For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
I always struggle with passages, such as this one, which imply a divine right of kings. However, I realized today that when we take this one in the context of what it says, and the other passages regarding government authorities being given their authority by God, I can make sense of this one. This seems especially apparent from comparing the NLT to the NIV, “The lips of a king speak as an oracle,…”(NIV) “he must never judge unfairly.”(NLT) The king, the God appointed ruler, is obligated , has a duty, to always judge fairly. God has placed people in positions of government authority in order to judge fairly. God will hold them accountable for those times when they judge unfairly.
To some degree, the same thing is true of our interactions with those around us in our day to day lives. God will hold us accountable if we do not deal with others in an honest and fair manner. If we are fair and honest in all of our dealings God will reward us.
The psalmist continues with his praise of God’s word. He points out that if we choose to follow God’s commands we must fully commit to doing so. We cannot do so halfheartedly with half of our heart seeking after some other course. If we do not fully commit ourselves to following God’s instructions we will not reap the benefits. I struggle with this, not because I do not believe it to be true, but because I am weak and easily distracted. I want to continually meditate on God’s decrees, but, all too often, I go “ooh, shiny.”
So, I make verses 124 and 125 my prayer once more:
and teach me your decrees.
Give discernment to me, your servant;
then I will understand your laws.
I pray also that His Spirit will enter into me, fill me to overflowing, so that the desire to sin will be driven from my mind and my body. I know that I have it not within me to keep God’s commands…but I also know that the Holy Spirit can transform me so that I can and do.
When the Jewish leaders brought Jesus before Pilate they did not answer Pilate’s question regarding what the charges were. Instead they told Pilate that they would not have brought Jesus before him if Jesus was not a criminal. Rather than dismiss the case right there, Pilate had Jesus brought before him and questioned Him. When Pilate pressured Jesus for an answer as to whether or not He was a king, Pilate was trying to get Jesus to say something, anything, that he could use to justify putting Jesus to death. Jesus knew this but would not lie. He told Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world and thus His followers would not fight to promote it.
Jesus then has the exchange with Pilate that still is going on today. Jesus testified to the truth and those who love the truth recognize His teaching as true. When Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” he was saying that he did not believe there was such a thing, or that truth was what people believed it was. We face that same debate today where people reject the idea that there is such a thing as absolute truth.
As David fled from Jerusalem he demonstrated that he understood the lesson to be learned from the Philistine capture of the Ark. Having the Ark with him would not change whether God was on his side or not. There was no value in risking damage to the Ark by taking it to battle. God would be with those He supported whether the Ark was with them or not. And He would not offer support to those who had lost His favor, whether they had the Ark with them or not. We cannot manipulate God.