The Bible Recap - Day 110 (Psalm 121, 123-125, 128-130) - Year 6

Episode Date: April 19, 2024

SHOW NOTES: - Head to our Start Page for all you need to begin! - Join the RECAPtains - Check out the TBR Store - Show credits - Interview–The God Shot FROM TODAY’S RECAP: - Video: 2 Samuel Overview - Sign up for the NEWScap & PREcap Emails (at the bottom of the homepage!) BIBLE READING & LISTENING: Follow along on the Bible App, or to listen to the Bible, try Dwell! SOCIALS: The Bible Recap: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | TikTok D-Group: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X TLC: Instagram | Facebook D-GROUP: D-Group is brought to you by the same team that brings you The Bible Recap. TBR is where we read the Bible, and D-Group is where we study the Bible. D-Group is an international network of Bible study groups that meet weekly in homes, churches, and online. Find or start one near you today! DISCLAIMER: The Bible Recap, Tara-Leigh Cobble, and affiliates are not a church, pastor, spiritual authority, or counseling service. Listeners and viewers consume this content on a voluntary basis and assume all responsibility for the resulting consequences and impact. 

Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap. Today we read seven Psalms that all fall into a category known as the Psalms of Ascent. There are 15 Psalms in this category and they span Psalm 120 through 134. But before we dig into today's individual chapters, let's talk about what the Psalms of Ascent are. The first thing that's important to know is that Jerusalem is the city that will eventually be the nation's capital,

and it will be the headquarters of the tabernacle and the future temple. Jerusalem is at a high elevation, so no matter which way you approach it, you have to go up to Jerusalem. So when all the people of Israel, who've been dispersed all across the land, come together every year to celebrate the High Holy Days,

they have to make a long journey up to Jerusalem. Hence the word ascent. And most historians say that as they made their long pilgrimage three times a year, they would sing these 15 songs. These were their road trip hymns of praise to God, with reminders of who he is and what He has done for them. And some of them even have language that refers to travel or the things travelers would be particularly mindful of,

like Psalm 121, for example. This is a psalm of confidence. It points out all the ways Yahweh is superior to the pagan gods of the day. David praises God for being his stability in all times, day and night. He's a God who is never tired or distracted, unlike the pagan gods of the day who require sleep and are reported to return to the underworld at night.

This tireless, undistracted God would be comforting to people who are sleeping along the highways as they travel to Jerusalem. And David even talks about God providing shade to them, which is especially nice if you happen to be traveling through the Judean desert. And I love how the Faith Life Study Bible summarizes his protection. It says, Yahweh is not just a hideout, but a bodyguard. He's not just in one place. He goes with them. Psalm 123 calls out to God in the midst of distress and oppression, which the Israelites

will continue to spend a lot of time dealing with. They ask God for mercy. And as they travel, they'll even likely be passing through areas where their oppressors live, so this might have really struck a chord with them on their pilgrimage. This flows right into Psalm 124, which points out that God is the only way they've survived distress and oppression so far. It has been abundant, and they affirm that God is their help. It's a good thing for them to have to sing this song

at least three times a year, because remember how easy it is for them to forget God? Psalm 125 continues by pointing out the blessings that will come to those who remember God and trust Him, and that God will uproot the unrighteous. By the way, Mount Zion, which is referenced in this Psalm, is a location we've heard referenced in a few other places as well, so it's worth pointing out this is the highest point in ancient Jerusalem,

just outside the city gates. Because it's such a noteworthy location, it even becomes sort of a representation of Jerusalem, and the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. In Psalm 128, we see a lot of reference to God's covenant with the children of Israel. Remember how he told them if they keep the covenant, they'll live in the land and be fruitful and blessed,

but if they break the covenant, they'll be oppressed and exiled. So here's where all that comes together in a song that reminds them of the blessings of keeping the covenant he made with them. I wanna offer one caveat for chapters like this. Texts like these present us with lots of information about God's character and how He operates in general, but there's some stickiness involved in trying to apply them with the same one-to-one ratio today.

For instance, not every obedient person is guaranteed to have children. That was God's promise to a specific people group at a specific time and for his specific purpose. The reason it's important for us to recognize the context of this is not only because it saves us from the error of entitlement, but also because it keeps us from judging others as obedient or disobedient based on how their lives look. Imagine there's a couple who wants to expand their family,

but they can't get pregnant or the adoption keeps getting delayed or they suffer miscarriages repeatedly. Now imagine how hard it would be for them and how it would impact their view of God if they actually thought Scripture always promised children to the obedient. They'd probably be plagued with frustration

and confusion over what they'd done wrong, and they might even look at couples who aren't even walking with God and who do get pregnant, and then get angry at God for not fulfilling His alleged promises. It's important to be mindful of context always, but especially with verses we're tempted to claim for ourselves. While 1-28 points out the blessings God brings to the home, Psalm 129 highlights all the

ways God has blessed Israel as a whole. And in Psalm 130, they recount the ultimate blessing, not just peace in the home or peace in the land, but peace with God Himself. God is the one who forgives their sins and redeems them. And my God shot for today came in verse 4, which says, With you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. We've talked about this before, but I always love noticing the different ways the fear of God shows up in Scripture. The fear of God is comprised primarily of delight and awe. If that weren't true, the two halves of this verse wouldn't fit together at all. It would have to say, with you we really

have to watch our backs, that you may be feared. Instead, this verse reminds us that God's great forgiveness of our sins inspires respect and awe and delight. It draws us to Him. No matter how we've walked in iniquity and rebellion, we can come to Him for forgiveness, knowing that because of Christ's full payment for our sins on the cross, we have pardon and redemption. The fear of the Lord truly enhances our lives in every way. He's where the joy is.

Tomorrow we start our 11th book of the Bible, Second Samuel. It's all about King David's reign. As usual, we'll be linking to a short overview video in the show notes. If you've got six minutes, be sure to check it out before we start our reading tomorrow. It will really help set you up for success. You're probably concerned that you don't get nearly enough emails, right? I'm here to help. I would love to send you some emails every day. You're welcome, but seriously, we have one that comes out every day, we have one that comes out every month, and you get to choose the frequency of how often you hear from TBR via email. The first email, the daily one, we call it the pre cap. It comes every day and it has links directly to the day's reading and recapping. People who get the pre cap

love the pre cap. Trust me, it went down for four days and they were distraught. And while we didn't love that they were distraught, we love that they love the email. The other email, the monthly one, it's called the News Cap. This is where we share TBR updates, encouragement, and free resources. And the platform that sends out our newsletters tell us we have one of the highest click rates in their entire catalog. You guys love these emails and we love that you love them. So if you don't love them yet, but you want to love them in the future, go to our homepage,

thebiblerecap.com, scroll down to the bottom of thebiblerecap.com, and sign up for one or both. That's the bottom of the page of thebiblerecap.com, or click the link in the show notes. And by the way, if you want to make sure these don't end up going to your spam folder, go ahead and add our newsletter's email address to your contact list. It's hello at thebibleRecap.com. In every section of scripture we've recapped together, I've asked you one important question. What was your God shot today? I can't express to you enough how learning who God is and what His character is can change your life.

I want to invite you to dig deeper into this topic with me as I talk with Denise from KSBJ. To hear our conversation, just click the link in the show notes.