Vengeance on Israel’s Enemies - Psalms 128-130

Psalms 129:5-8 (ESV)

May all who hate Zion

be put to shame and turned backward!

Let them be like the grass on the housetops,

which withers before it grows up,

with which the reaper does not fill his hand

nor the binder of sheaves his arms,

nor do those who pass by say,

“The blessing of the LORD be upon you!

We bless you in the name of the LORD!”

The book of Psalms are songs and prayers that were written for, mostly, specific events or occasions.  Many of those occasions were the pilgrimage to worship in Jerusalem (Zion).  Psalm 129 is one of those songs that were written to be song on their way to worship on one of the holy days for Israel.   This psalm has two parts.  The first part (verses 1-4) is about the affliction that Israel had occurred, probably during the exile.   But, there is an historical aspect to it, as well, as the writer reflects that Israel has been tormented by its “haters” for centuries.   In the second section of the song (above) we read the prayer for vengeance on these “haters.”    It should be noted that the writer is not imploring the people to exact vengeance, but rather pleading with God to carry out the justice.  We are not to do vengeance since we read in other parts of God’s Word that vengeance belongs to God:

Romans 12:19 (ESV)

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

However, notice the way that this song of prayer unfolds about the vengeance on their enemies:

1. The prayer wants the enemies of Israel to be full of shame.  Shame as powerful, powerful emotion.   At its core one who is shamed is ostracized from community.    They feel abandoned, lonely and unsupported.  

2. The prayer wants them to be as unstable as the “grass on the roof tops.”   We don’t relate to that imagery, but homes would use dirt to cover their homes and grass would grow on it as a result.  But, having no root the grass would wither and die quickly.   So, too, is the stability of the “haters” of God’s people.  They may think they are full of greenish and freshness, but will soon, be dead and withered.  There is no stability for them.  

3. The prayer wants no one to walk by and bless them.   Only God brings blessing into people’s lives. No matter our faith or lack of faith or even atheistic views of life, anything good that happens to us is from the God of the universe:

James 1:17 (ESV)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Matthew 5:45 (ESV)

... For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

The above prayer is asking for the most severe vengeance that could happen to someone at the hand of God: That God would remove His natural blessing on them.   Those who “hate” Israel have nothing in front of them but shame, instability and lack of natural blessings.   It is a crude and horrible place to be in life.  But, such are those who “hate” God’s chosen people.  

Despite Our Sins, God Loves and Forgives - 2 Chronicles 33-36

2 Chronicles 33:10-13 (ESV)

The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. Therefore the LORD brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

In order to understand the above story about King Manasseh, we need to read what was said about him just prior to the above events.  We have to know just how evil King Manasseh was:

2 Chronicles 33:3-7 (ESV)

For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made Asheroth, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. And the carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever,

For this reason God put Manasseh into captivity.    Yet, despite this life and this leadership, God was moved by his prayer for mercy.   Manasseh had wasted his life and had brought contempt on all Jerusalem.  Yet, God had mercy on him because he humbled himself in prayer to God.  Perhaps this was the type of prayer he prayed: 

Psalms 69:13 (ESV)

But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD.

At an acceptable time, O God,

in the abundance of your STEADFAST LOVE answer me in your saving faithfulness.

Psalms 69:16 (ESV)

Answer me, O LORD, for your STEADFAST LOVE is good;

according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.

God hears our prayers for mercy and turns His mercy toward us based solely on His steadfast love and faithfulness.    Manasseh didn’t deserve it, but God granted him mercy and forgiveness.   So, too, with us.   We do not deserve it, but based upon God’s steadfast love we are in His favor!!

Teach It To The Next Generation - Deuteronomy 10-12

Deuteronomy 12:8-11 (ESV)

“You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that the LORD your God is giving you. But when you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety, then to the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the LORD.

The book of Deuteronomy means 2nd Law.  It is the second giving of the Law of God through the mouth of Moses to the people of Israel.  But these people were not the people who came out of Egypt.  Those people (20 years old and upward) all died in the wilderness, during their 40 years of wandering.    That is the reason for the second giving of God’s Laws.  Those younger than 20 and those born in the wilderness needed to hear it again.  This is why the above passage is written.  Moses is reminding this new generation about their obligation to worship God in the right way.   The truths of the past needed to be taught to the people of the future.    This is a principle of life we must always be aware of in our community dynamics.  Whether it is a home, a church, an organization, or a nation, the imprinting of the mores’ of the past into and unto the hearts of the future generation is imperative for survival.    We die as groups of people when we fail to carry over past values into present and future living.   God did not want that for His people so, before Moses’ death, he was charged with telling this new generation how to worship God.   The main truth Moses’ conveys:  Don’t be like the world around you!    A primary value found in Deuteronomy is this truth of separation from the other nations and for Israel to live unique lives in the midst of people who did whatever was right in their own eyes.  Does that sound familiar?   Is that not what we are to do today in the church age?  We are not to be like the world but to come out of the world and live holy before the world: 

 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 (ESV)

Therefore go out from their midst,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch no unclean thing;

then I will welcome you,

and I will be a father to you,

and you shall be sons and daughters to me,

says the Lord Almighty.”

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)

A Living Sacrifice

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Do You Grumble Much? James 4-5

James 5:9-10 (ESV)

Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

People like to grumble.   We grumble at the car in front of us because it is not moving fast enough.  We grumble at our children because they aren’t moving in the way we want.  We grumble at our boss because he/she is asking to much of us.  We grumble at our sports teams because they are not winning strong enough.   We like to grumble.  We even like to grumble in church.  The donuts are not good enough, the music is not soft enough (or loud enough), the preacher is not entertaining enough, or the service is not short enough.  When James writes the above line he is writing to people who are dispersed abroad.  They were being so persecuted they had to leave their homes and find new places and new lands to live in.   If anyone had the basis to grumble it would be them.   Yet, James writes to them to not grumble against one another.  There are almost 50 one another statements in the New Testament.   Unlike this one, most don’t come with a negative motivator.  This one says we are not to grumble against each other so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.  Imagine if we thought every time we yelled at the car in front of us something happened to us instantly.  Imagine if there was a cosmic-shock-collar for grumbling.  Every time we grumbled we were shocked by it.  It is not that James is insensitive toward their plight, or our problems.  There are times when things are not going to go our way and we almost naturally grumble.  But grumbling occurs because we do not like our current reality.   Yet, our current reality was created by God.  We are experiencing something God intends for us to experience. Note what James has just told this group of wandering and persecuted Christians:

James 5:7-8 (ESV)

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

James gives the antidote to grumbling before he tells them not to do it.   He tells them that God is in charge and we are to wait patiently for God’s plan to unfold.  Like the farmer who waits for the crop we, too, are to wait patiently for the reality we are currently experiencing to unfold for His glory.   The next time we feel like grumbling we might want to ask what God is doing and what seed is He planting into our lives to produce a fruit for His ultimate glory?  James not only gives them this negative motivator, he gives them a positive example.  He wants to them to consider the prophets that came before them who suffered and, yet, had patience.   He does not mention a particular prophet but Jeremiah immediately comes to mind.   He suffered but did so to proclaim the plans God had for Israel.   The next time we want to grumble we should think of the negative motivator (we will be judged by God for it) and the positive motivator (others went before us with patience in suffering).   

Jewish Rejection Amounted to Gentile Salvation - Acts 11-12

Acts 11:1-3 (ESV)

Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

Acts 11:18 (ESV)

When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

As a Gentile, I really appreciate the above verses.    God has provided, through the Jewish system, a Savior for the Gentiles.   Paul will be more bold with is unfolding of this truth:

Romans 11:11 (ESV)

So I ask, did they (Israel) stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.

Romans 11:25 (ESV)

The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation

Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

Gentiles today are not very appreciative of the above truths.  In fact it is probably not a truth most know or reflect upon much in their walk with Christ.   But the truth is that Israel’s rejection of their Messiah amounted to the gain of Gentiles.   Paul warns us not to forget why we are able to partake in that very Messiah:

Romans 11:17-18 (ESV)

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.

The reaction of the early church toward Gentiles coming to faith was to challenge the very thought.  Remember, Jews were instructed to have no company with the Gentiles.   This story in Acts is a major pivot for Christianity.   We can rejoice that the Jew’s unbelief was the avenue for ours.   

Zephaniah - Why Was It Written?

ZEPHANIAH

(Means: Jehovah has treasured)  He is known as the Royal Prophet because he comes from a kingly line

Historical Setting

1.  During Josiah's reign which ended around 622 - 621 B.C.

2.  Josiah tried to reform the nation after Manasseh (Zephaniah's uncle) brought in the worst corruption of any king. Josiah attempted a reform

Prophecy Against

This is a prophecy against Judah for their idolatry and disobedience to God, as well as judgment on all men - the Coming Day of the Lord is the main theme.  It also includes the promises of a future Kingdom under Christ rule and reign. 

Time Period

625 B.C. - (Pre-Exile of Judah)

Historical Theme - What did it mean then?

1.  The people of Judah were going to be judged by God for their disobedience to God's Word, their idolatry and adultery of pursuing another god.  (Zep. 1:17)

2.  The peoples of the earth will be judged by God for their failure to trust God and their pursuit of idols.

3.  The future restoration of the faithful of God to a kingdom of ruled by Christ. 

Outline of the Book

1. The coming judgment on God's People (Chapter 1)

    A.  The fact that judgment will come -  (1:1-3)

    B.  The focus of the judgment to come - (1:4-13)

    C.  The fierceness of the judgment to come - (1:14-17)

2. The coming judgment on the Earth's People (Chapter 2)

   A.  Plea by God for repentance and offer to forgive (2:1-3)

   B.  Places God will destroy (2:4-13)

3.  The future restoration of God's faithful remnant (Chapter 3) 

   A.  Summation of God's complaint - the Reasons (2:1-11)

  B. Summation of God's compassion - the Remnant (2:12-20)

Reasons to read it:

1.  If you wonder if God will just allow people to sin and the world to go on with no judgment (1:2)

2.  If you wonder how God will judge the world (chapter 2)

3. If you wonder how God demonstrates mercy in the midst of judgment (2:3; 3:5 vs. chapter two)

4.  If you wonder what the future kingdom under Christ's reign will look like (Chapter 3)

Future Theme - What's it mean in future?

1.  The Coming Day of the Lord in the context of history (past and future)

2.  Christ picks up the theme of the Day of the Lord in His teaching.

3.  Paul picks up the theme of the Day of the Lord in his teaching. 

Practical Theme - What does it mean for me today?

1.  Prophecy is Real:  The COMING DAY OF THE LORD is real (see 1:2)  If you are going to study prophecy and God's impending judgment you have to visit passages like Daniel 7:15, 28; 8:27; 10:2, 8-10, 15-17; Psalm 96:13 in regard to how the psalmist saw the coming Day of the Lord; 1 Thessalonians 5   (Those in Christ have a different outlook than those in flesh)

2.  Judgment is Real:  God searches out the sinner and knows their deeds and silver and gold will not deliver them (1:12 & 18)

3.  God's Mercy is Real:  In the midst of judgment God will and does offer a chance for salvation (2:3, 3:5)

4.  Christ's Kingdom is Real:   Judgment is indeed coming but there is blessings in store for those who choose to repent and believe in Christ.

Without God We Are Like the Beasts of the Field - Ecclesiastes 3-4

Ecclesiastes 3:18-22 (ESV)

I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?

In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon is in a philosophical mood and on a quest to define the meaning of life through man’s eyes and on man’s terms.  As always, when reading or commenting on Ecclesiastes, we have to start with the last verses.  This is Solomon’s conclusion to the entire book:

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (ESV)

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

The need to read the book with the end in mind is never more apparent than what we read in the above lines.   Through man’s lens, Solomon states we nothing more than the beasts of the earth.   Through man’s lens we might as well just rejoice in our work, for that is our lot.   In the above passage we read that Solomon (again, through man’s eyes) is questioning if there is even anything different between man and beasts in our after life.   The implication is that Solomon is not sure if there is an afterlife for man.   if it were not for the fact that in the end, he draws the right conclusions, we might get lost in his thoughts as we read them.   But Solomon gives us the natural man’s mindset.   Most do not believe in the afterlife or, at least through their practice, don’t live like they believe in the afterlife.    Remember, Solomon did state earlier in this chapter:

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (ESV)

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

The point Solomon is making is that, without understanding that the chief end for man is to fear God, they is nothing left to live for.  Without a Fear the Lord-God-centered-world-view, we are dumb beast, destine to live, eat and then die.   The life is futile if we have nothing beyond this life.   God has made man to enjoy this life, true.  But He is ultimately made man for His enjoyment and for man’s enjoyment in God.   Everything else is like the beast of the field.