Bible Study on Matthew 27, verses 33 to 49, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me

 

Matthew 27:33 ¶  And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, 34  They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. 35  And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. 36  And sitting down they watched him there; 37  And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38  Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. 39  And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, 40  And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. 41  Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, 42  He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. 43  He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. 44  The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. 45  Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. 46  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 47  Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. 48  And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. 49  The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.

 

An ancient tradition that has no foundation in any historical document was that Adam’s skull was found at Golgotha, hence its name. However, the more likely explanation is that with people being executed and left to decompose bones, including skulls, would have been prominently displayed.

 

Vinegar was part of a Roman soldier’s allowance so was readily available some say. It had been used as a condiment and preservative for a thousand years or more.

 

Ruth 2:14  And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.

 

It is also said by some that it was thought to prolong the life of men sentenced to die to make them suffer more. Some say that vinegar mixed with gall would have been very bitter.

 

Psalm 22 is a Psalm that foretells Christ and His sufferings.

 

Psalm 22:16  For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet…18  They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

 

See what Pilate has done to rub this in the face of the Jews, labelling Jesus as their king?

 

In verse 40 the former accusation is repeated showing that the misunderstanding of Jesus’ earlier comment was common. See Matthew 26:61 and then John 2:19-21.

 

There is a lot of information found in the other gospels that Matthew doesn’t discuss because he probably wasn’t privy to certain conversations. For instance he doesn’t mention the thief on the Cross who speaks with Jesus in Luke 23. As I have said repeatedly I did not want to make my study of Matthew a harmonization of the gospels but present Matthew’s experience and his recollections prompted and given by inspiration by the Holy Spirit.

 

In verse 46 Jesus directs us to Psalm 22 by quoting the first verse aloud in Aramaic which confuses the hearers as it confuses many Christians today. Here is that Psalm about Christ which I will discuss in detail in my comments on the Psalms.

 

Psalm 22:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.» My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? 2  O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. 3  But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. 4  Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. 5  They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. 6  But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. 7  All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8  He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. 9  But thou art he that took me out of

the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts. 10  I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.

 

    11 ¶  Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. 12  Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. 13  They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. 14  I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. 15  My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. 16  For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. 17  I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. 18  They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. 19  But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me. 20  Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. 21  Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

 

    22 ¶  I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. 23  Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. 24  For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. 25  My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. 26  The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. 27  All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the

kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. 28  For the kingdom is the LORD’S: and he is the governor among the nations. 29  All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul. 30  A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. 31  They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

 

From noon to three there was a darkness over the land and then Jesus died. I believe this was a miraculous event like the fish/whale God prepared just for Jonah. We will be frustrated in trying to find an eclipse on record.

 

John 9:4  I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. 5  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

Bible Study with Fred, Exodus, chapter 5, Let my people go

 

Exodus 5:1 ¶  And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. 2  And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

We don’t know how Moses and Aaron got an audience with the Pharaoh so apparently it isn’t important. But, they must have been accepted as representing the Hebrew slaves. Here, Moses does not tell Pharaoh what is to happen if he does not let them go. Pharaoh said he does not know the Lord. Isn’t it interesting that that mankind has degenerated into devil-worship, idolatry, to such an extent that of all the many gods in his pantheon of deities, the true God is not listed?  Egypt’s gods justified Egypt and gave authority to its power structure and the sovereignty of its rulers, much as England, America, Russia, and Germany’s God did before World War One. Pharaoh, like many in the aforementioned countries, does not know the God whom Moses represents.

It is odd how even many Christians today do not know the God of the Bible. Their God is simply a personification of their own fears, bigotry, and paranoia. They have made a God in their image who believes what they do politically and morally and justifies their every concern. The 21st century Christian God is often a social God, a mirror of Christians’ expectations and beliefs.

Exodus 5:3 ¶  And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. 4  And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens. 5  And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens. 6  And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, 7  Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8  And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. 9  Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.

Moses and Aaron repeat their request for permission to go into the wilderness, supposedly to offer sacrifices to their God. Pharaoh here seems suspicious. He’s now going to make it even harder on the Hebrews. Apparently, he says, the Hebrews have it too easy so they are asking for this little holiday. So, he’s going to make them provide their own straw for bricks and yet not lessen the tally of bricks required.

The bricks the Hebrews made were composed of mud, water, and straw. Apparently, the Egyptians provided the straw before this.

Tale is a word meaning total count or tally, a word we use today.

Exodus 5:10 ¶  And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. 11  Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished. 12  So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. 13  And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw. 14  And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?

Exodus 5:15 ¶  Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? 16  There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people. 17  But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD. 18  Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks. 19  And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task. 20  And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: 21  And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us. 22  And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? 23  For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

The Hebrews are being punished severely for Moses’ and Aaron’s request so it appears to have backfired. The Hebrew overseers, beaten by their Egyptian taskmasters, confront Moses and Aaron and accuse them of making the Hebrews’ lives worse by their demands.

Moses’ original doubts are amplified. He, in turn, confronts the Lord. “Why have you done this? Why did you send me? This has caused nothing but trouble and you have not delivered them!”

Imagine thousands, tens of thousands, of slaves in danger of being worked to death, being punished for a request made by their spokesman who claimed to be representing their God who had come to deliver them from bondage.

This reminds me so much of the person who is held in bondage to sin who hears a preacher promise deliverance in Christ, then prays for that deliverance, only to find his or her plight worse than they ever imagined. This has happened to some of you, admit it. You heard the message, maybe repeatedly, then believed, but unlike what some evangelists tell you, when you got off your knees, got up from prayer, you found yourself not freed from the power of sin, but in a worse way than when you walked in the door or came through the tent flap.

For those of you who had that experience, remember how you were made aware of sins you never even knew existed in your heart?! What frightening and discouraging thing that can be. But, God is working and you must follow Him out of your Egypt.

Bible Study on Matthew 27, verses 26 to 32, Hail, King of the Jews !

 

Matthew 27:26 ¶  Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. 27  Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. 28  And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. 29  And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! 30  And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. 31  And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. 32  And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

 

Barabbas, representative of us all, is released while Jesus receives the punishment Barabbas so richly deserved.

 

Scourging, if you didn’t already know, was a pretty brutal whipping. A scourge is said to have been composed of several lengths of leather and had bits of bone and metal balls and spikes intertwined.

 

Isaiah 52:14  As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:

 

Physically mangled in this way Jesus is humiliatingly stripped in front of a band of soldiers and, mockingly, a scarlet robe symbolizing royalty and the sins of our blood is placed on Him along with a crown of what we are told by some commentators are particularly long and sharp thorns. Then they spat on Him.

 

Isaiah 50:6  I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

 

Then they replaced His former clothing and took Him away to crucify Him. The cross bar which He would have carried, according to most commentators, would have been the bar parallel to the ground. Simon of Cyrene will go down in history as a man compelled to carry that cross beam. However, the text says that he carried Jesus’ cross. It doesn’t say cross beam. So, I would lean more to the depictions or Jesus, then Simon, dragging an actual cross.

Bible Study on Exodus 4, verses 24 to 31, they bowed their heads and worshipped

 

Exodus 4:24 ¶  And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. 25  Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. 26  So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. 27  And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him. 28  And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. 29  And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: 30  And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31  And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

The inn, a place of lodging for travelers to Egypt, is mentioned in Genesis 42:27 and 43:21. We don’t know if this is a reference to the same lodging place mentioned in both books but since Moses traditionally is considered to be the main author of both books under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit one might assume it was.

Here is a scene, like many others, for which we are given little information and our imaginations can run wild. Did God appear as the angel of the LORD, the preincarnate Jesus Christ? This is clearly only a threat as God has plans for Moses beyond this. But Moses must be taught something here. The narrative is not always what we think it is. Compare the previous and future passages on circumcision for the Hebrews, the willful binding of a person and their family to God, to see how important it is that man make his small commitment in the face of God’s great mercy.

James 1:8  A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Apparently, Moses is required to commit himself completely to God and to trust and believe Him. Part of this for the Hebrews, the descendants of Abraham, is the rite of circumcision of the males of one’s family.

Genesis 17:10  This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11  And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12  And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. 13  He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14  And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

In this type of context, in Genesis, to be cut off means to be killed.

Zechariah 13:8  And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

2Kings 9:8  For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel:

Ezekiel 25:7  Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

Moses’ wife does the job for him in her frustration. Here is an example of a woman doing God’s will, and God accepts her act, when a man can’t or won’t do it. I am reminded of the modern Bible champion, Dr. Gail Riplinger. Consider this verse;

Jeremiah 31:22  How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.

Or consider the judge, Deborah, and her commitment.

Judges 4:4 ¶  And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. 5  And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6  And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? 7  And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand. 8  And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. 9  And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

Or Huldah, the prophetess, preaching to the king’s men.

2Kings 22:11 ¶  And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes. 12  And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king’s, saying, 13  Go ye, enquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us. 14  So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her. 15  And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me,

Or consider Philip’s daughters.

Acts 21:8 ¶  And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. 9  And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.

Here, we see that Aaron had already been sent to meet with Moses on the mount of God. They met, talked about what God had commanded them to do, and then met with the elders of Israel. Contrary to Moses’ prediction they were believed by the people.

Here is an example of one posture of worship, bowing one’s head. There are other postures of worship listed in the Bible which were discussed in Genesis, showing reverence, awe, and submission to the one worshipped.

Bible Study on Matthew 27, verses 11 to 25, Let him be crucified

 

Matthew 27:11 ¶  And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. 12  And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. 13  Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? 14  And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. 15  Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. 16  And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. 17  Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? 18  For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. 19  When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. 20  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. 21  The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. 22  Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. 23  And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. 24  When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. 25  Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

 

Pontius Pilate asks a pointed question of Jesus, similar to the question posed to him in 26:63. Again Jesus turns this political question back on Pilate as He did the spiritual question back on the High Priest. Whereas before He was asked if He was the Messiah now He is asked if He is the King of the Jews. Again he turns it back on them. “You said it.” This is a confirmation. But he did not respond to the accusations made by the Jews. Jesus’ spiritual authority is already established at the Cross and the Empty Tomb as the Saviour of all mankind but His political authority will be realized when He returns to rule from Jerusalem.

 

As you read this it is clear that Pilate does the political thing he must do to appease the Jews and their condemnation, the outright rejection of their Messiah, and the demand that a murderer be released instead of Jesus and that Jesus be crucified weighs on their own heads and the heads of their children for two thousand years.

 

Pilate, like any cowardly politician, washes his hands of the matter. However, Ethiopian and Coptic Christian tradition says that Pilate, too, perhaps I think from the influence of his wife, becomes a Christian and he is a saint and a martyr in their churches.

 

Pilate knew that Christ was being condemned for envy. The religious high mucketymucks despised His popularity among the common people and we know;

 

Proverbs 27:4  Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

A Psalm for Sunday, Psalm 71, verses 14 to 24, bring me up again from the depths of the earth

 

Psalm 71:14 ¶  But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. 15  My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. 16  I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. 17  O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. 18  Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. 19  Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee! 20  Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. 21  Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side. 22  I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel. 23  My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed. 24  My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.

 

The Psalmist is going to hold onto God and not let go. Jeremiah will say;

 

Lamentations 3:26  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

 

Verse 8 and verse 24 reflect the sentiment of verse 15. Please read Psalm 145, as well. His praise will be continuous all day long.

 

Psalm 145:2  Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

 

Again, he brings up his age as he did in verse 9 showing that this Psalm was written in his old age.

 

See God’s promise in Isaiah and read the context, if you will.

 

Isaiah 46:4  And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.

 

Although I know that when my time is up it is up I often pray that I be permitted to complete the entire Bible and even to revise comments I’ve already made. So, David prays not to be taken until his work is done.

 

Then, in verse 19, he expresses awe at God’s majesty and power. See how God confirms that fact.

 

Isaiah 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 

Job 5:9  Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:

 

Psalm 89:6  For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD?

 

Exodus 15:11  Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

 

Isaiah 40:18 ¶  To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

 

Then, in verse 20, David speaks of the resurrection which is a great saying.

 

Job 14:14  If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.

 

Job 19:25  For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 26  And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 27  Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

 

Let me repeat what David says;

 

Psalm 71:20  Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

 

Isaiah speaks of a resurrection.

Isaiah 26:19  Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

Daniel speaks of a resurrection.

Daniel 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Hosea speaks of a resurrection.

Hosea 13:14  I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

Martha declared it;

John 11:24  Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

And Jesus makes it clear that the God’s dead have not ceased to exist and the following passage makes it plain that the Jews knew of the resurrection, although some did not believe, as it is today.

Matthew 22:23 ¶  The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, 24  Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 25  Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: 26  Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 27  And last of all the woman died also. 28  Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. 29  Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 30  For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. 31  But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32  I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. 33  And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.

David expects the relief and deliverance that only God can provide and he promises to praise God continually again. This truly is a Psalm of heartfelt praise from an old person.

 

(By the way, a psaltery is said to be a stringed instrument like a zither whose strings are plucked.)

 

So, this Psalm, written by an old man whose earthly glory has faded, is a prayer for deliverance from enemies who wish to do him harm, taking advantage of his infirmities, a confirmation that the Psalmist has faith in God’s deliverance, and a promise to praise God continually. Perhaps when we are close to death we might pray that we exit this world with the praise of God on our lips or in our thoughts, if too weak to speak.

Bible Study on Matthew 27, verses 1 to 10, thirty pieces of silver

 

Matthew 27:1 ¶  When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: 2  And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. 3  Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4  Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 5  And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. 6  And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. 7  And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8  Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. 9  Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; 10  And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.

 

Notice for verse 4 an interesting cross-reference;

 

Psalm 94:21  They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.

 

Judas, in his self-disgust and realization of what he has done but clearly not fully understanding or caring for repentance took his own life realizing that this stain of betrayal was on him.

 

Acts 1:16  Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.

17  For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. 18  Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. 19  And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. 20  For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.

 

Verse 9 is difficult for us because the prophecy seems to be in Zechariah, as I have said before. See the prophecy of this betrayal in Zechariah.

 

Zechariah 11:12  And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 13  And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

 

Some say the reason that Jeremiah and not Zechariah will be mentioned later is the way the scrolls of the Hebrew Bible were put together and read at that time with the section on The Prophets beginning with Jeremiah so it would natural to refer to that scroll as Jeremiah.

 

There are some interesting verses regarding the potter’s house and a potter’s vessel in Jeremiah 18 and 29, perhaps, Judas signifying what will happen when Jerusalem is besieged and the temple destroyed in 70AD. Have not the Jews in history been broken like pottery. Just a symbolic thought.