02 12. BIBLICAL EPIC for Week of March 19 PSALM (#2) OT-History OT-PROPHETS NT-CHURCH Psa 49:13-20 Num 5-6 Isa 25-26 Acts 14-15
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02 12. BIBLICAL EPIC for Week of March 19 PSALM (#2) OT-History OT-PROPHETS NT-CHURCH Psa 49:13-20 Num 5-6 Isa 25-26 Acts 14-15 rown Ps 49:13-20: But God will ransom my soul from Sheol. Man in his pomp is like the beasts that perish. • 49:13-20. For We Go to God, not Sheol. In answering the problem of why the righteous suffer and the unrighteous prosper, the psalmist contrasts the eternal destinations of each. The unfaithful are like sheep who have Death as their shepherd, while God (the Shepherd of the righteous) will ransom the faithful person’s soul from the power of Sheol (vv. 14-15). Since the impious go to Sheol, and the pious do not, here it represents the grim place of destruction for the wicked, and not simply the grave. A genuine grasp of this will enable a person to resist being afraid when a man becomes rich (v. 16)—the fear that might lead the faithful to despair of God’s justice and goodness, or to give up piety in order to join the wicked and to get praise when they do well for themselves (v. 18). Regarding the futility of wealth and the certainty of death, the psalm recalls themes from the book of Ecclesiastes. aw Num 5: Anyone who sins shall make restitution and add a fifth. If a man suspects his wife of unfaithfulness he shall take her to the priest. Because a holy God was dwelling among the Israelites, and to prepare for their march to the Promised Land, their camp required ceremonial purity. Therefore, Numbers 5 and 6 deal with the handling of various actual or potential issues of uncleanness. To be unclean was to be unfit for the presence of God, such that a person would have to be removed from the camp out into the wilderness. Otherwise, God would have to abandon His people (to keep from destroying them). As the church is called to be holy, sometimes her members must be disciplined as a reminder that “nothing unclean will ever enter” the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:27). We enter the New Jerusalem not having purified ourselves by our efforts but having been washed in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 1:5), so that our names are written in His book of life (Rev 21:27). • 5:1-4. Unclean People. The unclean are excluded from the tribal encampments of Num 2 (temporarily lest they defile the tabernacle) and must live in places such as caves or wilderness tents, separate from the people. • 5:5-10. Confession and Restitution. These verses extend the scope of Lev. 6:1-7 regarding restitution of stolen property, except in this case there is none of the victim’s family to receive the restored goods. In such a case, it is to go to the priest along with the sacrificial ram. The New Testament affirms that reconciliation with one’s fellow man is required of those who would be at peace with God (Matt. 5:23-26; 6:14-15). • 5:11-31. A Test for Adultery. This ritual is an acted-out prayer (not primitive magic) that God would show whether a man’s suspicions about his wife’s fidelity were justified. Adultery, like other sexual sins, causes grievous uncleanness, and so must be eliminated from Israel. The test is designed to distinguish between actual-but-unwitnessed adultery (vv. 12-14a) and unwarranted suspicion (v. 14b). The actions all underline the seriousness of the sin of adultery. When an adulterous man and woman were caught in the act, they faced the death penalty in Israel (Deut. 22:22). On this occasion the husband is merely suspicious. To confirm or dispel his suspicions the woman must offer a sacrifice (vv. 15-16), drink water containing dust from the floor of the tabernacle (i.e., dust from the presence of God; v. 17), and accept a curse against herself that her womb swell and her thigh fall away (vv. 19-22) if she is guilty. It is not clear exactly what this threat means (perhaps miscarriage), but ultimately, the guilty wife is threatened with childlessness, whereas the innocent is assured she shall be free and shall conceive children (v. 28; cf. Gen. 20:17-18). Num 6: Anyone who makes a Nazirite vow shall not drink wine or cut their hair. Aaron's blessing shall be: "The LORD bless you and keep you." • 6:1-21. The Nazirite Vow. Nazirites were the most dedicated laypeople in the OT, being both dedicated to the LORD and from things that defiled them. Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist were lifelong Nazirites, but usually a person took a vow to become a Nazirite for only a specific period of time. A Nazirite had to avoid cutting his or her hair, not eat any product made from grapes, and avoid contact with any dead body. Since death was a source of severe uncleanness, it had to be remedied by offering three sacrifices and by starting the period of the Nazirite vow all over again. Instructions are then given for when the period to which a Nazirite had dedicated himself was over. • 6:22-27. The Aaronic Blessing. Placed here (at the conclusion of the first section in Numbers), this famous blessing shows that God’s will is to bless every Israelite, not just the Nazirites. The ritual state of cleanness, along with the sacrificial system, has as its goal to bring the people near to God, the fountain of abundant life and profound peace. That the Creator dwells among them thus makes Israel’s lot, even in the wilderness, enviable among the nations (Num 24:5). God’s desire to bless His people, despite their sinfulness, is one of the major themes of Numbers. But God’s blessing is mediated by the priests, the mediators between God and the people. Blessing was invoking the power of God on behalf of the people of God, here expressed in a three-fold petition. For God to “keep” you is to guard and protect from harm. For God’s face to shine upon you is to have His special favor. The metaphor portraying God’s face as light shining on His people occurs in numerous biblical texts (Psa 44:3; 80:3). For Him to lift up His countenance upon you is to pay attention to your needs and meet them. To have God’s peace is not simply the absence of evil, but the presence of good, and ultimately, fellowship with God. To have God’s name upon you is to be identified as belonging to the LORD. As the recipient of God’s blessing, Israel was to bless the nations (Gen 12:3) as His instrument, serving as a light to the entire world and pointing the nations to the one true God. The ultimate expression of God’s desire to bless us is found in the giving of His Son to bear the curse of God’s wrath upon our sin (Gal 3:13-14). In reconciling us with God and bringing us near to Him, Jesus Himself is our peace (Eph 2:14-22). By sharing the Gospel, we then become a blessing to others, for like Israel, we were blessed to be a blessing. ccusation Isaiah 25: O LORD, I will praise you. You have done marvelous things. The LORD will swallow up death forever. Moab will be trampled as straw. • 25:1-12. God Will Swallow Up Death Forever. In this song, the redeemed celebrate their liberation by God, the scope of which is worldwide, but it is also personal. It begins with praise for the “wonderful things” (v. 1) God has done, not as a last-minute repair effort, but as the culmination of His eternal plan. This refers especially to the remarkable acts of God that bear the marks of His supernatural intervention in the natural world and human events. o Human tyranny is overthrown by God (vv. 2-5). The destruction of human tyranny clears the way for the vindication of God such that the poor and needy find refuge in Him. The “song of the ruthless” is silenced, as the nations who were formerly united against God come to fear Him properly. o Human sorrow is relieved by God (vv. 6-8). Isaiah describes God’s great Messianic banquet at the end of time (Matt 8:11; Luke 14:15). It is remarkable for at least two reasons: (1) It promises salvation for “all people,” not just Israel, as evidenced by the fivefold use of “all.” The inclusiveness of “all peoples” is matched by the particularity of “this mountain.” There is salvation only in Jesus, the only name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). (2) It promises that God will swallow up the pall of death hanging over all human activity under the curse (cf. Gen 3:17-19; Rev 22:1-3) and give back life. This is a promise that at some future time God’s people will no longer be subject to death but will live forever. Only in Jesus’ substitutionary death and life-giving resurrection do we see Christ as decisively victorious over the power of sin and death (1 Cor. 15:54; cf. Heb. 9:8-24), and through union with Him by God-given faith, all can share in His triumph. o Human pride is humbled by God (vv. 9-12). Lest some misunderstand, Isaiah notes that the “all” in the previous verses is not everyone indiscriminately.