Chapter to Chapter - Thoughts on Daily Bible Readings

Old Testament reading:  Psalm 102-104

With every fiber of my being and all that in me is, I am resisting the urge to comment on Psalm 103. It is a genuine treasure, and you don’t need my help to appreciate and be encouraged by it. Instead, I want to focus on the gem found in Psalm 102:18-22 and the “people yet to be created” who will praise the Lord. I believe this is a reference to the establishment of the church and to God’s people who comprise it, namely, Christians. This people will be brought forth when the name of the Lord is declared in Jerusalem (v 21) and all peoples and kingdoms are gathered together as one to serve the Lord. Compare this to Isaiah 2:2-4 or Micah 4:1-3 (which are parallel texts). Also, I realized that I missed this same reference at the end of Psalm 22, verse 31 specifically. This undeniably Messianic Psalm closes with a reference to the righteousness established in Christ being declared to “a people who will be born” (note the future tense). God always had the church and Christians in His mind! Christ was not killed because He failed to establish His kingdom. Rather, He was crucified for the express purpose of establishing His kingdom.

New Testament reading: Acts 9-10

“You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Today’s reading marks the beginning of “phase four” in preaching the gospel to the whole world. The gospel had been preached in Jerusalem (Acts 2); the gospel had been preached in Judea (Acts 8:1, 4), and the gospel had been preached in Samaria (Acts 8:5). Now it was going to “the uttermost parts of the earth” (KJV), beginning with Cornelius and the Gentiles in Caesarea. As Peter was the first apostle to preach to the Jews (Acts 2), so also was he the first to preach to the Gentiles. Thus the Gentiles were now witnesses to the righteousness of God (cf Isa 62:2), which will be further discussed after tomorrow’s New Testament reading. See you then!

Old Testament reading: Psalm 95-101

“I will set nothing wicked before my eyes” (Psalm 101:3). There is enough unavoidable wickedness in our world without intentionally adding more to our eyes. Remember! It is no more possible to “un-see” an evil thing than it is to “un-ring” a bell. What enters through our eyes finds a permanent place in our minds and hearts. Moreover, such wickedness, even that which is unintentional, can lie dormant for decades, only to be resurrected by some smell, visual image, or by hearing a single word or phrase. David also shuns the deeds of the apostates, saying, “it shall not cling to me.” Thus, our associations and attitudes must be guarded against evil and guided by Divine wisdom. This is why evil companions are to be avoided like the plague. One need not sit in the middle of the campfire to smell like smoke, and a man walking though a field of weeds need not seek cockleburs and beggar lice. These defilements will “find” and cling to you as you pass through.

New Testament reading: Acts 7-8

Speaking of when Moses killed the Egyptian (cf Ex 2:11-15), Stephen shines a light on God’s man Moses. Stephen was a man full of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:5), and his statement concerning Moses enlightens us concerning Moses’ frame of mind and his long view of his actions (Acts 7:24-25). There is no mention of Moses’ thoughts to deliver Israel in the original account, neither is such mentioned in any subsequent reference, that is, not until this one. This also makes Moses’ exchange with God in Exodus 3-4 more interesting. Forty years passed before God called Moses to do what he had intended to do a generation earlier. Perhaps Moses thought that after 40 years God had given up on using him as a deliverer. Maybe he thought by then he was too old or unfit. We will never know this side of eternity, but isn’t it wonderful how both Testaments shine light on the others to assist us in our understanding!

Old Testament reading: Psalm 90-94

Psalm 90 is attributed to Moses.  Some dispute Mosaic authorship because of verse 10 and the age limitation placed on men, when Moses, Joshua and others lived well beyond 100 years. However, one should remember this Psalm was written during the wilderness wandering. From the beginning of that journey, no one over 20 years old had more than 40 years to live.  The majority of adults would have been between 20 and 50. Thus, few could expect to live beyond 70 or so years. Also, it is reasonable to assume everyone over 20 would have to die over a large period of time, lest there be a massive die-off just before the entrance into Canaan. Who could imagine Israel having to bury hundreds of thousands of people in the final days or weeks of the wandering? Another error is often associated with this text, and that is that man can expect to live 70 or 80 years.  Only recently has life expectancy in Europe and the West begun to approach 70 or 80.  In most of the world, life expectancy is closer to half that. Understanding the text in light of its context is a great preventative for misuse. (Many thanks to my good friend and faithful preacher Drew Kizer for his insight on this text. TC)

 

New Testament reading: Acts 5-6

“They could be right, but let’s beat them anyway.” I have always wondered about the mindset that considers the validity of Jesus and the apostles’ claims, but acts in a way that denies it. So it was with Gamaliel and the Jews in Acts 5:33-42. If Gamaliel’s advice was sound, and it was, then why pursue a course of punishing the apostles? The high priest and his fellow Sadducees intended to kill the apostles (v 33). However, it was a Pharisee who withstood them and presented a more reasonable course of action. Yet, they still decided to beat the apostles and forbade them from speaking in the name of Jesus. If the doctrine of Jesus was of man and would eventually come to nothing, why bother? If it was of God, neither beating nor threats could stop it. We should take care that our own actions are consistent with what we confidently affirm to be true, namely, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Old Testament reading: Psalm 87-89

God keeps His word, no matter what we might say or do. “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim 2:13). So also says the Psalmist in Psalm 89:19-37. God chose David and exalted him and his seed forever (vv 17-29). God’s promise was not negated or nullified by the faithlessness of David’s descendants (vv 30-34). Ultimately, God’s promise to David and his seed was fulfilled forever in Jesus Christ (vv 36-37). A couple of other points of interest: Psalm 89:7 – “God is to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him.” We should serve God with gladness and enter His courts with thanksgiving (Psalm 100:2-4), but our worship assemblies should always reflect an attitude of reverence and respect as those who have entered into God’s presence. The worship of God should resemble neither a pep rally or a circus. [Note: Psalm 89 concludes the third book within the Psalms.]

New Testament reading: Acts 3-4

“If these should keep their peace, the stones would cry out” (Luke 19:40). Peter pictures this statement in defending the apostles’ preaching of Jesus’ resurrection. While many are familiar with Peter’s bold declaration in Acts 5:29, “We ought to obey God rather than men”, I love the apostles’ statement in Acts 4:19-20. After spending their first night in jail, the apostles were forbidden to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus. To this, Peter and John retorted, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” Like trying to shut up a fire in their bones (cf Jer 20:9), the apostles could not hold their peace following the events of Pentecost. Being further threatened and released, they would be neither dissuaded nor deterred from their mission to preach Christ to the masses. O that we possessed that same fervor and desire! Let us pray, as Paul besought the Ephesians, that we might always speak boldly as we ought to speak (Eph 6:19-20).

Old Testament reading: Psalm 79-81

Am I hearing the voice of God? Psalm 79-81 notes the dark days of Israel following Jerusalem’s destruction in 586 B.C. The holy city lie in ruins with the corpses of the slain unburied and exposed as food for birds and beasts. What had caused such ruin to come upon God’s people? Their stubborn refusal to listen to God’s word as given through His prophets. Of this people, the Lord said, “But my people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me, so I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels” (81:11-12). God had warned them regarding their idolatry (81:8-10), but they refused to hear. We also must recognize the voice of God, whether it be in reading His word or in being admonished by His messengers, lest something worse come upon us (cf John 5:14).

New Testament reading: John 19-21

“It is finished.” Of all the statements from the cross, this one alone seems to be directed at no particular audience. It is simply a statement of fact. Perhaps Jesus is speaking to Himself in an “I can die now” moment (cf Luke 2:25-32), assuring Himself that all that He had been sent to accomplish was done before He relinquished His soul into the hands of His Father. To borrow from popular culture, we might say our Lord’s “bucket list” had nothing remaining. He had accomplished on earth everything His Father had sent Him to do (cf John 17:4). There was neither unfinished business nor anyone needing His attention. No more sermons to preach. No more sick to heal or demons to cast out. But with this statement, He turned over to us an even greater responsibility. Namely, to carry the gospel into all the world. I must be the mouth, the hands and the heart of Jesus in the midst of a dark and dying world. Are we up to the task?

Old Testament reading: Psalm 82-86

How intense is my desire to be in God’s presence? The Psalmist proclaims that he would rather stand at the threshold of God’s house, that is, to be on the outside, than to recline in the tent of the wicked with its fleshly amusements and cover of protection (84:10). How much personal spiritual growth have I sacrificed to pursue the desires of the flesh, even those that are not inherently evil? This is not to say all levity or entertainment is bad, but we need to consider the long view of our course in life. “Godliness is profitable in all things, having the promise of the life that now is and that which is to come” (1 Tim 4:8). Let us hunger for Him now that we might be truly filled in eternity (cf Matt 5:6)!

New Testament reading: Acts 1-2

“And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21; cf Joel 2:32). Quoting Joel, Peter begins at this point to declare to to his globally represented Pentecost audience Jesus of Nazareth, the resurrected Son of God and the anointed Christ. Question – Would Peter conclude this sermon without telling his audience how to be saved by calling on the name of the Lord? If not, is there a passage in the text that also speaks to being saved? Indeed, in Acts 2:38, wherein the audience, asking what to do in order to avoid God’s wrath for their treatment of Jesus, received the following instructions, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins” (v 38). This corresponds with what Saul of Tarsus was told, even as he recited it in his own words in Acts 22:16, “And now, why are you waiting? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Finally, Jesus told us how to be saved in Mark 16:16 when He said, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” Thus, we may logically and correctly conclude that, in order to call on the name of the Lord and be saved, one must believe the gospel and be baptized for the remission of sins.

Old Testament reading: Psalm 78

Do you have enough strength to limit God? Before you answer, the Psalmist accused Israel of doing this very thing (v 41). Israel limited God when they deemed Him incapable of providing the most basic of necessities while in the wilderness. We would do well to remember the rhetorical question asked of Abraham by God, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen 18:14).  God is more than capable of handling any of issue of life, but we limit Him when we refuse to involve Him, whatever the reason may be. We may also limit Him in small matters. We should never consider any matter as too insignificant to merit God’s attention.  A God who watches over each sparrow and knows the number of hairs on every head (Luke 12:6-7) is not too busy to hear and intercede when we are burdened.  “Casting all your cares on Him, for He cares for you” (1 Pet 5:7). Finally, we may limit Him by failing to include Him in our plans. God desires to work in every aspect of our lives, not just those things wherein we have trouble or needs. Don’t limit God!

New Testament reading: John 17-18

Did Judas have a choice? In His prayer in John 17, Jesus mentions that one of the twelve who had been given to Him had been lost, “that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” Some mistakenly believe that Judas Iscariot had no choice but to betray Jesus, never to return (as Peter did).  Judas’ actions were certainly a fulfillment of Old Testament passages such as Psalm 41:9 and Zechariah 11:13. However, such does not supersede Judas’ exercise of free will, neither can he be absolved for doing ‘what God made him do.’ Such undermines the very nature of prophecy. Predictive prophecy foretells a future event; it is not the cause of it. Here’s a little phrase I hope will help you to explain the nature and essence of prophecy: “It didn’t happen because it was prophesied; it was prophesied because it was going to happen.”

Old Testament reading: Psalm 73-77

[Note: As Psalm 72 ends the prayers of David, these readings begin a series of Psalms penned by Asaph, a music director in the days of David (1 Chr 15-16) and Solomon (2 Chr 5). This begins Book 3 of the divisions of the Psalms.]

“Why do the wicked prosper?” So asked the Weeping Prophet in Jeremiah 12:1. Asaph found himself envying the way of the wicked (73:1-9). He envied them because they were “always at ease,” meaning they were not dependent upon hard daily physical labor to eat their bread. He envied them because they seemed to get richer and richer (v 12). It was not until he entered the sanctuary of God and saw the end of their ways (v 17) that Asaph realized his envy was foolish and ignorant (v 22). May we never envy the wicked! Rather, let us have full faith in God who holds us by His right hand and guides us with His counsel (vv 23-24). May God be the strength of our heart and our portion forever (v 26)!

New Testament reading: John 14-16

John 15:1-8 is an oft-misused text when discussing the present state of religious division in the world today. Some mistakenly identify the branches as the various denominational bodies in the realm of Christendom. However, Jesus identifies the branches as individual members, not groups. Moreover, there are two very important details that must be considered. First, to be a true branch, one must be in and abide in Christ. The only way to be in Christ is to be baptized into Christ (Gal 3:27). Secondly, as a vine only produces one kind of fruit, so also will all genuine believers bear the same fruit to the glory of God. This is not at all unlike the seed principle of Luke 8:11. Consider, how many vines have you seen producing completely different types of fruit? What tree bears apples, oranges, and pears? What vine produces grapes, tomatoes, and cucumbers? If we can understand this principle in the simplest matters of agriculture, why can we not understand this same principle when it is used in spiritual matters?

Old Testament reading: Psalm 70-72

Seek God early in the morning (63:1) and early in life (71:5-6). This is the recipe to be a person after God’s own heart. Of interest in this section of text is the conclusion of Psalm 72, “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.”  David’s final “song of prayer” is for his son Solomon.  While we often pray for our children’s safety and like matters, look at David’s prayer for his son.  David prays that Solomon would rule in righteousness and give justice to the poor (vv 2-4). From here, the New King James changes David’s prayer as being about the Lord, but that doesn’t suit the context, so let’s consider the rest of the chapter as an intercession on Solomon’s behalf. He prays for Solomon and the nation to fear God forever (vv 5-7). He prays for his earthly dominion as king (vv 8-11), but this appears to be predicated again on his righteous treatment of the poor (vv 12-14). Finally, David prays that others will also pray on Solomon’s behalf (v 15). What a wonderful thought! David desires the increase of prayer on behalf of his son. I have never prayed such a prayer for my children, but I will from now on!

New Testament reading: John 12-13

“But he who is greatest among you, let him be your servant.” Nowhere is this command more typified than in today’s New Testament reading, specifically John 13. Jesus, knowing all things that would soon befall Him, including Judas’ betrayal (vv 18-26), Peter’s denial (vv 36-38), and desertion by the remaining eleven (John 16:32), girds himself with a towel and performs the most menial of tasks, washing the feet of the apostles. These chosen ones had repeatedly struggled among themselves as to whom would be the greatest (cf Luke 22:24-27). In this beautiful act, Jesus shows them that true greatness is achieved through serving others. In a world that seeks personal glorification and exaltation, we must guard against this same attitude from finding its way into our own hearts. We are no better than the apostles, and if such were a continual problem for them, it will be the same for us. To borrow from the words of President Kennedy in 1961, “Ask not what the kingdom of God can do for you, but what you can do for the kingdom of God.”

Old Testament reading: Psalm 68-69

“They hated me without a cause” (John 15:25). This quote from Jesus was written by David in Psalm 69:4. Psalm 69 is a beautiful song filled with imagery of Jesus. In verses 1-2, David pictures himself as drowning, sinking as one stuck in the mire. Jesus’ death was agonizing and slow. Worse still, He was fully aware of His surroundings yet powerless to change them. David speaks of his weariness from crying and his thirst (v 3). Jesus undoubtedly cried unceasingly as He was scourged (John 19:1). From the cross, Jesus cried, “I thirst!” (John 19:28). David recalled his zeal for God’s house (v 9). This same quote was attributed to our Lord after He cleansed the temple (John 2:17). David spoke of bearing the reproach of those who reproached God. Paul attributed this very verse to Jesus in Romans 15:3. David spoke of being given gall for his food and vinegar to satisfy his thirst (v 21). Both of these images present themselves in the account of the crucifixion (cf Matt 27:34, 48). Finally, David notes that his only hope and prayer is in God and His deliverance. As He expired, Jesus directed His words to His Father as He breathed His last, “Father, into your hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:46). As we read these beautiful songs, let us not forget to see Jesus as we also identify with the Psalmist.

New Testament reading: John 10-11

“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (John 10:17-18). This may seem contradictory to the thought of powerlessness I expressed in today’s Old Testament thought, but let me explain. Jesus held possession over His spirit, and truth be told, He possessed the power to end His ordeal at any time. But He couldn’t do it and carry out the will of the Father. Jesus knew that His agony was according to the will of God and was the only means by which mankind would have the hope of salvation. Thus, He relinquished His power over His life and spirit, that He might “always do those things that please Him” (John 8:28-29).