Bible study for today

When the world seems to be falling apart, who can I trust?

In Psalm 11, the panic that launched its writing was not David’s but that of his apparently well-meaning counselors. Their mood in the face of wicked persecution is panic, the desire to flee, but David’s is peace. Their words are the expressions of committed but confused saints. Their philosophical problem is, “In view of the crumbling of the theocratic society, what can one righteous person, out of a shrinking remnant, do?”

David’s immediate response to panic is to say, “In the LORD I put my trust.” Literally, he said, “I take refuge in the LORD.” God is the exclusive refuge for His persecuted children (see Pss. 16:1; 36:7). After all, David adds, the Lord is “in His holy temple…in heaven.” This emphasizes the transcendent throne room of God, yet God has sovereign sway over all the affairs of earth (see Hab. 2:20). “His eyes behold...His eyelids test”—His transcendence previously depicted does not negate His eminence here presented from the perspective of the divine scrutiny of all men, including the righteous (see Jer. 6:27–30; 17:10).

David had made up his mind to trust only in the Lord, and for years reason. In view of David’s attitude, this psalm can be listed with the psalms of confidence (Pss. 4, 16, 23, 27, 62, 125, 131).

Reading for Today:

Genesis 43:1–44:34Psalm 11:1-7Proverbs 4:10-13Matthew 14:22-36

Notes:browser

Genesis 43:33 the firstborn…the youngest. To be seated at the table in birth order in the house of an Egyptian official was startling—how did he know this of Jacob’s sons? Enough clues had been given in Joseph’s previous questions about the family and his use of God’s name for them to wonder about him and his personal knowledge of them. Obviously, they simply did not believe Joseph was alive (44:20) and certainly not as a personage of such immense influence and authority. They had probably laughed through the years at the memory of Joseph’s dreams of superiority.

Genesis 44:13 tore their clothes. A well-known ancient Near Eastern custom of visibly portraying the pain of heart being experienced. Benjamin’s brothers were very upset that he might become a slave in Egypt (v. 10). Benjamin appears to have been speechless. They had passed a second test of devotion to Benjamin (the first in v. 34).

Genesis 44:18–34 An eloquent and contrite plea for mercy, replete with reference to the aged father’s delight in and doting upon the youngest son (vv. 20, 30) and the fatal shock should he be lost (vv. 22, 29, 31, 34). Judah’s evident compassion for Jacob and readiness to substitute himself for Benjamin in slavery finally overwhelmed Joseph—these were not the same brothers of yesteryear (45:1).