Bible Study with Fred # 409, The Acts of the Apostles; chapter 12: 1-4

Bible Study with Fred # 408, The Acts of the Apostles; chapter 11: 19-30

Bible Study with Fred # 407, The Acts of the Apostles; chapter 11: 1-18

Bible Study with Fred # 406, The Acts of the Apostles; chapter 10: 44-48

Psalm 29 comments

 

Psalm 29:1 ¶  «A Psalm of David.» Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. 2  Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. 3  The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. 4  The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. 5  The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. 6  He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. 7  The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire. 8  The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. 9  The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory. 10  The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever. 11  The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

 

For verse 1 consider these cross-references.

 

Psalm 68:32 ¶  Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah:

 

Psalm 96:7  Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. 8  Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. 9  O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

 

David’s praise of God continues and for verse 2 see when him using this phrasing in another place when he brought the ark to Jerusalem;

1Chronicles 16:28  Give unto the LORD, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. 29  Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

 

For verses 3 through 9 David makes a statement about the power of God’s voice. We already know that His voice can convict men and women of their sin against Him just by asking a question.

 

Genesis 3:8  And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

 

In these verses in Psalms we hear of the power of God’s spoken words on creation. See some more cross-references to this thought.

 

Psalm 18:13  The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.

 

Job 37:2  Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth. 3  He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth. 4  After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard. 5  God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.

 

We must always remember that God spoke the universe into existence, the uni-verse, one spoken sentence.

 

Genesis 1:3 ¶  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

 

For verses 5 and 6 you can view a YouTube video the US Geological Survey puts out with how trees move in an earthquake. Lebanon we know and you have heard of the cedars of Lebanon. They are also called the Cedars of God and those extensive forests covered ancient Lebanon. Only the Kadisha Valley and a few other places speak of the great forests that covered Mount Lebanon.

 

Strong’s says that Sirion is the name given to Mount Hermon by the Sidonians.

 

It is interesting in verse 9 that David makes the declaration that God directly causes the hinds to give birth to their young. This is an important point that is reflected most obviously in Job.

God’s sovereignty, His power over the physical world is abundantly clear.  We discussed this in our study of Job, particularly chapter 38. God is given credit in a several places for power over life an death and over conception and birth. I think of passages in Genesis we’ve talked about like;

 

Genesis 30:1 ¶  And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. 2  And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

 

It is God who decides which of the prey animals the lion will take regardless of their prowess. It is God who causes animals and humans to conceive and give birth. It is not simply just a “natural” occurrence.

 

So, David knows that God is in control. He strengthens His people and gives them peace. 

Bible Study with Fred # 405, The Acts of the Apostles; chapter 10: 19-43

1Samuel 3 comments

 

1Samuel 3:1 ¶  And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision. 2  And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; 3  And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; 4  That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. 5  And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. 6  And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. 7  Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. 8  And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. 9  Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10  And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

 

What does the word precious mean in this context? As we know it means valuable, of great price, and rare, which makes it of even more worth. There are no prophets at this time receiving communications from God. He has chosen Samuel to carry on His work in this time. Eli, as much a disappointment to God as he was, knew that God Himself had spoken to Samuel and that He was not speaking to Eli or others.

 

1Samuel 3:11 ¶  And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. 12  In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. 13  For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. 14  And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever. 15  And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. 16  Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I. 17  And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee. 18  And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.

 

God tells Samuel He is about to do something that will stun people, horrify them, and make them amazed as we will see. Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision but when he does Eli accepts God’s judgment and makes that great proclamation It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.

 

1Samuel 3:19 ¶  And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. 20  And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD. 21  And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

 

The Lord did all that He said He would. And all the people of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was God’s chosen prophet. And in Shiloh God made Himself apparent to Samuel.