{"id":4466,"date":"2024-01-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-07T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/reading-plan\/january-7\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T21:20:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T03:20:12","slug":"january-7","status":"publish","type":"reading-plan","link":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/om\/reading-plan\/january-7\/","title":{"rendered":"January 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

Insight from Psalms 7\u20138:<\/span><\/p>\n

In [7:]3\u20135, the King is actually taking a vow. He is declaring, using a form of an oath, that he can be examined by Yahweh because he has done no evil. The innocence of the Christ is a major theme in the Psalms. The Christ declares his innocence over and over again. Clearly, it is important for the people who are following the Christ to know that he is innocent of all wrong-doing. They need to know that the Christ can withstand the righteous judgment of Yahweh. The Christ can be followed and obeyed without fear because his followers know that Yahweh will find no hidden sin within him. The words that were spoken at Jesus\u2019 baptism should give the Christian great confidence in their King\u2019s standing before Yahweh: \u201cYou are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased\u201d (Mark 1:11). Tom Kelby, <\/span>Kitaaba Faarfannaa Yaadannoo Qorannoo Waliin (Faarfannaa 1\u201319): Qajeelcha Lallabaa Kitaaba Faarfannaatiif<\/span><\/i> (Webster, WI: Hands to the Plow, 2015), 57.<\/span><\/p>\n

Psalm 8 is a literary envelope. Envelope is a term used to describe a literary passage that begins and ends with the same words (this is also called an inclusio). Psalm 8 begins and ends with the same phrase: \u201cO Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!\u201d. By using the same phrase at the beginning and the end of the psalm, the psalmist is signaling that everything found between the two boundaries set by this literary envelope is an explanation of how Yahweh\u2019s majestic name has been made known in all the earth. Tom Kelby, <\/span>Kitaaba Faarfannaa Yaadannoo Qorannoo Waliin (Faarfannaa 1\u201319): Qajeelcha Lallabaa Kitaaba Faarfannaatiif<\/span><\/i> (Webster, WI: Hands to the Plow, 2015), 62.<\/span><\/p>\n

[8:]2 may appear to be out of place. What do \u201cbabies and infants\u201d have to do with Yahweh\u2019s reputation on the earth? The psalmist seems to be saying that Yahweh\u2019s chosen way of showing his greatness on the earth is by using words from \u201cthe mouth of babies and infants\u201d! The description of people as \u201cbabies and infants\u201d is an example of the concrete language used in the Psalms. This Psalm isn\u2019t about \u201cbabies and infants\u201d. It is describing the full-grown human who, by his words and deeds, displays Yahweh\u2019s greatness. The words \u201cbabies and infants\u201d emphasize the weakness of man. The psalmist seems to be saying that Yahweh has ordained that mankind, even though it is very weak and seemingly insignificant, will be the means by which Yahweh\u2019s foes are silenced and the means by which his name will be proclaimed as majestic in all the earth. Of course, anyone reading the story of the Bible knows that the first man did not use his words this way when Satan (the enemy of God) attempted to deceive him. Instead, Adam agreed with Satan\u2019s words and doubted Yahweh\u2019s good words (see Genesis 3:1\u20136). It is significant to note that Jesus, who is called the last Adam in 1 Corinthians 15:45\u201349, did use his words to silence Satan (see Matthew 4:1\u201311). In Christ, God\u2019s purposes for mankind are fulfilled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_crdt_document":""},"class_list":["post-4466","reading-plan","type-reading-plan","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/om\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-plan\/4466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/om\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-plan"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/om\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/reading-plan"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/om\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}