1 Kings 8; Psalm 119; John 6
June 28: What if David and his descendants had fully seized upon the Davidic Covenant and made Zion the shining city on a hill that it was supposed to be? Could it have been possible that, as Solomon had longed to happen, ALL the people of the earth could've been drawn to know the God of Israel? How would Messiah have come to holy "one-world Israel?" With full knowledge of Who He was, would they have willingly sacrificed Him, knowing it was the only way everyone could be saved? It seems like the dispensations and covenants are all designed to teach us about our fallenness, but is there not an ideal for each? At any rate, we're so well-provisioned for bridging from felt needs to real needs with the narratives, the songs, the parables, and clear teachings of God's Word.
1 Kings 8: Eleven times, "toward" appears in this passage. Solomon stretches his hands toward heaven, asks God to take notice of him and the Temple, to listen to his prayer toward this place, to listen to Israel's prayer toward it. Then he names specific afflictions:
- Drought
- Famine
- Pestilence
- Heat
- Mildew
- Locust
- Caterpillar
- Seige
Many of these are mentioned in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 and Solomon's prayer is undoubtedly meant to address them for that reason. Why does he mention the "stranger"? Is that also a parallel, whereas Deuteronomy 28:1 mentions that if the nation had walked in His commandments, it was His intention to set them on high above all nations, to lend to them and not borrow, (v. 12), but if they wouldn't listen, they'd be oppressed and become an astonishment, a proverb and a byword to all nations (v. 37), and the stranger within Israel would be brought "…very high; and thou shalt come down very low. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him. He shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail." Solomon pictures welcoming the stranger to his kingdom after they've heard of His great name, His strong hand, His outstretched arm. His request is that prayers by hopeful non-Jews made toward the Temple be answered, "that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name." The Church's mission is to "go and preach the good news" after the fact, while Israel's was to exemplify the good news before the fact.
Psalm 119:97-112: Is it the Psalmist's brag that he's smarter than all his enemies and teachers? Or is it just that he's admitting that his only advantage comes from his study, his practice, his meditation on, God's Word? I obviously think it's the latter - he admits to being "afflicted very much" and needing the Lord's quickening. I think this Psalm's obsession over God's revelation being the writer's "heritage forever" is a great echo of David's desire to be remembered for the fact that he had been privileged to utter God's Words. May my own life echo that sentiment, and may I always find grace to give Him praise that is acceptable to Him, as David did.
John 6:25-71: Jesus fed them with the loaves and fishes, and they follow Him for that reason, anticipating, like the Woman at the Well, did, that if He's a source of continual sustenance, they'll have no need to work for it. Is He trying to make them think of Isaiah 55:1-3? It says, "Why do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satsfieth not?" He says, "labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life. Missing the point, they ask what labor would earn them this? His response is designed to get them back to the point: only believe on Him: He IS the bread of eternal life. The "sure mercies of David" were God's commitment to never take His mercy from David as He'd taken it from Saul. David's great and public sin exemplified it, and Jesus' perfect life, substitutionary death, and justifying resurrection accomplished it.
Comments