Comments for January 31

4:2-5 In response to Moses feeling that he would not believe God gave Moses two signs which were completely outside Moses’ experience. Whilst the signs seem to have had the desired effect on Moses we will see in time that similar signs had no impact on Pharaoh.

56 v. 3,4 - It seems amazing that in the multitude of adversaries David had that he could state his faith so clearly, and it is not only here. Ps.34:4, 1Sam.30:6. What would we do? Well, one way to clarify our minds is to turn to 2Cor.1:9,10 and then be comforted by the fact revealed in 1Cor.10:13, which of course is borne out by many events in David's life.

57v.3 - The word truth is predominantly in the Psalms and the writings of John. Where, as here, we read of mercy and truth together we have a vivid picture of the Salvation to be wrought by Jesus. In Psa.85:10-11 we see the significance. Mercy represents God but truth (John 14:6) represents Jesus who sprang out of the earth, in his birth, as we do, growing with out nature that he might overcome sin in the flesh. If you substitute the concept of salvation through Jesus for the word truth wherever you read it, it gives beneficial insight into the meaning of the passage.

56:1 This Psalm probably relates to the same time as Psalm 34. In that Psalm David shows that fear of God is to be preferred above fear of the Philistines. In this Psalm David recognises that his deliverance is through the mercy of God.

Psalm 57 - This Psalm relates to the time recorded in 1 Samuel 22. So as well as instructing his 400 men as we saw from Psalm 34 he still sees that he has need which only God can meet :1 'be merciful …':1, 10

56:6 Those who 'mark' David's steps are not the Philistines - rather David is speaking about Saul and those who are seeking his life. The reason why he fled to Achish in Gath.

57:3 The one who would 'swallow me up' is Saul.

Psalm 56 - "To the chief Musician upon Jonath-elem-rechokim" - properly belongs as the subscription to Psalm 55. The superscription to this Psalm begins "Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath" - 1 Samuel 21:10-15.

Psalm 57 - The superscription to this Psalm begins "Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave" - Al-taschith means "do not destroy."

Psalm 57:1 - "shadow of thy wings" - It is obvious that Almighty God does not have wings or feathers, though both these aspects are used from time to time throughout scripture to describe God’s providential care for His children, as a mother hen or even as an eagle. The wings here refer to the wings of the Mercy seat, where, though the ordinary Israelite could not see it, his heart dwelt in faith, knowing that the Mercy Seat, and all that it signified to the mind of faith, was his only hope of life eternal

56:4 So we learn where David’s confidence was. He learnt, as Psa 34 shows, that he could not work out his problem and had to rely on his God. It took David time to get to the position where he trusted God rather than seeking his own solution – the going down to Gath was his solution. We do well to realise that we have to rely on God and cannot rely on our own wisdom and planning.

57:4 David’s description of Saul and his men, who sought his life, in terms of wild beasts matches the way that God views the Godless nations – see Dan 7 for example.

The two Psalms that we read today once again go together as is so often the case.

Psalm 56  This Psalm was written when David first went to Gash. 1Sam 21:10

Psalm 57  Written when David is in fear of his life in the presence of the servants of Achish. 1Sam 21:11

56:8 David's Heavenly Father is mindful of his exile and remembers his tears. The custom of "bottling the tears " of mourners as a memorial, which existed in some Eastern nations, may explain the figure.

56:11 - We do well to stop and meditate on this verse.  All of us will have had times - rarely as extreme as the experiences of David, but nevertheless times we can relate to - when men and women have made attempts to do unacceptable things to us.  Let us remember, as David clearly did here, that no man can ever take away our eternal inheritance - even if they take our life.

Both of today's Psalms start with the same words, (Psa 56:1 and Psa 57:1). Merciful means gracious, that is  giving me a lot more than I deserve.  Psalm 56 is David asking God for protection from his enemies, but the next Psalm (Psa 57:1-4) is stressing how God is a refuge from trouble.  If we accept what the title says, then David wrote this when he was hiding from Saul in the cave.

56:13    David’s continuing confidence that God will deliver him is based on his experience of his God – ‘thou hast delivered me’

57        Title. ‘Altaschith’ means ‘destroy not’. David, on more than one occasion, had the opportunity to kill Saul but would not destroy him.

56:11 If we would only at all times be like David and put our trust in God as he did, we would then be able to truly say that we had no fear or were not afraid of what man could do unto us. God will be with each one of us, if we allow Him to do so.

These psalms are messianic, and give us an idea of the thinking of Jesus & of his communication with his Father when he was beset by his enemies. He never gives in to despair, but rejoices in the care of God. This is a wonderful example for us.

56:3 This Psalm was written by David as a consequence of the events of 1Sam 21:10. So we see, like we do in Psalm 34, how David dealt with the trauma of that event.

Psa 57:1  David says he will take refuge under the wings of God until the disaster has passed. In the context of the cave, we have the refs 1Sam 22:1, 24:3   Although David had taken refuge in a cave, Saul inadvertently came very close to him, but did not discover him. When we, in our lives, take shelter in God, the "disaster" may still come uncomfortably close, but we have to maintain our trust in God that he will be with us & keep us safe.

57:4Isn’t it interesting that whilst David had saved sheep from a lion – 1Sam 17:36 - he did not react with violence towards his persecutors.

Psalm 56: The giants of Gath

Referring to the title of the Psalm, it seems unbelievable that David would flee from Saul into the hands of the Philistines. But such was his fear of the 7ft giant (Saul) that he failed to take into account the giants dwelling in Gath. We read in 2Sam 21:22 that at least four giants had been born to Goliath. We should not underestimate the threat that these men posed to David, who had, after all, killed their father. This threat rose above the threat of Saul when David heard them quote the song which had been sung after his victory over Goliath (1Sam 18:6-7, 21:11). He realised that, whilst the king had no animosity toward him, those sons certainly did. We read at the end of David's life that these giants had dogged him until the end, so much so that at the death of the last one, he penned the song recorded in 2Sam 22 "on the day when the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies" (2Sam 21:22 - 22:1). In 22:49 he writes "You also lift me up above those who rise against me". And so the end of his struggle with men who towered over him.

When we take Ps56 in the context of that song we can derive an account of what may have happened in Gath. See 2Sam 22:17-19 and Psa 56:5-6 to see how they conspired to turn Achish against him, and finally confronted him openly as we have seen in 1Sam 21:11.

UNDER THE WINGS OF GOD

As David fled for his life from the envious king Saul, Saul got closer and closer. Finally in desperation David and his men hid in the back of a cave. Their hope was that Saul would pass by and not notice them. But imagine the stress levels inside that cave as Saul, instead of passing by in a frantic pursuit of David, decided to use the cave as a rest room. Inside there was no escape for David and his men. A cave has only one entrance and Saul with his heavily armed guards filled it. Was this the end of the road? Was there to be no escape?

We are not likely to be trapped in the back of a cave, but we do have similar experiences from time to time of being trapped, in danger and completely out of control. It may be in an employment situation, in relationships, financially, or like David, with people that are out do do us in. In that desperate situation, knowing there was nothing he could do to get out of it, David called out to God. "Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed." (Psa 57:1)

David's plea was for God to shelter him until the trouble had passed. Like a baby bird sheltering under the mother bird's wings, David felt safe. Let us also go to God for our shelter from the desperate circumstances we find ourselves in. We can be truly comforted under the wings of God.

56:13 - We have on this occasion [my "soul" (KJV) or "me" (NIV)] being delivered from death indicating the nearness and potential for death.  The word used here is the Hebrew "nephesh" <5315> which means a breathing creature man or animal and it's variously rendered person, creature, self, life, soul.

55:13 the man who was David’s ‘guide’ was Ahithophel. 2Sam 15:12

57:1 The phrase shadow of thy wings denotes Yahweh’s protection and mercy (Psa 36:7).

The image of the mercy seat overshadowed by the enfolding wings of the cherubim is an image that also comes to mind.

The word, wings in Hebrew is kanaph which means extremity or edge, particularly of a garment, and thus a hem. Israelites had to wear blue on the borders (kanaph) of their garments (Num 15:38). This colour represents heaven, the throne of Yahweh, from whence emanates all commandment and power. Thus, the heavenly power to heal is embodied in the blue border of the garment.

Malachi also makes reference to this when he talks of Christ: But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings (kanaph); and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall (Mal 4:2).

Touching the hem of Christ's garment was sufficient for healing (v.36). The example of the woman diseased with an issue of blood also comes readily to mind (Matt 9:20-22).

May we always remain in the shadow of His wings, and obtain the ultimate healing at the judgment (1Cor 15:53,54).

The title for Psalm 57 says "when David fled from Saul into the cave" and the margin refers to the occasion of 1Sam 22:1 but this doesn't fit the Psalm. At this time David wasn't in danger from his own men. It does however fit with 1Sam 24 where his men urged him to kill Saul. v7 tells us he had to restrain them, and v4 and 10 that they applied pressure to him to do it. This appears from the Psalm to have been a make or break moment for David, whose men were "set on fire" and "their tongues a sharp sword" (v4). They saw the answer to all their problems in murdering Saul, God's anointed. These men and their violent nature would have brought David down had God not delivered him by providing a peaceful way out, because Saul realised he had fallen into his own trap (v2-3, 6). 1Sam26 also fits, especially as David's restraining words to Abishai are "do not destroy" which is in the Psalm's title (1Sam 26:7-11). So is this Psalm an amalgamation of these incidents?

57:1  There is an added dimension to David's use of the figure of sheltering in the shadow of God's wings.  In 1Sam 24:4 we read how David cut off the skirt of Saul's robe to use later as a sign to Saul that it had been in David's power to kill him.  In 1Sam 24:5 it seems that David regretted doing so - perhaps because he realised how close he had come to taking matters into his own hands and not relying on God by sheltering under His wings.  The word translated here as skirt is the same Hebrew word that is translated wings in the Psalm.

56:10   In his dire straits David had already put his trust in God. He did not wait until he had been delivered and then said that God had delivered him. His confidence was, when in deep trouble, that God would deliver him.

57:7    When David says “fixed” he uses a word whish elsewhere – Gen 41:32  for example – is translated “established” which is a typical translation. David is wholly committed to God even though he is fleeing from Saul (See the Psalm title). Can we say that we are always focussed on God as our helper even in difficult situations?

Psa 57:1 - subscription to Psalm 56 contains "Al-Taschith" [<516> means "do not destroy"].

Psa 56:2 - "most High" <4791>.

Psa 56:3-4 - "I am afraid...in God I have put my trust; I will not fear" - an oscillation of feeling but seeking comfort by trusting in God.

Psa 56:4,10,12 - we have 3 mentions of "praise" <1984> and 1 mention of "praises" <8426> which uses a totally different word.

Psa 56:5 - "they wrest my words" (John 10:30-36;2Pet 3:16).

Psa 56:6 - "they mark [<8104> can mean "to hedge about (as with thorns), wait (for), etc."] my steps [<6119> can mean "a heel, etc."] when they wait for my soul <5315> - could this have application to the sacrifice of Christ? (Gen 3:15;Psa 41:5).

Psa 56:7 - "Shall they escape by iniquity?" - wicked clever men (such as those opposing Jesus) using law and authority as a cover for their bad intentions.

Psa 56:7 - "cast down the people [<5971> can mean "a people, a nation, a tribe (as those of Israel), troops, attendants, countrymen"] O God" - because of their rejection of Jesus, the people of Israel were cast off for 2000 years. This could refer more specifically to the rulers of Israel set on destroying Jesus.

Psa 56:9 - "When I cry unto thee, my enemies shall turnback" (Matt 26:36-39;Luke 22:42-44;John 18:6).

Psa 56:13 - "before God in the light of the living" - could this refer to the resurrection?

Psa 58:1 - subscription to Psalm 57 contains "Al-Taschith" [<516> means "do not destroy"].

Psa 57:1 - "merciful...in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast" - this reminds me of the 2 winged cherubim looking down at the mercy seat KJV / atonement cover NIV and the 2 angels at Christ's tomb (Exo 25:17-20;John 20:11-12).

Psa 57:3 - "save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up" (Matt 27:39-44).

Psa 57:3 - "God shall send forth his mercy and his truth" - crucifixion would be the method to fulfill God's purpose.

Psa 57:4 - "My soul is among lions...whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword" - the "lions" were of the tribe of Judah (Psa 22:12-13;Luke 22:52). 

Psa 57:6 - "prepared a net for my steps" (Mark 3:6;11:18;John 11:46-53).

Psa 57:6 - "they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves" - after the crucifixion of Jesus there would be a destruction of Jerusalem, the temple and the nation.

Psa 57:8 - "I myself will awake early" (Mark 16:2-4).

PRAISE GOD ANYWAY

At another low point in David's life, this time when he was seized by the Philistines in Gath, he wrote a psalm, a prayer, asking for God to deliver him. Part way through his prayer, he said this: "In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise - in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Psa 56:10-11) David did not say, "I will praise God once he has delivered me." Praise to God is not something we can or should use as a bargaining tool. David's attitude was that he praised God anyway, whether his circumstances were good or whether he had been seized by the enemy. Good or bad, David praised God. In his praise he reinforced his trust in God.

When do we praise God? Does our praise come and go with our circumstances, or do we praise God anyway?

A lovely phrase springs to mind from the movie, Facing Giants, where an American Football coach motivates his team to praise God, saying, "If we win, we praise him. If we lose, we praise him. Either way we honour him in our actions and attitudes."

Let's do it. Win or lose, good or bad, let's praise our God.

56 Title. This Psalm is to be seen as complementing Psalm 34. David was going to Gath when, as this Psalm title says, David was captured by the Philistines. David is then arrayed before Achish. Psa 34 talks of that incident. 

56:5    The ones who wrested David’s words were Saul and his followers, not the Philistines who had captured him.

56 Title  From the historical account in1Sam 21 we might conclude that David simply went to the Philistines in Gath. But the use of the phrase “took him” would imply that he had no choice in his fate.

Psa 56:8

“Thou tallest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

Perhaps one of the strangest requests recorded in the Bible, at least to our western way of thinking, is for Yahweh to put our tears in His bottle. In Middle Eastern countries and ancient Rome there was a tradition that when a person was ill, or in great distress, friends would bring a tear bottle with them and collect the person’s tears and bury it with the deceased as a symbol of love and respect. Many of these bottles have been found in ancient tombs. Markets in Yahrusalem to this day sell them. They are called lachrymals.

This is what David was referencing. But even more than this, David trusted that Yahweh would store his tears (cf. Psa 42:3) in His bottle not just any bottle, and keep it in remembrance in His book. David was no stranger to the “Tears in a Bottle” phraseology.

This verse reminds us that Yahweh is intimately concerned with every aspect of our lives. He records our good deeds (cf. Neh 13:14; Mal 3:16), our griefs, collects our tears, and writes them in His Book of Remembrance. The day is coming when our tears and lamentations will no longer cover the altar of God. Rather, our faces will be lit up with the beams of the Sun of Righteousness with praise to Yahweh our Father.

57:8-11  David’s desire to speak of God to others was because of God’s mercy.

56:4  When David was before Achish he was “sore afraid” – 1Sam 21:12 – but by the end of that ordeal David had come to the realisation that man can do nothing that God is not willing to happen. He reflects the same sentiments in Psa 118:6

56:4       When we read “afraid” we remember that when David was before Achish he as “sore afraid” 1Sam 21:12

Life is not Always Plain Sailing

Moses’ request of Pharaoh, initially, increased the difficulties that the Israelites experienced. Those Israelites charged with making the Israelites work harder complained to Moses that their task had been made more difficult. We should understand that doing God’s will is not necessarily something that is easy.

56:11  notice that David says he has put his trust in God. He is reflecting on how he thought as he was in the hold in Gath – 1Sam 21:10-15.

57:4 Here David speaks of Saul and those with him as “lions”. Elsewhere –Psa 59:14  - he speaks of such men as “dogs”

56 Like Psa 34 – a Psalm written as a consequence of being afraid before Achish.

David was “sore afraid” of Achish (11Sam 21:12). In fear and in dire straits David placed his confidence in his God (Psa 56:11) which enabled him to realise that he need not fear what men could do to him (Psa 56:4,11). This was not just theory any more for David. Looking back he could see God’s hand in his life, delivering him (Psa 56:13) This is our challenge – to look back and see our Father’s hand for good Heb 12:11 – it is the “afterwards” that comes from being “exercised”.

FAITH, FEAR, PEOPLE

I was discussing fear verses faith after our Sunday morning service some time ago. We listed quite a few different fears that we and others experience - fears in particular that turn us away from faith. What we discovered in the end was that just about all our fears were to do with people: What if they disagree? What if they hate me for it? What if they get everyone else to hate me? What if they slander me? What if I lose my job? Maybe in another time or place we might be wondering, What if I get attacked for this? What if I lose my life? What if I get persecuted? Or injured? Or end up running for my life? All these are fears of what people can do to us.

David was having issues with people. He complained of trampling, attacking, injury, evil thoughts, strife, lying in wait, and no doubt there was more. But David also said, "In God whose word I praise, in God I trust: I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?" (Psa 56:4). And, "In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (v.11).

Love and faith should cast out fear. Let's be like David, with a confidence that God is much stronger and has greater plans for us. His love is greater than anything man can do against us.
 

57:7 In speaking of his heart begin “fixed” we should appreciate that the word <3559> carries the sense of being “prepared” as the word is often translated. It was “fixed” in that David had prepared his heart and now was focused on the things of God in contrast with the man whose heat might be equally “fixed” on doing evil.

In what way is our heart “fixed”?

57:1 here, and often on other occasions, David asks God to be “merciful” to him. We may be so familiar with the idea that we don’t think about the implications of the request.

David recognises that he has no right to God’s mercy. He has not earned it. He has to rely on the graciousness of his God.

He can have confidence that God would be merciful because he had said that s how he behaved – Exo 34:6-7 - when speaking with Moses.

What is our attitude to asking God to show mercy towards us?

v.14-16 - Refers to the time when Moses came close to God (Ex.33,34 esp. 33:19, 34:6,7). It is important that we realise the 'goodness and severity of God'. Rom.11:22 as demonstrated so clearly in these events. Isa.27:11, Mic.7:18. This all hinges round our calling. Compare v.16 of Rom.9 with John 1:12,13 and Eph.2:4-10.

v.25-29 The quotations from the Old Testament - use your marginal references - highlight that the call of the gentiles was part of God's plan even before Jesus' birth.

:32 So we see again that the pre requisite is 'faith' - So we are back considering the 'father of the faithful - Abraham who Paul considered in Romans 4.

v.29 - The phrase 'Lord of sabaoth', we are more used to as 'LORD of hosts' (cp. 1Sa 1:11, 17:25). 'Sabaoth here is simply a Greek transliteration (4519) of the Heb. word for 'hosts' (06635) carried through untranslated from the LXX (Septuagint) version commonly used by New Testament writers. God is, Lord of the hosts of heaven (the sun, moon, and stars), of the angels (the multitude of the heavenly host, that do His pleasure, fight under Him, and for Him Ps 103), and of the hosts of nations all of whom are under His government.

Romans 9 - "How then does Jewish nationalism fit into the plan of God?" could well be the overall title of this chapter.

Romans 9:18 - "hardeneth" - Three words are used in the Hebrew to describe the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. The one that occurs most frequently, properly means to be strong, and therefore represents the hardness as foolhardiness, infatuated insensibility to danger. The word is used in its positive sense, "hardens", not merely "permits to become hard."

Romans 9:21 - "Hath not the potter power over the clay; of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another to dishonour" - The objection is founded on ignorance or misapprehension of the relation between God and we, His sinful creatures here on earth. Men generally suppose that He is under obligation to extend His grace to all, whereas He is under obligation to none. All are sinners, and have forfeited every claim to His mercy; it is therefore perfectly just for God to spare one and not another, to make one vessel to honour and another to dishonour. So for a time Israel received the blessings of God, and now Paul says, the turn of the Gentiles has come. Make the most of it, be thankful for it, and do not boast in your own strength or achievements - but remember Israel and be mindful that as He cast them off for wilful disobedience, so He can also cast us away. The Jews have not been cast off forever as we know, but their treatment from God must remain a salutary lesson for all of us.

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The Golden Thread - David reminded us in Psalm 57 that we find refuge under the overshadowing wings of the Mercy Seat in the Ark of the Tabernacle [as it were]. Israel as a nation, and Moses as an individual in Exodus, were safe under God's overshadowing wings, even though Pharaoh was bent on destroying them all. Though Israel has been "cast off" by God "until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled," the nation of Israel still benefits today from God's overshadowing care and providence, just as we as God's children also do, as Paul shows in Romans

9:2 Paul’s ‘great heaviness’ for Israel contrasted starkly with their self satisfaction that was manifest, for example in them saying ‘we be Abraham’s seed …’  (John 8:33)

Rom 9:10  Salvation is a matter of Grace. Paul shows this clearly in this verse, After dealing with the case of Isaac and Ishmael, Paul turns to the example of Jacob and Esau. They not only had the same father, but also the same mother. They were conceived at the same moment. Both Jacob and Esau were born in answer to prayer.(Gen 25:21) Never the less in spite of their similarities, before they were born Rebecca was told. "The elder shall serve the younger" Gen 25:23

:12 - Here we have a principle that we see repeated throughout scripture so much - God chooses whom He will.  He does not go for the ones we would expect.  Let us therefore spread our net of preaching wider and wider that we might enclose those fish that He has called.

Vs.15-21 run counter to the Pollyanna attitude that some have about God.  Those who quote God is love (1John 4:8) etc. as proof of an all-accepting God, misunderstand. 

The God of the Bible is not obliged to any man.  Therefore, in the unfolding drama of God's plan, we must count ourselves extremely fortunate that He has called us to salvation.

In God's drama, we are in leading roles while the rest of the world is supporting cast.  We should also count our brethren, who share the same hope, as precious (1Pet 2:3,4).  To all others we preach, not knowing to whom God will extend His grace.

v.31,32 - Here we see where Israel failed.  Their failure was not due to their determination to do wrong under the law, but because they sought God's grace by the law, instead of by faith.  Let us make sure that we do not make the same very human mistake of thinking that we will be rewarded according to what we do.  Our reward is based on why we did it.

9:3        Paul’s wish that he ‘were accursed …’ is rather like the way in which Moses asked that God might blot him out of the book of life rather than destroy Israel – Exo 32:32

May I please point out a very easy error?  In Rom 9:12,13 there are 2 quotations from the Old Testament.  It is so easy to run these two verses together, and think that Paul is saying that before Esau and Jacob were born, God said that the elder should serve the younger, for God loved Jacob and hated Esau.  That is quite wrong. Yes, the first of these references comes before the twins the born (Gen 25:23), but the second one about loving and hating is from Mal 1:2,3, which comes right at the end of the Old Testament. This quotation is not a prophecy, it’s a commentary on what happened.

9:22-24 "...endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." God in His wisdom provided a way to overcome sin, by having his face shine (I think of this as smiling on) the "vessels of mercy." His wisdom decreed that this grace would be given only after suffering, part of which would be by "the vessels of wrath" who are a necessary, though abhorrent, part of the environment on the path to salvation.

These objects of God's destruction are one of the ways whereby we come to realise that we need to be saved! God be praised, not because He will save all, but for the wisdom of His plan to have mercy on a remnant, bringing them to glory though so undeserving. I'm sure we all feel this, and wonder at it. We see in this chapter that we cannot hope to earn salvation by anything we do (especially by Law), but, throwing ourselves into God's hands, serve Him out of love for all He has done and continues to do for us each day.

9:14 Here we have another rhetorical question – just in case some would argue that God was not fair in the way He had dealt with Israel. Paul then demonstrates, by quoting Exo 33:19, that God is fair. We must, therefore, develop an understanding of God which takes account of what we learn in Exo 33.

Rom 9:2,3  "I have great sorrow & unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed & cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers.."   Is this the way we think about those of our brothers & sisters who have gone astray & followed the wrong path, one which has taken them away from God? Do we join Moses & Paul in fervent prayer, as well as actual effort to bring them back? Does it impact us unceasingly, as it did Paul?

9:4 There were benefits in being born a Jew. The Jew had the advantage of familiarity with Scripture. How valuable do we see our knowledge of Scripture? Do we take it for granted or treasure it?

9:6 Having emphasised the benefit of being a Jew in verses :4-5Paul reminds those Jews that being Jewish is of itself not the important thing. It is a matter of being of the seed of Isaac – verse:7 (and by implication not the seed of Ishmael. These two lines of the seed of Abraham mark the mind of the spirit – Isaac and the mind of the flesh – Ishmael. So there was a lot more to it all than simply being the seed of Abraham.

V.5 Trinitarians like to point to this verse as proof that Jesus is God.

We must remember that there is no punctuation in Greek, and so different versions will have different punctuation. Look at the KJV: …the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. And the ESV: …is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. The KJV leaves room to separate Jesus from God, but the ESV does not.

However, the RSV clearly separates Jesus from His Father: To them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh is the Christ. God who is over all be blessed for ever. Amen.

But, no version poses any problem if we understand God-manifestation.

It is clear that the Bible teaches Yahweh is over Christ (1Cor 11:3). Jesus, Himself, states that he cannot act without the power of the Father (John 5:19,30). Jesus has been given all power, but when His role is completed, He (and His immortalised brethren) will yield to Yahweh and He will be manifested in all (1Cor 15:24-28).

In the Old Testament, those acting in the Name of God were called God (called by His Name). For example, the angels who appeared to Abraham were called Yahweh (Gen 18:1,2). And so, it should not be surprising that Jesus, who acted in the Name of His Father, should not be called God. In fact, with that very understanding, Thomas called Him God (John 20:26-28).

And so, if we understand the nature and role of Jesus; His relationship with His Father; the principle of God-manifestation, then we will not be confused with erroneous doctrines such as that of the Trinity.

Vs.17,18 See my note on Exo 4:21.

This is a hard chapter. And however much we don't like it, the conclusion of the matter is:

"how can the clay say to the potter 'why have you made me like this?' " (v20-21)

God created us and can choose either to save or discard us. The following verses emphasise this in relation to salvation, and are well worth reading: (v15-16, 18, 23). This does not leave our salvation to chance, however, because to whoever asks, salvation will be given (Matt 7:7, John 4:10, Rom 8:32).

9:15 We should be so thankful that God is not ‘unrighteous’ shouldn’t we who are not Jews. God’s mercy is shown at His discretion, and we are the beneficiaries.

9:6      ‘not all Israel ...’ is speaking to the Jews who, whilst having great privileges, where not the only ones who had responded to God’s offer of inheritance.

Rom 9:3

"For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh."

"Could wish," or euchomeen is in the imperfect middle tense and is rendered, "I was wishing," "I wished," or "I did wish." Paul imprecated a curse upon himself - a past action while he was in an unconverted state - another thing in the past. But when enlightened neither all Israelites "nor any other created thing" could induce him to wish himself accursed again. HERALD 1853

9:11   The parenthetic comment here written under inspiration by Paul show that birth is not the criterion for salvation. Rather God has the prerogative to do as He pleases.

9:13     Paul quotes Mal 1:1-3 to highlight God’s feelings toward Jacob and Esau. Whilst we may have difficulty understanding that God hated Esau when we realise what his life style and focus was we may understand God’s feelings better. Esau was “profane” Heb 12:16. We should take a leaf out of God’s book and appreciate how we should react to those who despise God’s promises. 

Rom. 9:5.

"Theirs (Israel's) are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, for ever praised. Amen."

How are we to understand what Paul is saying here in light of the falseness of the trinity doctrine?

My brother George wrote in with a pretty detailed response, giving several different possible ways of reading this passage. Here it is -

On the other hand, "God over all", if accepted as a correct rendering (and punctuation), testifies that Jesus is the fullest manifestation of Almighty God -- the express image of the Father's person in human flesh (cp Col 1:15; Heb 1:2; Phil 2:9). Compare the ideas in Matt 23:39; Zech 14:9: Jesus of Nazareth is the one who comes in the "name" of the Lord. Also compare Psa 45:6,7(cited in Heb 1:8,9): Jesus is addressed as "God", but only because he has been "blessed" by his God forever. Compare also Psa 45:2, which has the very phrase of Romans 9:5: "God has blessed you forever."

9:1-2  In saying that he is not lying about his heaviness Paul is probably responding to those Jews who would miss represent him as they have by implication as seen in Paul's’ comments already made in Rom 3:8, 6:1

9:30-31          Having laid out a powerful argument form the Old Testament Paul is now concerned to block the possible argument that gentiles simply obtained access to the promises by default – because the Jews rejected them. This is not so. Access to the blessings of the promises is by faith from both Jew and gentile.

9:27    It is not quantity but quality that God is looking for. There are a multitude of those who are Abraham’s seed. However being born of Abraham is not sufficient. The remnant – quoting Isa 10:22– are those who do the  works of Abraham.

9:33     A characteristic of enthusiastic Bible students is that, from time to time, they make pronouncements about what is going to happen in the light of [their perceived understanding of] Bible prophecy. Not infrequently these pronouncements are found to be inaccurate. We must take care to ensure that these pronouncements are not stumbling blocks to our confidence in the promises of our Father. The antidote is to remain firm in our beliefs of those things which are certain.  One of which is the future re-establishment of the kingdom of God on earth subsequent to the return of Jesus Christ.

Rom 9:4

“Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises.”

Paul addresses the problem associated with the condition of the unbelieving Israelites. He brings to mind Israel’s Covenants of Promise Yahweh made with Abraham (Gen 12:1-3), Moses (Exo 20; Deut 5:2), David (2Sam 7; Psa 89:3,4), and His New Covenant (Jer 31:31-34). Natural Israelites who embraced Christ, including now Gentile converts (Eph 3:6; cf. Rom 11:17), are referred to as “children of God,” (1John 3:10) and if truly converted are spiritual Israelites (Rom 9:6-8).

Paul enumerates here what the children of God possess, all of which receive attention elsewhere in Romans. They possess God's "adoption," making them children of God, heirs of His "glory." God made "covenants" by which to bless them. They received and possessed God's "law," God's own Words (torah: "instruction") for holiness and righteousness. They "service" or worship the one true Yahweh, as revealed by Him and made concrete "promises" via the patriarchs. The Law is the Word of God, which revealed the righteousness of God and the righteousness He requires of His people (cf. Psa 119). What a privileged people we are and as such are responsible to reveal God’s righteousness in our manner of living!

Jeremiah describes the New Covenant not as a new law, but as the same law written on the heart and not stones (Jer 31:33). Jesus said he did not come to abolish the law (Matt 5:17). Jesus quoted the commandments as authoritative (Matt 19:18,19). Paul said, the law is holy and good, and quoted the commandments as authoritative (Rom 7:12; Rom 13:9,10). Timothy taught that the Old Testament (only Scripture extant in his day) is God-breathed from which we may be instructed (2Tim 3:16). James quoted the commandments as authoritative (James 2:11). Revelation tells us that the saints are commandment keepers (Rev 14:12).

While the Judicial and Ceremonial Laws and Ordinances that regulated the Levi priests’ temple services and sacrifices with its statutes and judgments were abolished by Christ’s sacrifice, God’s Moral Laws were not part of the sacrificial system. In fact, the Moral Laws existed long before the Decalogue was given; they are not new, and those who claim only the Decalogue applies today, gravely err (cf. Lev 11:45; Lev 20:26 - reiterated in 1Pet 1:15,16)! God’s laws go beyond the Decalogue. We are to emulate God! It is more than just “shalt” and “shalt nots.” God’s Moral Laws reveal His heart and His mind for us and He does not change (Mal 3:6). This did not start with Moses nor end with him (cf. Gen 16:4; Gen 26:4,5).

Sin is transgression of the law and it started with Adam sinning (cf. Rom 4:15; 5:12-14; Rom 6:23; 1John 3:4). Numerous of the 10 Commandments were broken and all subsequently in the book of Genesis alone! If we teach God’s Moral Laws given in the Torah are limited to the Decalogue, we do not know God, as He reveals Himself through all His laws, throughout the 66 books of the Bible! Thus, we witness even today His laws on hardened, cruel and stony hearts instead of soft, loving, fleshly ones! “They are not all Israel [brethren], which are of Israel [of the brethren of Christ]” (Rom 9:6). “… which say they are Israelites [brethren], and are not, but do lie” (Rev 3:9). This teaching was greatly emphasized by the pioneer brethren, but, regrettably, seems to have gotten lost through the years, wherein anyone who calls themselves brethren/sisters of Christ are, despite what they say and do.

9:14    We often hear the argument that God is not fair in the way in which He treats men and women. We might agree that, from a human viewpoint, God is not fair. However He is always right in His actions. If we think things are unfair then we need to change our view of God.

9:4        “the service of God” was a wonderful privilege that Israel had. Namely that God had called them so that they could serve Him. Do we see our calling as a privilege? If so how do we respond to that calling and privilege?

Rom 9:31,32

“However, Israel, even though they kept pursuing a Torah that offers righteousness, did not reach what the Torah offers. Why? Because they did not pursue righteousness as being grounded in trusting but as if it were grounded in legalistic works. They stumbled over the stone that makes people stumble.”

JEWISH NEW TESTAMENT, translation by David H. Stern

What a tragedy it would be to devote our entire lives to diligent spiritual efforts to attain a right standing with God, only to die and face God’s wrath! It is so important to understand God’s way of righteousness - the right way to be right with God. We cannot be saved by our good works alone, which the Israelites were guilty of, and so they stumbled over Christ. To approach God, it must be through faith in Christ, resulting in righteousness and salvation. The contrast is stark!

While the actions of faith are illustrated throughout the Old Testament, the word, “faith,” appears only two times! Deut 32:20, # <529>, and Hab 2:4, # <530>, “emunah.”  In Exo 17:12, we find emunah, # <530>, translated as “steady.” Faith carries with it the idea of, “firmness, fidelity, stability, established.” It is a trusting faith! To have faith is not just about knowing that God and Christ exist, or knowing their will. One with emunah will act with firm conviction toward growing in God's righteousness. An unstable man, is a double-minded man, a faithless, untrusting man, and these should not expect to receive anything from the Lord (James 1:8).

9:27 The inspired Paul brings two ideas together to highlight that whilst the promise that Abraham’s seed would be as the sand of the sea – Gen 22:13 – only a remnant would respond to God’s offer – Isa 10:22-23.

9:14 the Jewish way of thinking was that they, by birth, were God’s special people. It is against this background that Paul deals with the questions that a Jew might raise  - whether God was righteous or not in making selection by promise. The example of the way in which God dealt with Pharaoh is used because no Jew would argue that God was not righteous in delivering them from Egypt.

9:16 There are two conflicting views on salvation. One is that one is saved by “works” and the other “one is saved by faith”. In reality there is a blend between the two views and the resolution is that salvation is not earned through works or faith. It is achieved as a gift from God because of His grace.

1. Rom 9:1-5 - Paul's love of his Jewish brethren.

2. Rom 9:4;Rom 8:14-15 - "adoption<5206>" can refer to sonship.

3. Rom 9:4 - "covenants<1242>" (plural) refers to both the Abrahamic (Genesis 12-22) and Davidic (2Samuel 7) covenants of promise.

4. Romans 9:4 - the "law<3548>" refers to the divine law to Moses (Exodus 20; cp. Psa 147:19).

5. Romans 9:4 - the "promises<1860>".

6. Rom 9:4-5 - Jesus knew the priviledges the Jews had would soon be taken from them, unless they believed in the gospel which he preached to them.

7. Rom 9:8,4 - not all Israelites where/are God's children; the reference is to the Israel of faith (Gal 3:26-29).

8. Rom 9:5 - Various English translations insert commas in various places in verse 5 but this can be confusing at times as the original Greek didn't have punctuation (including commas etc.). Additionally, the Greek for "God<2316>Theos" can have various meanings from God to godly to god-like to Christ to human magistrates and judges. Christ was the literal descendant of Abraham and David thus, Christ didn't exist before his birth, and wasn't/isn't God. Note Michael Parry's helpful 2009 comments.

9. Rom 9:9 - "Sara<4564>".

10. Rom 9:10 - "Rebecca<4479>"

11. Rom 9:10-16,20-21 -God extended the same privilege to Gentiles as had been shown to the Jews though not by works, just as Jacob was selected at the expense of Esau before either had done good or bad. God can select whom He will. Esau was in Jacob's line but older Esau was rejected, thus God can reject the unbelieving Jew, or any individual descendant of Isaac, even though of Jacob's line. In Jer 18:5-10 - if Israel was workable in God's hands He would devise good for them. However, in Jer 18:11-23 Israel would not be workable in God's hands so they had to be broken as a nation.
12. Rom 9:13 - "hated<3404>" can simply mean to love less.

13. Rom 9:14 - "God forbid<1096><G3361>".

14. Rom 9:15 - "mercy<G1653>"; "compassion<3627>".

15. Rom 9:17 - "Pharaoh<5328>" according to Thayer "Pharoah means "his nakedness".

16. Rom 9:18 - Pharaoh hardened his heart from his own free will (Exo 8:32) and God added to Pharaoh's hardness of heart (Exo 7:3).
17. Romans 9:18 - "mercy" vs "hardeneth" - there are two sides to God's character "goodness and severity" (Rom 11:22).

18. Rom 9:24-26 - Jews and Gentiles can both be God's people.

19. Romans 9:25 - "Osee<5617>", Hosea means salvation. From Hos 2:23 - the 10 tribes had become not my people but they will become God's people along with the Gentiles.

20. Romans 9:26 - from Hos 1:10

21. Rom 9:27 - Only a remnant of many Israelites will be saved. Many are called but few are chosen (Matt 22:14). The majority are usually wrong regarding spiritual matters.

22. Rom 9:27-28 - from Isa 10:22-23 - only a remnant of Jews will be saved due to most lacking faith; Gentiles who manifest faith will be accepted.

23. Rom 9:29 - from Isa 1:9 - it is only through God's mercy that a remnant survived, but Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed and Sodom didn't have 10 righteous... Lot was allowed to flee to Zoar (Gen 18:32;Gen 19:23-25). "Sodomah<4670>" according to Thayer means "burning"; "Gomorrha<1116>" according to Thayer means "submersion".

24. Rom 9:30-33 - Faith trumps works. But faith w/o works is dead (James 2:14-18) - if one truly has a strong faith it will produce works.

25.Romans 9:32 - "stumbling stone <4348><3037>" according to Thayer 3037 metaphorically refers to Christ.

26. Romans 9:33 - "rock<4073>", "of offence<4625>"

9:1-3 Has anything changed regarding Israel since the days of Paul? Have we now reached a time when it is not necessary that we should be concerned for the repentance of Israel?

Clearly not. They are the natural seed of Abraham and despite their current godless behavior – or maybe because of the godless behavior – we should be praying for them to repent as much now as Paul was in the first century

9:23-24  Whilst we might have thought that we would here read of “the riches of His grace” it is in fact the “riches of His glory”. The greatness of God’s glory is seen more abundantly in the calling of Jew and gentile, not just the Jewish people.