11/30/09- Psalm 78- God saved in the Old Testament too

Psalm 78 - Salvation history


Psalm 78:1-16

1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, 3things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. 4We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. 5He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children,6that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, 7so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; 8and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God. 9The Ephraimites, armed with[b] the bow, turned back on the day of battle. 10They did not keep God’s covenant, but refused to walk according to his law. 11They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them.12In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. 13He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap. 14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light. 15He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. 16He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers. With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.



Calvin abridged: Within this psalm there are two leading topics. On the one hand, it is declared that God adopted himself a Church from the line of Abraham, how tenderly and graciously he cherished it, how wonderfully he brought it out of Egypt, and how many were the blessing bestowed upon it. On the other hand, those who were so indebted to him for these great blessings given, are upbraided for having sometimes treacherously revolted from such a liberal father. His goodness is shown- in his adoption of them at first, but also in his striving against their rebellion. Another theme is the mention of the renewal of God’s grace, and a second election in which he chose David out of the tribe of Judah to rule the kingdom of Israel.



Thoughts: Psalm 78 is the history of the gospel in Old Testament terms. Some say that the law is in the Old Testament and grace is in the New Testament. But grace is throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament the people are chosen through Abraham, then they are slaves, then they are redeemed from Egypt and set free, then they rebel, then God chooses a ruler in the person of David (Calvin calls this a second choosing). God’s grace continues to rescue them. In the gospel- we are seen in slavery to sin; then we are chosen and adopted to salvation; time after time we rebel against God despite his blessings, and God still leads us back to him in the descendant of David- Jesus Christ. For Calvin, the pattern of salvation is deep within the Old Testament but seen clearer and fuller in the New Testament. Baptism is seen as a fulfillment of circumcision; the Lord’s Supper a completion of the Passover; The New Testament or covenant a fulfillment of the Old Testament of covenant. God does not interact with us in a vacuum. He has been at work, and works in us to redeem us, and to gently lead us as a shepherd despite our rebellion against his blessings.

In our day, many are rejecting God despite the fact that we are blessed more than any other country and any other time in history. The average person in America lives better than a king of old- with relative safety, air conditioning, clean water, regular food, education- but we refuse to publicly recognize God’s blessings, and we rebel against him by going our own way. Yet, God is more gracious than we deserve- He still leads us like a shepherd. We need to turn back to Him our Father, our shepherd.



Prayer: Thank you Lord, for your gentleness in adopting us, and your kindness in dealing with our sins. Help us to come back to you fully.

11/29/09 Genesis 38- Jesus' Genealogy- Tamar

(Judah and Tamar- Rembrandt)




Genesis 38 selections

13 When Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law [who had denied her a child according to the law through his sons] is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep," 14 she took off her widow's clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16 Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, "Come now, let me sleep with you." "And what will you give me to sleep with you?" she asked.

17 "I'll send you a young goat from my flock," he said. "Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?" she asked. 18 He said, "What pledge should I give you?" "Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand," she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. 19 After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow's clothes again. (Gen. 38:13-19)



Calvin abridged: Here is the genealogy of Judah to which the writer of Genesis devotes more labor because the Redeemer descended from Judah. The continuous history of that tribe from which salvation was to be brought, could not remain unknown, without loss. Yet its glorious nobility is not celebrated here, rather its deepest family disgrace is exposed. Rather than making Judah’s descendants proud, it covers them with shame. At first sight the dignity of Christ would seem to somewhat tarnished by such dishonor; yet because there is the emptying that St. Paul speaks of [Phil. 2:1-11] it rather increases his glory instead of detracting from it. First, we wrong Christ if we do not deem him alone sufficient to blot out any shame from the misconduct of his ancestors. Second, we know that the riches of God’s grace shines in that Christ clothed himself in human flesh, giving up any good reputation. Third, his ancestors are dishonored that we should be content with him alone, seeking no one else but Christ. We should not seek earthly splendor in Christ, seeing that secular ambition is always too much inclined to seek such things. We should especially note two things: First that special honor was given to the tribe of Judah and that it was chosen (elected) as the spring-source from which the salvation of the world should flow. Secondly, that this narration is not honorable to the people in the story so that no pride may come to the ancestors of Christ nor their descendants. Christ derives no glory from his ancestors, and he has no secular glory. His chief and most illustrious triumph was on the cross. By his infinite purity all of his ancestors were cleansed- just as the sun, by absorbing whatever purities are in the earth and air purges the world.



Thought: There were five women mentioned in Jesus genealogy: Tamar of Canaan, Ruth the Moabitis, Rahab the prostitute, and Uriah’s wife (Bathsheba). Matthew, by the Holy Spirit, could have picked other women less stained- like Sarah or Rebekah. Yet perhaps all are stained. Certainly Judah was stained more than Tamar (he admitted it in this passage). David admitted more fault than Bathsheba. The grace of God is clearly evident. God can take sinners, and even our sin (Tamar’s union produced Perez- the ancestor of Jesus; without Rahab’s prostitution, it is doubtful that she would have been chosen as a refuge by the spies; David and Bathsheba’s union eventually produce Solomon). God may take those with the worst job (like a prostitute), the worst ancestry (like Ruth- a despised Moabitis, whose ancestors were involved in child-sacrifice), the worst situation (a hopeless, penniless, neglected widow like Tamar), and the worst sin (the adultery and murder involved in David and Bathsheba’s relationship)- and make the very best out of it. There are too many Christians who have given up hope for our country today and for us. But hope can come if we have faith. Our hope is not in our economic prosperity or military prowess. Our hope comes from God- and the best thing is not the elevation of our secular power, but the turning of our country (also our churches, our families and us as individuals) back to God.



Prayer: In the midst of our sin, O God, help us to see your grace. In the darkness, give us hope to cling to your light- however dim in the future it may gleam.

11/28- Getting Ready for Advent

Yesterday, about thirty people came to church and strung wreaths, bows, put up Christmas trees, and more. Some young people came over and hung some ornaments.

Tomorrow we will start singing advent songs.

Tomorrow we will start the advent devotional. Hard copies are available in the narthex and fellowship hall foyer for $5 each, or you can check the blog for free.

Each day's devotion has scripture, a picture that goes with that passage, commentary by John Calvin (on his 500th birthday year), my brief commentary, and a prayer for the day.

Below is a table of contents for the devotional.
Today we can prepare our hearts to worship Him, and prepare our hearts for this advent season.

TABLE OF CONTENTS- to Devotional
11/29- 1st Sunday in Advent - Genesis 38:13-19 - Grace out of sin - the genealogy of Jesus
11/30- Psalm 78 - Salvation history
12/1- Hebrews 1:1-4 - An Imprint of the Father
12/2- Hebrews 2:1-9 - God speaks through Jesus
12/3- Matthew 1:18-23 - Fulfilled prophecy in Christ's birth
12/4- Matthew 2 - The Adoration of the Magi
12/5- Matthew 1:18-21 - Joseph's Dilemna
12/6- 2nd Sunday in Advent- Matthew 2:13,14 - Help in exile
12/7- Matthew 2:14-18 - Murder of the Innocents
12/8- Isaiah 7:1-17 - Believing in a sign from God
12/9- Jeremiah 31:15,16 - Hope in weeping
12/10- Hosea 11:1 - Christ in Egypt
12/11- Micah 5:1-4 - Bethlehem and Christ
12/12- 2 Samuel 7:1-16 - Jesus descended from David
12/13- 3rd Sunday in Advent (Lesson and Carols at Church) Luke 1:5-13 - Zechariah and Elizabeth-God prepares to come
12/14- John's Glory and Peace Come From God - Luke 1:14-17
12/15- Unbelief in the Midst of Faith - Lk. 1:18-20
12/16- Luke 1:21-25 - Blessing of Children
12/17- Luke 1:26-33 - The Annunciation
12/18- Luke 1:34-38 Nothing is Impossible with God
12/19- Luke 1:39-45 - Elizabeth's Visitation
12/20- 4th Sunday in Advent Luke 1:46-50 - The Magnificate
12/21- Luke 1:67-75 - Zechariahs praise
12/22- Luke 2:8-14 - The Message of Good News Spreads
12/23- Luke 2:15-21 - Praise of shepherds
12/24- Christmas Eve- Services at 5:00 (children); 7:00 (Candlelight, Full Choir); 11:00 (Candlelight, Communion)
Luke 2:1-7 - Birth of Christ

Prayer: Lord, prepare my heart that it may be clean and ready for you to come in. Cause me to want to come to you.

11/26/09 John Calvin and Advent

This is the 500th Birthday year of John Calvin. It is a great time to listen and study this great thinker that influenced our society in so many ways. He helped establish the Reformation and Protestantism, he helped establish capitalism, enouraged literacy and public education so everyone could read the scriptures. Some credit him because of his extensive writings with developing the French language. Certainly he is the founder of Presbyterianism and Reformed Theology.

But didn't Calvin not celebrate advent? Calvin said in a letter (1555) that the celebration of special feast days and holy days might vary from church to church and should not be condemned.

In a letter (1551) Calvin said that Geneva had abolished all feast and holy days except the Sabbath before he ever got there. He said they did this "without his knowledge or desire."

Calvin has some very rich things to say about the passages used in advent. Most of the things I use in this blog come from his commentary.

I also add the scriptures for the day, end in a prayer for the day, and a daily thought based primarily on the passage and how it applies to our day.