Today’s Hebrew Testament chronological reading is in 1 Samuel 21 and 22.
The Psalms/ Proverbs reading is in Psalm 147.
The Greek Testament reading is in Philippians 2.
ESSENTIAL STUDIES.
1 Samuel 21, David and the showbread
Additional studies: 1 and 2 Samuel Index
When Saul offered the sacrifices, in 1 Samuel 13, Samuel rebuked him for presuming to do what was only lawful for the priests to do. Samuel prophesied that Saul’s kingdom would not continue. But when David ate the showbread, there was no similar censure. I believe it is because Scripture is continuing to spotlight David as a Prophetic Type for Messiah, who operates in all the offices of divine authority: King, Priest, and Prophet.
Psalm 147, Chiastic Structure
Additional studies: Psalms Book Five (107-150) Index
I realized that the 1B pair Chiastic structure is a picture of salvation by God’s mighty power, not by works, because outcasts, the brokenhearted, and the humble have no ability or resources to save themselves. It is the Lord who gathers them and heals them, who builds them up and lifts them up. But then, once saved, He declares to them His statutes and judgments (2B) which no other nation has known. Why? Because He loves them, and His statutes and judgments contain His wisdom, which, if followed, produces prosperity, not lack; health, not sickness; happiness and not despair – in fact, the exact opposite from the state in which He found them. The New Testament calls this two- fold process justification (salvation by grace through faith, and not works, lest any man should boast, Eph 2:8-9) and sanctification (maturing into obedience to God’s word, statutes, and judgments, lest any man should be deceived, Eph 2:10 and Gal 6:7).
Philippians 2, The root and fruit of faith
Additional studies: Philippians Index
Isaiah captures the nuance. We work out our salvation, that is, we enter the kingdom by faith (Eph 2:8-10) yet the root of faith always produces the fruit of faith as evidence of its existence. The fruit–“our works” as Isaiah says–are then wrought in us through God’s agency and not our own. He is working in us so that 1) it becomes our own will to do what pleases Him, and 2) we have the ability to produce the fruit that pleases Him. He has wrought our works for us, by giving us both the will and the wherewithal to do. ♥
THREE-YEAR BIBLE.
The three-year plan is here.
Today’s reading is in Revelation 18.
Suggested study: Revelation 18, Bible for Beginners.
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