December 24, 2023
The entire Psalm 146 is all about God. All ten verses contains a wealth of truth and wisdom concerning the reality in which we live our daily lives. This Psalm tells us why we should praise God. The expression, “the LORD” is repeated eleven times with other similar descriptions of God occurring seven more times in this short passage! Why should we praise God? What does He do that is worthy of our honor? Consider that God is “the Maker” of all things; He upholds the cause of the oppressed; He gives food to the hungry; He sets the prisoners free; He gives sight to the blind,” and so much more. These examples are just a start. The Psalmist writes that we dare “not put our trust in princes, for human beings cannot save; when they depart, their plans come to nothing” (verse 4). Every human being who dies also leaves behind “on that very day” unfulfilled hopes, dreams, and plans for tomorrow (cf., James 4:14). But God is eternal and faithful forever (verse 6). Whereas, it is utterly impossible for us to hinder His plans or purposes, God effortlessly “frustrates the ways of the wicked” (verse 9). People would do well to acknowledge Him.
In Revelation 14:14-20, the parenthesis is concluded and the tribulation action resumes. Here, we see the coming harvest of “grapes in the winepress of God’s wrath” (verse 19). Those who take the mark of the beast and worship him are like grapes ripened for God’s judgment - which now comes at the hands of His sharp sickle.
In Revelation 15, we see “seven angels with the seven last plagues” (verse 1). This event heralds the coming of the “completion of God’s wrath.” Those who had been faithful through the judgment and “victorious over the beast,” now sing the victor’s song - “the song of Moses - praising God for His marvelous deeds and His holiness” (verses 2-4). This is followed by the administration of the announced plagues through the bowl judgments which will follow in chapter 16.
In Ezra 10, after Ezra’s own confession of Israel’s national sin, “a large crowd of Israelites gathered around him & wept” (verse 1). They have become convicted of and now confess their sins of intermarriage (verse 2). Under Ezra’s leadership, these people agreed to follow the Lord’s will in this very painful situation of dealing with their foreign wives and children (cf., verse 4). Shekaniah proposed that they “send away the women and children according to the Law” (verses 2-3). The people supported this suggestion with an oath. Upon investigation, a list of those who had intermarried was created, and though we are not informed definitively of the outcome, we believe that the small number of those who were guilty of this sin complied with their agreement to support the decision and sent their women and children away. This result is truly heartbreaking, but like a life-threatening cancer that attacks the body, the tumor must be surgically removed to protect the living soul.
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