Psalm 7

In this Psalm we again see David struggling with antagonistic people around him.  According to the title it is someone named “Cush” who was from the tribe of Benjamin. 

Having seen in the first few Psalms this type of prayer and knowing there will be many more in this “hymnal” one wonders why the Psalmists had so many enemies.  The answer to that question certainly involves the reality of God’s people living in the midst of a world that is generally antagonistic.  It is a recognition of the spiritual battle in which we find ourselves.

In addition, these Psalms also reflect differing kinds of circumstances.  In some the writer includes recognition of his own sin (e.g. Ps. 6).  In Psalm 7 David maintains his integrity.  It is not a prideful maintaining of innocence; he sees the possibility of his own fault and is willing to accept God’s judgment in that case (v3-5).  But it is a situation in which he is “persecuted” (v1); he thinks the treatment he is receiving is not just.

To study this Psalm let us consider 4 key words.

·         v1: “persecute.”  The word means to pursue and is also used in v5.  Cush is putting David to flight, chasing him.  The word itself also fits the need of God’s people to “pursue” righteousness, and of God’s people pursuing the wicked in battle.  But in this case it is David who is being persecuted.  (By the way, this is the same word in Ps. 23:6: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all of my life.)

·         v8: “integrity.”  The root idea of this word is “completeness, fullness”.  According to God, David had this quality in the overall view of his life (1 Kings 9:4).  Think about this as you remember David was not sinless.  Rather, he handled his sin appropriately.  God also applied this term to Abimelech when he had taken Sarah into his palace after Abraham had lied about her being his sister (Gen. 20:5-6).  Even though Abimelech would not be a man of integrity in the overall picture of life, he had it in that particular situation.  Integrity requires right motives, the things that can’t be seen by anyone but God.  Integrity also means being right in your home, where others will not always know how you act (Ps. 101:2).  While David maintains his integrity in this situation, Job’s friends were wrong when they thought the confidence of his prayer should be his integrity (Job 4:6).  So note in this Psalm that David’s confidence is in the righteousness of God; God will do what is right.

·         v10: “defense.”  The Hebrew term (magen) means specifically a shield.  This is the defense for the individual.  The first use of this term in Scripture is important, when God promised Abraham to be his shield (Gen. 15:1).  What David asks for was promised to father Abraham.  David has already claimed God to be his shield (Ps. 3:3).  Note that God’s word is a critical aspect to His shield (Ps. 18:30; Prov. 30:5).  As our shield God is also a sun (Ps. 84:11), our strength (Ps. 28:7), our help (Ps. 115:9-11), and our hiding place (Ps. 119:114).  For all these reasons, our shield is the shield of salvation (Ps. 18:35).

·         v11: “just.”  This is from the family of words that speak of “righteousness” which appear several times in this Psalm (v7,8,9,11,17).  The idea is simply that God will do what is right.  It is “right” according to His standards, His law.  So in maintaining his integrity this is what David asks for, in essence, to be vindicated. 

So what is of interest in this Psalm is what is not said.  Unlike Ps. 5 and 6, David does not base his plea on the mercy of God.  Rather it is in God’s justice or righteousness.  The plea for mercy came when David knew he was part of the problem.  His sin contributed to the issue.  Here he maintains his integrity. 

There is an important thought about prayer that we need to learn and remember.  We come to God with hearts that are open to His scrutiny; thus we need to come honestly.  If we have contributed to our problem we need to pray accordingly, for mercy.  If we can see no wrong on our part and believe we are being “persecuted” let us come to God for vindication.  But let us come with an open heart that says, “If I have been at fault let me be judged accordingly.”  Let us come with the humble and contrite attitude of those who seek God in truth.

Rom. 14:14-15:2, Our Call to Serve Christ

First, at the burning bush God revealed Himself to Moses.  Then He called Moses.  “Moses, I am faithful, powerful, holy, compassionate and gracious.  I have seen … I am burdened … I have come down … and I am sending you!”  God was ready to lay His burden on Moses.  But Moses was reluctant to accept it.  Moses was full of excuses, reasons why he was not the one to do God’s work.

Before we begin to look at Moses’ self-made hindrances, let me remind you that Moses was known in Scripture, first and foremost, as a servant.  If you are a believer in Christ you should understand that service is fundamental to who you are in Christ.  Meditate on the following:

Ø Jesus Himself was a servant.  He came to serve, not to be served. Matt. 20:28

Ø Greatness for God is accomplished by service. Mark 9:35

Ø Jesus called us servants. Yes, we are “sons,” and “friends,” and “brothers.”  But we are also servants.  John 12:26

Ø Jesus equated serving Him with following Him. John 12:26

Ø God receives glory from our service. 2 Cor. 3:7-10

Ø God gave believers the ministry (i.e. service) of reconciliation. 2 Cor. 5:18

Ø Jesus designed the Church to produce service. The saints (believers) need to be equipped for the work of ministry (service). Eph. 4:12

Ø God rewards believers for faithful service. He will not forget our service, which is defined as a “work and labor of love.” Heb. 6:10

Ø God gave believers spiritual gifts for service. I Peter 4:10-11

Ø Jesus is evaluating each church's service. Rev. 2:19

Like Moses, we have had a burden laid on us that comes from our Lord.  He is building His Church (Matt. 16:18).  Like the LORD who saw Israel and had compassion on Israel, and called Moses to lead them out, so Christ sees a world in need and has compassion, and has called us to make disciples in all nations (Mt. 28:19-20).  In other words, by His Spirit and grace we have been called to the Church-building ministry.  It is His work, and He has called us to serve Him so that He can do His work through us.  In today’s reading we are called to have a relationship with those around us which leads to the edification (building up) of Christ’s Church (Rom. 1:2).

This is what Moses experienced.  God said, “This is My work.  I have seen Israel’s hard situation and heard their cry.  I have come down to deliver them.”  Then He said, “Here is how I am going to do it Moses.  I am going to do it through you!”  In Christ we see the same kind of calling.  “I have seen your neighbors and family and friends.  I am concerned, willing that all should come to repentance.  I have come down, and made a way for this to happen.  And now, I am sending you.” 

Ex. 3:1-9, The Purpose of the Bush

The call of Moses came at the burning bush.  I will tell you now, that the making of Moses into the man God had in mind went on for a long time afterwards.  But the call of God came at an odd sight (a burning bush) in a secluded place (the “back of the desert”) in the area of Mt. Sinai, “the mountain of God” (Ex. 18:5) in Horeb (Dt. 1:6; cf. Ps. 106:19; Mt. 4:4). 

God was present in the burning bush.  Scripture says that the “Angel of the LORD” appeared there (3:2).  But as we have seen elsewhere in the OT, the Angel of the LORD is the pre-incarnate Christ.  This is a frequent means by which God has a personal encounter with people.  Clearly, in Ex. 3, God called from the bush (v4), God spoke from the bush (v5), and from the bush God proclaimed, “I AM THE GOD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (v6). 

Why did God reveal Himself in this way, through a bush that burned but was never consumed?  For one thing, it reveals a lot about God.

·       God’s presence demonstrated His faithfulness; Moses had quit, God had not.

·       The burning bush reveals God’s omnipotence.  This was El Shaddai, the Almighty God, who showed that He was sufficient to redeem Israel from Egypt.

·       The bush reveals God’s omnipresence.  Even on the back side of the desert, when it was time to call Moses, God was there!  Where can I go from your spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens you are there; if i make my beg in the depths you are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast (Ps. 139:7-10).

·       Both the burning and God’s reference to the ground indicates God’s holiness.  God is separate from all that He has created.  Now see that I, even I am He, and there is no God besides Me (Deut. 32:39; cf. vs39-42).

The burning bush was the place of God’s choosing that He might reveal Himself to Moses.  We could never know God if He did not choose to reveal Himself to us.  This was one of the greatest self-revelations of God, until the day came that He chose to reveal Himself through the Incarnation (taking on flesh, humanity) of His only begotten Son (Jn. 1:18).  When it comes to Old Testament (i.e. pre-Incarnation) people, it’s hard to find a man who knew God with such depth as Moses.  It began at the bush, after 40 years of failure.

At the bush, God first reveals to Moses attributes that are most important, when it comes to God’s dealings with mankind: His omniscience (I have seen the oppression of My people), compassion (I have heard their cry), and grace (I have come down to deliver them).  You can know this about God, and more, through the Lord Jesus Christ!

Ex. 2:23-3:1, Num. 11:10-12, God’s Burden for Israel

Remember the Apostle Paul, how he considered all the great things he accomplished in Judaism as in the loss column because he only want that which was by faith (Phil. 3:4-11)?  Moses had not left behind the power of his position as an adolescent in the house of Pharoah.  He was powerful, but God was not in it (Ac. 7:22).  Thus, he was destined to fail.  But wait!  He was still God’s chosen one to deliver Israel from bondage in Egypt.  How would God turn this self-made man into a man of faith.

One thing we have noted already: God gave Moses the example of faithful parents.  The second thing God did was to give Moses 40 years in the desert.  In the desert, God let Moses fail (2:13-22).  Moses came to the conclusion that he would never lead Israel out of Egypt.  After 40 years he might even have become a little comfortable with taking care of someone else’s sheep.  The dream was dead. There was no way Moses would ever be the great man he knew he was supposed to be. 

·       He had experienced rejection by his fellow Israelites, even when he had made an heroic attempt at leadership when he killed the Egyptian (14a).

·       The proud man became a fearful man (14b).

·       He ran away from what had been his home (v15a).

·       He found himself in Midian, a semi-nomadic group in a barren desert (v15b).

·       Instead of delivering Israel he was delivering shepherdesses (v16-20).

·       He settled in for an average life (v21-22).

But to be quite honest, the life story of any person is about what God has done and is doing in their lives.  What God was doing was “hearing” and “remembering” and “acknowledging” His chosen people (v23-26).  In other words, it was now time for God to greatly magnify His name in the world, using a broken man who had no intention of being God’s man.  God heard the cry of the enslaved people.  God remembered His promise to Abraham, His friend, many years ago, a promise of a people who would go to a land after being afflicted for 400 years (Gen. 15:13).  The people were crying out, and He heard and was ready to keep His word to them.  In other words, God was deeply burdened for His people.

Eventually God’s burden would become Moses’ burden (Num. 11:11).  If God had gotten behind Moses when he took matters in his own hand, Moses would not have succeeded.  If not when Pharaoh repeatedly refused to let the people go, then when the people continuously grumbled, and certainly when the people rose up in rebellion against Moses’ leadership, Moses would have thrown up his hands in despair and resigned his job.  A man full of himself will have no room nor desire to be filled with the fullness of God.  So Moses’ rise to greatness had to begin in the desert. 

Ex. 2:11-22; Acts 7:17-29, Faith that Fails

Now let’s return to Moses.  The Israelites were enslaved by a Pharaoh who didn’t know Joseph.  We aren’t sure if the Pharaoh was Thutmose II (my choice) or Ramses II.  But for the sake of argument (since both were great builders) let’s note some of the accomplishments of Ramses (according to historians) that were accomplished by the people of Israel:

·       21 obelisks (think the Washington Monument).

·       7 temples in Thebes.

·       1000 ton temple of Rameseseum.

·       Temple in SE Egypt with 65’ statues of Pharaoh.

·       Hall of Karnak with 134 columns, some 169’ high, able to hold 100 men.

·       All built by slave labor.

Life was bitter for Israel.  And then Pharaoh started killing babies.  Enter Moses.  By our passage today he had grown up.  Perhaps, as some think, he was raised by Hatshepsut, the only female “king” of Egypt.  Whatever, he had a good education, a religious education, a medical education, astrology, social training, training in speaking, leadership, the arts and so on.  All his needs were met and most of his wants.  Stephen the first martyr put it this way in Ac. 7:21-22: Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son.  And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.

But, of course, Moses also had training in the home of his true mother and father.  He knew his background, his heritage, and his real “brethren” were (2:11).  He also knew his special calling (Ac. 7:25), the one related to his being a “beautiful” child at birth.  When he came to the aid of his fellow Israelite, and killed the Egyptian, he thought he was fulfilling his destiny.  Instead, Moses attempt to deliver Israel was premature (40 years early), motivated by passion (2:11), was an act of pride or self-will, and was couched in popularity (concern with what others thought; he looked both ways before taking action, 2:12).

But here’s the real failure.  Remember the 4 aspects of faith: sense of need, understanding God’s will, dedication to God and then action!  Moses took action, but lacked dedication to God, was iffy on understanding God’s will (he knew he was the deliverer but had no idea how God wanted to do it).  But mostly: he lacked a sense of need.  He had no broken spirit … broken and contrite heart (Ps. 1:17), no self-denial before taking up his cross (Mt. 1:24), no poverty of spirit (Mt. 5:3).  F. B. Meyer described it thus: to be vacant of self and waiting for God.  To have no confidence in the flesh; to be empties of self-reliance; to be conscious of absolute insufficiency; to be thankfully dependent on the life-energy of the living God.

How does God get the glory if I am full of myself?  How can it be “faith” in God if I’m doing it in my own strength?  God will need to deal with this first.

1 Sam. 1:21-28, Transferrable Concepts Part 3

·       Life related principles (continued).

o   Have compassion on your children as God your Father does with you.  Isaiah 66:13 speaks of God’s comfort for His people being like that of a mother for a child.  Paul made a similar argument in 1 Thess. 2:7. This is a universal principle that a mother has compassion on her children.

o   Be one with your wife (for God’s sake, for your children’s sake).

§  Mal. 2:15; 4:6: Marital oneness is tied to rearing children in godliness.  It is especially addressed to husbands/fathers.

§  Psalm 128: This Psalm connects a happy marriage with happy children.

·       Future related principles.

o   Yield your children to God.  1 Sam. 1:21-28: Hannah wanted a child in the worst way.  She was willing to present the child to God from the start.

o   Seek God’s specific will for your children.  Each child is different.  God has a plan for each of them.

§  Gen. 49: Jacob blessed his sons, each differently.  These were prophecies that came from his knowledge of the boys.

§  Judges 13:12: Samson’s parents asked God how to raise him.  We would probably say that Samson didn’t always please his parents, but they did do what the LORD directed them to do.

§  Matt. 19:14: Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them.  Parents need to give children the opportunity to trust Christ.

o   Support your children’s spiritual growth steps.  Judges 6:31: Gideon tore down the idol but at night because he was afraid.  Nevertheless, his father didn’t criticize his cowardice but backed him up against the townspeople.

o   Give appropriate guidance in the choice of a life partner.

§  Gen. 24: I know we don’t usually do the thing where parents choose a spouse for a child.  But the things Abraham and his chief servant had in mind for a spouse for Isaac can be very instructive to a child today.

§  Gen. 28: Isaac gave Jacob general advice (get a wife, not from the Canaanites but from your clan).  In other words, we should have the conversation.

o   Allow your children to grow in faith through testing.  In other words, don’t always bail them out.

§  The story of Esther illustrates this.  She faced a severe situation.  Uncle Mordecai’s advice did not bail her out but encouraged her in going through the tense moments.

I hope you get the point.  The OT is a valuable help to rearing children to know and love Christ.

Heb. 12:3-11, Transferrable Concepts Part 2

In today’s post we want to list some family-related principles found in the OT that are useful in our homes as we live under the NT.  This is by no means exhaustive, and we are just noting a few illustrations.  I hope you are encouraged.

·       God related principles.

o   Honor God above your children.

§  Gen. 22:12: Abraham honored God to the point of offering up Isaac.

§  Lev. 10:1-7: Aaron did not morn the death of his oldest sons out of reverence for God.  Among those who approach me I will show Myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.

§  1 Sam. 2:27-36: Eli dishonored God by failing to discipline his sons. Those who honor me I will honor but those who despise me will be disdained.

§  Psalm 128: God’s blessing is on homes where the family fears the Lord.

o   Teach with application God’s principles to your children.  Deut. 6:4-9: First, honor God above all.  Then teach your children as you and they go through life.  Teach them in the context of life experiences.

o   Honor God above your possessions. Deut. 6:10-12: For Israel the command was, after you enter the land and are blessed, don’t forget the LORD who brought you out of Egypt.

o   Share God’s wonderful works with your children.  Deut. 6:20-25: A monument was erected to remind people of the Exodus.  We should pass along God’s works in our family to our descendants.

o   Pray for your children.  Job 1:5: We do not offer sacrifices like Job, but we can, through prayer, bring them to the LORD.

·       Life related principles.

o   Take a stand for God in your family.

§  Josh. 24:15: Joshua called for a family commitment to serve the LORD.

§  Acts 16:31: The jailer’s entire family believed after the jailer brought Paul and Silas to his home to care for them.

§  Jer. 35:6: The Rechabites are a great OT illustration of this principle.

o   Model a righteous life. 

§  Gen. 7:1: Noah, whom God found to be righteous in his generation, was followed by his entire family.

§  Prov. 3:33: The LORD “blesses the home of the righteous.”

o   Discipline your children as God our Father disciplines us.

§  Prov. 13:34; 19:18; 23:13; 29:15; 29:17: All these emphasize the principle.

§  Heb. 12:3-11: Any good father will discipline his children in love.  Verses 5-6 are a quote of Prov. 3:11-12.

We will conclude this exercise in our next post.