Seder 84: Psalm 72---Long Live the King!

 Psalm 72 is a royal psalm, a prayer for the King of Israel. It may be a prayer of  David that was preserved by Solomon.  (John Calvin, for example, held this view.) 

The prayer asks for the king to exemplify the justice and righteousness of God (v 1).  The king would have the task of making a copy of the Torah for himself (Deut 17), with the goal that he would rule with God's priorities---helping the needy, for example (v 4).  If the king ruled in this way, then the nation would prosper (v 3).  

The prayer then asks that the king's rule would be extended in both time and space (vv 5-11).  In the background is God's promise that David's dynasty would continue forever, culminating in the rule of the Messiah (2 Sam 7:12-16).  The prayer is for that promise to fully materialize.  

Verses 8-11 remind us of Israel's brief golden age under Solomon (1 Kings 4:21,34; 10), when Israel reached its greatest extent geographically and kings from around the region brought gifts.  There is wordplay in verse 10 with "Sheba and Seba", and also a picture of a large empire since Sheba represents Yemen, and Seba is in Africa (Gen 10:7).  The empire pictured here extends far in all directions.  

Verses 12-17 repeat the themes of verses 1-11.  Verse 17 ("may people be blessed in him") makes reference to the king's role in carrying out the Abrahamic blessing of Gen 12:1-3.  

Verse 20 ("The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended") concludes Book 2 of the Psalter.  The psalms that come next are attributed to Asaph and to the sons of Korah.  There is also a sense in which this prayer is a fitting "last word" on God's promise-plan to send the Messiah.

Seder 27: Psalm 89----Prayer for the Coming of the Messianic King

 Psalm 89 praises God as ruler of the universe (verses 1-18) who exercises his rulership over the earth through the king on the throne of David.  It reviews God's promise to David (2 Sam 7).  In the Davidic covenant God said, "I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens" (Ps 89:29).  When the king was disobedient God would punish that king (vv 30-32), but God was committed to David's dynasty.  The dynasty might be interrupted, but it would come back eventually.  

The last part of Psalm 89 is a lament, coming from a time when the dynasty had been interrupted---either during the rule of a wicked king, or after 587 BC.  The psalmist prays that God would restore favor to the Davidic dynasty--in effect, that God would send the Messiah.  

In his book Psalms Old and New, Ben Witherington mentions some New Testament points of contact with Psalm 89.  Verse 25 ("I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers") can be seen as prefiguring Jesus calming the waters of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41).  Rev 1:5 describes Jesus as "the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings on earth."  The Davidic king is described in similar terms in Ps 89: 27, 37.  

Feast of Trumpets 2020: The Birth of Samuel

 The Bible chronicles a number of miraculous births, beginning with that of Isaac in the book of Genesis and continuing on to those of John the Baptist and Jesus in Luke 1-2.  

In between  falls the birth of Samuel, which has connections with both Genesis and Luke.  

The parallel family situations of  Abraham/Sarah and Elkanah/Hannah constitute one connection between Genesis and Samuel.  Abraham and Sarah are unable to have children, but Abraham has a son with a second wife, Hagar.  Similarly, Elkanah and Hannah are unable to have children, but Elkanah has children with a second wife, Peninnah (1 Sam 1).  

After the miraculous birth of his son Isaac, Abraham shows willingness to give up Isaac at God's command (Gen 22).  Similarly, Elkanah and Hannah willingly give up Samuel to God's service (1 Sam 1:21-28).  

After Samuel's birth Hannah's prayer concludes with a prophecy of a coming Messiah:  "The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed" (1 Sam 2:10).  Her prayer has much in common with Mary's prayer of thanksgiving in Luke 1:46-55.  Both prayers praise God for exalting the humble and humbling the proud. 

There are also a number of parallels between Samuel and Jesus and their families.  Like Mary and Joseph, Hannah and Elkanah made regular pilgrimages to worship God (1 Sam 1:3; Luke 2:41).  Samuel as a young boy served under Eli the priest (1 Sam 2:11), while Jesus discussed aspects of the Torah with teachers at the Temple in Jerusalem when he was 12 years old (Luke 2:46-47).  Luke seems to emphasize the connection between Samuel and Jesus when he writes in Luke 2:52 that "Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men," an apparent reference to 1 Sam 2:26.  

According to David Daube (The New Testament and Rabbinic Judaism, pp 13-14), there is also a rabbinic legend that the boy Samuel once corrected Eli on a technical point involving sacrificial regulations.  If this story was extant in the first century, it could further explain why Luke saw Samuel's boyhood as typical of Jesus' boyhood. 

Seder 26: Genesis 27---Isaac's Prophetic Blessing on Jacob

 The ruse planned by Rebekah and Jacob was successful.  Isaac laid his hands on Jacob (thinking he was Esau) and pronounced the following blessing:

"May God give you the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine.  Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you.  Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you.  Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!" (Gen 27:28-29)

One detail that catches our attention in verse 29 is Isaac's reference to "your brothers" and "your mother's sons"---both plural, when Jacob had only one brother, and his mother had only one other son.  This detail suggests the possibility that Isaac was referring not just to Jacob himself, but also looking ahead to a special descendant of Jacob whom peoples would serve and to whom nations would bow down---the future Messiah!  (A similar blessing is given to Solomon---and ultimately to the Messiah---in Ps 72:11.)  

 Christian scholar Kevin Chen discusses Gen 27:28-29 as a Messianic prophecy in his recent book The Messianic Vision of the Pentateuch (IVP 2019).

Even though Isaac had intended the blessing for Esau, he and his family were confident that God would confirm this blessing upon Jacob.  "Yes, and he shall be blessed," Isaac says of Jacob in v. 33.

Looking back, it appears in hindsight that God's will was worked out by a circuitous means in Gen 27.  Esau did not seem to value or be in tune with his family's special mission, as evidenced by his lack of concern for the family birthright.  

This does not mean, however, that Esau did not figure in God's plan.  Esau and his descendants would have much to contribute, and Esau would have additional time to learn and grow.  His choice of wives changed when he finally became aware of his parents' preferences in the matter (Gen 28:6-9).  

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on Sept 12, 2020, Kyle Kettering reflected on Esau's life.  

Seder 16: Psalm 110 and High Christology

Psalm 110 is a royal psalm.  Without any extra information, we might interpret it in much the way we do Psalm 45.  A prophet has received a revelation from God about his lord, the king of Israel.  And since the king of Israel is a type of the Messiah, the psalm points ultimately to the Messiah.

However, we do have extra information.  The psalm's superscription connects the psalm to David.  Moreover, Jesus (Matt 22:41-46, Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44) identified the psalmist as David and David's lord as the Messiah.  For his argument to have been convincing, his listeners must have accepted these identifications as well.  (Later rabbinic interpreters saw the psalmist as Abraham's servant Eliezer and Abraham as Eliezer's lord.  Were they, in part, reacting against Christian application of Psalm 110?)

The first verse of Psalm 110 is especially important in Christian theology:  "The LORD says to my Lord:  'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.' "  This verse places the Messiah in a very high position.  To be at God's right hand is to be very close to God, with God's full support.

And in the ancient world it was the ruler who sat.  Everyone else stood.  This verse pictures the Messiah sharing God's throne.  God rules everything because he created everything.  So the Messiah who shares his throne is a Creator, not part of the creation.

The apostles used Psalm 110 to describe Jesus' current position on God's throne:

Eph 1:20-23:  "that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."

The New Testament use of Ps 110:1 supports the "early high christology" position that the first Christians believed in the deity of Jesus.

The deity of the Messiah is also supported by Ps 110:5:  "The LORD is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath."  Depending on which Lord is which in this verse, it either says that the Messiah at God's right hand is himself the LORD, or that the LORD is at the Messiah's right hand.  Either reading would place the Messiah at a level equal with God.

Seder 14: Psalm 2--A Royal Psalm of Hope

Psalm 2 is a royal psalm that affirms the Davidic covenant and looks forward to the reign of the Messiah, the ultimate Davidic king.  This Psalm is attributed to David in Acts 4:25.

The psalm begins by picturing vain attempts of the nations to oppose God and his anointed king (opposition to one means opposition to the other).  "Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain?", verse 1 asks.  The word for "plot" is from the same root as "meditate".  Psalm 1:2 says that the wise meditate on God's instruction.  Psalm 2:1 says that the foolish meditate on how to oppose God.

Such opposition to God is fruitless.  God rules the whole universe, and he is also keeping close track of what is happening on earth and dealing with these events through the king of Israel (vv 4-6).

When that king is anointed and installed in office, he is raised in stature, authorized and empowered to act as God's representative.  As in Sam 7:14, the Davidic king is considered a son of God.

The Messiah, the ultimate king of Israel, will rule over all nations (vv 7-9).  The nations are therefore advised to submit to God and his appointed king (vv 10-12).

This psalm has long been a source of hope to the people of God, and in particular to the first disciples of Jesus.  Here are some important examples of the ways Psalm 2 is used in the New Testament:

(1) In the early days of Christianity the apostles Peter and John were arrested by the Sadducees for preaching the Gospel and brought before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4). After giving a powerful witness, they were given a warning and released.  The early Christ-followers then prayed Psalm 2:1-2.  As they saw it, this psalm predicted that they would face opposition, but that the Kingdom of God under Jesus the Messiah would prevail (vv 23-31).

Today we can continue to pray this way for and with the persecuted church.

(2) When Jesus was baptized, a heavenly voice quoted Psalm 2:7 (Mark 1:9-11).  In effect, Jesus was being anointed with the Holy Spirit as King of the Kingdom of God, which was then breaking into the world.  A heavenly voice again quoted Psalm 2:7 at the Transfiguration (Lk 9:35).

(3) Hebrews 1:5 identifies Psalm 2:7 as one example of passages in the Hebrew scriptures where God is speaking to Jesus the Messiah and showing that Jesus is superior to the angels:

"For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son' today I have begotten you' ?"

Indeed, angels are referred to in the Bible as sons of God (Gen 6:2; Job 38:7), but Psalm 2:7 singles out the Messiah as a unique son of God.

(4) The book of Revelation pictures Jesus ultimately ruling the earth "with a rod of iron"--Rev 12:5; 19:11-15.  He tells the church at Thyatira that those who overcome will rule with him (Rev 2:26-27).

In the MT, Psalm 2:9 says, "You will break them with a rod of iron", while the LXX says, "You will shepherd them with a rod of iron."  The rule of the Messiah is both powerful and gentle.