Deut. 32, Psalm 119:121-144, Isaiah 59, Matthew 7

Date	Version	Reading Plan
@June 27, 2024	ESV (2016)	M’Cheyne Plan 2024

Deut. 32

Deuteronomy 32:36–38 (ESV) 36 For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free. 37 Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge, 38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you; let them be your protection!

Following the LORD’s punishment of the people, He will vindicate them and have compassion on His servants. When they are empty of power, God will rebuke them for relying on false gods that were impotent to help and deliver. They had worshiped and taken refuge in the rock that provided no protection. As we read of the song of Moses, we should be prompted to ask ourselves whether we have a false “rock” on which we are depending, whether it be money, health, success or relationships. If such an idol is revealed, may we come to the LORD in earnest confession and repentance, placing our full faith and trust in the true Rock of our salvation.

Psalm 119:121-144

Psalm 119:125 (ESV) 125 I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies!

In the section of Ayin, the psalmist speak of himself as a servant who desires understanding in order to know God’s testimonies. What a wonderful posture this is and one we should aim to share. To have great knowledge of the world has no lasting value, yielding short-term success at best. Only that which comes from the Lord by His Word is worthy of our most strenuous pursuit; that we may know His testimonies and indeed the Lord Himself, in Whom we have been given new life and with Whom we will dwell forever.

Isaiah 59

Isaiah 59:1–2 (ESV) 1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

By speaking of God’s hand that is able to save and ears that can hear, Isaiah strikes a contrast between the LORD’s ultimate sovereignty and the feeble, powerless idols that had tempted Israel. In this sense, it is highly resonant with the Song of Moses in Deut. 32. Their iniquities had driven a relational wedge between themselves and God to the point where He hid His face and did not hear them. The people were entirely at fault, requiring separation from God by their propagation of sin. There is nothing more dreadful than to be separated from our Creator as this is the very antithesis of our design: to be in everlasting union and communion with Him.

Matthew 7

Matthew 7:24–27 (ESV) 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Another wonderful tie-in with Deut. 32 with an admonition to build our house on the Rock that is Jesus. Those who build their lives on Christ as their foundation will be able to withstand the rain, floods and winds. These storms are sure to come, making our need for fortification in Christ all the more necessary. May we then not be like the fool who builds his house on the shifty sands of this world but on Christ alone who is our Rock and our Refuge.

Carson on 119:121-144

The psalmist is not saying that he has a higher IQ than that of his teachers, or that he is intrinsically smarter than his enemies or brighter than all the elders. Rather, he is claiming that constant meditation on God’s instruction (his “law”) and a deep-seated commitment to obey God’s precepts provide him with a framework and a depth of insight that are unavailable to merely brilliant scholars and well-trained political leaders.

Carson reflects on the supremacy of God’s Word to the insights gleaned through worldly pursuits of knowledge. God’s Word gives us the objective grid through which we are to see Him, to know Him and to operate in our world. It is comprehensive without being exhaustive, revealing to us by His Spirit both the manner and desire to live for Him and in obedience to His precepts, all that it may bring glory to His great name.

Justin Houtz