1 Chronicles 22:1-23:32 ~ Romans 3:9-31 ~ Psalm 12:1-8 ~ Proverbs 19:13-14
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Old Testament - Today's readings in First Chronicles chapter 22 reminded me that none of us does anything in life on our own. We always rely on those that came before us. We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors. The thing that made me think about this was how many preparations David worked on for his son Solomon to then later build the Temple of the Lord. Solomon would not have been able to build the Temple as quickly (or probably as well) without his father David's help. Solomon was standing on the shoulders of his father David. Do you realize that many good things that have happened in your life are thanks to those that came before you? Do you realize you are standing on the shoulders of your parents, your teachers, your pastors, and your community leaders? And, to take this a step further, do you realize that in the future people will be standing on your shoulders? They are going to need your shoulders! So, like David was making preparations for his son Solomon and the future Temple of the Lord, are you making preparations for others in your life for their future? Perhaps even for people you may never meet? Let us always remember we are standing on the shoulders of those that came before us - and that there will be others who will need to stand on our shoulders in the future!
Okay, quick flashback to yesterday's readings - you'll recall we finished up the readings with David buying Araunah's threshing floor to build an altar to the Lord to offer sacrifices on to stop the plague (which occurred due to the sin of the census). Well, to continue the story, today in First Chronicles 22 verse 1 we read this: "Then David said, "This will be the location for the Temple of the LORD God and the place of the altar for Israel's burnt offerings!" This is Araunauh's threshing floor that is going to be the location for the Temple. The very interesting note about Araunah's threshing floor is that it is believed to have been located on Mount Moriah! Yes, the same Mt. Moriah where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac. And the same spot where the Temple was to be built by Solomon! So, this brings to light the importance of David actually buying the threshing floor from Araunah and not just taking it for free, as was offered in yesterday's readings. David not only bought the threshing floor to build the altar for the burnt & peace offerings, but he bought the land for the Temple of the Lord to soon be built on by his son Solomon! Below is an image of Araunah the Jebusite offering his threshing floor to David:
New Testament - Today in Romans chapter 3 verses 22 through 24 we read – “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Please take a moment to re-read these verses and meditate upon them. How do they speak to you? Do you believe that humans are righteous on our own? (One way to consider this is to imagine what a city would look like without a police force, for example – think we would just naturally be good and kind and righteous to each other? Or might there be crime and maybe even anarchy and survival of the fittest – ala Lord of the Flies. . . ) Do you believe God is righteous? Do you believe we can be made righteous before God through faith in Jesus? Have you sinned and fallen short of the glory of God? Are you justified freely by God’s grace and through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ?
I want to focus a bit more on verse 24 because I think this is one of the most important concepts for us to understand: we "are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Justified. That's an important word to understand! Per the NIV Study Bible, Paul uses the Greek verb for justified 27 times, mostly in the letters of Romans and Galatians. The term describes what happens when people believe in Jesus as their Savior. God declares them to not be guilty and credits (or imputes) righteousness to them. Jesus' righteousness is credited to believers as their own, with a few key characteristics that we read in verse 24 (look at this verse above again): 1. It is freely given as a gift, 2. by God's grace, 3. through the redemptive act of Jesus on the Cross, where He paid the price for our sins and redeemed us, 4. and through faith. Got all this? :) Have you been justified with the free gift of grace and faith through Christ's redemption? If not, today will you dive into the river of everlasting justification through faith in our Lord Jesus? Please jump into the river of faith!
Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Romans 3 titled "Some Bad News, And Good News" is at this link.
Psalms - Psalm 12 verses 1 & 2 are intriguing verses for me - "Help, O LORD, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth! Neighbors lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and insincere hearts." Are there days when you feel like this? I think there are some days when I do... but not too many. I guess I sometimes wonder about the state of my heart - or if I've gotten enough sleep the night before :) - when I feel like this Psalmist does. It is interesting how this verse goes into people talking with "flattering lips and insincere hearts". I do notice right away when that's happening... particularly the insincerity. Maybe this is something we should ask of ourselves - do we talk at times with flattering lips or insincere hearts? Or are we sincere people? I like that thought... being a sincere person. I pray that we all are and can become more and more "sincere" in our dealings with each other and that we would just simply be sincere people. Are you a sincere person? Do you want to be sincere? Was Jesus a sincere person?
Proverbs - Proverbs 19:14 today teaches us: "Parents can provide their sons with an inheritance of houses and wealth, but only the LORD can give an understanding wife." This is interesting to consider in light of my "standing on the shoulders" comments in First Chronicles above. Parents may try to give us material things, but they can't provide us with an understanding spouse! A wise wife or husband is a gift from God. Praise God for the gift of understanding spouses in our lives!
YouTube: Per my reflections on diving into the river of faith in Romans above, check out Steven Curtis Chapman's video for his awesome song "Dive!"
Have you Dived in to the River of Faith? Click here and Dive!
Comments from You & Questions of the Day: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
14 Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,
but a prudent wife is from the LORD.
I sent this verse to my husband with the subject line that read "Where I came from." And a smile:-)
Posted by: MG | July 15, 2007 at 08:13 PM
Being 64 and having studied the Scriptures for more than 40 years, I have really been blessed by our readings in Chronicles as this was one book that I only skimmed over in the past. This morning I am realizing what a tremendous change took place in David’s life when he totally accepted the will of God. As king of Israel, David constantly was torn between his desire to recognize his own power and his desire to recognize God’s power. This is something we all struggle with even now.
Think of all the things David did to misuse the power that came from being king. Just to name a few of them: (1) He satisfied his lustful desire and committed adultery with Bathsheba, (2) He ordered the murder of Bathsheba’s husband, (3) He ordered a census taken just so he could be prideful and boast, (4) He wanted to be the one to receive the glory from building the temple.
God said “NO” to David when he wanted to build the temple and told him that Solomon his son would have that honor instead. David at last totally accepted God’s will and power as being greater than his own desires and David finally put God ahead of and above everything else in his life.
What a different David we see in the study of Chronicles 22 –23! David not only accepted that he would not be the one to build the temple, but he even got in the materials and workmen that Solomon would need to get the job done. David took the time to explain to Solomon the importance of doing God’s will and always obeying the Word of God. Then David did the totally unthinkable – HE TOOK OFF THE CROWN THAT HAD GIVEN HIM ALL THE POWER HE CRAVED AND HE CROWNED SOLOMON AS KING OF ISRAEL! This was something that was just not done – kings were either dethroned because God or the people chose another king to replace them or they remained king until the time of their death. Kings didn’t just willingly and gladly give up the kingship and the power that went with it and turn it over to someone else. Why did David do this – he did it so that time would not be wasted in fulfilling God’s will. He did it because his love of God became greater than his love of self.
WOW! What a new man David became when he made God the center of his life, and what a difference it makes today when we make God the center of our lives. Ever wondered how David could have been held in just high esteem with all his weaknesses and iniquities? Today’s reading tells us why just as reading about Paul’s conversion explains why he is held in such high esteem. Through the total acceptance of our Lord and His word and through the total dedication of our life to the Lord, the Lord will make us into a totally new person! How wonderful and exciting that is! Praise the Lord!
Posted by: Pat | July 15, 2007 at 08:14 PM
I Chronicles 22:1-23:32
I’ve always dreamed of doing a Bible Study, or at least a topical study, studying David’s leadership style. I think that it would be so cool to look in a catalogue of a major MBA program and find a course devoted to David and his godly principles, his success, failures and his beliefs.
In reading how David charged Solomon to build the temple, I am impressed how David gives the order and the plans to Solomon but also the materials that he will need. He doesn’t say build it, do it and not provide the necessary means. Whatever Solomon adds to the construction is desert. Managers/leadership should never demand someone to do something without first picking the right people for the job and providing that person with all the material and resources needed for completion.
I’ve always pondered why David wasn’t allowed to build his hearts desire, the Temple. But I now see that you cannot have a building campaign while you are at war because you put a strain on the people who will be fighting and building. Most likely, the same men who are out on the battlefields are the same men needed in the construction. David would also put undue strain on the taxpayers because monies would be needed to pay the construction workers as well as keep the army in the provisions needed to do the job.
Romans 3:9-31
Romans is a difficult book to read. It has taken years and years of reading and rereading to grasp the little bit, I know. Peter said it correctly about Paul,
And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him, speaking of these things in all his letters. Some things in these letters are hard to understand, things the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures.
(2Pe 3:15-16 NET.)
In this passage, I see that Paul considers no man or woman above anyone or below anyone. He does not classify good sin, like little white lies, or bad sin, sin is sin.
I find it captivating that today feminist accuse Paul of being sexiest and condescending to woman. I find Paul’s writing to be freeing and one of my three revelations about the Love of God towards me came on my maiden read-through-the-bible voyage when I docked in Paul’s’ letter to the Church at Galatia. I cried my eyes out, well not really but they were red.
Psalm 12:1-8
If I did not know when this was written I would swear that David’s scathing accusations, flattery, lying lips was pointing to Madison Avenue with its multiplicity of advertising agencies and marketing firms. Solomon wrote,
That which hath been is that which shall be, and that which hath been done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.
(Ecc 1:9 JPS)
Flattery was and is a problem yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Liars hate their victims; flatterers sabotage trust.
(Pro 26:28 MSG)
Proverbs 19:13-14
14 Parents can provide their sons with an inheritance of houses and wealth, but only the LORD can give an understanding wife.
Sometimes what we marry is not an understanding wife or husband, they may be a wife or a husband we have chosen but if the person is not from God they will not be understanding.
Posted by: R | July 15, 2007 at 08:14 PM
Romans 3:9-20
NO ONE IS RIGHTEOUS
[STILL TALKING TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE]
Paul says, 'Jew or Gentile we are all under sin.'
"under sin":
1)Man is a sinner by Act.
2)Man is a sinner by nature. (Sinning does not make the sinner, we sin because we are sinners.)
3)Man is a sinner by imputation (later in Romans).
4)The estate of man is under sin. We all are under sin - the entire human family. - J. Vernon McGee
"Under sin is a powerful phrase. It speaks of our slavery to sin, literally meaning “sold under sin.” By nature every person knows what it is like to be a slave to sin, both Jews and Greeks." - David Guzik
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This look at the human condition is depressing. What’s the point? The Apostle Paul wants us to understand our complete inability to save ourselves. The fall touches every part of man’s being, and the inventory of body parts corrupted by the fall demonstrates this. - David Guzik
The charges (to mankind before God steps in):
1)"..no one righteous, not even one.."
When God finds none righteous, it is because there are none. It isn’t as if there were some and God couldn’t see them. There has never been a truly righteous man apart from Jesus Christ. “Even Adam was not righteous: he was innocent - not knowing good and evil.” (Newell)
2)"..no one who understands"
Man is unable to comprehend the Truth of God, or grasp His standard of righteousness. - John MacArthur
3)"...no one who seeks God
"We deceive ourselves into thinking that man, on his own, really does seek after God. Don’t all the religion and rituals and practices from the beginning of time demonstrate that man seeks after God? Not at all. If man initiates the search then he doesn’t seek the true God, the God of the Bible. Instead he seeks an idol that he makes himself." - David Guzik
4)"All have turned away.."
Turned away (their hearts), detoured, like lost sheep.
5)"..they have together become worthless..
The word worthless has the idea of rotten fruit. It speaks of something that was permanently bad and therefore useless.
6) "..there is no one who does good, not even one."
"All of this is viewed from the divine perspective. This is not to say that a man never does any thing good and kind for his fellow-man. Paul is not saying that men have no good thoughts or aspirations AS JUDGED BY MEN. He is saying that man has nothing to commend himself to God. Man is incapable of doing anything to please God and to earn His approval, for man is born an enemy of God." [CAPS MINE]
http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=1169
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THE LAW CANNOT SAVE YOU
V.19
"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God." NIV
"Remember that many Jewish people of Paul’s day took every passage of the Old Testament describing evil and applied it only to the Gentiles - not to themselves. Paul makes it clear that God speaks to those who are under the law." - David Guzik
v.20
"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." NIV
Since the standard is too high, no one will be declared righteous by imperfectly observing the Law - What's the point?
It is to make man aware he is a sinner, that he sins, always has and always will.
[Well, another purpose also - but that is for the next post :)]
Posted by: John | July 15, 2007 at 08:15 PM
Romans 3:21-26
The Roman poet Horace, laying down some lines of guidance for writers of tragedies in his day, criticizes those who resort too readily to the device of a deus ex machina to solve the knotty problems which have developed in the course of the plot. ‘Do not bring a god on to the stage,’ he says, ‘unless the problem is one that deserves a god to solve it’ (nec deus intersit, nisi dignus uindice nodus inciderit).
http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=1169
I love this quote from Bob Deffingbaugh. Paul has spent 3.5 chapters banging on mankind. Gentile and Jew. None is righteous. None can earn righteousness. No ritual justifies you. You may think you are righteous, but you are not, etc.
I can imagine a group in Rome sitting around and reading this letter and getting really depressed. But Paul has been creating that "need", identifying a problem that only God can solve. But How?????
Righteousness Through Faith
God will provide the righteousness. (All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; (Is 64:6a) And God is not taking in dirty laundry. (J. Vernon McGee)
Paul did not invent this concept, it was foretold by Prophets and pointed to by the Law. It is simple idea that had a prolonged and sometimes complex unfolding.
"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe."
It is for the Jew and Gentile - "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Paul develops his teaching about salvation around three themes.
· Justification: an image from the court of law
· Redemption (an image from the slave market)
· Propitiation (an image from the world of religion, appeasing God through sacrifice)
i. Justification solves the problem of man’s guilt before a righteous Judge. Redemption solves the problem of man’s slavery to sin, the world, and the devil. Propitiation solves the problem of offending God our Creator. - David Guzik
vs. 24-25
"..and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood." NIV
. Freely is the Greek word dorean. The way this word is used in other New Testament passages helps us understand the word. Matthew 10:8 (Freely you have received, freely give) and Revelation 22:17 (And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely) show that the word means truly free, not just “cheap” or “discounted.” Perhaps the most striking use of the ancient Greek word dorean is in John 15:25: They hated me without a cause (dorean). Even as there was nothing in Jesus deserving of man’s hatred, so there is nothing in us deserving of justification - all the reasons are in God. - David Guzik
Redemption has the idea of buying back something, and involves cost. However, God pays the cost and so we are justified freely.
i. The word redemption had its origin in the release of prisoners of war on payment of a price and was know as the “ransom.” As time went on, it was extended to include the freeing of slaves, again by the payment of a price. - David Guzik
[But Christianity is more than the above. Redemption is not just the paying of debt - the subtracting of sins - that is forgiveness. That would be just restoring one back to the state of "Adam". God's plan is more glorious than that. Justification by faith through the "redemption in Christ" [(KJV)("in is the prefarable translation)] adds on (imputes) the righteousness of Christ. We are now co-heirs to heaven, children of God, saints (set apart). - ME]
The word for "sacrifice of atonement" is Gk. "hilasterion" - propitiation.
Jesus, by His death (by His blood) was a propitiation (substitute sacrifice) for us. As He was judged in our place, the Father could demonstrate His righteousness in judgment against sin, while sparing those who deserved the judgment.
b. Wuest on propitiation: “The word in its classical form was used of the act of appeasing the Greek gods by a sacrifice . . . in other words, the sacrifice was offered to buy off the anger of the god.”
i. The NIV translates propitiation as sacrifice of atonement; the Living Bible has to take the punishment for our sins.
c. The Greek word for propitiation (hilasterion) is also used in the Septuagint for the mercy seat, the lid that covered the ark of the covenant, upon which sacrificial blood was sprinkled as an atonement for sin. While it might be said that this passage is saying “Jesus is our mercy seat,” it probably has more the straightforward idea of propitiation - a substitute sacrifice.
i. At the same time, the “mercy seat” idea should not be neglected as an illustration of that propitiation. Inside the ark of the covenant were the evidence of man’s great sin: the tablets of law; the manna received ungratefully; the budded rod of Aaron, showing man’s rejection of God’s leadership. Up over the ark of the covenant were the symbols of the holy presence of the enthroned God in the beautiful gold cherubim. In between the two stood the mercy seat, and as sacrificial blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), God’s wrath was averted because a substitute had been slain on behalf of sinners coming by faith. We really can say that Jesus is our “mercy seat,” standing between guilty sinners and the holiness of God. - David Guzik
Vs 25b
"...because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-"
God, in His forbearance, had passed over the sins of those Old Testament saints who trusted in the coming Messiah. At the cross, those sins were no longer passed over, they were paid for.
i. The idea is that through the animal sacrifice of the Old Testament, those who looked in faith to the coming Messiah had their sins “covered” by a sort of an “IOU” or promissory note. That temporary covering was redeemed for full payment at the cross. - David Guzik
vs.26b
"..so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus." NIV
At the cross, God demonstrated His righteousness by offering man justification (a legal verdict of “not guilty”), while remaining completely just (because the righteous penalty of sin had been paid at the cross).
i. It’s easy to see how God could only be just - simply send every guilty sinner to hell, as a just Judge. It’s easy to see how God could only be the justifier - simply tell every guilty sinner, “I declare a pardon. You are all declared ‘not guilty.’” But only God could find a way to be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
ii. “Here we learn that God designed to give the most evident displays of both his justice and mercy. Of his justice, in requiring a sacrifice, and absolutely refusing to give salvation to a lost world in any other way; and of his mercy, in providing the sacrifice which his justice required.” (Clarke)
Posted by: John | July 15, 2007 at 08:29 PM
Romans 3:27-31
Boasting
We cannot boast. We did nothing to EARN this rigteousness from God.
vs. 28
"For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law."
No room for boasting! This, of course, is why the natural man hates being justified freely by His grace; it absolutely refuses to recognize his (imagined) merits and gives no place to his pride whatsoever. - David Guzik
"Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law."
This solution of God - justification by faith through the redemption that came by Christ. It does not void the Law - it validates it.
Christ fulfilled the prophecies of Old Testament, Christ was the only one to fully obey the Law - the fianl act of obeidiance was providing the final "innocent" blood sacrifice so that all men could be redeemed. Christ is our kinsman-redeemer.
Posted by: John | July 15, 2007 at 08:29 PM
I love Romans! again. some verses that stood out:
v. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
v. 23-24 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
amazing to think about!
yes, there have been days i felt like the psalmist. but yes, just need some serious humbling on my part.
oh, and I love that song Dive!
Posted by: Jenny | July 16, 2007 at 07:00 PM