In the ancient past, being called a fool held a lot of negative weight and it wasn’t something that was taken lightly. Today we may jokingly use the term, but not back then. It was both an insult and the description of someone you certainly didn’t want to identify with. So what would qualify someone as a real fool? Biblically, this is the one who lacks spiritual wisdom and tends to have an embarrassing lack of common sense.
There’s a healthy emphasis placed on the fool throughout the Psalms and Proverbs and as you’d expect his time in the spotlight is far from flattering. He’s often used as a sharp contrast to a wise and intelligent person. Some of these passages concerning the fool may sting in a personal kind of way as they reflect our own occasional actions or inclinations.
Perhaps the most impactful bit of wisdom taught to us by the fool is that our words don’t always reflect our beliefs, but our repetitive actions do. Psalm 14 begins by stating, “the fool has said in his heart ‘there is no God.’” Not all fools are atheists, but all atheists are fools even though the bulk of society doesn’t seem to agree. Today, atheistic minds that fill the roles of teachers, scientists, and authors are held in high regard. To some they are declared the brains of society or dubbed the pioneers of the future.
Evolutionary doctrine may dominate classrooms and laboratories, but God calls them foolish. He doesn’t see them as “progressive” or “admirable” and that’s because they’ve missed something (or Someone) obviously crucial. To deny the existence of a God you’re surrounded by, alive because of, and will ultimately be judged by— is to lack sense.
You might notice over your heading of Psalm 107 that it begins “Book Five.” You also do not see David’s name over this psalm. There may be clues pointing to this being one of the later psalms, even after Babylonian Captivity (1-3). Many believe this was a song sung by Jewish pilgrims who sang it on their way to Jerusalem for one of the major feast days. It is full of parallelism, where the writer says the same thing two similar ways (nearly every verse contains this, except 3,12,26,34,37, and 40).
But as we pay attention to its structure, it looks like it contains four main “strophes” (poetic stanzas). Each strophe ends with the same chorus or refrain: “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men” (8,15,21,31). It covers the full range of human distress and problems and God’s gracious response. We struggle, God delivers, and for that we should always be thankful! Truly, God is so good!
GOD IS GOOD WHEN WE WANDER (4-9)
Historically, we would think of the wilderness wandering or even being scattered by captivity. But this seems bigger than just one occasion. Whether we wander by sin, wander because of struggles and distresses, God is still so good to be our beacon and compass. He will help us find our way home, which should fill our hearts with gratitude. He can lead us back from any and every direction we have gone.
GOD IS GOOD WHEN WE ARE OPPRESSED (10-16)
Sometimes our struggle is not of our own making and choosing. Sometimes, though, it is the result of our rebellion. Either way, when we face darkness and death, chains and misery, He brings us out and breaks us free. No one has to stay in spiritual prison. God offers freedom. That should draw our gratitude, He’s so good!
GOD IS GOOD WHEN WE ARE HURTING (17-22)
He writes of afflictions and distresses, again some of which are self-inflicted and others which are brought upon us. It doesn’t matter which way it happens, God can heal our wounds. His word is medicine and He is the Great Physician. There is salvation and deliverance.
GOD IS GOOD WHEN WE ARE IN DANGER (23-32)
Perhaps one of the most graphic illustrations of danger is of being storm-tossed at sea. Stormy winds and waves threaten to capsize us and expose us to the deep. We may at times feel like we’re hanging on by a thread, in desperation.
This psalm makes me think of the hymn, “Does Jesus Care?” The writer brings up four different scenarios where we hurt or struggle, and we are reminded of how much He cares! There’s a good chance you are struggling right now or you have just been through struggle or are about to go through it. Please remember the goodness of God and His ability to help you through it. But He hushes the winds and stills the storms. God is so good!
The writer closes by speaking of all the ways God turns chaos into calm (33-43). He may not have mentioned your specific trial in this psalm, but he covered it. Remember, no matter what you face, He will bless you and help you through it all! No doubt, it will make you sing, “God is so good!”
God’s people are going to be lifting up many prayers for the USA this year. In order for those prayers to be as potent as possible, here’s four biblical principles that will give them more power.
Evaluate your spiritual life. The prayers of righteous men and women make the most impact (James 5:16).
God can’t be seen as just one option. Think of the rascally child who, after receiving a “no” from his father, approaches his mother in secret seeking a “yes.” That child should receive a stern chat— perhaps a spanking? When we approach God, we must do so with His will above our wants. Sometimes the two line up! If they don’t, accept the answer and press on.
Saturate your petitions with praise and thankfulness. Even when odd viruses seem to mysteriously appear or the “wrong” man takes the office— God deserves your praise with a thankful heart. After all, He reigns with perfection and justice on His throne (Psalm 97:1). God has given us the cure to a horrible sickness that not even all the scientists in the world could cure (Ephesians 2:8). Nothing that happens today or any day will ever change those things. We’ve only just scratched the surface here, too. God deserves every bit of your praise and thankfulness, no matter what.
Don’t miss the big picture when you pray. Our minds have a way of fooling us into thinking that current events are the big picture. That’s just not true. What’s more important? The growth and faith of every member in His church. For an encouraging study, look at all the congregations in biblical history that were built up numerically and spiritually— despite who was leading the country at the time. What’s most important is not this country or nation, it’s His kingdom and that kingdom to come.
Are you righteous? Please pray for this world and pray for His church. If there’s something keeping you from the righteousness of God, that’s far more urgent than anything else and that’s what deserves your full attention.
Let’s be a happy and hopeful people— let’s be those who practice righteousness.
David penned roughly half of the psalms. His name appears above 73 of the psalms and the New Testament attributes him as the author of two more (Psalm 2 and 95). He may also have been the author of several more of the 50 anonymous or unattributed psalms. But we also find poetic work from David outside the psalms. There is 1 Chronicles 16:8-36, given by David to the sons of Asaph as a song of thanksgiving and worship (some of which appears also in Psalm 105:1-15). Then, there is 2 Samuel 22:1-51, which reflects much of the content of Psalm 18:2-50.
The occasion of this psalm is explicitly stated. It is a song to the Lord, acknowledging His delivering David from Saul and his other enemies. David was a man of war, and he was challenged and disrespected by so many over time during his 40 year reign. We might call him embattled, continually weighed down by difficulties with others. While he had some extreme spiritual low points and multiple lapses in judgment, his overall character was of a man who trusted in God to deliver him and who tried to faithfully follow Him.
In 2 Samuel 22, David centers his thoughts on who God is. Notice what about God he focuses on.
GOD IS OUR RESCUER (1-20,44-49).
GOD IS OUR REWARDER (21-22,24-27).
GOD IS OUR RULER (23).
GOD IS OUR REDEEMER (28).
GOD IS OUR ROCK (32,47).
GOD IS OUR REFUGE (29-31,33-34).
GOD IS OUR REINFORCER (35-43).
GOD IS OUR REASON (50-51).
Read through this beautiful psalm and see the gratitude and praise David pours out toward God. He had been in many valleys and through some uncertain and frightening times, but he refused to blame God and was unwilling to believe he had been abandoned by God. Perhaps we have no better example of how to respond to personal adversity and unfair treatment than David. Instead of turning bitter and losing faith, David doubled down on what he knew about God! He put his trust in Him and counted on Him to carry him through. He was confident in God’s ability to prove Himself the victor against any and every foe. Whatever you are going through right now, please focus on who God is–your rescuer (2 Tim. 4:18), your rewarder (Heb. 11:6), your ruler (Rev. 1:5), your redeemer (Ti. 2:14), your rock (1 Cor. 10:4), your refuge (Heb. 6:18), your reinforcer (Eph. 6:10), and your reason (John 20:30-31)!
I’m not much of a runner. And when I say not much I mean I’m not a runner at all, period. Reason being my endurance is awful. I once tried to go on a run to the kitchen and had to drop out at the living room. But very much unlike me, Serge Girard, a French ultra runner, has run 14,031 miles in just under a year! To break that down, that’s 1,169 miles run in a month or 39 miles a day! This ultra runner has incredible endurance, and we could even say it’s almost superhuman. Serge Girard has amazing endurance, but it is nothing at all compared to the endurance of God.
Psalm 111 is a beautiful description of how God “endures forever.” A quick glimpse at this psalm and we learn that the Lord endures for all eternity. He endures through His righteousness (vs. 3). The Psalmist begins by setting the stage by using the Hebrew word for “Hallelujah.” Then says “I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart.” When he says “with all my heart,” this seems to imply that he is coming to God with every intention of giving his all to the LORD.
The psalmist gave thanks with all his heart for a reason. Verse 2 says, “Great are the works of the LORD; they are studied by all who delight in them.” If we as Christians truly delight in the Lord then we should be studying the works of the Lord! When we study His works we learn about the great God we serve. Verse 3 shows us the Lord’s endurance. “Splendid and majestic is His work, and His righteousness ENDURES forever.”
As One who is unerringly faithful to His covenant with Israel, God constantly executes justice on behalf of His people. In the bringing of Israel out of Egypt, His works declare His righteousness. This impeccable characteristic of His nature does not nor will it ever change. What a great comfort to know that God will always be there for us, even in our darkest times! We will only learn about our God if we take the time to study and grow in the knowledge of His Word. Knowing that the God who delivered Israel from slavery listens to us when we pray is truly life changing.
He is always there for us. Because the Lord endures forever!
The last week of Jesus’ life on earth was an eventful one. He arrived in Jerusalem to thronging crowds shouting, “Hosanna!” And, His enemies peppered Him with questions. They questioned His authority. They asked Him a Catch-22 question, which was admittedly impressive since it would be almost 2000 years before Catch-22 was written. They even asked Him a gotcha questioned designed to make the resurrection look ridiculous. But after He had answered all of their questions, He had one for them. Matthew’s account of this is in chapter 22, verses 41 and following:
“While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, ‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?’
They said to Him, ‘The Son of David.’”
Now, at this point, especially in my younger years, I could see myself nodding along in agreement with the Pharisees. Yes, the Christ is the Son of David. That’s in prophecy, isn’t it? Wasn’t important enough that Matthew opened his gospel account with a genealogy of Jesus going back to David and Abraham? Didn’t Luke also trace Jesus’ genealogy through David back to Adam? But this is what Jesus said:
“He said to them, ‘How then does David in the Spirit call Him “Lord,” saying: “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand Till I make Your enemies Your footstool’”? If David then calls Him “Lord,” how is He his Son?’ And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.”
Jesus pointed out something very important, which the Pharisees were missing: the Messiah was more than David’s son, He was David’s Lord. The Pharisees missed it because they were expecting an earthly kingdom, with an earthly king like David who would put Israel back on top, overthrow the Romans, and rule in Jerusalem. But God had in mind something much better; instead of freeing them from the Romans, the Christ would free them from their sins—a much more powerful and implacable enemy. In another place, Jesus talked about God giving good gifts and said, “If your son asks for bread, would you give him a stone?” An important cultural note about the way they baked bread in Jesus’ time is that they used clay ovens and heated stones, and the stones in the area were very round and smooth, resembling loaves of bread. It wouldn’t be much of stretch of the imagination to think it wouldn’t be uncommon for a small Jewish boy to point in the oven and say, “Father, I want that one,” but be pointing at a stone. And what kind of father is going to give his child that? No, he’ll give him bread instead even if it isn’t what he wanted because it’s better than what he wanted.
That’s the way God operates; He always gives us what’s better than what we want. He did it back then. When they wanted to be free of Rome, free of their taxes, free of their rules, God offered them freedom from sin, which is of infinitely greater value. It is a shame, though, that when offered bread, sometimes people still want the stone.
The news can be depressing! Here’s ten verses of encouragement from the Psalms and Proverbs— hand picked by my wife and me.
Psalm 34:7 “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.”
Proverbs 10:21 “The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.”
Psalms 37:23-24 “The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.”
Proverbs 17:22 “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.”
Psalm 40:11 “As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!”
Psalm 54:4 “Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.”
Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.”
Proverbs 16:24 “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”
Proverbs 16:3 “Commit your activities to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”
Psalm 62:6-7 “He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.”
In Matthew 15:14, Jesus said, “If the blind lead the blind both will end up falling in a pit.” Moses taught Joshua and Joshua knew what to do, but now Joshua would have to go without Moses. Joshua could still be a successful leader without Moses being with him, as long as he followed the way Moses set for him. I have three points to share with you today.
The first one is that God was with him. In Joshua 1, towards the end of verse 5, God said as he was with Moses he will always be with Joshua. Let’s say you just started a new job and have no idea what you’re doing. Your boss is never there and your coworkers don’t know what to do either. The job wouldn’t be a good job and you would be very unsuccessful. Joshua had to remember that God was with him because he had seen all the things that Moses had done when God was with Moses. Just as Moses had done, Joshua could do the same things with God by his side. In Matthew 28:20, just like with Joshua, God promises to be with us.
The second point is that Joshua had to be strong and courageous. According to Webster’s dictionary, courage means the quality of mind that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., with firmness and without fear. On your job during the week you go through pain but you know what’s coming at the end of it so you go through anything to get that paycheck. Going back to the first point, God was with Joshua. Joshua should have had no fear because God was with him. Joshua 1:6-7 says “Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause these people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.” What we need to do is be like Joshua and learn from our parents or even other people in the congregation so that we can not only learn to do what is commanded but what we need to teach others. Joshua was not the only one who needed to be strong and courageous, we all do. Tom staltman is the world’s strongest man. He’s pretty strong but no one can match the strength of Christian’s if we follow God’s word.
The last point is that Joshua had to read the word of God regularly and stick with it. The reason he had to read and memorize the word was so that he could faithfully lead God’s people in the right direction. Joshua 1:7-8 says, “Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
If we read the word of God and meditate on it and remember it, we will be very successful in all that we do. I would like to end this point by reading a couple of passages. Psalm 1:1-2 tells us, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.“ And the other passage is Matthew 4:4, where Jesus answered, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
In Joshua 1, I would say the theme is obedience to God and his law. It is mentioned in verse 8 of the chapter that if we make our way prosperous we will be successful in all that we do.
One of the many valuable lessons that I was taught at Bear Valley Bible Institute came from Corey Sawyers. He was our instructor for the book of Psalms. He was known to say “there’s a psalm for that” just about every day. But there really is a Psalm for just about every situation we encounter and emotion we feel. But a psalm’s true beauty is recognized when you say it in a prayer to God.
Many of David’s psalms were prayers to the God of Heaven, so why don’t we do the same? Corey showed us a way to feel the depth and emotion that these psalms contain, and I encourage every Christian to try this method the next time you read Psalms.
Take each sentence and put it in your own words. Then pray it to God. It’s pretty straight forward, but here are 3 examples:
Psalm 8:
God how perfect and holy is your name in all of the earth. You have shown your glory and power through your creation. Everyone can see your strength, Your power over every person. We can look around and see your works. We see creation and recognize that it was you that made it. Knowing all of this we are amazed that you would be mindful of us, but not only are you mindful, but you care for us. So much that you would send your son. Making him lower than the angels. All for us. Your son has power over everything and we understand that you put all things under his control. God how perfect and holy is your name in all of the earth.
Psalm 13:
Heavenly Father we come to you asking if you have hidden your face from your children? Do you forget us? We know it isn’t possible for us to comfort ourselves. At times we feel discouraged and think that Satan has won, that our enemies have taken control. And so because of this we ask you to answer our plea. Help us to focus on you in times of trial. Help our enemies to see that you have won. Through everything help us to trust in you, help us to recognize your love for us. Help us to find joy in our salvation. We praise you and thank you for blessing us beyond what we deserve.
Psalm 23
God we come before you thanking you for taking care of us. For giving us all our needs. You bless us with more than we could give to ourselves. You comfort and restore us. You give us the path to righteousness. Even when we go through trials we know you are still with us. You never desert us. No matter what happens you comfort us. You take care of us and bless us to the point that we overflow. Because of you we have goodness and mercy given to us our entire life. And we can stay in your presence forever. Thank you God for everything.
Something as simple as praying a psalm in your own words can add depth, meaning, and emotion to your prayer life. I encourage us all to imitate David when we approach the throne of God.
“Man did eat the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance” (Psalm 78.25 NASB1995).
The Bible is a book whose depths we cannot comprehend. As a result, we discover something new every time we read the Scriptures. Recently, as our devotional Bible reading turned to Psalm 78, I had one of those moments. In verse 25, Asaph refers to manna and says God gave the Israelites “bread of angels.” I couldn’t recall hearing that addressed by any preacher I’d heard, nor had I previously read any commentaries on the verse. So I put on my “scuba gear” and went for a dive.
We must establish the context first. The main goals of Psalm 78 are that Israel should not repeat their unruly past and properly instruct future generations about God’s Law. Asaph recalls God’s miracles in Israel’s history, but Israel still rebelled. Asaph mentions one of these wonders: God feeding the people with manna from heaven. And God did this, although the Israelites had repeatedly enraged Him. According to Asaph, they put God to the test in their hearts (78.18).
As a result, our “bread of angels” was a providential answer to a need. The people were hungry, and God satisfied their hunger and provided more than they required. However, Asaph recalls that the people believed God should cater to their food preferences (78.18). So, God punished them again because they complained after He sent the manna (78.31-33). Asaph’s point was that they were unappreciative of a lavish gift.
Following the context, we will move on to the Hebrew language. Lechem abbirim is Hebrew for “bread of the mighty ones.” The word “abbir” appears 47 times in the Old Testament, referring to everything from animals to strong or stubborn men. However, only twice in some of our English translations is this word rendered as angels (Psalm 78.25,cf. Psalm 103.20). Why is this the case? The Septuagint is most likely the answer because the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures uses the word “angels” here. We should also mention that the Latin Vulgate uses the phrase “panem angelorum” (bread of angels). And the translators of the King James Version were heavily influenced by the Latin Vulgate. But there could be more to it than that.
Another hint comes from a non-canonical book written by a Jew living in Alexandria during the first century BC who pretended to be Solomon. People refer to this as the Book of Wisdom. “In contrast, you fed your people with the food from angels,” Wisdom 16.20 says. Again and again, you provided your people with a bread that had been prepared in heaven. It was a bread that was able to satisfy anyone’s longing and please anyone’s taste.” (Common English Bible) Even though it lacks the weight of what God-breathed (cf. 2 Timothy 3.16), it still provides valuable commentary for understanding Jewish thought before Christ’s birth.
As a result, Asaph may have referred to angels—mighty ones—as ministering spirits (cf. Psalm 103.20-22; Hebrews 1.14). In other words, God prepared and sent the manna from heaven via the angels. If true, it would not be the first time the Bible mentions angels in passing. For example, Stephen stated that an angel was present in the burning bush (Acts 7.35). Otherwise, all we know about manna is that it came with the dew (Numbers 11.9). As a result, it descended from heaven.
Finally, most commentators agree that the bread of angels refers to food fit for angelic consumption or the king’s table (cf. Daniel 1.8). Manna, in other words, was a dish fit for heaven. Nonetheless, God gave it to men who did not value it. We might find a modern parallel in being given a free meal at a three-star Michelin restaurant but complaining that we would rather have eaten at McDonald’s. (With no offense to McDonald’s.)
Fortunately, this is not a matter of salvation, and there is room for debate. I agree with most commentators that the phrase refers to the quality of the food rather than the consumers’ identity. However, it is intriguing to speculate that angels may have been responsible for distributing it to the people. After all, people did not always see the angels who were present. The Arameans, for example, once pursued Elisha to his home in Dothan. The servant of Elisha was terrified, but Elisha prayed to God to open his eyes. God complied, and the servant saw the heavenly host encircling Dothan, protecting Elisha (2 Kings 6.15-17). So, even if manna arrived with the dew, it could still have been brought down from heaven by angels.
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[No, I haven’t given up on the book of Proverbs. Chapter 8 will pick up where the previous installments left off. I believe that my articles on Proverbs have become white noise for some of my readers. And they’ve lost interest. I appreciate the kind words of individuals who have read and valued those posts. Your kind words always make their way to me. Before tackling another block of Proverbs for a month or two, I’ll present a few weeks of non-Proverbs-related content. And God willing, I shall eventually conclude my study of Proverbs. Even once I resume the series, I anticipate taking a few more breaks, so please be patient with me until we finish the book of Proverbs. Thanks, Brent]
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