Ps. 109: The Cursed Man

Psalm 109:21 "But you, O Sovereign LORD, deal well with me for your name's sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me."

Here is David putting the wood to an enemy. He bemoans how this person is wicked, and was prone to cursing, so here is the 109th Psalm, bringing a curse down on him.

In other Psalms, David usually left specific acts of revenge or judgment in the hands of God. Here, David offers all kinds of tit-for-tat ideas for God...in case God runs out of ideas to punish.

It gets pretty severe: "May his children become fatherless, may his wife become a widow." Nothing to read between the lines of here, David wants this person dead for the wickedness and evil this person has done.

And I don't know if it's necessarily a specific person. Saul was probably David's main antagonist as I recall, but he wasn't the only one.

Another interesting thing about the 109th Psalm. Its for the music director. This was meant to be sung in church, so to speak. Can you imagine?

Dt. 28: Do you want a happy God or a vengeful God?

Deuteronomy 28:65-66 "Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life."

God sure is creative. And He is just as creative at destruction as he is with creation. with curses as blessings. So...I was reading through chapter 28, and I thought it was bad enough in Leviticus 26. The horror is brought to a whole new level here.

I can't help but think how serious this warning is. The people simply had to be mindful of God's decrees and commands after this, right? As enticing as sin is, something like eating your own afterbirth during another nation's siege on your land would be horrific enough to make me think twice about worshiping another god made of wood or stone. And as a side note...I found church kinda boring as a kid...as most kids do. And then the idea of worshiping a god I knew was fake would be even more mind numbing...temple prostitutes or not.

Just about every terrible thing that could happen to a people is warned about here for turning away from God. The land wouldn't work. The uterus wouldn't work. Crops wouldn't work. The body's immune system wouldn't work. Justice will not work. Nothing would be as it was intended. The things that brought joy would bring fear and terror.

So why would a loving God even conceive of these tortures? Go ahead, read them. Was there no way out once Israel was in? Israel shouldn't be there to begin with. They have received their warning. They know what to expect for idolatry, immorality, disobedience and ignoring God's covenant. God made a covenant, and will hold Israel to it.

I thought about reacting to every crazy thing that would beset Israel, but I think I would have missed the bigger point. Life in God, walking in His ways will ensure his blessings. Life ignoring God and in disobedience will lead to trouble...eventually.

Dt. 27: That Mountain is Ebal, I Tells Ya...Eballllll!

Deuteronomy 27:9 "Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, said to all Israel, "Be silent, O Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the LORD your God."

The Israelites may finally be ready to cross into the Promised Land. Moses appears to have wrapped up his speech, his review of the life and times of Israel...he has given out the commands and decrees from God that Israel is to follow in order to uphold their end of the covenant.

The first instruction when Israel crosses Jordan is to set up some field stones, coat them with plaster, and then write down all the laws God gave through Moses. Kind of like, these are the house rules. Anyone who enters the land will know what Israel is all about. Then Israel is to build an altar. In reading through Deuteronomy 27:1-8, I wonder if the altar and the law stones are the same thing. I guess it's two separate rock formations. How can you burn animals on a plaster coated pile of rocks?

Would the blood not run down and blot out the laws? Would the fire not consume the plaster with the law written on it?

Anyway, Moses informs Israel that now they are God's people. Finally. With being God's people, comes great responsibility. They must keep the decrees (v. 10).

Moses has six tribes (Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin) go up to Mount Gerizim to bless the people, and six tribes (Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali) go up to Mount Ebal to pronounce curses. This is more information on these two mountains first mentioned back in Deuteronomy 11.

In Deuteronomy 27, there are 12 curses given. These must be the big time offenses...

Ten Commandments-related:
1. Casting an idol and setting it up in secret
2. Dishonoring Mom and Dad

Meanness-related
3. Moving a neighbor's boundary stone.
4. Leading the blind astray on a road.
5. Withholding justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow.

Sexual purity-related
6. Sleeping with his father's wife, for he dishonors his father's bed.
7. Having sexual relations with any animal.
8. Sleeping with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.
9. Sleeping with his mother-in-law.

Murder-incorporated
10. Killing his neighbor secretly.
11. Accepting a bribe to kill an innocent person.

And...basically the capstone:
12. Not upholding the words of this law by carrying them out.