We have been reading in Psalm 139, and today we come to the third section, verses 17-24. Penned by David, this Psalm is a prayer which proclaims and praises God for His omniscience, His omnipresence, and His omnipotent authority over all creation. David was an especially creative person – today, we would definitely say that he was a genius. However, even in the light of his own human limitations, David marvels at the contrasting nature and “vast number” of God’s thoughts and their sheer value – he says they are “precious” (verses 17-18). Being human, we naturally like to compare ourselves with others, but when God enters the equation, we are left only with contrasts. God cannot be compared with anyone, for “there is none like Him” (cf., Psalm 86:8-10; Isaiah 46:5; Jeremiah 10:6). Indeed, God endowed us with His matchless and priceless image, but we must never think we are like Him. God is holy, righteous, and sovereign – He is the Creator, but we are merely His creatures – and our only claim to anything at all is based exclusively on God’s willingness to show mercy and grace toward us. David closes Psalm 139 the way he began it by opening his heart to the penetrating search of God: “Search me, [oh] God” (verses 1 and 23-24). David recognizes that God is the One Who searches, and in His search, He is reaching out to us.
In Zechariah 5-8, the prophet continues to share about his night visions as given through the Word of the LORD (1:7-8). In this section, Zechariah presents the flying scroll (5:1-4); the woman in a basket (5:5-11); the four chariots and the powerful horses (6:1-8); and the crown for the high priest, Joshua (6:9-15). Each of these prophetic visions is followed by God’s explanation regarding its relevance and disposition. In Zechariah 7, we see that God is more interested in justice and mercy than He is in fasting. “Was it really for me that you fasted?” (verse 5). God says, “They refused to pay attention, stubbornly turned their backs, stopped up their ears, made their hearts like flint, and would not listen” (7:11-12). In our readings, we have seen and heart all this before. It’s almost as if Zechariah – on behalf of the Lord – is telling his people, “Stop whining and start obeying [i.e., practicing] God’s Word!” People waste so much time and energy complaining about God’s rules and regulations –magnifying their issues about them – almost to the point of idolatry. God is more interested in our action than our talk about it. In Zechariah 8, which anticipates the millennial kingdom, God promises to restore Israel and to bless the city of Jerusalem. All their fasting will turn to feasting. “Ten people from all languages and nations will take hold of one Jew and say, ‘let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you’” (verse 23). May the Lord hasten that day for us!
In the book of Jude, we see that the author addresses the problem of “certain godless men” (verse 4) – the same false teachers that Peter addressed (cf., 2 Peter 2) – “who secretly slipped in among the believers and tried to change the grace of God into a license for immorality and denied that Jesus Christ was the sovereign Lord” (verse 4). This short book is tantamount to an atomic blast in a war zone. Initially, we come to this book without expecting the power of its authoritative conviction, and we discover not only the author’s stinging words against “ungodliness” (repeated five times in verses 4, 8, 15, and 18), but also we learn about certain unique truths that are contained in no other book of the Bible (i.e., the angels who are kept in darkness in verse 6; Michael’s dispute with Satan over the body of Moses in verse 9; and the prophecies of Enoch in verse 14). Although Jude keeps short, passionate accounts with both believers and unbelievers, nevertheless his heart is truly committed to “mercy, peace, and love” toward everyone who reads his book (cf., verses 2 and 20-25). Praise God for the special truths contained in His Word today!
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