Skip to main content

Psalm 24:3 Questioning the questions Day 105

Finally caught up for now.

Meditation is the part of Luther's Simple Way to Pray that still challenges me.  Sometimes, like today, asking questions and waiting for the Spirit's response is the result.  I like to have answers, but wisdom literature doesn't always give simple answers.  I hope these short devotions encourage you to wait for the Lord.

Blessings,

Jeff

Questions in wisdom literature can be hard to figure out.  Let's interrogate the text.

To whom is David addressing these two questions?  Are they merely rhetorical so that he can provide his answers?  Or is he speaking to God and waiting for His answer?

Why is David asking these questions? 

Surely he has watched all sorts of people walk up Mt Moriah where the tabernacle was located. So this isn't a physical ability question.

And everybody knows that it is just the Levites who can actually enter the tabernacle.  So this isn't a ritual practice question.

I think we can conclude that he isn't looking for factual information, but pondering the spiritual qualifications that prompt people to go to the tabernacle and be close to the ark of the covenant.

What do the questions tell us about David's spiritual condition?

Seems that he is not content with the superficial explanations and is aware that there is more to worship than ritual.

Presuming that he is asking God for an answer, he believes that God can and will respond.  A deist would not ask these questions.

What does he intend to do with the answers?  Are they for his personal use or does he intend to share with the people?  

The three offices (prophet, priest and king) were not united in one person in the OT.  Each was a mediator but in different ways for different purposes.  Was David trying to understand why one office (priest) could do things that the other two offices could not.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2 Chronicles 33:7-9 Thoughts on Davidic covenant - Day 362

Good morning faithful readers, The finish line is in sight!!!  One of the themes of scripture is that God is a covenant keeping God.  There are many between God and man. Adam, Noah, David are examples.  Covenants are more than promises.  They are made between a superior and inferior with conditions for each side and blessing and penalties based on keeping the conditions.  These are covenants of works which fallen man was unable to keep.  Thanks be to God that the Father made a covenant of grace with Christ, the second Adam, which he fully kept. Blessings, Jeff The promise in v8 was made to David when he had planned to build the temple and God promised to build him a house forever. (2 Sam 7:10).  Seems like there are only two possibilities about Manasseh's disobedience.  Either he knew of this covenant that God had made with his 13th great grandfather and chose to disregard it, or he didn't know of it and was unaware of the penalty.  Let's con...
Post a Comment
Read more

2 Chronicles 30:16-20 Hearts set to seek the Lord - Day 359

Good morning fellow members of the household of God, After writing the devotional, I am thinking about the Passover as a household event.  In ancient Israel, the physical household of man was covered by the blood of the lamb.  Now, it is the spiritual household of God that is covered by the blood of the Lamb. Blessings, Jeff The account of the greatest celebration of Passover since time of Solomon (v 26).   Observations: One of the things that made this one great is participation of some of the tribes from the northern kingdom.  Israel was a united kingdom and Solomon and now toward the end of the northern kingdom, there is at least a semblance of being united. God allows some exemptions: Who offers the sacrifice:  The original Passover was a family by family sacrifice of a lamb.  However in  Deuteronomy 16:5-6 this changed to a centralized location once they entered the promised land.  (You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

2 Chronicles 35:23-26 Lament for the last good king - Day 364

Good morning fellow exiles and pilgrims, One more day of devotions.  We are indeed exiles and pilgrims in this world as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.  The 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacks can serve as a reminder that this world is not our home. Blessings, Jeff The lamentations for Josiah written by Jeremiah.  However, the book of Lamentations does not include any reference to Josiah as they are focused on the fall of Jerusalem.  While these lost lamentations were "made the rule" there are only 4 more kings and none of them were good like Josiah and none died in Jerusalem.  The phrase "to this day" generally refers to the time of the author (post exile).  Taken together, it may be that these laments were for the last good king and during the exile the people were longing for the next good king. Zerubbabel in a way was the next good king as temple and Jerusalem were rebuilt. But Jesus truly was the next king and He...
Post a Comment
Read more