Tag Archives: Bible

Mar 26 2013

Proverbs 20 – Like Deep Water

Sometimes the proverbs of these chapters come at us so fast that our eyes want to glaze over, and we can miss any point whatsoever quite easily in any one of them.  Then we read the same set on another occasion, and something just clicks, and we so “oh yeah…i think I get it now!”  Verse 5 of this chapter was one such proverb for me:

“The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water,
but a man of understanding will draw it out.”

Humpback_WhaleSolomon presses us in these proverbs, particularly in the first few chapters, to pray for and to seek wisdom for many good reasons.  One of those reasons is to gain a deeper understanding of life, and of the heart.  Along those lines, so many of these proverbs speak of the value and wisdom to be gained by just listening.  By listening to others, we gain experience with the ways of the mind and of the heart – we acquire understanding.  The reference to deep water here is to say that what lies at the heart of a man’s (or a woman’s) intentions, desires, or even something that may really be bothering them is sometime not so obvious.

But by learning to listen, we can also learn what questions to ask to get to the heart of the matter.  And if the heart is up to no good, that will come out as well.  How do we know what questions to ask?  We ask those questions that help us gain a better understanding of what we are listening to.  And how does this help us with our walk with God?  If we truly are to love our neighbor, we must care enough about him to seek some insight into his heart.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Mar 25 2013

Psalm 119:81-88; Psalm 45

kafToday’s stanza of Psalm 119 is brought to you by the eleventh letter of the Aleph-bet, “kaph” or “kaf.”  In the first three verses the psalmist’s endurance is running low and he prays for God’s help and strength in his persecution.  A wineskin is a “bottle” made of leather or some other skin for holding wine.  The analogy of the wineskin being dried up in smoke is in relation to his distress and sorrow.

Psalm 45 has in its superscript a musical direction to sing the psalm to the tune of a song called “Lilies.”  The king in this psalm clearly points to the Messiah, and his princess bride is His church.  Verse 2 begins with a description of Him that is also referred to in Isaiah 33:17, and Paul refers to the second part of the verse (“God has blessed you forever”) concerning Jesus in Romans 9:5.  Verses 6-7, referring to His throne lasting forever, are cited by the Hebrew writer in Hebrews 1:8-9.  In verse 10, “Forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house” is just what Jesus said to his disciples in Luke 14:26, 33.  Verses 13-15 refer to the end of days when the saints will join the Savior in heaven, and is prophesied also in Isaiah 35:10.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Mar 24 2013

Basic Old Testament Facts (Part 1)

A couple of years ago, I was privileged to participate in a Bible study series that concentrated on revisiting and strengthening knowledge of basic Bible facts – literally just hitting the highlights.  Here is part 1 of an outline of part of the Old testament portion of that study that I find useful from time to time for reference.  I hope you find it useful as well.  We may do some more of this with the New Testament later on.

Here are some book and chapter citings, as well as dates of key Old Testament events

In part 2, we will attempt a one or two sentence description of the 39 books of the OT.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
image © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Mar 22 2013

Psalms 40 – My Help and My Deliverer

Rembrandt - Simeon and Anna Recognize the Lord...

Rembrandt – Simeon and Anna Recognize the Lord in Jesus – WGA19102 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

There is some disagreement over whether this psalm is more about David praying for his own predicament, or about the Lord Jesus as Messiah.  It seems clear to this blogger that both are the case.  Consider the fact that verses 6-8 are quoted by the Hebrew writer in Hebrews 10:5-8.  The audience of the latter verses was considering abandoning its Jewish Christianity to return to traditional Judaism.  Coffman suggested that verse 3 points to the New Covenant of Jeremiah:31-35.  Verse 4 suggests a reference to worshiping false gods:

 

“Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!”

 

Verses 16-17 reminds us of the loving care of a Creator and God who considers each and every one of us important enough to watch over and care for us, his children.

 

“As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!”

 

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

 

/Bob’s boy

 

___________________

 

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

 

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

 

Mar 21 2013

Job 10 – A Plea to God

Job-004Job continues his answer to Bildad, reiterating that he has a right to complain, but showing in verse 2 that he still trusts the Lord to do the right thing.  Job does not deny being a sinner, but insists that he is not wicked; and he pleads with God to tell him what his sin might be that is causing this harsh judgment on him.  To his credit, he does still give praise to God and recognize His loving care in verse 12:

You have granted me life and steadfast love,
and your care has preserved my spirit

In verse 15, Job points out that his pitiful condition contradicts his protestation of innocence – that it brings him shame because others perceive that his afflictions are due to his own sin.  He restates his wish to die (verses 18-19).  Some see many of Job’s statements as accusatory to God, and bordering on blasphemy.  But if you look closely, you can see great faith and praise in many of these verses (verse 11, for example).

Chapters like this one can be very difficult to keep reading, and at times are filled with very dark poetry:

“…before I go—and I shall not return—
to the land of darkness and deep shadow,
the land of gloom like thick darkness,
like deep shadow without any order,
where light is as thick darkness.”

Do not get discouraged, keep on studying the Book of Job.  It has so much more to offer than mere gloom and suffering, as we will continue to see more and more.  One of the challenges is to recognize the insight it gives us to the mindset of many people who truly are suffering, and even at times see a reflection of ourselves when our faith and our endurance is tested – how we succeed in “staying the course,” as well as how we often fail to do so.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Mar 20 2013

Psalm 35 – Let Them Be Turned Back

Saul and David.

Saul and David. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This Psalm is one of several that are classified as imprecatory psalms – a categorization to which this blogger objects because some define the word “imprecate” as “to invoke evil upon.” What David is praying for in these psalms is nothing other than the righteous judgment of the Lord on the wicked people who wish to harm and even to kill him.  Some who object to, or make excuses for, these psalms remind us that Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.  He did indeed, but he did not also tell us to pray that they will be successful in their endeavors to do us harm.

C. S. Lewis noted that “the ferocious parts of the Psalms serve as a reminder that there is in the world such a thing as wickedness and that it (if not its perpetrators) is hateful to God” (Lewis, C. S. 1958. Reflections on the Psalms. New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace, and Co.).  Dr. George DeHoff wrote “…David is not here pleading for innocent people to be destroyed, but for wicked people to be punished for their evil deeds in order to bring them to repentance and ultimate salvation.”

It is supposed that this psalm was written at the time when King Saul and his men were pursuing David.   In verses 11-14, he speaks plainly of the evil treatment he has received at the hands of people to whom he had been good and kind.  DeHoff also declared that “these prayers may be prayed by any child of God today.”

“Let not those rejoice over me
who are wrongfully my foes,
and let not those wink the eye
who hate me without cause.”

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Mar 19 2013

Proverbs 19 – A Man’s Folly

The first of the verses of this chapter of Proverbs that caught our eye as real wisdom is verse 3:

When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin,
his heart rages against the Lord

Don’t misunderstand this post.  As the Book of Job eloquently points out, man’s troubles are not always brought about by his own actions.  But most of us have known someone – maybe you even know someone now – who fits the description of this verse.  The person I am speaking of has either done something foolish, or lived a life of sin – or often, both of these.  Now their deeds have caught up with them in their life, and the consequences they are having to live with are great.  Perhaps it has resulted in trouble with the law, their marriage, financial devastation.  Maybe their health is bad due to a life of fast living and sinful self-indulgence.

jailBut instead of recognizing that most of what has come to pass in their life is self-inflicted, they instead rail against the Lord.  I have known people in this position who loudly proclaim that no just God would allow such things to happen to them, and they shake their fists at the heavens.  How tragic and ironic that we are inclined to blame our Creator for such trials in our lives, when He is precisely the one we need at those times – not to mention the fact that such trials will not have the opportunity to have their effect of building our strength and character as James advised (James 1:2-4) in that frame of mind.  It is a lose/lose situation.

We begin to overcome our own folly only after we come to recognize it for what it is, resolve to change, give ourselves over to serve the Lord, and allow Him to strengthen us day by day.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Mar 18 2013

Psalm 119:73-80; Psalm 39 – The measure of my days

yodhToday’s stanza of Psalm 119 is brought to you by the letter Yod (or Yodh).  The 10th letter of the Hebrew Aleph-bet is the equivalent of the Greek Iota, and is what is referred to in Matthew 5:18, where Jesus says “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”  In the King James version, it is a “jot” or a “tittle” – jot being the Anglicized word used for iota.  In either case, it is the smallest letter, and the tittle refers to a small stroke that is merely a part of a letter.  In verse 75 of this stanza, the psalmist recognizes that there is value to the soul to be had in the trials of life.

The superscript in Psalm 39 has the familiar “to the choirmaster” notation, but with “To Jeduthun” as the instruction.  While the exact meaning of this is not clear, we do know who Jeduthun was.  He is mentioned also in Psalm 62 and Psalm 72, and was one of David’s three Music leaders, the other two being Asaph and Heman (1 Chronicles 16:37-42). He was also the King’s Seer (2 Chronicles 35:15).

The exact occasion of this psalm is not known, but David does indicate his distress at the Lord’s rebuke of him for his sins (verses 10-11).  Verses 4-6 have him asking God for the measure of his days.  But notice as he makes general observances about man’s brevity of life, that the second part of verse 6 sounds an awful lot like Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes.  Compare “man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather” to Ecclesiastes 2:18,21, and 26 part of which says: (“I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me”).

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Mar 17 2013

Understanding the Cross of Christ – Part 2 (What is Sin?)

This series began in Part One as a search for a more meaningful answer to an aspiring young Christian’s question: “Why did God send His only son to die?”  The short answer “to save us from our sins,” while correct, really only serves to raise more questions.  Whether the question comes from a young person or someone older, I should be able to do better.  Hopefully I will be more prepared to answer that question by the end of this series.

A real understanding of the answer to this question naturally begins with understanding some things about sin.  So as we turn to that subject, the first set of questions we brought up in part one center around just what the problem is with sin.

What is sin anyway?

English: Man's Sin, and God's Promise; as in G...

English: Man’s Sin, and God’s Promise; as in Genesis 3:1-6, 13-15; illustration from a Bible card published by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Simply put, sin is that which is contrary to God’s will, His commandments, even that which is against His very nature.  Sin came into the world in what we know as “the fall” way back in Genesis 3.  At that time, man had a practical paradise on earth, as well the blessing of being really close to God.  But despite clear warning, he threw it all away in rebellion against the Lord, and nothing has been the same since that time.  God’s first reference to sin as a word in the scripture appears in Genesis 4, when Cain had become angry.  God had warned him that sin was “crouching at his door,” after which he in fact murdered his own brother.  Since that time, many specific acts that are sinful have been named in the Bible.  Some of those are named by Paul as “works of the flesh” in Galatians 5:19-20.  The fact that this is not a complete list of all sins is obvious, and made clear by the words “and things like these” at the end of the passage.

We know that those things in Paul’s letter to the Galatians are wrong.  We even know that such things as lying and murder are wrong.  But if there is no clearly exhaustive list of sins in the Bible to which we can refer, how should one know what else may be sinful?   The answer is by studying God’s word – the Scriptures.  The more we learn by reading and hearing God’s word, the more we know about what is right, what is wrong, and what is abhorrent to God (Proverbs 6:16-19, for example).   But we usually have to look no further than our own hearts.  God gave us a conscience; and if we truly examine ourselves with honesty, our internal conflict will betray our true knowledge of what God really expects from us (Romans 2:14-16).

English: The Story of Cain and Abel; as in Gen...

English: The Story of Cain and Abel; as in Genesis 4:3-15; illustration from a Bible card published by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So why does sin matter so much to God?

God has revealed Himself in many ways to us.  One of those of those ways is by His word. One could write a dissertation on that very subject, but we should know that the Bible declares (among other things) that God is the very definition of goodness and faithfulness, and that He has enduring and steadfast love (Psalm 100:5) – indeed that He is love (1 John 4:8)!  And from His word, we know that He is truth and holiness (Leviticus 19:2) – that He is light, and in Him is no darkness (1 John 1:5).  There is no evil in His character, and He is too pure to tolerate sin or evil (Habakkuk 1:13).

Why should sin matter to us?

We will have more to say about this in Part Three of this series.  But sin is important to us first and foremost because it separates us from God.  That separation is absolutely the worst thing that has ever happened to mankind.  It separated man from God after “the fall” of Genesis 3, and God has been at work to restore that relationship with Him ever since then.  The good news is that He has a plan to do just that very thing; and that hope for us has always pointed to the Cross.

On a Sunday within the next few short weeks, we will present part three of this series with a look at God’s response to sin. as we begin to examine His plan for our salvation and hope for being with Him forever.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
image © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Mar 15 2013

Psalm 33 -The Steadfast Love of the Lord

Psalm 33 is a hymn – a song of praise and prayer to the Lord, by whose word the heavens were made.  And it begins with the reasons for that praise – His word for man, His faithfulness to that word (verse 4), and the fact that He loves righteousness and justice.  The Lord has shown in His word over and over again how faithful He is to the promises He has made to us, and He does love righteousness.  But how fortunate for us that He also loves justice – for the fact that He is just.

201_01_0066_NatureCreationBkgAfter more praise for His creation of the world by His very word (verses 7-9), the psalmist returns to elaborate on that faithfulness and justice (verses 10-12).  Verses 16-17 simply mean that man’s faith in his own power and strength – even in large armies gives him an illusion of safety and a false promise of salvation.  He then points out God’s care for all those who wait upon Him, as He watches over those who fear Him, and see to it they are provided for (verses 18-19).  He finishes with prayer for the love of the Lord, as His people look toward Him with hope.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.