Spiritual Blinders!
Psalm 119:17-24
Gimel
17 Be good to your servant while I live,
that I may obey your word.
18 Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
19 I am a stranger on earth;
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for your laws at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed,
those who stray from your commands.
22 Remove from me their scorn and contempt,
for I keep your statutes.
23 Though rulers sit together and slander me,
your servant will meditate on your decrees.
24 Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counselors.
Reflection: We now get to the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet “Gimel” (Aleph, Beth, Gimel…) We had a song in my Hebrew class in seminary that helped us memorize the Hebrew alphabet, please don’t make me sing it again! Again we see the psalmist singing of how God’s Word is a delight to him. Notice the relationship between God’s goodness and obedience. This is the first thing I noticed. It is in relationship to God’s goodness that we obey. We often think if I obey God, He will be good to me and not punish me. Yet the order in God’s relationship with us is that because He is good to us, we obey and then we see more goodness as we live according to His plan for our lives. It is a huge movement in a Christian’s life when they see God wants to bless them and do good things for them, as they obey His leading for their lives. And we see the goodness and kindness of God summed up when He sent His only Son to die for us. It is because of the Good News God has done to us and for us that we can obey. As we see and receive the Good News, our eyes are opened through the power of the Holy Spirit and we begin to see the goodness in all God calls us to be and do. This is the Christian life.
2 Samuel 8, 9
New International Version (NIV)
David and Mephibosheth
2 Samuel 9 David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” “At your service,” he replied. 3 The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?” Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.” 4 “Where is he?” the king asked. Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.” 5 So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel. 6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, “Mephibosheth! “At your service,” he replied. 7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” 8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?” 9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.) 11 Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s[a] table like one of the king’s sons. 12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.
Reflection: In chapter 8 we continue to see David’s military prowess and how God is with him and gives him victory wherever he goes. Notice whenever David has victory he brings the plunder including gold and silver to Jerusalem which will eventually be the stock from which God’s temple is built. Then in chapter 9, we see the other side of this mighty warrior. He longs to redeem the relationship with his good friend Jonathan, Saul’s son who was taken too soon. So David inquires if there are any sons left in the house of Saul. Again we see David taking the high road and looking to redeem the house of Saul inspite of Saul’s pride and arrogance which led to his demise.
Sure enough one of Jonathan’s sons is found Mephibosheth (try pronouncing that one!) who happens to be lame in both feet. David honor Saul’s grandson and Jonathan’s son by giving him land and making sure his servants and family are taken care of. He also provides a place at the King’s table (quite a big deal in that day!) where each day Mephibosheth eats. So we see both the strength and kindness (mercy) of David in his leading the people. We saw how much David wanted Saul to live up to Kingship he had been granted and even how David protected the Lord’s anointed until the end. This is why David has been called Israel’s greatest king and foretaste of the kind of King Jesus would be!
John 7:45-52
Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders
45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” 46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied. 47 “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”
Reflection: The temple guards and Nicodemus urge the priests and Pharisees to have restraint in their judgment of Jesus, but they are only met with the disdain of the leaders who are bent of getting rid of the One who has called them into account. In their pride and arrogance related to their position they refuse to listen to the good men around them who see the true nature of who Jesus is. They leaders are stuck in the fact that Jesus has come from Galilee in Nazareth. This leads even Philip to say Nathanael when he asks, “Can anything good from Nazareth?” and Philip says, “Come and see.” There is a general reference in Matthew 2 that the prophets said, “He would be called a Nazarene.”
Remember Jesus was from Nazareth where Joseph and Mary lived, but were in Bethlehem in response the census King Herod had required all Jews to go back to their hometown. This was because Jesus belonged to the house and line of David (remember the Davidic covenant we talked about yesterday!). The point is the Pharisees could have known Jesus’ roots if they had looked into it, but they were blinded by it. There are times when a person can know everything possible about Jesus and have all the evidence in the world that He is the Messiah yet due to their hardness of heart, they will not believe.
This reminds us of what Jesus said in John, “No one can come to me unless the Father draws Him through Me.” The greatest thing we can do for people who don’t believe is to pray that the Father would draw them to Himself through the Good News, through Jesus!
O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare your praise. Psalm 51:15 (NASB)
Praise our God, all you his servants, and all who fear him, small and great. Revelation 19:5
Holy One, we thank you for blessings each day and we lift our voices to sing your praises. May our praise be acceptable to you, O God! Amen.
Gimel
17 Be good to your servant while I live,
that I may obey your word.
18 Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
19 I am a stranger on earth;
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for your laws at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed,
those who stray from your commands.
22 Remove from me their scorn and contempt,
for I keep your statutes.
23 Though rulers sit together and slander me,
your servant will meditate on your decrees.
24 Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counselors.
Reflection: We now get to the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet “Gimel” (Aleph, Beth, Gimel…) We had a song in my Hebrew class in seminary that helped us memorize the Hebrew alphabet, please don’t make me sing it again! Again we see the psalmist singing of how God’s Word is a delight to him. Notice the relationship between God’s goodness and obedience. This is the first thing I noticed. It is in relationship to God’s goodness that we obey. We often think if I obey God, He will be good to me and not punish me. Yet the order in God’s relationship with us is that because He is good to us, we obey and then we see more goodness as we live according to His plan for our lives. It is a huge movement in a Christian’s life when they see God wants to bless them and do good things for them, as they obey His leading for their lives. And we see the goodness and kindness of God summed up when He sent His only Son to die for us. It is because of the Good News God has done to us and for us that we can obey. As we see and receive the Good News, our eyes are opened through the power of the Holy Spirit and we begin to see the goodness in all God calls us to be and do. This is the Christian life.
2 Samuel 8, 9
New International Version (NIV)
David and Mephibosheth
2 Samuel 9 David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” “At your service,” he replied. 3 The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?” Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.” 4 “Where is he?” the king asked. Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.” 5 So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel. 6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, “Mephibosheth! “At your service,” he replied. 7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” 8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?” 9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.) 11 Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s[a] table like one of the king’s sons. 12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.
Reflection: In chapter 8 we continue to see David’s military prowess and how God is with him and gives him victory wherever he goes. Notice whenever David has victory he brings the plunder including gold and silver to Jerusalem which will eventually be the stock from which God’s temple is built. Then in chapter 9, we see the other side of this mighty warrior. He longs to redeem the relationship with his good friend Jonathan, Saul’s son who was taken too soon. So David inquires if there are any sons left in the house of Saul. Again we see David taking the high road and looking to redeem the house of Saul inspite of Saul’s pride and arrogance which led to his demise.
Sure enough one of Jonathan’s sons is found Mephibosheth (try pronouncing that one!) who happens to be lame in both feet. David honor Saul’s grandson and Jonathan’s son by giving him land and making sure his servants and family are taken care of. He also provides a place at the King’s table (quite a big deal in that day!) where each day Mephibosheth eats. So we see both the strength and kindness (mercy) of David in his leading the people. We saw how much David wanted Saul to live up to Kingship he had been granted and even how David protected the Lord’s anointed until the end. This is why David has been called Israel’s greatest king and foretaste of the kind of King Jesus would be!
John 7:45-52
Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders
45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” 46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied. 47 “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”
Reflection: The temple guards and Nicodemus urge the priests and Pharisees to have restraint in their judgment of Jesus, but they are only met with the disdain of the leaders who are bent of getting rid of the One who has called them into account. In their pride and arrogance related to their position they refuse to listen to the good men around them who see the true nature of who Jesus is. They leaders are stuck in the fact that Jesus has come from Galilee in Nazareth. This leads even Philip to say Nathanael when he asks, “Can anything good from Nazareth?” and Philip says, “Come and see.” There is a general reference in Matthew 2 that the prophets said, “He would be called a Nazarene.”
Remember Jesus was from Nazareth where Joseph and Mary lived, but were in Bethlehem in response the census King Herod had required all Jews to go back to their hometown. This was because Jesus belonged to the house and line of David (remember the Davidic covenant we talked about yesterday!). The point is the Pharisees could have known Jesus’ roots if they had looked into it, but they were blinded by it. There are times when a person can know everything possible about Jesus and have all the evidence in the world that He is the Messiah yet due to their hardness of heart, they will not believe.
This reminds us of what Jesus said in John, “No one can come to me unless the Father draws Him through Me.” The greatest thing we can do for people who don’t believe is to pray that the Father would draw them to Himself through the Good News, through Jesus!
O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare your praise. Psalm 51:15 (NASB)
Praise our God, all you his servants, and all who fear him, small and great. Revelation 19:5
Holy One, we thank you for blessings each day and we lift our voices to sing your praises. May our praise be acceptable to you, O God! Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment