May 21, 2022
1SAMUEL 7-8:
Having won the war with Israel, the Philistines
thought their idol Dagon had given them victory. The ark of God was
put in Dagon's temple. Then God not only proved that He is greater
than Dagon by what happened in the temple, but He also struck the
Philistines in all five of their territories with plagues of death,
tumors, and rats ravaging the land. The Philistine fortune tellers
and priests devised a creative plan to test if these disasters had
happened on their own, or because of God's hand was against them.
In the story it is clear that the Philistine people knew about the
plagues God used against the Egyptians. Once again, God proved that
He is God. For any any agnostic or atheist in the audience, this
seems to me to be the kind of story that no one would have just
made up, especially if you compare this with literature of the same
age.
PSALM 94:
This
is a psalm of trust in the face of injustice. The psalmist asks for
God’s vengeance on arrogant and evil leaders. Those who take
advantage of others are called ‘stupid fools’. There is a parable
that forms an interesting parallel: Luke 12:20, where God says to
the rich man, “You fool, this very night your soul will be required
of you.”
ROMANS 2:25—3:
In
chapter 2 of Romans, Paul warned of a coming judgment of God, where
God will judge everyone's secret life. The trouble is, however,
that we all will be judged guilty of sin. Paul has shown us that it
doesn't matter if you are Jew or non-Jew, circumcised or
uncircumcised, we all need a radical transformation. We need to
become a ‘true Jew’, which is “one whose heart is right with God].”
What each one of us needs is “a change of heart produced by God’s
Spirit.” Paul calls this “circumcision of the heart.”
GNT Translation notes:
Ps. 94:14 [You, O Lord//The
Lord] will not abandon [your/his] people; [You//he] will not desert
those who belong to [You//him].
17
If [You//the Lord] had not helped me, I would have gone quickly to
the land of silence.
22
But [You, O Lord my God, defend me//the Lord defends me]; [and
protect//my God protects] me.
23
[You//He] will punish them for their wickedness and destroy them
for their sins; [You, O//the] Lord our God[,] will destroy
them.
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Rom.
3:4 Certainly not! God must be true, even though all human beings
are liars. As the scripture says [when David was speaking to God],
“You must be shown to be right when you speak; you must win your
case when you are being tried.”
8
[But] Why not say, then, “Let us do evil so that good may come”?
Some people, indeed, have insulted me by accusing me of saying this
very thing! They will be condemned, as they should be.