Seder 19 Sermon: A Good Laugh

Sarah's laughter of joy in Gen 21 reminds us of the value of laughter in general.  

On July 25, 2020, Kyle Kettering preached a sermon on this topic.  He reminded us of Prov 17:22, which says that "a joyful  heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."  In difficult times we can use some more laughter.   

Kyle noted that God is said to laugh at the rebellious activity of the nations.  He has big shoulders and can handle all of the schemes of men.  

He also pointed to the encouraging words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6):  "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh" (v 21).  God's people can look forward to a time of rejoicing. 

Seder 18: Another Messianic Connection in Psalm 110---verse 3b

The Old Testament chapter most often referenced in the New Testament is Psalm 110.  The New Testament references are to verse 1 (about the position of David's Lord on the divine throne at God's right hand) and verse 4 (about the special priesthood of David's Lord patterned after that of Melchizedek).

Verse 3b also adds to the Messianic import of the psalm.  In the ESV, translated from the Masoretic Text, it reads: "from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours."

It's not clear at all what this means.  But the Septuagint has a definite Messianic thrust:  "From the womb, before the morning star, I brought you forth."  This translation seems to imply that David's Lord is a Son of God with ancient origins.

On the importance of the Septuagint in bringing out the full Messianic implications of the Old Testament, a good source is Michael Rydelnik's book The Messianic Hope.  In connection with Ps 110:3b, Rydelnik notes that some scholars believe the Masoretes arranged the vowel pointing in order to obscure the messianic implications of the verse.

At any rate, in the Hebrew consonantal text, there is an important word link between Ps 110:3b and Psalm 2:7:  "The LORD said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you.' "  This verse identifies the Davidic Messiah as a unique Son of God.  The word for "begotten" is common to Psalm 2:7 and Psalm 110:3.

We see a pairing of Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 in some New Testament passages---in Heb 1:5,13; Heb 5:5-6.  There is further evidence in Luke 22:69-70 that this connection was part of Jewish understanding in the days of Jesus.  For more discussion, see the paper "Hebrew-Only Exegesis:  A Philological Approach to Jesus' Use of the Hebrew Bible," by R. Steven Notley and Jeffrey P. Garcia, pp 349-376 in The Language Environment of First Century Judaea, Brill, 2014.

Ps 110:3b, as translated in the Septuagint, was important to early Christians.  For example, Justin Martyr used it to argue in Dialogue with Trypho, chapter 63, "does not this declare to you that [he was] from of old, and that the God and Father of all things intended for him to be begotten by a human womb?"

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.