THE LORD SPOKE (November 3)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Lamentations 3-5

It’s called a qinah, a lament. It’s a distinctive type of Hebrew literature. It has a particular meter or rhythm to its cadence and the content, of course, is lamentations. In this case, the book is also a fine piece of acrostic poetry. All five chapters have 22 verses each, following the Hebrew alphabet. Chapter three is tripled - three verses beginning with each letter of the alphabet - for a total of 66 verses.

But if that’s all you got out of the book, you’d certainly be missing the point. Lamentations begins with a lament (1:1-2) but ends with repentance (5:21-22). Jeremiah, the author, is also known as the weeping prophet because he mentions his tears so often. He had a lot to weep about! His books are so full of God’s judgment on the people of Israel that at one point (Jer. 9:1) he says, “Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears....” Note what he says here in Lamentations...

1:16 - I weep and my eyes overflow with tears
2:11 - my eyes fail from weeping
3:48 - streams of tears flow from my eyes

Lamentations is traditionally read by Jews on the 9th of Ab (which falls in July/August). This is the date of the destruction of Solomon’s Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BC and, coincidentally, also the date of the destruction of Herod’s Temple by the Romans in AD 70. A good day for lamentations! But, due to the content of the book, the emphasis is on lamentation over sin in the nation. Weeping over sin isn’t something our society does much of.

Do you ever find yourself weeping as you read Scripture. Here are some reasons you might:

1. for JOY - your heart swells when you get a glimpse of the Lord, when you recognize His goodness to you, or when you receive insight and understanding from His word
2. for SADNESS - over missed opportunities, over past victories now gone, over others who need to know and follow the Lord
3. because of CONVICTION - when you see your own sin as God does and realize the grief that you have brought to Him
4. because of the OVER-POWERING GREATNESS OF THE LORD - the source of all blessing, the all-wise Creator and Sustainer

Read and weep. But let your mourning be turned to repentance and joy. Pray that the Lord will keep your heart soft towards Him and that you will hear His voice when He speaks to you from Scripture.


Psalms 95-96

Even in English, some of the beauty of the Hebrew poetry comes out in these two psalms. Structurally, they are both composed of two parts and each part has two subdivisions which reach a climax in the last stanza. Take a look:

Psalm 95

vs. 1-5 - “Come, let us sing”
vs. 1-2 - the call to praise
vs. 3-5 - the reason for praise

vs. 6-11 - “Come, let us bow down”
vs. 6 - the call to submit
vs. 7-11 - the wrong way to do it

Psalm 96

vs. 1-6 - “Sing to the Lord”
vs. 1-3 - Who? all the earth
vs. 4-6 - Why? He is great

vs. 7-13 - “Ascribe to the Lord”
vs. 7-9 - Who? all the earth
vs. 10-13 - Why? He rules in righteousness

The treble calls to worship also build the intensity of these psalms with increasing measure:

Psalm 95

- “come let us sing for joy” (vs. 1)
- “let us come before Him with thanksgiving” (vs. 2)
- “come let us bow down and worship” (vs. 6)

Psalm 96

- “sing to the Lord a new song” (vs. 1a)
- “sing to the Lord, all the earth” (vs. 1b)
- “sing to the Lord” (vs. 2)

- “ascribe to the Lord” (vs. 7a)
- “ascribe to the Lord glory and strength” (vs. 7b)
- “ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name” (vs. 8)

O God, there is none like You. Nothing in the heavens above and nothing on the earth below comes even close to the awesome glory that surrounds You. We bow down and gratefully acknowledge You as Sovereign. Your strength and wisdom is displayed in every detail of Your creation. Your goodness and provision is evident in every turn of our lives. Your justice and righteousness is proclaimed on every page of Scripture.

For all this and more, we worship You. We love You for who You are. We thank You for Your grace and mercy toward us in spite of our sin. We count You worthy of all our praise and we commit to You to bring others to do the same. May You be honored to the end of time and through eternity.

Who is a God like You? There is no other. Our very breath comes from You.

THE LORD SPOKE (October 27)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Jeremiah 38-39

“Obey the Lord...then it will go well with you....” (Jeremiah 38:20)

The circumstances under which those words were uttered were some of the worst in Israel’s history. Jerusalem was under siege. The Babylonian army was ready to pounce. Her claws were bared. The taut ripple of muscle was a telltale sign that the kill was imminent.

King Zedekiah was a weasel. When his officials called for the death of Jeremiah, though he had himself been in consultation with the prophet, he caved in. He “preserved” Jeremiah’s life by having him thrown live into a cistern. A fine prison. This one was dry except for the slime in the bottom. But who would remember to deliver food when the Babylonians attacked? It was certain death for the old man - if not from the dank conditions, then certainly from starvation.

Zedekiah could have saved him. He should have. Jeremiah was the only one talking sense from the very beginning. By now it was pretty apparent that the voices saying that the enemy wouldn’t ever come as far as Jerusalem were wrong. All they could say about Jeremiah now was, “This man is making everybody afraid” (38:4). Afraid indeed. So namby-pamby Zedekiah has him thrown in jail.

But Ebed-Melech (a foreigner from Cush, who’s name means “servant of the king”) goes quietly to Zedekiah and suggests that Jeremiah might just have the right word from the Lord for this situation. The sniveling king sneaks out to a consultation at one of the gates to the Temple. It’s too late to stop the Babylonians. But surrender would preserve the king’s own life and save Jerusalem. That advice came from God Himself and Jeremiah is able to promise the king, “Obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will be spared.” (38:20).

Zedekiah was faced with a choice. On the one hand was a clear and certain word from the Lord God Almighty (38:17) with a promise of His salvation. On the other hand was, at best, the vain hope that he might somehow escape the city and not be captured by the Babylonian beast. But then what? Where would he go?

Was that a hard choice? Apparently it was, for Zedekiah took the wrong fork in the road. But is that any different than the choices we face. We have the clear word of Scripture to turn from our wicked ways to follow God’s path of righteousness. Again and again, the Bible says, “Here’s the path - walk in it!” Why do we choose still to sin?

Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.
Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word....
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
Psalm 119:35-37,105

Psalms 81-82

It’s the way God made us. Some of us may not be so very musical in terms of producing beautiful sound, but we all have music in our hearts. God has given us all an ear for melody. Since those first sweet strains of a lullaby hummed by our mother’s lips, we resonate with the sound of music. God has put a tune in our soul.

Psalm 81 jumps out at us in the opening lines with...

Sing for joy to God our strength;
Shout aloud to the God of Jacob!
Begin the music, strike the tambourine,
Play the melodious harp and lyre.
Sound the ram’s horn....

Throughout Scripture many different people, and at many different times and circumstances, have recommended singing to us as a means of spiritual expression:

• Moses: “I will sing unto the Lord.” (Ex. 15:1)
• Miriam: “[You all] sing to the Lord!” (Ex. 15:21) - it’s a plural imperative
• Deborah: “I will sing to the Lord, I will sing; I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel.” (Judg. 5:3)
• Isaiah: “Sing unto the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy....” (Is. 12:5-6)
• David and other psalmists: (Get out a concordance and look up the dozens of references!)

The New Testament likewise commends singing to express our joy in the Lord:

Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (Col. 3:16; c.f. I Cor. 14:15 and Jas. 5:13)

Psalm 81 serves as a summary of many other references in that it gives us the two results of music in our hearts and a song upon our lips: joy and strength. It’s really like the proverbial chick-and-egg question. Which comes first? The music or the joy and strength? Do joy and strength produce music? Or does music contribute to joy and strength? The answer is, yes! And in this God is glorified.