Podcast appearances and mentions of Allen P Ross

Believers Must Meditate on Scripture      The Lord instructed Joshua, saying, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success” (Josh 1:8). This command involves a deep, reflective engagement with Scripture, allowing its truths to shape one's thoughts, actions, and decisions. The word “meditate” translates the Hebrew verb hagah (הָגָה), which means “to growl…to moan…to read in an undertone…to mutter while meditating.”[1] According to Warren Wiersbe, “It was the practice of the Jews to read Scripture aloud (Acts 8:26–40) and talk about it to themselves and to one another (Deut 6:6–9). This explains why God warned Joshua that the Book of the Law was not to depart out of his mouth (Josh 1:8).”[2] The practice of speaking the text while reading it implies concentration, allowing the mind to process and absorb its content.      Similarly, David wrote of the righteous man, saying, “His delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Psa 1:2; cf. Psa 119:148; Phil 4:8-13). The word “law” translates the Hebrew noun torah (תּוֹרָה), which means “direction, instruction, the law.”[3] Allen Ross states, “To be blessed and remain untarnished in the world, the faithful must live according to God's word. The word ‘law' (תּוֹרָה) can refer to instruction in general, or an individual teaching, or the commandments, or the books of the Law, or Scriptures as a whole.”[4] And the one who adheres to this pattern of meditating on God's Word “will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers” (Psa 1:3). The imagery of a tree firmly planted by streams of water vividly illustrates the stability, nourishment, and fruitfulness that comes from a life rooted in Scripture. Just as a tree by the water remains lush and productive regardless of external conditions, so too does the person who immerses themselves in God's Word remain spiritually vibrant and effective, no matter the challenges they face. Peter Craigie states: "A tree may flourish or fade, depending upon its location and access to water. A tree transplanted from some dry spot to a location beside an irrigation channel, where water never ceases to flow, would inevitably flourish. It would become a green and fruitful tree. The simile not only illustrates colorfully the prosperity of the righteous, but also makes a theological point. The state of blessedness or happiness is not a reward; rather, it is the result of a particular type of life. Just as a tree with a constant water supply naturally flourishes, so too the person who avoids evil and delights in Torah naturally prospers, for such a person is living within the guidelines set down by the Creator. Thus the prosperity of the righteous reflects the wisdom of a life lived according to the plan of the Giver of all life."[5]      James wrote, “The one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25). The word “intently” translates the Greek verb parakuptō (παρακύπτω), which carries the idea of stooping down or bending over to take a closer look at something with careful attention. The aorist tense suggests a focused and intentional effort at one point to deeply examine the law of God. The active voice means the Christian is performing the action, showing that the believer must actively engage in this careful examination of God's Word. Once learned, the believer must be “an effectual doer” of what God commands, and the one who obeys the Lord “will be blessed in what he does.” Fruchtenbaum notes, “The blessing lies in the doing, and he will be blessed further in the future life as the future tense of the verb indicates. The voluntary doing of God's will, as revealed by Scripture, is the secret of true happiness.”[6] Christians who are “doers” of the Word are blessed not merely because they follow God's rules for life, but because living in harmony with God's truth brings divine favor.[7] This includes experiencing the benefits of God's wisdom and protection, a growing relationship with Him, and, ultimately, spiritual fruitfulness (Gal 5:22-23). By obeying God, the believer moves beyond theoretical faith into a transformative, lived experience of grace and divine blessing.      Master the doctrines you learn from God's Word. Let them consciously and constantly circulate in your thoughts. Saturate your mind with Bible doctrine, reviewing and reflecting until it becomes integrated into your thinking. The spiritual life is built by repeatedly studying, processing, and applying God's truth, not by racing through it. A slow, steady rain results in greater ground saturation than a flash flood, where most of the water runs across the surface. Likewise, slow reading with thoughtful meditation penetrates more deeply into the heart. Take in the Word deeply—study it, think about it, live it. God Uses Bible Teachers to Help Us Grow Spiritually      Almost anyone can be used by the Lord to communicate divine revelation. Even a jackass can be the mouthpiece of God (Num 22:28-30). Biblically, Christians are directed to “teach and admonish one another” (Col 3:16), which shows that all believers can teach and counsel one another with the Word of God. Of course, this assumes they've been “constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine” (1 Tim 4:6), are spiritually mature in their walk with the Lord (Heb 5:14), and can “speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine” (Tit 2:1). New believers are to “long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Pet 2:2).      Throughout Scripture, God has used various persons to communicate His Word to others for their instruction and edification. God used mothers and fathers (Deut 6:6-7; Eph 6:4; 2 Tim 1:5; 3:15),[8] wise men (Prov 13:14), noble women (Prov 31:26), older mature women (Tit 2:3), prophets (Deut 4:1; 4:5; Eph 4:11), ruling officials and Levites (2 Ch 17:7-9; Neh 8:7-8), and priests (Lev 10:11; Mal 2:7; Ezra 7:10). In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul listed several communication gifts that Christ gave to His church, saying, “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers” (Eph 4:11). This is a list of gifted men who are tasked by the Lord to provide education to Christians. Jesus gave these men to His church “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature person, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:12-13). Christ gave these gifted men to His church to help Christians advance spiritually so that they, in turn, can serve others in their walk with the Lord. Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 237. [2] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Strong, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 27–28. [3] Willem VanGemeren, ed., New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), 284. [4] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms 1–89: Commentary, vol. 1, Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2011–2013), 188. [5] Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1–50, vol. 19, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1983), 60–61. [6] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Messianic Jewish Epistles: Hebrews, James, First Peter, Second Peter, Jude, 1st ed. (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2005), 237. [7] God's Word also strengthens the heart of the believer who regularly meditates on it. The psalmist wrote, “My soul cleaves to the dust; revive me according to Your word” (Psa 119:25), and “My soul weeps because of grief; strengthen me according to Your word” (Psa 119:28), and “This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your word has revived me” (Psa 119:50), and “I am exceedingly afflicted; revive me, O LORD, according to Your word” (Psa 119:107), and “Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live” (Psa 119:116a), and “Plead my cause and redeem me; revive me according to Your word” (Psa 119:154). The idea in these verses is that stressed-out-believers recharge their batteries by means of God's Word, which is “alive and powerful” (Heb 4:12). [8] The Mosaic Law instructed the parents, saying, “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up (Deut 6:6-7). The phrase, teach them diligently, translates the Hebrew verb שָׁנָן shanan, which means to engrave or chisel on stone. The verb is in the Piel stem, which makes it intensive (i.e., teach diligently). Here, the tongue of the parents is likened to a chisel they keep applying to their children's minds in order to engrave God's Word into their thinking (cf. Prov 6:20-23). Where and when was this activity of training to take place? Moses says, you “shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deut 6:7b). Sitting suggests times of rest, and walking speaks of activity. When you lie down suggests evening time, and when you rise up suggests the morning hours. These form a double merism which encompass of all of life. In this way, Deuteronomy is aimed at subsequent generations, that they might learn God's will and faithfully transmit it to their children, who will pass it along to their children, and so on.

Do you know that God is with you?Susie Crosby joins Angie to remind you that God promises to be in and with you always.Psalm 46:5 (NIV)“God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.”https://livesteadyon.com/Email Angie at: steadyonpodcast@gmail.comFacebook @‌livesteadyonInstagram @‌angiebaughman421Grab freebies and subscribe to the weekly Steady On newsletter at: https://livesteadyon.com/live-steady-on-newsletter/You can download a blank study sheet here: https://livesteadyon.com/sbs-blank-study-sheet/Interested in the Step By Step Bible study method? Download the FREE masterclass here: https://livesteadyon.com/live-steady-on-stepbystepmasterclass/https://susiecrosby.com/Facebook: @‌susiecrosbyauthorInstagram: @‌susiecrosbySusie's devotional, “Just One Word: 90 Devotions to Invite Jesus In” is available on Amazon.Logos Softwarehttps://www.logos.com/Enduring Word Commentaryhttps://enduringword.com/WordHippohttps://www.wordhippo.com/BibleGatewayhttps://www.biblegateway.com/Blue Letter Biblehttps://www.blueletterbible.org/Leonard J. Coppes, “2066 קרב,”.%0a~This+noun+denotes+th "‌") ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 813."Gesenius's Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon - Study Resources." Blue Letter Bible. Web. 23 Jan, 2024. https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/lexica/gesenius/index.cfmJohn D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Ps 46:5.Allen P. Ross, “Psalms,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 828.Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. David G. Firth, vol. 15–16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2014), 205.Angie mentioned:Song, “He's That Close” by Shannon AdducciTheme music:Glimmer by Andy EllisonLearn more about Steady On University here:https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/cu/nNuXFKn/souOrder the Be Still Bible study here:https://livesteadyon.com/books/Midroll MusicI Miss the Beach Instrumental by Mikey Geiger

Where is your place of safety?Angie unpacks the meaning of refuge and reminds us that when storms of life hit, we will find safety and strength in the presence of God.Psalm 46:1 (NIV)“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”https://livesteadyon.com/Email Angie at: steadyonpodcast@gmail.comFacebook @livesteadyonInstagram @angiebaughman421Join Steady On University for fresh study resources and connection with others who are passionate about Bible study. Learn more here: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/cu/nNuXFKn/souGrab freebies and subscribe to the weekly Steady On newsletter at: https://livesteadyon.com/live-steady-on-newsletter/You can download a blank study sheet here: https://livesteadyon.com/sbs-blank-study-sheet/Interested in the Step By Step Bible study method? Download the FREE masterclass here: https://livesteadyon.com/live-steady-on-stepbystepmasterclass/Logos Softwarehttps://www.logos.com/Enduring Word Commentaryhttps://enduringword.com/WordHippohttps://www.wordhippo.com/BibleGatewayhttps://www.biblegateway.com/Blue Letter Biblehttps://www.blueletterbible.org/Donald J. Wiseman, “700 חָסָה,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 308.Clarke, Adam The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments, with A Commentary and Critical Notes, Volume III – Job to Song of Solomon (New York: Eaton and Mains, 1827?)Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 340.Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 192.Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 362.Allen P. Ross, “Psalms,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 828.Willem S. Prinsloo, “The Psalms,” in Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible, ed. James D. G. Dunn and John W. Rogerson (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003), 391.Theme music:Glimmer by Andy Ellison

The Content of Saving Faith      Eternal salvation has always been by grace alone through faith alone; however, the content of faith (i.e., what is believed), has changed throughout the ages. According to Arnold Fruchtenbaum, “Indeed, there always was, always is, and always will be only one means of salvation: by grace through faith.”[1] Though grace and faith are constants, the content of faith has changed over time, depending on what God revealed to each person or generation, as divine revelation came in stages. William MacDonald sates, “From Adam to Christ, God saved those who put their faith in Him on the basis of whatever revelation He gave them. Abraham, for example, believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness (Gen 15:6).”[2] According to Norman Geisler, “the revealed content of the gospel varied from age to age in the progress of revelation.”[3] Charles Ryrie notes, “The basis of salvation is always the death of Christ; the means is always faith; the object is always God (though man's understanding of God before and after the Incarnation is obviously different); but the content of faith depends on the particular revelation God was pleased to give at a certain time.”[4] Thomas Constable adds, “The basis of salvation is always the death of Christ. No one is saved except by what He accomplished at Calvary. The requirement for salvation is always faith. It is never works. The object of faith is always the Person of God. The content of faith is always a promise from God.”[5] The following examples demonstrate that the content of faith has changed over time.      First, after the historic fall of Adam and Eve (Gen 3:1-7), the content of saving faith was God's promise of an offspring of Eve who would crush the head of the serpent. In the presence of Adam and Eve, God told Satan, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Gen 3:15). This is commonly regarded as the protoevangelium; that is, the first gospel message. The crushing of Satan's head—a fatal blow—was accomplished by the Lord Jesus at the cross where He triumphed over sin and death. How much Adam and Eve understood about this prophecy is not known. However, it is assumed they trusted God at His word concerning the future offspring that would crush the serpent's head. Shortly after giving the promises, God killed an animal, which meant shedding its blood,  and made clothes from its hide and gave it to them to wear (Gen 3:21). Arnold Fruchtenbaum notes, “The covering of animal skins, which required the shedding of blood to give them the atonement, replaced the covering of fig leaves. Then the verse states: and clothed them. Physically, He clothed their nakedness, but spiritually, He also covered their sin by making for them their atonement.”[6] And according to Charles Ryrie, “When Adam looked upon the coats of skins with which God had clothed him and his wife, he did not see what the believer today sees looking back on the cross of Calvary.”[7]We should not assume that Adam and Eve understood the death, burial, and resurrection of Messiah. What they understood was God's promise of a future offspring who would crush the serpent, and then they witnessed God killing an animal, taking its skin, and making clothing for them. When they believed God's promise and accepted His provision, it resulted in their salvation.      Second, in the book of Genesis we have the record of Abraham's salvation. Moses wrote that Abraham “believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6). The content of Abraham's faith was the promise of God concerning the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 12:1-3), especially as it related to God giving him a biological descendant (Gen 15:1-6). Abraham accepted God's promise as true and reliable, which meant he trusted in God Himself. And when Abraham believed in Yahweh, we're told that God “reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6b).[8] Concerning Abraham's faith in God, Arnold Fruchtenbaum states, “The content of his faith was the promises of God. The object of his faith was Jehovah.”[9] According to J. Carl Laney Jr., “God had just promised Abraham, an elderly man with a barren wife, that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. In spite of the physical hindrances to the fulfillment of this promise, Abraham trusted God…Because Abraham accepted God's word as true and reliable, God declared him righteous, and therefore acceptable.”[10] Paul cited Genesis 15:6 in Romans (Rom 4:3) and Galatians (Gal 3:6) when making his case that believers are justified by faith alone, and not by any works of the Law (Rom 4:4-5).      Third, in the book of Ruth we find a good example of a Gentile who came to trust in the Lord. Ruth told her mother-in-law, Naomi, “Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16). Here is an expression of faith in the Lord Himself. God directed Israel to serve as His witnesses (Isa 43:10), telling others, “I, even I, am the LORD, and there is no savior besides Me” (Isa 43:11). For a Gentile to be saved, it meant trusting in Yahweh alone and not pagan idols, of which there are none. It also meant not trusting in works, which is what pagan idolatry required. Concerning this verse, Warren Wiersbe states, “Ruth's statement in Ruth 1:16-17 is one of the most magnificent confessions found anywhere in Scripture…[as] she confessed her faith in the true and living God and her decision to worship Him alone.”[11] And Arnold Fruchtenbaum notes, “Ruth invoked the name of God in her oath and not the name of Chemosh. This shows in whom she truly believed.”[12] What's interesting is that after Ruth married Boaz (Ruth 4:13), she was brought into the family line that led to King David (Ruth 4:18-22), and the Messiah Himself (Matt 1:1, 5). Ruth was among the Gentiles in the OT who believed in Yahweh and were saved. Other Gentile believers include Melchizedek (Gen 14:18), Rahab (Matt 1:5; Heb 11:31), and likely the Queen of Sheba (1 Ki 10:1-13), Naaman the Aramean (2 Ki 5:15-19), the Ninevites (Jonah 3:5, 9-10), Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 2:47; 3:29; 4:34-37),[13] and the Magi who came from the east to worship Messiah (Matt 2:1-2, 11). Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Ariel's Bible Commentary: The Book of Genesis, 1st ed. (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2008), 275. [2] William MacDonald, Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1690. [3] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Four: Church, Last Things (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2005), 484. [4] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Dispensationalism, Rev. and expanded. (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1995), 140. [5] Tom Constable, Tom Constable's Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Ex 12:43. [6] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Ariel's Bible Commentary: The Book of Genesis, 110. [7] Charles C. Ryrie, Dispensationalism, 134. [8] In his commentary on Genesis, Allen Ross notes, “The text does not necessarily mean that Abram came to faith here. Hebrews 11:8 asserts that he left Ur by faith. Genesis 15:6 simply reports at this point the fact that Abram believed, and for that belief God had credited him with righteousness.” (Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998, 310). [9] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Ariel's Bible Commentary: The Book of Genesis, 275. [10] J. Carl Laney Jr., “Soteriology”, Understanding Christian Theology, 238–239. [11] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Committed, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993), 21. [12] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Ariel's Bible Commentary: The Books of Judges and Ruth, 1st ed. (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2006), 300. [13] It's very likely that Nebuchadnezzar trusted God after being humbled by the Lord (see Daniel 4:1-37). Throughout the decades of Nebuchadnezzar's life, he'd had interactions with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, and the king gained knowledge about God. From his own mouth, Nebuchadnezzar said to Daniel, “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings” (Dan 2:47), and to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah he declared, “no other god is able to deliver in this way” (Dan 3:29). After the king had suffered for seven years, he eventually came to the place where he said, “I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever” (Dan 4:34), and “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven” (Dan 4:37). Though one cannot be dogmatic, Nebuchadnezzar's final words strongly imply salvific faith in God—at least as he understood Him from his interactions with the Hebrews—and the result was one of worship to the Lord. If one accepts Nebuchadnezzar's words as an expression of his conversion, it means he trusted in the God of Israel.

     The Bible reveals that God imputes His righteousness to the believer at the moment of salvation. The word imputation itself is an accounting term used both in the Old Testament and the New Testament (Gen 15:6; Psa 32:2; Rom 4:3-8; Gal 3:6). Biblically, there are three major imputations that relate to our standing before God.      First is the imputation of Adam's original sin to every member of the human race. Paul wrote, “through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12), for “through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men” (Rom 5:18a), for “by a man came death” (1 Co 15:21a), and “in Adam all die” (1 Cor 15:22a). This means every biological descendant of Adam is charged/credited with the sin he committed in the Garden of Eden which plunged the human race into spiritual and physical death. Jesus is the only exception, for though He is truly human (Matt 1:1; Luke 3:23-38), He was born without original sin, without a sin nature, and committed no personal sin during His time on earth (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5). Adam is the head of the human race and his fall became our fall. This is the basis for death and for being estranged from God. Robert B. Thieme states: "[Adam's Original Sin refers to] the initial act of willful, cognitive disobedience to God committed by the first man, Adam, when he violated God's mandate to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:17; 3:6). The initial human sin resulted in Adam's immediate spiritual death, the formation of the sin nature, and loss of his relationship with God (Gen 3:7; Rom 6:23). Since Adam is the physical and representative head of the human race, his corrupt sin nature is genetically passed on through procreation to all his descendants (Rom 5:12). At each person's physical birth, God imputes Adam's original sin to the sin nature, resulting in the condemnation of spiritual death (Rom 5:19; 1 Cor 15:21-22). The only exception is the humanity of Jesus Christ, who was conceived by means of the Holy Spirit, born without the sin nature, and thus did not receive the imputation of Adam's original sin."[1]      Second is the imputation of all sin to Jesus on the cross (Isa 53:4-6, 10; 2 Cor 5:21; Heb 2:9; 1 Pet 2:21-24; 1 John 2:2). God the Father judged Jesus in our place (Mark 10:45; 1 Cor 15:3-4; 1 Pet 3:18), cancelling our sin debt by the death of Christ (Col 2:13-14; 2 Cor 5:18-19). This was a voluntary imputation on the part of Christ who freely went to the cross and took our sins upon Himself (John 1:29; 10:11, 15, 17-18). Thieme explains: "On the cross, the justice of God the Father imputed all the sins of mankind to His beloved Son, Jesus Christ (1 Pet 2:24). This was a judicial imputation because sin has no affinity with the impeccable humanity of Christ, no home in Him. To complete the judicial action, the Father's justice immediately judged every one of those sins in Christ. Our personal sins are never imputed to us for judgment. Rather, the perfect humanity of Christ was “pierced through for our transgressions,” taking upon Himself the penalty that rightfully belonged to all men (Isa 53:5). This substitutionary work satisfied God's righteousness and justice and made possible our so-great salvation (2 Cor 5:21; 1 John 2:2)."[2]      Third is the imputation of God's righteousness to those who believe in Jesus for salvation (Rom 4:3-5; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:8-9). The righteousness of God imputed to the believer at the moment of faith in Christ results in the believer being justified before God (Rom 3:22, 24, 28; 4:1-5). Moses wrote of Abraham, saying, “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned [חָשַׁב chashab] it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6). David writes, “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute [חָשַׁב chashab] iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit” (Psa 32:1-2). Moses and David both use the Hebrew chashab (חָשַׁב) which, according to HALOT, means “to impute, reckon to.”[3] Moses uses the verb in a positive sense of that which God imputes to Abraham, namely righteousness, and David uses the verb negatively, of that which God does not credit to a person, namely iniquity. Allen P. Ross comments on the meaning of chashab (חָשַׁב) in Psalm 32:2 and Genesis 15:6: "Not only does forgiveness mean that God takes away the sins, but it also means that God does not “impute” iniquity to the penitent: “Blessed is the one to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity.” The verb (חָשַׁב) means “impute, reckon, credit”; it is the language of records, or accounting—in fact, in modern usage the word is related to “computer.” Here the psalm is using an implied comparison, as if there were record books in heaven that would record the sins. If the forgiven sins are not imputed, it means that there is no record of them—they are gone and forgotten. Because God does not mark iniquities (Psa 130:4), there is great joy. The same verb is used in Genesis 15:6 as well, which says that Abram “believed in the LORD, and he reckoned it (וַיַּחְשְׁבֶ֥הָ) to him as righteousness.” The apostle Paul brings that verse and Psalm 32:2 together in Romans 4 to explain the meaning of justification by faith: when people believe in the Lord, God reckons or credits them with righteousness (Paul will say, the righteousness of Jesus Christ), and does not reckon their sin to them."[4]      The apostle Paul cites Abraham's faith in God as the basis upon which he was declared righteous before Him, saying, “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited [logizomai] to him as righteousness'” (Rom 4:3).[5] Paul uses the Greek verb logizomai (λογίζομαι) which, according to BDAG, means “to determine by mathematical process, reckon, calculate, frequently in a transferred sense.”[6] Abraham believed God's Word, and God reckoned, or transferred His righteousness to him. After pointing to Abraham as the example of justification by faith, Paul then extrapolates that we are justified in the same way, saying, “Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited [logizomai] as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited [logizomai] as righteousness” (Rom 4:4-5; cf. Gal 3:6). Paul then references David, saying, “David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits [logizomai] righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. ‘Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account [logizomai]'” (Rom 4:6-8).      Paul twice used the Greek verb ellogeō (ἐλλογέω) to communicate the idea of an exchange between persons (Rom 5:13; Phm 1:18). According to BDAG, the verb ellogeō (ἐλλογέω) means “to charge with a financial obligation, charge to the account of someone.”[7] Paul told his friend, Philemon, concerning his runaway slave Onesimus, “if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge [ellogeō] that to my account” (Phlm 1:18). Paul had not wronged Philemon, nor did he owe him anything; however, Paul was willing to pay for any wrong or debt Onesimus may have incurred. J. Dwight Pentecost notes: "Paul is giving us an illustration of that which God has done for us in Christ Jesus. As the Apostle assumed the debt of Onesimus and invited Philemon—who had been wronged—to charge that debt to him, so the Lord Jesus Christ took the debt that we owed to the injured One—to God—and He charged Himself with our debt and set His righteousness down to our account."[8]      In a similar way, Jesus paid for our sin so that we don't have to, and in exchange, we receive God's righteousness. This idea of an exchange between persons means that one person is credited with something not antecedently his/her own. Our sin is our sin, and Christ's righteousness is His righteousness. When Jesus took our sin upon himself at the cross, He voluntarily accepted something that belonged to another, namely us. Jesus took our sin upon Himself. On the other hand, when we receive God's righteousness as a gift, we are accepting something that belonged to another, namely God. By faith, we accept that which belongs to God, namely, His righteousness. God's righteousness becomes our righteousness. Paul references the exchange that occurred at the cross when Jesus died for our sin, saying, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21), and he personally spoke of the righteousness “which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (Phil 3:9).[9] Once we receive God's righteousness, we are instantaneously justified in God's sight.      Some might raise the question: how can a holy God justify unworthy sinners? How can He give something to someone who deserves the opposite? How is this just? The answer is found in Jesus and what He accomplished for us at the cross. At the cross, God judged our sin as His righteousness requires, and saves the sinner as His love desires. At the cross Jesus voluntarily died a penal substitutionary death. He willingly died in our place and bore the punishment that was rightfully ours. Our guilt became His guilt. Our shame became His shame. The result of the cross is that God is forever satisfied with the death of Christ. There's no additional sacrifice or payment needed. Jesus paid it all. When we believe in Jesus, we are forgiven all our sins (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; 2:13; Heb 10:10-14), and then God imputes His righteousness to us. The apostle Paul calls it “the gift of righteousness” (Rom 5:17; cf. 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). God's righteousness is not earned; rather, it is freely gifted to us who believe in Jesus as our Savior.      It is sometimes difficult to accept this biblical teaching, because our behavior does not always reflect our righteous standing before God. However, God's Word defines reality, and we are justified in His sight because His righteousness has been gifted to our account. The righteousness of God is credited to us who have trusted in Jesus as our Savior. Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Adam's Original Sin”, Thieme's Bible Doctrine Dictionary, 1-2. [2] Ibid., 137. [3] Ludwig Koehler, Walter Baumgartner, M. E. J. Richardson, et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 360. [4] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms, Vol. 1, (Grand Rapids, Mich., Kregel Publications, 2011), 710-711. [5] The translators of the Septuagint use logizomai (λογίζομαι) as a reliable synonym for chashab (חָשַׁב) both in Genesis 15:6 and Psalm 32:2. Paul then uses logizomai (λογίζομαι) when making his argument that justification is by faith alone in God (Rom 4:3-5; Gal 3:6). [6] William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 597. [7] Ibid., 319. [8] J. Dwight Pentecost, Things Which Become Sound Doctrine, 40. [9] Though the word “impute” is not used in some passages, the idea is implied. Isaiah writes of the Suffering Servant Who “will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities” (Isa 53:11), and of God as the One Who “has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness” (Isa 61:10). And Paul writes of “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe” (Rom 3:22), and of being “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24; cf. 5:17; 9:30; 10:3-4; 1 Cor 1:30; Gal 2:16; 3:11, 24).

     The Bible reveals God is holy.[1] God declares of Himself, “I am holy” (Lev 11:44), and the psalmist says, “holy is the LORD our God” (Psa 99:9), and the Seraphim declare, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts” (Isa 6:3). In these verses, the word “holy” translates the Hebrew word qadōsh (קָדוֹשׁ), which means “to be holy, [or] separated.”[2] James Swanson says it refers “to being unique and pure in the sense of superior moral qualities and possessing certain essential divine qualities in contrast with what is human.”[3] God's holiness is closely linked with His righteousness, justice, and perfection. Holiness denotes moral purity.      Because God is absolutely holy (Psa 99:9; Isa 6:3; Rev 15:4), it is written, “no evil dwells with You” (Psa 5:4). By definition, evil is “any act or event that is contrary to the good and holy purposes of God…Moral evil refers to acts (sins) of creatures that are contrary to God's holy character and law.”[4] According to Merrill F. Unger, moral evil “is the failure of rational and free beings to conform in character and conduct to the will of God.”[5]George Howley states, “God is separate from all evil and is in no way responsible for it…[and] It can only be attributed to the abuse of free-will on the part of created beings, angelic and human.”[6] Evil originates in the heart (Gen 6:5; Zech 8:17), can result in evil actions (Neh 13:17; Prov 24:8; 1 Pet 3:12), lead to proneness of evil (Ex 32:22; Deut 9:24), and mark an entire generation of people (Deut 1:35; Matt 12:45).      Being holy means God cannot be affixed to anything morally imperfect. This means the Lord cannot condone sin in any way. Scripture reveals, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor” (Hab 1:13), and “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Everett Harrison states: "The basic idea conveyed by the holiness of God is His separateness, i.e., His uniqueness, His distinction as the Wholly Other, the One who cannot be confused with the gods devised by men (Ex 15:11), the One who stands apart from and above the creation. Secondarily the holiness of God denotes His moral perfection, His absolute freedom from blemish of any kind (Psa 89:35)."[7]      The third Person of the Trinity bears the specific title of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26), which emphasizes His righteousness and separateness from sin (Isa 63:10; Eph 4:30). Jesus, as the Son of God, embodies the holiness of God in human form. Scripture tells us that Jesus was “holy, innocent, pure, and set apart from sinners” (Heb 7:26). Jesus lived and interacted with sinners (i.e., eating with them, attending weddings, etc.), but He never had sinful thoughts, spoke sinful words, or acted in sinful ways. No matter what was happening around Him, Jesus never crossed the line into sin. Without abandoning righteousness, He loved and spoke truth, displayed compassion, helped the weak, and rebuked the arrogant. He was always holy in thought, word, and deed, and though near to others, He was still “set apart from sinners” (Heb 7:26).      In one sense, a person or group is holy—set apart to God—simply by being part of the covenant community. It was said of Israel, “all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst” (Num 16:3). According to Allen Ross, “They were holy, because the Lord who set them apart was holy.”[8] Merrill F. Unger notes, “God has dedicated Israel as His people. They are ‘holy' by their relationship to the ‘holy' God. All of the people are in a sense ‘holy,' as members of the covenant community, irrespective of their faith and obedience.”[9] Being set apart to God, the Lord expected His people to be set apart from the world and behave in conformity with His righteous character and directives. Unger states, “Based on the intimate nature of the relationship, God expected His people to live up to His ‘holy' expectations and, thus, to demonstrate that they were a ‘holy nation.'”[10] The Lord told His people, “you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine” (Lev 20:26). According to Allen Ross, “The means of developing holiness required faith and obedience on their part. But because it was a nation of very human and often stubborn individuals, progression toward holiness did not develop instantly or easily, and for some it did not develop at all.”[11]      This is also true of Christians who are called “saints”, not because we act saintly, but because of our relation to God as part of the church, the body of Christ. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling” (1 Cor 1:2). The word “saints” here translates the Greek hagios (ἅγιος), which pertains “to being dedicated or consecrated to the service of God.”[12] In this passage, hagios is a synonym for a believer in Christ, not a description of their character. All Christians are saints (Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:1-2; 2 Cor 1:1; Eph 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col 1:2). The Christians at Corinth were saints (positionally), even when they were behaving like mere men (1 Cor 3:1-3). Warren Wiersbe states: "The church is made up of saints, that is, people who have been “sanctified” or “set apart” by God. A saint is not a dead person who has been honored by men because of his or her holy life. No, Paul wrote to living saints, people who, through faith in Jesus Christ, had been set apart for God's special enjoyment and use. In other words, every true believer is a saint because every true believer has been set apart by God and for God."[13]      Christians living in the dispensation of the church age are called to holy living. Peter wrote, “like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘you shall be holy, for I am holy'” (1 Pet 1:15-16). God, who is our Father, is holy, and He calls for His children to live holy lives. For Christians, living holy to the Lord is accomplished by advancing to spiritual maturity and living as obedient-to-the-Word believers (Heb 6:1). It means learning God's Word (Psa 1:2-3; Ezra 7:10; 2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2), living in submission to Him (Rom 12:1-2; Jam 4:7), walking by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38; 11:6), being filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18), walking by means of the Spirit (Gal 5:16), accepting trials that help us grow (Jam 1:2-4), being devoted to prayer (Col 4:2; 1 Th 5:17; Eph 6:18), worship (Heb 13:15), being thankful (1 Th 5:18), fellowshipping with other believers (Heb 10:24-25), serving others (Gal 5:13; 6:10; 1 Pet 4:10; Phil 2:3-4), and taking advantage of the time we have (Eph 5:15-16). On the negative side, it means not loving the world (Jam 4:4; 1 John 2:15-16), nor quenching the Spirit (1 Th 5:19), nor grieving the Spirit (Eph 4:30). If we turn to sin—and that's always a possibility—it means we are not living holy lives as God expects. When Christians sin, it does not result in loss of salvation, but loss of fellowship with God. It also means that if we continue to live sinfully, that God may discipline us (Heb 12:5-11), and deny us eternal rewards (1 Cor 3:10-15; 2 John 1:8). Humble believers acknowledge their sin, and God restores them to fellowship when they confess it to Him, seeking His forgiveness (1 John 1:9). Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] The apostle Paul referred to the Bible as “the holy Scriptures” (Rom 1:2), and “the sacred writings” (2 Tim 3:15). The terms “holy” and “sacred” mean the Bible is a special book in that it conveys divine revelation from God to mankind (2 Tim 3:16-17). Though written by human authors under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:20-21), the end product is “the word of God, which performs its work in you who believe” (1 Th 2:13). [2] Willem VanGemeren, ed., New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), 868. [3] James Swanson, “קָדוֹשׁ”, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997). [4] Stanley Grenz, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 48. [5] Merrill Frederick Unger, R. K. Harrison, Howard Frederic Vos, et al., The New Unger's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988). [6] George Howley, “Evil,” ed. D. R. W. Wood et al., New Bible Dictionary (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 349. [7] Everett. F. Harrison, “Holiness; Holy,” ed. Geoffrey W Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 725. [8] Allen P. Ross, Holiness to the Lord: A Guide to the Exposition of the Book of Leviticus (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 378. [9] W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 113. [10] Ibid., 113. [11] Allen P. Ross, Holiness to the Lord: A Guide to the Exposition of the Book of Leviticus, 48. [12] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 10. [13] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1, 568.

Psalm 23:1 (ESV)The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  Susie Crosby joins Angie to discuss the promise that God provides everything we need.https://livesteadyon.com/Email Angie at: steadyonpodcast@gmail.comFacebook @livesteadyonInstagram @angiebaughman421 Grab freebies and subscribe to the weekly Steady On newsletter at: https://livesteadyon.com/live-steady-on-newsletter/ You can download a blank study sheet here: https://livesteadyon.com/sbs-blank-study-sheet/ Interested in the Step By Step Bible study method? Download the FREE masterclass here: https://livesteadyon.com/live-steady-on-stepbystepmasterclass/  https://susiecrosby.com/Facebook: @susiecrosbyauthorInstagram: @susiecrosbySusie's devotional is “Just One Word: 90 Devotions to Invite Jesus In.”  Logos Software https://www.logos.com/Enduring Word Commentary https://enduringword.com/WordHippo https://www.wordhippo.com/BibleGateway https://www.biblegateway.com/Blue Letter Bible https://www.blueletterbible.org/ John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Ps 23:title–6. Robert G. Bratcher and William David Reyburn,UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1991), 231. Allen P. Ross, “Psalms,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 811. Catherine Kroeger, Mary Evans, and Elizabeth Elliot, The IVP Women's Bible Commentary: An Indispensable Resource for All Who Want to View Scripture through Different Eyes (InterVarsity Press, 2002), 296. A. F. Kirkpatrick, The Book of Psalms, The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1906), 125.  Susie mentioned“A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23” by W. Phillip Keller  Theme musicHeartwarming by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3864-heartwarmingLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

     Those who have trusted Christ as Savior are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24).      It's important to understand that Christ died for only one kind of person: the lost sinner who stands condemned before a holy and righteous God. If we don't see ourselves from the divine perspective, as lost and in need of a Savior, then Christ and His work on the cross will be rejected. The cross is God's righteous solution to the problem of sin, as well as His greatest display of love toward sinners. At the cross, God judged our sin as His righteousness required, and pardons the sinner as His love desires. To understand the cross of Christ is to understand the heart of God toward a fallen world He wants to save.      We don't earn or deserve God's kindness in any way, for the record of Scripture is that we are helpless, ungodly, sinners, and enemies of God (Rom 5:6-10) who were reconciled to Him “through the death of His Son” (Rom 5:10). Salvation is never what we do for God; rather, it's what He's done for us through the death of His Son, who paid the full penalty for all our sins on the cross at Calvary. Salvation is a work of God alone. We bring nothing of worth to God. Nothing at all. Our contribution to salvation is sin and death, both of which Christ bore on the cross. Jesus freely took our sins upon Himself on the cross, and paid the penalty for our sins and died the death we deserve. That's love. That's grace. If we got what we deserved in this life, we would all be dead and forever condemned in the lake of fire. Salvation is based entirely on the merit of Christ, not on anything we do. It is the work of Christ and nothing else. Robert B. Thieme Jr. states: "Every human being needs to be saved, because everyone enters this world in a state of spiritual death, total depravity, and total separation from God. Because man is born hopelessly lost from God and helpless to do anything about it, God, in His grace, designed a perfect plan to reconcile man to Himself. God the Son took the burden of responsibility: He became true humanity and remained sinless so that He could be judged for the sins of the world (1 Pet 3:18). While Jesus Christ hung on the cross, God the Father poured the full wrath of His justice upon the Son He loved so perfectly (Matt 27:46; Rom 5:8–10; 2 Cor 5:21). Christ “bore our sins in His body” (1 Pet 2:24) and took the punishment in our place. God's righteous standard approved of Jesus' sacrifice as payment for all human sins. Hence, when every last transgression had been judged, Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Salvation work was complete."[2]      Some erroneously think salvation is offered to those who are worthy, who live a good life and please God through good works. The Bible does not teach this. The claim of Scripture is that “there are none righteous, not even one” (Rom 3:10), “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Sin is anything that is contrary to the holy character of God. The Bible teaches that everyone is a sinner (1 Ki 8:46; Prov 20:9; Eccl 7:20; Isa 53:6; 64:6; Jer 17:9; Mark 7:20-23; Rom 3:9-23; 7:18-21; Gal 3:22; Eph 2:1-3; 1 John 1:8-10). Sin separates us from God and renders us helpless to save ourselves (Isa 59:2; Rom 5:6-10; Eph 2:1-3). Lightner states, “Man's need of salvation is occasioned by his sin and God's estimate of him. Since it is God who must be pleased, it does not matter what man thinks of himself or how he proposes to be acceptable to God. What really matters is what God thinks, what he has done to save man, and what he expects, and in fact, demands of man.”[3] When the subject of sin is studied, it results in a basic threefold classification that we are sinners in Adam (Psa 51:5; Rom 5:12, 19; 1 Cor 15:21-22), sinners by nature (Rom 7:14-25; Gal 5:17), and sinners by choice (Jam 1:14-15).      To be sinners in Adam means his original sin, the sin that was committed in the garden of Eden, is transmitted to all his descendants (Gen 2:16-17; 3:1-24). Adam is the head of the human race. When Adam sinned, we all sinned with him. His fallen position is our fallen position. His guilt is our guilt. Adam's sin is imputed to all his offspring, for “through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12; cf., 1 Cor 15:21-22). David wrote, “I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psa 51:5). Concerning this verse, Allen Ross states, David “was affirming that from the very beginning of his existence there had never been a time that he had not been in a sinful state—he was human after all. The verse does not mean that a little baby is a wicked sinner; but it does mean that everyone who is born is born in a state or condition of sin, and that state unchecked will naturally lead to acts of sin.”[4] Being born in Adam means we are born with a sinful nature. Ryrie notes, “Adam's original sin produced that moral corruption of nature that was transmitted by inheritance to each succeeding generation.”[5] The sin nature is resident in every person; both saved and unsaved, and is the source of internal temptation. Warren Wiersbe states, “The flesh refers to that fallen nature that we were born with, that wants to control the body and the mind and make us disobey God.”[6] Since the fall of Adam, every person is born with a sin nature, and it is this nature that internally motivates us to rebel against all legitimate forms of authority, both human and divine. When we yield to temptation, we produce personal sin, which is any thought, word, or action that is contrary to the holy character of God. James wrote, “each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin” (Jam 1:14-15a). Dr. Steven R. Cook   [2] R. B. Thieme, Jr. “Salvation”,  Thieme's Bible Doctrine Dictionary, (Houston, TX., R. B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, 2022), 232. [3] Robert P. Lightner, Handbook of Evangelical Theology: A Historical, Biblical, and Contemporary Survey and Review (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1995), 189. [4] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms 1–89: Commentary, vol. 2, Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2011–2013), 187. [5] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology, 252. [6] Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary: New Testament, Vol. 2 (Colorado Springs, Col., Victor Publishing, 2001), 18.

Psalm 1:3 (NIV)"That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers." (NIV)Angie and Susie Crosby talk about understanding the way we experience prosperity from God.https://livesteadyon.com/Email Angie at: steadyonpodcast@gmail.comFacebook @livesteadyonInstagram @angiebaughman421 https://susiecrosby.com/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/susiecrosbyauthorInstagram https://www.instagram.com/susiecrosby/ Grab freebies and subscribe to the weekly Steady On newsletter at: https://livesteadyon.com/live-steady-on-newsletter/ You can download a blank study sheet here:https://livesteadyon.com/sbs-blank-study-sheet/ Interested in the Step By Step Bible study method? Download the FREE masterclass here: https://livesteadyon.com/live-steady-on-stepbystepmasterclass/ Angie mentionedThe Take It In episode on Proverbs 15:33 that deals with humility: https://livesteadyon.com/2023/03/06/episode-155-why-being-humble-is-important-with-angie-baughman/ Logos Softwarehttps://www.logos.com/Enduring Word Commentaryhttps://enduringword.com/WordHippohttps://www.wordhippo.com/BibleGatewayhttps://www.biblegateway.com/Blue Letter Biblehttps://www.blueletterbible.org/Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. David G. Firth, vol. 15–16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2014), 57.Catherine Kroeger, Mary Evans, and Elizabeth Elliot, The IVP Women's Bible Commentary: An Indispensable Resource for All Who Want to View Scripture through Different Eyes (InterVarsity Press, 2002), 291.Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977)Allen P. Ross, “Psalms,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 778–779.Theme musicHeartwarming by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3864-heartwarmingLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

     When someone hurts me, I sometimes react and feel the need to seek revenge. That is, to take the matter into my own hands and hurt the other person so that I feel the scales of justice are balanced. Revenge starts with a mental attitude in which we seek to harm an offender for the injury or offence they caused, whether that injury or offense is real or imagined. The desire to retaliate against the offender is generally followed by action to hurt them, whether physically, psychologically, emotionally, socially, financially, or legally.      The desire for revenge can be coupled with very strong emotions that help inflame the injustice in our mind and to relive it over and over, which can eventuate in mental bondage as we keep recalling the hurt. Also, an injured person may feel helpless and victimized by an oppressor, so hurting the other person can make one feel empowered. It is true that personal revenge can offer a temporary sense of closure or satisfaction, but it can also establish a pattern of behavior that can be exhausting and endless, as we feel the need to retaliate against all perceived offenders. God's Word speaks to the issue of dealing with offenders who cause hurt, giving directions on how we are to respond.      First, there is the positive directive concerning how to treat offenders. Jesus said, “I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28). As Christians, we live in a fallen world and are surrounded by fallen people who, often unknowingly, help advance Satan's agenda. These fallen people are identified as our enemies who operate by the mental attitude of hatred, openly curse us, and will mistreat us if given the opportunity. Being an adversary who operates on hate, and who curses and mistreats us, are all things that do not rise to the level of dangerous harm. Even a slap on the cheek, or stealing our clothing (Luke 6:29) does not constitute a life-threatening situation that requires self-defense. Loving others does not mean: We expose ourselves to unnecessary harm. There were times when God's people hid from their enemies (1 Ki 18:13; Acts 9:23-25). Jesus faced hostile people, who at one time “picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple” (John 8:59). Paul was greatly hurt by a man named “Alexander the coppersmith,” whom he told Timothy, “did me much harm” (2 Tim 4:14a). Paul then warned Timothy, saying, “Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching” (2 Tim 4:15). We trust all people. Jesus loved everyone, but He did not entrust Himself to all people, even believers. John tells us there were many who “believed in His name” (John 2:23), but then tells us that “Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men” (John 2:24). We fail to rebuke others when needed. When Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem, He passed by a village of the Samaritans (Luke 9:51-52) whose residents “did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem” (Luke 9:53). Luke tells us, “When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?'” (Luke 9:54). But this was a wrong attitude, so Jesus “turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what kind of spirit you are of'” (Luke 9:55). We interact or befriend people who are hostile to God (Prov 13:20). Solomon said, “Do not associate with a man given to anger; or go with a hot-tempered man, or you will learn his ways and find a snare for yourself” (Prov 22:24-25). Scripture also states, “do not associate with a gossip” (Prov 20:19), and “do not associate with rebels” (Prov 24:21), for “Bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Cor 15:33; cf. 1 Cor 5:11). The apostle Paul, when writing to Timothy, described the sinful attitudes and actions of people committed to godlessness (2 Tim 3:1-5a), and told his friend to “avoid such men as these” (2 Tim 3:5). We forfeit the right to defend ourselves physically or legally when we come under attack. Paul, who at one time took a beating with rods (Acts 16:22-23), later used legal force by exercising his rights as a Roman citizen to protect himself from a flogging that might have killed him (Acts 22:25-29). And Paul eventually appealed to Caesar, hoping to gain a just trial (Acts 25:7-12).      By wisdom we come to know when to turn the other cheek and when to stand up and push back, as self-defense is valid if the injury rises to the level of great physical harm, is life-threatening, or threatens to harm or kill a loved one (see my article on Is Self-Defense Biblical?). Even though we may defend ourselves, we must never stoop to the place of hatred toward our enemies, but must always maintain love for them and be willing to forgive and help if/when possible.      As Jesus' disciples, we are to love (ἀγαπᾶτε) our enemies, do good (καλῶς ποιεῖτε) to those who hate us, bless (εὐλογεῖτε) those who curse us, and pray (προσεύχεσθε) for those who mistreat us. All four of Jesus' directives are in the imperative mood, which means they are commands to be understood and obeyed. To love our enemy means we care about them and seek God's best in their life. To do good to those who hate us means we are kind and giving when possible. To bless our enemy means we wish them well rather than harm. To pray for our enemy means we ask God to save and bless them, even though they seek to mistreat us. Love manifests itself by doing good, blessing, and praying for those who hate us. This is not mere passivity, but requires great discipline of the mind and will, which can be contrary to our emotions. Nor does such behavior imply weakness on our part. Jesus, the theanthropic person, possessed all power sufficient to destroy His enemies, yet He restrained His power for the sake of love and grace. Divine truth, not feelings, must be what guides our thoughts, words, and actions. According to Joel Green, “Love is expressed in doing good—that is, not by passivity in the face of opposition but in proactivity: doing good, blessing, praying, and offering the second cheek and the shirt along with the coat.”[1] Paul, when writing to Christians in Rome, used similar language, saying, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (Rom 12:14). As Christians, when we think and act this way, we are like the “sons of the Most-High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men” (Luke 6:35). This is accomplished by faith and not feelings. Sproul is correct when he states, “We may not be able to control how we feel about them, but we certainly can control what we do about those feelings.”[2]      Second, there is a negative directive in which we are not to retaliate or seek personal revenge. The Lord said, “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD” (Lev 19:18). The apostle Paul said, “See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people” (1 Th 5:15). Peter wrote, “All of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing” (1 Pet 3:8-9). Solomon wrote, “He who returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house” (Prov 17:13). He also wrote, “Do not say, ‘I will repay evil;' wait for the LORD, and He will save you” (Prov 20:22). Concerning this verse, Allen Ross states, “Leave retribution to the Lord. Let him bring about a just deliverance…The righteous should not take vengeance on evil, for only God can repay evil justly (cf. Rom 12:19–20).”[3] Bruce Waltke says this verse “suggests that the Lord will help the disciple by compensating him justly for the wrong done to him. The Helper will both compensate the damage and punish the wrongdoer.”[4] And David Hubbard adds: "Vengeance is an activity too hot for any of us to handle. Its motivation is selfish; its execution is usually extreme; its result is to accelerate conflict not to slow it down. In short, vengeance is God's business not ours (Deut 32:35; Rom 12:19; Heb 10:30). All human sin is sin against Him, so He is the ultimate victim; only He can judge accurately the damage done; only He can distribute fairly the blame; only He can exact freely the proper penalty. We are not entitled to ‘play God' at any time."[5]      The challenge for us is to put the offense in God's hands, trusting He sees, and that He will dispense justice in His time and way. For this reason, Scripture states, “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God” (Rom 12:17-19a; cf. Deut 32:35; Heb 10:30). Again, this requires discipline of mind and will, and is executed by faith and not feelings.      Third, place the matter in the Lord's hands and let Him dispense justice in His time and way. The Bible teaches that God is the “Judge of all the earth” (Gen 18:25) and that He dispenses justice upon those whose who deserve it. Scripture reveals the Lord is a “God of vengeance” (Psa 94:1) and will punish the wicked. And Nahum tells us, “A jealous and avenging God is the LORD; the LORD is avenging and wrathful. The LORD takes vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies” (Nah 1:2). God told the Israelites if they listen to His voice, “Then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries” (Ex 23:22). Paul, after instructing Christians not to seek their own revenge, explained that God will handle the matter, saying, “for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord” (Rom 12:19b; cf. Deut 32:35; Heb 10:30). And again, “It is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you” (2 Th 1:6). Even Paul did not seek his own revenge when hurt by Alexander the coppersmith, but said, “the Lord will repay him according to his deeds” (2 Tim 4:14). According to Warren Wiersbe, “The word vengeance must not be confused with revenge. The purpose of vengeance is to satisfy God's holy law; the purpose of revenge is to pacify a personal grudge.”[6]      It is true that God may extend grace to His enemies and those who hurt us, as He gives them time to repent and turn to Him for forgiveness. We must always remember that we were God's enemies and terrible sinners before we came to faith in Christ, and God waited patiently for us (see Rom 5:8-10), for God is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). But God's grace does not last forever. At death, all of life's decisions are fixed, and what the unbeliever does with Christ in time determines his eternal destiny. If a person goes his entire life rejecting God's grace, not believing in Christ as Savior (John 3:16; 1 Cor 15:3-4), then he will stand before God at the Great White Throne judgment and afterwards will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:11-15). It is at that time that God will deal out “retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Th 1:8-9). Wiersbe states, “Certainly, the wicked who persecute the godly do not always receive their just payment in this life. In fact, the apparent prosperity of the wicked and difficulty of the godly have posed a problem for many of God's people (see Psa 73; Jer 12:1; Hab 1). Why live a godly life if your only experience is that of suffering? As Christians, we must live for eternity and not just for the present.”[7]      Fourth, if we fail to follow the Lord's directives to love, do good, bless, and pray for our enemies, and instead decide to take matters into our own hands and seek revenge, then we are sinning against God and open ourselves up to divine discipline. The very punishment we may seek to inflict upon our enemies may be administered to us by the Lord, and this because we are walking by sinful values rather than being obedient-to-the-Word believers. However, if we put the matter in the Lord's hands and let Him dispense justice in His time and way, we can rest assured that He will bring it to pass, for He says, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay” (Rom 12:19b), and it is “just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you” (2 Th 1:6). Plus, when we learn and live God's Word by faith it frees us from the tyranny of hurt feelings which can be fatiguing to the mind and toxic to the soul. Summary      In closing, we are to obey the words of Jesus, who  tells us to “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28). Assuming the hostility never rises to the level of requiring self-defense (which does not negate loving the attacker), we are to tolerate the hostility and abuse and respond in love by doing good, blessing, and praying for our enemies. It's ok to hurt, but not to hate. Operating from divine viewpoint, we walk by faith and trust God to handle the matter, knowing He is the “Judge of all the earth” (Gen 18:25) and that “it is just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you” (2 Th 1:6), as God states, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay” (Rom 12:19b). In this way, we will follow the example set by Jesus, who, “while being reviled, He did not revile in return; and while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Pet 2:23). If we live as God directs, abiding by the royal family honor code, then He will dispense justice upon our attackers in His time and way. The challenge for us is to discipline ourselves to learn God's Word and live by faith, not our hurt feelings or circumstances.     [1] Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 272. [2] R. C. Sproul, A Walk with God: An Exposition of Luke (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1999), 115–116. [3] Allen P. Ross, “Proverbs,” in The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 1046. [4] Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 15–31, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005), 152. [5] David A. Hubbard and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Proverbs, vol. 15, The Preacher's Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1989), 308. [6] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 194. [7] Ibid., 194.

Psalm 71:14 (NIV)As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.https://livesteadyon.com/Email Angie at: steadyonpodcast@gmail.comFacebook: @livesteadyonInstagram: @angiebaughman421Grab freebies and subscribe to the weekly Steady On newsletter at: https://livesteadyon.com/live-steady-on-newsletter/You can download a blank study sheet here:https://www.canva.com/design/DAFEdnkIUlw/iOiBwQqR15-DUJ0kGo2SsQ/view?utm_content=DAFEdnkIUlw&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebuttonInterested in the Step By Step Bible study method? Download the FREE masterclass here: https://livesteadyon.com/live-steady-on-stepbystepmasterclass/Resources used in this episode:Logos Software:Logos Bible Study PlatformEnduring Word Commentary:Enduring Word - Free Bible Commentary from Pastor David GuzikWordHippohttps://www.wordhippo.com/BibleGatewayhttps://www.biblegateway.com/Blue Letter Biblehttps://www.blueletterbible.org/Craig C. Broyles, “Psalms, Book of,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).Allen P. Ross, “Psalms,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985),Ben Craver, “Hope,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).Catherine Kroeger, Mary Evans, and Elizabeth Elliot, The IVP Women's Bible Commentary: An Indispensable Resource for All Who Want to View Scripture through Different Eyes (InterVarsity Press, 2002), 306.Steady On Internship mentioned in the midroll:https://livesteadyon.com/internship/Theme musicHeartwarming by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3864-heartwarmingLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Midroll music:Ready to Go written by Lincoln DavisPerformed and produced by Allex

Psalm 34:5 (NIV)Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.https://livesteadyon.com/Email Angie at: steadyonpodcast@gmail.comFacebook: @livesteadyonInstagram: @angiebaughman421Grab freebies and subscribe to the weekly Steady On newsletter at: https://livesteadyon.com/live-steady-on-newsletter/You can download a blank study sheet here:https://www.canva.com/design/DAFEdnkIUlw/iOiBwQqR15-DUJ0kGo2SsQ/view?utm_content=DAFEdnkIUlw&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebuttonInterested in the Step By Step Bible study method? Download the FREE masterclass here: https://livesteadyon.com/live-steady-on-stepbystepmasterclass/Resources used in this episode:Logos Softwarehttps://www.logos.com/Enduring Word Commentaryhttps://enduringword.com/WordHippohttps://www.wordhippo.com/BibleGatewayhttps://www.biblegateway.com/Blue Letter Biblehttps://www.blueletterbible.org/Allen P. Ross, “Psalms,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985),Catherine Kroeger, Mary Evans, and Elizabeth Elliot, The IVP Women's Bible Commentary: An Indispensable Resource for All Who Want to View Scripture through Different Eyes (InterVarsity Press, 2002), 300.Hans-Joachim Kraus, A Continental CommentaryTheme musicHeartwarming by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3864-heartwarmingLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

     Psalm 46 is classified as one of the Psalms of Zion. The others include Psalm 48, 84, 87, and 122. These songs of Zion celebrate Jerusalem as the place where God dwells with His people (i.e., the city of God). Psalm 46 focuses on God as the refuge and strength of His people when they turn to Him in a time of distress. This psalm is very personal. God is declared to be “our refuge and strength” (Psa 46:1b), and “is with us” and “is our refuge” (Psa 46:7, 11). The theme is repeated throughout the psalms where the Lord is the source of His people's strength (Psa 29:11; 68:35), their refuge (Psa 14:6; 61:3; 62:7-8; 71:7; 73:28; 91:2; 142:5), and their stronghold (Psa 9:9; 18:2; 48:3; 59:9, 16-17). The wise seek Him because they are a people in need (Psa 22:19; 27:9; 40:13; 44:26; 63:7). Psalm 46 is constructed in three parts. For God's faithful people, He is their refuge and strength, even though the world around them is chaotic (Psa 46:1-3). God is among His faithful people and will protect them when the enemy invades (Psa 46:4-7). God calls His people to witness the defeat of the Gentile nations (Psa 46:8-11). This Psalm inspired Martin Luther to write his hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God. Occasion & Date      The historical background of the psalm is likely God's deliverance of His people, under the leadership of King Hezekiah, when the Assyrians besieged the city of Jerusalem in 701 BC (2 Ki 18:1—19:37; Isa 36:1—37:38). Psalm 46:1-3      The psalm opens with a superscription, which reads, “For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A Song” (Psa 46:1a). The sons of Korah are somewhat of a mystery. They are mentioned several times in the psalms (Psa 42:1; 44:1; 45:1; 46:1; 47:1; 48:1; 49:1; 84:1; 85:1; 87:1; 88:1), but not much is said about them. According to Allen Ross, “In the superscription there are a few introductory notes. It was for the sons of Korah, a Levitical group that performed the psalm at times.”[1] The term Alamoth (עַלְמָה) refers to a young girl of marriageable age. According to Peter Craigie, “Alamoth (lit. ‘maidens, young women') might be the name of the tune or musical setting to which the psalm was sung. More probably, it may indicate a high musical setting, or being sung by soprano voices.”[2]      It was a song of confidence in God, in which the people sang, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psa 46:1b). Here, the psalmist pictures God as a refuge (מַחֲסֶה machaseh), a place where His people can run for protection from the storms of life (cf., Isa 25:4). He also says that God is their strength (עֹז oz), which means He fortifies their souls in troubling times. Because God is omnipresent, He is always near to those who call upon Him and is a help (עֶזְרָה ezrah) in difficult times. Without God's help, His people would surely be destroyed when the storms of life arise. The word trouble (צָרָה tsarah) means one is experiencing “need, distress, anxiety.”[3] It speaks of the psychological disequilibrium one experiences when threatened by a rising force. The good news is that God is a strong refuge and help during times of calamity, and by faith, His people run to Him for shelter.      Turning to God in turbulent times produces confidence that stabilizes the stressed-out soul. The psalmist states, “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah” (Psa 46:2-3). Here, the psalmist pictures a worst-case scenario in which the earth, mountains, and sea change and behave in radically disruptive ways. Though ecological calamities are the natural reading of these verses (and certainly does not exclude them), the later mention of nations (vs 6) and wars (vs 9) tells us he is speaking metaphorically. According to Tremper Longman, “The psalmist utilizes the well-known images of mountains and waters to communicate the most formidable trouble possible. While mountains are images of security and permanence, the waters are forces of chaos. Thus, to envision the mountains being overwhelmed by the waters is a metaphor that points to the ultimate nightmare, or, as we might say today, ‘All hell is breaking loose!'”[4] Adversity in life is inevitable, but stress in the soul is optional, depending how God's people handle it. If God's people hold to the theology of the first verse, that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psa 46:1b), the benefit is that they will not fear when everything comes crashing down around them. It's natural that a believer's initial response be that of concern; however, if God's people can quickly adjust their thinking and align it with Him and His Word, it will produce stability in their souls. Psalm 46:4-7      Apart from the previous scenario of chaos, the psalmist provides a contrasting picture, saying, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High” (Psa 46:4). The city of God is Jerusalem (Psa 48:1-2; 87:2-3). In the city of God, the water is pictured differently. Rather than being a chaotic force that threatens to destroy, it is pictured as a calm river that makes glad the souls of those near its gentle flow. For ancient Israel, the source of water was the Gihon spring that was underneath the city of Jerusalem, and it was harnessed to flow into pools such as that of Siloam (John 9:7). God's title of Most High (עֶלְיוֹן Elyon) pictures Him as the Ruler who is above all creation and able to protect those who turn to Him.      Furthermore, God's people do not need to search far for Him, for “God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns” (Psa 46:5). The Lord is always with His people, in their midst, and the benefit is that they will not be moved, though all the world around them slips and slides in every imaginable way. It was God, not the city or its walls, that gave His people stability (cf., Zeph 3:15). The phrase, “God will help her when morning dawns”, speaks of a time when the darkness of night—and the troubles associated with it—has passed and a new day dawns.      The psalmist speaks of the trouble they'd been facing, saying, “The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted” (Psa 46:6). The earlier language (Psa 46:3) of the seas roaring (הָמָה hamah) is here applied to the nations which make an uproar (הָמָה hamah). And the picture of the mountains which slip (מוֹט mot) into the sea (Psa 46:2) here describe the kingdoms of men which tottered (מוֹט mot). At the mere raising of God's voice, the nations, kingdoms, and the earth itself, all melt away when He speaks.      Then comes the first of two refrains. The psalmist states, “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah” (Psa 46:7). Here we observe one of God's titles, the LORD of hosts (Yahweh Sabaoth) which literally means, the LORD of the armies. The picture is that of heaven's Master, who commands His armies of angels to do His will. Remember, it was God who sent His angel to rescue His people during the Assyrian siege, where it was recorded, “Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead” (2 Ki 19:35). The refrain in Psalm 46:7 focuses attention on the Lord. God is with His people, and He is their stronghold. William VanGemeren states: "The great doctrine of the presence of God, even in the OT, affirms that the Great King has identified himself with his people; therefore they need not fear. God's people will never fall. They will always be assured of his readiness to help them (v. 5). The help of God “at break of day” (cf. Ex 14:27) suggests that in the darkness of distress the people of God know that the Lord will not let them suffer unduly long (cf. Psa 30:6–7; 90:14). His acts of unfailing love are renewed each morning (cf. Lam 3:22–23)."[5] Psalm 46:8-11      The psalmist calls for God's people to set their minds on the Lord, saying, “Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has wrought desolations in the earth” (Psa 46:8). Operating from divine viewpoint allows God's people to see His work in the earth and in their lives. And what events is the psalmist describing? Specifically, that “He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire” (Psa 46:9). That God makes wars to cease, not just in Israel, but “to the end of the earth”, connotes the Messianic age that will come when Jesus returns at His second coming (Rev 19:11-21), putting down rebellion and establishing His kingdom on earth (Rev 20:1-6), which kingdom will be global in nature (Isa 2:4). The reference to the bow and the spear is a synecdoche in which the parts are used to represent the whole (i.e., all the instruments of war). Furthermore, the chariots were the tanks of the ancient world and represented a nation's military force at its greatest. But these He burns with fire, destroying and rendering them useless.      God, who will bring all wars to an end, says, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psa 46:10). The word cease translates the Hebrew verb רָפָה raphah, which means to “let alone, do nothing, be quiet.”[6] And the form of the verb is causative (hiphil), which means those who are acting must relax their efforts. But to whom is the psalmist directing the command to cease? According to Allen Ross, the directive primarily speaks to the Gentile nations of the world, who are “exhorted to stop all their tumult and recognize that God is sovereign, and that only his authority and words matter.”[7] Derek Kidner agrees, saying, “the injunction Be still … is not in the first place comfort for the harassed but a rebuke to a restless and turbulent world.”[8] And Tremper Longman states, “In verse 10, the poet quotes God, who asserts his sovereignty not only over Israel, but over all the nations of the earth. He commands that their uproar be silenced and that they all recognize that he is God.”[9] Though God is speaking to the hostile Gentile nations of the world, which are under His sovereign control (Psa 135:6; Dan 2:21; 4:35), the song itself was to be sung by His people, which would instill confidence in God and courage toward the circumstances of life. They were, like all God's people, to live by faith (Heb 10:38; 11:6). The chief end of history will be to God's glory, for He will make it so. What He promises, He will bring to pass (Isa 46:9-11). His people need only watch and wait for the Lord to act as He promises.      The psalmist closes out his song with the repeated refrain, “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah” (Psa 46:11). Here is a refrain to be heard over and over again, for it seats into the hearers consciousness the greatness of God who is with them. God is their stronghold in times of trouble, and by faith they trust Him and His promises and find rest for their souls. God will be exalted in all the earth. His Word declares it. The challenge for the hearers is to live by faith and not feelings, and to look to God more than to themselves or their circumstances. Conclusion      Psalm 46 is about trusting God despite any difficulties that may arise. Whether in natural disaster or national crisis, God is always a refuge and strength for His people, and in His presence and promises they find rest for their souls. Allen Ross states, “In this psalm the believers are strong, being filled with confidence in the presence of the living God. And today the more that believers focus on the power of God, the presence of God, and the promises of God, the more they will find comfort and confidence to deal with the tragedies and troubles of the world.”[10] Present Application      God continues to be a refuge and strength for His people during times of disaster or crisis. Though adversity is inevitable, the stress in our souls is optional. As God's people, our mental stability is largely predicated on the biblical content and continuity of our thinking. When we learn to take in God's Word on a regular basis, it creates a bank of theological information in our souls that we can draw upon when facing difficult times. But to benefit from God's promises, we must take our thoughts captive so that His Word flows in the stream of our consciousness without disruption (2 Cor 10:5). If we fail to live by faith, then our knowledge of God and His promises are merely academic, and we forfeit the confidence that can be ours in troubling times. Faith in God and His promises means no fear; at least none that rises to such a level as to overwhelm the soul and create psychological and emotional instability.      Biblically, we know God permits us to be tested by difficulties. It is His will that we be in this hostile world (John 17:15), that we learn His Word (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), live by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38; 11:6), advance to spiritual maturity (1 Cor 14:20; Eph 4:11-13; Heb 6:1), and serve as lights to others (Eph 5:8-10). We also know the nations of the world are currently under Satan's control (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), who operates by deception (Rev 12:9; 20:3, 8), that he might weaken them (Isa 14:12). And God permits this for a time. But a day is coming when the sovereign Lord of all the earth will silence the nations, quieting their hostilities, and will bring all wars to an end (Isa 2:4). At that time, our glorious King, the Lord Jesus, will execute His righteous reign on earth for a thousand years (Rev 20:4-6), and afterwards, will hand the kingdom over to the Father (1 Cor 15:24). As Christians living in this fallen world, we are to walk by faith, and are constantly “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus” (Tit 2:13). Come Lord Jesus! We are ready for Your reign.       [1] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms 1–89: Commentary, vol. 2, Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2011–2013), 85. [2] Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1–50, vol. 19, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1983), 342. [3] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 1053. [4] Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. David G. Firth, vol. 15–16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2014), 204. [5] Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Psalms (Revised Edition), ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 405–406. [6] Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 952. [7] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms 1–89: Commentary, vol. 2, 98. [8] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 194. [9] Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. David G. Firth, vol. 15–16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, 205–206. [10] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms, vol. 2, 101.

     According to Scripture, all mankind is fallen, corrupted by sin, and our natural proclivity is to think and act in conformity with Satan's world-system, which is everywhere and always at odds with God and His plan.      The book of Genesis reveals that God created Adam perfect and assigned him to serve as His theocratic administrator over His creation. This meant Adam was to exercise responsible dominion over the creation (Gen 1:26-30; 2:7-8, 15-17), and Eve was created to help him, to stand with him to do God's will (Gen 2:18-25). But Satan, possessing a serpent—a subordinate creature that would have posed little threat to Adam and Eve—tempted them to act contrary to God and His commands. Henry Morris says, “Demonic spirits evidently have the ability, under certain conditions, to indwell or ‘possess' either human bodies or animal bodies (Luke 8:33); and Satan on this occasion chose the serpent as the one most suitable for his purposes.”[1] The serpent here is identified as “the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Rev 12:9; cf. Rev 20:2).      Satan was shrewd and intentional in his attack as he approached the woman and questioned her understanding of God's command, asking, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?'” (Gen 3:1). And Eve answered, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'” (Gen 3:2-3). According to Allen Ross, “Eve disparaged the privileges, added to the prohibition, and weakened the penalty—all seen by contrasting her words (Gen. 3:3) with God's original commands (2:16-17).”[2]      When Satan heard Eve misrepresent God's instructions (Gen 2:16-17), he boldly advanced his argument, saying, “You surely will not die!” (Gen 3:4), calling God a liar, stating, “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:4-5). Satan's argument was that God was withholding divinity from Adam and Eve, and if they were willing to eat the fruit, they could be like God, which was the same mental attitude sin committed by Lucifer at his fall (Isa 14:12-14). Here, Eve was confronted with an antithetical claim to what the Lord had told her, but rather than seek the Lord about the matter, she let Satan convince her to abandon faith in God and operate independently of Him. The influence of Satan brought an epistemological shift in Eve's thinking, and rather than seeing the tree from the divine perspective as harmful, she saw it as attractive, that is “was good for food…a delight to the eyes…[and] desirable to make one wise” (Gen 3:6a). Being deceived by Satan's argument, “she took from its fruit and ate” (Gen 3:6b; 1 Tim 2:14). Eve then “gave also to her husband with her, and he ate” (Gen 3:6c), and Satan's strategy to advance his kingdom of darkness and take possession of the world and humanity was complete.      Adam and Eve became aware of their failure, as “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings” (Gen 3:7). Remembering they were to “multiply and fill the earth” (Gen 1:28), According to Morris, Adam and Eve “realized that the very fountainhead of human life had now become corrupted by their disobedience and they became acutely aware of their nakedness. Their children would all be contaminated with the seed of rebellion, so that their feeling of guilt centered especially on their own procreative organs.”[3]      Spiritual death (i.e., separation from God) brought an irrational shift in their theology as well as their behavior as they sought to hide from the Lord (Gen 3:8-9), saying, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself” (Gen 3:10; cf. Jer 23:24).      When confronted about their sin (Gen 3:11), Adam blamed his wife as well as God, saying, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate” (Gen 3:12), and Eve blamed the creature, saying, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Gen 3:13). Hiding from God and shifting blame for sin are common characteristics of mankind's fallenness.      The serpent was judged by God and physically changed to crawl on its belly as a perpetual reminder to mankind about the fall (Gen 3:14). Here, the curse was actually against Satan, who possessed the serpent, as the Lord declared, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Gen 3:15). Having brought Adam and Eve under his control, it is possible Satan thought he would gain total control over all their children, but the Lord had other plans and made it known to Satan there would be “enmity” between him and the woman, as well as his “seed and her seed; [and] he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” This verse is commonly referred to as the protoevangelium—the first gospel—because God promised there would come a “seed” from the woman's line who would defeat Satan and disrupt his kingdom.[4]      God pronounced judgment upon Adam, Eve and the creation. Eve's judgment was that she would have increased “pain in childbirth” and that her husband would “rule over her” (Gen 3:16), and the ground that Adam was to cultivate would be cursed, and “in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life” (Gen 3:17-19).      Though atheists and liberal theologians treat the first eleven chapters of Genesis as myth, the NT writers treat Adam and Eve as historical persons and the fall as literal. Luke traces Jesus' genealogy back to Adam (Luke 3:38), and Jesus based His argument on marriage on the first human couple (Matt 19:4-6). Paul also states, “I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor 11:3). And Paul wrote, “it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression” (1 Tim 2:14). Paul argued that through Adam “sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12; cf. 1 Cor 15:21). And all humanity is said either to be in Adam or in Christ, and this determines whether we are spiritually alive or dead, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor 15:22). Adam's sin brought corruption and decay into the whole universe, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Rom 8:20-22). We now live in a very flawed world with sinful people and all sorts of problems. Henry Morris comments: "Things are not 'very good' in the world now! In the physical realm, everything tends to run down and wear out. In the living world, each animal is engaged in a perpetual struggle against other animals and against disease, as well as the universal process of aging and death. Culturally, one civilization after another seems to rise for a time, then decline and die. In the spiritual and moral realm, each individual invariably finds it easier to do wrong than right, easier to drift downward than to struggle upward. The world is full of hatred, crime, war, pollution, selfishness, corruption—evil of all kinds. Something has gone wrong with God's perfect creation."[5] The Effects of the Fall      The historic fall of Adam and Eve fundamentally changed the human race and the world, resulting in disease, decay and death among all living things, and that the tendency of humanity is to behave in a spiritually and morally corrupt manner, suppressing God's truth and rejecting His solutions to life's problems. Understanding this helps us make sense of the world in which we live and why people behave the way they do.      Sin is a dominant theme from Genesis chapter three to the end of the Bible, at which time God will do away with sin and its effects, creating a “new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet 3:13; cf. Rev 21:1). The word sin is found throughout Scripture, and both the Hebrew and Greek share the same basic meaning. The Hebrew word חָטָא chata means “to miss the target, or to lose the way,”[6] and the Greek ἁμαρτάνω hamartano is defined as “miss the mark, err, or do wrong.”[7] Sin is when we transgress God's law and depart from His intended path.[8] The apostle John states, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Merrill Unger writes, “The underlying idea of sin is that of law and of a lawgiver. The lawgiver is God. Hence sin is everything in the disposition and purpose and conduct of God's moral creatures that is contrary to the expressed will of God (Rom 3:20; 4:15; 7:7; Jam 4:12, 17).”[9]      Sin impacts all things including family life, nature, economics, society, law, politics, science, education, etc. All sin and evil exist in connection with the willful creatures who manufacture it, and its effects can be short or long-lasting. Even the creation is cursed because of Adam's sin, as the Lord told him, “Cursed is the ground because of you” (Gen 3:17), to which Paul added, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Rom 8:20-22). Sin negatively impacts everyone and everything, and no one was impacted or hurt more by sin than God. On several occasions we read, “The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (Gen 6:6), and though God loved Israel, their ongoing sin “grieved His Holy Spirit” (Isa 63:10). As Christians, we are commanded, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30). Sin ultimately cost God His Son, who came into the world and died on a cross in order to atone for it (Mark 10:45; John 3:16; 10:14-18; Rom 8:32; 1 John 4:10), and to set us free from spiritual slavery (Rom 6:6; Gal 5:1; Heb 2:14-15).      The Bible reveals we are sinners in Adam, sinners by nature, and sinners by choice. To be a sinner in Adam means we sinned when he sinned, that his fallen position is our fallen position, and his guilt is our guilt (Gen 2:16-17; 3:1-24; Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21-22). This is commonly referred to as original sin. Since the fall of Adam, every person is born with a sin nature (except Jesus),[10] and it is this nature that internally motivates people to rebel against all legitimate forms of authority, both human and divine. More so, the sin nature is not eradicated from the believer during his time on earth, nor is it ever reformed, as though it can be made to love God. To be a sinner by nature means it's our innate tendency to sin (Jer 17:9; Matt 7:11; Rom 7:18-21; Eph 2:1-3). To be a sinner by choice means we personally choose to act contrary to God and His revealed will (1 Ki 8:46; Prov 20:9; Ecc 7:20; Isa 53:6; Rom 3:10-12; 1 John 1:10). Cumulatively these reveal that we are totally depraved, which means sin permeates and corrupts every aspect of our being, including our mind, will, sensibilities and flesh. Though we may be moral to the best of our ability and others may applaud us for our good deeds, our best efforts are tainted by sin and have no saving merit before God (Isa 64:6; Rom 4:1-5; 5:6-10; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5).      One of the major areas where sin impacts us is in the mind, which theologians refer to as the noetic effects of sin. This means sin impacts our ability to think rationally, especially about God, who has made Himself known through general revelation (Psa 19:1-2; Rom 1:18-20) and special revelation (1 Cor 14:37; 1 Tim 5:18; 1 Th 2:13; 2 Tim 3:16-17). The majority of people throughout history think evil thoughts and are consumed with themselves and their own agendas rather than God's will. Of Noah's generation it is said, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5). Later, Solomon declared, “the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives” (Eccl 9:3). And Jeremiah wrote, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9). And Jesus Himself spoke of the human condition, saying, “for out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, [and] slanders” (Matt 15:19). One would think that when Jesus came into the world that mankind would rejoice in His light; however, Scripture provides a different picture, telling us, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19; cf. 1:4-5). When talking to religious Pharisees, Jesus declared, “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word” (John 8:43). This is true of all unbelievers, for “the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor 2:14). Even something as simple as the Gospel message is “foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor 1:18), in whose case “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor 4:3-4). The tendency of fallen people who operate on negative volition is to “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18), and to operate by a worldly wisdom that is not “from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic” (Jam 3:15).      At the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit indwells us and gives us a new nature that, for the first time in our lives, has the desire and capacity to obey God; however, the sin nature is not removed, and so we experience ongoing internal conflict between these opposing natures (Gal 5:17; Rom 7:14-23). As Christians, we are directed to “lay aside the old self…and put on the new self which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph 4:22, 24). Since we have been “born again” and given new life (1 Pet 1:3, 23), the sin nature no longer has domineering power over us, and we can choose a life of righteousness (Rom 6:5-13). As we grow spiritually, we will be transformed from the inside out and gradually become more and more righteous as we walk with God. Sinless perfection will not be attained until we leave this world, by death or by Rapture, and are “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29), who will “transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phi 3:21). Until then, we are commanded to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Rom 13:14). We do this by choosing to live according to the Spirit's guiding, and starving the monster that is our sin nature. To “make no provision for the flesh” means we stop exposing ourselves to the things of the world that excite the flesh and lead to sinful behavior. The positive action is to grow spiritually with biblical teaching (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), Christian fellowship (Heb 10:23-25), selfless living (Phil 2:3-4), prayer (1 Th 5:17), worship (Heb 13:15), and doing good (Gal 6:10; Heb 13:16). It is only by spiritual growth and drawing closer to God that we learn to glorify the Lord and live in righteousness.   [1] Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1976), 108. [2] Allen P. Ross, “Genesis,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 32. [3] Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record, 115. [4] Of course, we know this to be Jesus, the Messiah (Luke 1:26-33), and His victory occurred at the cross, where “the ruler of this world has been judged” and defeated (John 16:11; cf. Col 2:15; Heb 2:14; 1 John 3:8). Satan and his angels will eventually be cast into the Lake of Fire (Matt 25:41; Rev 20:10). [5] Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record, 105. [6] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 305. [7] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 49. [8] In Judges 20:16 the Hebrew word is used of skilled soldiers who do not miss their target, and in Proverbs 19:2 of a man who hurries and misses his way. [9] Merrill F. Unger and E. McChesney, “Sin,” ed. R.K. Harrison, The New Unger's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988), 1198. [10] According to Scripture, Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21), was “without sin” (Heb 4:15), and “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). His sinless life qualified Him as a perfect sacrifice to go to the cross and die as a substitute for others (Rom 5:6-10; Heb 10:1-14; 1 Pet 3:18).

Jeremiah 49:28-39 Steven R. Cook      God, who is “the Judge of all the earth” (Gen 18:25), had called Jeremiah to be His prophet, both to the Gentile nations (Jer 1:5, 10) and Judah (Jer 1:15-18; 2:1-2). Because Judah was in a special covenant relationship with God, Jeremiah was commissioned to speak to them first and to pronounce God's “judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands” (Jer 1:16). The first part of the book of Jeremiah was written primarily to Judah (Jeremiah chapters 2-45). But after God judged His people, He fixed His canons against the surrounding Gentile nations (Jeremiah chapters 46-52). God, having already judged Egypt (Jer 46:1-26), Philistia (Jer 47:1-7), Moab (Jer 48:1-47), Ammon (Jer 49:1-6), Edom (Jer 49:7-22), and Damascus (Jer 49:23-27), now renders His judgments against Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor (Jer 49:28-33), and Elam (Jer 49:34-39). Judgment Against Kedar, Hazor, and the Men of the East      Jeremiah opens this pericope with a prophecy “Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated. Thus says the LORD, ‘Arise, go up to Kedar and devastate the men of the east'” (Jer 49:28). The Kedarites were a nomadic people descended from Ishmael (Gen 25:13), who later became known for their archery skills (Isa 21:16-17). They were also shepherds (Isa 60:7), lovers of war (Psa 120:5-7), and lived in unprotected villages (Jer 49:31). According to Radmacher, “The phrase men of the East is associated with the Arameans, Midianites, Amalekites, and other nomadic desert tribes (Gen 29:1; Judg 7:12).”[1] Though this passage refers to Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, it's message is to Nebuchadnezzar, as the Lord instructs him to attack and destroy the men of this region. The word devastate translates the Hebrew verb שָׁדָד shadad, which means “to devastate, despoil, deal violently with.”[2] Keeping God's sovereignty in primary view, the Babylonians never functioned as an independent power to do as they pleased, but were under God's sovereign control to serve as His agent of judgment against others. Interestingly, the same verb is used later to described God's judgments against the Babylonians (Jer 51:48, 53, 55-56).      When God called the Babylonians to come against the Kedarites, we are told, “They will take away their tents and their flocks; they will carry off for themselves their tent curtains, all their goods and their camels, and they will call out to one another, ‘Terror on every side!'” (Jer 49:29). And the advice God gave to the Kedarites was, ‘“Run away, flee! Dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Hazor,' declares the LORD; ‘For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has formed a plan against you and devised a scheme against you'” (Jer 49:30). Though the men of Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor would run for their lives, they could escape God's judgment upon them. Nebuchadnezzar, whom God had raised up as His instrument of judgment, was unaware of God's invisible hand that would guide him to victory.      The Lord guided Nebuchadnezzar, saying, ‘“Arise, go up against a nation which is at ease, which lives securely,' declares the LORD. ‘It has no gates or bars; they dwell alone. 32 Their camels will become plunder, and their many cattle for booty, and I will scatter to all the winds those who cut the corners of their hair; and I will bring their disaster from every side,' declares the LORD” (Jer 49:31-32). The picture portrays the Kedarites and their neighbors as overly self-confident, at ease, living securely, not needing gates or bars for protection, and dwelling alone. Nebuchadnezzar would exploit this weakness and take their possessions as plunder.      Most importantly in these verses is the revelation that the Lord Himself is the primary causal agent who brings judgment, saying, “I will scatter to all the winds” and “I will bring their disaster from every side” (Jer 49:32). God controls history according to His sovereign purposes. The end result of God's judgment would be that “Hazor will become a haunt of jackals, a desolation forever; no one will live there, nor will a son of man reside in it” (Jer 49:33). Judgment Against Elam      Next, we are told about God's judgment against Elam, as Jeremiah wrote, “That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying: 35 Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to break the bow of Elam, the finest of their might'” (Jer 49:34-35). Elam was located about two hundred miles to the east of Babylon, in what today would be part of Iran. According to Huey, “It was conquered by the Assyrians under Ashurbanipal, ca. 640 B.C., but regained its independence with Assyria's collapse. It joined forces with Nabopolassar to destroy Nineveh in 612 B.C. The Babylonian Chronicle seems to indicate there was a conflict between Nebuchadnezzar and Elam, 596–594. In 539 the Elamites helped overthrow the Babylonian Empire.”[3]      Just as God had declared judgment against Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, so He sovereignly declared, “I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four ends of heaven, and will scatter them to all these winds; and there will be no nation to which the outcasts of Elam will not go” (Jer 49:36). Here is another reminder that God is the One who sets up kings and kingdoms and determines their duration of existence (see Dan 2:21; 4:25). And the Lord continued, saying, “So I will shatter Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their lives; and I will bring calamity upon them, even My fierce anger,' declares the LORD, ‘And I will send out the sword after them until I have consumed them. 38 Then I will set My throne in Elam and destroy out of it king and princes,' declares the LORD” (Jer 49:37-38). However, the God who promised to destroy Edom, also gave a promise of a future hope by restoring the nation. The Lord declared, ‘“But it will come about in the last days that I will restore the fortunes of Elam,' Declares the LORD” (Jer 49:39). Here is a message of hope, as the God who chose to bring a nation down, also chose to elevate it again. The truth is all nations are subject to God's sovereign rule, and their moral or immoral behavior will be met with His blessings or cursings. Present Application      The Bible reveals “God is the King of all the earth…He reigns over the nations; He sits on His holy throne” (Psa 47:7-8). It is God “who changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings” (Dan 2:21; cf., Dan 4:17, 35). Furthermore, “The LORD is King forever and ever” (Psa 10:16a), for the “LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all” (Psa 103:19), and He “works all things after the counsel of His will” (Eph 1:11b), and “Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps” (Psa 135:6). As sovereign God, He judges His world in righteousness.      When individuals, groups, cities, and nations turn away from God, He will judge them according to His righteous character and moral laws. We know from Scripture that “the LORD is righteous, [and] He loves righteousness” (Psa 11:7), and “Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments” (Psa 119:137). For God, righteousness is an attribute, an inherent quality, not the adherence to laws beyond Himself (of which there are none). The righteousness of God may be defined as the intrinsic, immutable, moral perfection of God, from which He commands all things, in heaven and earth, and declares as good that which conforms to His righteousness and as evil that which deviates. Righteousness and justice are related words. The former speaks of God's moral character, whereas the latter speaks of the actions that flow out of His character. Whatever God's righteousness requires, His justice executes; either to approve or reject, to bless or condemn. God is “the Judge of all the earth” (Gen 18:25), and He “is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day” (Psa 7:11).      Though God judges, He is not One to judge quickly. It is written, “You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth” (Psa 86:15), and “the LORD is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness” (Psa 145:8). Peter reveals that God “is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). In this way, God is quick to warn and slow to judge. But God is not patient forever, and there are multiple accounts of judgment throughout Scripture. God judged the antediluvian world (Gen 6:1-7, 11-13; 7:21-24), the rebels at the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9), the wicked citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:24-25), the Egyptians (Deut 26:6-8; cf. Gen 15:13-14), the Canaanites (Lev 18:25; Deut 9:5), and the Babylonians (Jer 25:11-12). The book of Obadiah was written against the Edomites (Oba 1:1), and Nahum against the Ninevites (Nah 1:1). When Jesus was on the earth at the time of His first coming, He judged the religious leaders of his day (Matt 23:1-36), and pronounced judgment upon the nation of Israel for having rejected Him as their Messiah (Matt 23:37-39). In the future, God will judge Gentiles based on how they treat persecuted Jewish believers during the Tribulation (Matt 25:31-46). And God will judge all unbelievers at the Great White Throne judgment and will cast them into the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:11-15). God has also judged Satan (John 16:11), and will punish him in the future (Matt 25:41; Rev 20:10). On What Basis Does God Judge Israel and Gentile Nations?      As a nation, Israel was and is unique in human history, for it's the only nation that was created by God as a theocracy. Speaking to Israel, God said, “I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King” (Isa 43:15; cf. Isa 43:1). Israel was a theocracy, and God was their Judge, Lawgiver, and King (Isa 33:22). As such, God gave Israel specific laws to direct their lives (Lev 27:34). The Mosaic Law was the standard by which Israel lived rightly before the Lord and was the basis for blessing or cursing, depending on their obedience or disobedience to His directives (Deut 11:26-28). Reading through Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, First and Second Kings, and all the OT prophets, one can see a consistent pattern of God blessing or cursing His people depending on whether they obeyed or disobeyed His written directives. God was extremely patient with His people when they disobeyed, repeatedly warning them about His coming judgments, but the historical trend was that of rebellion (Jer 25:4-7). Because of rampant idolatry, human sacrifice, and other egregious sins, God eventually destroyed the ten northern tribes of Israel in 722 B.C. (2 Ki 17:7-23), and the two southern tribes of Judah in 586 B.C. (Jer 25:8-11). The fear of the Lord and obedience to Him would have prevented their destruction, but the nation chose otherwise.      The Gentile nations did not possess the Mosaic Law as Israel did; however, a Gentile nation could be blessed or cursed, and this depended on at least two factors. First, God would bless or curse a Gentile nation depending on how it treated Israel. God told Abraham, the progenitor of Israel, “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse” (Gen 12:3). According to Allen Ross, “Those who blessed Abram would receive blessing from God; that is, those who supported and endorsed him in his faith would actually find enrichment. Conversely, if anyone treated Abram lightly, he must be cursed.”[4] God's promise to bless or curse was based on the covenant that started with Abraham and extended to his descendants forever (Gen 17:7).[5] Concerning the curse, Arnold Fruchtenbaum states: "The first word for curse is kalal, which means “to treat lightly,” “to hold in contempt,” or “to curse.” To merely treat Abram and the Jews lightly is to incur the curse of God. The second word for curse used in this phrase (him that curses you will I curse) is aor, from the Hebrew root arah, which means “to impose a barrier,” “to ban.” This is a much stronger word for curse than the first one in the phrase…Therefore, even a light curse against Abram or against the Jews will bring a heavier curse from God."[6]      Second, a Gentile nation could be blessed or cursed depending on whether they pursued godly virtues or wickedness. Scripture reveals, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Prov 14:34). Biblically, there is a sense in which God's laws are written on the hearts of all people. Paul wrote, “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them” (Rom 2:14-15).[7] God has placed within each person a moral sense of right and wrong. Everyone knows it's right to be honest, kind, courteous, patient, helpful to the weak, honoring to parents, faithful to one's spouse, etc. On the other hand, everyone knows it's wrong to murder, steal, lie, commit adultery, etc.[8] And how people behave collectively has results upon their city or nation. The Lord told Jeremiah, “At one moment I might speak concerning a nation [גּוֹי goy] or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it” (Jer 18:7-8). This is what happened when Jonah preached God's message of pending judgment to the Ninevites (Jonah 1:1-2; 3:1-4), and when they believed and repented (Jonah 3:5-9), He relented (Jonah 3:10). There is hope for any nation that has turned away from God, but only if the leadership and people turn to God and pursue righteousness in conformity with His character.      What influence do we, as Christians, have on our country? As God's people living in the dispensation of the church age, He directs us to learn and live His Word (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17), live by faith (Heb 10:38; 11:6), advance to spiritual maturity (Eph 4:11-16; 1 Pet 2:2), share the gospel (Mark 16:15; 1 Cor 15:3-4), make disciples (Matt 28:19-20), live holy lives (1 Pet 1:15-16), and do good (Gal 6:10; Tit 2:11-14). In this way, God may use us to help shape our nation in godly ways, which will influence its educational, political, economic, and social views for the better. We are, after all, to be a light to the world (Matt 5:14; Eph 5:8).   [1] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne House, Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999), 942. [2] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 1419. [3] F. B. Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations, vol. 16, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993), 406. [4] Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998), 263. [5] To love Israel is not a blanket endorsement of all their beliefs and behaviors. God, who loves Israel and chose them to be His people (Deut 7:6-8), also called them to be holy (Ex 19:5-6; Lev 11:45), and promised blessing or cursing, based on their obedience or disobedience to Him (Deut 28:1-68). Israel can and does fail, often rejecting God's love for them and walking in the ways of the world (see 2 Ch 36:15-16; Jer 7:25-26; 25:4-7; Ezek 16; Matt 23:1-39; Acts 7:51-53; 1 Th 2:14-16). The national rejection and crucifixion of Jesus (Matt 27:22-23; Acts 2:22-23; 4:27-28), Israel's promised Messiah (Deut 18:15; Isa 7:14; 9:6-7;53; 61:1; Matt 1:1, 17; Luke 1:31-33), was their greatest failure. Did Israel act alone in crucifying Jesus, their Messiah? No! God foretold Israel's Messiah would suffer and die (Psa 22:11-18; Isa 53); and, according to His sovereignty, He used wicked men, both Jews and Gentiles, to accomplish His will (Acts 2:22-23; 4:27-28). [6] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Ariel's Bible Commentary: The Book of Genesis, 1st ed. (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2008), 242. [7] The human conscience, when working properly, serves as a moral compass. But because of willful and persistent sin, the conscience can become weak (1 Cor 8:7), callous (1 Tim 4:2), defiled (Tit 1:15), or evil (Heb 10:22). Persistent sin can damage the conscience so that it fails to operate properly. [8] The unbeliever can live morally according to the dictates of a healthy conscience, and though not saved, can receive some blessings in this life. Conversely, a Christian can turn away from the faith and pursue wickedness, and this results in divine discipline and the forfeiture of eternal rewards.

     In our current section on case laws (Deut 19:1—26:19), we are considering how the nation of ancient Israel was to practice righteous living after they entered the land of Canaan (Deut 16:20), how righteousness was measured by conformity to God's laws (Deut 6:24-25), and obedience would result in the Lord's blessings (Deut 11:26-28). In this section, Moses addresses the matter of charging interest on financial loans (Deut 23:19-20), the importance of keeping vows to God (Deut 23:21-23), and respecting a neighbor's property (Deut 23:24-25).    Charging Interest on Financial Loans      Israel was a theocracy, one kingdom under God, who was their Judge, Lawgiver, and King (Isa 33:22). As a theocracy, Israelites were to have a sense of corporate responsibility for each other, as they were all in the covenant community, a special people, chosen by God to be His holy representatives to others (Lev 11:45; 20:26; Deut 7:6; 14:2). This had practical application in everyday matters such as loans to the poor. Moses said, “You shall not charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned at interest” (Deut 23:19). Two groups are assumed in this verse, the wealthy and the poor. This shows that in a theocracy where God Himself rules, there would economic stratification. Socialistic and Communistic ideas of redistribution of wealth is a foreign concept to the Bible and tantamount to theft. Biblically, God directs wealthy Israelites to deal generously with their poor countrymen. It was fine to give them loans to help them when they were in a disadvantaged place, but they were not to charge interest (Ex 22:25-27; Lev 25:35-38). Eugene Merrill states, “Proper treatment of a brother in such matters would ensure the blessing of God in the land of promise (v. 20). God himself gives freely and graciously, so why should his people profit from the misfortune of one another (cf. Lev 25:35–38)?”[1] Not only was a loan to be made to a poor Israelite without interest, but if that Israelite could not repay the loan at the time of the sabbatical year, the loan was automatically forgiven (Deut 15:1-2).[2]      However, for foreigners who were outside the covenant community, Israelites could charge interest on loans. Moses said, “You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest” (Deut 23:20a). Foreigners (Heb. נָכְרִי nokri) were those who lived among Israelites but were not part of the covenant community. Nothing is said about the resident alien (Heb. גֵּר ger) who resided among the Israelites, who enjoyed greater benefits than the foreigner because he/she had committed themselves to the Lord.  Foreigners might see Israel as a growing nation with strong economic possibilities and want to interact with them in business ventures. If a foreigner wanted to take out a loan from an Israelite, the latter was granted permission to charge interest on the former. Peter Craigie comments, “The Israelite was permitted, however, to lend on interest to a foreigner. Since the foreigner was not a member of the covenant community, it was not considered necessary to treat him in the same way as a fellow Israelite.”[3]Here was just economic discrimination where membership had its privileges. If Israel would follow these commands, like all the others, the benefit would be, “so that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess” (Deut 23:20b). God's blessing would follow obedience (cf., Deut 14:29; 15:10; 24:19; 30:15-16). Daniel Block writes, “This policy seeks to inspire generosity by reminding Israelites that Yahweh's generosity toward them is contingent on their generosity toward each other. The motive clause reflects Yahweh's desire to bless them in the land in every effort to which they put their hands.”[4]      There is no theocracy in the world today; however, just nations do well to learn from the economic principles of the Bible. God's laws to Israel concerning money assume a free-market economy where individuals could pursue economic self-interest, but not in such a way so as to exploit a disadvantaged member of the covenant community. Today, a free-market economy is preferred over other economic systems, as it does more to elevate the poor in a community by allowing them to make good financial choices and benefit from those investments. However, those operating by selfish values can manipulate such a system, as they can any system, even one designed by God. A free-market system, by itself, does not secure a moral outcome or fair treatment of the poor. However, when God's values for the poor undergird those with economic wisdom, it meets His approval and others are blessed by their open-handedness. Keeping Vows to God      Integrity matters to God, especially as it pertains to keeping a promise we make to Him or others. In ancient Israel, it was permissible to make a vow to God in which one promised to give something to Him, usually as an expression of gratitude for His goodness. However, when a vow was made, it obligated the promiser to fulfill his word. Moses said, “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and the LORD your God will surely require it of you. 22 However, if you refrain from vowing, it would not be sin in you” (Deut 23:21-22). This directive assumes individual property rights, and the right of volition to give freely what one has to another. There is no compulsion. However, if one vowed to give something to another, it meant the thing actually belonged to the other person, although it was not yet in their possession, it was theirs to claim. In this case, the vow was made to God, who holds the promiser accountable for what was promised. Failure to keep a vow was regarded as a crime by the Lord. However, if His people refrained from making a vow altogether, it was not a sin. The property was theirs to keep as their own.      But if one made a vow to the Lord, to give Him something as a free expression of gratitude, then that one must not renege on his/her vow. God said, “You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God, what you have promised” (Deut 23:23). A word released cannot be taken back, and it's better to pause and consider one's words before speaking, especially is it relates to promises made to God. Victor Matthews states, “In the Decalogue is the commandment that no one should ‘misuse the name of the Lord' (Ex 20:7). When a vow using God's name is spoken, it brings God into contract with that person. Thus, any failure to carry out the stipulations of the vow breaks the contract and subjects that person to divine wrath.”[5] And Peter Craigie adds, “The principle underlying the injunction is rooted in the nature of the covenant. God spoke His promise in words to His people; His spoken word was reliable and would be fulfilled—it was not a spoken bribe to secure the allegiance of the people. To make a vow to God, then fail to fulfil it, would be contrary to the whole spirit of the covenant.”[6] Solomon speaks to the matter of vows, saying: "When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands? (Eccl 5:4-6)" Respecting Property Rights      Israelites were to have a sense of community and regard for each other's wellbeing. Concerning an Israelite traveler, the Lord said, “When you enter your neighbor's vineyard, then you may eat grapes until you are fully satisfied, but you shall not put any in your basket. 25 When you enter your neighbor's standing grain, then you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor's standing grain” (Deut 23:24-25). Here we observe both corporate and individual rights. Corporately, traveling Israelites could eat from their neighbor's crops, whether grapes or grain, and this until they were full. However, they were not permitted to harvest their neighbor's crops beyond what their bellies could hold. To take more than one's stomach could hold was theft. This was a divine mandate that provided for a traveler to benefit from a wealthy landowner, but also protected the landowner from exploitation. All Israelites, whether wealthy or poor, were to remember that God owned the land (Lev 25:23), and He had the right to instruct His tenants about how they should manage their property, especially as it related to those within the community. Eugene Merrill states, “The allowance for the passerby was, no doubt, to create an atmosphere of general grace and hospitality and to provide practical aid for the traveler who, in those ancient days, might not be able to carry sufficient food supplies for a long journey and who would have no way of preserving certain foodstuffs from spoilage.”[7]      Jesus and His disciples followed this law when traveling. Mark's Gospel records, “And it happened that He was passing through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain” (Mark 2:23). Earl Radmacher states, “When Jesus and His disciples picked grain in open fields, they were following the common practice allowed by this regulation. However, the Pharisees challenged Jesus because they did it on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23–28).”[8] When Jesus was charged by the Pharisees that He and His disciples were breaking the law, what they were breaking was manmade rabbinical law, not biblical law. The biblical record is that Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21), was “without sin” (Heb 4:15), and “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). Present Application      Words are the currency of the heart, for by them, we reveal our moral wealth or poverty. For some, a person's word is gold. We trust what they say is true and that they will keep their promises, even at great cost to themselves. Faithfulness to keep a promise is a measure of one's integrity. God wants us to have integrity, because He has integrity. To say God has integrity means He is honest in nature, that He always speaks truth, and that He is faithful to keep His Word. Because of who He is, God does not lie, and when He makes a promise, He always keeps it. The Bible reveals, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Num 23:19; cf. 1 Sam 15:29). Elsewhere it is written that God “cannot lie” (Tit 1:2), and that it “is impossible for God to lie” (Heb 6:18a). Scripture reveals that even “if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim 2:13). This reveals the character and immutability of God as well as the integrity of His Word, which is comforting to His people, especially since there is much falsehood and many promise-breakers in the world.      As Christians, God calls us to be like Him, to “speak the truth in love” (Eph 4:15) and to keep our promises to others. Warren Wiersbe writes, “The foundations of society today are eroding because of unkept promises, whether they be official contracts, marriage vows, political pledges, or words spoken on the witness stand. We expect the Lord to keep His promises, and He expects us to keep ours. Truth is the cement that holds society together.”[9] But truthful lips and a faithful life are the fruit of a heart that is filled with God and His Word; a heart committed to walk in godly integrity.     In Psalm 15, David writes about the one “who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart” (Psa 15:2).[10] One of the characteristics of the person who walks with integrity is that, “he swears to his own hurt and does not change” (Psa 15:4b). Other translations read, “he keeps his word whatever the cost” (Psa 15:4 CSB), and “he makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise” (Psa 15:4 NET), and “keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind” (Psa 15:4 NIV). This behavior describes a mature believer who has a well-developed walk with the Lord. Concerning Psalm 15:4, Dr. Allen Ross comments: "Here the psalmist is dealing with faithfulness, keeping one's word, even if it proves costly or inconvenient. The righteous must not change their mind to avoid an unexpected painful outcome; they must keep their word even if it means they suffer loss of some kind. In fact, to take an oath and not keep it would be to take the name of the LORD in vain. It would be better not to take the oath in the first place if possible."[11]      The Christian who has a deep concern for integrity, truth, and faithfulness will keep his/her word, for honor is of more value than the pain of loss, whatever it may be. Solomon tells us, “Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool” (Prov 19:1), and, “Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is crooked though he be rich” (Prov 28:6). This second proverb reveals a situation where a person chose godly integrity over crookedness, even though it resulted in financial poverty.      Three closing points. First, having Christian integrity does not mean we become sinless. As Christians, we still possess our fallen natures, live in a fallen world, and face temptations and attacks from various sources that seek to undermine our walk with God. Even the godliest of saints sin (i.e., Moses, David, Peter, John, etc.).[12] The reality is there will be times when we fail to live by godly integrity, when we fail to keep our word, both to the Lord and others. But relapse does not have to mean collapse, for if there is humility, we can come before God's “throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16). And if we confess our sins to Him, “He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Second, our failings, though many, do not destroy the Lord's faithfulness to us, for though “we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim 2:13). God has blessed us with many promises (2 Pet 1:4), and He has perfect integrity, always keeps His Word and never fails. Third, God wants us to develop godly integrity so our character and life measure up to His righteous standards as revealed in Scripture. But developing godly integrity is the pursuit of a lifetime, as we make moment by moment choices to submit ourselves to God, to learn and live His Word, to be honest in who we are, to speak truth in love, and to keep our promises to others, even if the cost is great. As Christians who want to serve the Lord, may we rise to pursue such an honorable life, for God's glory, and the benefit of others.   [1] Eugene H. Merrill, Deuteronomy, vol. 4, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 315. [2] Of course, a wealthy Israelite might have a concern that a needy brother would ask for help near the seventh year, just prior the time when loans were automatically forgiven, and the loan would become a gift with the lender losing all hope of repayment. If the wealthy Israelite failed to obey the Lord and withheld the loan to the poor person, then the poor “may cry to the LORD” in such a situation, which meant he would take his case before the Judge of all the earth and, it would “be a sin” in the one who was stingy. Here, it is revealed that the poor had legal rights in God's theocratic kingdom, which is revealed in other parts of Scripture (Deut 27:19; Pro 29:7; Isa 10:1-2). The cure of a hostile attitude toward the poor was a generous heart and an open hand. This cure was to be self-administered. Failure to be kind and open-handed would bring about God's cursing, but obedience would secure His blessings (Deut 7:11-13; 11:13-15, 26-28). [3] Peter C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976), 303. [4] Daniel I. Block, The NIV Application Commentary: Deuteronomy, ed. Terry Muck (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 548. [5] Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), Dt 23:21–23. [6] Peter C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy, 303. [7] Eugene H. Merrill, Deuteronomy, vol. 4, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 316. [8] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne House, Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999), 258. [9] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Counted, “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub., 1999), 133. [10] The believer's walk (הָלַךְ halak) is idiomatic of his/her behavior or lifestyle. It is the fruit of life that reveals the root of the heart. In this context, righteousness (צֶדֶק tsedeq) refers to a life in ethical conformity to God and His Word. And truth (אֱמֶת emeth) denotes what is dependable or reliable, and refers to God's absolute and unchanging Word, that should fill the heart of the believer. [11] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms 1–89: Commentary, vol. 1, Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2011–2013), 393. [12] Moses sinned when he disobeyed God by striking the rock twice rather than speaking to it (Num 20:6-11). David sinned when he had an affair with Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah (2 Sam 11:1-17), as well as when he took a census in Israel (1 Ch 21:1-8). Peter resisted Christ going to the cross (Matt 16:21-23), and later denied Him three times (Luke 22:54-61). John was rebuked twice for worshipping an angel (John 19:10; 22:8-9).

     In Deuteronomy 23:1-8, Moses addresses immigration laws in ancient Israel, limiting who could worship in the assembly of the Lord. Moses opens, saying, “No one who is emasculated or has his male organ cut off shall enter the assembly of the LORD” (Deut 23:1). The phrase, “one who is emasculated or has his male organ cut off” is rendered more literally as “a man whose testicles have been crushed or whose penis has been cut off” (CSB). The practice of emasculation was done on servants who guarded a man's harem, and was practiced by men who were radical devotees of pagan worship. Daniel Block states, “this prohibition seems have been influenced by pagan religious rites of self-castration, perhaps as an ascetic act of self-torment or in pious imitation of the gods.”[1] The phrase, the assembly of the LORD (קָהָל יהוה qahal Yahweh), occurs six times in this section (vss. 1-8), showing God had concern for the sanctity of the congregation that met Him for instruction or worship. Previously, Moses had emphasized the positives of gathering for worship (Deut 12:7, 12; 16:11, 14), but here emphasized the negatives that excluded one from fellowship. Being excluded from worship among the Israelites did not mean one was excluded from the covenant community as a whole. Earl Kalland states, “Most likely this law did not exclude one from residence in areas where Israel was to live but rather from the benefits of full-fledged citizenship and most particularly (and maybe only) from participation in religious rites in the homes and at the tabernacle and later at the temple.”[2] Such exclusions based on physical defects were not limited to non-Israelites, as Levites with physical defects could not serve as priests at the tabernacle/temple (Lev 21:16-23). Even animals with physical defects were not eligible for sacrifice (Lev 1:10; 4:32).      Another person excluded from gathering at the assembly of the LORD was one born of illegitimate birth. Moses said, “No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of the LORD; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall enter the assembly of the LORD” (Deut 23:2). The phrase, one of illegitimate birth, translates the Hebrew noun מַמְזֵר mamzer, which refers to a “bastard, [or] child of incest.”[3] This could refer either to one who was the offspring of a pagan prostitute (cf., Deut 23:17-18), or perhaps from an incestuous relationship, which was practiced among the Canaanites (Lev 18-20). Such an exclusion might have sought to deter Israelites from pursuing immoral relationships.        Moses continued, saying, “No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the LORD; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the assembly of the LORD, 4 because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you” (Deut 23:3-4). It should be remembered that the Ammonites and Moabites were the offspring of an incestuous relationship between Lot and his two daughters (Gen 19:30-38). Whatever their parentage, God prohibited the Ammonites and Moabites from participating in the worship of the Lord because they sought to curse His people (Num 22:1-6, 22-24, 31-33). Thomas Constable writes: "The main reason for the exclusion of the Ammonites and Moabites was the extreme hostility that these nations demonstrated toward Israel when Israel was approaching the Promised Land. Evidently Ammon participated with Moab in resisting Israel's passage, in seeking to curse the Israelites with Balaam's assistance, and or in corrupting the Israelites through sacred prostitution (Num 22–25)."[4]      As Israel traveled toward Canaan, they were met with hostility and opposition as Balak, the king of Moab (Num 22:4), hired Balaam to curse the Lord's people (Num 22:5-6). The word curse translates the Hebrew verb קָלַל qalal, which means to treat as small, little, or insignificant. This same word was used by God when He set forth the promises pertaining to the Abrahamic covenant, saying He would bless or curse others depending on how they treated Abraham and his descendants. God told Abraham, the progenitor of Israel, “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses [קָלַל qalal] you I will curse [אָרָר arar]” (Gen 12:3). Allen Ross sates, “Those who blessed Abram would receive blessing from God; that is, those who supported and endorsed him in his faith would actually find enrichment. Conversely, if anyone treated Abram lightly, he must be cursed.”[5] God's promise to bless or curse was based on an unconditional covenant that started with Abraham and extended to his descendants forever (Gen 17:7; Num 24:9). Concerning the curse in Genesis 12:3, Arnold Fruchtenbaum states: "The first word for curse is kalal, which means “to treat lightly,” “to hold in contempt,” or “to curse.” To merely treat Abram and the Jews lightly is to incur the curse of God. The second word for curse used in this phrase (him that curses you will I curse) is aor, from the Hebrew root arah, which means “to impose a barrier,” “to ban.” This is a much stronger word for curse than the first one in the phrase…Therefore, even a light curse against Abram or against the Jews will bring a heavier curse from God."[6]      This cursing from God is seen in His opposition the Ammonites and Moabites when they sought to curse His people. Moses tells us, “Nevertheless, the LORD your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the LORD your God loves you” (Deut 23:5). God's people were under His divine protection, and no satanically inspired curse would penetrate the wall of fire around them. Solomon wrote, “Like a flitting sparrow or a fluttering swallow, an undeserved curse goes nowhere” (Prov 26:2 CSB). In fact, not only did God prohibit Balaam from cursing the Israelites, He directed him to bless them instead (Num. 23:7-10, 18-24; 24:3-9). Balaam's actions angered Balak, who said, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times!” (Num 24:10). God's protection from opposing military and spiritual forces was because He loved His people and desired their best. For Israel, knowing God's blessing was tied to their obedience to His directives (Deut 11:26-28). When they stepped outside God's will, they opened themselves up to all forms of evil as well as divine discipline.      Because the Ammonites and Moabites sought Israel's harm at the time of their journey from Kadesh Barnea into the land of Canaan, God said, “You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days” (Deut 23:6). Here was the boomerang effect, in which those who sought to curse God's people wound up bringing a curse upon themselves. This verse should be understood as referring to those who continued in hatred and hostility toward God's people and were excluded from treaty relationships. Daniel Block writes: "Previously Moses had noted Yahweh's love as the motivating force behind his election and rescue of Israel from Egypt (Deut 4:37; 7:8) and his lavish blessing (Deut 7:12), but here it underlies Yahweh's protection from hostile military and spiritual forces. Because the Moabites and Ammonites had opposed Yahweh and his agenda regarding the Israelites, the Israelites are never to seek their peace or their welfare. Since “a treaty of friendship” functions as a general expression for well-being in covenantal contexts, this may be a ban on treaties with Ammonites and Moabites."[7]      But God's dealing with Ammonites and Moabites did not exclude displays of grace. Remember, God had previously given the Ammonites and Moabites land south of Israel, and His people were to leave them alone (Deut 2:9, 19). Though the Ammonites and Moabites were collectively under divine judgment, and this because of their negative volition and hostility toward Him, He knew there would be descendants who would trust in Him and become part of the blessed community. This was the case with Ruth the Moabitess, who loved God and His people (Ruth 1:16-17), and was even included in the line of Christ (Ruth 4:13; Matt 1:5). Eugene Merrill writes: "Disbarment from the assembly was not synonymous with exclusion from the covenant community itself as the one example of Ruth the Moabite makes clear. Having determined to return with her Israelite mother-in-law to Bethlehem, she vowed: “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). This was more than mere wishful thinking or personal resolve, for Ruth went on to marry a leading citizen of Bethlehem (4:13), and she eventually became a great-grandmother of King David (4:21). There can be no doubt that Ruth was welcomed among the people of the Lord as one of their own though presumably never with access to the assembly."[8]      In contrast to the hostility of Ammonites and Moabites, Moses said, “You shall not detest an Edomite, for he is your brother; you shall not detest an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land” (Deut 23:7). The Edomites were the descendants of Esau (Gen 36:1, 8), who was born to Isaac and Rebekah (Gen 25:21-25), and therefore in the Abrahamic line and biologically related to Israel as a “brother.” Furthermore, Israel was not to detest the Egyptians. Though Israel had lived in Egyptian captivity for four centuries, their basic needs of safety, shelter, and food were met. Though Pharaoh and his administration were hostile to Israel, it does not appear this was the case with the Egyptian people themselves. As a result, Israelites were not to treat the Egyptians in a negative way. God Himself opened the door for the Egyptians, saying, “The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD” (Deut 23:8). This meant that after a time of exclusion, Egyptians could be allowed to worship in Israel alongside Israelites, assuming they had trusted in Yahweh and were willing to abide by His directives in the covenant community. Present Application      All Christians are called to walk with the Lord and to submit ourselves to Him for service. This means, in part, devoting ourselves to the study of Scripture (2 Tim 2:15; 1 Pet 2:2), offering our bodies for service to the Lord (Rom 12:1-2), living holy lives (1 Pet 1:15-16), regularly confessing our sins to God (1 John 1:6-9), sharing the gospel with others (Mark 16:15; Rom 15:15-16), assembling for worship (Heb 10:25), offering praise to God (Heb 13:15), doing good works (Gal 6:10; Heb 10:24), sharing our resources with others (Heb 13:16; cf. Phil 4:18), living selflessly for the benefit of others (Phil 2:17; cf. Phil 1:21-26; 2:3-4), praying constantly (1 Th 5:17), giving thanks (1 Th 5:18), and walking in love (Eph 5:1-2; cf. 1 Pet 1:22). These are just a few of the Christian duties that are to be obeyed by all believers.      However, apart from the general duties of all Christians, there are specific qualifications for some who would serve in a special way. For example, serving as a church elder or deacon means meeting certain qualifications; specifically, church elders are appointed by God (Acts 20:28; cf. Eph 4:11), consist of men only (1 Tim 3:2; Tit 1:6; cf. 1 Tim 2:12-14), and must be doctrinally, morally, and spiritually mature (1 Tim 3:1-7).[9] Failure to meet these qualifications disqualifies one to serve as a church elder or deacon within the local church.      Furthermore, there are some Christians who should be excluded from Christian fellowship, and these include believers who are continually teaching false doctrines or pursuing sin (this is not the occasional sin, but ongoing sin that harms the spiritual walk of others). The reason we should avoid such persons is partly because “bad associations corrupt good morals” (1 Cor 15:33). When writing to Christians in Corinth, Paul said, “I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one” (1 Cor 5:11). Disassociation was for the purpose of maintaining personal holiness with the Lord. We always hope the sinning Christian will come to his/her senses and come back into fellowship; however, we must maintain distance until they do. In another place Paul wrote, “I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them” (Rom 16:17). And, “We command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us” (2 Th 3:6). Such actions are never easy, for we love fellow believers and desire friendship with them. However, our walk with God must always take priority, for He is our greatest Friend, and allegiance to Him secures for us all that is strong and good and meaningful in life. And if/when the erring believer turns back to the Lord and resumes their walk-in-the-Word, then all will be as it should, and fellowship within the Christian community can be restored.     [1] Daniel I. Block, The NIV Application Commentary: Deuteronomy, ed. Terry Muck (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 534–535. [2] Earl S. Kalland, “Deuteronomy,” in The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 140. [3] Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 561. [4] Tom Constable, Tom Constable's Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Dt 23:1. [5] Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998), 263. [6] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Ariel's Bible Commentary: The Book of Genesis, 1st ed. (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2008), 242. [7] Daniel I. Block, The NIV Application Commentary: Deuteronomy, 536. [8] Eugene H. Merrill, Deuteronomy, vol. 4, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 309. [9] The function pastors is to solve doctrinal problems in the church through biblical discussion and research (Acts 15:4-11, cf. Acts 16:4), work with “the whole church” on ministry matters (Acts 15:22), shepherd the church through general oversight (Acts 20:17; 28), guard against false teachers and their false doctrines (Acts 20:28-32), guide believers to spiritual maturity (Eph 4:11-14), be servant-leaders (1 Th 5:12; 1 Tim 5:17; Heb 13:7, 17), work hard at “preaching and teaching” (1 Tim 5:17; cf. Gal 6:6; Eph 4:11-14; 1 Th 5:12), receive financial support from those who benefit from their ministry (Gal 6:6; 1 Tim 5:17-18), and offer support and prayer for those who suffer (Jam 5:14).

     The Bible repeatedly emphasizes the importance of making good choices, especially as it relates to friends. Solomon wrote, “The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray” (Prov 12:26 NIV). Elsewhere, Solomon said, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (Prov 13:20). The word walk translates the Hebrew verb הָלַךְ halak, which here refers to “a lifestyle, [or] a pattern of conduct.”[1] Our lifestyle is influenced by our friends, who reinforce our path, either for good or harm. The one who chooses wise friends will gain wisdom and be blessed. A wise person—biblically speaking—is one who fears the Lord (Prov 1:7a), whereas, “fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov 1:7b). The wise person receives “instruction in wise behavior, doing what is right, just, and fair” (Prov 1:3), and this according to the standard of God's Word. Simply stated, the biblically wise person is the one who learns and lives God's Word on a regular basis. Jesus said, “everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matt 7:24).      There is a danger in choosing foolish friends, for the one who befriends a fool will end a fool, and this with injury. Jesus said, “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand” (Matt 7:26). Dwight Pentecost states, “A fool is not necessarily one who is marked by a low iq but one who leaves God out of his consciousness…The fool is the man who does not take God into consideration in every area of his life.”[2] Merrill F. Unger adds, “The ‘fool' is not so much one lacking in mental powers, as one who misuses them; not one who does not reason, but reasons wrongly. In Scripture the ‘fool' primarily is the person who casts off the fear of God and thinks and acts as if he could safely disregard the eternal principles of God's righteousness (Psa 14:1; Prov 14:9; Jer 17:11; etc.).”[3]      As Christians, we choose what paths we follow. Biblically, there is a righteous path and a wicked path, and we must choose the former and avoid the latter. David wrote, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” (Psa 1:1; cf. Prov 4:14-17). David generally made good choices throughout his life, and this meant avoiding wicked people. He said, “I do not sit with deceitful men, nor will I go with pretenders. I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked” (Psa 26:4-5). Elsewhere he said, “He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me” (Psa 101:7).      The psalmist also wrote, “I am a companion of all those who fear You, and of those who keep Your precepts” (Psa 119:63). Allen Ross writes, “The psalmist's loyalty to the LORD also finds expression in his association with other believers—he is a companion (חָבֵר) to all who fear the LORD, meaning those who keep his commandments. The tie that binds the devout together is the commitment to keep God's commands.”[4] And Charles Spurgeon adds, “We can hardly hope to be right in the future unless we are right now. The holy man spent his nights with God and his days with God's people. Those who fear God love those who fear him, and they make small choice in their company so long as the men are truly God-fearing.”[5]      In the New Testament we learn about the good choices Christians were making as they “were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). The words continually devoting themselves translates the Greek word προσκαρτερέω proskartereo, which denotes steadfast commitment and constant devotion. The two things these Christians were constantly devoted to were: 1) the apostle's teaching, and 2) fellowship with other believers (which included a time of meals and prayer).      Christians are to live righteously, as this is consistent with our identity in Christ. The apostle Paul implores us “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love” (Eph 4:1-2). Here, our pattern of behavior should mirror our position in Christ. Paul uses similar language when he writes, “You were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light; for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord” (Eph 5:6-10). Since we are called to such a high standard of living, it's very important that we choose our friends carefully, to make sure there is mutual interest in walking with God and living as He directs.      For this reason, Paul directed the Christians at Corinth not to associate with people who are committed to live by worldly values. Of the unbeliever, Paul wrote, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14). Of the worldly Christian, Paul wrote, “not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?” (1 Cor 5:11-12; cf., Jam 4:4). The general reasoning behind these directives is that “bad associations corrupt good morals” (1 Cor 15:33).      Close relationships should be developed over time, only as we get to know others, hearing their words and watching their ways, and feeling confident they are among the faithful righteous. Some of the characteristics of a righteous person include: A commitment to learning God's Word (Psa 1:1-2; Acts 2:42; Rom 6:17). Submitting to God's will (Rom 12:1-2; Jam 1:22). Confessing sin to God daily (1 John 1:9). Displaying Christian love (John 13:34; Rom 13:8; 1 Th 4:9; 1 Cor 13:4-8a). Seeking to glorify God (1 Cor 10:31). Living by faith in order to please the Lord (Heb 10:38; 11:6; 2 Cor 5:9). Speaking biblical truth in love (Eph 4:15, 25). Modeling humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance and peace (Eph 4:1-3). Being forgiving (Matt 18:21-22). Doing good (Gal 6:10). Encouraging other believers to do good (Heb 10:24). Desiring fellowship with growing believers (Heb 10:25). Praying for others (1 Th 5:17; 2 Th 1:11; Jam 5:16). Building others up in the Lord (1 Th 5:11). Being devoted to fellow believers (Rom 12:10).   [1] William D. Mounce, Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006), 924. [2] J. Dwight Pentecost, Designed to Be Like Him: Understanding God's Plan for Fellowship, Conduct, Conflict, and Maturity (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2001), 55. [3] Merrill Frederick Unger, R. K. Harrison, Howard Frederic Vos et al., “Fool”, The New Unger's Bible Dictionary, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988). [4] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms (90–150): Commentary, vol. 3, Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2016), 519. [5] C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 111-119, vol. 5 (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers, n.d.), 257.

     In our current section on case laws (Deut 19:1—26:19), we are considering how the nation of ancient Israel was to practice righteous living after they entered the land of Canaan (Deut 16:20), and how righteousness was measured by conformity to God's laws (Deut 6:24-25). In the previous section, Moses encouraged his people to be strengthened mentally in times of conflict (Deut 20:1). He also gave instructions to the priests to encourage the people with divine viewpoint (Deut 20:2-4), and to the officers to exempt certain men from military service (Deut 20:5-9). In the current pericope, Moses provides instruction concerning war with cities outside Canaan (Deut 20:10-15), and cities inside Canaan (Deut 20:16-20).      In Moses' opening words, he directed Israel to offer terms of peace when approaching a city outside the land of Canaan, saying, “When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace” (Deut 20:10). Deuteronomy 20:15 makes it clear that Moses is referring to cities outside the promised land. This likely refers to cities that God would grant His people if their land was expanded beyond the Canaanite territory (Deut 19:8-9), which territory was originally promised to Abraham and his descendants (Gen 15:18; cf. Num 34:1-15).      If that expansion occurred, then the Israelites were to offer the residents of the city terms of peace (שָׁלוֹם shalom). However, terms of peace did not mean nonaggression, but rather, that the residents of the city could choose a vassal status rather than destruction. This is obvious from the following verse in which Moses said, “If it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you” (Deut 20:11). Eugene Merrill states: "The formula here, “If you call out to it with respect to peace,” followed by the words “if they reply peace to you” (Deut 20:11), expresses the technical language of making treaty (cf. Judg 21:13). The idea was not that of a simple nonaggression pact in which both parties agreed to live in peace but a demand for capitulation. Only under such terms could the threatened city expect survival. To make peace was therefore tantamount to making a covenant, the kind in which the city under attack placed itself in subservience to the peoples demanding the terms of peace."[1]      But there was always the possibility that the residents of the city might prefer war to vassal status. Moses addressed this scenario, saying, “However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it” (Deut 20:12). Ancient cities commonly had fortified walls as well as food and water reserves in case they came under attack. When attacking a city, it was common to besiege it, which meant surrounding the city and cutting off its food and water supplies. In this way, an advancing army could starve the residents of the city into submission.      But such efforts of fortification could prevent God's people from advancing and gaining victory. Moses said, “When the LORD your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike all the men in it with the edge of the sword” (Deut 20:13). Victory in this context is given by the Lord. He is the One who will give the city and its inhabitants into the hands of His people, Israel; and this because the residents of the city refused the offer of peace. In such a situation, the Israelites, after defeating the city residents in battle, were to execute all the men of the city.      Moses said, “Only the women and the children and the animals and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as booty for yourself; and you shall use the spoil of your enemies which the LORD your God has given you” (Deut 20:14). Here was discriminate warfare that killed only the hostile and let the women, children, and animals live. The spoils of war from Israel's enemies were regarded as what “the LORD your God has given you.” Again, their military efforts were to be viewed from the divine perspective. But this did not mean that those taken captive were to be mistreated. Though it was common in the ancient world to rape and murder women who had been taken as captives, God did not permit this. In fact, some of the women could be taken as wives, and if this happened, they were granted legal protections (Deut 21:10-14). For clarity, Moses explains these military practices were to be followed only for cities outside the land of Canaan, saying, “Thus, you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations nearby” (Deut 20:15).      Shifting policy, Moses offers a different directive concerning the residents of Canaan, saying, “Only in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes” (Deut 20:16). Remember, the land of Canaan belonged to Israel by divine right, for the Owner of the land (Lev 25:23) promised it to them as part of the Abrahamic contract (Gen 12:1-3; 15:18; 17:7-8; 26:3-4; 28:13-14). Therefore, the Canaanites were merely squatters who needed to be removed, and this because they had become grossly immoral and were under divine judgment.      Concerning the Canaanites, Moses said, “But you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as the LORD your God has commanded you” (Deut 20:17). The words “utterly destroy” translate the Hebrew חָרָם charam, which is found in a number of passages (Num 21:2-3; Deut 2:34; 3:6; 7:2; 13:15; 20:17; Josh 2:10; 6:21; 8:26; 10:1, 35, 37, 39, 40; 11:11-12, 20-21). Leon Wood states, “Usually ḥāram means a ban for utter destruction, the compulsory dedication of something which impedes or resists God's work, which is considered to be accursed before God.”[2] God made it very clear that the Canaanites were to be totally destroyed because of their extreme wickedness (Deut 9:4-5).      Remember, the Canaanites were an exceptionally wicked people whom God had marked out for judgment (Lev 18:25; Deut 9:5) after giving them four hundred years of grace (Gen 15:16). Some of the specific sins mentioned among the Canaanites included gross sexual immorality, such as incest (Lev 18:1-20; 20:10-12, 14, 17, 19-21), homosexuality (Lev 18:22; 20:13), and sex with animals (Lev 18:23; 20:15-16). They also engaged in the occult (Lev 20:6), were hostile toward parents (Lev 20:9), and offered their children as sacrifices to Molech (Lev 18:21; 20:1-5; cf. Deut 12:31; 18:10). God told Israel not to do these wicked things, for the Canaanites “did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them” (Lev 20:23; cf. Lev 18:25).      God gave a second reason why He wanted the Canaanites destroyed, namely, “so that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable things which they have done for their gods, so that you would sin against the LORD your God” (Deut 20:18; cf. Ex 23:33; Josh 23:12-13). Sadly, we know that Joshua and Israel failed to kill all the Canaanites, but sought to make them forced laborers (Josh 16:10; 17:13; Judg 1:28-35). Furthermore, Israel failed to obey the Lord (see the book of Judges), and the immoral culture of the Canaanites spread among God's people, who themselves began to practice all the evil things God hates (Deut 12:31), including idolatry and child sacrifice (2 Ki 3:27; 16:3; Psa 106:37-38; Isa 57:5; Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35; Ezek 16:20-21). Because Israel eventually became corrupt, God then destroyed and expelled them from the land by means of military defeat from their enemies. This happened when the ten northern tribes of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC and the two southern tribes of Judah fell to the Babylonians in 586 BC.      Moses then addressed matters of ecology in times of war, saying, “When you besiege a city a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, and you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by you?” (Deut 20:19). Trees do not commit evil, and should not be cut down indiscriminately like Israel's enemies. Because Israel would soon possess the land of Canaan, it was to their own interests to preserve the trees surrounding the cities. Moses then differentiated which trees could be cut down, saying, “Only the trees which you know are not fruit trees you shall destroy and cut down, that you may construct siegeworks against the city that is making war with you until it falls” (Deut 20:20). Daniel Block states, “In ancient warfare strategy, the trees of vanquished territories would be cut down for several reasons: (1) as wood for siege structures and fuel for the invaders; (2) as retribution for the enemy's resistance and defiance; (3) as a tactic in psychological warfare, to hasten submission.”[3] However, Israel was to demonstrate wise discrimination. Eugene Merrill states: "The “War Manual” ends with a most curious and, at first blush, irrelevant paragraph about the treatment of trees in a time of siege. It does provide practical information about the preservation of fruit trees for their nutritional value and allows the use of others to build siege works (māṣôr, lit., “enclosure,” perhaps encircling trenches or staging). The real thrust of the passage, however, is to contrast the tree with humankind (v. 19b). It is only humans, ironically the image of God and the crowning glory of creation, who sin against the Creator in such egregious ways as to call upon themselves divine judgment. The innocent tree, tainted as it is by the fall of humankind, is nevertheless not culpable and should therefore be spared."[4] Present Application      God's directive for Israel to destroy the Canaanites was twofold: 1) because the Canaanites were excessively wicked and under God's judgment (Deut 9:4-5), and 2) so they would not become a corrupting influence on His people (Deut 20:18). Similarly, those we allow into our lives will influence us, either in good or bad ways.      The Bible repeatedly emphasizes the importance of making good choices, especially as it relates to friends. Solomon wrote, “The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray” (Prov 12:26 NIV). Elsewhere, Solomon said, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (Prov 13:20). The word walk translates the Hebrew verb הָלַךְ halak, which here refers to “a lifestyle, [or] a pattern of conduct.”[5] Our lifestyle is influenced by our friends, who reinforce our path, either for good or harm. The one who chooses wise friends will gain wisdom and be blessed. A wise person—biblically speaking—is one who fears the Lord (Prov 1:7a), whereas, “fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov 1:7b). The wise person receives “instruction in wise behavior, doing what is right, just, and fair” (Prov 1:3), and this according to the standard of God's Word. Simply stated, the biblically wise person is the one who learns and lives God's Word on a regular basis. Jesus said, “everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matt 7:24).      There is a danger in choosing foolish friends, for the one who befriends a fool will end a fool, and this with injury. Jesus said, “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand” (Matt 7:26). Dwight Pentecost states, “A fool is not necessarily one who is marked by a low IQ but one who leaves God out of his consciousness…The fool is the man who does not take God into consideration in every area of his life.”[6] Merrill F. Unger adds, “The ‘fool' is not so much one lacking in mental powers, as one who misuses them; not one who does not reason, but reasons wrongly. In Scripture the ‘fool' primarily is the person who casts off the fear of God and thinks and acts as if he could safely disregard the eternal principles of God's righteousness (Psa 14:1; Prov 14:9; Jer 17:11; etc.).”[7]      As Christians, we choose what paths we follow. Biblically, there is a righteous path and a wicked path, and we must choose the former and avoid the latter. David wrote, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” (Psa 1:1; cf. Prov 4:14-17). David generally made good choices throughout his life, and this meant avoiding wicked people. He said, “I do not sit with deceitful men, nor will I go with pretenders. I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked” (Psa 26:4-5). Elsewhere he said, “He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me” (Psa 101:7).      The psalmist also wrote, “I am a companion of all those who fear You, and of those who keep Your precepts” (Psa 119:63). Allen Ross writes, “The psalmist's loyalty to the LORD also finds expression in his association with other believers—he is a companion (חָבֵר) to all who fear the LORD, meaning those who keep his commandments. The tie that binds the devout together is the commitment to keep God's commands.”[8] And Charles Spurgeon adds, “We can hardly hope to be right in the future unless we are right now. The holy man spent his nights with God and his days with God's people. Those who fear God love those who fear him, and they make small choice in their company so long as the men are truly God-fearing.”[9]      In the New Testament we learn about the good choices Christians were making as they “were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). The words continually devoting themselves translates the Greek word προσκαρτερέω proskartereo, which denotes steadfast commitment and constant devotion. The two things these Christians were constantly devoted to were: 1) the apostle's teaching, and 2) fellowship with other believers (which included a time of meals and prayer).      Christians are to live righteously, as this is consistent with our identity in Christ. The apostle Paul implores us “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love” (Eph 4:1-2). Here, our pattern of behavior should mirror our position in Christ. Paul uses similar language when he writes, “You were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light; for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord” (Eph 5:6-10). Since we are called to such a high standard of living, it's very important that we choose our friends carefully, to make sure there is mutual interest in walking with God and living as He directs.      For this reason, Paul directed the Christians at Corinth not to associate with people who are committed to live by worldly values. Of the unbeliever, Paul wrote, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14). Of the worldly Christian, Paul wrote, “not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?” (1 Cor 5:11-12; cf., Jam 4:4). The general reasoning behind these directives is that “bad associations corrupt good morals” (1 Cor 15:33).      Close relationships should be developed over time, only as we get to know others, hearing their words and watching their ways, and feeling confident they are among the faithful righteous. Some of the characteristics of a righteous person include:   A commitment to learning God's Word (Psa 1:1-2; Acts 2:42; Rom 6:17). Submitting to God's will (Rom 12:1-2; Jam 1:22). Confessing sin to God daily (1 John 1:9). Displaying Christian love (John 13:34; Rom 13:8; 1 Th 4:9; 1 Cor 13:4-8a). Seeking to glorify God (1 Cor 10:31). Living by faith in order to please the Lord (Heb 10:38; 11:6; 2 Cor 5:9). Speaking biblical truth in love (Eph 4:15, 25). Modeling humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance and peace (Eph 4:1-3). Being forgiving (Matt 18:21-22). Doing good (Gal 6:10). Encouraging other believers to do good (Heb 10:24). Desiring fellowship with growing believers (Heb 10:25). Praying for others (1 Th 5:17; 2 Th 1:11; Jam 5:16). Building others up in the Lord (1 Th 5:11). Being devoted to fellow believers (Rom 12:10).   [1] Eugene H. Merrill, Deuteronomy, vol. 4, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 285. [2] Leon J. Wood, “744 חָרַם,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 324. [3] Daniel I. Block, The NIV Application Commentary: Deuteronomy, ed. Terry Muck (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 478–479. [4] Eugene H. Merrill, Deuteronomy, vol. 4, The New American Commentary, 287. [5] William D. Mounce, Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006), 924. [6] J. Dwight Pentecost, Designed to Be Like Him: Understanding God's Plan for Fellowship, Conduct, Conflict, and Maturity (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2001), 55. [7] Merrill Frederick Unger, R. K. Harrison, Howard Frederic Vos et al., “Fool”, The New Unger's Bible Dictionary, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988). [8] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms (90–150): Commentary, vol. 3, Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2016), 519. [9] C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 111-119, vol. 5 (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers, n.d.), 257.

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#bible #corinthians #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #corinthians #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #corinthians #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #corinthians #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #corinthians #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #corinthians #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #corinthians #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #corinthians #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #esther #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #esther #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #esther #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #corinthians #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #esther #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #esther #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #esther #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #esther #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

This week we begin a new series from our lecture archives that was a January InterTerm  class by Allen P. Ross called Exegesis of Exodus.  In this introductory lecture Dr. Ross defines the different perspectives that he will use to view the book during the class, namely: historical, theological, and ancient near eastern.  He defines a few common criticisms of the historicity of the miracles in Exodus, and emphasizes abundance of Christological teachings in the text.New episodes every Monday.If you want  to support Trinity School for Ministry, and pick up some tasteful Trinity logo merchandise at the same time, head over to our new online store at:  https://www.thetrinitystore.org/en/usd 

#bible #esther #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

#bible #psalms #biblestudy #howtostudythebible #jesus #equip #encourage #inspire #challenge #theology SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS https://www.facebook.com/anthonyprich... https://www.youtube.com/anthonyprichards https://www.instagram.com/aprichards ... https://odysee.com/@anthonyprichards:... PODCAST LINKS Apple  https://podcasts.apple.com/.../anthon... Google  https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=... Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/show/5A29AH2... Anchor https://anchor.fm/anthonyprichards Breaker  https://www.breaker.audio/anthony-p-r... RadioPublic  https://radiopublic.com/anthony-p-ric... Pocket Casts https://pca.st/pyibm8q1 S.O.A.P. is all about how to study the Bible. It's about reading 'S'cripture, 'O'bserving what it says, working out how you 'A'pply it to your life and then 'P'raying about it. Resources/References/Sources Enduring Word Bible Commentary - David Guzik (copyright) Matthew Henry Commentary NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible William Robert Hawkins, Evan Roberts, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers, Smith Wigglesworth, James Montgomery Boice, Alexander MacLaren, Thomas Horne, Thomas Leblanc, Frederick “F.B.” Meyer, Adam Clarke, Derek Kidner, Curtis Vaughan, F.F. Bruce, George Horne, G. Campbell Morgan, Leon Morris. D. Edmond Hiebert, Charles Bridges, Duane Garrett, Dan Philipps, Matthew Poole, Allen P. Ross, John Trapp, Bruce Waltke, Warren Wiersbe, William Barclay, A.B Bruce, D.A.U, R.T. France,

Allen P. Ross