Key verse
Isaiah 30:18 - "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him."
Hebrews
I guess I got carried away yesterday talking about Melchizedek, as we read about him again in chapter 7. Here is an online article on who Melchizedek might be; the author suggests that Melchizedek was God himself.
Luke
I also got ahead of myself on the reading of Luke yesterday, as I already commented on today's passage yesterday.
Isaiah
Chapter 30 of Isaiah (at least the second half of the chapter) was like an oasis in the desert! After reading about the terrible punishments that God was going to inflict upon his people, the blessings and joys they will receive are quite welcome indeed. Its hard to read about punishment from God. I like to read about all the good things God will do for the Israelites, like the stuff mentioned in today's chapters. For example, 30:21 "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'." God is really on their side, and it is so easy to see that when we hear about the good things. But God is in the blessings and the curses. How do we get a health view of God, knowing that he is above all a God of love, but also sends such harshness as well?
Showing posts with label Melchizedek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Melchizedek. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
God is faithful
Proverbs
Possession of land was quite important in those days, as the writer warned against changing the boundary markers of your neighbour in this chapter and in chapter 22.
Luke
I hate doing things I don't want to do. I go about them with a sense of dread, or slight animosity toward either the deed or those I'm doing it for. And yet, look at Jesus - he sure doesn't want to have to die such a violent death, but he goes willingly. He heals those who stand against him so that they can continue in their task (see 22:51). I could certainly use more of this attitude in my life.
Hebrews
God swore by his own name, thereby invoking the power of that name. If we swear by something, we are taking on the qualities of whatever or whoever we swear by. Lest the person or object lose its special qualities, Jesus warned his followers to simply let their 'yes' be 'yes'. If we swear by God that we will do something, and then we don't do it, we taint the name of God. But when God swears by his own name, he is doubly showing us that he will do what he says. First, he will do it regardless because he is God and what he says, he does. Second, he will do it because he swore by himself, thereby calling on his qualities, one of which is that he always does what he says. Thus, we have a firm hope that Christ will intervene on our behalf, because he has promised us.
*This section is based off an article in the Archaeological Study Bible.
Here is Psalm 110 again, quoted in Hebrews. Since we now know that Psalm 110 is a conversation between God and Jesus, we can see that Jesus was definitely the one being referred to as a priest in the order of Melchizedek. And who was Melchizedek? There is much conjecture, but I am satisfied with saying he was a foreign king that no one knew much about, so therefore 'has no beginning and no end', just like Christ, and so Melchizedek is a handy symbol from the Old Testament to use as a Christ-like figure.
Possession of land was quite important in those days, as the writer warned against changing the boundary markers of your neighbour in this chapter and in chapter 22.
Luke
I hate doing things I don't want to do. I go about them with a sense of dread, or slight animosity toward either the deed or those I'm doing it for. And yet, look at Jesus - he sure doesn't want to have to die such a violent death, but he goes willingly. He heals those who stand against him so that they can continue in their task (see 22:51). I could certainly use more of this attitude in my life.
Hebrews
God swore by his own name, thereby invoking the power of that name. If we swear by something, we are taking on the qualities of whatever or whoever we swear by. Lest the person or object lose its special qualities, Jesus warned his followers to simply let their 'yes' be 'yes'. If we swear by God that we will do something, and then we don't do it, we taint the name of God. But when God swears by his own name, he is doubly showing us that he will do what he says. First, he will do it regardless because he is God and what he says, he does. Second, he will do it because he swore by himself, thereby calling on his qualities, one of which is that he always does what he says. Thus, we have a firm hope that Christ will intervene on our behalf, because he has promised us.
*This section is based off an article in the Archaeological Study Bible.
Here is Psalm 110 again, quoted in Hebrews. Since we now know that Psalm 110 is a conversation between God and Jesus, we can see that Jesus was definitely the one being referred to as a priest in the order of Melchizedek. And who was Melchizedek? There is much conjecture, but I am satisfied with saying he was a foreign king that no one knew much about, so therefore 'has no beginning and no end', just like Christ, and so Melchizedek is a handy symbol from the Old Testament to use as a Christ-like figure.
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