The Bible Recap - Day 125 (Psalm 1-2, 15, 22-24, 47, 68) - Year 6
Episode Date: May 4, 2024SHOW NOTES: - Head to our Start Page for all you need to begin! - Join the RECAPtains - Check out the TBR Store - Show credits - Worship Song Battle FROM TODAY’S RECAP: - Habakkuk 1:3 - Article: 1...0 Reasons the Father Didn't Turn His Face Away at the Cross - Article: Did God Turn His Face Away? - Article: Psalms: Looking Forward to the Messiah - TBR Store 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.
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Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for The Bible Recap.
Today we covered eight Psalms that span a variety of tones and topics.
We started with Psalm 1, which contrasts the wicked man with the righteous man.
It says the righteous man will be different from the wicked man in the way he thinks, acts, and engages with the world around
him. And because of that, he's blessed. One of the things the righteous man
thinks about is the Word of God. He delights in it. This delight in God causes
him to flourish in every area that matters. And no matter what the
circumstances are around him, he'll be sustained and upheld by God's Word as his source of life.
Psalm 2 was probably either written for or in response to David's coronation.
It's all about the new king and how the other nations of the world set themselves up against him.
They want to overthrow the power of Israel as a nation.
But God looks at Israel's enemies, who are His enemies, and laughs.
Because it's laughable to oppose God. We've touched on this briefly in the past, but it
bears repeating. The only time Scripture shows God laughing is at His enemies. And here's
an example of that. But be careful not to imagine it as just some kind of maniacal laugh
where He's rubbing His hands together and squinting down at them. He's not cruel. He's just. Psalm 15 is a Davidic psalm, and boy, it makes it sound
impossible to get close to God, doesn't it? He's specifically talking about the state of a man's
heart when he's entering the tabernacle or the presence of God. It reminds us that God is holy
and we are not, and that his standards are higher than we could ever achieve, even on our best days.
He shows so much mercy in drawing near to us and so much love in wanting to dwell with us.
I have a bit of a controversial opinion on the opening line of Psalm 22.
I'm definitely in the minority on this opinion, and I'm not trying to convince you I'm right, but I do think it's important as it applies to our view of God, so I want
to spend some time on it.
When Jesus was on the cross, He quoted the first line of this psalm,
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Most people believe this points to a separation between God the Son and God the Father in
that moment when He was on the cross.
They say it's because God can't look on sin.
We even sing a song in church that says, the Father turned His face away.
But personally, I think that's not only not what happened, but I don't even think it's
possible.
First, here's a bit of history that helps contextualize this.
Psalm 22 was written by David,
and parts of it are certainly prophetic statements
pointing to the Messiah.
But here's what many people forget.
Back in Jesus' day,
the books of the Bible didn't have chapters yet.
So when they wanted to reference a certain Psalm,
they couldn't say,
let's sing Psalm 100 or turn in your hymnal to page 23.
From what I understand,
the way they would reference Psalms
was to quote the first line.
So here's what I think may have happened in that moment where Jesus is on the cross, quoting the first line of this psalm.
I think it's almost as if he's saying,
Hey, remember that psalm about the coming Messiah, that prophecy David wrote?
It's about me. This is it. I'm it.
Our faith is founded on who God is, and central to this idea is the Trinity.
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.
They are three eternally distinct persons of the one true God.
They each have the same characteristics and personality, but with different functions and roles.
They are eternally distinct, but also eternally unified. I don't believe
it's theologically possible for any person of the Trinity to be removed from the others
even for a moment. And in fact, verse 24 of this same chapter says, he has not hidden
his face from him. He didn't turn his face away. It's still a great song though, isn't
it? I'd just like to change that one line.
People tend to think that God can't look on sin, which is an idea that comes from Habakkuk
1.3, but it's taken out of context.
God sees all sin.
And if you recall from when we read the book of Job, God has conversations with Satan.
The reason I think this is important to point out is because if we believe in a God who
can't look at sin, who turns away from Himself, that will often translate to the human heart
as shame that drives us from God when we sin, instead of encouraging us to run to God when
we sin.
If you disagree with my thoughts on what Jesus was trying to communicate, no harm, no foul,
in fact, you're probably in the majority and we're still friends.
I just try to point out this angle any time I encounter this conversation,
in case it's a new idea for somebody out there.
We'll link to a few things in the show notes that may be helpful if you want to look into this further.
Psalm 24 is interesting because the first half is almost verbatim what we read in Psalm 15.
But the back half is a nod to the time
when the ark was brought to Jerusalem.
David personifies the gates of the city
and tells them to look up and take note
because the presence of God is approaching the city.
One verse I love in this chapter is verse five,
which says that righteousness is a gift we receive from God,
not an offering we make to God.
It's just another humbling, freeing reminder that I don't clean myself up to make myself
presentable to Him.
He initiates a relationship with me, then He makes me righteous, not me.
Psalm 47 probably also celebrates the Ark's move to Jerusalem, which was obviously a pretty
big deal.
It also points to God as the King of all the earth, not just Israel.
So even the defeat of their enemies still isn't as great as the thought of having their
enemies join them.
That's the only way to be more than a conqueror, to have your enemies join your side.
Psalm 68 reiterates a lot of these same themes because it was also written about the ark's
journey to Jerusalem.
But this psalm traces the whole journey, starting with the desert.
It shows God's victory over their enemies, but again, it also ends by pointing to God
as the king over all kingdoms in verse 32.
In all of these psalms, what was your God shot?
Mine was in Psalm 23, which I love.
In this psalm, God keeps reiterating stillness and lack of motion. He says,
lie down, and not in front of Netflix, but by still waters. I always find it interesting that
he has to make us lie down. Sometimes I despise the stillness and the waiting, but here it shows
me that God invites me into the calm and the quiet. This is where He can get my attention
long enough to restore my soul and comfort me,
like the Psalm says.
And isn't that one of the things we're all here for anyway?
I hope so, because that's what comes
in the presence of the Lord,
restoration and comfort and joy.
He's where the joy is.
Are you looking for a gift for your mom for Mother's Day? We have a few great options for you in our store.
I mean, I'm not a mother, but my mom loves these items. We've got necklaces and bracelets to remind us that he's where the joy is.
We have a stunning coffee table book that transports you to Israel and a coffee mug to go alongside it.
We've got copies of my Bible study on the Trinity.
He's where the joy is that you and your mom could do together.
Or maybe your mom is more of a baseball cap and t-shirt mom.
We've got those too.
And if your mom is just kind of curious about Jesus, or maybe wouldn't call herself a
Christian, I recommend my short little devotional called The God Shot.
It's just about 90 seconds of reading per day.
It's a great place to start.
We've got all of this and more at thebiblerecap.com
forward slash store.
You can also click the link in the show notes.
Hope Nation has another fun song battle
for all of you who love worship music.
Watch the latest video to see if you can recognize
these songs before Josh Baldwin from Bethel
and worship leaders Pat Barrett and David Leonard.
Click the link in the show notes to watch.