Zeal For Your House Consumes Me!
Psalm 109:1-7
1 My God, whom I praise,
do not remain silent,
2 for people who are wicked and deceitful
have opened their mouths against me;
they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
3 With words of hatred they surround me;
they attack me without cause.
4 In return for my friendship they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.
5 They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my friendship.
6 Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayers condemn him.
Reflection: When David penned this psalm it is not certain which of his enemies were hunting him down, it could have been Saul, when their relationship turned south. But in the psalm we see David praying to God to protect him and send someone to oppose his enemy. It seems like it is someone close to him, as he says, “in return for friendship they accuse me”. He commits to praying and not returning sin for sin and letting God justify his cause.
It is tempting when we are moving forth God’s kingdom and we get opposition, even from within, to strike out in pride or anger. But if God has called us, He will watch over the cause for which He has given us. If God is going to use us to accomplish His plan, He will also provide us for protection to overcome those who seek to thwart it. And, of course, from Ephesians 6, we know that this is not just human opposition but from principalities and powers of this present darkness. So as we go out in Jesus’ name, we gird ourselves with the weapons He has given us: prayer, His word, true fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world!
1 Samuel 14:41-15:23
The Lord Rejects Saul as King
15 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” 4 So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. 6 Then he said to the Kenites, “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites. 7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt. 8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves[e] and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night. 12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.” 13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” 14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” 15 Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.” 16 “Enough!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied. 17 Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?” 20 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” 22 But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”
Reflection: Today we see the sad chapter in Saul’s life as the first king of Israel, when instead of obeying the whole command of God and destroying all the people of Amalek and their king, they spared the king and the best animals. They rationalized all of this by saying they were keeping the best for sacrificing to God. But God knew the selfish ambition in King Saul’s heart, and the prophet Samuel calls him on his prideful mistake. As Samuel confronts Saul in his misguided leadership, he says, “To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is the better than then fat of rams.”
Seems a little harsh, but the passage compares Saul’s sin to rebellion and idolatry. Why? Because Saul thought he knew better than the LORD. Instead of obeying the plain command of God, Saul twisted it to his own ends for self-promotion. This passage reminds us that God’s commands are usually pretty straightforward, and if we have to go to all kinds of means to rationalize our behavior there is a good chance we are going in the direction King Saul went. And we are reminded that leadership is a privilege that can be taken from us at any time. As we lead others that most important quality we can have as spiritual leaders is to hear correctly from the Lord and then obey! This is the kind of leader God is looking for and finds in King David. Who we will meet soon!
John 2:12-25
Jesus Clears the Temple Courts
13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. 23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.
Reflection: In this passage, which I believe is unique to John, we see another side of Jesus. We see him driving people out of the temple because of their misuse of the temple. We see that though Jesus is full of compassion for sinners and reaches out to them, he has no tolerance for religious pride and hypocrisy. This also gives him a chance to prophesy about the temple of his body which will be destroyed in three days and raised again. This is the time of Passover, and many people were in Jerusalem, which makes the incident even more important. Jesus was defining true worship, which in chapter 4 we will learn is in Spirit and Truth, not lip service and money changing.
Sometimes it is easy to go through the motions in worship, but we must remember we serve a living and holy God. When we worship we are entering into His holy presence. When Isaiah came into God’s presence, He said “Woe is me I am man of unclean lips”. While we come by grace and not by works, we still must remember God is holy God and deserve our hearts and minds and lives.
Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. Jeremiah 18:6 (NASB
)
It is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Philippians 2:13
Work in us, dear Lord. Shape us into the vessel of your will as we do your works of grace. Bend us into your likeness, Lord Jesus and may the Holy Spirit complete in us all your gifts. Amen.
1 My God, whom I praise,
do not remain silent,
2 for people who are wicked and deceitful
have opened their mouths against me;
they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
3 With words of hatred they surround me;
they attack me without cause.
4 In return for my friendship they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.
5 They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my friendship.
6 Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayers condemn him.
Reflection: When David penned this psalm it is not certain which of his enemies were hunting him down, it could have been Saul, when their relationship turned south. But in the psalm we see David praying to God to protect him and send someone to oppose his enemy. It seems like it is someone close to him, as he says, “in return for friendship they accuse me”. He commits to praying and not returning sin for sin and letting God justify his cause.
It is tempting when we are moving forth God’s kingdom and we get opposition, even from within, to strike out in pride or anger. But if God has called us, He will watch over the cause for which He has given us. If God is going to use us to accomplish His plan, He will also provide us for protection to overcome those who seek to thwart it. And, of course, from Ephesians 6, we know that this is not just human opposition but from principalities and powers of this present darkness. So as we go out in Jesus’ name, we gird ourselves with the weapons He has given us: prayer, His word, true fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world!
1 Samuel 14:41-15:23
The Lord Rejects Saul as King
15 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” 4 So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. 6 Then he said to the Kenites, “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites. 7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt. 8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves[e] and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night. 12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.” 13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” 14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” 15 Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.” 16 “Enough!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied. 17 Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?” 20 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” 22 But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”
Reflection: Today we see the sad chapter in Saul’s life as the first king of Israel, when instead of obeying the whole command of God and destroying all the people of Amalek and their king, they spared the king and the best animals. They rationalized all of this by saying they were keeping the best for sacrificing to God. But God knew the selfish ambition in King Saul’s heart, and the prophet Samuel calls him on his prideful mistake. As Samuel confronts Saul in his misguided leadership, he says, “To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is the better than then fat of rams.”
Seems a little harsh, but the passage compares Saul’s sin to rebellion and idolatry. Why? Because Saul thought he knew better than the LORD. Instead of obeying the plain command of God, Saul twisted it to his own ends for self-promotion. This passage reminds us that God’s commands are usually pretty straightforward, and if we have to go to all kinds of means to rationalize our behavior there is a good chance we are going in the direction King Saul went. And we are reminded that leadership is a privilege that can be taken from us at any time. As we lead others that most important quality we can have as spiritual leaders is to hear correctly from the Lord and then obey! This is the kind of leader God is looking for and finds in King David. Who we will meet soon!
John 2:12-25
Jesus Clears the Temple Courts
13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. 23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.
Reflection: In this passage, which I believe is unique to John, we see another side of Jesus. We see him driving people out of the temple because of their misuse of the temple. We see that though Jesus is full of compassion for sinners and reaches out to them, he has no tolerance for religious pride and hypocrisy. This also gives him a chance to prophesy about the temple of his body which will be destroyed in three days and raised again. This is the time of Passover, and many people were in Jerusalem, which makes the incident even more important. Jesus was defining true worship, which in chapter 4 we will learn is in Spirit and Truth, not lip service and money changing.
Sometimes it is easy to go through the motions in worship, but we must remember we serve a living and holy God. When we worship we are entering into His holy presence. When Isaiah came into God’s presence, He said “Woe is me I am man of unclean lips”. While we come by grace and not by works, we still must remember God is holy God and deserve our hearts and minds and lives.
Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. Jeremiah 18:6 (NASB
)
It is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Philippians 2:13
Work in us, dear Lord. Shape us into the vessel of your will as we do your works of grace. Bend us into your likeness, Lord Jesus and may the Holy Spirit complete in us all your gifts. Amen.
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