Psalm 142
David wrote this psalm while he was “in the cave,” presumably hiding away from Saul. At this point, he had already been declared the future king of Israel by God, but the fruition of that prophecy wasn’t coming very quickly. David was still spending much of his time running from his enemies and hiding out in dark places.
Psalm 126
I am blessed beyond measure. There are so many joys in my life—and one of the greatest is my wonderful husband David. In so many ways, it feels as though he and I were truly made for each other. We share deeply-held views on everything—from God to politics to education to parenting. I have never met (and am sure I never will meet) another person who seems to be my match in every way.
Psalm 89
When you are so familiar with something, it becomes very easy not to see it. I think this is what often happens with Bible study. We get so familiar with certain Bible stories and passages that it becomes difficult to see them with “fresh” eyes. I have found this to be the case particularly with Psalms, since so many of our worship songs come from this book.
Psalm 78
In this psalm, the author spent a lot of time reminding his listeners of all the ways God had cared for His people in the desert. No doubt, the Israelites had either forgotten or willfully walked away from God time and time again; perhaps Asaph was trying to stave off a fresh outbreak of unfaithfulness by going on a little trip down memory lane.
Psalm 57
David faced a lot of hardship in his life. This very psalm, for instance, was written in a cave while he was literally hiding for his life. However, David doesn’t sound very worried.
Sure, he mentions his troubles he’s facing: “I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts—men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.” (vs 4) Have you ever been standing in the middle of lions? I haven’t, and I sure wouldn’t want to! It would be nothing short of certain death.
Psalm 45
There are different ideas about this psalm. Some suggest that it is simply a song written for the wedding of a king. Others suggest it is totally Messianic and refers to Jesus (groom) and the church (His bride). Regardless of which it is (or maybe it’s both), this verse remains the same: “Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.” (vs 6)
Psalm 12
In this psalm, David compares the evil person (who employs flattery and deception) with God (whose speech is pure like gold). It seems that everywhere David looks, all he sees is deception: “Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts.” (vs 2)
Psalm 9
For many years now, one of my favorite television programs has been Judge Judy. But it is often sad to see the steady parade of young people (usually girls) who have found themselves in a tight spot because they were taken advantage of. When Judge Judy asks them why they were stupid enough to do whatever it was they did (loan money, co-sign for a car, etc.), the answer invariably is, “Because I trusted him, Your Honor.”
Job 38
For most of his short history, man has been consumed with one thing—his god(s). Story after story in the Bible talks about the lengths man will go to in order to win the attention or approval of whatever god he believes in. From Baal to Molech to Dagon, and from bodily sacrifice to animal sacrifice to human sacrifice, men have employed bizarre (and often tragic) means to rouse their god to action. To no avail. It’s hard to get the attention of someone who doesn’t exist.
Job 18
I don’t remember when it was that I finally worked up the courage to watch the movie Braveheart. It was a long time after it was released, and even then, I remember watching most of it through the laced fingers covering my eyes. (I have a problem with graphic violence.) But I can never forget the final moments of that film, as Mel Gibson’s character, William Wallace—bound and seconds away from death—cries with his last breath, "Freedom!"
Job 4
In this chapter, Job’s friend, Eliphaz, related something he had seen in a dream: "A word was secretly brought to me, my ears caught a whisper of it. Amid disquieting dreams in the night, when deep sleep falls on people, fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake. A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end. It stopped, but I could not tell what it was. A form stood before my eyes, and I heard a hushed voice: 'Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker? If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error, how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth!'" (vs 12-19)
Nehemiah 9
Yes, before you get too worked up, observe the spelling of the word "but" in the title. It’s a part of speech, not a part of the body! And it illustrates something wonderful about God—that He is always eager to give us another chance and that He is always willing to forgive, forget, and move on.
In this chapter, as the Israelite exiles recounted the history of God and their nation, there were a lot of buts flying around:
Nehemiah 4
Well, some people just didn’t want that Jerusalem wall rebuilt! "When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry." (vs 7) First, they had tried to intimidate the people with insults and threats. When that didn’t stop the work, they plotted to attack the people who were rebuilding the wall.
2 Chronicles 21
Over the last several chapters of 2 Chronicles, I’ve noticed an interesting trend. See if you can spot it in this passage from today’s chapter: "Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king. To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah. Libnah revolted at the same time, because Jehoram had forsaken the Lord, the God of his ancestors." (vs 5-6, 8, 10)
1 Chronicles 9
This was one of those days when I didn’t get much beyond the first verse of the chapter (even though I kept reading until the end). "All Israel was listed in the genealogies recorded in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. They were taken captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness." (vs 1)
2 Kings 3
After the death of King Ahab, Mesha king of Moab decided to rebel against Israel. So Jehoram (the new king of Israel), Jehoshaphat (king of Judah), and the king of Edom set out to attack Moab and put down the rebellion. On the way to battle, they ran into quite a problem: "After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them." (vs 9)
