Year 1, Week 36, Day 3 Bible Reading Observations

Year 1, Week 36, Day 3

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of 1 Chronicles 16; Psalm 1-2, 15.

Today’s reading, particularly the segment from 1 Chronicles, builds on yesterday’s account of the Ark being transported to Jerusalem. 1 Chronicles 16 reports some of the singing that was expressed as, “they brought in the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it” (1 Chronicles 16:1). Some of the particular lyrics that were sung are noted in today’s reading. The very lyrics that are recorded in 1 Chronicles 16 are also expressed in various Psalms—including but not restricted to Psalm 96, 105, 106. Also in today’s reading is Psalm 1 and 2, which serve as an important introduction to the Psalms, as well as Psalm 15, which relates to the the Ark being moved to Jerusalem as it asks: "O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?” (Psalm 15:1).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading was the clarity that the LORD puts before His people concerning the righteous and the wicked: “for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalm 1:6). There are two ways to live: righteously or wickedly. Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 each express the only two ways to live and yet they do so from distinct perspectives. Psalm 1 explores the two ways to live individually, while Psalm 2 explores the two ways to live nationally or corporately. These two Psalms, while offering different perspectives, have the same themes. The themes given in Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 will run through the remainder of the Psalms.

Psalm 1 begins with the one who is blessed: “Blessed is the man…his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2). Being grounded in the Word is the source for a life that is blessed. Psalm 2 ends with a similar emphasis concerning who is blessed: “Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Psalm 2:12b). Finding refuge in the LORD is the origin of a life that is blessed. While two separate Psalms, Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 are meant to stay together for the first word and the last word is blessed. These two Psalms orient us to what a blessed life consists of. A blessed life consists of living in a dependent relationship with the LORD, and is experienced through the Word of the LORD.

Psalm 1 and Psalm 2, as introductory material for the Psalms, also has pertinence to the emergence of David as king. Israel’s kings were to be righteous kings who would perform their role in submission to the Law (see Deuteronomy 17:18-20). Such a life of righteousness, as Deuteronomy 17 states, and now as Psalm 1 highlights, is a life tethered to God’s Word. Compare Deuteronomy 17:18-19: “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law…And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them”; with Psalm 1:2 stated above. Israel’s king was to be a righteous king, for he was a man shaped by God’s Word: “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill” (Psalm 2:6). David had been installed as king and he was now in Jerusalem.

On the other hand, the nations characterized by wickedness, would not meditate on knowing and doing God’s law, but meditate on rejecting and rebelling against God’s Law: “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” (Psalm 2:1) [the term “plot” in Psalm 2 the same word for “meditate” in Psalm 1]. The righteous king, led by God’s Law, would not scheme against the LORD, but seek the LORD in trust and obedience. The wicked: “are like chaff that the wind drives away” (Psalm 1:4); and thus: “will not stand in the judgment” [that is, withstand the judgment] (Psalm 1:5).

While the matters explored in Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 have relevance for David, there ways that these Psalms express matters that have a deeper relevance for Jesus, David’s Greater Son. Notice the connection between the way one is heading and the destination of that way. Ultimately, Jesus is the King who truly did not “stand in the way of sinners” (Psalm 1:1c), that is, He was not at home with the wrong way to live. Interestingly, without a proper regard and relationship to Jesus, the wrong way in living will lead to perishing: “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled” (2:12a). Also notice the correlation between sitting and scoffing. Jesus is the king who knew which seat was His. Jesus did not “sit in the seat of scoffers” (Psalm 1:1d), but trusted that His Father was appropriately seated: “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision” (Psalm 2:4). Jesus is the King who “is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:3). He is stable because of His righteousness. Jesus is the King of whom God has declared: “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession” (Psalm 2:7b-8). David’s arrival in Jerusalem was but a glimpse of the true King’s arrival.

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe