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Readings for December 6, 2023
Today, our readings bring us to Psalm 139, in which David describes our security within God’s providential care. He begins by declaring that God “knows” us - He “knows” our movements, our thoughts, our “goings out” and in. God is “familiar with all my ways” (verse 3). When David says that God “hems” him in behind and before” (verse 5), he means that in a protective way. God is always ever-present - He stands before all things, behind all things, above and beyond all things. His “hand is upon us,” and this “knowledge is too wonderful - too lofty” for us to grasp (verses 5-6). No matter where we go – from the “dawn” in the east to the “far side of the sea” in the west; from the heights of heaven to the depths of Sheol (i.e., the grave) - God is there. We are never away from or outside of the presence of the omnipresent God. He is at all times and everywhere near us. Why is this important? Verse 10 tells us: “His hand is there to guide us; His right hand to hold us.” We are not left desperately alone to fend for ourselves in some dark and godless universe. God loves us so much that, by His own hands, He leads us through each moment securely and safely. What a wonderful, loving God!
Frequently, the Scriptures point out that man’s knowledge is insufficient and incomplete (cf., Genesis 43:7; Psalm 39:9; Proverbs 27:1; Ecclesiastes 8:7; 11:6; Isaiah 47:11; James 4:14). However, God definitely wants us to know for certain that we are saved. He makes this clear in 1 John 5. Based on God’s love toward us, John states that God is not only in our midst, but also that He has provided for us reliable witnesses to biblical truth. John says that God has given us three witnesses - the Spirit, the water, and the blood - who “testify to the truth” (verse 6). The apostle points out that these three witnesses all agree about the truth. Among human witnesses, agreement is always necessary to validate the veracity of any act or event, but “God’s testimony is greater” than human testimony (verse 9). His testimony is greater because [1] God is the author of truth and reality; [2] He cannot lie; and [3] human testimony is fallible. Acceptance of God’s testimony is indicative of “confident” sonship (verses 14-19). We can be soteriologically confident that we are truly safe and secure (i.e., saved) in the knowledge that we are children of God (verse 19). Twice, John says that he has written these things so that “we may know that we have eternal life” (verses 13 & 20). And then again, five times, John repeats that “we know” this truth (cf., verses 2, 15, 18, 19, & 20). God definitely wants us to know for certain that we are saved.
In Daniel 11-12, the prophet’s vision about the events and conditions in Israel and in the world before the coming of Christ in His first advent continues in chapter 11, and it concludes in Daniel 12. Daniel’s vision also contemplates similar world conditions that precede Christ’s future, second advent. In this chapter, we see what Jesus also foretold - that there is to be a “time of distress such as has not happened since the beginning of nations” (verse 1; Matthew 24-27). These events anticipate the tribulation, Daniel receives a timeframe from the “man clothed in linen” (verses 11-12). He also tells Daniel that there will be a great resurrection to come (verses 2 & 13). Finally, the book of Daniel closes with God’s wonderful blessings on Daniel for his faithfulness.
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