Category: Religion

Posted 2 February 2007; back-dated.

Today´s reading:
OT: Exodus 13:17-, Exodus 14, Exodus 15:1-18
NT: Matthew 21:23-46
Ps: Psalm 26
Pr: Proverbs 6:16-19

Gospel Thread – OT:

While the presence of the Pillar of Fire (Exodus 13:21-22) and the passage through the Red Sea remind me of the words of John the Baptist: “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Matthew 3:11 NIV, and also Luke 3:16), I don’t think these are intended allusions.

Gospel Thread – NT:

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ” ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

Matthew 21:42 (NIV)

Jesus is speaking about himself, and according to the NIV footnotes, is quoting Psalm 118:22-23.

Gospel Thread – Psalms/Proverbs:

No direct gospel/messianic thread in today’s Psalms/Proverbs reading.

The One Year Bible Blog´s comments for today.

Today´s reading:
OT: Exodus 12:14-51, Exodus 13:1-16
NT: Matthew 20:29-34, Mathew 21:1-22
Ps: Psalm 25:16-22
Pr: Proverbs 6:12-15

Gospel Thread – OT:

It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.

Exodus 12:46 (NIV)

Is it coincidence that God commanded that none of the bones of the passover lamb be broken, and none of Jesus’ bones were broken when He was crucified?

An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat of it.

Exodus 13:48 (NIV)

The principle of grafting or adopting foreigners into the nation of God’s chosen people exists even here, in the beginning, even before God gave the Law to Israel.

Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal.

Exodus 13:2 (NIV)

Perhaps God is consecrating to Himself the every firstborn male after bringing salvation from Egypt to the Israelites in order to emphasize that He will sacrifice His own, only Son in order to bring salvation from sin to the world?

Gospel Thread – NT:

⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ⁵ “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ “

Matthew 21:4-5 (NIV)

From the NIV footnotes, this is a fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9.

The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Matthw 21:9 (NIV)

From the NIV footnotes, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” is a quote of Psalm 118:26.

“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, ” ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?”

Matthew 21:16 (NIV)

From the NIV footnotes, Jesus here is quoting Psalm 8:2.

Gospel Thread – Psalms/Proverbs:

No direct gospel/messianic references in today’s Psalms/Proverbs reading.

The One Year Bible Blog´s comments for today.

Today´s reading:
OT: Exodus 10-11, Exodus 12:1-13
NT: Matthew 20:1-28
Ps: Psalm 25:1-15
Pr: Proverbs 6:6-11

Gospel Thread – OT:

The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

Exodus 12:13 (NIV)

The Passover – so much theology is wrapped up in this event. Here we see that only death can satisfy a Holy God’s wrath against sin. Here we see that an innocent sacrifice can stand in the place of the one for whom death is decreed. Here we see that it is the sign of the blood of the innocent one that signifies the one spared God’s wrath. And for us, we find that Jesus Christ fulfills each of these: in His death, God poured the fullness of His wrath against sin; in His death, He died a perfect, blameless, sinless, atoning sacrifice; and it is by His blood that we are marked as justified.

Gospel Thread – NT:

…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Matthew 20:28 (NIV)

This principle is one of the primary reasons the Jews did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah who was to come: they were looking for a conquering king, rather than a servant-king. The Messiah must first have become the perfect Passover lamb, giving his life as a ransom for all. This truth was God’s plan from the beginning, and it was only after Jesus became our Passover lamb that He could return as the Conquering King, reclaiming His rightful place of authority.

Gospel Thread – Psalms/Proverbs:

No direct messianic/gospel references in today’s Psalms/Proverbs reading.

OYB Photo of the Day:

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths
Psalm 25:4 (NIV)
Photo © Chip Bennett; all rights reserved.

The One Year Bible Blog´s comments for today.

Today´s reading:
OT: Exodus 8-9
NT: Matthew 19:13-30
Ps: Psalm 24
Pr: Proverbs 6:1-5

Gospel Thread – OT:

But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

Exodus 9:16 (NIV)

In everything, God’s purpose is to glorify Himself: creation, mankind, His plan of salvation – all bring glory to God.

Gospel Thread – NT:

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Matthew 19:26 (NIV)

Salvation, apart from God, is impossible. There is no “good thing” that we can do to earn for ourselves eternal life. We can only receive that which God offers us freely through Jesus Christ.

Gospel Thread – Psalms/Proverbs:

Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

Psalm 24:7 (NIV)

Jesus Christ is the King of glory! This psalm culminates the Shepherd Psalm Trilogy (Psalm 22-24). We saw in chapter 22 that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his flock (portraying his death and resurrection). We saw in chapter 23 that Jesus is the Great Shepherd, who cares for, tends, and ministers to his flock (portraying his current ministry in heaven). Here in chapter 24 we see that Jesus is the Chief Shepherd, returning to his flock as the King of glory (portraying his second coming).

The One Year Bible Blog´s comments for today.

Today´s reading:
OT: Exodus 5:22-23, Exodus 6-7
NT: Matthew 18:21-35, Matthew 19:1-12
Ps: Psalm 23
Pr: Proverbs 5:22-23

Gospel Thread – OT:

Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.”

Exodus 7:1 (NIV)

A continuation of the comparision of Moses as a type of Christ: Aaron is a type of John the Baptist. He is the prophet, the herald.

Gospel Thread – NT:

³² Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’

Matthew 18:32-33 (NIV)

Mercy: not being given that what is deserved. Jesus uses this parable to explain that, just as we are given mercy from God, we likewise are to give that same mercy to others. This same principle applies to grace, forgiveness, love: these, and all of the other myriad gifts with which God has blessed us.

Gospel Thread – Psalms/Proverbs:

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

Psalm 23:1 (NIV)

Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-16).

OYB Photo of the Day:

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
Psalm 23:2 (NIV)
Photo © Chip Bennett; all rights reserved.

The One Year Bible Blog´s comments for today.

Today´s reading:
OT: Exodus 4, Exodus 5:1-21
NT: Matthew 18:1-20
Ps: Psalm 22:19-31
Pr: Proverbs 5:15-21

Gospel Thread – OT:

²⁴ At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met {Moses} and was about to kill him. ²⁵ But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched {Moses’} feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. ²⁶ So the LORD let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)

Exodus 4:24-26 (NIV)

God established the covenant of circumcision with Abraham. Then, as with Moses here, circumcision is symbolic of the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing new life to the believer through salvation. It also signifies the necessity of the shedding of blood to atone for sin.

Gospel Thread – NT:

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.

Matthew 18:20 (NIV)

One of the great blessings of salvation is the eternal presence of Christ with us.

Gospel Thread – Psalms/Proverbs:

For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

Psalm 22:24 (NIV)

Indeed, God poured out the fullness of His wrath against the sin of the world borne in Christ on the cross. But after Christ’s death, God again looked upon His Son, and raised Him from the dead into eternal glory!

OYB Photo of the Day:

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.
Matthew 18:20 (NIV)
Photo © Chip Bennett; all rights reserved.

The One Year Bible Blog´s comments for today.

Posted 27 January 2006; back-dated.

Today´s reading:
OT: Exodus 2:11-25, Exodus 3
NT: Matthew 17:10-27
Ps: Psalm 22:1-18
Pr: Proverbs 5:7-14

Gospel Thread – OT:

God said to Moses, “I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ “

Exodus 3:14 (NIV)

God gives Moses “I AM” as His Name. “I AM” is important, as Jesus’ use of it is considered blasphemous (John 10:22-39) by the High Priest (Mark 14:61-63) and the Jews (John 8:57-59), since they see it for what it is: Jesus’ claim to be God Himself.

Gospel Thread – NT:

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Matthew 17:20 (NIV)

Oh, that we could have even so little faith! Jesus here again illustrates that faith is the vehicle both for our salvation and for the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. It is the same faith exemplified by the Patriarchs.

Gospel Thread – Psalms/Proverbs:

Psalm 22 is a Messianic psalm:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?

Psalm 22:1 (NIV)

Jesus repeats these words: My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? on the Cross (Matthew 27:46, Luke 15:34).

⁷ All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: ⁸ “He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”

Psalm 22:7-8 (NIV)

In the same way, Christ was mocked on the cross (Matthew 27:42, Mark 15:31, Luke 23:35).

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.

Psalm 22:14 (NIV)

Christ was executed by crucifixion, which this and following verses describe.

My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.

Psalm 22:15 (NIV)

Jesus declared “I am thirsty” while being crucified (John 19:28).

Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.

Psalm 22:16 (NIV)

During His crucifixion, Jesus was surrounded by his accusers and those responsible for His execution. Jesus, as was custom, was fixed to the cross with nails through the hands and feet.

They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

Psalm 22:18 (NIV)

Jesus’ garments were divided amongst the guards, who cast lots for his clothing (Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, Luke 23:34, John 19:23-24).

OYB Photo of the Day:

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
Matthew 17:20 (NIV)
Photo © Chip Bennett; all rights reserved.

The One Year Bible Blog´s comments for today.

Posted 27 January 2007; back-dated.

Today´s reading:
OT: Genesis 50, Exodus 1, Exodus 2:1-10
NT: Matthew 16:13-28, Matthew 17:1-9
Ps: Psalm 21
Pr: Proverbs 5:1-6

Gospel Thread – OT:

And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

Genesis 50:25 (NIV)

Joseph displays the same faith as did his father, Jacob. He so believed that God would fulfill His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he made his descendants swear an oath to carry his bones with them when God brought the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land.

Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”

Exodus 1:22 (NIV)

Pharaoh’s command to kill all newborn Hebrew boys in Egypt is similar to Herod’s command to kill all Hebrew infants at the time of Jesus’ birth. In the former case, the command is out of a fear of over-population of Hebrews in Egypt; in the latter case, the command is out of a fear of the birth of a conquering Messiah. In both cases, the command directly opposed God’s fulfillment of His promise that His Messiah and myriad blessings would come through the lineage of Abraham. This similarity is only the beginning of the comparison of Moses as a type of Christ.

Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,

Exodus 2:1 (NIV)

The significance of Moses being a Levite will become more apparent as we get into Exodus and Leviticus. Eventually, God will set apart the house of Levi (Exodus 31:25-29) and ordain the Levites as His priesthood, and the line of Aaron, Moses’ brother, as High Priest. Likewise, God has ordained we who are grafted into Christ as His royal priesthood (II Peter 2:9), with Jesus Christ Himself as our High Priest (Hebrews 4-9). Much more detail as we get into Leviticus and Hebrews.

Gospel Thread – NT:

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Matthew 16:16 (NIV)

The entire gospel rests on this truth: Jesus is the Christ – the Messiah – through Whom we have salvation from sin, redemption, and new life.

Gospel Thread – Psalms/Proverbs:

³ You welcomed him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
⁴ He asked you for life, and you gave it to him— length of days, for ever and ever.
⁵ Through the victories you gave, his glory is great; you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
⁶ Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.

Psalm 21:3-6 (NIV)

(See also: verse 1) Apparently, Christian scholars don’t typically consider this Psalm to be messianic, but Hebrew scholars do. The references to a glorified, eternal king seem pretty obvious to me here.

OYB Photo of the Day:

Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
Exodus 1:22 (NIV)
Photo © Chip Bennett; all rights reserved.

The One Year Bible Blog´s comments for today.

Today´s reading:
OT: Genesis 48-49
NT: Matthew 15:29-39, Matthew 16:1-12
Ps: Psalm 20
Pr: Proverbs 4:20-27

Gospel Thread – OT:

¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
¹¹ He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.

Genesis 49:10-11 (NIV)

These verses are part of Jacob’s prophecy for Judah – speaking of the Messiah Who was to come.

Gospel Thread – NT:

They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Matthew 15:37 (NIV)

See comments from my January 22nd entry about the symbolism of the seven basketfuls.

“A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.

Matthew 16:4 (NIV)

Again, Jesus foretells His own three days in the earth, following His death and preceeding His resurrection.

Gospel Thread – Psalms/Proverbs:

Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand.

Psalm 20:6 (NIV)

“Messiah” means annointed one. David is speaking about himself, but this verse can also be an allusion to God’s Annointed One – the One whom God raised from the dead by “the saving power of his right hand.”

The One Year Bible Blog´s comments for today.

Today´s reading:
OT: Genesis 46-47
NT: Matthew 15:1-28
Ps: Psalm 19
Pr: Proverbs 4:14-19

Gospel Thread – OT:

²⁹ When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰ but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” “I will do as you say,” he ³¹ “Swear to me,” he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

Genesis 47:29-31 (NIV)

Here Jacob exemplifies the kind of faith to which we are called (see Hebrews 11:21-22), believing even on his death bed that God would fulfill His promise to give Israel the land of Caanan.

Gospel Thread – NT:

What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.

Matthew 15:11 (NIV)

Here Jesus gives an example of how He is the fulfillment of the Law – how He calls us to the higher standard to which the Law pointed, yet of which it was only a shadow. The Law taught the principle of uncleanliness using the external (washing hands before eating) – yet God is concerned with the internal (the uncleanliness of the heart).

Gospel Thread – Psalms/Proverbs:

Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.

Psalm 19:13 (NIV)

This verse reminds me of the words of Christ in the Lord’s Prayer: Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (see Matthew 6:12-13).

[of evil men] They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

Proverbs 4:17 (NIV)

I like how this verse juxtaposes with the communion of Christ. Where the evil eat the bread of wickedness, we eat the bread of righteousness – the body of Christ. Where the wicked drink the wine of violence, we drink the wine of peace – the blood of Christ.

OYB Photo of the Day:

The heavens declare the glory of the Lord…God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
(Psalm 19:1 NIV)
Photo © Chip Bennett; all rights reserved.

The One Year Bible Blog´s comments for today.