John 12: Why Did Jesus Ride a Donkey?

Today’s reading is John 12.

Who is the King of Israel? That’s the Messiah, right? When John records the people quoting Psalm 118:25-26, saying, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel?” and then mentions Jesus riding on a donkey and referring back to Zechariah 9:9, saying, “Behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt,” we tend to quickly run through these verses saying, “Oh, look. A prophecy of the Messiah fulfilled by Jesus.”

May I suggest this is actually much bigger and more profound than that?

In context, Zechariah 9:9 is not actually a foretelling of the coming Messiah. Rather, it caps off the preceding declaration that the Lord God was coming in judgment on Israel’s enemies and would set up rule again in Jerusalem. In fact, compare Zechariah 9:9 with Zephaniah 3:14-15: “Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil” (ESV). In fact, a decent argument can be made that when John references the Zechariah prophecy he includes the direction to “Fear not” because he is mashing together Zechariah 9:9 with Zephaniah 3:14-17. “Fear not” doesn’t appear in Zechariah’s text, but it does in Zephaniah’s. Who is the King of Israel? The LORD. That is, YHWH. Let’s cap this off by pointing out where Zechariah’s book ends. “The LORD will be king over all the earth” (Zechariah 14:9, ESV). And even further, “Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them” (Zechariah 14:16-17, ESV). Who is the King of Israel? The LORD of hosts; that is, YHWH.

When Jesus rides on the donkey to enter Jerusalem and the gospel writers specifically bring these prophetic writings to mind, they are not saying, “Oh look, put a checkmark beside this prophecy of the coming Messiah. Jesus fulfilled that one too.” Rather, they are making sure we understand what Jesus is claiming in this action. Jesus isn’t so much fulfilling a Messianic promise and prophecy as He is making clear who He is. He is the King of Israel coming into Jerusalem. Yes, yes, that means He is the Messiah the Son of David. But it means even more than that. He is the LORD of Hosts. He is God. He is YHWH.

Jesus is the King of Israel. He is the Son of David. He is the Son of God. He is God. And when He rode that donkey into Jerusalem, He wasn’t fulfilling a prophecy, He was making a statement. “You need to know who I am. I am the King. I am the LORD!”

Praise God! That’s our king.

Tomorrow’s reading is John 12.

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 John 12 prompt or improve your praise of God?

Psalm 96: Come, Lord Jesus!

Today’s reading is Psalm 96.

We have talked about the name of the Lord before. However, there is an aspect of it we English readers struggle to grasp. We have learned when we see the word LORD in our English translations in all uppercase letters, usually with the first a little larger than the rest (though in these blog posts it is impossible to format that properly), the Hebrew text contains the tetragrammaton. That is, the Hebrew text contains the four letters of the unpronounceable word representing the theonym of Israel’s deity. In transliteration, we print it YHWH. When turned into an English word we often pronounce it Yahweh or Jehovah.

However, the Israelites didn’t pronounce it at all. Instead, when they came to this word, they pronounced the word “Adonai,” the generic term for “lord” or “master.” When the Greeks came along and interpreted the Old Testament, they gave the same respect. Rather than transliterating the four letters into some kind of Greek variation like we do in English, they simply used the generic term for “lord” and “master.” Thus, when we see “LORD” in all uppercase letters, the Greek translation had “kurios/lord.” That is the case throughout all of Psalm 96.

With this in mind, consider Romans 1:1-6. Paul says Jesus was “descended from David according to the flesh.” However, more than that, He “was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.” But then he caps off this description saying He is “Jesus Christ our Lord.” That word “Lord” is “kurios.” Granted, that word can be generic. But in context of Scripture, what is Paul explaining? Jesus is the anointed, the Messiah, the descendent of God’s King and the descendent of God. He is the Lord who reigns.

In like manner, on Pentecost, when Peter preached the gospel for the first time, what did he proclaim? “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36, ESV). There it is again: Lord/kurios. Peter’s point is the same as Paul’s in Romans 1. In fact, back up two verses and read what led Peter to make his claim: “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool”‘” (ESV). Both times you see the word “Lord,” Luke used “kurios.” What was Luke recording and Peter preaching? Not simply that Jesus is any old lord or master. No. Jesus is the Lord who reigns.

Who is Jesus? He is the reigning Lord of Psalm 96. Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to the throne of God as Lord, Anointed, Christ, Savior, and King. We should sing praises to Him. We should ascribe glory to Him. He is the Creator. He is the Judge. Worship Him.

Praise the Lord, Jesus Christ is King!

Next week’s reading is Psalm 97.

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 96?

Psalm 95: He’s Got the Whole World in His Hand

Today’s reading is Psalm 95.

Moses’s fantastic psalm (Psalm 90) kicks off Book Four of the Psalter. He provides the seeds for further meditations in the psalms to follow. For instance Psalm 93 meditated on Moses’s statement, “from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:2c). Additionally, in Psalm 93, the door was opened for ongoing meditation on and consideration of not merely the everlasting nature of God’s existence, but the everlasting nature of God’s reign, rule, dominion, and kingship. That becomes a theme for meditation at least through Psalm 99.

Though Psalm 94 did not use the words “reign” or “king,” the judgment of God is certainly part of His rule. However, Psalm 95 takes up the meditation in explicit earnest.

For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.

Psalm 95:3 (ESV).

YHWH is not simply King of the world, King of all nations, King of all peoples, He is the King above all gods. Recall Psalm 86:8, 10 to remember this reference to other gods does not assert the existence of other truly divine beings (even if other spiritual beings existed that ancients worshiped as gods, cf. Deuteronomy 32:17; 1 Corinthians 10:20). Only One has an existence and being rising to the level of true deity: YHWH. Which is why, of course, His kingship places Him above all gods. YHWH’s being and power surpass anything and anyone else people classify as god, whether they are worshiping figments of their imagination or lesser spiritual beings.

Then the psalmist gives testimony of God’s greatness.

In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

Psalm 95:4-5 (ESV)

Psalm 95 is cut from the same cloth as Isaiah 40. Both draw on similar pictures. Isaiah wrote:

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
…
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.

Isaiah 40:12, 15 (ESV)

God is so grand, so amazing, if we gathered every drop of water on the earth, He could hold it all in the hollow of His hand. He is able to hold all the land in one of His measuring cups. All the nations, compared to Him, are but dust on a scale. We don’t even worry about dust on a scale.

This is our grand and amazing God. He has the whole world in His hand. How much more does He hold you and me there?

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 95.

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 95 prompt or improve your praise of God?

Psalm 89: “You are my Father!”

Today’s reading is Psalm 89.

Ethan’s psalm is clearly anchored in the Lord’s covenant with David recorded in 2 Samuel 7:8-17 and 1 Chronicles 17:7-15. However, rather than quoting the record of the covenant or merely mirroring the covenant, Ethan intensifies and magnifies it. First, Ethan calls it a covenant (vss. 3, 28, 34). That word isn’t used in the Samuel and Chronicles records. The historical records mention the throne being forever, but only specifically mention a son for David. The psalm says the throne will be for all generations, specifically promising a dynasty (vs. 4). The historical record says David’s name will be made great, like the names of the great ones of the earth. The psalm says, “I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth” (vs. 27, ESV). The historical records talk about being given rest from enemies and enemies being cut off. The psalm says they will be struck down and crushed (vs. 23).

But perhaps the most significant intensification is the historical declaration about David’s son, saying, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son” (2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chronicles 17:13, ESV). In the psalm, however, the Lord’s anointed cries out:

“You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.”

Psalm 89:26 (ESV)

Certainly, any prophecy and promise connected to David and his dynasty leads to the Son of David, Jesus Christ (see Matthew 1:1). More than that, in the psalms, this declaration is a response to where the psalms began.

First, see the comparison between Psalm 89:15-18 and Psalm 1. In Psalm 1, the one who is blessed refuses to walk in the counsel of the ungodly but meditates on the law of the Lord day and night. This one is strengthened and prospered like a tree planted by streams of water. In Psalm 89, the one who is blessed walks in the light of the Lord’s face (cf. Numbers 6:24-26) and exults in God’s name all day. The Lord strengthens and shields him. Of course, in Psalm 89, this one is clearly the anointed of God, the King, David and his descendants.

Second, recognize the cry in Psalm 89:26 is the response to the Lord’s declaration in Psalm 2:7: “The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you” (ESV). Now the Son responds, “You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation” (ESV). You may be surprised to learn “Father” was not a common title given to God in the Old Testament. My quick search revealed only four times: Isaiah 63:16; 64:8; Jeremiah 3:19; Malachi 2:10 (in Isaiah 9:6 “Father” is used of the Messiah). However, Jesus repeatedly declares God His Father. In Matthew alone, Jesus calls God His Father 19 times (Matthew 17:21; 10:32, 33; 1:25, 26, 27; 12:50; 15:13; 18:10, 14, 19, 35; 20:23; 25:34; 26:29, 39, 42, 53; 28:19). In Luke 23:46, Jesus cries out with a loud voice, “Father! Into your hands I commit my spirit.” Who is it that cries out to God, “Father!”? Jesus.

As with Psalm 88, we realize the psalmist asks questions of which Jesus is the answer. Jesus is the Son of David, the anointed of God. “What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?” Jesus. “Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?” In Jesus. Who was actually mocked and bore the insults of the nations? That would be Jesus.

In the end, we discover God is strong enough, holy enough, and loving enough to come into the world in the person of Jesus who is the Christ the Son of Man, the Son of David, the Son of God. He was plundered, rejected, cast off, scorned, and shamed. But He delivered His soul from the power of Sheol for all of us.

No wonder this shocking psalm is the right psalm with which to end this third book of the psalms. No wonder this surprising psalm is the right place to tack on the doxology:

Blessed be the LORD forever!
Amen and amen.

The Lord is strong, holy, and loving. Let’s keep singing the mercies, steadfast love, and faithfulness of the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

Next week’s reading is Psalm 90.

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 89?

Psalm 89: When Bad Things Happen

Today’s reading is Psalm 89.

Something bad is happening. David or one of his descendants has been cast off and rejected. God’s wrath burns against him. The description of this bad time is extreme in vss. 38-45.

The fact is, we don’t know when this psalm was written. Most believe it is during the Babylonian exile after the political demise of David’s dynasty. Certainly, in the story arc of the third book of the Psalms, that fits. The previous Asaphite and Korahite psalms bring that destruction and period of judgment to mind repeatedly. Whether the psalm was originally written in that context or not, it is applied to that time by the editors who organized the psalms. However, though my first thought is this psalm is a product of Babylonian captivity, the attribution to Ethan the Ezrahite gives me pause. Surely, in a book of psalms by Korah, Asaph, and Heman, this Ethan is one of the singers David himself ordained to lead worship in Jerusalem at the tabernacle (see 1 Chronicles 6:44; 15:17-19). Of course, like some of the Asaphite psalms, this attribution could refer to the school of Ethan, the sons of Ethan, or even just the style of Ethan. However, I think we can entertain the idea Ethan himself wrote this psalm during the days of Absalom’s rebellion.

Either way, something bad is happening and it appears God has abandoned His word and His covenant with David. The author is confused. He doesn’t understand why the bad things are happening. Don’t miss the hint found in vss. 30-33. Even Ethan understood if David or his descendants forsook God’s law, God would discipline. There would be a time of punishment and consequences. However, God would not entirely remove His loyal love from them.

This helps put Ethan’s final questions in a different light. He is not simply asking out of despair. He is asking in faith. God has said He would discipline sin. The question then becomes, “How long?” “Haven’t you exhausted Your discipline and punishment yet, Lord? Isn’t it time to renew and refresh that loyal love just as You promised?”

And with that in mind the first verse becomes powerful. Ethan isn’t saying he will sing of the steadfast loyal love of the Lord forever because life will always turn up daisies. He is saying even when things aren’t going well and it is a time of punishment or maybe just a time of hard learning, he will continue to sing of God’s steadfast love, His mercies forever.

What do we need to do when bad things happen? We need to keep singing of the mercies, the steadfast love, and the faithfulness of the Lord. After all, He is strong enough, He is holy enough, and He loves us enough to keep His Word. So keep singing.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 89.

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 89 prompt or improve your hope in God?

Psalm 89: God Loves Enough

Today’s reading is Psalm 89.

When God’s promises don’t seem to be coming true and bad things are happening, especially if to good people, some suggest God is not strong enough or holy enough to deal with these situations. Over the past two days, we’ve seen what Ethan the Ezrahite thinks of these accusations. Others say God simply doesn’t care. Perhaps this is merely getting more specific on the holiness point we made yesterday. But I think it deserves its own specific look. Maybe God simply doesn’t love us enough to do something about it.

If there is anything in Ethan’s psalm, it is the issue of love. This psalm uses that special Hebrew word for steadfast love, loyal love, mercy, lovingkindness: hesed. We find it seven times in the psalm.

In fact, in the Hebrew, the psalm begins with that word. Ethan will sing of God’s loyal love forever in vs. 1. He does sing of it in vs. 2. In vs. 14, while His throne is built on holiness, loyal love is His forerunner. God promised His loyal love to be with David in vs. 24. Further, that love would keep David forever in vs. 28. And in vs. 33, God will not remove His loyal love from David or his descendants even if they sin (though He will discipline them with the rod).

Of course, all of this makes vs. 49 powerful.

Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
which by your faithfulness you swore to David? (ESV)

However, notice Ethan doesn’t claim God doesn’t love. He simply wonders why God hasn’t acted with that love yet. “How long” is the question again in vs. 46. Ethan doesn’t question whether God loves them, but why that love isn’t being acted out. And so he asks God to remember that love, to call it to mind. To let it be the determining factor in how He acts toward David or David’s descendant today.

Ethan writes the last third of the psalm not because he fears God doesn’t love David, Ethan, and Israel, but precisely because he is convinced God does love them. That is the essence of his confusion.

But here is the point for us. When things aren’t going the way we expect and it seems God’s promises are not coming to fruition, we do not have to fear God has forgotten us. We do not have to fear God is apathetic. And we certainly do not have to fear God hates us. We do not have to even fear God’s love is simply weak.

God loves enough. So keep singing His mercies, steadfast love, and faithfulness.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 89.

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 89 prompt or improve your trust in God?

Psalm 89: God is Holy Enough

Today’s reading is Psalm 89.

When bad things happen and it appears God is not keeping His promises, some suggest God is not strong enough. We saw Ethan the Ezrahite’s thoughts about this yesterday. Others say He is not good enough. They question His holiness. After all, everyone we know, no matter how good, has a little darkness in them. Perhaps YHWH is the same.

Ethan, our psalmist, however, does not see it that way. For all his questioning, perhaps bordering on accusing, at the end of the psalm, notice what he writes in vs. 14:

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you (ESV).

God’s throne, metonymy for God’s rule and reign, is founded on righteousness and justice. He is the King precisely because He is just. He is sovereign precisely because He is righteous. Some kings bend the rules. Some kings show partiality. Some kings take bribes. Some kings are selfish and self-centered. Not YHWH. The foundations of His rule are righteousness and justice. He doesn’t lie. He keeps His word.

In other words, our God is holy enough. When things don’t go the way we expect, when bad things happen even to good people, when God’s promises don’t seem to be coming to fruition, we do not have to fear God is going back on His Word. We do not have to fear we serve a fickle God. We don’t have to fear we serve a dishonest God.

Our God is holy enough. So keep singing of His mercies, steadfast love, and faithfulness.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 89.

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 89 admonish you?

Psalm 89: God is Strong Enough

Today’s reading is Psalm 89.

This psalm is not nearly as dark as the previous. However, it doesn’t end on a much higher note. In fact, the end is shocking. The first two-thirds of the psalm are beautiful and uplifting, encouraging and exhilarating. However, at vs. 38, it’s like someone grabbed the old record needle and scratched it along the surface.

We actually sing vs. 1 of this psalm quite often. “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever. I will sing. I will sing.” But getting to the end of this psalm makes that first verse rather striking. Something has gone very awry in opposition to everything stated in the first 37 verses. Something bad has happened. What are we to make of it?

Some would suggest when bad things happen, especially if they happen to good people, perhaps God is not strong enough to deal with those things. Of course, I am highly doubtful the bad things in this psalm are happening to good people, but rather we are dealing with consequences of sin. The psalm, however, doesn’t explicitly state that. But the things happening seem to contradict God’s earlier promises. And so the question comes up, “Is God strong enough to keep His promises?”

Absolutely!

The Lord is the God of creation. The heavens and the earth are His. The world and all that is in it belong to Him. He founded them and created them. He is the mighty Lord and there are none stronger among the heavenly hosts. He rules the seas and the raging waves. He crushed Rahab. Some take this as a reference to the ancient mythology of the surrounding nations in which Marduk conquered the sea-serpent known as Rahab or Leviathan allowing for creation of the world. If this is so, the psalmist is poetically describing the strength of YHWH. He, not Marduk, crushed the chaotic monster allowing for creation. Others see a reference (as in Psalm 87:4) to Egypt (see Isaiah 30:7; 51:9-11). If so, and I tend to read it this way, the psalmist remembers God’s victory over Egypt and His deliverance of Israel at that time. God is strong enough to deal with bad things, with the suffering of His people. He has the power to keep His promises.

In other words, when things aren’t going the way we expected. Even when it seems like God’s promises are not coming true, we need not fear God’s weakness. We need not fear some power, some deity, some circumstance has overcome God keeping Him from His promises.

Our God is strong enough. So keep singing of His mercies, steadfast love, and faithfulness.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 89.

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 89 prompt or improve your praise of God?

Psalm 86: You Alone are God

A few years ago, I learned a new term. I think I’ve mentioned it in our psalms talks before. The word is “henotheism.” Henotheism is a form of polytheism. It refers to a family or tribe worshiping a particular god while not disbelieving in the existence of other gods. It usually contains the idea of believing in multiple gods, but believing one god is supreme or sovereign over the rest.

Some scholars suggest the Jews were initially henotheistic and progressively became monotheistic. The monotheism was entrenched following the captivity in Babylon and the restoration.

On the one hand, there is simply no doubt many of the Jews throughout Israel’s history were individually henotheistic. They thought of YHWH the same way many of the neighboring nations thought of their own gods. Sure, there is Ra, Baal, Marduk, Ashtoreth, Molech, and on the list goes. But YHWH is the most powerful and sovereign over them all. He is the Most High, El Elyon.

There is no doubt YHWH made use of this belief (accommodatively, I believe) to demonstrate His own sovereignty. In Exodus 12:12, God says He will execute judgment on the “gods (elohim) of Egypt.” In Numbers 33:4, Moses recounts that is precisely what YHWH did, executing judgment on their gods (elohim). In Deuteronomy 4:7, God asks Israel to consider the other nations and their relationship with their gods (elohim) and how it compares to Israel’s relationship with Him.

However, let us not take this to mean the YHWH-ordained religion for the Jews at any time was henotheism any more than we should think the YHWH-ordained approach to worship was through statuary and idolatry even though most Israelites worshiped Him that way for most of Israel’s history. Psalm 86 drives this home.

In Psalm 86:8, the psalmist says, “There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours” (ESV). That sounds henotheistic. It sounds like “YHWH, there are lots of gods out there, but You are higher, stronger, and better than all the rest.” However, vs. 10 explains why this is so. Not because all the other gods are weaker, but because “You alone are God (elohim).” There is none like YHWH among the gods for one simple reason: none of the other gods are real.

Of course, some will say this psalm must have been written after the exile because Israel’s monotheism wasn’t settled until after the exile. But that is a bit like evolutionists telling us a fossil is a million years old because it is found in million-year-old rock, but when asked how they know the rock is a million years old they tell us because it contains a million-year-old fossil. Maybe Israel’s monotheism wasn’t settled until after the exile, unless, of course, this psalm was actually written by David as the ancient heading declares.

No matter how you cut it, we shouldn’t be surprised if many Israelites themselves misunderstood the nature of YHWH. But this psalm nails down the official, YHWH-ordained understanding. YHWH alone is God and there is none like Him among the gods because none of those other “gods” are actually gods.

The LORD our God is one. Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 86.

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 86 prompt or improve your trust in God?

Psalm 86: Master and Servant

Today’s reading is Psalm 86.

David (or whoever relied so heavily on the psalms of David to pray this prayer) is talking to God. I know, that’s an obvious statement. It is, after all, a prayer. But, note this psalmist addresses God in almost the same fashion as our brothers who are scared to death to stand in front of the congregation and pray, but brave enough to try. You know, the ones who say “Father,” “Lord,” and “God” over and over and over. In seventeen verses, he addresses God with some direct reference sixteen times.

He uses the tetragrammaton, the covenant name of God, four times: 1, 6, 11, 17. This is represented by the word “LORD” in all caps.

He uses “Elohim” or “El,” the generic words for God, five times: 2, 10, 12, 14, 15. These are consistently translated “God” in this psalm. (There is one use of “Elohim” to refer to other gods in vs. 8. We’ll discuss this tomorrow).

But the one that wins the prize for most used is “Adonai,” found seven times: 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 15. This word is translated “Lord,” with only the first letter capitalized. It essentially means “Master.”

We hold up YHWH as the special name of God. Thus, we tend to think it has more importance than “Adonai.” However, recognize when the Jews saw the tetragrammaton, they refused to say it out loud. They would instead say, “Adonai.” Thus, this word was quite special to them. And our psalmist uses it seven times in seventeen verses.

The psalmist was praying to his Lord, his Master. And this was no mere appellation. David knew his place. He was the servant. He says so in vs. 2, 4, and 16. Not only that, his mother was Adonai’s maidservant in vs. 16.

In our modern day, we don’t like the Master/slave picture. However, we need to understand, “Lord” is not just an antiquated word we use to refer to God. It is a statement of submission. We call Him Lord because when we are rightly oriented toward Him, we know we are His servant, His slave.

But what a great thing we see in this psalm. We don’t like the Master/slave relationship because we picture masters victimizing and oppressing slaves for their own personal profit. That is not how David viewed his enslavement. Rather, because He was YHWH’s slave, he knew he could find protection, refuge, mercy, and deliverance. David is the servant, but he prays to his Master with the understanding the Master would actually render him service. How amazing is that?!

That is the kind of Master we have. That is our Lord. That is our God. How can we do anything but serve Him?

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 86.

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 86 admonish you?