May 23, 2022
1SAMUEL 11-12:
Yesterday we heard of the way God arranged for
Saul to meet Samuel, and how God revealed amazing details to Samuel
about what would happen to Saul in the short term. Saul became
king. It is such a shame that Saul fulfilled the earlier prophecy
given by Samuel a few chapters back, rather than continuing to be
humble like he was at the start of his reign.
PSALM 96:
EC
Olsen’s chapter on this psalm is entitled, “A Psalm which ought to
give every living person a thrill!!” He’s right. This psalm is like
vitamins for the soul. This is one of the most loved of all
psalms.
ROMANS 4a:
Yesterday Paul arrived at the first explanation
of his main point in 3:23-31. This happens to be a difficult
passage to translate. GNT and NLT do a great job making many
difficult concepts clear. You might particularly compare verses 23
and 26 with a literal translation.
GNT Translation
notes:
Rom.
4:3 The scripture says, “Abraham believed God, and because of his
[belief//faith] God accepted him as righteous.”
5
But those who depend on [believing//faith], not on deeds, and who
believe in the God who declares the guilty to be innocent, it is
this [believing//faith] that God takes into account in order to put
them right with himself.
6
This is what David meant when he spoke of the happiness of [a//the]
person whom God accepts as righteous, apart from anything
[the//that] person does:
9
Does this happiness that David spoke of belong only to those who
are circumcised? No indeed! It belongs also to those who are not
circumcised. For we have quoted the scripture, “Abraham believed
God, and because of his [belief//faith] God accepted him as
righteous.”
11
He was circumcised later, and his circumcision was a sign to show
that because of his [believing//faith] [before he had been
circumcised//0] God had accepted him as righteous [0//before he had
been circumcised]. And so Abraham is the spiritual father of all
who believe in God and are accepted as righteous by him, even
though they are not circumcised.
12
He is also the father of those who are circumcised, that is, of
those who, in addition to being circumcised, also live the same
life of [believing//faith] that our father Abraham lived before he
was circumcised.
14
For if what God promises is to be given to those who obey the Law,
then [our believing//faith] means nothing and God's promise is
worthless.
16 And so the promise was based on
[believing//faith], in order that the promise should be guaranteed
as God's free gift to all of Abraham's descendants—not just to
those who obey the Law, but also to those who believe as Abraham
did. For Abraham is the spiritual father of us all;
[Here is my new attempt at rendering the
meaning of this verse:]
16 So the promise is received by
[believing//faith]. It is given as a free gift. And if we
become Abraham’s spiritual children by
believing like
Abraham did, we are certain to receive it— whether or not we live
by the Law of Moses. For
Abraham is the father of all who
believe.]
17
as the scripture says, “I have made you father of many nations.” So
the promise is [valid//good] in the sight of God, in whom Abraham
believed—the God who brings the dead to life and whose command
brings into being what did not exist.