Leviticus 9; Psalm 10; Proverbs 24; 1 Thessalonians 3
Daily Catechism
QUESTION 65: WHICH DAY OF THE SEVEN HAS GOD APPOINTED TO BE THE
WEEKLY SABBATH?
Answer: From the creation of the world to the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventh day of the week to be the weekly Sabbath; and the first day of the week ever since, to continue to the end of the world, which is the Christian Sabbath.
Scripture: Genesis 2:3; John 20:19; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1, 2; Revelation 1:10.
Leviticus 9
This chapter is huge because the glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle and his fire comes forth and his glory is witnessed by the people of Israel such that they fall to their faces. They have followed the instructions given by God to take offerings and to build this ornate tabernacle and to make these elements and to clothe and anoint the high priest and to make sacrifices to atone for sin and all this was that they might be able to know the Lord by his dwelling in their midst as he said in Exodus 25:8-9. Now this day in Leviticus 9 the Lord has evidenced his dwelling among them. This was like the ribbon cutting of the first capitol building or the christening of the first space vehicle or the signing of the declaration of independence. This was the beginning of a new era of history where God dwells on the earth with man through the means of this tabernacle and the priesthood. This tabernacle and the ark within it at its core will for centuries represent the presence of God for the nation of Israel. Until this point the people of Israel only had a circumcision and a promise from God as the tangible components of their religion. Now they have a law and they have a means of atoning for sin and they have a place of meeting with God. The ark would be finally lost and the temple destroyed in 587 B.C. (about 850 years from this point) and will return again in the New Jerusalem (Rev 11:19). The temple was rebuilt again and then finally destroyed in the year AD 70, but it never again held the Ark of the Covenant after 587 BC.
Psalm 10
In this psalm the writer takes note of the wicked and the way in which they prosper in spite of their boasting and their pride and their hatred and ignoring of God. They deny him and they abuse others and they seek only their gain in this life and yet the Lord allows them to continue in this way. Psalm 10:5 says that he proposers at all times, but there is a truth there unseen to the wicked. There are judgements of the Lord piling up against him that are ‘out of his sight’. Paul warns the wicked of this in Romans 2:5. The observations of the wicked ends with verse 11 and in verse 12 he moves on to plead with the Lord that he would not allow the wicked to oppress and afflict those who are innocent and helpless. He recognizes that he Lord does count iniquity and he knows their ways and their will be a payment. He recognizes that the Lord has always been a help to the needy and the helpless in verse 14 and this transitions him to ask that the Lord again protect them by brining the wicked to account for their sin. In verse 17 the writer shifts attention to the hearts of the afflicted, to the one who would call out to the Lord. He gives praise to God and recognizes that he far outlasts nations and the wicked are but perishing dust before him (Isaiah 40:17). He speaks to the strengthening of the hearts of the afflicted more than the destruction of the wicked next and there seems to be a conclusion that the wicked will not strike terror an longer due to the strengthened hearts of the righteous and a justice that the Lord will do to the fatherless and oppressed. It is unclear if this means a near term justice of judgement upon their enemies or if this is a preserving of the righteous and a judgement held for the Day of the Lord for the wicked…either way the righteous are strengthened and there is no more terror.
Proverbs 24
The theme of this chapter seems to be not envying the evil doer and not being bothered by his success or his apparent gains (Prov 24:1, 19-20). The main reason is that his gains are fleeting and his end is destruction. The contrast is to be busy building a house with wisdom and filling it with furniture of knowledge in order to be full of strength. I can sit around watching what the wicked are up to and I can be fooled by their temporal success and I can be distracted from my own mission and I can be tempted and I can become like the poor sap in Psalm 1 who goes from walking by and seeing what is happening to standing their admiring it to taking up a seat at the table with them. Better than that, of course, would be that I do not take that counsel and that I meditate on the instruction of the Lord day and night and I take my delight in him. I can spend my time watching the glitz and glimmer of the dying world or I can seek to understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God (Prov 2:5). Quite practically here I am motivated to spend my “spare” time seeking knowledge and wisdom and not foolishness and not observing the world. I can rather be busy seeking to pull those fools back from destruction and introduce them to the sweet honey of wisdom found only in the Lord (Prov 24:13-14). In Prov 24:27 Solomon tells me to work outside and be hard at preparation but then focus on building my house. With the following verses I take this to mean that I am to focus on filling it with the furniture of knowledge and not with folly. I can come home from work and seek nothing but mindless entertainment until its time to go into the field again and I can spend my time seeking revenge for the one who may offend me or I can seek knowledge. I can be a sluggard toward the building of my house and it will become a ghost land that is overrun and taken like a city without walls (Prov 25:28). The poverty of my soul will follow if I am not attentive to wisdom and seeking knowledge when I return from the field. I should have output and input rather than output and slumber.
1 Thessalonians 3
Paul reveals here that he had been concerned for their faith and that he sent Timothy to gain a report on the status of the faith of the believers there at Thessolonica and to encourage them and build them up or “exhort them in their faith”. He mentions in verse 5 that the tempter could have come along and brought their previous labor to be vanity. This is telling and suggests what Jesus told of in the parable of the sower when he described three examples of human reactions to the instruction of the Lord and how only one remained to mature while the others died off (see Luke 8:4-15). Here Paul is concerned that perhaps the roots did not take and the initial profession of faith was for not. Let us not ever look back at a prayer or an experience we had as the grounding of our salvation or the assurance of our eternal hope! Let us look back only to the cross and Christ’s work for objective assurance. If we want subjective assurance of our hope we can simply look or “examine ourselves” (2 Cor 13:5; Lam 3:40) and consider if I am currently trusting in Jesus (following him as a disciple) and repenting (confessing and turning from known sin). Pastor J.D. Grear, in his book called Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart, says “Consider if you are in a posture of faith and repentance”. I can consider if the grace of God is indeed doing in me what Paul said the grace of God does in people by reviewing Titus 2:11-14. Paul was hoping to find that they were in a posture of faith and repentance…and he was pleased to hear the news Timothy returned with. What kind of report would Timothy bring of me? Finally Paul’s hope for them mentioned here is that the Lord would make them to abound in love for one another (fellow believers) and for all (the lost). The end goal of this was to be established in holiness before God our Father (1 Thess 3:13). Glorifying God is our aim and we do this both individually with God and also in relationships with others.
Soli Deo Gloria!
