Tag Archives: Psalm 147:1-20

Daily Bible Study

June 29, 2015 Bible Study — How Good To Sing Praises To Our God!

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 18:4-5

    I really wanted to comment on the contrast the writer makes between deep waters and a rushing stream. However, I was unable to get my thoughts on the subject to come together.
    The second part is pretty clear, and seems pretty obvious. It is not a good thing when the innocent are denied justice because those in authority are biased towards the wicked. Unfortunately, some people forget this.

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Psalm 147:1-20

    It is delightful and fitting to praise God. He does not play favorites. God does not delight in strength or might. He takes delight in those who fear Him and put their hope of victory in Him. Let us praise God because He uses His power to bring justice and healing to the broken hearted.

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Acts 19:13-41

    Luke tells us about a group of Jews who traveled around casting out evil spirits. They attempted to increase their effectiveness by invoking the name of Jesus, even though they were not believers. This ended badly for them. I think there are several lessons in this for us, but the most interesting to me today is the one which the believers of the area seem to have taken from it. The lesson recounted in the passage was that practicing sorcery is incompatible with faith in Jesus.
    I am torn about the destruction of books described here. On the one hand, because these books were destroyed we do not know what they considered to be sorcery. On the other hand, those who did so were people who had been practicing sorcery, while at the same time claiming to have faith in Jesus. The books that were burned are described as being books of spells, that is, instructions for carrying out specific acts of sorcery. Those who destroyed their books of incantations were eliminating a source of future temptation. This destruction was not carried out at the behest of the government, or some other authority. Rather these people chose to do so of their own free will. By destroying their spellbooks they were making a statement that they had been practicing magic and that they were turning from doing so in the future.
    It is worth noting that this was not the destruction of music recordings, or roleplaying game books. This was the destruction of books which gave instruction on how to perform sorcery. By saying this I am not casting judgment on those who choose to destroy their collections of music recordings or roleplaying game books. There may be a case to be made for doing so, but this passage is not the basis for it. Jesus in Matthew 18 tells us to destroy anything we have which causes us to sin. These people destroyed their spellbooks because they caused them to sin. If listening to certain music causes you to sin, destroy your copies of that music. If a roleplaying game causes you to sin, destroy your copies of the rulebooks for that game. However, remember that others may possess those things and not be tempted to sin. That is a judgment for each of us to make on our own (with counsel from the Holy Spirit and our brothers and sisters in Christ).

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2 Kings 15-16:20

    This passage tells us of two more kings of Judah who did what was pleasing in God’s sight. As a result, the Kingdom of Judah had stability at a time when the Kingdom of Israel was undergoing political turmoil due to rebellions and invasions. This is an important lesson for all people. When the people of a nation do what is evil in God’s sight there will be political turmoil. When they do what is pleasing in God’s sight they will have stability.

Daily Bible Study

December 28, 2014 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. We are approaching the end of the year and the beginning of a new one. Let us seek to serve God in all that we do in the New Year.

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Proverbs 31:1-7

    The writer warns against wasting one’s strength on women. It is worth noting the use of the plural here. If one spends one strength and money on multiple women one is wasting it and it will lead to their ruin (the same can be said of women dealing with men as well). He then goes on to warn against allowing alcohol to impair our judgement. Those who are in circumstances where nothing they can do can make things better, or worse, are encouraged to drink in order to forget their pain, but it is worth noting that the writer is suggesting it only for those for whom things can get no worse.

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Psalm 147:1-20

    There is joy in singing praises to God and it is fitting to do so. The psalmist gives us many reasons why we should do so, but the first is the one that I will highlight today:

He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.

Let us remember this about God and strive to be the tools He uses to accomplish this task.

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Revelation 19:1-21

    In John’s vision he heard great rejoicing in Heaven after the fall of “Babylon”. The rejoicing was because of the pain and suffering which “Babylon” had inflicted on the poor and destitute throughout the world. Over the last few days I realized something I had never noticed before, John points out that immorality (sexual and otherwise) leads to the oppression of the poor. All too often, Christians (and others) are accused of focusing too much on sexual immorality and not enough on injustice and greed. There is unfortunately some truth to that accusation. However, all too many people who focus on injustice and greed overlook the ways in which sexual immorality plays a role in creating social injustice.

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Zechariah 12-13:9

    Zechariah prophesies that a day will come when the nations around Israel will attack Jerusalem. They will gather a great force to attack, but the only result will be loss for those who joined in the attack. I do not know if this prophecy refers to what has been going on in the Middle East over the last 60 years, but there is a similarity between what Zechariah says here and what has been going on. I think that what Zechariah is talking about is something else, but the similarities make me wonder.
    Zechariah tells us that a fountain will be opened to cleanse people of all of their sins and impurity. As the waters from that fountain wash over the land all idolatry will cease and people will reject all forms of idol worship. I believe that Jesus is the source of the fountain to which Zechariah refers. As evidence for that I will point out all of the times in history when faith in Jesus spread through a land causing idol worship to be washed away as in an overwhelming flood.

Daily Bible Study

June 29, 2014 Bible Study — Are We Practicing Sorcery?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 18:4-5

    Once again, the NIV translation makes sense of this passage for me. The words we speak are like deep waters, containing and concealing many dangers. Wisdom in those words is like a rushing stream, refreshing and transforming the landscape around us.

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Psalm 147:1-20

    Let us praise the Lord. He is great enough to count and name each of the stars, yet He will heal the brokenhearted and bind their wounds. It is not our strength, intelligence, wisdom, or beauty which gives God pleasure. Rather God is pleased when we obey His commands because we fear and love Him. Let us put all of our hopes in God’s unfailing love. I will glorify God, because even though none can stand against Him, He has sacrificed His own Son for each and every one of us.

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Acts 19:13-41

    There is an interesting story here. A group of Jewish exorcists attempted to use the name of Jesus and of Paul in order to cast out demons. They thought that Jesus’ name could be used as one more incantation in their “magic”. The name of Jesus is not an incantation we can use to get the results we are looking for. If we attempt to use Jesus’ name that way, it will end as badly for us as it did for these Jewish exorcists. However, the results will glorify God, just as the results in this story did. When the believers in the area heard the story of the exorcists they recognized their own sins and the dangers of practicing “magic” and “magical” thinking. They gathered the books and devices they used to practice magic and destroyed them. The key here was not the destruction of these items, but the irrevocable renunciation of the practices they represented.

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2 Kings 15-16:20

    Yesterday’s passage told us that Amaziah ruled Judah and did what was pleasing in God’s sight. Today we learn that his son and his grandson did likewise. However, none of the three kings destroyed the shrines in the high places. In the meantime, king after king rose to power in Israel and did evil in God’s sight. The kings of Israel abused their power and practiced idolatry. When Amaziah’s great-grandson, Ahaz, took the throne in Judah he began following the pagan practices which were practiced at the shrines in the high places and treated his subjects the way that the kings of Israel did. He actively imitated the pagan practices of the peoples surrounding Judah, going so far as to replace the altar in the Temple with one based on an altar set up by the Assyrians in Damascus. The implication of the description given is that King Ahaz transformed the Temple worship from worship of God to worship of the Assyrian gods.
    The failure of Amaziah, his son, and his grandson, to root out pagan practices from among those who worshiped the Lord led to King Ahaz preferring those practices to the worship of God. We can see the same thing in the Church around us. When we look the other way when people fail to remain faithful to God, people will gradually “move the line” further and further from where God really wants us to be. When the Church in the United States stopped condemning divorce, it reduced the Church’s ability to defend God’s will for marriage. We need to relearn how to condemn sin without condemning the sinner. The failure of Amaziah, Uzziah, and Jotham to lead their people to complete faithfulness led to Ahaz, who sacrificed his own son in the fires of a pagan god. Yet Ahaz’ son was Hezekiah. God will use our failings to bring about revival. Let us pray that a spiritual leader arise today to lead us in a revival like the one which Hezekiah led.

Daily Bible Study

December 28, 2013 Bible Study — The Lord Is Our God

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Zechariah 12-13:9

     Zechariah prophesies that the day will come when God will pour out His Spirit upon the people of Judah and Jerusalem. On that day, they will mourn for the One they have pierced, they will grieve bitterly. As a result, they will be cleansed of their sins. God will erase idol worship throughout the land and false prophets will be removed from the land. No one will claim the ability of divination any longer. Those who had previously practiced it will reject the practice and be ashamed that they had once practiced such sinfulness.
     God is going to put His people through fire in order to refine them like silver and purify them like gold. When He is done He will say, “These are my people.” They will reply, “The Lord is our God.” Will you be one of those people?

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Revelation 19:1-21

     With the fall of “Babylon” a great crowd will praise God for His greatness and salvation. They will sing about how He brought justice against those who had murdered His servants. They will sing for the joy of being invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb as He marries the bride who had prepared herself for Him. Then a rider on a white horse will ride forth to wage war against the beast and the kings who gathered with him. They had gathered to bring down the prostitute and then to make war against God Himself. The rider, whose name is Faithful and True, will be accompanied by the armies of heaven, but He will be victorious of the kings of the earth and those who had worshiped the beast without the aid of His armies. He will strike down all who had given themselves over to evil. This passage is a reminder that everyone will be held accountable for their actions. It may seem that some people are getting away with their evil behavior, but God will hold them accountable and force them to pay the price for their mistreatment of others.

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Psalm 147:1-20

     God will heal the brokenhearted and bandage their wounds. This is a reminder that we do not claim to be perfect. No, we have all been wounded, but God will bandage our wounds and offer us healing. God does not desire those who claim to be strong and able to stand up against whatever the world can throw at them. He calls us to acknowledge our pain and turn to Him for healing. Those who fear Him and put their hope in His love will experience healing. He does not take pleasure in those who rely on their own strength and/or wealth. Let us turn to Him for healing and trust in His love.

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Proverbs 31:1-7

     The proverb writer warns against spending one’s strength (or, possibly, wealth) on various women. He does not come out and say it, but instead a man should find one woman who will strengthen them and help them be a better person. He goes on to say that rulers should not indulge themselves in alcohol because it may distort their judgment and cause them to deny the oppressed of their rights. Rather alcohol should be left for those who are in pain or suffering, in order to help them forget their misery.

Daily Bible Study

June 29, 2013 Bible Study –The Lord’s Delight Is In Those Who Fear Him

     I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for over a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I started writing this blog because the only way I can get myself to read the Bible everyday is to pretend that I am teaching someone about what it says to me. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

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2 Kings 15-16:20

     In today’s passage we have reference to three kings of Judah and six kings of Israel. We are told that each of the kings of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Four of the five kings of Israel whose reigns are detailed in today’s passage were killed by assassins who then took the throne (the reign of the sixth king is described in tomorrow’s passage).
     We are told that the first two kings of Judah did what was pleasing to God. However, neither of them removed the high places where the people offered sacrifices. The third king, Ahaz, son of the second and grandson of the first, did evil in the sight of the Lord, going so far as to sacrifice his son in the fire. He paid tribute to the king of Assyria in order to get him to attack Aram and Israel so that they would stop attacking Judah. In addition he went to the capital of Assyria and worshiped the gods of Assyria there. He then instructed the high priest of Judah to build a new altar modeled after the altar used in Assyria. It is not clear from the passage but it appears to me that Ahaz instituted worship of the Assyrian gods on this altar.

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Acts 19:13-41

     The miracles performed by Paul so impressed the people of around Ephesus that some Jewish exorcists started using the name of Jesus in their exorcisms. When one group tried this, the man possessed by the evil spirit told them that it knew Jesus and knew Paul, but did not know them. The man with the evil spirit then attacked them and drove them from the house naked and bleeding. Word of this spread throughout the area. One of the biggest impacts was on believers who had continued in occult practices. In reaction to this, they brought their grimoires (books of spells and incantations) and burned them on a public bonfire. It is worth noting that these were not just books of information, but were rather “cookbooks” for practicing magic.
     Shortly after this a silversmith named Demetrius who manufactured and sold shrines to Artemus called a gathering of the people to whom he subcontracted some of the work. Demetrius then told them that Paul was preaching a message that would destroy their business and respect for their city. As he spoke to them he got them angrier and angrier until a riot started. The rioters gathered in the city amphitheater. Some of them grabbed Paul’s traveling companions and took them into the amphitheater with them. Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the rest of the believers would not let him do so. There was a lot of confusion in the amphitheater and most of the people who were there did not know why. Some of the Jews in the crowd tried to put their representative forward to explain the situation, but when the crowd realized he was a Jew (and this not a worshiper of Artemus) they just shouted him down. Finally the mayor of the city was able to calm the crowd down enough to speak. He then convinced the crowd that any grievance could be settled in civil court and that if the rioting continued the Romans were likely to send in the Legions to sort things out.

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Psalm 147:1-20

     The psalmist tells us that it is good and fitting to sing praises to God. I could not agree more. The psalmist goes on to tell us why it is fitting:

He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
He counts the stars
and calls them all by name.
…
The Lord supports the humble,
but he brings the wicked down into the dust.

Later he tells us:
He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse
or in human might.
No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his unfailing love.

I will praise the Lord and I will put all of my hopes in His unfailing love.

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Proverbs 18:4-5

     I do not understand what the first proverb means. The second proverb however tells us that when the wicked are knowingly allowed to avoid punishment, the innocent suffer.

Daily Bible Study

December 28, 2012 Bible Study — Fear and Trust God

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

Christmas May Be Over

Zechariah 12-13:9

     Zechariah prophesies that the day will come when the nations of the world will come against Jerusalem and God will watch over the city and defeat those who come against it. He says that the clans of Judah will overwhelm the surrounding nations. God will pour out His Spirit on the people of Jerusalem. This will cause them to look to Christ (the one whom they have pierced) and mourn what they have done. When that happens God will cleanse the people of all sin and impurity. God will remove all idol worship and false prophets from the land. God will bring His people through fire to refine them like silver and gold.
     I believe that this passage has two meanings. The first is a reference to acts that God is going to carry out (has carried out?) among the Jewish people, although I am not quite sure how or when. The second however applies to all of those who are called by His name. We will pass through troubles and persecutions so that God may purify us in the same way that silver and gold are heated to remove impurities. We should embrace our trials as they represent God’s love for us and attempts to remove things from our lives that make us less than perfect servants to Him. I am not very good at embracing these purifying moments.

Still Beautiful

Revelation 19:1-21

     After the vision of the woman whose name is Babylon and the scarlet beast, the writer hears a great crowd in heaven praising God for His judgments and for punishing the “great prostitute” which was the woman whose name is Babylon. Then again he hears a great crowd (or what sounds like a great crowd) cry out praise to God, who reigns over all. The crowd proclaims that the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb and his bride, who has prepared herself with the good deeds of God’s holy people. Elsewhere in scripture the bride is identified as the Church.
     Continuing on the writer sees heaven open to reveal a rider on a white horse. The rider is named Faithful and True. He judges fairly and wages a righteous war. The armies of heaven dressed in pure white linen and mounted on white horses followed Him. The rider is the Word of God. He has a sword coming out of His mouth with which He will strike the nations. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of all Lords. The scarlet beast gathered the kings of the world and their armies to do battle against the Rider and His army. The beast and his prophet were captured by the Rider and thrown into the lake of sulphur. The beast’s entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came out of the Rider’s mouth.
     There are many metaphors and symbols in this passage and I am sure that there is more meaning than I am capable of extracting. The first thing I see is that the Rider is clearly Jesus on His second coming to judge the earth. I see the sharp sword coming out of His mouth to be a symbol for how His words will strike down those who stand against Him. It is a symbol for how God’s power is different than what we as humans understand as power and yet we are unable to stand against it. All of the mightiest armies of the earth will be slain by this power. The other symbol which speaks to me today is the army that follows the Rider. The army is dressed in pure white linen. In the segment just before this where the crowd proclaimed the wedding feast of the Lamb, pure white linen was referenced as being the good deeds of God’s people. Our good deeds do not save us, rather they provide adornment. But not adornment for us, they provide adornment for the bride of the Lamb and for the army of the Rider. We are to do good deeds, not to make ourselves look good, but to make the bride of Christ look good. Our goal in making the Church look good is because that reflects well on Christ, not so that people look at the Church. There is one final piece to this for me today. The army of the Rider does not assist Him in defeating the armies of the beast. They are merely witnesses to it.

Plants In the Window
Plants In the Window

Psalm 147:1-20

     I will sing praise to the Lord. The psalmist tells us that He heals the brokenhearted and numbers the stars. He is great and mighty in power, yet He cares for those who are hurting. His power is absolute and He supports the humble. God does not take pleasure in our strength and might. The psalmist tells us that God is delighted by those who fear Him and put their trust in Him. It is all too easy to look at only one side of this equation.
      On the one side, God is delighted by those who fear Him. We see fear as a negative emotion and it may be, but fear serves a positive purpose. I occasionally talk about a time when I started to overcome my fear of heights. I decided that I wanted to be able to show myself as fearless. Shortly after that I was in a situation where I was doing some work at a great height. As I worked I reached out to do something and almost slipped and fell. I realized that in my efforts to overcome my fear, I had lost some of my caution. Fear can serve a useful purpose. I stopped attempting to further overcome my fear of heights because my fear of heights is a legitimate fear that causes me to take precautions against falling. Fear of God will cause us to be cautious and look to see if we are doing something to bring God’s anger against us.
     However, fear can also cause us to freeze when we should act, which brings us to the other side of the equation for pleasing God. God is delighted not in those who fear Him alone, but in those who both fear Him and trust Him. If we trust God, we know that He will catch us when we fall. We will know that we do not have to rely on our own strength, which our fear will tell us is totally insufficient to the task of doing God’s will. So, here we have the equation, we fear God, knowing that we have not the strength to do what pleases Him, but we trust God knowing that if we rely on Him, He will provide the strength to do what pleases Him, if we only try.

Rain Against the Window
Rain Against the Window

Proverbs 31:1-7

     Those in positions of power should not get drunk because it may cause them to show unjust favoritism. I will strive to not let my judgment be clouded, so that I may make wise, fair decisions for those who rely on me.

Daily Bible Study

June 29, 2012 Bible Study

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

2 Kings 15-16:20

     King Uzziah succeeded his father Amaziah on the throne of Judah. The passage tells us that he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, even as his father had done. However, he allowed the people to continue to worship at the high places. It is never quite clear what the problem with the people worshiping at the high places is. This translation refers to them as pagan shrines, but in earlier parts of the Old Testament they are sometimes referred to as places where people worshiped God. My belief is that as time went on, they became places where people combined worship of God with pagan religious practices. We are told that later in Uzziah’s reign, he is struck with leprosy and lives out his life in isolation with his son, and successor, governing in his place.
     Next we are told of a series of kings of Israel who did evil in the sight of the Lord. Several of these kings gained the throne by assassinating their predecessor. During this time, Assyria began to invade the area. One of the kings, King Menahem, bought off the Assyrians and used their support to consolidate his hold on the throne. This only kept the Assyrians out for a few years and under one of his successors the Assyrians again invaded.
     Uzziah’s son, Jotham succeeded his father on the throne of Judah and we are told that he did what was right in the sight of the Lord. King Jotham was succeeded on the throne by his son Ahaz. We are told that Ahaz did evil in the sight of the Lord, going so far as to sacrifice his own son to the fires. While Ahaz was king, the kings of Israel and Aram allied to invade Judah. King Ahaz sent a bribe to the king of Assyria to get his help against Aram and Israel. The king of Assyria, Tiglath-pileser, conquers Aram. While Tiglath-pileser is in Damascus, King Ahaz visits him there. King Ahaz had the Temple redone to reflect the design of the Assyrian temple in Damascus.

Acts 19:13-41

     While Paul was in Ephesus a group of Jewish exorcists who were traveling in the region began using the name of Jesus to cast out demons. This group was composed of seven sons of a priest. On one occasion when they tried this, the man with the evil spirit acknowledged the power of Jesus and Paul, but rejected their power. The man attacked them and drove them from the house naked and battered. When word of this spread, many who practiced various types of sorcery became believers and gathered their spell books and burned them. Note that they did not burn books that just talked about sorcery, but one’s that contained spells and incantations. Whether the spells and incantations worked or not, the sole purpose of the books was the practice of magic.
     About the time Paul began making plans to leave Ephesus and travel to Macedonia, a silversmith named Demetrius who made his living from the worship of Artemis stirred up other merchants who made their living from this worship against Paul and the believers. Demetrius got them so riled up that a riot began. The crowd rushed to the amphitheater and dragged two of Paul’s traveling companions along. Paul wanted to address the crown, but he was talked out of it. There was confusion among the crowd as to what the cause of the riot was. The Jews in the crowd put forward a spokesman to explain things to people, but he was shouted down. Finally, the mayor of the city was able to get the people to quiet down some. At that point, he tells them that everyone knows about the connection of Artemus with the city and that the men that have been forcibly brought there have committed no offenses against Artemus’ temple. He goes on to say that if Demetrius, or anybody else, has a legitimate complaint against these men, the courts are perfectly willing to here the case. He finishes by telling them that if they continue to riot, the Roman governor is likely to send the legions to restore order. This leads the crowd to disperse.

Psalm 147:1-20

     The psalmist tells us to praise the Lord for He is great. God is so great and mighty that he can count the stars and name each and every one. The psalmist goes on to tell us that God does not favor the powerful and mighty, but instead favors those who fear Him and trust in His love.

Proverbs 18:4-5

     The wise are a source of wisdom to those around them in the same manner that a bubbling brook is a source of refreshing water to any who approach it. When the guilty are let go and the innocent punished a society will suffer.