4/13/09

Psalm 3

Psalm 3 is the first psalm that is ascribed to David. It is an individual lament, and this sets the mood for what the psalm contains: David’s cry to God and his confidence in God’s deliverance and salvation.[1]

Meaning
What Psalm 3 conveys is David’s anguish caused by the attacks of his enemies. In the opening strophe of verses 1 and 2, the Psalmist exclaims how numerous his enemies are. One of these enemies includes David’s very own son, Absalom. David’s life began to be torn apart by family problems (2 Sam 12:15-14:33) due to his sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam 11-12). As a result of the family problems, Absalom was able to trick many people of Israel to be loyal to him, and David had to flee from Absalom and his conspirators in fear of them killing him (2 Sam 15:13-14).[2] Absalom and the conspirators are the enemies David talks about in verses 1 and 2 of this psalm. These enemies are saying that David can find no salvation in God, perhaps because they have seen the effects of David’s sin with Bathsheba and all the troubles it brought.
From verse 3 until verse 8, David’s mood seems to change. The psalmist, in verse 4, begins to write with anticipation, almost as though the disgrace of his enemies has already taken place.[3] He writes that the Lord has answered him, indicating God is already at work. The psalmist begins to boast in God and in what He is currently doing. The metaphor used in verse 8 of the Lord breaking David’s enemies’ teeth means these enemies are like animals who lose their strength when their teeth are broken (Ps 58:6).[4]

Implications
This psalm implies that no matter how numerous or ominous our enemies are, God will hear our cries for help and protect us from their attacks. This is not to say we will not face hardship for our faith, but God sustained David and will sustain His chosen, as well. When people come at us saying that we have no salvation in God, we must allow God to work on His own behalf while remaining faithful to Him. David did not break His enemies’ teeth, we must note. Rather, it was God, and vengeance belongs to Him (Ro 12:9).
Another implication is that God not only protects His beloved as a shield about them (verse 3), but He also gives them hope and confidence in the midst of despair (lifting of David’s head in verse 3). Throughout this psalm it is clear how David’s head is being lifted by God. The psalmist begins chapter 3 with a somber tone, but gradually lightens the mood as he writes of how great the Lord is.
A third implication from Psalm 3 is that God is in unreserved control of every aspect of our lives, even the small seemingly insignificant aspects. God sustained and protected David to the extent that David was able to sleep and to awake in safety. This implies that God not only protects and gives hope and confidence, but also cares enough to give rest to those who are under attack. If God is in control of such aspects like sleeping in peace, believers should not worry about anything (Matt 6:25).

Significance
This psalm is significant to my own life in that no matter how many enemies set themselves against me, I do not have to fear them, as David no longer feared his enemies. With God being my glory, I can have honor and dignity, as David was able to have God as his glory despite the shame his enemies heaped on him,[5] and our glory is to be found in the fact that Christ has redeemed us.
With the Lord being my shield, I can rest assured knowing that God will sustain, protect, and give confidence and rest to me as He did for David. It is significant that God is my shield because if anything else was my shield, it would be penetrable. But God is who I should trust in because His shield is impenetrable. Also, even though when times get tough I may become moody and dark, I can take courage because David was the same way. David was weak and distraught, but quickly moved from despair to calm confidence in God.[6] Likewise, I can be confident in Christ and His power, which is made perfect in my weakness (2 Cor 12:9).

[1]Kenneth L. Baker and John R. Kohlenberger, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Old Testament Abridged Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Corporation, 1994), 795.

[2]Baker and Kohlenberger, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Old Testament Abridged Edition, 795.

[3]Elmer A. Leslie, The Psalms, (Nashville, TN: Parthenon Press, 1949), 348.

[4]Baker and Kohlenberger, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Old Testament Abridged Edition, 796.

[5]William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers Inc., 1995), 551.

[6]Ibid., 550.

4/7/09

Trusting in God (Is 13)

Isaiah 13-14:23 collectively gives a prophecy against Babylon. Verses 1-22 in chapter 13 specifically concern Babylon being conquered by the Medes and Persians, while some parts of 13 look beyond this event and into the final destruction of Babylon at the end of the Great Tribulation (Rev. 17, 18).[1]


Meaning
This oracle that Isaiah saw conveys that God’s people cannot rely on other nations, but they must rely on God.[2] God will punish Israel’s enemies as her enemies deserve, so these nations will be of no help to Israel in time. In 13:2-3 God is speaking, saying that He has called His holy (consecrated) ones to carry out His wrath against Babylon. In verses 4 and 5, the Lord is painting a picture of Himself mustering an army for war. This army is His instrument to execute judgment on Babylon.

In Revelation 18, an angel shouts of how Babylon has fallen, but by the time John the Revelator had penned this prophecy in Revelation, the literal Babylon had already fallen and seen literal destruction. So, Isaiah 13:6 seems to indicate that this prophecy goes beyond the destruction of literal Babylon and on to the figurative Babylon, as spoken of in Revelation 18. This figurative Babylon represents all of God’s enemies, and in Isaiah 13:9-11, God says that He will make the land desolate and punish the world for its evil. This indicates that God’s judgment of evil is not limited to the physical borders of Babylon. Rather, His judgment will reach to all of the wicked in the world. The strophe of verses 6-8 indicates the utter terror and pain that will seize Babylon, and that “they will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame.” This may indicate those being punished will recognize the pain and terror they are feeling as a judgment of their wrongdoing, making them blush.[3]

With verse 14, the prophecy seems to focus back in on the literal Babylon of that time, saying that foreigners who are in Babylon at the time when God unleashes His anger will flee. However, everyone who is caught in Babylon at that time will be killed. The Lord may seem overly violent and merciless in this oracle, especially in verse 16 when He says Babylon’s infants will be dashed and the men’s wives will be ravished. However, we must not forget the holiness of God and His intolerance of sin. Sinners will be punished (Revelation 21:8) with God as the ultimate Judge. Here, God happens to be using the Medes to carry judgment against Babylon. God strategically uses the Medes because, as said in verse 17, they have no delight in gold. This way, the Babylonians cannot bribe their punishers to keep them from doing God’s will. This prophecy goes on to shame Babylon, saying that people will no longer dwell there, but rather animals will dwell in their strongholds and luxurious places.


Implications
An implication that has significance for people today (not just Christians, but all people) is that God will not tolerate sin. In Isaiah 21, another oracle against Babylon, Isaiah writes of how Babylon has fallen. In verse 9, we see that not only has Babylon come to destruction, but all of her gods lie shattered on the ground. This imagery shows how anything of value we may put before God (idols) is nothing compared to Him. Christians must not put trust in political leaders, money, our own strength, et cetera, lest these things held above God be shattered by God. Followers must trust in Him alone. As implied in this passage, God will not allow His fame and deity to be shared with false gods. Just as God’s people should not have trusted in Babylon or foreign nations, we should not trust in anything else but Him. His judgment reaches out to all whom he pleases it to reach out to, including our idols.

In Isaiah 13:17, we see how the Medes have no desire for silver or gold. As said above, this was a strategic move of God’s so that the Babylonians will not be able to bribe the Medes to keep them from their calling to judge Babylon. Many Christians seem to believe if there is enough money in the offering plate or the right clothes on Sunday morning that God will accept these as righteousness. On the Day of Judgment, we will not be able to bribe God with any good thing we have or deed we have done (Matthew 7:22-23) because it is only by faith in Christ we are counted as righteous (Romans 3:10-24). With this faith, we do not need to fear judgment, nor worry about bribing God.

Another implication of Isaiah 13 is that God is a just God, punishing and blessing as He sees fit. Where sin abounds, He obliterates it. It may seem strange how God uses the Medes here instead of His chosen people Israel, or some other source to carry out judgment. As said above, we know that God used the Medes specifically because they could not be bribed. God using the Medes implies that He can and will use anyone to carry out His will, and He does so however He pleases, despite if it seems odd or cruel to us (1 Corinthians 3:19). Still, in accordance with His just ways, He will keep His promises to have compassion on His chosen people, as we notice in 14:1-2. Judgment prophecies are often conditional, as we see in Isaiah 1:18-20. Here, God asks Judah to reason with Him so He can wash their sins white as snow. He says if they are obedient they can eat the good of the land, but if they refuse and rebel, they will be devoured by the sword. How embarrassing it would be for a confessing Christian to be destroyed by a non-Christian source because the Christian was not trusting in God! This is much like God using to Medes to destroy the Babylonians, because Israel’s faith was not with the right protector. If we will repent for not fully trusting in God alone, we will be spared of His wrath.

[1] William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers Inc., 1995), 949.

[2] Life Application Study Bible: New International Version, (Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Publishers Inc.), 2005, 1098.

[3]Kenneth L. Baker and John R. Kohlenberger III, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Old Testament Abridged Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Corporation, 1994), 1068.

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