SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/22/2012
9:59:40 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Psalm 129
PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 129:3-8
Message of
the verses: As we begin the second SD in the 129th
Psalm I want to quote what Dr. Wiersbe wrote at the end of his introductory
commentary, “The psalm gives three instructions that we should follow when we
find ourselves suffering for Jesus Christ.”
Benefit from It (vv. 3-4)
“3 "The plowers plowed upon my back; They
lengthened their furrows." 4 The
LORD is righteous; He has cut in two the cords of the wicked.
As we look at verse three
we will look at two ways in which to understand this verse better. First we will look at two verses from the OT
that could help us better understand about having plowers plow on a person’s or
a nation’s back, and the first is found in Joshua 10:24, “When they brought
these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to
the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, "Come near, put your
feet on the necks of these kings." So they came near and put their feet on
their necks.” This verse tells that if
Israel would obey the Lord that He would allow them to defeat their
enemies. The second verse is found in
the book of Isaiah chapter fifty-one and verse twenty-three, “"I will put
it into the hand of your tormentors, Who have said to you, ’Lie down that we
may walk over you.’ You have even made your back like the ground And like the
street for those who walk over it."
Now we will look at verse three in a little different way as some Bible
teachers have said that this verse speaks of a person being beaten with a whip
and thus leaving the marks on their back, like furrows, from the whip. The first person that I would think of this
happening to is our Lord Jesus Christ and the prophet Isaiah had prophesied
about this, “I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who
pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.” “Who
his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to
sins, should live to righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed 1Pe. 2:24
AKJV).” The Apostle Paul also was beaten
and he speaks of this in “2Co 11:24 Of
the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.”
Dr. Wiersbe writes “The
nation of Israel has been plowed long, deep, and often, but what a harvest of
blessing it has brought to the world!”
Israel did learn much from their time of persecution in Babylon and when
we look at the book of Nehemiah we see that there was a great revival after
they returned from their captivity. I
realize that it did not last a long time, but a day will come when after
another long persecution of the Jews that all Israel will be saved.
We as believers in Jesus
Christ today can look at this plowing in a different way for it reminds us of
sowing and bringing in the harvest. Paul
tells the Galatians that whatsoever we sow we will reap. We must remember that we must plant the right
seeds in order to have the right kind of a harvest. Dr. Wiersbe concludes this section by saying,
“God permits people to treat us like dirt, and we must accept it, but we have
the privilege of transforming it by the grace of God into character that honors
the Lord.”
Before ending I want to
look at a verse in Psalm 124:7 to help explain verse four, “7 Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the
snare of the trapper; The snare is broken and we have escaped.”
Commit to the Lord (vv. 5-8)
“5 ¶ May all who hate Zion Be put to shame and
turned backward; 6 Let them be like
grass upon the housetops, Which withers before it grows up; 7 With which the reaper does not fill his hand,
Or the binder of sheaves his bosom; 8
Nor do those who pass by say, "The blessing of the LORD be upon
you; We bless you in the name of the LORD.’”
As we look at verse five in
light of what is going on in today’s world we can be assured that those who
hate Israel will be put to shame and they will be destroyed. There are many who take the Bible seriously
look at what is going on in the Middle East today as ushering the world into
the last days of human history as we know it.
Why do they look at it this way?
The main thing that causes many to believe that we are in the “Last Days”
is the rebirth of the nation of Israel that took place on May 14th
of 1948, and this happened in one day. “"Who
has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one
day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she
also brought forth her sons (Isaiah 66:8).”
As we now look at the rebuilt state of Israel we see it surrounded by
enemies for they simply hate Israel because they are Jews, and this is
something that God will not stand for He told Abraham that He would bless those
who bless him and those that curse him He would curse, and we can see this
throughout history every since God formed the nation of Israel. Ezekiel writes
that there are a number of nations that will surround Israel in the last days
and that they will form an alliance in order to destroy them, but God will
destroy them. Let us look at a few verses from the 38th and 39th
chapters of Ezekiel, “Eze 38:8
"After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will
come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been
gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a
continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are
living securely, all of them.” “1 ¶ "And you, son of man, prophesy against
Gog and say, ’Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against you, O Gog,
prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal; 2 and
I will turn you around, drive you on, take you up from the remotest parts of
the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel. 3 "I will strike your bow from your left
hand and dash down your arrows from your right hand. 4 "You will fall on the mountains of
Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give
you as food to every kind of predatory bird and beast of the field. 5 "You will fall on the open field; for it
is I who have spoken," declares the Lord GOD. 6 "And I will send fire upon Magog and
those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the
LORD. 7 "My holy name I will make
known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let My holy name be
profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in
Israel.
“ 8 ¶
"Behold, it is coming and it shall be done," declares the Lord
GOD. "That is the day of which I have spoken. 9 "Then those who inhabit the cities of
Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both shields
and bucklers, bows and arrows, war clubs and spears, and for seven years they
will make fires of them.” (Ezekiel
39:1-9) We see in these verses that God
will have the last say as to what will happen to Israel, and what will happen
to those who hate them.
The psalmist goes on in
this section to speak of the enemies of Israel to be like grass that grows on
top of the flat roofs of their houses.
Seeds would blow upon the tops of these flat roofs that were composed of
a mixture of mud and mortar, wood and thatching, which would make it easy for
them to grow and so the grass would
begin to grow but then the hot weather would make it so that the shallow seeds
would die very fast and this is what the psalmist says will happen to the
enemies of Israel. The question comes up
as to why should people hate Israel and the answer to this question is that Satan
hates Israel and because unbelievers are children of the Devil “"You are
of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was
a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is
no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for
he is a liar and the father of lies.’”
(John 8:44) Satan hates Israel
because the Lord Jesus Christ came from the tribe of Judah and it was because
of His death on the cross that the world, the flesh, and the Devil have been
defeated. Take a look at the 12th
chapter of the book of Revelations and you will be able to see the intense hatred
that Satan has for Israel, and then take a look at the different countries of
the world who have this same hatred and you will see where they get it from.
The Jewish people have
trusted in the Lord to have Him care for those who hate them and Paul writes
about this in the book of Romans as he quotes the OT in this section as part of
what he writes, “17 Never pay back evil
for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be
at peace with all men. 19 Never take your
own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written,
"VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. 20 "BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM,
AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING
COALS ON HIS HEAD." 21 Do not be
overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
(Romans 12:17-21)
As believers in Jesus
Christ we owe much to the nation of Israel, for they gave us the Word of God
and they also gave to us the Savior of the world and for that we can praise the
Lord for the nation of Israel.
Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary
on this psalm with these insightful words, “When people treat you like dirt
because you belong to Jesus, remember the ABC’s of this psalm: accept it,
benefit from it, commit it to the Lord.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: When I look at
the situation in our country and around the world I know that eventually the
outcome of all this is written in the pages of the Scriptures, but there are
times when I desire to take matters into my own hands to hurry things up, but I
have to be patient, but one thing that I can do and that is to continue to pray
for revival and to trust the Lord to work out His perfect plan, for He is all
knowing.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to seek to learn contentment and
patience as I trust the Lord.
Memory verses for the
week: 1Cor. 13:8-13
8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy,
they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is
knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For
we know in part and we prophecy in part; 10 but when the perfect come, the
partial will be done away. 11 When I was
a child I use to speak like a child, think like a child, and reason like a
child, when I became a man I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then
face to face; now I know in part, but then I will fully know just as I also
have been fully known. 13 But now faith,
hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
10/22/2012 11:24:45 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment