Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder
Be With Me is a daily 7 minute chronological walk through the New Testament hosted by Michael Smith. It is for everyone who is curious about what Jesus actually said and did in the gospels. Most episodes will leave you with at least one good thought to chew on for the rest of the day. We start with the Bible and hopefully end with Awe. We are walking through the chronological events of Jesus' life and then thoughtfully considering them. It is meant to spur the devotional life of the Christian and the not-yet-Christian. We occasionally venture into the Old Testament when it helps our understanding of the New Testament events. Everybody has 7 minutes. Everybody needs to wonder. Be With Me is hosted by Michael Smith who has absolutely no special qualifications to do a podcast. He is not a pastor. He has not been to seminary. He does not lead a mega-church. He is not a professional and he has no more credentials than you do. He does, however, follow a great God with an observant eye and a curious heart. Each day, he starts with a study bible and aims for astonishment. ‘be with him’ for 7 minutes as he sets out daily to discover the God who invites us to ‘Be With Me.’
Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder
Leave the vengeance for God alone s30e52 Ps137
Have you ever hoped for bad things to happen to the bad people in your life? If you write a song about that sentiment, it is called an imprecatory psalm.
Fortunately, we have some New Testament light to shed on this sentiment. You may be familiar with how Jesus wishes us to treat our enemies: Love them, pray for them, and bless them. We do vengeance so very poorly. We'd best leave the vengeance for God alone.
https://youtu.be/LMRMJZVB3mY
Leave the vengeance for God alone s30e52 Psalm 137
The rebellious folks of Israel find themselves in Babylon by the discipline of the Lord. We know the specifics of this Psalm. We know its where and when
His plan is to put them BACK in His good graces exactly by taking them OUT of His good graces
So the Lord’s thumb,puts Israel and Judah,under the thumb of Babylon and Edom.
137 By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land? GREAT QUESITIONS OF SCRIPTURE. HOW CAN I SING AT A TIME LIKE THIS. WILL I SING AT A TIME LIKE THIS? Will I REORIENT MYSELF TO THE LORD. Here is the light bulb starting:
And here Ps 137 Ends with one of the strangest endings to any of the psalms we have looked at
It calls for punishment of the punishers, even their children of the land
Not an unknown reference in the context of Near Eastern warfare
7 Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,
down to its foundations!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,
blessed shall he be who repays you
with what you have done to us!
9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rock!
This is a call for God’s punishment for the pagan nations that reject Him
Remember: God is not mocked. These foreign nations that mistreat the people of God, even wHEN THIS IS ALLOWED by the sovereignty of the Lord, WILL BE ALSO DISCIPINED for their sins. God uses the sins of the edomites and the sins of the Babylonians for the correction of His chosen people the Israelites and Judah. But, God does not FORGET the sins of the Babylonians either. : the Babylonians are in a sovereignty sandwich. THEY ARE BEING USED BY THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. THEY ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE SOVEREIGN GOD.
Many of the psalms we don’t know the where or the when. That’s OK, since in general they are universally applicable. One of the things that make this applicable is its specificity. Imprecatory
Worng
Language of this ending Jars the modern reader. Perhaps it is supposed to.
It does however, give us an idea of the pain that is being inflicted UPON Israel in captivity, and upon Israel as they were fought, conquered, captured.
Clearly, they had suffered great grief at the hands of their captors
God has promised Justice for the world, and for the evil ones of the world:
Habakkuk 2: 8 Because you have plundered many nations,
all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you, 9 “Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
Here IN PS137 we see this call to the Lord, for exactly this KIND OF justice to befall Babylon now
Lord: let the wicked experience your divine judgement now
This is an imprecatory psalm. It is not the only one. 7, 9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
and may you establish the righteous—
35,Let destruction come upon the destroyer 69, 24 Pour out your indignation upon them,
and let your burning anger overtake them.
83 17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
let them perish in disgrace,
18 that they may know that you alone,
whose name is the Lord,
are the Most High over all the earth.
Call for an eye for an eye. These are curses toward those that have mistreated God’s people. Also here is God’s hatred for sin and abuse of His people
It is a Call for bad things for bad people, and yes, even their children.
What is the NT call? It was in an era of Law and Judgement.
We don’t live under that dispensation. We enjoy the law of grace.
Grace for those in his family. Us. And a plea for those who are NOT in His fam Prayfor enemies. Luke 6:27–28
Love Your Enemies
27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, prayfor those who abuse you.
Leave the vengeance for God. Without the Lord, We do vengence poorly here. He does this category perfectly. Let’s stick to Love. To doing Good. Praying for our enemies, and blessing those who curse us.