Psalms 75~ God Will Bring Justice

Reading from 1Kings 12:25-13:34. Jeroboam didn't trust God's promise to Him. He's thinking to himself about the people going to Jerusalem to worship at the temple and how they will kill him, and Rehoboam will become the king. He tries to take control of the situation himself. The human tendency to try to hold on to it for ourselves instead of seeking after God. The picture of a king who's been given a great promise, who chooses not to seek after the one who's made the promise but tries to hold on to that promise in his own strength. And the prophet who isn't trying to hold on to anything really. He's just trying to obey the Lord. And what I see in both stories is how we need a savior. When his hand instantly became paralyzed, he knew that he needed God to fix that. What we need to do is learn to trust God. Learn to trust His word and learn to walk it out. Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding, seek His will in all you do. And he will show you which path to take.” Take it to God. 1 Corinthians 13:12. “Now we see things imperfectly like puzzling reflections in a mirror. But then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete. But then I will know everything completely just as God knows me completely.” When Paul wrote that he was saying that God's plan was being revealed to us in the gospel. It does require trust because we're not going to have that perfect clarity.

Psalms written during the time of the exile are a picture of what life is like apart from God and an example for us to follow in those moments when we feel like God is far. It doesn't change the situation, but when we are in a bad situation or circumstance, we need to redirect our perspective, off of how it feels like God is far, to the goodness of God. They're asking God to listen and look down, like the sun shines down. And that repeating line reminds me of the priestly blessing from Number 6:24 that says, “May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” I see the story of the prodigal son in this Psalm and this anticipation of coming back to the father, potentially being rejected because he had left. And yet the father is just there like he's always been waiting for the son and ready to receive him. We can see everything that's happening, but we don't always understand why. In John 15:6 it says “Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers, such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.” And in Psalm 80 verse 16, it says “for we are chopped up and burned by our enemies. May they perish at the site of your frown.” So the psalmist is talking about Israel being a grapevine that now feels chopped up and burned. And if we look at that in the context of Jesus' teaching, it was because they were trying to live apart from the vine.

Today’s reading is 1Kings chapter 12 verse 1 through 24. God's plan prevails, God's true to his word, and what God says will come to pass. Both David's firstborn and Solomon's firstborn follow bad advice. Because of his lack of seeking God's wisdom or God's advice in this situation, he chooses the advice that he believes will make him appear strong. Rehoboam has forgotten that his true strength come from God and to have success as king, he needs to rely on God's strength. It's a good story to look on and reflect on. Are we willing to serve in the places that God puts us? Are we going to God for the advice? Are we relying on God's strength or are we trying to position ourselves in a way that we can gain confidence in our own strength? Neither Absalom nor Rehoboam went to God for any sort of counsel or direction. We should be seeking that advice and be listening to the Holy Spirit for that right answer. Not the right answer that sits best with me, but the right answer that when I hear it, I know that God was speaking it to me. Sometimes we read in scripture about people that are more concerned about pleasing people. So this speaks to the leadership situation where it's pointing out that this leader paid no attention to the people and he refused to listen to them. I need God's strength, wisdom and power in front of me and I need to follow in behind the Lord. Despite the whole story being such an example of Rehoboam not listening, not taking the advice he should. It concludes with him listening and the people of Judah and Benjamin listening and returning home, not continuing on fighting against the relatives.

This Psalm describes the situation after Jerusalem's fall to the Babylonian armies in 586 BC. This was the time of Zedekiah's rule as king 2 Chronicles chapter 36, reading from verse 12. In Psalm 79 we see that the Babylonian army had come showing no mercy to the Israelites. God had done so much for Isael and they turned their back on God. all people have this tendency to lose track to get distracted, to chase after something other than God's presence, God's will, and God's word. He knows this about us, but He loves us and He sent a savior for us. The tragedy of all of this is that the Israelites were there to represent God to give glory to God's name and for them to be a light to all the surrounding nations. But instead, they took on the darkness from the surrounding nations and began to scoff God themselves. When we're busy chasing after our own glory, thinking about our own name or legacy, we lose track of the purpose behind being the light for God's glory and surrendering our way to follow his way. If you genuinely love somebody, then you want them to be able to receive the fullness of your love and for them to receive that, I will need to speak their language. So why do people only want to show God love the way they want to love God when God has done so much for us? Call on God during the hard times but be at a place in your relationship with God where when those times come, God is close, and you are close to God's heart as well. God will respond. God does come to the rescue. He has in my life continuously and I know that He will in years as well.

The picture I see in this passage is how God continues to work and be faithful to his promises while letting the consequences of our human choices play out in our future or present circumstances. I see in the scripture how we're at a point in time where God's favor is conditional upon the people's obedience, especially the king. There's that truth, that there's things that we're going to experience that aren't our fault. But what I see in this is the situations when God allows us to be challenged or come against opposition to get our attention so that we might go to God. God's correction and discipline, He describes it himself here like a father would do for his son. And we see that playing out in Solomon's life just as God had promised. That image of the descendant of David shining like a lamp pointing to Jesus and also pointing to the role that the Israelites served during that time as a light to the rest of the world representing God. God gives peace. And as Jesus said, the peace he gives is not the peace, the world gives, he gives us peace of heart, of mind, of soul. When I feel the headaches of life coming at me, when things just aren't going the way I think they should, I can take comfort in the truth that God provides the peace and I can repent of the way I'm seeing it. I can change my perspective and look to God, I can enter his peace again. And so can you!

The opening, “O my people listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying for. I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past stories we have heard and known stories our ancestors handed down to us,” screams of Jesus inn Matthew 13:34&35. we're supposed to continually go to the word reminding ourselves so that we can teach it to our Children so that it will be ingrained in them. It will be their source for answers also because it is a relationship that God has with us and all people. This relationship with God is ongoing guidance and relationship. We can't put our children's faith into the Lord. The Lord is drawing them to himself and wants them to open their heart to him so that they can have an intimate relationship that God wants with all people. the story of the people of Israel isn't just a story so that we can be like, wow, they really messed up a lot. It's a story to see our own human nature and how we fail to put our trust in God. Because of our own failings and our choices, we're separated from God. Yet he always comes back, rescues us, and forgives us. God hears all, God sees all, and God is looking for me to look to him. John 16:33 where Jesus says to his disciples, “I have told you all this that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows but take heart because I have overcome the world.” there's this bit of hope left at the end of this Psalm and where we are positioned today day, seeing the fruit of that hope and the promise that came true in that Jesus has overcome the world.

Wisdom is not a cure for pride, and it does not cure our sin nature. Even though God gave him wisdom like nobody else would have, in his mind, he still had an ‘I can handle it' sort of attitude. What God said would happen became true and Solomon’s wives turned his heart away from God. Solomon either didn't listen or he didn't think it applied to him. Wisdom does not make you immune to temptation, even Jesus was tempted. The lies of the enemy are aimed at putting doubts into the minds of people, looking to make them question what God has said and follow their own judgements. God wants our whole heart. God saw that these things would turn his heart away from Him. And the heart of God is to have our full heart, our hearts turn to Him. We're called the love God and love people. Who God says is good for you and who God says is not good for you is something we should pay attention to. When we go after whatever we want without considering who God would pair us with, we're going to miss out on what God has for us because we're going to insist on what we want. And when we do that, we just set ourselves up for failure, we set ourselves up for a fall. 1 Corinthians 13:12. Our personal experience and our perspective on the world is so partial and incomplete. Psalm 37:4. Mark 12:29. God is good, He gives us warnings when He sees us going in a bad direction, and He is merciful, even in His anger.

Reading from Psalms 77. The picture of someone who is crying out to God. The change comes in the second part when the psalmist remembers the goodness and the greatness of God, despite their circumstance. I don't know anyone in their spiritual journey who hasn't had a moment where they felt like God was far where they felt like they were in a deep pit waiting to be rescued. I know that's been true in my life when I'm so focused on the things that are going wrong around me, my perception of how it should be is not the reality I'm experiencing, I will become obsessed almost by my perception of the injustice or whatever it is. What happened to the good old days? But when we're in that place, it's not that the good old days are long gone it’s that I need to change my perspective back to the goodness of God. God renews our minds and changes our thoughts. God’s Goodness and might are bigger than any problem or situation you may be in. God is literally at work in your life and my life, drawing us to himself, bringing all these things back to remembrance in our minds so that we have an opportunity to change our perspective from whatever it is we're caught up on, back to the goodness of God. John chapter 16 verse 33 Jesus continues to encourage his disciples; I have told you all this so that you will have peace in me here on earth. You will have many trials and sorrows but take heart because I have overcome the world. Romans 12:2 says, don't copy the behavior and customs of this world. But let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think, then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. When we change the way we think through the Spirit of God, then we can see His good and pleasing and perfect will for our lives.

This week’s passage in 1 Kings 10:1-29. Beginning with a summary of Chapter 9 to set the context before the scripture. This chapter, looking across Solomon's time as King, is showing when everything was really good. It paints this really extravagant, crazy picture. It leaves a little bit of an unsettled feeling in my heart because it just feels like too much. The main focus and point of this chapter is seeing the heart of God to bless his people, the answer to Solomon's prayer and the promise that He had for Solomon. The picture that was standing out to me (Curtis) in this scripture is: God is faithful to His word and He calls us to be faithful to Him. God is true to his word and despite our human failings, God is still faithful to His word and his promises. Solomon is in this position where there's this opportunity to forget that it was God who blessed Him with all of these things. The wisest thing to do is to know God's word and to put it in our hearts, just like we were reading in Deuteronomy, just keeping a copy of God's word close to us and keeping our hearts turned towards God from the low times to the high times. That's still so important. The importance of humility, the importance of dependence on God and surrendering our quote unquote right to excess. Though the failings are happening, God is still faithful to his promises and patient, so patient with us to get back into line, to come back into the fold, to follow the Lord his ways and his instructions. Our call is to humility and surrender. God wants a good, long life for people because He is so faithful and good.

This week’s passage is Psalms 76. This psalm is written following a victory over the enemies of Judah. Possibly written during the time of Isaiah 37:10 when the king of Assyria was threatening King Hezekiah. Hezekiah went to the LORD in his distress and the LORD delivered Judah. The truth still applies today as we can look and contrast the difference between the kings and powers of the earth and the true power and might of our living God. The victories God brings glorifies His name.  The Psalm gives encouragement, builds faith, and gives hope for all who are still waiting to see the victory. The testimony of others can be an encouragement to my soul. How we can see God’s character in the Psalmists words. God is glorious, God is feared, He rescues the oppressed and His boldest enemies are silenced. Verse 10, human defiance enhances God’s glory as God uses it as a weapon. When Jesus came, God used the Pharisees pride and defiance as a weapon against the enemy for victory over sin and death. Even when the enemy thinks he is winning by darkening the hearts of man with pride and defiance, God’s goodness and love can overpower the enemy through sacrifice. It is the goodness of God that breaks our pride. God knows the road we are on leads to destruction. He sees us in our mess and makes a way for us to be free from the road we are on that leads to destruction, He draws us to himself and rescues us.