Deut. 12, Psalms 97-98, Isaiah 40, Revelation 10

Date	Version	Reading Plan
@June 8, 2024	ESV (2016)	M’Cheyne Plan 2024

Deut. 12

Deuteronomy 12:3–4, 10-11 (ESV) 3 You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. 4 You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way. … 10 But when you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety, 11 ****then to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord.

The LORD through Moses gives repeated instruction on the way in which He is to be worshiped. Everything related to the idolatry of the nations was to be completely eradicated and no pagan altars were to be used for the worship the one, true God. Once they went over the Jordan, took possession of the land and the LORD had given them rest from their enemies, they were to bring the commanded offerings and sacrifices to the place of His choosing. The CSB Notes makes note that this “first permanent central place of worship was Shiloh, in the center of the land (Jer. 7:12). The tabernacle remained there nearly three hundred years, from the latter days of Joshua until the early years of the prophet Samuel.”

Psalms 97-98

Psalm 98:1–2 (ESV) 1 Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. 2 The LORD has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.

The psalmist calls for a new song to be sung to the LORD in response to the marvelous things He has done. As the Believer’s Bible Commentary says, “The Second Coming of Christ means the final deliverance of Israel from the oppression of the Gentile nations. That glorious emancipation gives rise to this new song, celebrating the victory of Messiah over His foes. ‘Marvelous’ is the word for all that the Lord has done with His right hand of power and His holy arm.” It is a song of celebration for the ages, exalting our LORD who has made known His salvation in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 40

Isaiah 40:7–8 (ESV) 7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

The temporal things such as the grass that withers and the flowers that fade are set in stark contrast to the word of our God that stands forever. The strength and eternality of God’s Word reflects the One who inspired it, the One who is without end. The Believer’s Bible Commentary provides a helpful quote from Jennings and his commentary on Isaiah:

as the end draws nearer we do greatly need simplicity to rest upon God’s Word. There may be difficulties to such as we are, and the Word seems a weak thing to confide in for eternity, but in truth it is more stable than heaven or earth.

Revelation 10

Revelation 10:9–10 (ESV) 9 So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” 10 And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter.

John saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven with a little scroll open in his hand. John was about to write, but the angel forbade him, telling him to seal up what the seven thunders have said and not to write them down. The angel had John eat the small scroll which tasted sweet as honey but made his stomach bitter. By this, John was to read and meditate on the judgments contained within it. The Believer’s Bible Commentary further exposits the sweetness and bitterness of eating the scroll:

For the believer, it is sweet to read of God’s determination to glorify His Son where He was once crucified. It is sweet to read of the triumph of God over Satan and all his hosts. It is sweet to read of the time when the wrongs of earth will all be made right. But there is bitterness also connected with the study of prophecy. There is the bitterness of self-judgment which the prophetic Scriptures produce. There is the bitterness of viewing the judgments which must soon fall on apostate Judaism and Christendom. And there is the bitterness of contemplating the eternal doom of all who reject the Savior.

Carson on Deuteronomy 12

Although the book of Deuteronomy constantly looks backward to the Exodus and years of wilderness wanderings, it also looks forward: the people are about to enter the Promised Land, and certain things will change. In times of transition, one must grasp the distinction between what should change and what should not.

Carson brings helpful application of this transition of the Israelites to us in the modern day. Seasons of transition typically require changes to be made, but the what and how require diligent discernment. It is by God’s Word that know and hold fast to things that must remain and by the Spirit’s direction we are guided in the areas that must change.

Justin Houtz