Transcript

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 81-83 GWT

Podcast Introduction

This is Psalms Wednesday. We’ll read chapters 81-83. I’ll have an Essentials segment for you, and we’ll have a time of prayer. I’m calling this episode “To Whom Much Is Given.”

Comments on Psalm 82

You probably noticed in verse one where it said, “He pronounces judgment among the gods” and  then in verses six and seven, “You are gods. You are all sons of the Most High.”

If you’re not reading along with me with a printed or online Bible, I should probably point out to you that the word “gods” here is written with a small “g”, meaning that God is not making them equal with Himself. But besides that, what is going on here? Are there other gods? 

Well, of course we make gods of many different things. Anything you put above the true Almighty God (capital “G”) has become, for you, a god (small “g”), and that can only spell trouble for you. That’s why Jesus told the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-22 to go and sell everything. Remember that story? The young man asked Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus told him, “Keep the commandments.” The man told him that he had, and asked Jesus what he still lacked. Jesus told him to sell what he had and give to the poor, and then he would have treasure in heaven. Then he should go and follow Jesus. At that point the young man went away, grieving, because he had great wealth. So this young man’s god was his wealth.

We must guard against putting anything above Almighty God, our Creator.

But this isn’t the small “g” god that is referred to here in Psalms 82.

The word here refers to earthly magistrates and governors (or politicians). We can tell this by the language. It says, “How long are you going to judge unfairly? How long are you going to side with wicked people?” And it goes on to tell them what they should be doing, like defending the weak and defenseless. He is talking to those who were judges in Israel, because he says, “You are all sons of the Most High.” And he reminds them that they will be judged because of their own wickedness, ” You will certainly die like humans and fall like any prince.” 

Luke 12:48 says, “To whom much is given, much will be required.” These “gods” were thinking much too highly of themselves, and had become corrupt and evil. The Psalmist was passing along God’s reproach to them. 

This actually makes me think of another scripture. Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “9Whatever has happened before will happen ⌞again⌟. Whatever has been done before will be done ⌞again⌟. There is nothing new under the sun.” Corrupt and evil politicians? Say it isn’t so.

Let us humbly thank God for the blessings and responsibilities He has given us, whatever they may be. And let us prayerfully consider how He wants us to use those things. We are only temporary custodians. If we are foolish enough to think that they come to us by our own efforts or because we deserve them, we run the risk of a great fall.

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Steve Webb 0:00
Are there other gods?

Steve Webb 0:09
This is the Lifespring! One Year Bible coming to you from Riverside, California. And podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG Godcaster. Steve Webb. This is Psalms Wednesday, And our reading today will be chapters 81 through 83. I’ll have an essential segment for you as well. And we’ll have a time of prayer. I’m calling this episode to who much is given. And for those of you in the Southern California area, this coming Saturday, there will be a no agenda meet up here in the Riverside area at he rose restaurant And brewery at 333 in the afternoon. So I’d love to see you there if you can make it. For more information, go to Lifespringmedia.com slash meet up. Before we get started. Let’s pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day. And we thank You for Your Word. We ask that You would bless our time reading today. In Jesus name, Amen. All right, let’s begin.

Steve Webb 1:03
The title of Psalm 81 is to the chief musician on the good if a Psalm of asef. For those new to the show to the chief musician is thought to mean to the leader of the choir in the temple or to the chief musician, God. And asef was from King David And King Solomon’s time And he was a great singer, musician And even a prophet in the music he wrote. He was what we call today a worship leader. And the part of the title that says on the good Earth, what is that? Well, the good Earth was most likely a musical instrument. But what a good Earth was we don’t know for sure. I couldn’t help And think of my Arkansas born grandfather when I read that name. Get it. He used to call a guitar a good fiddle. Well, here’s what the Easterns Bible Dictionary says about the good with a stringed instrument of music. This word is found in the titles of Psalm 881 And 84. In these places, the Septuagint renders the word buy on the wine fats. That’s different, isn’t it? And then the target explains it by on the harp which David brought from GAF. It’s the only stringed instrument named in the titles of the songs. Commentator Derek Kidner wrote, This powerful Psalm leaves no doubt of its festival character And little doubt of the particular feast. It was designed to serve, in all probability, the Feast of Tabernacles. This commemorated the wilderness journey And included a public reading of the law.

Steve Webb 2:36
Psalms chapter 81. sing joyfully to God our strength, shout happily to the God of Jacob, begin a Psalm And strike a tambourine, play liars And harps with their pleasant music. Blow the ram’s horn on the day of the new moon on the day of the full moon, on our festival days. This is a law for Israel, a legal decision from the God of Jacob. These are the instructions God set in place for Joseph when Joseph rose to power over Egypt. I heard a message I did not understand. I removed the burden from his shoulder, his hands were freed from the basket. When you were in trouble. You called out to me And I rescued you. I was hidden in Thunder, but I answered you, I tested your loyalty at the oasis of Mirova Sayla. Listen, my people And I will warn you, Israel, if you would only listen to me. Never keep any strange god among you never worship a foreign god. I am the Lord your God, the one who brought you out of Egypt. Open your mouth wide And I will fill it. But my people did not listen to me. Israel wanted nothing to do with me. So I let them go their own stubborn ways And follow their own advice. If only my people would listen to me, if only Israel would follow me, I would quickly defeat their enemies, I would turn my power against their foes. Those who hate the Lord would cringe in front of him, And their time for punishment would last forever. But I would feed Israel with a finest wheat And satisfy them with honey from a rock.

Steve Webb 4:14
The title of Psalm 82 is a Psalm of a south of this song Derek Kidner wrote, it takes us in a few words behind And beyond our present wrongs. To portray God’s unbounded jurisdiction is delegation of power, his diagnosis of our condition And his drastic intentions.

Steve Webb 4:37
Psalms chapter 82. God takes his place in his own assembly. He pronounces judgment among the gods. How long are you going to judge unfairly? How long are you going to side with wicked people? Sayla defend weak people And orphans protect the rights of the oppressed And the poor, rescue weak And needy people. Help them escape Eat the power of wicked people. Wicked people do not know or understand anything. As they walk around in the dark, all the foundations of the earth shake. I said, You are gods, you are all sons of the Most High. You will certainly die like humans And fall like any prince. A rise Oh God judged the earth because all the nations belong to you.

Steve Webb 5:25
Psalm 83 is another Psalm of a SAF. It is thought by some commentators to refer to the victory that took place during King Jehoshaphat reign as recorded in Second Chronicles 20. We’ll read that in about three months. Other commentators believe that this psalm is about the constant And ongoing threat of extermination Israel faced then And now.

Steve Webb 5:47
Psalms chapter 83. Oh God, do not remain silent. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. Do not keep quiet. Oh god. Look, your enemies are in an uproar. Those who hate you hold their heads high. They make plans in secret against your people And plot together against those you treasure. They say Let’s wipe out their nation so that the name of Israel will no longer be remembered. They agree completely on their plan. They form an alliance against you the tents from Edom And Ishmael Moab And Hagar Giebel Amman And emelec Philistia along with those who live in Tyre, even as Syria has joined them, they help the descendants of Lot. C’est la. do to them what you did to Midian to Cicero in jabian at the Chi Shan river. They were destroyed at Indore, they became manure to fertilize the ground, treat their influential people as you treated Oreb And Zeeb. Treat all their leaders like Zebah And Zalmunna. They said, Let’s take God’s pasture lands for ourselves. Oh my god, blow them away like tumbleweeds, like husks in the wind. Pursue them with your storms And terrify them with your wind storms the way fire burns a forest And flames set mountains on fire. Let their faces blush with shame, oh Lord, so that they must look to you for help. Let them be put to shame And terrified forever. Let them die in disgrace so that they must acknowledge you. Your name is the Lord, you alone are the Most High God of the whole earth.

Steve Webb 7:27
Beloved, in Psalm 82, you probably noticed in verse one where it said he pronounces judgment among the gods. And then in verses six And seven, you are gods, you are all sons of the Most High. Now if you’re not reading along with me with a printed or online Bible, I should probably point out to you that the word Gods here is written with a small g, meaning that God is not making them equal with himself. But besides that, what’s going on here? Are there other gods? Well, of course, we make gods of many different things. Anything you put above the true Almighty God, capital G has become for you, a God, small g. And that can only spell trouble for you. And that’s why Jesus told the rich young ruler in Matthew 1916, through 22, to go And sell everything. You remember that story? The young man asked Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. And Jesus told him, keep the commandments. The man told him that he had And asked Jesus what he still lacked. Jesus told him to sell what he had, And give all the money to the poor, And then he would have treasure in heaven. And after that he should go And follow Jesus. At that point, the young man went away grieving because he had great wealth. So this young man’s God was his wealth. Beloved, we must guard against putting anything above Almighty God, our Creator. But this isn’t the small g god that is referred to here in Psalm 82. The word here refers to earthly magistrates And governors or politicians. We can tell this by the language, it says, How long are you going to judge unfairly? How long are you going to side with wicked people? And it goes on to tell them what they should be doing, like defending the weak And the defenseless. He’s talking to those who were judges in Israel because he says, you are all sons of the Most High And he reminds them that they will be judged because of their own wickedness. In this Psalm, He says, You will certainly die like humans And fall like any prince. Luke 1248 says, To whom much is given, much will be required. These small g gods were thinking way too highly of themselves, And it’d become corrupt And evil. The psalmist was passing along gods were approached to them. And this actually makes me think of another scripture. Ecclesiastes one nine says, You Whatever has happened before will happen again, whatever has been done before will be done again. There is nothing new under the sun. corrupt And evil politicians say it isn’t. So let us humbly thank God for the blessings And responsibility He’s given us, whatever they may be. And let us prayerfully consider how he wants us to use those things. We are only temporary custodians of whatever he’s given us, including our responsibilities. If we’re foolish enough to think that they come to us by our own efforts, or because we deserve them, we run the risk of a great fall. If you have a comment, or if you have a question, I would love to hear it. Call the Lifespring family Hotline at plus 1-951-732-8511 Or go to comment.lifespringmedia.com or send a boostagram with your comment. I do read everything that comes in And I just might play your audio comment or read your comment on the show. Don’t be shy. Let me hear from you. Tomorrow we’ll be poetry Thursday, And our reading will be Proverbs chapter 10.

Steve Webb 11:18
This is number six in our series on the essentials of the faith. It’s so important to know what we believe And why we believe it because there have been false teachers since the earliest days of the church, And our enemy. Satan wants to keep us from having a genuine relationship with Jesus. So he does all he can to confuse people with lies. He’s watched the human race since God created Adam in the garden. He knows our weaknesses. He’s a master manipulator. And he knows what to say to draw the uninitiated away from the truth. When he tried to twist scripture when he was tempting Jesus in the desert, he was unsuccessful because Jesus clearly saw the deception. Jesus knew the Scripture because he is the living word. But we must know what the Scriptures say so that we will not be swayed. And that’s why the Lifespring! One Year Bible exists And why we’re doing this. Look at the essentials of what we believe about Jesus is crucial. Jesus said that there would be false teachers And false messiahs who proclaim another gospel, we have to be very clear on who Jesus is. And notice I said who Jesus is not who Jesus was. Jesus is more alive today than he was when he walked the earth 2000 years ago, so we speak of him in the present tense. Since we must be clear on who he is, we’ll be spending the next few Wednesdays talking about various aspects of our understanding of him. Today, we’re going to begin to talk about the fact that we believe that Jesus Christ is God, the living word, who became flesh through his miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit And his virgin birth, therefore he is perfect deity And true humanity united in one person forever. So let’s break that down. Number one, we believe that Jesus Christ is God. Number two, we believe that He is the living word. Number three, he became flesh through his miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit And his virgin birth, then number four, because of that he is perfect deity And true humanity united in one person forever. Today, we’re going to tackle that first point, we believe that Jesus Christ is God. Some say that Jesus never claimed to be God. And while it is true, that we do not have anything in scripture where Jesus said, I am God. There are many scriptures that show him making claims that only God could truthfully make. For instance, in John 1030, Jesus said, I am the Father are one. Some say that he was saying that he And the Father have the same nature, the same goals, the same outlook, sort of like him saying, I’m a chip off the old block. I want to target a man who knew my biological father say to my mom, when he saw me, while Stephen is the spitting image of his dad, isn’t he? No, Jesus was not saying this about himself? He was saying that he And the Father are God. How do we know that’s what he meant? Well, because he said it in the temple. He was asked by the Jews if he was the Messiah. And while answering them, Jesus said, I am the Father are one. And you know what happened? Then? The Jews picked up stones to stone him for blasphemy. They knew He was claiming to be God, they wouldn’t stone him for claiming to be one in Outlook or goals. They knew He was claiming to be God. And in Exodus 313, And 14, we read, then Moses said to God, if I come to the people of Israel And say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you. And they asked me, What is his name? What shall I say to them? God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, Say this to the people of Israel, I am has sent me to you. In John chapter eight, the Jews were grilling Jesus about who he was. And he said, Truly, truly I say to you before Abraham was, I am. And again, they picked up stones to kill him. I am had great meaning to them. And his followers believed he was God. John’s Gospel begins with these words, in the beginning was the Word, And the Word was with God, And the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God, all things were made through Him, And without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word became flesh And dwelt among us. And we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father full of grace And truth. And of course, John was writing about Jesus in those verses. And in John 20, verse 20, the disciple we often call Doubting Thomas declared when he saw the resurrected Jesus, my Lord And my God, And Jesus did not correct him. In Revelation 1910, the apostle John is told by an angel that he John should only worship God. And there are several places in Scripture when Jesus received worship, And he did not correct them. And one last point for today, every disciple of Jesus was willing to die for their testimony, they would not deny their claims that Jesus was resurrected, And is the Messiah, the Son of God, why would they have held on to their beliefs so strongly if they were not 100% convinced? Who would do this for a lie or a conspiracy? Maybe one or two of them, but not one disciple recanted their claims about him? While beloved, I’ve just touched on this first point about the divinity of Jesus, but I hope I’ve given you enough to either encourage you to do some further study, or to know that there is ample reason to believe that he did claim to be God, And that his disciples truly believed that he is God. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.

Steve Webb 17:15
Praises and prayer requests. Kathi’s not home yet, the doctors are still running tests. I told you on Monday, that CT scan showed a spot in her head that had some blood And Dell told me yesterday that they also saw some bleeding in her right lung. So they’ve been keeping an eye on those places And are keeping her overnight at least one more night. Let’s pray. Our gracious heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us your word And for showing us your plan to save us through faith in your son. You’ve made it very clear that Jesus is the Way the Truth And the Life And that no one can come to you but through him. Thank you for making it completely unambiguous. And thank you for loving us. We thank you for keeping caphyon Dell from serious harm in their fall over the weekend, Lord And we pray now that Kathy would be able to leave the hospital. Continue to bring healing to her body we pray in Jesus name. And Father asked that you would bless the Lifespring family. Draw all of us closer to you, Lord, help us to seek you more every day, And to love And to seek your presence. We pray these things in Jesus name, amen. Our next time of prayer together here will be next Sunday. If you have a prayer request or a praise, go to plus 1-951-732-8511 And tell me about it or go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com And if you’d like to remain anonymous, just let me know.

Steve Webb 18:49
Thanks to Sister Denise Michael Haner Scott Snider, Jason Paschall And sister Brittaney. Jason did the artwork today. And beloved thank you for inviting me to be a part of your day until tomorrow may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. By Lifespring media bringing the message of hope, love And good news since 2004

Transcribed by https://otter.ai