April 26

Numbers 3; Psalm 37; Song of Solomon 1; Hebrews 1

Daily Catechism

QUESTION 81: WHAT IS FORBIDDEN IN THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT?
Answer: The eighth commandment forbids whatever would unjustly withhold or diminish a person’s possessions or attainments.
Scripture: Malachi 3:8; Ephesians 4:28; Romans 13:7.

Numbers 3

In this chapter the Levites are substituted for the firstborn of all the tribes of Israel.  The firstborn are redeemed by the Levites.  The LORD had determined back at Sinai at the golden calf incident that he would replace the first-born of all Israel with the Levites and they were consecrated into the service of the LORD by putting the idol worshipers to death at the command of Moses.  So now it is the Levites that devote their lives to service of the LORD in the protection of, care of, working of the tabernacle.  They will not go to battle and they will not be called upon for other duties that to keep others away from the tabernacle and to care properly for it during moves or during encampment.  There was nearly an identical number of Levites to replace the firstborn of Israel and a redemption price was paid for the gap.  Within the Levites there are various clans with various specific jobs since the entire tabernacle must be packed up and moved as the nation travels.  They were to camp surrounding the tabernacle and Moses and Aaron and their sons camped to the east at the opening of the tabernacle.

Psalm 37

A key verse of the Bible in whole is found here in this psalm.  Ps 37:4 tells me to delight myself in the LORD and he will grant me the desires of my heart.  God wants me to enjoy him and he plans to be a river of delight to me as I set my mind upon him and as I spend my lifetime learning of him and connecting with him in his Word and in prayer and in fellowship and in giving and in all the “means of grace”, which are the means by which we are empowered to experience God.  I am to commit my way to him and he promises to bring forth my righteousness as the light.  This sounds similar to Isaiah 58:8 where the Lord explains the type of spirituality he prefers from us and how it is this type of spirituality that he will honor and that will result in his bringing forth our growth and maturing and our sanctification.  The picture there is not an isolated spirituality but one that pours out for the good of others.  Back to Psalm 37 David tells me to be still before the LORD and to wait upon him and to not be all bothered by the apparent prosperity of the wicked (Ps 37:7).  Soon enough the wicked will be gone and only the righteous will be preserved.  Recall that the righteous are those who trust in the Lord and bear the righteousness of God, by faith, and not the ones who wash the outside of their dishes.  There is encouragement here to remain blameless even when the wicked seem to be doing just fine in their sinful state…our eyes are to be upon the unseen and not the seen.  We are to take God at his Word.  David contrasts the generosity vs the selfishness of the righteous and the wicked.  Psalm 37:23 is key in that it captures the attitude and the blessing that accompanies trusting in the sovereignty of God.  When we trust his omnipotent goodness to be at work for us we can delight in the way of the Lord regardless of the temporary outcomes (like being thrown into an oven).  When we take our delight in the way of the Lord, he establishes our steps and we know that we are ending up in the place he would have us (even if its in an oven).  We may stumble but like Peter, we can trust that Jesus is praying for us (Rom 8:34) and that our faith will ultimately not fail (Luke 22:31-32).  Verse 31 tells me that when I keep the law of the Lord on my heart I will not slip.  I can kill presumptuous sin in my life by being in the Word daily and by memorizing the Word and by delighting in the Word of God.  Though the enemy will surely call me to trial and place blame on me whenever I fail, I know that there is no condemnation for me and that I will be upheld because I bear the righteousness of God and not my own (Phil 3:9; Rom 8:1; Zech 3:1-5).  Let us take refuge in God alone!

Hebrews 1

Paul (possibly the author) lays out in the first couple verses that Jesus was directly involved with creation of the world and that he currently and continually sustains the existence of all his creation by the word of his power.  He tells us that God speaks to us now through Jesus rather than through prophets.  This was communicated well in the transfiguration (Matt 17:1-5) where Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus (representing the law and the prophets) and God spoke, telling the disciples to listen to his beloved Son…and then the others vanished and only Jesus remained there with the disciples. Back to Hebrews- the writer tells us that Jesus is the heir of all things.  The radiance of the glory of God pictures to me what we as children of God are to be.  We are to radiate his glory unlike Moses who reflected his glory until his face would fade (Ex 34:33-35; 2 Cor 3:13).  Jesus is an exact imprint of the nature of God…imprint suggesting that it is on something (someone) other than the Father…the Son is a separate person (the trinity).  The Son exists from all eternity as a subsistent manifestation of the Father’s knowledge of himself (technical way to describe what the Bible means by the Son being begotten, whereby the Father from all eternity knows himself and his perfections so well that the Son necessarily manifests as a separate person whom the Father loves and enjoys as a representation of himself).  Imagine being so infinitely powerful that as you contemplate your own perfections (using imagination!) and enjoy yourself that this contemplation burst into a separate person before you…not created by you, just mutually existent as a part of you but separate enough for your to have community with!  Now picture in that same eternal moment that the love and joy that the Father and Son share for one another necessarily proceeds to manifest as the person of the Holy Spirit (not begotten by the Father but proceeding from the relationship between the Father and Son).  Different, but not unlike the “spirit” among members of an organization where they share the same values and have a common mission (think of esprit de corps). Here is a picture of the trinity, the Godhead, that is one being (or substance) yet three persons.  The Son then receives a physical body at Christmas and his flesh is very much not God, but human.  Interesting that right after mentioning how he upholds the universe the author goes to the cross.  He goes right to the greatest pain and suffering of our Lord and says that after he made purification for sins he sits and the right hand of the Father.  Interesting that he has such control and has such a distinct plan and this cross and this people who jeered at him were themselves upheld by the word of his power that they were challenging. 

Soli Deo Gloria!