Daily Bible Reading: Psalms 9-11 and 1 Thessalonians 3

Psalm 9 – “I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you; I will sing praises to your name, O Most High” (9:1-2).

My enemies fell before you. “You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have erased their names forever and ever” (9:5).

The destruction that has come from these enemies will be forgotten, but “the Lord shall endure forever; he has prepared his throne for judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness, and he shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness. The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble” (9:6-9).

           

Psalm 10 – “Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor, let them be caught in the plots which they have devised” (10:1-2).

Why do the wicked renounce God and say in their hearts, “I shall never be in adversity” (10:6). “He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den; he lies in wait to catch the poor; he catches the poor when he draws him into his net” (10:9).

“Arise, O Lord! O God, lift up your hand! Do not forget the humble” (10:12). You have seen what they do and you must bring the unjust to account. “Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man; seek out his wickedness until you find none” (10:15).

Psalm 11 – “In the Lord I put my trust; how can you say to me, “Flee like a bird to the mountains?” (11:1). “For look! The wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow on the string, that they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart” (11:2).

“The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, his gaze tests the sons of men. The Lord tests the righteous but the wicked and the one who loves violence his soul hates” (11:4-5).

1 Thessalonians 3 – Paul says he tried to tell them that there would be times of persecution ahead when he was with them in Thessalonika, but he’s been away from them for some time and he becomes very worried about how they are doing, so he sends his co-worker and friend Timothy to check on them while he remains alone in Athens. 

He fears that “the Tempter” might undo all the work he, Paul, has done among them.

But now Timothy has reported back, and he is reassured to hear of their continued faith and love. “[Y]our has been a great comfort to us in the middle of our own troubles and sorrow; now we can breathe again, as you are still holding firm in the Lord” (3:7).

He still would love to see them. “May the Lord be generous in increasing your love and make you love one another and the whole human race as much as we love you” (3:12).

Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 19-20 and Galatians 1

Deuteronomy 19 - The land is to be divided into three regions and each region is to have a city of refuge so “that every [non-malicious or accidental] homicide will be able to find a refuge” (19:4). In the event the territory given is expanded, three additional cities shall be added. In that time, it was the duty of a family member of anyone killed to exact vengeance on the perpetrator; this is an attempt to put in place some means whereby those innocent of intending to kill can be protected from unjust revenge. The guilty are not to be protected, however, under the system. If a person seeking refuge is really guilty of a “murder” he is to be killed: “life for life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot’”(19:21). Judicial findings require two or three witnesses.  If one commits false witness “you are to receive the punishment the accused would have received” (19:19) had the testimony been true. 

           

Deuteronomy 20 - In battle, do not be afraid.  The Lord fights for you.  But this part of the code permits a number of categories of people to avoid involvement. If you are someone who “has just built a house” that has not been “dedicated”; or has a vineyard that has not been harvested; or has just become engaged to be married (20:5-7), you are exempt from having to fight. More surprisingly, another exemption is provided for those who lose their nerve and are full of fear. They are to go home as well (20:8). They don’t want people with them who will damage the morale of all the others.

When you prepare to attack a city, they are instructed to always offer terms of peace first.  If the terms are accepted, and they surrender, the people of the city under assault “are all to become your slaves and do forced labor for you. But if the people of that city will not surrender, but choose to fight, surround it with your army [and] kill every man in it [and] take for yourselves the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city” (20:13-14). As bad as this sounds, it is even more dire if the people attacked are Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites or Jebusites. These are people who worship their gods in ways that the Jews must not be tempted by – child sacrifice or other vilified practices. These people, if defeated, are all to go under the ban and be completely wiped out lest they “teach. . . . all the disgusting things that they do in the worship of their gods” (20:18). Then there is a passage concerned with protecting the fruit trees in cities placed under siege. Other trees may be used for building defenses, but fruit trees should be preserved. 

Introduction to Galatians: The Jerusalem Bible introduction has this letter dated after the Council of Jerusalem (57-58 AD), the first such “council” called in the history of this newly emerging Christian “Church.” The letter implies that Paul has visited there twice on his first missionary journey – visiting them on the way out and then on the way back. Galatia is located in the middle of the Anatolian Peninsula, present-day Turkey.

Galatians 1 - A Jerusalem Bible note says that the opening of this epistle is “shorter and less friendly” than any other letter Paul wrote. He starts by saying that his apostle-ship “did not come from human beings or by human means, but from Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from death” (1:1). Jesus came, Paul says, to “set us free from this present evil age” (1:4). “Christ gave himself for our sins, in obedience to the will of our God and Father” (1:4). 

He is disappointed with the Galatians. They are already drifting from the true gospel and following “a different version of the Good News” (1:6). But there is only one gospel. He says, “even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than the one that we preached. . .let him be accursed” (1:8-9).

Paul insists that the Good News he taught them “is not a human message . . . it is something I learnt only through a revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:12). He recounts his conversion story and insists he did not go up to Jerusalem to see the early apostles but went to the Nabataean Arabs, who lived in what today is the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Only three years after his conversion did he go to Jerusalem to confer with Peter for 15 days.  The only other apostle he saw then was James, the brother of the Lord (1:20). Then he went to Syria and Cilicia where his hometown of Tarsus was. He is vociferous in writing that he is not lying about any of this!