生命之道

Category: 圣经笔记

  • Isaiah 42

    Isaiah 42

    Two Servants of God

    Division

    1. v1-17: God Servant the Lord Jesus Christ
    2. V18:25: God servant the nation of Israel

    Exposition

    • Isaiah 42:1-7 is the first of four “Servant Songs” in Isaiah, referring to God’s Servant, the Messiah. The others are 49:1-6. 50:1-11; and 52:13-53:12.
    • Matthew quoted Isaiah 42:1-3 in Matthew 12:17-21, referring to Jesus. Clearly Isaiah was prophesying Christ in v1-17. Jesus Christ is the God chosen Servant whom God delight (v1).
    • v1: [I will put my Spirit on Him]. Jesus’s ministry started with His baptism by the Holy Spirit.
    • v2: [He will out shout or cry out or raise His voice in the street]. Peter told us in 1 Peter 2:23 [When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats.]
    • v6: “You” here is referring to Christ. God is speaking directly to Christ.
    • v6: [to be a covenant for the people]: Christ is the mediator of the new covenant (Heb 8:6)
    • v6: Simeon saw baby Jesus and proclaim the fulfillment of this prophesy: Christ is the light to the gentiles (Luke 2:32). Jesus Himself said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
    • v10-13: A song of praise to God.
    • v14: God is speaking here. [I have been quiet..]: God has been quiet and waiting for the time He had set, to send His Son into this world. [But when he time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law] (Gal 4:4-5)
    • v18-25: Isaiah turned from Christ God Chosen Servant to Israel, the Israel, who is also called servant. However this servant is spiritually blind and deaf.
    • v24: [Was it not the Lord?] It was God who disciplined the Jews by using Babylon to destroyed Jerusalem and exiled them into foreign land. God is the righteous Judge, He is the loving father who does not enjoy but need to discipline His children who are blind and deaf to His voice.
  • Isaiah 41

    Isaiah 41

    The Rise of Cyrus

    Background

    • Cyrus is not named here, but he is named later in 44:28 and 45:1
    • Armies from the east always entered Palestine from the north, since they had to follow the Euphrates River.
    • Isaiah died 150 years before the days of Cyrus, yet here is a vision of Cyrus’s rapid conquest of the world, which is ascribed to the providence of God (v4). God promises protection for Israel (v8-20), and challenges the gods of the nations to show their ability to predict the future (v21-29).

    Division

    1. v1-7: The rise of Cyrus and the fear of the nations
    2. v8-16: God strengthen the Jews, He promised He will help them
    3. v17-20: God will turn the desert into garden
    4. v21-29: God challenged to idols worshipers in the nations to bring in their idols to prophesy, in order to prove to them these idols are all false

    Exposition

    • v2-3: the “He” mentioned here is referring to Cyrus, the king of Persia.
    • v21: [“Present your case”]: God is the Judge, the nations are the defendants in a court room. The case is God vs. idols.
    • v25: [I have stirred up one from the north]. Referring to Cyrus. Cyrus had conquer Media before coming to Babylon.
    • v29: The verdict of the case: [they are all false!].
  • Isaiah 40

    Isaiah 40

    Preparing the way for the Suffering Servant of Yahweh

    Division

    1. v1-11: Preparing the way for Good Tidings
    2. v12-26: How Great Thou Art
    3. v27-31: Soar on wings like eagels

    Exposition

    1. Preparing the way for Good Tidings (40:1-11)
      1. The voice of pardon (v1-2)
        1. God instructed Isaiah to comfort His covenant people who was in captivity in Babylon. They should feel comfort because their sin has been paid. A hint of deliverance will happen soon
        2. Our sin has been paid fully by Christ on the cross, that is the greatest comfort message in mankind!
      2. The voice of providence (v3-5)
        1. It is a practice of some monarchs in ancient time to send out herald to clear the road, straighten crooked ways, and level hills to prepare for the King to come.
        2. Israel return from Babylon to Canaan would not be an easy journey. They need to be prepared to handle these obstacles.
        3. All four gospel writers quoted these verses to refer to John the baptist (Matt 3:3, Mark 1:2-3, Luke 3:4-6, John 1:23). In John 1:23, John the baptist quoted these verses himself. He was preparing to way for the Lord (v3) Jesus Christ, who is God (v3). John asked people to repent and confess their sins to prepare their hearts of the King. When Jesus came, the glory of God will be revealed!
      3. The voice of promise (v6-8)
        1. The glory of God (v5) is contrast with the glory of men (v6).
        2. Assyrians, Babyron and all nations and people, no matter how great they were, would eventually perish like grass and flowers.
        3. James used the same illustration in James 1:10-11 to teach the folly of trusting in material wealth and Peter used the same illustration in 1 Peter 1:24-25 to compare the life of born again Christians vs. the life of non-believers.
        4. Isaiah compares the temporal life of men to the eternal Word of God. Jesus Christ is the Word of God.
      4. The voice of peace (v9-11)
        1. In ancient time, there is no electrical amplifiers and speakers to convey information. If you want to tell a message to a lot of people, you would go up to high places and shout out loud. Isaiah was giving good tidings to the Israelites whom would be in captivity by Babylon. The good new is God will deliver them from Babylon and lead them back to Zion to rebuild the city.
        2. We are called to bring good tidings to the lost in captivity by Satan. Our good news is the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not need to be afraid (v9) to proclaim the good tidings to the lost. We have the responsibility to tell the world that Jesus Christ is the one truth God.
        3. God is the all powerful Captain of His army (v10), and at the same time, God is the most caring Shepherd to His flocks (v11).
        4. The Lord Jesus Christ is the all powerful Captain and Judge. He leads us in battles with the enemies. He rewards those who are faithful to Him and punish who to reject Him. As the same time, Jesus is the Great Shepherd, we are His flocks. He carries us close to His heart when we proclaim His good tidings.
    2. How great Thou Art (40:12-26)
      1. God is greater than anything on earth (v12-20)
        1. greater than any man (v12-14)
        2. greater than nations (v15-16)
        3. greater than idols (v18-20)
      2. God is greater than anything on heavens (21-26)
    3. Soars on wings like eagles (40:27-31)
      1. The Jews in Babylon would be given the freedom to return back to Zion by King Cyrus, however the road back home will not be easy. 70 years after they lived in Babylon, they must have restarted new life in Babylon. To left everything and return will not be easy. They knew they needed to return because Zion was their promised land from God. Stuck in a crossed road, they complaint “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God” (v27)?
      2. God responded by proclaims His greatness to them. He is the everlasting God. He is the Creator of the ends of the earth. Even tough men will go weary, God will not.  His understanding no one can fathom (v28).
      3. His promises to those who wait upon Him is they will renew their strength in God no matter how tired they were. They will soar on wings like eagles! (v31)
  • Isaiah 40 – 66

    Isaiah 40 – 66

    Background

    • Isaiah can be called a miniature bible because there are 66 chapters in Isaiah and 66 books in the Bible. The first 39 chapters of Isaiah can be compared to OT, both focus primarily on God’s judgement of sin. The second part of Isaiah, which consists of 27 chapters, can be compared to NT, both focused on the grace of God.
    • The “NT” section of Isaiah opens with the ministry of John the Baptist (40:3-5, Mark 1:1-4) and closes with the new heavens and new earth (Isaiah 65:17;66:22). In between there are many prophesies to the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and King.
    • In chapters 1-39, Isaiah was speaking to his own generation. His primary message was that God would defend Jerusalem and defeat the Assyrian invaders.
    • In chapters 40-66, the prophet looks far ahead and sees Babylon destroying Jerusalem and the Jews going into captivity (586BC). Isaiah also saw God forgiving His people, and delivering them from captivity, and taking them back to Jerusalem to rebuild the template and restore the nation.
    • The primary world figure in Isaiah 1-39 is Sennacherib, king of Assyria.
    • The primary world figure in Isaiah 40-66 is Cyrus, king of Persia. Cyrus was the king who issued decree to allow Jews to return back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and temple (Ezra 1:1-4).
    • The heart of Isaiah 40 – 66 is chapters 49-57, in which Isaiah exalts the Messiah, Gods Suffering Servant.
    • The heart of chapters 49-57 is 52:13-53:12, the description of the Savior’s substitutionary death for the sins of the world. That is why Isaiah has been called “the evangelical prophet.”
    • Isaiah’s “Servant Song” about Jesus (Isaiah 52:13-53:12) is quoted or alluded to nearly forty times in the NT.
    • Jewish rabbis have called Isaiah 40-66 “The Book of Consolation”. Isaiah sought to comfort the Jewish remnant in Babylon, after their difficult years of captivity, and to assure them that God was with them and would take them safely home. Israel’s restoration from Babylon is a preview of what God would do for Israel at the end of the age. Revelation mentions the last Babylon will be destroyed (Rev 17-19) before new heavens and new earth will be formed (Rev 21:1), and the new Jerusalem will come down out of heaven (Rev 21:2).
    • Some modern critics of bible thought the first part of Isaiah 1-39 and the second part of Isaiah 40-66 were written by two different Isaiah. This is not true. All ancients manuscripts, including the dead sea scrolls, and all rabbis and christians scholars in history have never mentioned, or even a hint of two authors.

    Isaiah Greatest Achievement

    • Isaiah spent his life under the threatening shadow of the Assyrian Empire. Assyrians destroyed portion of northern Israel in 733 BC, and the rest of the northern kingdom including Samaria in 722 BC. They invaded Judah in 712 BC and by 701 BC had taken all of Judah except Jerusalem. Throughout these years Isaiah had steadfastly predicted that Jerusalem would stand. It did stand.
    • Isaiah also prophesied the southern Kingdom, Judah would fall into the hand of Babylon, and the Jews would be exiles in Babylon (Isaiah 39:6-7).

    Division

    The same statement “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” on the last verse of chapter 48 and chapter 57 (48:22;57:21) make divide Isaiah 40-66 into three sections.

    1. 40-48 – emphasize he greatness of God the Father in contrast to the vanity of the heathen idols
    2. 49-57 – extol the graciousness of God the Son, the Suffering Servant
    3. 58-66 – describe the glory of God in the future kingdom, and the emphasis is on the work of the Holy Spirit (59:19,21;61:1;63:10-11,14)
  • Isaiah Introduction

    Isaiah Introduction

    The Prophet Isaiah

    • Isaiah means “salvation of the Lord”.
    • He was married and his wife is called “the prophetess” (Isaiah 8:3).
    • He had two sons: Shearjashub (a remnant shall return), and Maher-shalalhash-baz (quick to plunder, swift to the spoil).
    • A prophet of the southern Kingdom, Judah, at the time the northern kingdom, Israel, had already been destroyed by the Assyrians
    • Isaiah was a man who loved his nation. The phrase “my people” is used at least 26 times in his book. He fervently plead Judah to return to God and warned kings when their foreign policy was contrary to God’s will.
    • Apostle John told us that Isaiah saw Jesus’s glory and spoke about Him (John 12:41)
    • Isaiah lived during the reigns of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. God called him in the year of Uzziah’s death, but he may have received some of his visions earlier (6:1).
    • Isaiah hated sin and sham religion. His favorite name for God is “the Holy One of Israel”, and he used it 25 times in his book. This name of God is only used 5 times elsewhere in the bible.
    • Isaiah active ministry was at about 740-686BC, from the death of Uzziah to the death of Hezekiah.
    • Although Isaiah prophesied the falled on Israel to Assyria in Chapter 28, however his focus was Judah and Jerusalem.
    • Rabbinic tradition has it that Isaiah’s was the first cousin of King Uzziah. Isaiah was one of the grandsons of King Joash, the son of Amoz. Which means Isaiah was a man of the palace.
    • Isaiah is the most quoted OT prophets in NT.
    • Isaiah wrote two other books but were not preserved. “A Life of Uzziah” mentioned in 2 Chronicles 26:22 and “Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah”.
    • According to Jewish tradition, Isaiah was sawed in half by the order of King Manasseh of Judah. Hebrews 11:37 may refer to Isaiah’s death.

    Assyrian Background of Isaiah’s Ministry

    • Assyrian Empire has been expanding for 150 years before Isaiah.
    • As early as 840 BC, Israel, under King Jehu, had begun to pay tribute to Assyria.
    • When Isaiah was a young man (734 BC), Assyria took away the population of the northern part of Israel.
    • 13 years later (721 BC), Samaria fell, and the rest of Israel was forced into exile.
    • A few years later, Sennacherib of Assyria came into Judah, destroyed 46 walled cities, and took 200,000 captives with him.
    • In 701 BC, Assyrians army that were invading Judah were annihilated by an angel of God, and Sennacherib withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons cut him down and the sword. (2 Chronicles 32:21).
    • Isaiah’s whole life was spent under the shadow of the threat of Assyria, and he himself witnessed the ruin of his entire nation at their hands, except Jerusalem. Assyrian conquered the northern kingdom when Hezekiah was the King of southern kingdom.

    The Kings of Judah

    • Uzziah became king when he was 16 years old and he reigned for 52 years (2  Ch 26:3) (792-740 BC). He very capable King that brought Judah to its greatest days since David and Solomon. Uzziah was also called Azarish son of Amaziah. Uzziah did what was right in the eyes of God, just as his father Amaziah had done (2 Ch 26:4). [But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense (2 Ch 26:16). So God afflicted Uzziah with leprosy until the day he died. (2 Ch 26:19, 2 Kings 15:1-5)
    • Jotham was co-regent after his father became a leper(2 Ch 26:21), and his record as king was a good one (2 Kings 15:32-38; 2 Chron 27:2). He was 25 years old when he became king, and reigned in Jerusalem 16 years. (2 Ch 27:1) He grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God (2 Ch 27:6). It was during his time that the Assyrian Empire began to emerge as a new and threatening power. During the last twelve years of Jotham’s reign, his son Ahaz served as co-regent, but Ahaz was not one of Judah’s good kings.
    • Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 16 years (2 Ch 28:1). [He did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and also made cast idols for worshiping the Baals. He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites] ( 2 Ch 28:1-3).  He sent asked Assyrians for protection against the Arameans of Damascus(2 Ch 28:5), the northern kingdom (2 Ch 28:5), the Edomites and Philistines in the south (2 Ch 28:17). Ahaz offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus (2 Ch 28:23). [In ever town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and provoked the LORD, the God of his fathers, to anger (2 Ch 28:25). Isaiah warned Ahaz that his alliances with godless gentiles would not work, and he encouraged the king to put his trust in the Lord (Isaiah chapter 7).
    • Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 29 years (2 Ch 29:1). He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD (2 Ch 28:2). He was one of Judah’s greatest kings (2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chron 29-32). He not only strengthened the city of Jerusalem and Judah, but led the people back to the Lord. He built the famous water system that still exists in Jerusalem. Hezekiah has restore the Passover Feast, which was not celebrated by many Jews anymore. He even invited the northern kingdom to come to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover to the LORD (2 Ch 30:1). Remember the northern and southern kingdoms were in wars in Ahaz time.
  • Psalm 88

    Psalm 88

    Background

    This is the last Psalm attributed to the sons of Korah. This psalm is a song, as indicated by the inscription, albeit the saddest songs of all of Psalms. There are various interpretation of what [mahalath leannoth] means, I like the Wiersbe’s interpretation: mahalath means “sickness”, leannoth means for humbling. Mahalath may refer to the melody of the song, which would probably be in minor key. The second may refer to the purpose, which is to bring us low before God. Sad psalms are not rare, but almost all of them end in a positively. But this psalm ended in darkness. The last word of the psalm in hebrew is [hoshek], which means darkness.

    Regarding the author, Heman. There two Heman in the bible. First, Heman is the son of Joel, was a temple musician during the reign of David (1 Chron 6:33). The second Heman was one of the wise men in Solomon time (1 Kings 4:31). This Heman is one of the five sons of Zerah (1 Chron 2:6), from the tribe of Judah, as the inscription has suggested, an Ezrahite.

    The word Maskil (Maschil) appeared multiple times in previous Psalms. It means this is an instructive Psalm. The sorrows of one saints are the lessons to others.

    This is a messianic psalm. Read this psalm and meditate on our Lord Jesus’s suffering on His walk to calvary will greatly help us to appreciate what the Lord has done for us.

    Some questions to meditate when reading this psalm are:

    1) Would a loving God purposely plan suffering on His children?

    2)Are all suffering caused by God?

    3)If God cause men to suffer, what was His purpose?

    Division

    Exposition

    v1: The Lord is my salvation! This is the only positive verse in the whole song. Although the psalmist was in the lowest point of his life, and felt that God has abondant him. But he knows that God is still his salvation. He didn’t deny the existence of God, and didn’t reject God in this psalm. In fact, this psalm is the records of his prayers to God (v1,2,13). Heman cried out to God day and night. Sadly, for most of us, the only time we cried out to God day and night is when we are in distressed situation.

    v2: When we are in our deepest sorrow, a lot of times we do not want to talk to anyone but God.  Because no one else would understand but God.

    v3: The soul of a person is the person’s thought, mind, feeling. Heman’s soul has so many troubles that he felt like he was very close to Sheol, which was a place where dead people would go.

    v4: The psalmist continued to sing how low his soul was. He used another word to describe Sheol: the pit. The felt like dead man who has no strength.

    v5: Grave is the physical place of a dead man resting place. Heman felts like his soul was in Sheol and his body was in a grave, being forsaken and forgotten by God.

    v6: More description of Sheol. The lowest pit, dark places, the depths. The body can only bear a certain number of wounds and no more, but the soul can bleed in ten thousand ways, and die over and over again each hour.

    v7: Heman attributed his suffering to God. The wrath of God is the worst a man can be found. God’s wrath crush our soul beyond conception, it is the hell of hell.

    v8: Heman because an outcast for his friends. He could no longer have fellowship with them. He attributed this to God. Would God purposely let us suffer? Yes He would, sometimes because of our sins, He needed to discipline us. […..knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance, and perseverance, proven character, and proven character, hope (Rom 5:3-4)

    v9: Heman knows his suffering was from God, so he called upon God daily to rescue him.

    v10-12: These are rhetorical questions. Heman wants to express that the dead cannot testify to God’s goodness.

    On the other hand, God’s glory was fully reveal on the death and resurrection of Jesus.

    v13: Heman was praying fervently to God to deliver him from his current condition.

    v14: [Why do you hide your face from me]. Heman has been praying but God didn’t answer. He couldn’t see the face of God.

    “Every stroke of God rod there is a sufficient reason in the judgement of His loving heart, let us try to learn that reason and profit by it. ” (Spurgeon)

    v15: Heman’s suffering started during his youth.

    Jesus was preparing for His suffering on Calvary, even when he was young.

    v16: Heman felt he was totally destroyed by God’s terrors.

    v17: Surrounded me like water?

    v18: Sometimes when a father need to discipline one of his trouble children, he would ask the rest of the family to distance from the child, to isolate him, to make him ashamed of his sins. Paul said similar thing in 1 Corinthians 5:5: [I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.]

  • Psalm 87

    Psalm 87

    Background

    A psalm performed by sons of Korah. Jerusalem and Babylon were mentioned, thus this Psalm was probably written after the fall of Assyrian, and before the exile of Judah by Babylon. The theme is about the citizens of Zion.

    Division

    v1-3: City of God

    v4-6: Citizens of God’s city

    v7: Citizens rejoice in the God

    Exposition

    v1: [His foundation] means God founded the city of Zion among holy mountains.

    v2:Gates of Zion. Gates are where worshipers enter into Jerusalem to worship God. God desires people to come into His chosen city to worship Him. Zion is the other name for Jerusalem. It is mainly used by psalmists, it means Jerusalem is not just a city, it is the God chosen holy city. God loves Zion more than all the other places in Israel. This shows that God is the sovereign God, He choose His city, His people, and His church based on His good pleasure and His good will.

    v3: I believe Zion is an image of God’s church. In OT, God’s present was in Zion. In NT, God’s present is in His church. Zion is a glorious city. God’s church is a glorious organism, it is the living body of Christ.

    v4-5: Rahab was a monster of ancient pagan mythology, it means arrogant. It is also used to symbolize Egypt, enemy of Israel in the south. Babylon was the enemy from the North. Philistia and Tyre were the enemies from the west. Ethiopia was Cush in Africa. All these pagans country would have people who were born in Zion and became its citizen. Salvation came from the Jew (John 4:22), but praise God it is for all the nations in the world. When we believed in Jesus as our Savior, we immediately were born into the Kingdom of God, the city of Zion, the church of Christ (John 3:5-6).

    v6: God cares about every single citizen of Zion, He counted every single one who was born into Zion.

    v7: Springs is a metaphor for the source of joy. Zion was not built near a great river. So it was always a problem to supply enough water. Jesus is our spring of joy. In Him we find the spring of living water (John 4:10-14).

  • Psalm 86

    Psalm 86

    Background

    A Psalm written by David. This is the only Psalm that has the inscription attributed to David on Book III of Psalm. It is not clear when David would have written this Psalm. It is a prayer of David. David prayed because he wants God to hear (v1,6) and answer (v1) him. He desires to have joy in the Lord (v4), to know the way of God and to walk in God’s truth (v11), and to fear God. Notice how David praises God by mentioned God’s characters: forgiving (v5), good (v5), abounding in love (v5), greatness (v10), marvelous (v10), compassionate (v15), gracious (v15), slow to anger (v15), faithfulness (v15), merciful (v16). What a joy to praise God for who He is in our prayers. We need to grow up from always praying the “give me” prayers. Instead, it is pleasing to God and uplifting to our spirit when we praise God in our prayers.

    Division

    v1-7: hear me, answer me

    v8-13: You are great

    v14-17: save me from the enemies

    Exposition

    v1: poor and needy refers to spiritually, not financially

    v2: God is our master, we are His servant. What a privilege to be a servant of the almighty God.

    v3: [I call to You all day long]: Is our day fully devoted to God? Do we call on Him all day long?

    v4: Joy is one of the most outward visible traits of christians. Are you joyful? If not, ask the Lord to give us the joy in Christ, just like David did here.

    v5: Jesus die for everybody. However not everyone received the forgiveness of sins. Those who sincerely put their trust in Jesus will surely experience God’s love, goodness and the forgiveness of sins.

    v7: David believed God will surely answer him.

    v8-10: [Among the gods]: gods mentioned here does not is not the same as the one and only God mentioned in the bible. David makes it clear in verse 10, only Jehovah is the only true God. Sometimes the bible refers to kings as gods, because they suppose to represent God’s authority on judging good and evil on earth. gods also means the idols worshipped by gentiles. Let’s for a few seconds assume the gods worshipped by different all kind of people throughout the history are true. None of these gods are comparable to Jehovah described in the bible, who is all power ful, all knowing, eternally existed, Holy, righteous, and at the same time loving, caring, forgiving.

    v11: The know the way of the Lord and be obedience in walking in His truth should be the prayers of all followers of Jesus Christ. We need undivided heart in order to fear God. We need to focus on the Lord in all the things we do.

    v13: [You have delivered me from the depths of the grave]: Jesus has delivered us from hell.

    v15: a quote from Exodus 34:6-7.

    v16: David started the prayer by mentioned him as a servant of God (v2), and ended the prayer with the same reminder.

    v17: When we are oppressed by our enemies, as Christians the Lord told us to pray for our enemies. But it is okay to ask God to show His goodness in us so that the enemies can be put to shame to know that the God we believe good and all powerful.

  • Psalm 84

    Psalm 84

    Background

    What is Gittith? Korah together 250 Israelites were killed by God because of their uproar against Moses (Number 16:32). However Sons of Korah did not die (Number 26:11).

    Exposition

    v1: God’s dwelling places: the tabernacle, the template, and in NT,  the Church of Jesus Christ. Lord of hosts: Jehovah Sabaoth, first appears in 1 Sam 1:3, however Joshua 5:13 has a preview of the name, in different form.

  • Psalm 83

    Psalm 83

    Background

    This is the last psalm with a inscription the mention the name os Asaph (Ps 50, 73-83). Asaph was one of the lead musicians in David (1 Chro 16:5) and Solomon’s time (2 Chron 5:12). He prayed cymbal (1 Chro 16:5), gave thanks to God with psalm (1 Chro 16:8-36).  Asaph was mentioned in David’s time when David brought the ark into the tabernacle, and when Solomon brought the ark into the newly finished temple.

    The theme of this psalm is to call on God to punished God’s enemies who have been oppressing God’s people, so that they may know and may seek God’s name.

    Division

    v1: call to God to not remain in silence

    v2-8: the enemies of God oppressing God’s people

    v9-15: asking God to punish God’s enemies

    v16-18: so that these people would know and seek the name of God

    Exposition

    v1: When we experienced hardship, sometimes we wonder why God did not rescue us. Why was God in still?

    v2: People who hates God like to exalt themselves above God.

    v3: Because these people hate God, they hate people who believe in God as well. Today there are people who hate God, who do not believe in God, and they want to prosecute Christians. The Cultural Revolution in China between 1966 to 1976 is a prime example in recent history where Christians were oppressed, beaten and imprisoned by people who do not believe in God.

    v4: Think about Holocaust in World War II. Six millions Jews were killed by the Nazi. They wanted to wipe out Israel as a nation.

    v5: God’s enemies working together with one mind to destroy God’s people. We can apply that to the oppressions against the Jews or against Christians.

    v6-8: The major enemies of Israel was named in these verses.

    v9: God has rescue His people and punished His enemies before, the psalmist called to God to do that again.

    v10-15: Psalmist used various images to portray God’s punishment to His enemies. 1)Dung for the ground, 2) whirling dust, 3) chaff before wind, 4) forest burned by fire, 5) mountains on fire, 6) terrified by storm, and 7) filled their faces with dishonor.

    v16: The psalmist not only want the oppressions to Israel by these enemies to stop, and not only desire God to punish them. He also desires these people to know and see God’s name.