03 23. BIBLICAL EPIC for Week of June 10 PSALM (#3) OT-History OT- NT-PAUL Psa 88:1-9 1 Sam 17-18 Ezek 41-42 Eph 5

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Psalm 88:1-9: O LORD, day and night I cry out to you. You have put me in the darkest depths. I am shut in. • 88:1-9. I Cry Out Day and Night Before You. This psalm is an individual lament and is the darkest psalm in the Psalter. Most laments let in a ray of sunshine, usually closing on a confident note; Psalm 88 is distinct from all the rest in that there is no explicit statement of confidence. Its presence in the Psalter shows that a believer can feel depressed and even have nothing good to say to God at the moment. It thus exemplifies a believer’s proper response in the depths of despair, when sometimes all one can do is pour out one’s heart to God and simply wait. The psalmist opens with an anguished cry of distress (vv. 1-2) and then recites his troubles, permeated with images of death (vv. 3-9). This section focuses more on the feelings than on the external circumstances. These despairing feelings, however, do not necessarily correspond to reality. Indeed, anyone genuinely singing this to the LORD, however miserable he may feel, can be assured that he is still expressing true faith. And yet these despairing feelings produce genuine pain, whether or not they correspond to reality. There is implicit faith present, however, for not only is the appeal being made to God “day and night” (v. 1), but the troubles themselves are in God’s hands (vv. 6-7). rown

1 Samuel 17: A Philistine champion named Goliath challenged the Israelites. killed Goliath with a sling and a stone. The Philistines fled. • 17:1-58. David and Goliath. This chapter contains perhaps the most widely known story in all the . Often it is relegated to simply a children’s story, but this story has far-reaching implications as we consider the story of God’s Kingdom. David is much more than an unlikely hero who happens to overcome a bully in his life. David is pointing us to what God’s anointed King will do to usher in God’s Kingdom. The setting for the story is that two armies are faced off against one another in a stalemate. The Philistines are camped out on the top of one hill, and the Israelites are camped out on an adjacent hill, and there is a valley between them. The scene is a perfect place for “representative fighting,” in which each army would pick a champion to fight on their behalf. Each army would win or lose depending on the success or failure of their champion. Of course, the Philistine champion is a man named Goliath, who stands nine feet, nine inches tall, and ever bit a most formidable foe. Everyone in , including the king, is full of fear. Saul shows himself again to be a failure as God’s king in his refusal to face down Goliath. This is not what God’s anointed king looks like. But then young David arrives on the scene, on a seemingly innocent errand to bring bread and cheese to his brothers. When he hears the insults that Goliath is hurling at the people of God, he is incensed. He can’t imagine why this pagan bully is getting away with insulting the God of Israel. So David goes to Saul and convinces him to let him face down Goliath. Without any other volunteers, Saul sends David out to face Goliath. Because David was still a youth, he couldn’t wear the soldier’s armor that Saul tried to dress him in, and so David walks out to the giant without armor or a sword, armed only with a staff, a slingshot and five stones. With his first stone, David slays the mighty giant. Often when we read this story, our big take away is that just as David overcame the “giant” in his life, we can overcome the “giants” in our life too with God on our side. Now, at one level, that is gloriously true. But this story is showing us something even more gloriously true. The character we should most identify with in this story is not David. We are much more like the army of Israel, sitting on the sidelines, quaking in their boots before an enemy much greater than we are. And like Israel, we need a champion who will fight for us. And this is exactly what God has provided for us. Just as He raised up a king for Israel in David to slay the giant, God has raised up a King for us to slay an even greater enemy – Satan, sin and death. Against such enemies, we are powerless. But Jesus gained the victory. And like David, Jesus faced off this enemy in seeming weakness and humility. But because He entrusted Himself into the hands of God, He won a decisive victory over our enemies. And because He has won the victory, we get to share in that victory. Like the army of Israel, the triumph of our champion is a triumph for us. His victory over the enemy is our victory over the enemy. Notice that the army of Israel continues the fighting, chasing down an enemy on the run. But they are assured of victory because the decisive blow has already been made. In the same way, we still fight the enemy. We are still in a war against sin. But the decisive blow has already been made at the cross. We do not fight for victory, we fight from victory. Jesus has won the victory. This is the glorious news of what the story of David and Goliath is pointing us to. 1 Samuel 18: Jonathan loved David. Saul set David over the army but became jealous and tried to kill him. David married Saul's daughter Michal. • 18:1-9. David’s Success. At first everyone loves David. Saul takes him into his service; all of Saul’s officials (his potential rivals) love him; even members of Saul’s own family love him. Jonathan, who had relied on the Lord in his own victory at Michmash, has an especially close relationship with David, despite realizing at some point that David will supplant him as king. But as David’s success increases, Saul’s jealousy also increases. • 18:10-19. Saul Attempts to Kill David. Saul’s suspicion results in attempted murder. A “harmful spirit from God” rushes upon Saul so that he acts with abnormal behavior. As David tries to soothe Saul, the king tries to pin David to the wall with his spear. But the LORD is with David and protects him. David’s great military success breeds two responses: Saul “was afraid of him” (v. 15), but “all Israel and Judah loved David” (v. 16). Saul begins to plot David’s demise. He encourages David to fight for Israel, but he hopes to place him in great peril leading to death. • 18:20-30. David’s Marriage to Michal. After failing to give his oldest daughter to David for a wife, Saul offers his youngest. Saul appears magnanimous as he offers David a way to secure Michal as his bride through a heroic deed, but it is a trap. Saul hopes that David will die in his attempt to acquire 100 Philistine foreskins. But David and his men secured twice the payment required –further evidence of the LORD’s presence with David. As David’s stock ascends, Saul’s fear rises to an unprecedented level. From here on, Saul views David as “his enemy” (v. 29).

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Ezekiel 41: He measured the nave and the inner room. The side chambers were in three stories. In front of the Holy Place was an altar of wood. • 41:1-26. The Inner Temple. The temple structure is now described in detail, including both floor plan and elevations. The nave (v. 1) is the main hall of the temple (and is the same size as in ’s temple). is guided into its interior but does not follow his celestial guide into the Most Holy Place (v. 4). Access remains carefully guarded and restricted. Verses 5-11 describe the three-story structure built into the temple’s walls. A building is located to the extreme west of the temple complex (v. 12), but no purpose is identified for it. The previous measurements are summarized in vv. 13-15a, while visual descriptions of the temple’s decorations and layout are described in vv. 15b- 26. The cherubim, carved on the walls in relief (vv. 18–20), are reminiscent of the cherubim woven into the fabric walls of the tabernacle (Exod 26:1, 31). The cherubim and palm trees are combined in the decoration of Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 6:29, 32). Both images also evoke memories of God’s original dwelling place in the Garden of Eden. : He led me to the outer court. The north and south chambers are where the priests eat the offerings. He measured all the temple area. • 42:1-20. The Temple’s Chambers. Ezekiel is now led back to the outer court where various chambers of the temple area are identified. The functions of these rooms are for the use of the priests to prepare for the exercise of their duties (vv. 13-14). Finally, Ezekiel and his guide return to the place where they began, the main east gate to the temple complex (v. 15; cf. 40:5-6). Starting there, and proceeding counterclockwise, the external dimensions are measured as 500 cubits by 500 cubits square (~ 875 feet), far larger than any previous temple (see diagram). In the tabernacle, only the most holy place was square. The numbers of the internal dimensions, with fifties and hundreds featuring prominently, yield these ideal and perfect dimensions. Overall, the temple itself appears to be geometrically idealized. It is a square structure, its areas nested, with the most sacred place being both the innermost and the uppermost, as each succeeding area is elevated from the preceding. It seems also to be symmetrical around the east-west axis, with the main entrance facing east. The sacredness of the entire domain is emphasized by the closing comment, that the wall separates the holy and the common. nterpretation

Ephesians 5: Walk in love as Christ loved us. Walk as children of light. Expose the darkness. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. • 5:1-20. Walk in Love. The first two verses of chapter 5 concerning walking in love both summarize 4:25-32 and also introduces his further instructions on holy living (vv. 3-20). Paul exhorts believers to imitate God’s holiness in all of their conduct. They are to be like Him, not as slaves trying to earn a wage but as children—and beloved children at that! The supreme evidence of such love is that Christ “gave Himself up for us.” Thus one specific way we imitate God is to walk in the way of love. Paul’s instructions on holy living center on wisdom in speech, sexual purity, associations, and other similar aspects of a thankful life. “Sexual immorality” (v. 3) covers all sexual sins, including adultery, fornication, homosexuality, etc. Covetousness is a jealous longing for what others possess, and it amounts to idolatry (v. 5). Christians must be careful to guard their integrity and public reputation because public sins dishonor God, who has chosen them to be holy. Thanksgiving, in contrast to crude joking and foolish talk, is the positive way to speak, and it also counteracts covetousness. The way to avoid coveting others’ possessions is to concentrate with thanks upon the good things the Lord has given. A common deception throughout church history has been the notion that professing Christians can lead unrepentant, sinful lives after conversion to Christ. This simply is not so. Believers must reject the sinful lifestyle of vv. 3-5 because they have undergone a fundamental identity change from “darkness” to “light” when they came to the one who is light (v. 8). Thus, they manifest the “fruit of light” (v. 9). The Bible gives general principles for life, but followers of Christ must use wisdom to “discern” how to apply those principles to the concrete issues of their lives. Christians should show by their lives and their wise interactions that the “works of darkness” are not to be ignored among God’s holy people. Christians must actively take advantage of the opportunity to do good. Wisdom is especially needed in an evil age where the pathway of holiness is not always immediately clear until one reflects upon God’s Word and discerns His holy will (v. 17). In v. 18. Paul contrasts the danger of being filled with “wine,” which can control the mind and ruin one’s judgment and sense of propriety, leading to debauchery, with the benefits of being “filled with the Spirit,” which leads to self-control along with the other fruits of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [and] gentleness” (Gal 5:22-23). Being filled with the Spirit also results in joyful praise through singing and making melody. • 5:21-33. Husbands and Wives. The call to submit to one another in v. 21 is transitional, connecting with the previous section and leading to what follows. Submission is illustrated in various family relations in 5:22-33 (wives/husbands), 6:1-4 (children/parents), and 6:5-9 (servants/masters). Submission is part of what it means to walk in wisdom. It means to submit to others according to the authority and order established by God, as reflected in the subsequent examples. Submission to another human being is conditioned on the submission that one ultimately owes to God. Paul’s first example is the right ordering of the marriage relationship. The submission of wives is not like the obedience children owe parents, nor does this text command all women to submit to all men (but “to your own husbands”). Both genders are equally created in God’s image (Gen 1:26–28) and heirs together of eternal life (Gal 3:28-29). Submission does not imply inferiority, but a difference in role since Christ functionally submits to the Father. A wife’s submission is in deference to the ultimate leadership of the husband for the health and harmonious working of the marriage relationship. But ultimately, the wife submits because the husband-wife relationship mirrors the Christ-church relationship. In these verses, Paul presents an ideal picture of Christian marriage: just as the church submits to Christ for her benefit, so the wife submits to her husband, presupposing a relationship in which the husband loves her and has her best interests in view. Each party serves the other unselfishly. Submission is something the wife voluntarily offers, not something the husband demands. The demand on the husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church, which is nothing less than lovingly sacrificing his own interests for her good. Clearly the biblical picture of a husband laying down his life for his wife is directly opposed to any kind of male tyranny or oppression. The husband is bound by love to ensure that his wife finds their marriage a source of rich fulfillment and joyful service to the Lord. Notably, Paul devotes three times more space to the husband’s duty (9 verses) than to the wife’s (3 verses). The imagery of the church as the bride of Christ draws upon the OT imagery of Israel as the bride of Yahweh (Isa 54:5; 62:5; Jer 31:32). Paul goes further in v. 31 by quoting Gen 2:24 to show that Christ and the church are one body. The union of man (Adam in Gen 2) and wife in marriage prefigures and points to the reality of the union between Christ, the last Adam, and His bride, the church. This is a “profound mystery” because no one could have understood Gen 2:24 this way apart from God’s revelation. The union of Christ and the church finds its ultimate consummation in the wedding of the Lamb and the new (Rev 19:7-8; 21:2, 9).

Reference Explanation

A 41:4 The “Most Holy Place.”

B 41:3 The inner room of the temple.

C 41:2 The entrance to the temple.

D 43:13–17 The imposing altar (~16 ft tall)

E 40:46 Chamber for Zadokite priests. Chamber for “priests who have F 40:45 charge of the temple.” The outer court, with its 30

G 40:17–19 chambers in the outer wall (40:17). The temple “kitchens,” one in H 46:21–24 each corner of the outer court.

I 40:17 The 30 outer chambers. The “prince’s gate”: from its threshold he worships on each

J 46:2 Sabbath while the priests bring the offerings into the inner court. The main east gate, through which “the glory of the God of K 43:1 Israel” returns to His temple (cf. 10:19; 11:22–23).

Temple Tour Reference Explanation The eastern (main) gate begins the tour; the E–W axis of the temple should be noted; if a line is drawn from

1 40:6 the east gate to the Most Holy Place, there is a sequence of three elevations, as the space in the inner temple becomes increasingly constricted.

2 40:17 From this vantage point in the outer court, Ezekiel is shown the main features of this “plaza” area.

3 40:20 The northern-facing gate. En route to the southern-facing gate, no details are given of the outer facade of the inner court; the 4 40:24 architectural details of this area must remain speculative.

5 40:28 Ezekiel’s entry to the inner court is by way of its south gate …

6 40:32 … then to the east gate (past the imposing altar, not yet described) …

7 40:35 … and on to the north gate, which includes areas for handling sacrificial animals. Ezekiel approaches the inner temple structure itself, first describing its entrance; he is then stationed outside 8 40:48; 41:1 the entrance while his guide first measures its interior, then the exterior.

9 42:1 They exit the inner court through its north gate to explore the northwestern quadrant of the outer court. Ezekiel and his guide leave the temple from the east gate by which they first entered. From this vantage point, 10 42:15 Ezekiel was able to watch the return of “the glory of the God of Israel” moments later (43:1-5).

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