and again. I expected the compilers of Book IV to give a much more positive and hopeful look at the situation. They did that in the previous psalm. Psalm 105 hit the mountaintops of praise of God and His steadfast love. Psalm 106 gives us all the reasons God has to abandon that love. But, that may be why this one is actually the height. Despite all the good and justifiable reasons He has to abandon Israel, He still extends love, mercy, and deliverance.

I’m glad we’re getting a bonus week to finish out this book of the Psalms. What a fantastic book it has been. The book began with a psalm from Moses asking the Lord to have pity on His servants (Psalm 90). The next three psalms meditate deeper on points made in Psalm 90. Psalm 91 meditates on God as the dwelling place of His people–not Babylon, but not Jerusalem either: God. Psalm 92 expands on Israel as the work of God’s hands. Then Psalm 93 takes the Psalm 90:2 statement that God is from everlasting to everlasting and opens the door to a series of meditations on YHWH as the everlasting King. Repeatedly, these psalms declare “The LORD reigns.” He is the reigning judge in Psalm 94. He is King above all gods in Psalm 95. He should be declared King not just in Israel but among all nations in Psalm 96 (including the one holding them captive). Because the LORD reigns, Israel must get rid of all idols in Psalm 97. Because the LORD is such a great King, Israel and all the earth should make a joyful noise in Psalm 98. We should be thankful the LORD is king in Psalm 99 because He is Holy, Holy, Holy. And in case we missed it in Psalm 98, we should keep making a joyful noise to the LORD the King in Psalm 100. In Psalm 101, we see the commitment and plans of the LORD’s king, which provide guidelines for how the LORD’s people should behave. In Psalm 102, the Psalmist who is dying young, seeks the aid of the LORD who by contrast is King forever. In Psalm 103 we meditate on the LORD who forgives. What better meditation while in exile over sin? In Psalm 104, we praise God the creator who made an inhabitable world and provided Israel an inhabitable land. In Psalm 105, we praise God for bringing Israel in to inhabit that land as promised to Abraham. All of these are the songs compiled to sing in the time of exile. Songs to remember why God had punished and songs to look forward to how God will restore.

And now we come to Psalm 106, an individual confesses on behalf of Israel all their sins. He recalls God’s steadfast love and seeks God’s mercy once again. Praise the Lord! He will respond.

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 106.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
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How does Psalm 106 prompt or improve your praise to God?

Psalm 105: The Rock that Followed Them

Today’s reading is Psalm 105.

Where on earth will we find Jesus in Psalm 105? The whole psalm looks back to Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, the Exodus, the wilderness wanderings. It doesn’t look ahead to Jesus, does it?

Paul gives us some help here.

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

1 Corinthians 9:1-4 (ESV)

Do you see Jesus in Psalm 105 now?

He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham his servant.

Psalm 105: 41-42 (ESV)

In Exodus 17 and in Numbers 20, God made water flow from the rock so Israel could drink. Paul explains the rock is Jesus. Of course, Paul didn’t mean the rocks were literally Jesus as if Jesus came into the world in the form of a rock on those two occasions. Rather, his point was the water didn’t come from some previously unknown fountain or spring breaking forth when Moses struck those rocks. The water came from Jesus.

Because Jesus followed Israel, because Jesus was with Israel, Israel found blessing. Paul’s point is we are one with Israel. They weren’t drinking from a different source than we drink. The living water we receive (the Holy Spirit) is from Jesus. In the same way, Jesus is the bread of life. We eat the same spiritual food as they did. No, we don’t eat manna, but we eat from the same sustaining life giving power they did.

The great part of this though is not simply noticing the food and drink which is Jesus. But noticing why God provides the food and drink. Because He remembers the promise He made to Abraham. Because He promised to Abraham to provide a blessing to all nations through Abraham’s offspring. That offspring is Jesus Christ. God keeps His Word not because we deserve it. Not because we’ve earned it. He keeps His Word because He is trustworthy. He made a promise. He will keep it. And if we are in Christ, we are Abraham’s offspring and we will receive His blessing.

Praise the Lord!

Next week’s reading is Psalm 106.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

What do you want to share with others from Psalm 105?

Psalm 105: Sojourners

Today’s reading is Psalm 105.

Though God had promised Abraham the land on which he traveled, his family never owned any of it (except a burial plot). According to Psalm 105:12, they were sojourners. That is, strangers. They wandered from nation to nation within the land. God protected them the whole time. But they weren’t home yet.

Then, during the famine, they traveled down to Egypt. Their brother was second in command of the country. They were living in the best of the land. They didn’t have to wander anymore. They could settle in. However, notice Psalm 105:23. They weren’t dwelling in Egypt. They didn’t reside in Egypt. They “sojourned” in Egypt. They were still strangers. They still weren’t home.

We need to remember this. We live in this world. Many of us are prosperous. We have houses. We have jobs. We’re raising our families. We know our neighbors. We are involved in the community. But we are not home. Our citizenship is in heaven. Our kingdom is heavenly. We sojourn here, we do not dwell here. We must not get attached. We must not get distracted. We must not get lured and enticed to count this as home. It’s not.

But if we obey God here in “Egypt,” He will make us fruitful. He will strengthen us beyond our foes. And He will deliver us into His Promised Land. Let’s hang on until He does.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 105.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Psalm 105 prompt or improve your hope in God?

Psalm 105: What Have I Done to Deserve This?

Today’s reading is Psalm 105.

“What have I done to deserve this?”

Have you ever asked that question? You were going through some major difficulty, perhaps including pain and suffering physically, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually. You thought, “But I serve God faithfully. What have I done to deserve this?”

Imagine how Joseph felt. Perhaps Joseph was a bit of a braggart among his brothers. I understand there is even a possibility the word used to say he gave a bad report against his brothers might imply he lied about them. Let’s face it, even without those possibilities, we all know Joseph wasn’t perfect. Only Jesus was that. But even with the mentioned possibilities, Joseph is presented as a pretty decent fellow. But, according to Psalm 105:17-18, he “was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron.” Do you think when he was in the pit he hollered to his brothers, “What have I done to deserve this?” Or when he obeyed God and refused to commit immorality with Potiphar’s wife and it landed him in prison. Do you think he ever looked to heaven and cried, “What have I done to deserve this?”

But we know the story, don’t we? It wasn’t a matter of deserving. God had a plan for Joseph. Joseph’s suffering prepared the way for Israel’s safety and protection during the famine. Further, the experiences allowed him to “teach his elders wisdom” according to vs. 22.

I don’t want to be overly simplistic. Our God is infinitely wise and has many reasons He will allow us to go through hardship. I don’t want to forget Job who clearly asked, “What did I do to deserve this?” I don’t want to provide empty platitudes like “every time God closes a door, He opens a window.” Maybe. Maybe not. My hardship today is probably not leading me to become President of the U.S. or King of the World. Getting laid off may not in fact pave the way for a better job. Further, my suffering may not produce some obvious amazing good goal I can see and tell everyone about. I may never know what benefit or blessing my suffering produced for me or others. Further, I don’t want to suggest when we’re suffering we are not allowed to do something to better our situation. Paul was allowed to inform the centurion of his Roman citizenship and escape the beating. But I learn this from Joseph: God can use my suffering in ways I will never imagine while I’m suffering. I’m saying, “What did I do to deserve this?” God is saying, “Just hang on. You’ll be amazed what I have planned for you.” I may not know what it is until eternity.

Of course, the interesting thing is when what I’m experiencing is more like when Joseph was freed and made lord of Pharaoh’s house or when he provided rescue for Israel’s family from the famine, we rarely stop to ask, “What did I do to deserve this?” Yet, we probably should ask it then even more. Psalm 105 doesn’t talk about all the sinning Israel did all along the way, but Psalm 106 will. It’s actually quite shocking God would plan or do anything to rescue Israel. After all, the Israel God rescued was the kind of family that would sell their younger brother into slavery.

Instead of wasting our time asking, “What did I do to deserve this?” we would be better off if we just decided to obey God no matter what we endure. Then, when God delivers and rescues us, we can be thankful He doesn’t always give us what we deserve.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 105.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Psalm 105 prompt or improve your trust in God?

Psalm 105: That They Might Observe His Laws

Today’s reading is Psalm 105.

In Exodus 5:3, Moses and Aaron petitioned Pharaoh, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword” (ESV). Pharaoh refuses. Plagues begin. When we read through the interchanges between Moses and Pharaoh, we discover Moses did not ask Pharaoh to free the Israelites. He merely asked they be allowed to go three days into the wilderness to be able to worship God.

For instance, after the frogs, Pharaoh did not agree to free Israel, but agreed to let them go sacrifice (Exodus 8:8). In Exodus 8:25, Pharaoh wanted to negotiate: “You can go sacrifice, but stay in the land.” Moses said that wouldn’t work because worship of the LORD was an abomination to Egyptians. Pharaoh agreed to let them go into the wilderness as long as they didn’t go very far away. In Exodus 10:7-11, Pharaoh was willing to let the adult men go and worship in the wilderness, but not to let them take their children. In Exodus 10:24, Pharaoh said they could take their little ones, but not their flocks. Moses explained they needed their flocks because the LORD required sacrifice and they didn’t know how many.

Do you see what is happening in these negotiations? Every bit of this hinges around Israel being able to worship the LORD they way He wants them to worship. They cannot do that in Egypt. Therefore, God is engineering the plagues in such a way to push Pharaoh not simply to let them go into the wilderness for a worship trip, but to let them go completely. When the tenth plague is done, Pharaoh does exactly that, driving Israel away entirely. He doesn’t just give them permission to go into the wilderness, he demands they leave. Certainly, he recants, which leads to the Red Sea wonder. But his initial demand after the death of his son was for Israel to get out of Egypt entirely.

But take in what all of this is saying. The LORD did not send the plagues to set Israel free so Israel could do whatever they wanted. He set Israel free, brought them into their own land, so they could worship Him His way. They were not free to worship the LORD His way in Egypt. But in the Promised Land, they were free to do so.

And that is precisely where this week’s psalm takes us.

So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
And he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil,
That they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.

Psalm 105:43-44 (ESV)

We need to keep that in mind. Jesus has set us free from sin, but not to do whatever we want. He has set us free and brought us into His kingdom so we may keep his statutes and observe His laws. We are free to obey Him.

Praise the Lord!

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Psalm 105 admonish you?

Psalm 105: Offspring of Abraham

Today’s reading is Psalm 105.

The first six verses of Psalm 105 contain ten imperative statements, ten commandments, if you will: Give thanks, call, make known, sing, tell, glory, rejoice, seek, seek, remember.

Who is to keep these commandments? The offspring of Abraham. Can we remember what we are told in Galatians 3:29?

And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise (ESV).

Who are we? If we are in Christ, we are Abraham’s offspring. What then are we to do? Give thanks, call, make known, sing, tell, glory, rejoice, seek, seek, remember.

This is a psalm for us Christians as much as it is a psalm for Israelites. This psalm recounts the beginning of our spiritual heritage as it does the beginning of the Jews’ spiritual heritage. Abraham is our father. Isaac is our father. Jacob is our father. Joseph is our father. These magnificent works God did for Israel, He did for us.

We should remember them, rejoice in them, proclaim them, and call upon the God who did them. He is our God.

Praise the Lord!

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Psalm 105 prompt or improve your praise of God?