Psalm 132
A song of ascents.
1 Lord, remember David
and all the hardships he endured,
2 and how he swore an oath to the Lord,
making a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep
or my eyelids to slumber
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard of the ark in Ephrathah[1];
we found it in the fields of Jaar.[2]
7 Let’s go to his dwelling place;
let’s worship at his footstool.
8 Rise up, Lord, come to your resting place,
you and your powerful ark.
9 May your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and may your faithful people shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.[3]
11 The Lord swore an oath to
David,
a promise he will not abandon:
“I will set one of your offspring
on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and my decrees that I will teach them,
their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his home:
14 “This is my resting place forever;
I will make my home here
because I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless its food;
I will satisfy its needy with bread.
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation,
and its faithful people will shout for joy.
17 There I will make a horn grow for David;
I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but the crown he wears will be glorious.”[4]
Getting Started
What is one insight/word of comfort/challenging idea that
you held onto from last week?
Did any lesson from last week’s session impact your life?
9:30-10:15?
The unfortunate unintended consequence of adding chapters
and verses.
- See the image. This is the end of the Gospel of Luke and the beginning of John. Notice that there are no spaces!
- Sometimes the placement of the chapters and verses influences the interpretation of the text.[5]
As we will (hopefully) see, Paul is concluding his points
about:
- The identity of Israel being rooted in faith.
- The inclusion of the Gentiles in Israel.
-
He is beginning a section looking at the inter-relation of:
- God’s Law.
- The inability to achieve righteousness by works of the Law.
- The Word as a Means of Grace to deliver faith and salvation.
9:30-33
What should we say then? Gentiles, who did not pursue
righteousness, have obtained righteousness—namely the righteousness that comes
from faith. 31 But Israel, pursuing the law of
righteousness, has not achieved the righteousness of the law. 32 Why
is that? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by
works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 As
it is written,
Look, I am putting a stone in Zion to stumble over
and a rock to trip over,
and the one who believes on him
will not be put to shame.
What, therefore, will we say?
- Paul uses this as a rhetorical device.
o
4:1 – … that Abraham, our forefather, to have
found according to the flesh?
o
6:1 – Should we continue in sin so that grace
may multiply?
o
7:7 – Is the law sin?
o
9:14 – Is there injustice on God’s part?
- This instance is different. Instead of moving into a question with a negative response, he moves into a statement.
Gentiles who/while not pursuing righteousness obtained
righteousness, but a righteousness that [is] by faith, …
- The participle not pursuing could serve like an adjective or to set the context.
- This is Romans 3:21-31 all over again!
But Israel, who/while pursuing righteousness a/the Law of
Righteousness, in the Law did not attain/come to it.
- Paul uses different words for the Gentiles getting righteousness and Israel’s failure.
o
The Gentiles while not pursuing took hold of
righteousness.
o
Israel while pursuing did not come upon or reach
righteousness.
o Perhaps there is a feeling of Genesis 3 here – reaching out to take the fruit.
Because of why?
- Again, Paul uses a question to move forward.
Because not from faith, but as from works.
They stumbled/struck against the stone of stumbling.
Just as it is written,
- God’s written word is authoritative.
“Behold, I set in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal/offense, and the one believing in Him will not be put to shame/humiliated.”
Isaiah 8:14 - He will be a sanctuary;
but for the two houses of Israel,
he will be a stone to stumble over
and a rock to trip over,
and a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Isaiah 28:16 - Therefore the Lord God said:
“Look, I have laid a stone in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
the one who believes will be unshakable.
Did you notice any interpretation going on in my translation of this quote from Isaiah?
Matthew 21
The Triumphal Entry
Hosanna to the Son of
David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name
of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!
Cleansing the Temple
Children Praise Jesus
14 The blind and the lame came to him
in the temple, and he healed them. 15 When the
chief priests and the scribes saw the wonders that he did and the children
shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were
indignant 16 and said to him, “Do you hear what
these children are saying?”
Jesus replied, “Yes, have you never read:
You have prepared praise
from the mouths of infants and nursing babies?”
The Barren Fig Tree
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
23 When he entered the
temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he
was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave
you this authority?”
24 Jesus answered them, “I will
also ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I will tell you by
what authority I do these things. 25 Did John’s
baptism come from heaven, or was it of human origin?”
They discussed it among themselves, “If we say, ‘From
heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But
if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we’re afraid of the crowd, because everyone
considers John to be a prophet.” 27 So they
answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what
authority I do these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think? A man had two
sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go work in the vineyard today.’
29 “He answered, ‘I don’t want to,’
but later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the
man went to the other and said the same thing. ‘I will, sir,’ he answered, but
he didn’t go. 31 Which of the two did his father’s
will?”
They said, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, tax collectors
and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. 32 For
John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him.
Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; but you, when you saw it,
didn’t even change your minds then and believe him.
The Parable of the Vineyard Owner
33 “Listen to another parable: There
was a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress
in it, and built a watchtower. He leased it to tenant farmers and went
away. 34 When the time came to harvest fruit, he
sent his servants to the farmers to collect his fruit. 35 The
farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Again,
he sent other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to
them. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They
will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But when the tenant farmers saw
the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and
take his inheritance.’ 39 So they seized him, threw
him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Therefore,
when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”
41 “He will completely destroy those
terrible men,” they told him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will
give him his fruit at the harvest.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you
never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is what the Lord has done
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom
of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit. 44 Whoever
falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it
will shatter him.”[j]
45 When the chief priests and the
Pharisees heard his parables, they knew he was speaking about them. 46 Although
they were looking for a way to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because the
people regarded him as a prophet.
Wrapping Up
What is one insight/word of comfort/challenging idea that
you hope to hold onto from these verse?
How will the lessons learned from these verses impact your
faith life?
[1]
Bethlehem
[2]
A city NW of Jerusalem. The Ark of the Covenant was kept there for 20 years
after the Philistines had taken it captive. (1 Sam 6:21-7:2)
[3]
Meshiach – messiah – on one level referring to the king, on another pointing to
Jesus.
[4]
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used
by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered
trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
[5] Ephesians 5:21 is another example of this. The text reads, “having
become subject to one another in the fear of Christ,” however, it is
unclear if this statement continues the thoughts before it or begins the next
thought which also includes the idea of being subject. The way we break the
sentence into English impacts the interpretation.
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