# 41 2022 Dev. Psalm 149:1. A New Song! Read all of Psalm 149 first.  We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. How will it affect yours? All passages are taken from the NIV.

Psalm 149:1 “Sing to the Lord a new song, his praises in the assembly of his faithful people.”

Ps.146-150 is the final series of hymns of the Psalter that are a medley of praise. All are framed with: “Praise the Lord.”

Psalm 149 praises God for His care for the people. People that God chose to serve Him with praise and retribution on those who physically attack His people.Israel at this time is under the Sinaitic Covenant; made with them in Exodus 19-24. They are blessed as God’s people and are responsible to live out the Kingdom of God (see Ps. 2).

V1. “A New Song…” Thanking God for lifting His people out of the masses of humanity, because they are better, no, because they are the least, the Bible tells us. Thanking God for bestowing His glory on them, as much as they could bear, and because they are to usher in the Kingdom of God.

Vs.2-5 “Let Israel rejoice in their maker…” The God who created them and the God who calls them His own. Be glad! Dance, make music with all kinds of instruments. God delights in His people, lifts up the humble, God gives honor to His faithful people, they sing for joy!

Vs.6-9 May people praise God as they carry a double-edged sword to inflict vengeance and punishment on the people opposed to God and opposed to His own. Lock up the leaders and the nobles. Israel was physically attacked and they responded physically.

Fast forward to today, we are still in the battle. God has given us His Glory, salvation in Christ Jesus, and He has given us His mandate by the double edged sword of the Holy Spirit.  We are not only given a sword but the whole Armor of God, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against this dark world and and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” God’s armor: The belt of truth, the breast plate of righteousness, feet fitted with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. (Eph.6:10-20) We indict by living for Jesus, we are to be the examples in this world but God carries out the sentence.

Praise the Lord.

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# 40 2022 Dev. Genesis 9:11.God’s Covenant! Read chapter nine first.  We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. How will it affect yours?  All passages are taken from the NIV.

Genesis 9:11 “I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the water of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

Gen. 9 God blesses Noah and family. God allows all animals for food but puts a restriction on eating meat with blood. God institutes the death penalty for shedding human blood. God gives a sign of His covenant with people and animals. Evil in the world continues.

Vs.1-3 Our God is a God of abundance, He blesses mankind to be fruitful and fill the earth. He also opens up the hunting of game and fish for food.

Vs.4-7 God puts down some rules about shedding blood. Don’t eat meat with blood in it, if someone sheds human blood “by humans shall their blood be shed:” Why? “for in the image of God has God made mankind.” Capital punishment is rarely practiced today. “be fruitful and increase in number…” God wants life, not death.

Vs.8-17 “Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you… Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood…” God gives a sign of the covenant He makes; “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the of the covenant between me and earth.”This sign is for those on the earth but, God said: ‘I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures…’ The rainbow raises the question if it had rained before the flood?

Vs.18-28 Ham had a son, Canaan. He is singled out here, we see why in the next chapter but also in this chapter. Noah, planted a vineyard, and drank the wine in excess. He lay naked in his tent, in some way Ham disrespected him, whether he mocked his father in some way, we don’t know but Noah knew and spoke a curse on Canaan. Noah blessed Japheth, he blessed Shem more in that Japheth would dwell with him, but be subservient to Shem. No blessing for Ham but Canaan would be the lowest of slaves. Why Canaan? God punishes those who hate Him to the third generation. (Ex. 20:5) it seems unfair, but God knows His people, History has revealed the opposition of Canaan’s offspring to God’s people. That still is going on today, not only to Jews, Shem’s dependents, Israel, but also to followers of Jesus, the church today. God is good, He will protect His people physically and spiritually. Praise be to God!

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# 39 2022 Dev. Psalm 148:13. Let us Praise God! Read all of Psalm 148 first.  We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. How will it affect yours? All passages are taken from the NIV.

Psalm 148:13 “Let them praise the the name Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.”

Ps.146-150 is the final series of hymns of the Psalter that are a medley of praise. All are framed with: “Praise the Lord.”

Psalm 148 is the middle Ps. of this series of praise. Nothing and no one is exempt, but twice, praise is invited; “Let them praise the name of the Lord…”

Vs.1-4 “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens…” Angels, heavenly hosts, sun and moon, all the stars, highest heaven, and waters above, clouds, the heavens show us God’s glory, not one word do they speak to us, yet, “they pour forth speech.”

Vs.5-6 “…for at his command they were created… established forever… decreed that will never pass away.” From the days of creation to the coming of Christ, to the coming of the New Heaven and the New Earth, God’s praise will be with us and in us! Amen!

Vs.7-12 “Praise the Lord from the earth…” everyone and everything on earth including animals and fish, all kings and rulers, young men and women, children and old men and women. But today, God’s creation continues to show God’s glory and praise, yet, less and less people, especially leaders, acknowledge God, much less praise him. But tomorrow, when Christ returns, every knee will bow and glorify God, but it may be to late for many.

Vs.13-14 “Let them praise the name of the Lord… he alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.” Up to this point nothing about what God has done for mankind.  “And he has raised up for his people a horn…” A horn: strength, faith, care, grace, salvation and the Holy Spirit for his people, “his faithful servants, the people close to his heart.” Israel, the church, the followers of Jesus. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord, in every situation, in every location. Amen. Gremar and I say: We know that God heals. We expect God to heal. But if he does not we will still praise him! (Dan. 3: 16-18 paraphrase) “Praise the Lord.”

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# 38 2022 Dev. Genesis 8:1.God Remembers! Read chapter eight first.  We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. How will it affect yours?  All passages are taken from the NIV.

Genesis 8:1 “But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark…”

Gen. 8 After 150 days of the earth being covered with water, God remembers, and sends a wind upon the waters. It sounds much like the very beginning in chapter one. “The earth is empty and void and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Wind is often translated as Spirit depending on the context. There is movement in the statement “But God remembered…” I can imagine that Noah was wondering about that,

Vs.1-5. Chapter 7 ends with the end of all living except for those in the ark and the world was covered with water for 150 days, this is the end of judgment and condemnation. “But God remembered Noah…” in chapter 8, it is a pivotal statement, the beginning of redemption. From here on begins the fulfillment of the promise of Ge. 3:15, culminating at Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection. These verses are very precise as to the day and month of the ark coming to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Scripture is not an historical or an scientific document, although some of that is included, but Scripture is mainly about relationships; God’s relationship with his people, God’s dealings with humankind and the world, and humans dealing with other humans.   

Vs.6-12 After the ark grounded, Noah proceeded to determine if the earth had dried up by sending out a raven and a dove. After 365 days the earth had dried up.

Vs.13-14 “By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth, but not completely, not till the 27^th day of the 2^nd month the earth was completely dry.

Vs.15-17 “So God said to Noah, ‘come out of the ark,” God wanted the animals to repopulate the earth.

Vs.18-19 So Noah, his family and all the animals came out of the ark. A reversal of Ch.7, instead of death, now there was life again on the earth. Instead of condemnation, there is redemption for man and animals alike.

Vs.20-22 Noah’s first priority was to worship, he built an altar to the Lord and sacrificed some of the clean animals to God. God was pleased, not so much for the aroma but with the heart of Noah. He was so pleased that He promised to Himself, “never again will I curse the ground because of humans,” even though they are evil from childhood, and “I will not destroy all creatures as I have done.” God makes a promise to us: “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” But only as long as the earth endures. There is an end of things, there is an end to our lives, there is an end to evil, there is an end to this earth and creation as we know it, but the New Heaven and the New Earth is coming, Christ is on the way, making our salvation complete! Thanks be to God.

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# 37 2022 Dev. Psalm 147:11. God’s Love! Read all of Psalm 147 first.  We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. How will it affect yours? All passages are taken from the NIV.

Psalm 147:11 “the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”

Ps.146-150 is the final series of hymns of the Psalter that are a medley of praise. All are framed with: “Praise the Lord.”

Psalm 147 also begins and ends with “Praise the Lord.” This Psalm was possibly composed for the dedication of the wall and the revival of Jerusalem, in the time of Nehemiah, Ch.12:27- 43 (NIV). The center of the Psalm are verses 10-11.

V.1 “Praise the Lord.” What a privilege and blessing it is to praise God! Our spirits’ are revived and our faith is strengthened as we worship together in our churches today but also in our daily living, all of living is worship for the followers of Jesus.

Vs.2-6 praises God for the care of His people, physically and spiritedly, God is praised for the glory of His creation, for His mighty power, for “his understanding”, for His love for the humble and for His distain for the wicked.The Psalmist equates God’s care with His glory, if God created the universe, placing and naming the stars, would He not also take care of His people?

V.7 “Sing to the Lord…” verse seven stands alone, urging us to be thankful with “grateful praise; make music to our God…”

Vs.8-9 Praise God for the care of our natural world, God provides for His animals and He gives us the responsibility to care for His sanctuary, the world and place we live in.

Vs.10-11 God’s pleasure is not in human endeavor, nor the accomplishments of man, as amazing as they are. No, “The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” This is the center of the Psalm and should be the center of our lives, Amen.

V.12 “extol the Lord…” verse twelve stands alone, urging us, people of God, followers of Jesus, to praise God for His unfailing love.

Vs.13-14 “He strengthens … and blesses… grants peace… and satisfies you with the finest wheat.” The Psalmist here speaks to Israel but God speaks to us today, the church, the followers of Jesus is Israel today, wherever they are in this world. Our Land, the US, is particularly blessed with the blessings of verses 13 and 14. We ask ourselves, for how long? And we pray fervently for change and may God continue to bless us.

Vs.15-18 “He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.” These verses remind us of: “as the rain and snow comes down from heaven…so is my word that goes out of my mouth: it it will not return to me empty” Isa. 55 Read the whole chapter.

Vs.19-20 “He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. He has done this for no other nation…” But that was the role for Israel, to be the example, the standard for praise and worship, and that is the role for the church and followers of Jesus today. The true marks of the church, true preaching of the Word, the proper administration of the sacrament, the proper application of discipline, and the Word of God adds what I call a fourth mark; the fervent and continuous proclamation of the Good News. Yes, that is the true preaching of the Word, but to those who have not heard, or have not had an opportunity to respond. Our actions and words in our daily lives are included, they are all equally important. Amen. “Praise the Lord.”

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# 36 2022 Dev. Genesis 7:1.God Found Noah Righteous! Read chapter seven first.  We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. How will it affect yours?  All passages are taken from the NIV.

Genesis 7:1 “The Lord said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.’”

Gen. 7 is the main event of this 120-year project. When one reads this chapter doubt begins to set in, yes, there is a reason why those of little faith deem the first 11 chapters of Gen. as non historical. Granted, it is a fantastic story but these chapters’ highlight God’s glory and power. Denying historicity is one way to avoid the theological implications and the truth of a conflict between God, His people and the Devil, Satan, that ancient serpent. The world has conveniently put aside the truth of evil and that Satan controls people on this earth. Look around at what is happening today! What was considered good is now bad and what was bad is now good. Really?

Vs.1-4 “Take with you seven pairs of clean animals, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animals…” In 7 days it will rain, and it will rain for forty days and forty nights. The numbers here are important; 7 is considered a complete number, 40 days comes up in other times of redemptive restoration; Moses on Mount Sinai, Jesus in the desert. God’s intention is to eliminate every living thing on earth. This seems terribly harsh, does it not? Yes, but people knew God and God’s precepts very early, in Gen. we read: “at this time people began to call upon the name of the Lord” Also, Noah, “a preacher of righteousness.” 2 Pe. 2:5 and “a man of faith” Heb.11:7. I recommend that you read these two New Test. chapters. For all the many years up to the flood God had His witnesses in the ancient world, as He does have so many witnesses to Jesus’ love today! Who is listening? Many people are, but in our country it does not seem to us like many people are listening today. Talking about the flood or hell, seems harsh and unfair but it is not, Jesus will come again and the world will be destroyed but not before everyone has an opportunity to hear about or to see Jesus’ Love. Amen!

V.5 Noah obeyed God!

Vs.6-10 confirms for us what God had commanded Noah, repeated here for emphasis.

Vs.11-12 are very specific about the date of the beginning of the flood and Noah entering the ark. The waters come from below and from above. Some commentators think that before the flood the earth was watered by heavy dew. If that was the case people would begin to panic that first day. Was this a worldwide flood? Not everyone thinks so, there are however eight hundred indications that a worldwide flood has occurred covering the highest mountains, besides, ancient writings not found in scripture that indicate the biblical flood is fact. Those of us who accept that fact do so on faith.  We believe in God’s power and Glory.

Vs.13-16 here again we have a repeat of the event: ‘On that day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three son, entered the ark.” Including all the animals mentioned before, there is to be no doubt about this event. “Then the Lord shut him in.” There was a large door in the side of the ark, given the technology used to built this ark, 510 ft. long and 50 ft. high with 3 decks and a huge door in the side. Noah had the knowledge to build a mechanism to close the door, but, no, God Himself closed the door and sealed them in. Besides the animals coming to him, God closing the door was a huge confirmation of God’s purpose, care and love.

Vs.17-23 tells us that after forty days the water rose to 15 cubits or about 25ft over the mountains. “Every living thing that moved on land perished…” Only Noah and those with him were left.

V. 24 “The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days. God’s ways are not our ways, his thoughts not our thoughts, His purposes not our purposes. Praise, glory and honor to our God!

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# 35 2022 Dev. Psalm 146:3. Trust The Lord! Read all of Psalm 146 first.  We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. How will it affect yours? All passages are taken from the NIV.

Psalm 146:3 “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.”

Ps.146-150 is the final series of hymns of the Psalter that is a medley of praise.All are framed with: “Praise the Lord.”

V.1 This Ps. begins and ends with “Praise the Lord.” The verse then moves to one of my favorite statements: “Praise the Lord, O my soul.” Not only physical praise by mouth but praise deep within, portraying trust, love, dependence, a way of being.

Vs.2-5 “I will praise the Lord all my life;” not only “as long as I live” but into eternity. The Psalmist implores others not to trust humans for salvation and gives us the reason why, we are but a blip in God’s time. But blessed are those “whose help and hope is in the Lord their God.”

Vs.6-9 The Psalmist praises God as the creator, as the faithful God who upholds the oppressed, who feeds the hungry, sets the prisoner free, who restores sight, who picks up the depressed. This Ps. is not designated as one of the Messianic Psalms but it does have the messianic message, prophesied in Isa. 29:18-21 and in 35:5-6 and spoken by Jesus in Lk.4:18 and said to tell John the Baptist in Luke 7:22-23.  The Psalmist by the Holy Spirit speaks the messianic messages.

Here, as well, we see the contrast of this world: “The Lord loves the righteous, watches over the foreigner,” those with no help, “sustains the fatherless and the widow, but frustrates the ways of the wicked.”

V.10 “The Lord reigns forever…” Nothing in this world lasts, everything deteriorates, but not the Word of the Lord, His Kingdom is forever and always.  Amen and Amen! Praise the Lord!

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# 34 2022 Dev. Genesis 6:8. God’s Favor! Read chapter six first.  We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. How will it affect yours?  All passages are taken from the NIV.

Genesis 6:8 “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

Gen. 6 has the story of the spiritual decline of mankind: “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth…The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth and His heart was deeply troubled.” So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created…” and every living thing.

Vs.1-4 The first four verses maybe the most contested and misunderstood verses in all of Scripture. We understand the daughters of men but who are the sons of God? Some say they are angels who came down to earth. Some say they were royal people, leaders and Kings. Some say they were the sons of the line of Seth, marrying the daughters of Cain’s line. That seems to me be to be the most logical explanation and it went both ways, given the context of pervasive wickedness. This is a warning for the youth of today, my mother used to say to me: “don’t mix water with the wine!” How PC is that? “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days…” Large strong men, “men of renown”, but the name means, “fallen ones” not acceptable to God.

Vs.5-8 “God is deeply troubled in His heart”, sin had taken over, God’s justice demanded the purifying punishment of the corruption on the earth. Satan was close to taking all of mankind with him to perdition, thereby negating the Mother Promise of Gen. 3:15. That is Satan’s goal. But, no, one family has favor in the eyes of God and God’s Grace went to work.

V.9-10 “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. Does God say that about us? Have we stayed away from the pollution of the world?

Vs.11-21 “God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. ¹³ So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them.” So God instructed Noah to build an ark, we are not talking about the Ark of the Covenant, no, something like the basket Moses’ mother weaved and covered with pitch to waterproof it, only on a grand scale. God gave Noah the dimensions and how to build it. The scale is the biggest boat that can be built from wood. 

God said: ^“You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. ²⁰ Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive” Along with his family. “Noah did everything as God commanded him”. Not only did God change the length of human life, verse 3, to 120 years, that is how long Noah built to finish the ark. God takes care of His own! Are you in God’s favor?Amen.

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# 33 2022 Dev. Psalm 145:8. God, Rich in love! Read all of Psalm 145 first.  We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. How will it affect yours? All passages are taken from the NIV.

Psalm 145:8 “The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
    slow to anger and rich in love.”

Intro. Ps.138-145 are eight Davidic Psalms of Prayer/ Praise leading close to the end of the Psalter. The series is framed by two praise Psalms, Ps.138 praising God for answered prayer and Ps.145 praising God for His care of all of creation.

Psalm 145 Is a prayer praising God for creation, praising God for his care of His people; “the Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all he has made”. The psalm is an alphabetic acrostic, having 22 lines, each line beginning with the corresponding character of the alphabet.

Vs.1-2 “I will exalt you, my God and King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. “This is the introduction, it includes words like, exalt, praise, and extol your name and it breaks into the after life, “for ever and ever”. When we sing praises and /or pray our praises to God we think of this life, we don’t often think about the after life but that is a fact, we will praise God for ever and ever.

Vs.3-7 Now, not speaking in the first person, “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise…” words like greatness, mighty acts, glorious splendor, your Majesty, wonderful works, power of your awesome works, great deeds, abundant goodness, your righteousness, truly God is praised over the years and generations. There is no one like our God! Amen!

V.8 This is the middle of this passage, everything that has meaning hangs on this. “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” We see this language, this gospel, God’s plan for mankind is all over scripture. Gracious, compassion, slow to anger, rich in love, the hallmark of salvation.

Vs.9-13 “The Lord is good to all…” good to His creation, nature, good to His faithful people. The glory of God is all around us, His works are marvelous, we cannot help but praise God. Even those who do not believe are forced to admit there is intelligent design in God’s world. Your kingdom, Lord, includes all there is and all that ever will be, an everlasting Kingdom.

Vs.14-16 “The Lord is trustworthy in all He promises…” The Lord looks to the lonely, the down and outers, all who fall, physically and spiritually, all who are bowed down. We all look to you, Lord, for peace, for our livelihood, for salvation, for the life to come. “You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” Amen, praise Him!

Vs.17-20 “The Lord is righteous…and faithful in all he does. The Lord is near to all who call on him in truth; He fulfills their desires… He hears their cry, he saves and watches over all who love him” But the wicked He rejects.

V. 21 “Let every creature praise His holy name for ever and ever.” All of the animal world obeys God, they are what God created them to be, they glorify God by what they are and what they are created to do. Only humans have the ability to choose, we thank God He chose us first. Amen!

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# 32 2022 Dev. Genesis 5:1-2. Adam and Eve! Read chapter five first.  We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. How will it affect yours?  All passages are taken from the NIV.

Genesis 5:1-2 “When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. ² He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind”^[a] when they were created.”

Gen.4 gives us Cain’s family line. Gen. 5 gives us Adam’s family line. These are not complete genealogies but a record of those who reject God’s ways and of those who call upon the name of the Lord.

Gen.5 is the account of the family line of Adam and Eve but it follows the first born, many more people were born to the tune of hundreds of thousands. God’s blessing to Adam and Eve is fruitfulness, children, to fill the earth. People lived well into the hundreds of years before the flood. It is speculation to say why but many commentators assume early longevity is not literal. God created us to live forever, 900 years certainly is possible, I tend to think they did live that long. Later, God limited a person’s life to 125 years.

“When God created mankind, He made them in the likeness of God.” We are like God in that we share some of the same attributes; we have the ability to love, to have compassion, to rejoice, to know God because we are created for Him, to know good and evil / right from wrong, to be able to create from materials on earth, we have earthly wisdom and we are spiritual beings.

Adam, Seth, Enoch and Methuselah lived over 900 years, but Enoch, who “walked faithfully with God” lived only 365 years and did not die, “God took him away.” Only Elijah was the other person taken without death. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, pleased God, Lamech the seventh from Adam in Cain’s line pleased Satan by following in Cain’s footsteps.

Lamech, Methuselah’s son bore Noah, Lamech proclaimed: “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.” This is a prophecy but I am not sure what it means, nor have I been able to find info on it. One thing I speculate is that God works through natural means, it is possible the earth may have become more fertile because of the flood.

Noah was 500 yrs. old before Shem, Japheth and Ham were born. Noah walked with God. Today our lesson is that God supports those who resist the culture around him/her. As it turned out Noah and family were the only ones acceptable to God and God was going to care of them big time. Praise the Lord!   

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