passing through Baca

Posted on April 14, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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passing through Baca

Psalm 84:5-8 (JDV)

Psalm 84:5 Fortunate is the person whose strength is in you, those whose hearts have found a highway to you.
Psalm 84:6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a source of spring water; even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings.
Psalm 84:7 They walk from strength to strength; each is seen by God in Zion.
Psalm 84:8 Yahveh, God of Armies, hear my prayer; listen, God of Jacob. Selah

passing through Baca

Apparently the valley of Baca was not known for its water sources. The sons of Korah applauds the courage of the believers who trusts God and passes through the valley, expecting him to supply the water they need.

LORD, give us the courage of these pilgrims.

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sparrow envy

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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sparrow envy

Psalm 84:1-4 (JDV)

Psalm 84:1 How loved is your dwelling place, Yahveh of Armies.
Psalm 84:2 My throat longs and yearns for the courts of Yahveh; my heart and flesh cry out for the living God.
Psalm 84:3 Even a sparrow finds a home, and a swallow, a nest for herself where she places her young – near your altars, Yahveh of Armies, my King and my God.
Psalm 84:4 How fortunate are those who are sitting in your house, who are praising you continually. Selah

sparrow envy

His eye is on the sparrow, and some even find a place to nest near his altars. The sons of Korah envy them. What a privilege it is to sit in his house, praising him continually.

Knowing God as we do, who would not be envious of these sparrows.

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as you did with Sisera

Posted on April 12, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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as you did with Sisera

Psalm 83:9-18 (JDV)

Psalm 83:9 Deal with them as you did with Midian, as you did with Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
Psalm 83:10 They were exterminated at En-dor; they became manure for the ground.
Psalm 83:11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, and all their tribal leaders like Zebah and Zalmunna,
Psalm 83:12 who said, “Let us seize God’s pastures for ourselves.”
Psalm 83:13 Make them like tumbleweed, my God, like straw before your breath.
Psalm 83:14 As fire burns a forest, as a flame blazes through mountains,
Psalm 83:15 so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm.
Psalm 83:16 Cover their faces with shame so that they will seek your name, Yahveh.
Psalm 83:17 Let them be put to shame and terrified forever; let them be destroyed in disgrace.
Psalm 83:18 May they know that you alone – whose name is Yahveh – are the Most High over the whole land.

as you did with Sisera

The psalmist is asking God to do to his enemies what he had done before. Sisera is mentioned because he died at the hands of an obscure woman — because God would not let him escape.

LORD, take the upper hand in our lives. Give us relief from those who oppress us, and do it miraculously, so you get the credit!

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first responder

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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first responder

Psalm 83:1-8 (JDV)

Psalm 83:11 God, do not keep silent. Do not be at rest, God; do not be quiet.
Psalm 83:2 See how your enemies make an uproar; those who hate you have lifted up their heads.
Psalm 83:3 They think up clever strategies against your people; they conspire against your treasured ones.
Psalm 83:4 They say, “Let us walk, and we will make them disappear as a nation so that Israel’s name will no longer be remembered.”
Psalm 83:5 For they have conspired with one mind; they form an alliance against you–
Psalm 83:6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites,
Psalm 83:7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.
Psalm 83:8 Even Assyria has joined them; they lend support to the sons of Lot. Selah

first responder

The psalmist hears a loud conspiracy coming from the surrounding nations, but God is keeping silent.

What do you do when the enemy is the only one making noise. My first impression would be to go make some noise in retaliation. But this psalm writer does not do that. He calls on God to make noise instead. There is a time when it is appropriate to act against the noisy conspiracy. But God will reveal that. Until he does, we should be grateful for a God who is willing to break his silence and respond for himself.

Lord, give us the patience to let you be the first to respond.

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the gods will die

Posted on April 10, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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the gods will die

Psalm 82:1-8 (JDV)

Psalm 82:11 God stands in the god congregation; he pronounces judgment among the gods:
Psalm 82:2 “How long are you going to keep judging unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
Psalm 82:3 Provide justice for the poor and the orphan; do right for the hurt and the needy.
Psalm 82:4 Rescue the poor and needy; save them from the hand of the wicked.”
Psalm 82:5 They do not know or understand; they wander in darkness. All the foundations of the land shift.
Psalm 82:6 I said, “You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.
Psalm 82:7 But you are going to die like Adam and fall like one of the princes.”
Psalm 82:8 Rise up, God, judge the land, because all the nations belong to you.

the gods will die

Most commentators are quick to put quotation marks around the word gods in this psalm. Some don’t ever translate the word. They take this as a prophecy against unjust human rulers. They claim that Jesus implied this in John 10:34-35. But Jesus only claimed that the subjects of this psalm heard the words of God, not that they were human. This psalm is a lament, pleading for God to judge the earth (8), and rescue it from the gods who are destroying it by ruling it selfishly. These gods are demonic beings who are abusing their power by showing partiality to the wicked, not giving justice to the weak and fatherless, and not rescuing the weak and needy (3-4). These sons of the Most High had been appointed as gods among men, but God is going to remove them from their thrones, and destroy them. Like Adam, they will die, and fall like any prince (7). They are not immortal like God is. Only God is immortal.

LORD, thank you for your plan to remove false gods from your universe.

___________

For a full commentary on this psalm, see:

Psalm 82 (a verse-by-verse commentary)

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his people are not listening

Posted on April 9, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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his people are not listening

Psalm 81:6-16 (JDV)

Psalm 81:6 “I relieved his shoulder from the burden; his hands were freed from carrying the basket.
Psalm 81:7 You called out in distress, and I rescued you; I answered you from the thundercloud. I tested you at the Waters of Meribah. Selah
Psalm 81:8 Listen, my people, and I will admonish you. Israel, if you would only listen to me!
Psalm 81:9 There must not be a strange god among you; you must not bow down to a foreign god.
Psalm 81:10 I am Yahveh, your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Psalm 81:11 “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel did not obey me.
Psalm 81:12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to walk by their own plans.
Psalm 81:13 If only my people would listen to me and Israel would follow my roads,
Psalm 81:14 I would quickly subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes.”
Psalm 81:15 Those who hate Yahveh would cower to him; their doom would last permanently.
Psalm 81:16 But he would feed Israel with the best wheat. “I would satisfy you with honey from the rock.”

his people are not listening

God has a plan to bless his people and to permanently doom his enemies, but his people are not listening to him. They are refusing to obey him and put away their strange foreign gods.

This is just as true today as it was then.

LORD, give your people the courage to listen to you, and only you.

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celebrations in the seventh month

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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celebrations in the seventh month

Psalm 81:1-5 (JDV)

Psalm 81:11 Yell for joy to God our strength; shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.
Psalm 81:2 Lift up a song – play the tambourine, the nice sounding lyre, and the harp.
Psalm 81:3 Blow the ram’s horn on the day of our feasts during the new moon and during the full moon.
Psalm 81:4 You see, this is a prescription for Israel, what the God of Jacob judges.
Psalm 81:5 He set it up as a testimony for Joseph when he went throughout the land of Egypt. I heard an unfamiliar language:

celebrations in the seventh month

The trumpets were to sound at the two feasts — Trumpets and Booths — with the Day of Atonement in between. These celebrations in the seventh month were a testimony for Joseph. The testimony was given to his descendants, so they would always know that God triumphs over bondage.

Are you in bondage today? Do you feel like you are coming together and falling apart at the same time? Don’t fear. God is going to finish what he started.

LORD, thank you for leading us out, and the promise of your presence forever.

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the root your right hand planted

Posted on April 7, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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the root your right hand planted

Psalm 80:8-19 (JDV)

Psalm 80:8 You dug up a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
Psalm 80:9 You cleared a place for it; it took root and filled the land.
Psalm 80:10 The mountains were covered by its shade, and the mighty cedars with its branches.
Psalm 80:11 It sent out sprouts toward the Sea and shoots toward the River.
Psalm 80:12 Why did you break down its walls so that all who pass by pick its fruit?
Psalm 80:13 Boars from the forest tear at it and creatures of the field feed on it.
Psalm 80:14 Return, God of Armies. Look down from the sky and see; take care of this vine,
Psalm 80:15 the root your right hand planted, the son that you made strong for yourself.
Psalm 80:16 It has been cut down and burned; they were destroyed at the rebuke of your countenance.
Psalm 80:17 Let your hand be with the man at your right hand, with the son of Adam you have made strong for yourself.
Psalm 80:18 Then we will not turn away from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.
Psalm 80:19 Restore us, Yahveh, God of Armies; make your face shine on us, so that we can be rescued.

the root your right hand planted

The imagery of this prayer is beautiful. It compares God with a gardener who transplanted a vine from Egypt. The psalmist prays for God to attend to his plant, which the nations have cut down and burned.

Of particular interest is the prayer in verse 17: “Let your hand be with the man at your right hand, with the son of Adam you have made strong for yourself.”

God’s answer to that prayer was to send his Son. By the work of Christ on the cross, rescue has come, and is coming.

LORD, thank you for letting your hand be with the man at your right hand, with the son of Adam you have made strong for yourself.

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a prayer for divine intervention

Posted on April 6, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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a prayer for divine intervention

Psalm 80:1-7 (JDV)

Psalm 80:1 Listen, Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; you who sit enthroned between the cherubs, shine
Psalm 80:2 on the face of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Rally your power and walk up to deliver us.
Psalm 80:3 Restore us, God; make your face shine on us, so that we may be rescued.
Psalm 80:4 Yahveh, God of Armies, how long will you be angry at your people’s prayers?
Psalm 80:5 You fed them the bread of tears and gave them a third measure of tears to drink.
Psalm 80:6 You put us at odds with our neighbors; our enemies insult us.
Psalm 80:7 Restore us, God of Armies; make your face shine on us, so that we can be rescued.

a prayer for divine intervention

Restore us, God! That is the prayer of a man who prays, yet feels that his and all his nation’s prayers are being met by anger from their God. It is a prayer for God to change that. He depends on his God to restore his people so that their neighbors and enemies would not keep controlling and persecuting them.

LORD, restore us. We need your divine intervention.

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for his name’s sake

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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for his name’s sake

Psalm 79:1-13 (JDV)

Psalm 79:1 God, the nations have invaded your inheritance, defiled your sacred temple, and turned Jerusalem into ruins.
Psalm 79:2 They gave the corpses of your servants to the birds of the sky for food, the flesh of your covenant devotees to the animals of the land.
Psalm 79:3 They poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.
Psalm 79:4 We are an object of disgrace to our neighbors, a source of mockery and ridicule to those around us.
Psalm 79:5 How long, Yahveh? Will you be angry perpetually? Will your jealousy keep burning like fire?
Psalm 79:6 Pour out your wrath on the nations that don’t acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that don’t call on your name,
Psalm 79:7 because they have devoured Jacob and made his homeland open countryed.
Psalm 79:8 Do not hold past iniquities against us; let your compassion come to us quickly, because we have become very weak.
Psalm 79:9 God of our deliverance, help us – for the mention of your glorious name. Rescue us and atone for our failures, for your name’s sake.
Psalm 79:10 Why should the nations ask, “Where is their God?” In front of our eyes, let vengeance for the shed blood of your servants be recognized among the nations.
Psalm 79:11 Let the groans of the prisoners reach you; by to your great power, preserve those condemned to die.
Psalm 79:12 Pay back seven-fold to our neighbors the abuse they have hurled at you, Lord.
Psalm 79:13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture, will thank you permanently; we will report your praise to generation after generation.

for his name’s sake

God has a purpose, and that we are not the center of that purpose. We are to come to God in prayer whenever there is a disconnect between what is happening in our world, and what God wants to happen.

Asaph knew that God was allowing all the tragedy that was happening in his day. But he also knew that could not allow it to continue, because it was harming his reputation. He called on God to act for his name’s sake. We can do the same.

LORD, rescue us and atone for our failures, for your name’s sake.

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