{"id":2624,"date":"2025-04-05T00:24:37","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T05:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/?p=2624"},"modified":"2025-04-05T00:24:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T05:24:37","slug":"april-4-april-11-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/2025\/04\/05\/april-4-april-11-2\/","title":{"rendered":"April 4 – April 11"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Friday, April 4<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proverbs 30: This chapter contains the first of the book\u2019s three final collections of wisdom maxims, a collection called \u201cthe words of Agur, the son of Jakeh.\u201d The Hebrew text further identifies Agur and Jakeh as \u201cof Massa,\u201d the same place in northern Arabia (Genesis 25:14; 1 Chronicles 1:30) as King Lemuel in the next chapter. Agur, the son of Jakeh, is not called a king, however, nor is he otherwise identified. It is reasonable to suppose, therefore, that he must have been a figure of some renown among the readers for whom the Book of Proverbs was intended, requiring no further introduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we have in this chapter is a philosophical discourse delivered by Agur and recorded by his two disciples, otherwise unknown, named Ithiel and Ucal (verse 1). Ancient history from places as diverse as China, India, Egypt, and Greece provides other examples of such discourses given by masters and transcribed by their disciples. One thinks, for instance, of the \u201cDeer Park Sermon\u201d of Siddhartha Gautama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike Siddhartha, however, whose recent enlightenment (Bodhi<\/em>) enabled him to discern a relentless Chain of Causation in existence and to devise an ascetical system for dealing with it, Agur of Massa confessed himself completely bewildered by the whole thing: \u201cSurely I am more stupid than any man, and do not have the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom, nor have knowledge of the Holy One\u201d (verses 2-3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such a sentiment makes Agur resemble Socrates more than Siddhartha. Socrates, we recall, once identified by the Delphic oracle as the world\u2019s wisest man, spent his life trying to prove the oracle wrong. Socrates finally concluded, however, that the oracle must be correct because he discovered all reputedly wise men to be just as ignorant as himself, except that they were not aware of being ignorant. Socrates concluded that it was as though the oracle had declared, \u201cAmong yourselves, oh men, that man is the wisest who recognizes, like Socrates, that he is truly nobody of worth (oudenos axsios<\/em>) with respect to wisdom.\u201d Socrates and Agur, then, both associate the quest of wisdom with a humble mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever his resemblance to that wise Athenian, nonetheless, Agur more readily puts us in mind of the Psalmist, who confessed to God, \u201cI was so foolish and ignorant, I was like a beast before You\u201d (Psalms 73:22) and \u201cSuch knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it\u201d (139:6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whereas the philosophical humility of Socrates was spawned of epistemology\u2014that is, the accepted limitations of the human being\u2019s ability to know\u2014that of Agur was inspired, rather, by cosmology; he considered the sheer vastness of the varied things to be known: \u201cWho has ascended in heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth?\u201d (verse 4) Agur\u2019s are the sorts of reflections we associate with God\u2019s final answer to Job (Job 38-39).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With scant confidence in his own intelligence, then, Agur began the quest of wisdom by trusting in \u201cevery word of God\u201d (kol \u2019imrath \u2019Eloah<\/em>), which word he described, exactly like the Psalmist, as \u201cpure,\u201d seruphah<\/em> (verses 5-6; Psalms 18:31). He then turned to prayer\u2014the only explicit prayer in the whole Book of Proverbs\u2014in which he begged God for a modest life, free of falsehood. The life that Agur craved from on high would be neither wealthy nor poor, in order to avoid both arrogance and desperation, either of which might lead him into sin (verses 7-9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agur did not think very highly of his contemporaries, whom he described as disrespectful of authority and tradition, morally dissolute and socially irresponsible, insatiable in their appetites, and entertaining too high an opinion of themselves (verses 11-14). If one looks closely at the criticism, it is clear that Augur\u2019s complaint had a fourfold structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, he was especially fond of maxims based on the number four: four things that are never satisfied (verses 15-16), four things too hard to understand (verses 18-19), four things the world cannot endure verses 21-23), four small but wise animals from whom men can learn useful traits (verses 24-28), and four things \u201cwhich are stately in walk\u201d (verses 29-31).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agur\u2019s was, in short, the simple, observant philosophy of a humble man, content to live in this world by the purity of God\u2019s word and a prayerful reliance on God\u2019s gifts, offending the Almighty by neither the food he put into his mouth nor the words he caused to come forth from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday, April  5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew 24.3-14: There are few parts of the Gospels so problematic as the discourse of Jesus contained in this chapter. In all three Synoptics this eschatological discourse is the link between the public teaching of Jesus, culminating in His repeated conflicts with the Jewish authorities, and the account of His Passion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, it was Jesus\u2019 prophecy of the destruction of the Temple, which we will read next Friday, that provided the accusations brought forth at his trial before the Sanhedrin (26:16), and it was the subject of the jeers that his enemies hurled at him as He hung on the cross. Moreover, the position occupied by our Lord\u2019s prophecy here indicates the relationship between the death of Jesus and the downfall of Jerusalem. We observe that in both Mark and Matthew this prophecy follows immediately on Jesus\u2019 lament over the holy city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With respect to Matthew 24 as a whole (as well as Mark 13 and Luke 21), this discourse forms a sort of last testimony of Jesus, in which the Church is provided with a final injunction and moral exhortation. In this respect it is similar to the farewell discourses of Jacob (Genesis 49), Moses (Deuteronomy 33), Joshua (Joshua 23), and Samuel (1 Samuel 12). That is to say, the present chapter serves the purpose of instructing the Christian Church how to live during the period (literally \u201ceon\u201d in Greek) that will last until the Lord\u2019s second coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This conduct will be especially marked by vigilance, so that believers may not be \u201cdeceived.\u201d They will suffer persecution, Jesus foretells, and He goes on to make two points with respect to this persecution. First, they must not lose heart, and second, it does not mean that the end is near. They must persevere to the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proverbs 31: Although Proverbs several times encourages a young man to pay attention to the teaching of his mother (1:8; 6:20; 15:20), verses1-9 of this chapter, wisdom from Lemuel’s mother, are the only example of maternal teaching explicitly contained in this book. And, on reading this material, one has the impression that it is not much different, on the whole, from the instruction that a young man received from his father. There are warnings against lust (verse 3) and drinking alcohol (verse 4), along with an exhortation to take care of the oppressed and the poor (verses 5-9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final twenty-two verses of Proverbs (verses 10-31) form an acrostic, the verses all beginning with the sequential letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The theme is the good wife, a blessing often remarked on throughout this book (5:15;11:16; 12:4; 18:22; 19:14; cf. Sirach 7:19; 26:1-4,13-18). Here, however, the ideal wife is elaborately described in terms of her industry, economics, stewardship, discipline, labor, charity, wisdom and piety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunday, April 6<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 109 and Zechariah 1: It is an irony of our schedule that we are simultaneously reading both<\/em> Zechariah, whose prophecies led to the construction of the Second Temple and <\/em>our Lord\u2019s prophecies (in Matthew) of the coming destruction of that Temple!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no avoiding this irony, because the Book of Zechariah is explicitly quoted by Matthew with respect to two events of Holy Week: Jesus\u2019 entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and the thirty pieces of silver paid to Judas Iscariot for his betrayal of Jesus. This psalm was one of the subjects that explicitly preoccupied the Apostles during those ten days that they spent in prayer in the upper room awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, in our limited record of those ten days, this psalm is one of two passages of Holy Scripture actually quoted on their lips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recall that the sole task appointed to the Church during that brief period of preparation was the choice of a successor to Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:15\u201326), and Simon Peter, as he summoned his fellow Apostles to that task, announced that they were, in fact, fulfilling a prophecy contained in Psalm 109. He quoted our present psalm with reference to the fallen Judas: \u201cFor it is written in the Book of Psalms: \u2018Let his dwelling place be desolate, \/ And let no one live in it\u2019; and, \u2018Let another take his office.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the calamitous career of Judas Iscariot, then, we have the interpretive key and context to this very disturbing Psalm 109. It is a sustained reference to that most unfortunate man of whom Truth Himself said: \u201cIt would have been good for that man if he had never been born\u201d (Mark 14:21).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is no wonder that this psalm is unsettling, for it is concerned with the danger of damnation. During the several minutes that it takes to pray through this psalm, we are brought face to face with the real possibility of eternal loss and reminded that \u201cit is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God\u201d (Heb. 10:31).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one enjoys being warned that the apostasy of Judas could be chosen by any one of us. Yet, the story pointedly appears in all four Gospels. Over and over, eight times, the New Testament stresses that the betrayer arose from among the chosen, \u201cone of the Twelve.\u201d Such too is the distressing, but very necessary, sane, and sobering thought raised in this important psalm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s first chapter of Zechariah contains two dated revelations, the first (verses 1-6) in  October\/November of 520 B.C., and the second (verses 7-17) in January\/February of 519. The first oracle is a general call to repentance based on a serious acceptance of God\u2019s prophetic word. It affirms, as all godly exhortation should affirm, that God will turn to us when we turn to Him (verse 3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second oracle is connected with a vision that the prophet has in a myrtle grove, where he sees various messengers of God seated on red and partly-red horses. These messengers report that the world is now peaceful. From a certain perspective, of course, this is good news. The Persian Empire had just been racked by two years of civil war resultant of the rebellion of Gaumata in 521. The Emperor Cambyses apparently committed suicide in response to the rebellion, and it took two years for the new emperor, Darius I, to put down the rebellion and secure the empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the midst of all this agitation and ferment, nonetheless, Jerusalem was no better off. In spite of the return of some Jews to the Holy Land, beginning in 538, life there was not yet sufficiently stable and productive for the great masses of the Jews to return from the Babylonian Captivity. Consequently, the message of peace, delivered by God\u2019s mounted observers of the earth, is a mixed message, because it has created an atmosphere of wellbeing that dulls the moral sense in the face of evil (verse 15). This Persian peace will not last forever, of course. Indeed, Persia\u2019s defeat at the Battle of Marathon lies less than thirty years in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monday, April 7<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew 24.15-28: The function of is prophecy is not to convey information, but to encourage vigilance. The first particular of the exhortation is flight to the mountains (verse 16), which is exactly what the Maccabees did during the crisis of 167 B.C. Their flight, we recall, was not a surrender. It provided, rather, the opportunity to organize and consolidate their resistance to the enemy. Likewise, all Christian flight is intended as a means of carrying on the battle. Sometimes, in order to be victorious, there is a need for a strategic withdrawal for the purpose of achieving later advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As when a house is on fire, the necessary thing is immediate flight, so the person on the roof must descend by the exterior stairs and not go into the house to retrieve anything (verse 17). He must not, like Mrs. Lot, look back. The Great Tribulation requires leaving behind a great deal. It is a time for decision, not dilly-dally. Such a requirement was illustrated in the vocations of the Apostles, who immediately left everything at the summons of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same abnegation is enjoined on those working in the fields. They must not come back to retrieve their possessions, particularly the cloak that they left beside the field while they worked (verse 18). They must not turn around (opiso<\/em>). For obvious reasons the flight will be especially hard on pregnant and nursing mothers, who are among the most vulnerable members of any society (verse 19).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the flight comes in winter, it will naturally be harder, both because of the loss of one\u2019s cloak and because of the more severe weather, including the rising of the waters during rainy season (verse 20).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zechariah 2: Jerusalem\u2019s wall would not be reconstructed until the time of Nehemiah. During these prophecies of Zechariah, around the year 520,  Jerusalem is still only a little village without walls. There is no slight irony, then, when an angel proposes to measure the length and breadth of it (verse 2). The irony itself is prophetic, because the day will come when Jerusalem will be too large to measure, \u201cfor the multitude of men and cattle therein\u201d (verse 4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than the earthly Jerusalem is involved here, of course. The perspective of this prophecy is turned, rather, to that Jerusalem yet to come, \u201cwhen many nations shall be joined to the Lord\u201d (verse 11). The Jerusalem where Zechariah lived had already been destroyed once, and less than six centuries later it would be destroyed again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of the promises made to that ancient Jerusalem were completely fulfilled in this regard, because that Jerusalem was a type and prefiguration of the more ample and catholic Jerusalem to whom the pledge was made, \u201cBehold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world\u201d Matthew 28:20). This is the Jerusalem where God\u2019s Exodus-presence is fulfilled: \u201cFor I, says the Lord, will be unto her as a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her\u201d (verse 5). This protecting presence of the Lord is the chapter\u2019s major theme (cf. verse 11,13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In verse 12 we have the first occurrence of the expression \u201cHoly Land\u201d with reference to the land of promise. The expression will later appear in the Wisdom of Solomon 12:3 and 2 Maccabees 1:7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday, April 8<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zechariah 3: Chief among the priests who returned from Babylon was the high priest Jeshua, or Joshua, whose father Jehozadak had been carried away to Babylon back in 586 (1 Chronicles 6:15). Jeshua\u2019s name invariably appears second among the returning exiles (Ezra 2:2; Nehemiah 7:7; 12:1,10,26), right after Zerubbabel, the governor appointed by Cyrus to oversee Jerusalem\u2019s restoration. In the prophecies of Zechariah, Zerubbabel and Jeshua are paired as the spiritual and political leaders of the people, as we shall see in Chapter 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the present chapter the prophet beholds the high priest Jeshua standing before God with an angel and with Satan. Satan is doing for Jeshua what he did for Job, namely, \u201copposing\u201d him, saying bad things to God about him (verse 1; cf. Job 1:9-11; 2:4-5). In both these cases Satan is the \u201caccuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night\u201d (Revelation 12:10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case of Jeshua, Satan\u2019s accusation had to do with the \u201cfilthy garments\u201d of the high priest (verse 3), which signify his unworthiness. This may refer to his personal unworthiness and\/or to the unworthiness of the people that he represents at the altar. Either and both interpretations will fit the context. The question under debate is, can such a priest, so improperly vested, properly offer sacrifices to the Almighty?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point the angel of the Lord rebuked Satan for his accusation against the priest: \u201cThe Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!\u201d (Zechariah 3:2) (In case anyone inquires, \u201cThe Lord rebuke you!\u201d is the execration regularly preferred by angels who are obliged to deal with Satan; cf. Jude 9.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeshua may be taken to represent any and all of God\u2019s servants aware of their total unworthiness as they come to worship. Their hearts are full of such sentiments as, \u201cDepart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord\u201d (Luke 5:8), \u201cI am not worthy that You should enter under my roof\u201d (7:6), and \u201cGod, be merciful to me a sinner! (18:13). Satan, of course, is ever at hand on such occasions, ready even further to discourage these saints who feel guilty in their filthy garments, suggesting to their minds that they may as well give the whole thing up as useless. But what do the angels say? \u201cTake away the filthy garments from him. . . . Let them put a clean turban on his head.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We do not come before God with any cleanliness of our own. \u201cSee,\u201d the Lord says, \u201cI remove your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes\u201d (verses 4-5). That is to say, we approach the worship of God only in the pure grace of our redemption. \u201cIs not this,\u201d asks our good angel, \u201ca branch plucked from the fire?\u201d (3:2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In  the literal context, this plucking refers to redemption from the Babylonian Captivity. In its Christian context it refers to a more radically redemptive plucking from a far more serious fire. In either case, when someone is plucked from the fire, he tends to be a bit smudged up, and his clothes are in pretty bad shape. Not to worry, the angel says, God can handle that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday, April 9<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zechariah 4: As in other prophetic accounts (cf. Amos 7:8; 8:2), a dialogue of questions and answers accompanies this vision of Zechariah. This is apparently necessary, as the vision is complex and detailed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The image of the lamp stand is surely related to the lamp stand in the Mosaic tabernacle (Exodus 25:31-37) and in the Solomonic temple (1 Kings 7:49). From the bas relief on the Arch of Titus in Rome, we know that the second temple also had such a lamp stand. The lamp stand of Zechariah\u2019s vision is not entirely identified with these, however. Seen in a vision, it is differently contoured. The seven lamps represent the fullness of the God\u2019s providential knowledge of the world (verse 10), of which the constant worship in God\u2019s temple at Jerusalem served as a sign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These lamps were nourished by the oil provided by the two ministries of the secular ruler and the priest, Zerubbabel and Jeshua (verses 10-14). We recall that both the kings and the priests of Israel were anointed with the same oil that burned in the seven-branch lamp stand (Exodus 27:20; 30:23-24; Leviticus 24:2). They are \u201csons of oil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their historical context, the efforts of these men seemed weak, but they acted by the power of God\u2019s Spirit (verse 6). Consequently, no matter how tiny appeared their efforts, let no one despise \u201cthe day of small things\u201d (verse 10), which refers to their laying of the foundation for the new temple (verse 9). This foundation stone of God\u2019s house (verse 7), which is mystically identical with the seven-faceted stone in 3:9, should be viewed as a Christological prophetic reference. Much of the imagery of this chapter will appear later in Revelation 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalms 93 (Greek & Latin 92): This is the first of three psalms that begin with the line, \u201cThe Lord is King.\u201d In each case the expression is actually a verb in both the Greek (ebasilevsen<\/em>) and Hebrew (malak<\/em>), but it is translated here as a noun in order to give clearer attention to the image of \u201cking\u201d (basilevs<\/em>, melek<\/em>) suggested in the underlying verbs. Proper English usage has no verb \u201cto king,\u201d and the usual substitution, \u201cto reign,\u201d fails to convey that image adequately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 93 is a brief but rich composition, resonating large biblical themes in its every line:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord is King; He is clothed with splendor. In might has the Lord adorned and girded himself. The world He made firm, that it be not shaken. Your throne is prepared from everlasting; You are from all eternity. The rivers rise in flood, O Lord, the rivers lift their voices, with the voices of many waters. Marvelous these swellings of the sea; marvelous the Lord on high. Your testimonies have proved exceedingly faithful. Holiness befits Your house, O Lord, unto length of days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday, April 10<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew 24.45-51: This is the first of three parables about fidelity as it relates to the passage of time: the two stewards (Matthew 24:45\u201351), the five wise maidens (25:1\u201313), and the talents bestowed on three servants (25:14\u201330).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key to the first parable is found in verse 48: \u201cMy master is delayed,\u201d perhaps more literally translated as, \u201cmy master is taking his time<\/em>\u201d (chronizei<\/em>). Deceived by this apparent postponement of the master\u2019s return, the scoundrel proceeds \u201cto beat his fellow servants\u201d and generally get himself into mischief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The faithful steward, however, wiser and more vigilant, does not grow weary in the labor entrusted to him. The point of the trial of these two men is their experience of a delay in the master\u2019s return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is required in each of these stories is is not only patience with the delay but also the practical application of prudence. There are things to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, the steward in the first parable is not only \u201cfaithful\u201d; he is also \u201csensible,\u201d phronimos<\/em>. He keeps his head about him, when the master makes him \u201cruler of his household, to feed them at the proper times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All three parables illustrate the final parable of the Sermon on the Mount, the story of the \u201csensible man (andri phronimo<\/em>) who built his house on a rock\u201d (Matt. 7:24). He, too, understood the practical application of prudence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus contrasts him with the \u201cfoolish man (andri moro<\/em>) who built his house on the sand.\u201d In next week\u2019s reading of the second parable (the ten maidens), the aner moros<\/em> of today\u2019s parable will be replicated in the pente morai<\/em>, the \u201cfive foolish\u201d maidens awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zechariah 5: In this chapter, which also uses dialogue to interpret what is seen, there are two visions. In the first (verses 1-4), the prophet sees a flying scroll considerably larger than one would expect; indeed, it is the same size as the portico in Solomon\u2019s temple (1 Kings 6:3).  This scroll contains the curses attendant on those who violate the terms of God\u2019s covenant (cf. Deuteronomy 29:18-20). This scroll represents a permanent warning of the dangers of infidelity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the second vision (verses 5-11), the prophet sees \u201cWickedness\u201d portrayed as a woman carried in a basket. Unlike the very large scroll in the first vision, the present vision gives us a very small basket. It holds only an ephah, yet this woman can fit into it. She must be a pretty insignificant woman—this Wickedness\u2014and the angelic figures contemptuously shove her down into the basket and enclose it with a leaden lid. Representing the power of Babylon, which the Bible holds in contempt, the woman and her basket are deposited in the Babylonian plain (verse 11; cf. Genesis 11:2). This is the same woman, by the way, who looks so much larger and more impressive in Revelation 17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday, April 11<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zechariah 6: This chapter contains both a vision and an oracle. In the vision (verses 1-8) the prophet sees four chariots drawn by horses, which are also four \u201cwinds\u201d or \u201cspirits,\u201d as it were (verse 5). He saw them earlier (1:7-11). Like the \u201cfour winds\u201d of common parlance, these horses go in four directions: the black northbound, the white westbound, the dappled southbound, and the red eastbound. They represent God\u2019s providential \u201cpatrol,\u201d as it were, of the whole universe. God is keeping an eye on things, Zechariah is reminded, even things that don\u2019t seem to be going very well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Babylon lies east of Jerusalem, one journeys there by leaving Jerusalem in a northerly direction and then following the contour of the Fertile Crescent. (If one journeyed straight east, he would simply have to pass through the Arabian Desert, an area best avoided.) Consequently, there is a special significance in the northbound horses in this vision, for they go to Babylon, where, God assures His prophet, He has everything under control (verse 8). This vision is related, then, to the woman in the basket in the previous chapter. The \u201cSpirit\u201d that guides world history, including geopolitical history, is the same Spirit proclaimed to Zerubbabel in 4:6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The oracle in this chapter (verses 9-15), like the vision of the two olive trees in 4:11-14, pertains to the Lord\u2019s two \u201csons of oil,\u201d Zerubbabel and Jeshua, the priest and the governor, the religious and civil authority. Both are anointed by God and must work in common endeavor for the Lord (verse 13). The \u201cbranch\u201d in verse 12, as in 3:8, refers to Zerubbabel, whose Akkadian name means \u201cthe branch of Babylon.\u201d He is both a foreshadowing and a forefather (Matthew 1:12-13) of the One who combines in Himself the twin dignities of King and Priest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalms 102 (Greek & Latin 101): This psalm, the fifth of the traditional \u201cpenitential psalms,\u201d is structured on a contrast, pursued through two sequences. The first half of the first sequence is all \u201cI\u201d\u2014I am miserable, I am sad, my heart withers away like the grass in the heat, I lie awake at night, I feel like a mournful bird, I mingle my drink with tears, my days flee like the shadows of an evening, and so forth. Life being rough, a goodly number of our days are passed with such sentiments, so it is usually not difficult to pray this part of the psalm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second half of the first sequence arrives with the expression, \u201cbut You, O Lord,\u201d which is just as emphatic in the Hebrew (we\u2019attah Adonai<\/em>) and the Greek (sy de Kyrie<\/em>). \u201cYou\u201d is contrasted with \u201cI.\u201d God, that is to say, is not like me; God is almighty and does what He wants and does not die. God is enthroned forever, and His name endures from generation to generation. God will arise and deliver his people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second and shorter contrasting sequence repeats the first. Once again, as at the beginning, there is the sense of our human frailty, our shortened days, our strength broken at midcourse. To this is contrasted the eternity of God; His years endure unto all generations. Thus, both sequences in this psalm form contrasts between the permanence of God and the transience of everything created.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Friday, April 4 Proverbs 30: This chapter contains the first of the book\u2019s three final collections of wisdom maxims, a collection called \u201cthe words of Agur, the son of Jakeh.\u201d The Hebrew text further identifies Agur and Jakeh as \u201cof Massa,\u201d the same place in northern Arabia (Genesis 25:14; 1 Chronicles 1:30) as King Lemuel … Continue reading April 4 – April 11<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2624"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2624"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2625,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2624\/revisions\/2625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}