Year 2, Week 8, Day 1 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 8, Day 1

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of 2 Kings 19; Psalm 46, 80.

Today’s reading returns to Kings as it records the moment, during the reign of Hezekiah, that the Assyrians laid siege around Jerusalem (Isaiah 37 parallels this same historical record). 2 Kings 19 describes Hezekiah’s efforts of crying out the the LORD: “Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O LORD our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone” (2 Kings 19:17-19). Hezekiah modeled what a king in covenant relationship with the LORD should have done: he went to the Temple to pray and he sought the prophet of God, in this case, Isaiah. Today’s reading also involves two Psalms. While neither Psalm includes an explicit historical superscription, both Psalms pertain to speak of matters that coincide with the siege of Jerusalem. Psalm 46, a Psalm of the sons of Korah, deals with a spectacular victory in the context of a sure defeat: “Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:8-10). Psalm 80, a Psalm of Asaph, asks God to intervene on behalf of His people, who have been invaded: “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might and come to save us! Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!” (Psalm 80:1-3).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading was the thrice stated request: “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!…Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved!…Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!” (Psalm 80:3,7,19). This refrain is reflects the blessing God had instructed the priests to pray over the people: "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26). As Israel was seeking help and restoration from the LORD, they based their appeal upon the kind mercy of the LORD to bless His people with His presence. While this Psalm does not explicitly confess the people’s sins, it does acknowledge that they are experiencing the LORD’s displeasure: "O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us an object of contention for our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves” (Psalm 80:4-6). An expression of the LORD being angry with His people, because of their sin, is the LORD hiding His face from His people: “And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt so treacherously with me that I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and hid my face from them” (Ezekiel 39:23-24). So, it certainly seems fitting that their request is for the LORD to turn His face toward them.

Israel knew they needed the LORD to turn and look at them, or their troubles would remain: “Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see” (Psalm 80:14a). They appeal to the LORD on the basis of who they were in regard to the LORD: “have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted, and for the son whom you made strong for yourself” (Psalm 80:14b-15). The LORD had told Israel that they were His vine (see Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 2:21; and Ezekiel 15:1-8); as well as His son (see Exodus 4:22; Jeremiah 31:9; and Hosea 11:1). Israel is pleading with the LORD to bless His vine and son, that is, to shine His face upon His vine and son. For they know that if the LORD turned again to them as His vine and son, then the nature of the troubles that they were experiencing would be resolved. 

As we turn to the New Testament, the Gospels orient us to Jesus, who is in fact, God’s Vine and Son. Psalm 80 seems to allude to the significance of Jesus: “But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself! Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call upon your name!” (Psalm 80:17-18). What we do learn from the New Testament is that the fullest blessing expressed in the priest blessing is found in Jesus Christ: "In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4-6). As the light of the glory of Jesus shines in our hearts, we become a people who turn to the LORD and call upon His name.

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

Pastor Joe