INSIGHTS FROM PSALM 23 (PART 1)

A LINE-BY-LINE ANALYSIS

The Lord is my Shepherd [Who purchased me at a very high price – the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son. And as a Shepherd, He is the One responsible for my feeding, guidance, protection and general well being. Since, as a sheep, I know nothing of myself, nor can take any independent action on my own, outside of my Shepherd, that will do me much good (Psalm 95:7, 100:3)];

I shall not want [Because my Shepherd, Who is the Owner of all wealth and abundance, ‘supplies all my needs, as they arise from time to time, according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:13)].

He makes me to lie down in green pastures [He locates and establishes me in fresh, tender and conducive environment- in my house, my business, my church, my ministry, and my world in general);

He leads me beside the still waters [He gives me restful means of sustenance that are without stress, pain or any trouble to draw from].

He restores my soul [He renews and refreshes my spirit, soul and body with all the good things they need for health and maximum performance).

He leads me in the paths of righteousness [(Psalm 78:52) So that I do not stray from the right course in my exuberance and ignorance, not because I merit it, but]

For His name’s sake [Because He has the reputation of being The Good Shepherd, who can never abscond His responsibilities or change His nature from good to bad (John 14:1). That is the reason I am assured that I am in good hand and that…]

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death [Even when I find myself in dangerous or life-threatening situations that portend evil or great calamity] I will fear no evil [Why?]

THE PROCESS OF CREATION

Genesis 1:2-5

2. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep... 3. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

EXPOSITION

The above passage captures the process of creation. For there to be a creation or production of something, there must first be a CONCEPTION of its image (imagination) in the mind of the creator/producer. It takes an imaginative mind to create. God is the Father of all dreamers, that was why He could see the light in the confusion, the formlessness, the voids and the darkness that was upon the deep.

The second step in the creative process is SPEAKING IT FORTH. Words are substance. And the creative power of the spoken word cannot be over-emphasised. APPRAISAL is also one of the processes of creation. God didn’t just stop at the appearance of the light. He appraised it, saw that it was good. But He did not stop there, He went ahead to DIVIDE the light from the darkness, thus FINE-TUNING even the good product He had created to make it better.

Another creative step derived from the above passage is IDENTIFICATION. After "refining" Light from darkness (that was the first refinery activity in the book!), God gave each a name or an identity, calling the light Day and the darkness, Night.

What makes a day? According to the last part of verse 5, the evening and the morning made the very first day in world history. Surely that calls for some meditation and, perhaps, re-orientation if you believe otherwise.

Shalom!

WHAT I'M LEARNING IN THE BIBLE.... (PART 5)

NUMBERS 27 Vs 1-4: The bravery of the DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD; they did not keep to themselves, mourn their lot, nor resort to murmuring and castigating the injustice of God and men in silence. On the contrary, they took their case, on the inheritance of their father, to Moses and the whole congregation of Israel and presented their case dispassionately.

Vs 1-5: A lesson in LEADERSHIP: Moses did not make out to have the answer to the question of the daughters of Zelophehad. He simply took the matter to God to know what He had to say about it. This is a show of humility, it requires humility on the part of a leader not to try and show/prove to his people that he has all the answers to their questions at his fingertips.

Vs 6-11: What came out of Moses’ session with God was the LAW OF INHERITANCE, a body of regulations which state who can inherit someone’s inheritance after his death.

Vs 12-14: God’s grouse against Moses, that prevented him from getting to the Promised Land, was that he allowed the strife of the congregation to get to him and so rebelled against the command of God by not hallowing Him in the eyes of the people.

Vs 15-20: THE HEART OF A LEADER: Moses knowing his time had come to die asked God to give the people someone else who would lead them to the Promised Land, and not leave them without a shepherd. Note that Joshua had been Moses’ PA for some time, but that did not make him the automatic choice for the leadership position until God Himself chose him.

Vs 18-23: The INAUGURATION OF JOSHUA as the successor of Moses.

Vs 18: Joshua was one of the few individuals in the Old Testament who had the HOLY SPIRIT

Vs 20: it was not all the AUTHORITY OF MOSES that was passed on to Joshua at the time of his inauguration. The Bible records that it was some of Moses’ authority that was transferred to him.

Vs 20: AUTHORITY is needed for a leader to command the obedience of his people. Joshua was conferred with it in order for him to command the respect of the people of Israel.

WHAT I'M LEARNING IN THE BIBLE.... (PART 4)

NUMBERS 28 Vs 1-2: God is particular about OFFERINGS due to Him being offered at their APPOINTED TIME, and not at the convenience of the person. Now offerings to God may not necessarily be money.

Vs 16: THE PASSOVER is on the 14th day in the first month of the Jewish calendar.

Vs 17: The FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD starts the following day, that is the 15th day, and it is a seven-day affair.

Vs 3, 9, 11, 19, 31: God is also very particular that WHATEVER is offered to Him is WITHOUT BLEMISH. In fact, this is one phrase that is recurrent whenever a reference is made to an item to be offered as an offering to God. The story of Cain and Abel was a classical reference to lend credence to God’s disposition where offering is concerned.