Notes from my Bible Study for January 23, 2010

Today's Reading: Psalm 22, Genesis 21:22‐34, 1 Chronicles 26, Luke 14


Psalm 22 - Psalm 22 is an important psalm because it not only records the lament and pain of David, it foreshadows the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. There is so much from Psalm 22 that is repeated in the Gospel accounts of Jesus' crucifixion. Matthew 27, in particular, relies upon Psalm 22, with Jesus using the words from verse 1 while on the cross, and seeing the parallels of the actions of the crowd like mockery, casting lots, etc.

Psalm 22 ends with hope, and Christ provided that hope when he rose from the grave.

So, this is a somewhat prophetic psalm that also describes how David was feeling at the time it was written.

Genesis 21:22-34 - God had certainly blessed Abraham, and others were noticing. I found it interesting that Abimelech said, "God is with you in all that you do."

I wonder how grateful we are when the hand of God is clearly upon us. So many of us have been so blessed, but for whatever reason, we don't recognize it. May we be a people who recognize the blessings of God on our lives and thank Him for it.

1 Chronicles 26 - David continues to prepare for the transfer of power from his monarchy to his son's monarchy by organizing the people.

Luke 14 - What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? Jesus uses the occasion of Luke 14 to talk about how those who are followers of Him must live.

Disciples are to be people of humility. We are to be people who care for the poor and the oppressed. But, more than anything, we are to be a people with a love for God that supersedes everything else in our lives.

There are those who read Jesus' words about hating fathers, mothers, wives, sisters, brothers, children and even our own lives, and get disgusted. Jesus isn't talking about literally hating them. That would contradict every message that Christ had already given about loving others more than we love ourselves, about showing love to others, etc.

So, what is Jesus talking about? He wants us to be a people who love him so much that any other relationship we have would pale in comparison. It means that we obey Christ above anyone else. When our priorities conflict between obeying Christ and following others that we choose to obey Christ.