Daily Lesson for Wednesday 7th of February 2024

Some psalms beseech God to take vengeance on individuals and nations who intend to harm, or who have already harmed, the psalmists or their people. These psalms can sound perplexing because of their harsh language and apparent discord with the biblical principle of love for enemies (Matthew 5:44).

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Yet, the psalmist’s indignation in the face of oppression is a good one. It means that the psalmists took right and wrong more seriously than did many people. He cares, even greatly, about the evil that is done in the world, not just to himself but to others, as well.

However, nowhere does the psalmist suggest himself to be the agent of vengeance. Instead, he leaves retribution solely in God’s hands. The Psalms evoke the divine covenant curses (Deuteronomy 27:9-16) and implore God to act as He has promised.

The Psalms are prophetic proclamations about God’s impending judgment; they are not solely the psalmist’s prayers. Psalms 137:1-9 reflects the announcements of divine judgment on Babylon, as seen in the prophets. The devastation that the Babylonians brought to other nations would turn back on them. The Psalms convey divine warnings that evil will not go unpunished forever.

God’s retribution is measured with justice and grace. God’s children are called to pray for those who mistreat them and even to hope for their conversion (Psalms 83:18, Jeremiah 29:7).

However, while seeking to fit these psalms with the biblical norms of love for enemies, we must be careful not to minimize the agonizing experience expressed in them. God acknowledges the suffering of His children and reassures them that “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” (Psalms 116:15, NKJV). Divine judgment obliges God’s people to raise their voices against all evil and seek the coming of God’s kingdom in its fullness. The Psalms also give voice to those who suffer, letting them know that God is aware of their suffering and that one day justice will come.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-06-pour-out-your-indignation/

Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Dragoslava Santrac, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson, “The Lord Reigns.”

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/6-i-will-arise-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author/

View an in-depth discussion of I Will Arise in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris.  
Click on the image below to view the video:

With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/6-i-will-arise-hopess-video-discussion/

Daily Lesson for Tuesday 6th of February 2024

The Lord has endowed Israel’s leaders with authority to maintain justice in Israel (Psalms 72:1-7, Psalms 72:12-14). Israel’s kings were to exercise their authority in accordance with God’s will. The leaders’ central concern should be ensuring peace and justice in the land and caring for the socially disadvantaged. Only then shall the land and the entire people prosper. The king’s throne is strengthened by faithfulness to God, not by human power.

Image © The Classic Bible Art Collection – Formerly Standard Publishing at Goodsalt.com

In Psalms 82:1-8, God declares His judgments upon Israel’s corrupt judges. The “gods” (Psalms 82:1, Psalms 82:6) are clearly neither pagan gods nor angels because they were never tasked with delivering justice to God’s people and so could not be judged for not fulfilling it. The charges listed in Psalms 82:2-4 echo the laws of the Torah, identifying the “gods” as Israel’s leaders (Deuteronomy 1:16-18, Deuteronomy 16:18-20, John 10:33-35). God questions the “sons of men” whether they judge justly, and their punish­ment is announced because they have been found unrighteous. The leaders totter in darkness without knowledge (Psalms 82:5) because they have abandoned God’s law, the light (Psalms 119:105).

The Scripture unswervingly upholds the view that the Lord is the only God. God shares His governance of the world with appointed human leaders as His representatives (Romans 13:1). How often, however, have these human representatives, both in history and even now, perverted the responsibility that they have been given?

Psalms 82:1-8 mockingly exposes the apostasy of some leaders who believed themselves to be “gods” above other people. Although God gave the authority and the privilege to the Israelite leaders to be called the “children of the Most High” and to represent Him, God renounces the wicked leaders. God reminds them that they are mortal and subject to the same moral laws as all people. No one is above God’s law (Psalms 82:6-8).

God will judge the entire world; God’s people, too, shall give an account to God. Both the leaders and the people should emulate the example of the divine Judge and place their ultimate hope in Him.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-06-how-long-will-you-judge-unjustly/

Daily Lesson for Monday 5th of February 2024

God exhibits special care and concern for justice regarding the various vulnerable groups of people, including the poor, needy, oppressed, fatherless, widows, widowers, and strangers. The Psalms, like the Law and the prophets, are clear on that point (Exodus 22:21-27, Isaiah 3:13-15).

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Many psalms use the expression “poor and needy” and avoid representing the oppressed in exclusively national and religious terms. This is done in order to highlight God’s universal care for all humanity.

The expression “poor and needy” is not limited to material poverty but also signifies vulnerability and helplessness. The expression appeals to God’s compassion, and it conveys the idea that the sufferer is alone and has no other help but God. The depiction “poor and needy” also pertains to one’s sincerity, truthfulness, and love for God in confessing one’s total dependence on God and renouncing any trace of self-reliance and self-assertion.

Meanwhile, caring for the deprived (Psalms 41:1-3) demonstrates the people’s faithfulness to God. Evil done against the vulnerable were particularly heinous sins in biblical culture (Deuteronomy 15:7-11). The Psalms inspire faithful people to raise their voices against every oppression.

The Psalms also underline the futility of grounding one’s confidence on perishable human means as the ultimate source of wisdom and security. God’s people must resist the temptation to put ultimate faith for salvation in human leaders and institutions, especially when they differ from God’s ways.

In His grace, our Lord identified Himself with the poor by becoming poor Himself that through His poverty many might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). Christ’s riches include deliverance from every oppression brought by sin, and He promises us eternal life in God’s kingdom (Revelation 21:4). Jesus Christ fulfills the Psalms’ promises as the divine Judge, who will judge every mistreatment of the deprived, as well as neglect of duty toward them (Matthew 25:31-46).

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-06-justice-for-the-oppressed/